Recaps

Leonard was summoned before Mr. Fool, learned that Klein belonged to the regular gathering, and accepted an invitation to join it. He returned to the Church of Evernight with a Star card as Klein watched over Pallez and wondered about Leonard’s unusual feelings toward him.

• Leonard appeared in Mr. Fool’s palace and cautiously asked why he had been summoned.
• Mr. Fool explained that Leonard would eventually provide help in exchange for the aid he had requested.
• Leonard asked whether Klein had come to the palace and learned that Klein was a member of the regular gathering.
• Mr. Fool allowed Leonard to join the gathering and told him to inform Pallez Zoroast rather than conceal it.
• Leonard drew a Star card and returned to the Church of Evernight while Klein monitored Pallez through the Crimson Star.

Leonard joined the Tarot Club as Mr. Star and tried to understand the members while recognizing Klein as Mr. World. Klein reviewed Roselle’s diary entries about his daughter and the Gray Fog before turning to Perrdax’s revelation about Assassin Cat.

• Audrey noticed the new member, and Leonard hurriedly greeted the Tarot Club as Mr. Star.
• Leonard studied the members and suspected that Klein’s cold demeanor was a disguise, while imagining that the True Creator, the Goddess, and Mr. Fool were involved in a larger plan.
• Klein read diary entries about Roselle exploring the Abyss, Bernadette’s second birthday, and Roselle encountering the Gray Fog.
• Klein reflected on Roselle and Perrdax finding a sense of belonging in the world, then focused on Perrdax’s claim that Assassin Cat could become human after advancing to Demoness.

Klein read Perrdax's account of turning a cat into Chocola, a Witch, and considered raising an Assassin Cat himself before deciding the cost was too high. At the Tarot Club meeting, Alger requested the Ocean Songster Potion Formula, and Audrey offered to look for it while Mr. Devil offered demigod-level Sealed Artifacts in exchange for more than a Sequence V formula.

• Klein read Perrdax's Diary describing Chocola's transformation into a Witch and Perrdax's plans to cultivate more cat Beyonders.
• Klein recalled the animal riot in Backlund and considered raising an Assassin Cat, but abandoned the idea because of the expense.
• Klein began the Tarot Club meeting after the Sun held back his news about Elder Lovia's release.
• Alger asked for the Ocean Songster Potion Formula, and Audrey said she would look for it.
• Audrey named a demigod-level Mysterious Item with bearable negative effects as the price, and Mr. Devil offered demigod-level Sealed Artifacts or help making one for labor costs.

At the Tarot Club, Sno offered Cattleya a custom Demigod-level defensive item for two hundred thousand pounds, but she could not afford it. The Little Sun then reported that Elder Lovia had been released, prompting the members to speculate about the Chief’s return and the True Creator.

• Sno quoted Cattleya two hundred thousand pounds for a defensive item made with a Devil characteristic, but she declined because she could not afford it.
• Sno offered to make a cheaper item using a Desire Apostle characteristic for thirty thousand pounds, and Cattleya said she would consider it.
• Cattleya offered to pay Alger five thousand pounds if she found the formula he wanted, and no one else made a request during the trading segment.
• Derrick told the Tarot Club that Elder Lovia had been released and that he had met her in the library.
• Alger asked whether the Chief had returned to the City of Silver, and Derrick confirmed it.
• Fors speculated that the Chief had released Lovia after returning from an expedition seeking a path outside the City of Silver.

The Tarot Club discussed the danger True Creator posed to the City of Silver, then Cattleya asked about Ammon and learned that Adam was the Creator’s other son. The gathering ended with Cattleya asking what the Kings of Angels were.

• The Little Sun worried that True Creator might destroy the City of Silver, and Devil explained that the city was unlikely to be destroyed soon but urged him to learn the Chief’s plans.
• Cattleya asked whether Ammon was the Creator’s son, and she explained that Adam was the other infant born when the original Creator divided Himself.
• Devil said Adam had influenced both the Fourth and Fifth Epochs and warned the club not to speak or record His name because He would notice it.
• The Little Sun asked whether Adam was one of the Kings of Angels, and Devil confirmed that He was while calling His name the safest among forbidden names.
• Cattleya asked Justice to explain what the Kings of Angels were.

