Chapter Summaries

Alice learned that Cassandra had been manipulated into seeing her own death and wanted Alice to end the cycle of Soothsayers being used as gifts. After turning Cassandra into a Beyonder Characteristic, Alice sought Audrey’s help and asked whether her trust would burden her.

• Alice questioned Cassandra about her prophecy, and Cassandra explained that believing a prophecy could affect its outcome and that she had been promised advancement through death.
• Cassandra told Alice she wanted her to end the cycle, then asked Alice to kill her; Alice agreed, but her prayer to the Goddess received no response.
• Alice checked that ordinary rituals still worked, contacted Klein about the Goddess, and used a ritual to destroy Cassandra’s Mystical Item and reform it as a Beyonder Characteristic.
• Alice took the new characteristic to Archbishop Anthony to prevent its attraction from making her eat it, then contacted Audrey for psychological counseling.
• Alice met Audrey and admitted she had chosen her because Mr. Fool had once offered to call a Psychiatrist for her; she asked whether that trust would put pressure on Audrey.

Audrey comforted Alice about her nature and her doubts, while Alice watched Klein kill Ince Zangwill and confront Adam. Klein advanced to demigod, and the chapter left him and Alice discussing how he could attend the captain’s wedding with Leonard as his date.

• Audrey reassured Alice that luck might help her do more, and Alice asked for ice cream.
• After Klein told her Ince Zangwill had appeared, Alice sent him luck and watched the battle from afar.
• Klein killed Ince Zangwill with Death Knell and placed a reversed Star card on his corpse.
• Alice challenged Adam about whether they had met before, and he said he knew of her but had never met her and did not know the answer she sought.
• Klein drank his potion and advanced to demigod while Alice watched over him.
• Alice told Leonard that Klein could attend the captain’s wedding as his date, then suggested Leonard should bring a man as his date.

After Ince Zangwill’s death, Klein left Leonard and questioned Alice about her origins and Adam’s cryptic answer. Klein and Alice examined the cocoons above the Door of Light, then spoke about Klein’s past, Alice’s unease at being treated as a god, and their plans to consult Miss Justice.

• Klein asked Leonard whether he was with the Red Gloves and told him he could leave without being investigated, but Leonard said he was used to staying with the Church.
• Above the Gray Fog, Alice said she believed she had transmigrated into the world of a book, while Klein questioned whether her memories meant she had been very young in that world.
• Klein and Alice discussed Alice’s anger at Adam and Klein’s Trickmaster abilities, then went up the Stairs to inspect the Door of Light.
• Alice saw empty cocoons hanging above the Door of Light and realized Klein was shaken by the sight, so she pulled his attention back to her.
• Klein revealed his original appearance and said he would speak with Miss Justice, while Alice admitted she felt unaccustomed to being someone’s only hope and asked him to remain himself with her.
• Alice asked to see Klein’s Mythical Creature Form and touch a worm; Klein told her to get lost.

Alice warned Klein that Medici might trace the fate of his marionette Ludwig, then gave him advice and discussed finding him another marionette. She drank the Chaoswalker potion, rejected the chance to retreat into a dream of her former life, and awakened as an Angel, ending the chapter by restoring a broken windowsill with her new power.

• Alice retrieved her painting from Ian and learned that he had displayed it to everyone at the billiards room.
• Klein attended Captain Dunn and Madam Daly's wedding in disguise, and Alice warned him that Medici might follow the fate linking Ludwig to him.
• Alice offered Klein an Artisan as a potential marionette, explaining that the Tarot Club might need him for an investigation and promising to seek another if necessary.
• Alice drank the Chaoswalker potion and faced a choice between sleeping in a dream of her former life and confronting the truth of the Key of Light.
• Alice rejected the dream, affirmed that she was Alice, and completed her advancement to Angel.
• Alice accidentally crushed part of her windowsill, then used a silver river to restore it.

Alice considered using Will Auceptin’s blood as River Water of the River of Fate for her eventual advancement, then attended a Tarot Club meeting where Klein introduced Judgment Xio. The gathering ended with Judgment warning that MI9 was investigating Gehrman Sparrow, while Leonard learned that Klein also used the identity Dwayne Dantès and wondered what Pallez had said about Alice.

