Recaps

Leonard asked Pallez about a Great Existence called Paradox, but Pallez knew nothing definite. Sno then brought them a demigod from the Jacob family and offered news in exchange for help with Jacob’s treasure, leaving Pallez to wait until he had digested the demigod before opening it.

• Leonard asked Pallez whether he knew of Paradox, and Pallez said no known Great Existence had used that name since the Fourth Epoch.
• Sno arrived at Leonard’s house with an amber containing a demigod from the Jacob family, whom he said had been searching for Jacob’s ancestor’s treasure and a Destiny Trojan Horse characteristic.
• Pallez agreed to Sno’s offer of two pieces of news in exchange for the demigod, despite Leonard’s surprise.
• Sno revealed that Ammon had eaten Jacob’s ancestor and left the treasure as bait, but said its contents were real and offered Leonard everything except the Destiny Trojan Horse characteristic.
• Sno said Mobet Zoroaster was in his hands, and explained that Mobet had been trapped in an ancient artifact before recently being released.
• Pallez agreed to help Sno open the treasure after digesting the demigod, but declined to write to Mobet because it would make Mobet suspect Sno was Ammon.

Klein divined that Friday’s operation against Mr. X carried acceptable danger, then heard Mr. Devil’s prayer while winding Ziwei Above the Gray Fog. Derrick received the Rebellious Greatsword, assessed its powers and risks, and went to sleep eager to test it in the morning.

• Klein used Ziwei to divine the danger of assassinating Mr. X and received the result “Moderately auspicious.”
• Klein began winding Ziwei Above the Gray Fog and heard a prayer from Mr. Devil.
• Derrick received the Rebellious Greatsword through the Gate of Light and read Mr. Sno’s translated manual about its abilities and side effects.
• Derrick judged that he could manage the sword’s risks and tested its physical enhancement by lifting it.
• Derrick suppressed his urge to try Devil Transformation at night, hugged the greatsword, and went to sleep.

Sno returned to the Ghost Empire after adventurers flooded the Northern Sea in pursuit of its treasures. The rules she had secretly planted were triggered earlier than expected, so she went to investigate whether the Lord of Order characteristic had reacted.

• Rumors that the Ghost Empire and its treasure were real drew adventurers and pirates from Bayram toward the Northern Sea.
• Sno appeared aboard the Black Pearl with two lucky pirates, and the vows and laws binding her vanished when she landed.
• Sno saw that Netip Town had rapidly grown as adventurers arrived and obeyed the rules posted at its entrance.
• Sno transformed back into Integra and headed toward the western woods to inspect the Ghost Empire after her planted rules were triggered ahead of schedule.

Adventurers and merchants built an operation around exploring the Ghost Empire, while Novat’s group used their purchases to map its interior. Intruder Belmont’s arrival and a fatal confrontation were stopped by Prince of Sounia Grove Augustus, who imposed a ban on violence.

• Adventurers gathered at the Ghost Empire’s western entrance, and merchants began buying their loot and supplying their expeditions.
• Novat and Cons discussed MI9’s map of the ship and planned to wait for Prince of Sounia before raiding its important compartments.
• Intruder Belmont entered MI9’s tent, examined their map, and answered Novat’s question about the Sanguine.
• Intruder shot and killed a man after claiming her spiritual intuition warned that he would attack her, provoking the other MI9 members.
• Grove Augustus appeared and declared that violence was forbidden, restraining everyone in the tent.

Integra approached Grov and proposed joining MI9’s exploration of the Ghost Empire, offering cooperation instead of a conflict. Grov accepted and agreed to a contract, while Loen’s leaders saw the Lord of Order as a chance to create another god.

• Integra restrained Lily under the Chaos Hunter’s decree and told Grov she had come to retrieve something important.
• Grov questioned Integra, verified that she was telling the truth, and kept his guard up despite easing tensions.
• Integra proposed joint exploration with the Sanguine, but Grov rejected that broader cooperation because of distrust between the factions.
• Integra asked to join MI9’s team, and Grov accepted because she was traveling alone and posed a manageable risk.
• Integra and Grov agreed to sign a contract before exploring for the Lord of Order and the Life-Giver.
• Grov recognized that the Ghost Empire’s Lord of Order characteristic could let Loen pursue godhood and potentially gain two true gods.

