Chapter Summaries

At the Tarot Club, Klein helped Cattleya control the Eye of Peeping and welcomed her as the Hermit. Cattleya’s reaction to Roselle’s diary and rumors about the Fate Pathway led Alice to suspect that she was the existence behind the pathway’s dangerous luck-granting backlash.

• Alice asked Klein whether he could seal Cattleya’s uncontrollable Eye of Peeping, and he said he could before advising Cattleya to manifest glasses.
• Cattleya introduced herself as the Hermit, while Audrey, Fors, and Derrick presented Roselle’s diary pages and new legends of ancient gods.
• Emlyn asked Alger to obtain a Sanguine Baron’s inheritance, and they agreed on a price of 4,500 pounds plus a 300-pound commission.
• Alger teased Alice about removing her monocle and losing the luck she had promised him, which made Cattleya frown.
• Alice asked Cattleya about her thoughts, and Cattleya described rumors that Fate Pathway luck could cause random, terrible backlash.
• Alice said she suspected that she might be the High-Sequence Fate Pathway existence responsible for that backlash.

At the Tarot Club, Alice asked about the Red Theater in Bayam and made an awkward request to become Audrey’s dog, while the members discussed a Beyonder characteristic and traded for a Fruit of the Radiant Spirit Tree. The meeting ended with Fors reporting a break-in at a Lord of Storms church in Backlund.

• Alice asked Alger, Cattleya, and the World whether they knew the Red Theater in Bayam, then asked the World to show her the way there someday.
• When Audrey asked about a Psychiatrist’s Beyonder characteristic, Alice asked to be Audrey’s dog, then clarified awkwardly that she meant she admired Susie; the World offered to obtain the characteristic for 1,800 pounds.
• Derrick asked for a Fruit of the Radiant Spirit Tree, and Cattleya agreed to trade it for the history of the City of Silver after reviewing Derrick’s monster list.
• Fors reported that security in Backlund had tightened again after someone broke into a church of the Lord of Storms and stole its donation box.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Klein pressed Alice about her involvement in the Church of Storms’ wanted case, uncovering her bizarre dealings with Amon and the Goddess. After Alger raised Kalvetua’s fall, Alice’s comment about Alger obtaining a Wind-blessed Beyonder Characteristic left the group wondering whether she had been a child before becoming a God.

• Fors showed the Tarot Club Amon’s wanted poster, and Klein questioned Alice about whether she had been involved.
• Alice admitted she had used Amon’s body, sacrificed his avatar to the Goddess, discarded the donation box with anti-divination, and split its money with the Goddess.
• Klein rebuked Alice for her actions, then lifted his blockade and exposed her attempt to look pitiful to the Tarot Club.
• Alger shifted the conversation to the fall of Sea God Kalvetua, and Alice blurted out that Alger was about to obtain a Wind-blessed Beyonder Characteristic.
• Klein explained that Kalvetua had become a Demigod through the relic called the Calamity, prompting Alger to wonder whether Alice had been a child before becoming a God.

Klein considered whether Alice had awakened as a complete Mythical Creature and asked if she considered herself fortunate; Alice said her return proved she was. At the Tarot Club, Alice challenged the histories of the Sanguine and City of Silver, then left Alger with her view that a Soothsayer’s perfect ending was to die in their own prophecy.

• Klein wondered whether Alice had awakened as an Angel or True God without advancing and asked if she considered her experiences fortunate.
• Alice said that awakening again proved she was fortunate and that the one who stood at the end was the Winner.
• Emlyn cited Sanguine history claiming the Kingdom of Silver had worshipped Omebella, while Derrick said the City of Silver had no record of her.
• Alice suggested both accounts could be wrong, said the Sanguine ancestor should be named Lilith, and called it a revelation from Fate.
• Alice told a story about a Soothsayer who predicted his death, survived the predicted day, and then hanged himself the next day.
• Alice told Alger that dying in one’s own prophecy was the most perfect ending for a Soothsayer.

After the Tarot Club meeting, Klein questioned Alice about her connection to the Goddess of Misfortune and grew alarmed as she recovered memories involving the Goddess and Amon. Their conversation ended with Alice expressing admiration for humanity, while Klein realized she might not consider herself human.