• Alice reasoned that Snake of Mercury blood might substitute for River Water of the River of Fate and decided to ask Arrodes about Will Auceptin’s blood.
• Klein introduced Judgment Xio to the Tarot Club, and Alice asked whether Xio was an adult and would grow taller.
• Fors asked about having an Artisan make a Mystical Item, while Cattleya explained that the Artisan’s situation was complicated and Alice offered to let the World handle the matter.
• Derrick reported that the City of Silver planned to explore the Giant King’s Court, and Alger urged him to prepare to face the Shepherd elder.
• Judgment told the Tarot Club that MI9 had traced Gehrman Sparrow’s fabricated identity to Backlund, and Alice asked about the bounty before the World silenced her.
• Audrey asked whether the World would return to Backlund as Dwayne Dantès, and Leonard realized that Klein used that identity and recalled Pallez’s claim about Alice.

At the Tarot Club, Alice and Leonard discussed a blasphemous remark about Alice, then the members learned that Adam had obtained 0-08 and was closer to the divine throne. The World revealed that he had become a Demigod, while the club began to suspect Mr. Fool had gained power through the same events; Alice ended by asking why nobody wondered what she had gained.

• Alice pressed Leonard to explain what someone had said about her, but he refused because he dared not repeat the remark in front of either Alice or The Fool.
• Klein explained that Dwayne Dantès was a shared public identity and said the group might need to help with future plans in Backlund.
• Alger reported that Ince Zangwill had been killed and that the stolen Sealed Artifact 0-08 was missing, and Alice revealed that Adam had it.
• The Fool said the era had changed and Adam was closer to the divine throne, while Alice explained Adam's identity and connection to the Ancient Sun God and Amon.
• The World implied that he had become a Demigod, shocking the Tarot Club members and leading Alger to infer that Mr. Fool had also gained power.
• Alice asked why nobody was concerned about what she had gained from the events.

At the Tarot Club, Alice asked the members to find the River of Fate and its water, which she needed as an ingredient for her Soothsayer potion. After the meeting, she told Klein that the river might be made of light and proposed Will Auceptin’s blood as a substitute, then answered his questions about the Castle of Origin and Medici.

• The World explained that Medici’s remnant spirit had fused with the souls of Sauron and Einhorn ancestors to become the Evil Spirit that appeared when Ince Zangwill died.
• Emlyn told the club that a Sanguine Angel had requested to see him, and Alger advised him to act normally and expect tests or assignments.
• Alice asked the members to find the River of Fate and learn how to preserve or obtain its water, explaining that the river she had seen was made of rippling light.
• Fors reported that the abandoned castle had a door sealing powerful fallen energy, and Emlyn promised to investigate the source of her faulty information.
• After the meeting, Alice told Klein that Will Auceptin’s blood might substitute for River Water of the River of Fate, though she admitted her confidence was zero from Klein’s perspective.
• Alice told Klein that the three opened Light Cocoons belonged to Roselle, Klein, and the Goddess, and said she expected Medici to come looking for him soon.

After the Tarot Club, Alice and the others sought information about the River of Fate, while Leonard and Pallez discussed rumors about Alice’s connection to Fate. When Alice asked Arrodes what it saw in her, it showed her entering the River of Fate and slowly dissolving within it.

• Alice warned Klein that Medici was dangerous and advised him not to get involved, while explaining that she did not know which side Medici supported.
• Leonard told Pallez about Adam and Medici, then wondered whether Alice was the illegitimate daughter of the Fool and the Goddess; Pallez dismissed his reasoning and discussed rumors about Fate’s chosen incarnation.
• Leonard told Pallez that Alice had entered and slept in the River of Fate but did not know where it was, and Pallez explained that Fate-pathway Beyonders could not identify its location.
• Fors, Cattleya, Derrick, Emlyn, and Alger each considered how to learn about the River of Fate, and Fors and Cattleya decided to write to their respective mentors.
• Alice summoned Arrodes and asked where the River of Fate was; Arrodes said it did not know its exact location but showed Alice a vision of her entering the river and dissolving within it.