Grov and Integra led MI9 through the Ghost Empire's labyrinth, where they found increasingly valuable materials and noticed the ship offered surprisingly little resistance. Integra suspected the Ghost Empire might not be merely a living ship and used Calling Deer a Horse to test a theory, leaving Grov wary of her sudden behavior.

• Grov ordered MI9 to gather spoils and find lighting fixtures after his power cleared Monsters from their path.
• Integra examined the recovered materials and noted that their quality had improved as the team followed Novat's map.
• Grov explained that the Ghost Empire's changing rooms reflected the ship's own rules rather than human needs, and he avoided killing Monsters unnecessarily.
• Grov and Integra noticed the Monsters were unusually evenly matched and that the Ghost Empire seemed to offer little resistance to explorers.
• Integra suspected the Ghost Empire might not be merely a living ship, used Calling Deer a Horse on herself, and told Grov she had found a small problem.

Integra and Grov led MI9 through the Ghost Ship maze and discussed the possibility that the Ghost Empire was a trap. When they reached a bronze door that Integra identified as a source of the greatest terror to the Arbitrator Pathway, Grov invoked the First Law.

• Integra told Grov that the Ghost Empire might be a trap, and he asked her to explain her suspicion.
• Integra argued that the maze was too easy to explore and questioned whether Grov had brought any Sealed Artifacts from the Sun Pathway.
• Grov protected the MI9 group as they continued through the maze without losses.
• Novat identified a bronze door as the entrance to the captain's cabin.
• Integra froze before the door and said that it held the greatest terror for the Arbitrator Pathway.
• Grov drew a bronze talisman and invoked the First Law.

Grov and MI9 entered the Ghost Empire’s captain’s cabin to find a golden pool and a towering scale, which triggered deadly defenses. As Grov led the team in destroying the golden pipes, Integra stayed behind and shot at a golden Monster while trusting her chosen Timeline.

• Grov used the First Law to create an intricate Order Domain as he and the others approached the cabin doors.
• Integra opened the doors, revealing a golden pool, a network of pipes, and a giant scale that Grov recognized as their target.
• Grov’s attack triggered the cabin’s defenses, and he used the Crown of Thorns to protect the team and ordered MI9 to cut the golden pipes.
• The brass doors slammed shut, and golden Monsters crawled from the pool in a number greater than the MI9 members.
• Integra stayed apart from the group, drew her pistols, confirmed the Monster’s point in time, and fired.

Integra learned to identify which golden slime monsters existed on the true Timeline while Grov and the MI9 rookies destroyed the pipes feeding the chamber’s lake. After Grov’s attempt to strike the scales was interrupted, Integra warned him that the scales were not the Ghost Ship’s true core and that destroying them would bring consequences.

• Integra refined her ability to distinguish the real slime monsters from those on other timelines and shot only the real ones.
• Grov accelerated his spiral path to destroy the floor pipes while the MI9 rookies fought the slime monsters, leaving two dead and seven severely injured.
• The pipes’ destruction drained the golden lake, and Grov used a talisman to open a brief crack in the scales’ balance authority before throwing his spear.
• Integra shot the spear’s tip, slowing it long enough for the scales to spread its force among everyone in the room.
• Integra told Grov that the scales were not the Ghost Ship’s core and warned him not to destroy them.

Integra warned Grov that the scales were dangerous, but he ignored her and took them, allowing them to invade his body and transform him. As the chamber’s order domain began to collapse, Integra gathered the surviving MI9 members near her and waited for the Ghost Empire’s core to emerge.

• Grov realized that the chamber’s Justiciar-like design had influenced him into mistaking the scales for the Ghost Empire’s core.
• After Integra warned him, Grov told her to leave the scales alone, then reached for them when she stepped back.
• The scales drilled into Grov, whose talisman failed to stop the golden order from shattering his domain and injuring the MI9 members.
• Golden light from the damaged pipes dissolved the fallen members’ corpses and gathered liquid in the lake.
• Cons and Novat led the surviving MI9 members to Integra, who watched Grov transform into a brass-like, human-shaped set of scales as cracks spread across the chamber.

