Chapter Summaries

Li Miao examined Nameless Road Builder’s drops and learned from his Road Construction Record why the Pebble Road existed and how its builder had changed over time. The record ended with Nameless Road Builder doubting his past choices after fear and isolation led him to use a dead attacker’s body as road material.

• Li Miao examined Nameless Road Builder’s golden goblet and handed it to Landfall.
• Li Miao read the Road Construction Record, which revealed that Nameless Road Builder had contracted with the Road-Building Spider Mother to build a road in exchange for transcendence and a chance to revive Mo Yi.
• Nameless Road Builder initially refused to kill travelers and instead sought their devout blessings to build the road.
• The record showed that isolation and repeated encounters with suspicious or hostile travelers made Nameless Road Builder increasingly distrustful.
• After surviving an attack, Nameless Road Builder considered using his attacker’s corpse, and the road changed color and advanced much farther.

Li Miao finished reading the Nameless Road Builder’s record and wondered whether the Long Night Kindling had tested the man’s humanity. He found the Road-Building Spider Mother, refused its offer to build a road, then brought Landfall forward to face its question.

• Li Miao concluded that the Nameless Road Builder’s ambitions and isolation had gradually driven him to abandon his principles, and suspected the Long Night Kindling had arranged the trials to test human nature.
• Li Miao considered whether the Nameless Road Builder could truly die, then questioned the Long Night Kindling’s purpose in creating the strange domain and its rules.
• Landfall drew Li Miao’s attention, and Li Miao gave him the record and the Obsession Golden Goblet before approaching the Road-Building Spider Mother.
• The Road-Building Spider Mother invited Li Miao to build a road, but Li Miao refused, prompting it to tell him to continue onward and seek light within the Long Night.
• Li Miao brought Landfall before the Road-Building Spider Mother, which asked him whether he wanted to build a road.

Li Miao and Landfall failed to make a road-building contract with the Road-Building Spider Mother, then found the Milestone Spirit Candle. In the Nightmare route, Yuanfang encountered a repeating scene of a giant chasing a dwarf, and woke in a ruined house beside a Bonfire, where a mysterious man greeted him.

• Landfall agreed to build roads when the Road-Building Spider Mother asked, but it fell silent and vanished without forming a contract.
• Li Miao and Landfall concluded that the Spider Mother could no longer make that kind of contract or that the Spirit Candle game had a bug, then continued along Hero Aluga's route toward the Milestone Spirit Candle.
• Yuanfang explored the Nightmare route, where Small Nightmares repeatedly revived and followed him, and found that Carlos's Eyes had no effect.
• Yuanfang saw a Nightmare Giant endlessly stomping toward a dwarf who ran in place, and his attempt to call out caused the giant to crush the dwarf.
• The Nightmare scene shattered, and Yuanfang woke beside a Bonfire in a ruined house, where a tall, gaunt man approached and spoke to him.

Yuanfang questioned Pridhan at the Bonfire and learned that Pridhan came from the Fang House of Aethelgard, the Land of Giants. When Pridhan fell asleep, Yuanfang was pulled into another Nightmare and witnessed giants tormenting him.

• Pridhan told Yuanfang that he was trapped in the Nightmare, where he repeatedly fell asleep and endured painful dreams.
• Yuanfang explained his origins, prompting Pridhan to recall the Long Night Kindling and the statue of Long Night, though he could not remember the details.
• Pridhan remembered that he came from the Fang House of Aethelgard, a place known as the Land of Giants, before he fell asleep.
• Yuanfang entered Pridhan's Nightmare and evaded a giant Nightmare Construct that tried to stomp on him.
• Yuanfang saw giants mock and insult Pridhan for his small size, weak body, and interest in learning, while Pridhan silently clutched an object.
• After discovering he could not move beyond a certain distance in the Nightmare, Yuanfang called out to Pridhan and shattered the dream.

Yuanfang followed Pridhan’s memories through the Nightmare of his banishment from Aethelgard and learned that Wei Jia had rescued and taught him. Pridhan woke from the Nightmare and explained that Aethelgard would never allow another race to teach a giant.

• Yuanfang urged Pridhan to remember how he came to be there, and Pridhan recalled being banished from Aethelgard after faltering in battle.
• Yuanfang witnessed Pridhan fall from the giant skull of Aethelgard and land gravely injured, then watched predators gather around him.
• A powerful predator began draining Pridhan until a bright sun appeared and burned it to Ashes.
• Two robed figures found Pridhan, called him Wei Jia, and the Nightmare ended as Pridhan awoke.
• Yuanfang asked Pridhan about Wei Jia, and Pridhan said Wei Jia had saved him and become his teacher and friend.