Alice questioned Arrodes about the River of Fate and learned how to contact the Seven Lights, while Hazel’s unexplained illness continued and Emlyn met Duke Olmer. The chapter left Emlyn asking Olmer about River Water of the River of Fate as he began a mission to find the Rose School in Backlund.

• Alice learned from Arrodes that the River Water of the River of Fate was fate itself and chose a Spirit Channeling ritual to contact the Seven Lights.
• Alice considered visiting the River of Fate and asking Reinette Tinekerr about what she had seen in it.
• Hazel told her mother that the family doctor had found no cause for her ongoing stomach problems, and Lady Lyanna planned to take her to a hospital.
• Cosmi Odora introduced Emlyn to Duke Olmer, who offered to purify his contaminated Artificial Vampire Beyonder Characteristic.
• Duke Olmer tasked Emlyn with finding important Rose School members in Backlund and retrieving a holy item left by the Sanguine progenitor.
• Emlyn asked Duke Olmer whether he knew of the River Water of the River of Fate.

Emlyn learned from Duke Olmer that the River of Fate was an elusive presence in the Spirit World, and that an Angel who had seen it engulf him later died. Klein considered obtaining a Reaper Marionette, while Alice asked Reinette Tinekerr about the river and ended up angering her with an unusual payment.

• Duke Olmer told Emlyn that the River of Fate was difficult to touch and recalled an Angel who had seen it engulf him before dying.
• After Emlyn left, Duke Olmer ordered Casimir to investigate Emlyn’s connection to the Fool, the School of Life, and the Abandoned Castle in Dreyer Forest.
• Klein weighed the benefits of a Reaper Marionette against a Winner Marionette and chose the Reaper as the better replacement for Death Knell.
• Alice summoned Reinette Tinekerr and asked whether she had seen or sensed the River of Fate in the Spirit World.
• Reinette offered to ask around, but Alice tossed her a gold coin as payment, prompting Reinette to exclaim Alice’s name in distress.

Reinette confronted Klein about Alice throwing a gold coin into her mouth, while Hazel Mahat visited doctors over nausea and fatigue. The doctors ruled out illness after Sandy questioned Hazel about possible pregnancy, and Hazel left with advice to rest and eat lightly.

• Reinette returned the scattered objects with Alice’s silver river, then told Klein that Alice had thrown a gold coin into her mouth.
• Klein suggested Alice listened to the Evernight Goddess more than Reinette, and Reinette left after calling him Miss Fortune’s expected companion.
• Aaron referred Hazel and Lady Lyanna to Jonathan Green, who suspected Hazel’s symptoms might indicate pregnancy and summoned Sandy.
• Sandy questioned Hazel privately, and Hazel insisted she had never been intimate with Dwayne Dantès or anyone else.
• Sandy concluded Hazel’s symptoms were probably normal and advised her to rest, eat small meals, and stick to easily digested foods.

Aaron suspected Hazel’s illness might be connected to the thing in her womb, while Cattleya decided to bring Artisan Sharpe aboard the Future. That night, Klein met Patrick Brain, a demigod sent by the awakened God of Death to obey him, and learned about the Numinous Episcopate’s leaders and Patrick’s Undying Sequence.

• Liana took Hazel home with Sandy’s prescription, while Aaron hid his suspicion that Hazel’s illness might be connected to Velma’s stillborn child.
• Cattleya read Bernadette’s letter confirming that Artisan Sharpe was descended from Ciel, decided to bring him aboard the Future, and told Frank Lee he would get a research assistant.
• Alice discovered that Klein had left a monocle and a dead rat in her living room, then tracked him down and warned him that someone had arrived on his balcony.
• Patrick Brain entered Klein’s bedroom and said a divine oracle had ordered him to obey Klein because the God of Death had awakened.
• Patrick explained that the Numinous Episcopate had three saints and an angel in East Balam, then revealed that he was an Undying who had become one less than ten years earlier.

Klein questioned Spirit Lodge leader Patrick Brain, ordered him to obey, and revealed his identity as Gehrman Sparrow, while he and Alice traded jokes about frightening people. Later, Alice sensed that fates were converging toward a world war and realized Adam’s ritual might involve a new god’s birth or an old god’s fall; Adam warned her not to interfere, and Alice hoped to piggyback on his ritual.