At the Tarot Club, Audrey explained what the Kings of Angels were, and Leonard shared news of an encounter with one of Ammon’s avatars at sea. Emlyn learned that the Sanguine had escaped without being parasitized, while Klein wondered whether Leonard had recognized his connection to Gehrman Sparrow.

• Audrey listed the known and suspected Kings of Angels, and Derrick added that speaking certain names was dangerous.
• Cattleya asked about the Blasphemer pathway, and Leonard identified it as the Thief pathway before mentioning his recent encounter with Ammon’s avatar.
• Emlyn revealed that the Sanguine had sought the Ghost Empire’s treasure, and Leonard reported that they had seized Vice Admiral Deep Sea’s Scylla and escaped without Ammon parasitizing them.
• Leonard asked why the Sanguine had begun searching for the Ghost Empire, and Emlyn started explaining the information he had received from Mr. Devil.
• Klein suspected Leonard might have recognized him through the aura shared by Klein and Gehrman Sparrow.

Leonard told Pallez about the King of Angels and investigated suspicious shipwrecks with Soest, while Gehrman continued volunteering in an Oravi hospital. Integra guided the Black Pearl across the sea, apparently using it to lure something in.

• Leonard asked Pallez about Ammon's brother and the True Creator's sanctuary, and Pallez evaded his questions by calling the matter a secret.
• Leonard told Soest and their teammates that the Black Pearl had become a Ghost Ship with Sanguine and Arbiter characteristics, and Soest agreed they needed to investigate further in Pritz Harbor.
• Gehrman continued helping injured people in an Oravi hospital and answered a patient's teasing question about women visiting him.
• Integra played Binks's Beautiful Wine aboard the Black Pearl while Helene explained its connection to Emperor Roselle and Lily ate the ship's catch.
• Integra said the bait had already been laid and continued guiding the Black Pearl as she waited for a fish to take it.

Earnest Boyar revealed that the Sanguine and MI9 had joined forces to find the Ghost Empire, drawing the Churches into their plan. The factions faced the choice of cooperating for a share of the rewards or becoming Blood Servants.

• Earnest Boyar told the Storm Church, Steam Church, and MI9 representatives that the Sanguine had the upper hand and asked them to question MI9 about their goals.
• The Mandated Punisher deacon connected the search to Jack Trensost's disappearance and the missing squad and Sealed Artifacts, identifying the Ghost Empire as their target.
• MI9's leader explained that the Ghost Empire required skilled Seafarers, Artisans, and law enforcers to explore and operate aboard it.
• Earnest revealed that his Sealed Artifact Oath carried Lord Nabeus's Contract creature and offered to split the gains, threatening to make dissenters Blood Servants.
• The Storm Church Spectator deacon concluded that MI9 and the Sanguine had already reached an agreement.

The factions aboard the Scylla maintained a wary truce while the Machinery Hivemind used a compass to track Ghost Ships. The compass locked onto multiple targets, and David was asked to navigate toward one, but he pointed out that they needed to return to the surface first.

• The Storm Church and Machinery Church teams continued cooperating while MI9 and the Sanguine remained wary of each other.
• A Machinery Hivemind member explained why the Scylla could not use the Sanguine’s method for tracking Ghost Ships, then argued with the others over it.
• Earnest asked the Machinery Hivemind deacon why the directional compass was shaking, and the deacon said it had detected more than one target.
• Earnest assured the deacon that his oath could sense Sanguine servants, so the deacon adjusted the compass to filter out distant interference.
• The irritable Spectator summoned David to navigate toward the compass’s target, but David said they would need to return to the surface first.

After nearly a month of sailing in circles, the Scylla finally found the Angel-class Ghost Ship they had been pursuing. As the crew drew near, Jones’s receiver picked up Roselle’s “Sunia Pirate.”

• The factions aboard the Scylla grew restless during the slow voyage, but kept watch on one another rather than risk stopping or speeding up.
• Jones teased David about the ship’s route while playing a Robot fighting game, and the Machinery Hivemind deacon questioned whether their compass was working.
• The compass began shaking, and David alerted the crew that the target was close; the Blood Servants reflexively prepared to board before returning to their posts.
• Earnest and Mr. Spectator exchanged wary remarks about the Blood Servants and the Angel-class Ghost Ship as David and Marshall increased the Scylla’s speed.
• The crew spotted a bone-white mast and black skull flag, and Jones’s receiver began playing Roselle’s “Sunia Pirate.”