Yuanfang questioned Pridhan about his past, while Li Miao and Landfall followed player discussions of the new [Eerie Voyage] instance. The players uncovered routes, NPC interactions, and hidden rewards, and Landfall wondered whether the NPCs they had missed would affect the later plot.

• Pridhan told Yuanfang that Wei Jia and Lord Thorne had guided him before he left, but he knew little about them beyond their names and Mithrilos Academy, so Yuanfang asked what happened next.
• Li Miao and Landfall read forum posts in class as players debated the instance's difficulty and shared a map of the five spawn points around the Soul Cleansing Night Pool.
• Players traded advice about the Guiding Clam, the Long Night Idol, and NPCs who offered routes, weapons, monster help, and hidden treasure.
• Landfall regretted that they had missed NPC side quests and treasure, while Li Miao reminded him that they had at least saved Ryan.
• Landfall wondered whether the NPCs missing from their instance would affect the later plot.

Yuanfang explored Pridhan’s memories of the Long Night Era, where a creature from a meteorite killed Pridhan’s companions and left him with deep regret. Pridhan later reached an important location, where a new memory awaited him.

• After his exile from Aethelgard, Pridhan traveled through the Burning Land during the Long Night, determined to grow stronger.
• Pridhan joined companions from different races, but a creature emerging from a meteorite infected and killed them with parasitic spores.
• Yuanfang awakened Pridhan from the nightmare, and Pridhan lamented that he had run instead of protecting his companions.
• Pridhan told Yuanfang that the creature devastated the Burning Land, prompting the Eternal Altar to wage war against it.
• After traveling alone and learning not to flee as readily from danger, Pridhan reached an important location in the Long Night Era.

Pridhan’s nightmare interrupted Yuanfang’s encounter with two Stick Figure Nightmares, revealing that Pridhan’s ability could pull Yuanfang back into the ruined house regardless of distance. Yuanfang realized he had about five minutes to defeat the creatures before Pridhan fell asleep again and considered exploring the path behind them for clues.

• Pridhan woke from a nightmare with severe pain and lost memories, and Yuanfang told him to rest while he investigated the path ahead.
• Yuanfang followed the downhill path through thickening mist and encountered a level-79 Stick Figure Nightmare.
• A second Stick Figure Nightmare attached itself to Yuanfang and replaced his Saint’s Fire Aspect as Nightmare warriors emerged to attack him.
• Pridhan fell asleep, and Yuanfang was pulled back into the ruined house before he could fight the Stick Figure Nightmares.
• Yuanfang noted that five minutes and thirty-seven seconds had passed and wondered whether he could defeat both creatures within Pridhan’s limited waking time.

Li Miao and Landfall returned to the Long Night Domain and reached a bridge guarded by two Torchfire opponents: the Hanging Cold Night Bat and Sleeping Liermi. Liermi called to Antifa, and the bat unleashed a piercing shriek as the pair prepared to fight.

• Li Miao read player arguments about the Ryan incident and the Nameless Road Builder before logging back into the Long Night Domain.
• Li Miao and Landfall continued from the start of a massive stone bridge after passing several harmless Lightless Ones.
• The Hanging Cold Night Bat appeared above the bridge, while Sleeping Liermi rose from a crimson coffin and formed armor around himself.
• Landfall used Long Night's Enlightenment and dismissed Liermi's boastful entrance after seeing his rank and level.
• Liermi called out to Antifa, and the Hanging Cold Night Bat shrieked with immense force.

Li Miao and Landfall fought the fused Hanging Bat Knight, Ermei, in the darkness, relying on teamwork to counter its speed and sonic attacks. After they traded damage and struck it with a meteor, the knight unleashed its ultimate.

• The Hanging Cold Night Bat interrupted Landfall’s spell with a sonic attack, while Li Miao resisted the sound waves with Law Oath.
• Ermei and the Cold Night Bat fused into the Hanging Bat Knight and attacked Li Miao before turning on Landfall.
• Li Miao rushed to help Landfall, and the two coordinated their attacks while adapting to the darkness and the knight’s agility.
• Landfall dropped a meteor on Li Miao and the Hanging Bat Knight while Li Miao held the enemy in place; Li Miao healed himself, and the knight unleashed its ultimate.