• Cattleya told the Tarot Club that Omebella had been the Goddess of Harvest and queen of the Giant King's Court, and that no one had confirmed her death.
• After the gathering, Klein told Alice that the Goddess of Misfortune had been a subordinate of Flegrea and had also been called Misfortune Favored by Fortune.
• Alice recalled wishing to pet the Goddess's fur, and Klein warned her not to ask the Goddess or Amon what a demon wolf's fur felt like.
• Klein told Alice to stay away from Amon and said he would try to stop her if she became like him, though he did not know what he would do if he failed.
• Alice praised humanity for having people like Klein, and Klein realized she already considered herself outside humanity.

Alice agreed that Klein would find a pirate to describe the Red Theater to her, then sold five copied diary pages to Ian and learned that someone had traced them back to her. The chapter left Alice heading home to eat and postponing her plans in Bayam until tomorrow.

• Klein suggested Alice disguise herself as a man to visit the Red Theater, but she refused, so he offered to find a pirate who had been there.
• Klein returned to the real world and asked Dunn whether he had visited the Red Theater.
• Alice sent her manuscript to the publisher, then brought five copies of diary pages and a 10-pound banknote to Ian at Bravehearts Bar.
• Ian revealed that someone had bought all five identical pages and later returned to ask where they came from.
• Alice told Ian not to sell identical pages to one person again, questioned why he played cards in the Billiard Room, and left to find dinner.

Alice received a strange same-day afternoon tea invitation from Winifred Grigori and read an uneasy letter from Evelyn while preparing to leave for Bayam. She briefly contacted Amon, who asked who had stolen the Church of Storms' donation box, but Alice avoided answering.

• Alice found an unexpected invitation in her mailbox and read the newspaper while eating breakfast.
• Alice put on a Monocle and tried unsuccessfully to pick a lock with a strand of hair.
• Alice prayed to Amon about her failed attempt, and Amon offered to give her hair while asking who stole the Church of Storms' donation box.
• Alice opened the invitation from Winifred Grigori and decided to attend the afternoon tea at a manor in the suburbs of Empress Borough.
• Alice read Evelyn's letter expressing unease and promising a surprise, then decided not to reply.

Alice met Winifred Grigori, who had bought the five pages of Roselle’s notes, and their conversation exposed Alice’s distance from ordinary human perspectives. Winifred asked whether they were friends, and Alice tentatively agreed before preparing to leave.

• Alice followed the invitation to Winifred’s manor and recognized her as the Beyonder who had once pretended to be robbed in the East District.
• Winifred confronted Alice about selling five identical pages of Roselle’s notes, and Alice claimed a thief had left the pages at her home.
• Alice told Winifred that the thief was a wanted criminal who had stolen the Church of Storms’ Donation Box, then denied being that criminal herself.
• Winifred called Alice arrogant, prompting Alice to realize she had never subconsciously considered herself human.
• Winifred asked whether she and Alice were friends, and Alice said they could perhaps be friends for now.

Alice traveled to Pritz Harbor to board a Church of Storms ship to Bayam, reflecting on Amon and the strange increase and stagnation of her luck. After a coin landed on King's Side, she took it as confirmation and boarded the St. Folsen.

• Alice checked the harbor notices and found no ships leaving for Bayam that day, then considered but rejected summoning Amon aboard the St. Folsen.
• Alice read that several Churches had banned Monocles and considered making Amon a banner before deciding she could not safely summon him.
• Alice boarded the Church of Storms passenger ship St. Folsen at Rose Dock, wondering whether its cannons could protect it from Beyonders.
• Alice sensed that her accumulated luck had stalled after she decided to go to Bayam and felt that the outcome might already be Predetermined.
• Alice looked toward Backlund and Tingen City, asked whether she would have a good ending, and took the coin landing on King's Side as an affirmative answer before boarding.

Alice traveled first class aboard the St. Folsen, endured several days at sea, and arrived at Damir Harbor. After disembarking, she tried the harbor’s famous cured meat and discovered it carried a faint aura from the Spirit World.

• Alice chose a First Class ticket and boarded the St. Folsen in her original appearance, with a veil covering her face.
• Alice spent her time aboard staring at the sea, playing Chess, and recovering after a Fishman jumped from the water and was killed.
• The St. Folsen entered Damir Harbor, where Alice disembarked during its overnight stop.
• Alice learned that Damir Harbor’s cured meat was smoked by natural hot winds near an extinct volcano and ordered a serving.
• Alice used Spirit Vision to inspect the cured meat, then tasted it and began eating a second slice.