Integra revealed herself aboard the Scylla’s pursuing fleet after the living Black Pearl drew everyone’s attention. She identified herself as an adventurer seeking treasure, leaving the factions wary as the chase continued.

• Helene spotted the Scylla entering firing range, and Integra played the piano to accelerate the living Black Pearl while leading the pursuers around.
• A Machinery Hivemind lookout reported that the ship moved like a living creature, and Earnest linked it to the Life-Giver and the Ghost Empire.
• The Black Pearl changed its song, prompting Earnest to order the fleet to prepare for battle.
• Russ recognized Integra aboard the Scylla, and Bruce suffered pain when he tried to read her mind.
• Integra introduced herself as Integra Belmont and said she was an adventurer who wanted any treasure she could find.

The Beyonders grew wary after learning Integra and her maids had secretly lived aboard their ship for a month, while the Black Pearl began to sail away. Integra played Rochard’s music on a piano, causing the Black Pearl to slow down and harmonize with her, and she declared that she would claim the ship.

• The Beyonders considered whether Integra had leaked information about the Ghost Empire or Black Pearl, but MI9 came under surveillance as the factions avoided sending reports.
• David spotted the Black Pearl accelerating away, and the leaders refused to pursue it for fear of another Maryvis incident.
• Fran and the others discussed the Black Pearl’s strange fondness for Roselle’s music, and Cons suggested playing piano to attract it.
• Integra appeared with a piano and played Rochard’s Fourth Impromptu, prompting the Black Pearl to slow down.
• Integra declared the Black Pearl belonged to her, then changed melodies, and the distant ship began harmonizing with her.

Integra used her piano playing and demigod pressure to bring the Black Pearl alongside the Scylla, then led the other factions aboard the flesh-and-bone ship. She played the piano at its bow while the others began searching the cabins for the ship’s core.

• Integra and the Black Pearl’s piano matched each other’s improvised key changes as the ships drew closer.
• Integra warned the MI9 personnel not to interrupt the music, and her released pressure left them stunned and suffocating.
• The Black Pearl formed a bone-white bridge to the Scylla, and Integra boarded with her maids as Earnest left half the Blood Servants behind.
• The factions followed the sound of music to a grotesque piano at the Black Pearl’s bow, where Integra began playing alongside it.
• Bruce urged Fran to search for the ship’s core, and Fran led two archaeologists toward the cabins as Novat and Earnest sent searchers after them.

Integra guided the Black Pearl toward the Ghost Empire while the Sanguine and MI9 agents worried about the ship’s dangerous mental influence. As the scouts prepared to set out, Helene reported progress digesting her potion, and Integra explained how her castle could contain many Beyonder characteristics.

• Integra told Russ that the Black Pearl was taking them toward the mother ship, then played the flesh-and-blood piano to control it.
• Russ returned to the Scylla, where Bruce calmed him after the music’s influence disturbed him.
• Novat revealed that two missing Sealed Artifacts had added Mind Dragon and Bard Pathway characteristics to the Ghost Ship, alarming Flan and Bruce.
• Helene told Integra that setting fires in her heart had helped digest her Pyromaniac potion, while Lily reported a little feedback.
• Integra concluded that the scouts were close to losing control and told her companions to get ready to set off.
• Integra explained that her castle stored characteristics in separate modular areas and could be brought under the True Creator’s control.

Integra led the Black Pearl and the Scylla into the North Sea toward the Ghost Empire, while the surrounding creatures began behaving according to a strange order. After the ships passed through an unseen boundary, Integra experienced an illusion of returning to Backlund.