Li Miao and Landfall fought the Hanging Bat Knight, adapting to his bat swarm and his ability to consume warfire and heal. Li Miao killed him after his Saint's Fire Aspect faded, and the chapter left them wondering what Ermei had meant by asking them to wait.

• Landfall wounded the Hanging Bat Knight with an enhanced meteor strike, but Ermei escaped as a swarm of bats and launched a sleep-inducing attack.
• Landfall used Become Intangible to evade the bats while he and Li Miao defended against Ermei's Saint's Fire Aspect.
• Ermei ambushed Li Miao and bit his Saint's body, absorbing his warfire, growing stronger, and healing himself.
• Li Miao and Landfall adapted to Ermei's abilities and kept fighting until his Saint's Fire Aspect ended and his stamina fell.
• Li Miao killed Ermei with a Mourning King Extinguishing Spear, and Ermei died before he could finish asking them to wait.

Li Miao and Landfall discovered that Ermei could revive and speak after his defeat, and Ermei explained that he was bound to keep testing those affected by the Long Night Domain. He began recounting the history of the Long Night and his people, leaving his own rebellious attitude toward their worship unexplained.

• Ermei and the Cold Night Bat revived after the Long Night poured power into their corpses, and Ermei spoke with Li Miao and Landfall.
• Ermei temporarily lifted the restrictions of Night Visibility, while Landfall searched in vain for boss drops.
• Ermei said he could not die because the Long Night had blessed him and the disaster had twisted him, and he explained that he continued the trials by his own promise.
• Ermei said the Long Night Kindling, whom he called the Queen, was gone, then began telling Li Miao and Landfall about the Long Night era.
• Ermei described how the Blood Night Human Race revered the Long Night Kindling, while he himself had grown up rejecting his people's rituals and beliefs.

Ermei told Li Miao and Landfall how the Meteorite Chaos nearly destroyed his people, and why he remained in the Long Night Domain after the Long Night Queen saved him. He shared what he knew about the Queen, the Nightmare Kindling, and the Long Slumbering Soul, warning that the treasure might have changed after the disaster.

• Ermei recounted how he became a Fire Offering Envoy and was summoned to fight during the Meteorite Chaos, where aberrant lifeforms threatened to wipe out his bloodline.
• Ermei said the Long Night Queen saved him and his people, so he joined Her trials and became part of the Long Night Domain.
• Ermei explained that the Long Night Queen sometimes spoke with him because he could never leave, and said She had ultimately departed.
• Li Miao asked why the Long Night Domain was created, and Ermei guessed it might have been connected to the Meteorite Chaos.
• Ermei recalled a close friend associated with nightmares visiting the Queen and said the Long Slumbering Soul lay deep in the domain, though it might have changed since the disaster.

Li Miao and Landfall learned about the self-aware Long Slumbering Soul and Hero Aluga from Ermei, who then gave them a token-collecting trial. Ermei closed himself in his coffin to rest, leaving the pair to venture into the darkness for three purple-bat tokens.

• Ermei explained that the Long Slumbering Soul was a self-aware treasure that devoured trial-takers and grew stronger, and recalled someone named Long Dulza who had obtained it.
• Ermei described Hero Aluga as a fool who gave away his reward, escorted another trial-taker out, and later ventured into the depths of the Long Night Domain.
• Ermei stopped Li Miao’s questions and told him and Landfall to find three tokens marked with purple bats in exchange for rewards.
• Ermei fell back into his coffin and shut the lid, while Li Miao realized he had forgotten to ask about the Cold Night Bat.
• Li Miao and Landfall discussed how the Long Night Domain still followed rules, and Landfall wondered whether the Long Night Queen was the final boss.

Yuanfang used Pridhan’s Nightmare to investigate a strange crystal and received a hint that Nightmares could serve as a bridge of escape. The chapter ended as Yuanfang confronted a group of newly manifested Nightmares on the broken bridge.

• Yuanfang explored the cliffs around the ruined house and found a black crystal called [Traction of Rejection] beyond the broken bridge.
• Yuanfang gave the crystal to Pridhan, whose next Nightmare summoned a Long Night priest who said that Nightmares could be cages or bridges of escape.
• Yuanfang explained the priest’s message to Pridhan and decided they should explore together, starting at the broken bridge.
• Pridhan fell asleep at the bridge, and his Nightmare transformed the surroundings and summoned a group of ominous Nightmares.
• Yuanfang attacked the summoned Nightmares with a spellblade streak.