Alice ate cured meat at a port restaurant, speculated about the Sunken Laurel, and worried about the food on long sea voyages. She returned to her ship after imagining fish with many different flavors.

• Alice considered making money through gambling and salvaging the Sunken Laurel, but suspected the wreck had a dangerous secret.
• Alice finished the cured meat, wondered whether Amon could steal food from someone's stomach, and left the restaurant.
• Alice realized that ships on the route to Bayam stopped at Damir Harbor and Tiana Harbor to restock provisions.
• Alice imagined fish with flavors like milk, beef, and bread, then returned to the ship.

Alice received a letter from Bernadette asking what kind of god the Fool was, then wondered whether Cattleya had revealed Tarot Club secrets. After suppressing her violent thoughts and reflecting on the different sides of herself, Alice asked the Fool to investigate Cattleya and teach her a lesson.

• Alice found Bernadette's letter at breakfast and later read her question about what kind of god the Fool was.
• Alice replied by asking whether Bernadette had decided to pray to the Fool, and Bernadette's messenger immediately collected the letter.
• Alice recalled Cattleya's intense reaction to Roselle's Diary and suspected she had disclosed Tarot Club secrets to Bernadette.
• Alice suppressed her urge to kill Cattleya and considered how her childish, death-indifferent side related to Shen Yinghuan and herself.
• Alice gave the ship a Misfortune Buff and prayed to the Fool to investigate Cattleya and teach her a lesson.

Alice warned Cattleya that Bernadette would have to pay for any information she wanted, then turned the Tarot Club’s attention to her boredom aboard the ship. The chapter ended with Klein asking whether Alice had been too bored lately, and Alice insisting she would not go to school.

• Klein confirmed that Cattleya had contacted Bernadette after the Tarot Club meeting and sent Cattleya the latter half of Alice’s prayer.
• Cattleya realized that Mr. Fool’s warning meant he might let Alice make trouble for her.
• Alice greeted Cattleya at the Tarot Club and warned her to tell Bernadette that learning anything from Alice would come at a price.
• Alice asked whether a Sequence ability could let someone taste food without getting full, and the Tarot Club members could not answer.
• Klein had the World ask whether Alice had been too bored lately, and Alice denied it before insisting she would not go to school.

Alice reassured Cattleya that someone else would face her before she did, then reflected on her uncertain relationship with humanity. As the Tarot Club members shared their lack of progress, Alice commissioned Derrick to gather information on the Doomsday Wolf, and Derrick reported that he had found the method World wanted.

• Alice told Cattleya that someone else would be ahead of her if Alice wanted to settle accounts, easing Cattleya’s worries.
• Alice told Cattleya she could stay silent about their relationship, then reflected that she could love humans without being human herself.
• Audrey, Fors, and Derrick each apologized for making little progress on their respective tasks.
• Alice asked Derrick to gather information on the Doomsday Wolf as a paid personal commission, and he agreed to consider what payment he wanted.
• Derrick told World that he had obtained the method for separating a Rampager’s Mental Pollution from a Beyonder Characteristic.

At the Tarot Club meeting, Alice and the World traded barbs while the members discussed Amon and Adam, the two Sons of the Creator. Cattleya struggled to understand Alice and the World’s familiarity, then warned herself that the gods could not be wrong about who the World was.

• Derrick offered Alger knowledge as thanks, prompting Alice to call the World “Mr. Clown” and spar with him.
• Cattleya confirmed that Amon was one of the two infants born from the Original Creator, and Audrey learned that the other was Adam.
• Alice warned the Tarot Club that Adam might be nearby if they mentioned him, then explained that she had once asked Amon about Adam’s married life.
• The World teased Alice about provoking Adam, and Alice threatened him in return.
• Cattleya reflected on Alice and the World’s close relationship, then suppressed her suspicions and accepted the World’s identity.

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed Groselle's Travels, possible trades, and the needs of the World and Cattleya. Alice hinted that something important would happen to her next week, then asked whether Earth Mother Beyonders could make fish taste like beef, leaving Cattleya pale.