• Integra confirmed the explorers were ready and set sail toward the Ghost Empire with the Scylla following the Black Pearl.
• David and the others noticed local creatures acting unnaturally, and Earnest suffered a backlash when he tried to control an ordinary Giant Bear of the North Sea.
• David placed the ships in the middle region of the North Sea and suggested they might be nearing the dangerous sea region at the end of the Sunia Sea.
• Integra learned from the Black Pearl that its bloodline attraction was nearby, then listened to Heavenly Punishment as the ship crossed a boundary in the ice-filled sea.
• Integra's vision blurred, and an illusion of returning to Backlund spread through her mind.

As the Scylla entered the Ghost Empire, a strange warm fog erased the crew’s sense of direction and stirred suspicion among the factions. A mysterious sea-monster song then threatened them, and David warned everyone not to listen.

• Novat said the fog meant they had reached their target, while David noted it had disrupted the Seafarers’ sense of direction and could not be cleared by wind or water.
• Earnest compared the fog to the legendary Mirage, but Novat refused to impose a decree because they were inside the Ghost Empire’s order.
• Cosmi mocked the Arbitrator Pathway, and Bruce warned the crew that the fog was making them hostile before using his voice to calm them.
• Cons heard a sound, and Jones tried to amplify it through the Black Pearl’s receiver, causing the equipment to explode.
• Fran confronted David, who explained that he had stopped Jones because the sound was a sea-monster song and warned everyone not to listen.

Integra lowered the protections against the sirens’ song, trusting her abilities to weaken its supernatural influence while she investigated the strange fog. As the Scylla and Black Pearl continued through the fog, Cons crossed onto the bone bridge and heard an unfamiliar voice greet him.

• Integra stopped Helene’s ability and used her powers to weaken the sirens’ song, while wondering whether the fog was connected to the Gray Fog.
• David ordered the Scylla’s sails lowered, and the passengers set up protections against the sirens’ influence.
• Novat sent Cons to inspect the Black Pearl across the bone bridge, and Cons left the Machinery Hivemind’s ritual protection.
• Cons resisted the sirens’ pull as the sensation beneath his feet cleared his mind and made the song seem merely pleasant.
• Cons reached the Black Pearl and heard a voice say that a guest had arrived.

Integra welcomed Cons aboard the Black Pearl, protected him from the sea sirens’ song, and helped him recognize a safe route through the fog. Cons left with a way to guide his colleagues through the sirens’ singing.

• Integra brought Cons to the bow and explained that she had placed a barrier against the sea sirens’ song.
• Integra offered Cons black tea and pastries, but he grew wary of the refreshments and focused on his colleagues’ danger.
• Integra told Cons to listen carefully to the sea sirens’ song as the Black Pearl advanced through the fog.
• Cons distinguished the sirens’ separate voices and identified a winding passage where no source of sound was present.
• Integra confirmed Cons’s discovery and explained that the soundless areas were safer routes through the sirens.

After the Black Pearl left the Scylla, Bruce used his resistance to the sea monsters’ song to guide the Scylla through a dangerous channel. The ship emerged from the fog at an island where Integra’s Ghost Ship had already landed, and Earnest decided they would go ashore.

• Cons told Novat and the others that Integra had severed the connection because the channel was too narrow, then explained how to navigate by listening to the sea monsters’ song.
• Bruce agreed to guide the Scylla and used self-hypnosis to resist the song while the Machinery Hivemind narrowed its noise-reduction range.
• Bruce gave mechanical directions as David and then Marshall steered the Scylla through the channel for sixteen exhausting hours.
• The sea monsters’ song faded and the fog cleared, revealing an island with a towering spire and Integra’s Ghost Ship at the shore.
• Earnest sensed the rhythm of the ruby-like characteristic and announced that they would go ashore.

The group landed on the island after their Blood Servants vanished, then followed their trail through the jungle and found a deadly hunting trap. Novat warned that the island seemed to forbid turning back, leaving the group to face its rules as they continued onward.

• Russ, Cosmi, and Earnest discovered that their Blood Servants had vanished or died after landing on the island, and Bruce led the group ashore.
• Bruce and the others found signs that a large predator had attacked the Blood Servants, including a pool of blood and scattered tracks.
• The group split into four teams as they moved through the forest and discovered a Blood Servant’s corpse in a pit lined with sharpened stakes.
• Cosmi questioned why his Blood Servant had continued onward despite orders to return, and Novat revealed that his spirituality warned him against turning back.