Integra revealed that Trunsoest had imprisoned himself aboard the Ghost Empire as an evil spirit and arranged the chamber to hide his revival plan. She wanted him to revive so she could claim the Lord of Order characteristics, and the chapter ended as she explained that the cage itself held those characteristics.

• Grov transformed into a scale, and the golden liquid formed a humanlike figure that spoke as Trunsoest.
• Integra explained that the chamber’s conspicuous scale, Blood Pool, and pipes were distractions, and that Trunsoest had judged himself and taken the form of a prisoner evil spirit.
• Trunsoest asked why Integra had not stopped Grov, and she said she wanted Trunsoest to revive despite expecting him to spare no one.
• Integra revealed that she intended to take the Lord of Order characteristics after Trunsoest revived.
• Integra deduced that the Blood Pool created anchors and a revival body, the scale maintained order and served as a trap, and the cage contained the Lord of Order.

Integra confronted the Night Emperor as his prison scheme neared completion, then helped Ammon steal the Sequence One characteristic. The chapter ended with the Night Emperor recognizing that Integra’s thrown monocle was part of another plot, just before an explosion.

• The Night Emperor explained how his rules trapped powerful beings and drew Inquisitor Pathway Beyonders toward the room, while Integra and Lily challenged his plan.
• Integra refused the Night Emperor’s offer and avoided provoking an attack by pointing out that fighting in prison would bring punishment.
• When the lightning patterns shattered, the Night Emperor reached for the brass-colored characteristic, but Ammon’s monocle appeared on Integra and redirected it.
• The Night Emperor invoked the rule against theft, while Integra used Provocation to exploit his evil spirit’s unstable personality.
• The Night Emperor deprived Integra of her Marauder powers, and she threw the monocle at him; he realized it was not a bribe just before it exploded.

Integra used a series of attacks and threats to force the Night Emperor’s evil spirit into a negotiation over the Lord of Order and Life-Giver characteristics. The Night Emperor recognized that Amon had maneuvered him into having little choice and finally conceded.

• Sno’s First Bomb and Integra’s gunfire distracted the Night Emperor, but his attacks barely affected the evil spirit.
• Integra switched targets, attacked Prince Grove’s golden scales, and used Fleeting Moment and Divine Profanity to disorient the Night Emperor.
• The Night Emperor unleashed laws against Integra, but she slowed them and pressed her Spirit-Flesh Blade against the scales, threatening to destroy them.
• Integra demanded the Lord of Order and Life-Giver characteristics, arguing that the Night Emperor could reclaim them later and had no way to trust her anyway.
• The Night Emperor understood that Amon had anticipated his resurrection and concluded he had no real alternative, then conceded.

Integra rescued the surviving MI9 members from the Ghost Empire and brought them to the Gargas Archipelago, where Sno began advancing to Karl Dragon aboard the Golden Dream. Sno survived the transformation by anchoring his existence to a fictional ancestor and choosing his true self among countless Timelines, but a brief glimpse of White Mist left a shadow over him.

• Integra left the Ghost Empire with the Lord of Order and Life-Giver characteristics after reshaping Prince Grove's body and helping the surviving MI9 members escape.
• Integra warned Novat and the other survivors to return to Backlund with their families' support, then took them to the Gargas Archipelago.
• Sno quietly prepared and drank the Silent Disciple potion aboard the Golden Dream after praying to the True Creator.
• As Sno's existence began to disappear, his consciousness merged with a fictional ancestor sleeping in a Cocoon of Light, allowing him to survive the transformation.
• Sno found his true self among versions across countless Timelines and completed his advancement to Karl Dragon.
• Sno briefly glimpsed White Mist and received a flood of knowledge that nearly overwhelmed his sanity.

After advancing to Sequence Three, Sno examined the Paradox Pathway’s abilities and learned that its characteristics had been sacrificed during the potion transformation. He discovered that his new side effect could make him vanish if he doubted his own existence, and steadied himself before it could happen.