• Klein questioned Brayan about his conversion, public identity, Spirit Lodge members, and their search for materials and an awakening ritual for the God of Death.
• Klein invoked the Goddess’s oracle to place Brayan under his orders, preached teachings he attributed to God, and revealed himself as Gehrman Sparrow, delighting Brayan.
• Klein suggested Alice preserve her original skull as a keepsake, then admitted he had tried frightening her to advance his potion digestion; Alice explained the risks and warned him to think things through.
• After returning home, Alice sensed fates converging around Backlund and concluded that a world war was approaching as Adam neared godhood.
• Alice realized Adam’s envisioned era might mean the birth of a new god or the fall of an old one, and Adam sent a warning that she should not interfere.
• Alice concluded the Goddess and Adam had likely reached an agreement over 0-08 and decided that piggybacking on Adam’s ritual would probably be harmless.

Amon and Will Auceptin continued searching for Ouroboros but repeatedly missed Him, while Roy King reunited with Darkwill and urged him to follow fate toward Miss Fortune. Alice then divined clues to the Chaos Walker Acting Method and saw herself stepping into the River of Fate, leaving her unsure whether to pursue that lead.

• Amon and Will Auceptin followed several leads in search of Ouroboros but failed to find Him, and Amon teased Will about being fate’s chosen one.
• Roy King found Darkwill, learned he had met Miss Fortune and refused Her request for help, and told him they should approach Her and assist when needed.
• Roy King gave Darkwill the Sequence 7 Potion Formula, then left to search for his own path; Darkwill admired his teacher’s confidence in fate.
• Alice considered possible interpretations of the Chaos Walker Acting Method and decided to divine for clues.
• Alice dreamed of the River of Fate and saw herself step into it, then wondered whether the river held the clue she sought.

Alice visited Backlund’s East District, killed a man who threatened a child, and claimed credit as the Goddess of Fate when the rescued mother praised the Goddess. She decided to build her doctrine around Buddhist ideas and asked Klein to help, while their conversation ended with Alice hinting at the risks of advancing before digesting her Potion.

• Alice walked into the East District and watched a man attack a desperate mother before turning his attention to her young daughter.
• Alice used her power to make the man suffocate and die, then revealed herself to the mother and daughter as the Goddess of Fate.
• Alice told them that good people would receive good outcomes and evil people would eventually face bad ones, prompting the mother to praise her and promise to pray to her.
• Alice considered Buddhist ideas about karma, reincarnation, Nirvana, and destined affinity as foundations for her doctrine.
• Above the Gray Fog, Alice asked Klein whether he believed in Buddhism and explained that she wanted to adapt Buddhist doctrine for her faith.
• Klein offered to supply the sayings Alice could not remember, then warned her about Amon and Will Auceptin; Alice suggested she might advance before her Potion was fully digested.

Klein and Alice discussed the possibility of Klein advancing to Black Emperor before preparing Alice’s honorific name. At the Tarot Club, Klein offered Leonard the Word of the Sea scepter, while Klein considered selling some of his old items after advancing to Sequence 4.

• Klein and Alice speculated about the coming birth of a new god, and Alice suggested Klein could become Black Emperor by abolishing a monarchy or changing another world’s political system.
• Klein gave Alice the final line of her honorific name and she said she would include the lines he had written in her Church’s holy bible.
• At the Tarot Club, Cattleya reported she still had no pages of Roselle’s Diary, and Alger told Leonard he had not found a suitable mystical item.
• Klein used Gehrman Sparrow the World to offer Leonard the Word of the Sea scepter and explain its abilities and dangerous negative effects.
• Leonard asked Alice whether she could weaken the scepter’s effects, but she told him Klein could probably do it for free and offered a discounted service if he could not.
• Klein considered which of his old items and characteristics to keep or sell now that he had advanced to Sequence 4.

At the Tarot Club meeting, Alice gathered what its members knew about the elusive River of Fate and described her own repeated struggles against it. Emlyn admitted the Sanguine had deliberately withheld information about the Abandoned Castle, while Fors and Xio considered whether they had been watched during their expedition.