The Beyonders escaped the forest and found farmland and a seemingly empty village on the fogbound island. At the entrance, they met Integra, who reported that the fields used farming methods almost identical to Loen’s, suggesting the village had contact with the outside world or had hosted a knowledgeable Beyonder.

• Earnest examined a dead Blood Servant, and Novat explained how the Judgment domain punished deliberate attempts to turn back or leave.
• The group crossed the forest and discovered wheat fields thriving beneath the island’s crimson moon, where Cons and Fran speculated about who farmed them.
• Earnest led the Beyonders toward the village, but they saw no residents before reaching its entrance.
• The group found Integra waiting with a red-haired maid, and Integra said she had stayed outside overnight in case the town had a rule against going out at night.
• Integra described the fields’ advanced farming methods, and Fran suggested that an All-Knowing Pathway Beyonder of a high Sequence might have visited within the past ten years.

Integra and the Beyonders investigated the town of Netip after a Blood Servant entered without trouble. Their attempt to ask about the town’s taboos ended in the servant’s death, leaving Novat to test another question.

• Integra felt an unexplained tremor within her heart and wondered whether she had begun acting Lorenz Butterfly before taking the potion.
• Earnest sent Russ’s Blood Servant into Netip, where the townspeople ignored him but allowed him to enter.
• Novat had the Blood Servant ask a local about the town, and the local said Netip had about fifty thousand residents and was led by Town Chief Kandi.
• When the Blood Servant asked about the local taboos, the local ran away and the Blood Servant lost his head.
• Integra gave Russ hot cocoa after the mental shock of the Blood Servant’s death, and Novat ordered another Blood Servant to ask about a library or school.

The Beyonders entered Netip cautiously and tested its rules while trying to learn how to leave the island. After more investigators died for using abilities against residents, Cosmi proposed seeking answers from the Town Chief.

• Integra led Lily and Helene toward Netip, then waited outside while the advance party scouted the town.
• Novat exchanged three gold pounds for 270 naer and learned that Miller had died after using an ability to interrogate a villager.
• A Sanguine died after trying to turn a resident into a Blood Servant.
• Cosmi and Russ reported that Netip’s residents, buildings, and shops reflected many eras and suggested that the town had contact with the outside world.
• Cosmi proposed questioning the Town Chief about leaving the island, and Earnest told him to take responsibility for proving his conjecture.

At a Tarot Club meeting, Sno described a dangerous island in the Northern Sea where an Arbitrator’s rules forbade prayer, criminal acts, and leaving. He asked Little Sun to investigate beings connected to order and began commissioning Hermit and Hanged Man, while Klein considered how to help him.

• Justice apologized to Mr. Fool for failing to obtain Roselle's Diary, and Sno explained that his location had kept him from praying.
• Magician asked Sno about her returned manuscript, and he reassured her that she could publish the novel, Dark Dungeon.
• Justice asked whether Sno was at the Ghost Empire, and Sno said he had instead reached an isolated island in the Northern Sea.
• Sno explained that the island's rules prohibited reciting honorific names, committing crimes, and leaving, with attempts to depart resulting in decapitation.
• Little Sun offered to help, and Sno asked him to investigate ancient gods, deities, or Angels associated with order.
• Sno turned to Hermit and Hanged Man to make a commission.

At the Tarot Club, Sno commissioned Madam Hermit and Mr. Hangman to spread information about the Ghost Empire and asked Mr. Fool for a five-minute blessing that could distort rules. After the meeting, Klein began preparing a way to grant Sno the blessing without compromising Mr. Fool’s mystique.

• Sno asked Madam Hermit and Mr. Hangman to spread credible information about the Ghost Empire and lure adventurers to the North Sea.
• Sno offered one Mysterious Item crafting service as a reward, and Madam Hermit and Mr. Hangman accepted the commission.
• Sno asked Mr. Fool to exchange his accumulated merits for a five-minute blessing from a high-level existence capable of distorting rules.
• Mr. Fool agreed that Sno could use an item bearing his holy emblem as a medium for the blessing, and they arranged to meet around six that evening.
• After ending the Tarot Club, Klein considered how to provide the blessing and touched the Crimson Star pointing toward Xio as a test subject.