Yuanfang fought through the Twisted Nightmares on a bridge in Pridhan’s nightmare, and found that defeating them extended the bridge in the waking world. Elsewhere, Li Miao and Landfall struggled through a maze in the Long Night Domain and chose a path based on Li Miao’s interpretation of the stars overhead.

• Yuanfang defeated the Twisted Nightmares on the bridge and collected their drops while Pridhan slept.
• Yuanfang woke Pridhan and discovered that Pridhan had not become part of the nightmare; after Pridhan woke, the broken bridge had extended.
• Pridhan went back to sleep so Yuanfang could continue deeper into the nightmare, where stronger Twisted Nightmares appeared.
• Li Miao and Landfall navigated a maze of branching corridors in the Long Night Domain, encountering dead ends and Obsidian Rock Monsters.
• Li Miao read the star pattern overhead as a staff pointing toward the second path on the left, and Landfall reluctantly followed him.

Li Miao and Landfall reached a peaceful oasis in the Long Night Domain, then returned to search the cave’s other paths. Li Miao found an Ermei’s Token and an unusual scale behind an illusion, while Landfall realized he had missed hidden routes and took out his frustration on himself.

• Li Miao and Landfall emerged from the mountain caves into the Oasis of the Long Night, where they learned attacks would be punished.
• Landfall persuaded Li Miao to return and explore the remaining cave paths before they rested.
• Landfall found only a Camouflage Leaf, while Li Miao returned excitedly with news of another discovery.
• Li Miao showed Landfall an Ermei’s Token and an Unusually Sturdy Scale found at an ancient altar concealed by an illusion.
• Landfall realized he had failed to use Carlos’s Eye and might have missed other hidden paths, then slapped himself in frustration.
• Li Miao tried to comfort Landfall with backhanded insults, and Landfall recognized the mockery.

Li Miao used the Remembrance Gold Ingot to awaken the creature linked to Ermei’s token, revealing the Ancient Dragon Durzakal’s projection. The projection recognized Li Miao and Landfall as trial-takers and attacked, leaving them to face a formidable fight.

• Li Miao gave Ermei the token, and Ermei explained that a dragon’s scale marked the right to challenge its owner.
• Ermei retrieved a Remembrance Gold Ingot from the Cold Night Bat and told Li Miao to melt it with Warfire onto the scale.
• Li Miao and Landfall returned to the cave, where Li Miao melted the ingot onto the scale and black Long Night enveloped them.
• The Long Night receded, revealing the Ancient Dragon Durzakal’s projection, a level 71 Spirit Combustion creature.
• Durzakal addressed the trial-takers, unleashed a crushing aura, and prepared to fight; Li Miao told Landfall they would fight first.

Li Miao and Landfall fought the Ancient Dragon Projection, struggling against its repulsion field, meteor shower, and Dragon Scale Living Servants. Just as they began gaining the upper hand and Li Miao reached for the Saint's Fire Pot, the projection recalled its servants and ended the battle’s current phase.

• Li Miao and Landfall attacked the Ancient Dragon Projection, but its repulsion field stopped their strikes and spells.
• The projection summoned a Long Night meteor shower, forcing Li Miao to shield Landfall while Landfall raised a magical barrier.
• The projection split its body into Dragon Scale Living Servants, which attacked the pair as they tried to break through its defenses.
• Li Miao and Landfall gradually killed the servants and gained ground, though the projection could devour them to recover.
• As Li Miao reached for the Saint's Fire Pot, the Ancient Dragon Projection sucked the remaining servants back into itself and said that was enough.

Li Miao and Landfall stopped fighting the Ancient Dragon Projection, Lanluoto, and learned that it had been sent by its main body, Durzakal, to guard the Long Night Domain. Lanluoto asked them to bring news of Durzakal, whose fate remained unknown after their connection was severed.

• Lanluoto stopped the battle and invited Li Miao and Landfall to sit and talk.
• Lanluoto asked the two to look at the night sky, then offered to answer three questions.
• Li Miao’s first question about the Extinguishing Moment received a vague answer that Lanluoto counted as one question, then Lanluoto joked that their questions were over.
• Lanluoto revealed that he was teasing them and allowed them to ask two more questions.
• Li Miao asked why Lanluoto was in the Long Night Domain, and Lanluoto explained that Durzakal had entrusted him with guarding the area and gathering combat experience.
• Lanluoto said his connection to Durzakal had been severed and asked Li Miao to bring news of his main body; Li Miao agreed.