• The World offered the Fishman Cufflink and Green Blossom ring for sale, and Audrey bought the cufflink while Alger bought the ring.
• Leonard, Fors, and Emlyn shared what they had learned about the River of Fate, and Alice said reclaiming her authority made her feel as if she were drowning in it.
• Alice teased Emlyn that she would drag him into the river if she could no longer resist it, and the World joked that she wanted to join him in the God of Death's embrace.
• Emlyn revealed that the Sanguine had arranged the Abandoned Castle incident as a test and withheld crucial information, then offered Fors a refund and compensation.
• Fors refused extra compensation and wondered whether the Sanguine had watched her and Xio at the castle, while Xio indicated she had noticed no one following them.

Emlyn asked the Tarot Club to help punish Ernest Boyar by getting him into a Church of the Earth Mother, where he could be converted into a volunteer. The group devised a plan to hypnotize and lead Ernest there, while Emlyn would play the person he chased; the participants agreed to take shares of the spoils.

• Alice asked Emlyn how he planned to punish the Sanguine, and Emlyn proposed luring him into a Church of the Earth Mother in Backlund.
• Alice revealed that the Harvest Church had converted a vampire into a volunteer, and Cattleya confirmed that the church tried to turn Sanguine into pastors or bishops.
• Emlyn explained that Ernest Boyar was equivalent to a Sequence 5 and wanted to avoid a fight or direct exposure; Alice offered to knock him out, but Audrey proposed hypnotizing him instead.
• Xio volunteered to investigate Ernest, Leonard offered to put him to sleep in a dream, and Audrey planned to hypnotize him into chasing Emlyn to the church.
• Emlyn agreed to play the person Ernest hated and keep him on course, while Xio, Leonard, and Audrey each requested a share of the spoils; Emlyn assured them Ernest had plenty of money.

The Tarot Club planned a covert operation to punish a Sanguine while considering the possibility that he was being watched as part of a test. The gathering then discussed Hervin Lambeth’s attempt to influence Audrey, Leonard’s ignorance of past gatherings, and Alice’s claim that the Evernight Goddess was her Blessed, before Alice asked Fors to write her biography and holy scripture.

• Alger proposed disguising the operation against the Sanguine with bounty hunters, misleading actions, hypnosis, and Alice’s Anti-Divination, and Emlyn agreed to share the spoils with her.
• Audrey revealed that Hervin Lambeth had tried to influence her observations of nobles, and Alger judged that the Psychology Alchemists’ Council member had acted cautiously because Audrey’s political influence was limited.
• Alice reproached Klein for never telling Leonard about earlier Tarot Club gatherings, so Klein promised to explain them to Leonard later.
• Alice told Leonard that the Evernight Goddess was her Blessed, and Leonard admitted that someone had called Alice the Goddess’s illegitimate daughter.
• Alice explained that her delayed advancement suited a protagonist’s life-or-death trials, then asked Fors to write her biography and holy scripture.

At the Tarot Club, Alice and Alger explained how powerful beings and institutions influenced society, while Klein introduced the separation of powers. Audrey received advice on handling Hervin Lambeth, and Klein asked Cattleya to arrange a meeting with the Queen of Mystery.

• Fors struggled to write Alice’s biography as a holy scripture, and Alice hinted that she would rather write about her conversations with Klein.
• Alice warned Audrey that the Psychology Alchemists could not control world events independently of powerful figures like Adam and the Seven Deities, and Alger explained how organizations guided people through power and belief.
• Alice asked whether noble young ladies learned about separation of powers, and Klein explained how legislative, executive, and judicial authority could restrict royal power.
• Alger advised Audrey to maneuver around Hervin Lambeth, protect core secrets, and seek useful formulas or materials; World suggested that Lambeth’s eventual death would not implicate her.
• Alice teased Leonard about thinking he was the protagonist of the era, while Emlyn privately concluded that he himself was the Sanguine’s savior.
• Klein asked Cattleya to tell the Queen of Mystery that he wanted to meet with her, and said Alice might come along.