• Cattleya thanked Alice for her warning, then told the World that an Unshadowed of the Sun Pathway could purify Mental Pollution from a Beyonder Characteristic.
• The World asked Derrick about Groselle's Travels and explained that the Dragon-created book had been linked to the disappearance of its owners; Alice warned that missing people in such stories were often found inside the book.
• Audrey asked about the book, while Alice discussed whether stories might be fiction, real accounts, or truths their creators mistook for inventions.
• Audrey asked the World about a Psychiatrist Beyonder Characteristic, and Cattleya asked Alice whether she could obtain angel's blood; Alice said she would look and asked what Cattleya could offer in return.
• Alice said they could discuss the exchange next week, and the World asked the club to help him find a powerful offensive Mystical Item; Cattleya agreed to watch for one.
• Alice asked whether Earth Mother Beyonders could make fish taste like beef, and Cattleya turned deathly pale.

Cattleya told Alice about a Church of the Earth Mother Beyonder whose attempt to crossbreed cattle and wheat earned him a tribunal, while Alice explained that her concern was the experiment’s possible consequences. The Tarot Club also discussed Bansi Harbor’s destruction and Emlyn’s advancement to Baron, which Alice celebrated with sarcasm.

• Cattleya described how the Church of the Earth Mother condemned a Beyonder who tried to crossbreed a bull, a cow, and wheat, and Alice feared what other creatures his experiments might produce.
• Cattleya suggested Alice’s plans could have uncontrollable consequences, but Alice replied that she was Fate.
• Klein reported that the Church of Storms had acted and that Bansi Harbor would no longer exist for a time; Alger said only high-level church members likely knew the details.
• Emlyn announced that he had become a Baron and asked whether Sanguine needed to use the Acting Method to digest Beyonder Characteristics.
• Alice sarcastically praised Emlyn as an astonishingly young Sanguine, making Fors laugh.

At the Tarot Club, Cattleya explained the Moon pathway while Alice teased Emlyn and privately joked with Klein about the Fool's name. After the meeting, Alice resumed her voyage toward Bayam, though the doom she had picked up had yet to show itself.

• Cattleya confirmed that Emlyn's Sanguine Baron Sequence was Sequence 6, and explained that the Moon pathway included Vampire as Sequence 7.
• Cattleya listed the Moon pathway's Sequences and explained that their abilities reflected different domains of the Moon.
• Alice privately asked Klein whether the Fool could also be called an idiot, prompting him to threaten to beat her up.
• The Tarot Club meeting ended, and Alice continued sailing toward Bayam while the sea remained calm.

Alice arrived in Bayam and reunited with Klein and Dunn, whose confusion about Alice’s identity and relationship with Klein became the target of her teasing. The three continued together, with Alice and Klein trading jokes about who would make a better Provoker.

• Alice disembarked in Bayam and found Klein waiting for her.
• Alice asked Klein whether he had kidnapped Dunn, a pirate who had visited the Red Theater, for her, and Dunn learned that Alice was Klein’s friend.
• Dunn was shocked to discover Alice was a young woman, a Sequence 5, and someone who had killed a Demigod.
• Alice teased Dunn about being secretly in love with Klein and then pressed him to reveal whom he liked.
• Klein intervened and said Alice was more suited to be a Provoker, and Alice replied that he would probably get beaten to death if he drank the Potion.

Alice and Klein went to investigate a grocery store near the Red Theater, where Alice claimed the School of Life had hidden a grade 0 Sealed Artifact: a Uniqueness. After Alice spotted the apothecary from her dream, she asked Klein to disguise himself as him, but when he could not, she sincerely asked whether she looked like the apothecary.

• Alice teased Dunn about being a Provoker and then treated him as a valuable bounty worth 5,500 pounds.
• Klein explained that he had brought Dunn because Dunn had visited the Red Theater and because Klein feared he might hit Alice if she kept talking to him.
• Alice told Klein that the School of Life had placed a Uniqueness in a grocery store near the Red Theater.
• Alice recognized the Fat Apothecary's herb shop from her dream and asked Klein to disguise himself as the apothecary, but Klein said he could not imitate his size.
• Alice asked Klein whether she looked like the apothecary, and Klein agreed that they looked identical.