• Sno reasoned that the characteristics used as supplementary ingredients had been sacrificed and would not remain among the characteristics he left behind if he died.
• Sno assessed his mental state, found it healthy, and turned his attention to his Sequence Three abilities as Karl Dragon.
• Sno reviewed his abilities, including Calling Deer a Horse, Within Reach, Yet Miles Apart, and Plum Replaces Peach, along with Three People Make a Tiger.
• Sno realized that Three People Make a Tiger had created a Perrdax ancestor who was advancing to Scholar of Yore and could serve as a vessel for his consciousness.
• Sno learned that fabricating an existence that truly existed could let the original descend upon the fake, then sensed his body vanishing when he questioned whether he existed.
• Sno understood the side effect’s trap and firmly steadied his mind to stop himself from disappearing.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Klein read Roselle’s final diary pages and learned his warnings about transmigrators, pathways, and the moon. Perrdax’s diary began with a bizarre account of a mechanical double, then suggested Roselle had chosen death to escape something.

• Klein summoned the Tarot Club and was surprised by the spirituality required to bring Mr. Devil to the gathering.
• Madam Hermit and Mr. Devil submitted three pages of Roselle’s Diary, and Klein read Roselle’s statement that his mausoleums were complete and there was no turning back.
• Klein read Queen Mystic’s note and Roselle’s final message warning a fellow transmigrator to choose a pathway carefully and beware of the moon.
• Klein read Perrdax’s account of using Spirit Pile-up Spirit Channeling on a mechanical double after a demigod of the All-Knowing Pathway brushed him off.
• Klein saw Perrdax’s conclusion that Roselle had chosen death himself and wondered whether Roselle had used the Black Emperor’s resurrection ability to escape corruption or madness.

Klein read Senior Perrdax's account of Roselle's dangerous mausoleum and heard Cattleya ask whether the Emperor could be revived. At the Tarot Club meeting, Miss Magician offered to rent Lemann's Travel Notes, and Sno revealed he had obtained a Sequence Two Life-Giver characteristic and invited Mr. Moon's elders to negotiate.

• Klein read Senior Perrdax's warning that Roselle's mausoleum was on a dangerous island and that only someone who had become an Angel should attempt to revive him.
• Cattleya asked whether Emperor Roselle might still be alive, and Klein answered that he was dead but could perhaps be revived.
• Miss Magician offered to rent Lemann's Travel Notes for three hundred pounds per use, with added fees for longer rentals and a requirement to record more Beyonder Abilities.
• Sno announced that he had acquired a Sequence Two Life-Giver characteristic and invited Mr. Moon's elders to offer a reasonable price for it.
• Emlyn asked about the Sanguine and the Ghost Empire's inheritance, and Sno said the matter had been resolved before the Sanguine could act while MI9 suffered heavy losses.
• Sno told Emlyn that interested elders could send a meeting address to 72 Williams Street, Backlund.

Emlyn won the Sanguine’s hunting competition and told Nabeus that Sno was offering to trade a Life-Giver Characteristic. Meanwhile, Sno arranged to make three charms for Bernadette, then suddenly lifted her veil to collect his payment.

• Emlyn killed two Artificial Vampires who believed in the Moon, then went with Emily to the Audra Family villa.
• Cosmi announced that Emlyn had won the hunting competition, earning a place on the Viscount advancement list, ritual assistance, and a ring, along with three thousand pounds for the two Beyonder Characteristics.
• Emlyn told Nabeus that someone had a Life-Giver Characteristic to trade and gave him Sno’s contact address.
• Sno accepted a Worm of Time-like material from Bernadette and promised to deliver three charms the following night.
• Sno appeared in front of Bernadette, lifted her veil, and lowered his head to collect his payment.

Sno performed a careful ritual to create three Ship of Theseus charms using Paradox’s power. He then considered how his unstable sense of existence could endanger his future Sequence Two advancement, which required him to appear to die before a huge crowd.

• After Bernadette vanished from the restaurant, Sno returned home and began preparing a complex ritual.
• Sno invoked Paradox and used mercury and Bornova’s Spirituality Material to create three charms engraved with an eye and a sailboat.
• Sno finished the ritual and meditated to strengthen his awareness that his own existence was real.
• Sno recognized that the Sequence Two ritual required him to die under the gaze of many spectators, and that their belief could make his apparent death real.
• Sno concluded that he would need his own perception of being alive to overcome the beliefs of at least one hundred thousand ordinary spectators.

Sno negotiated with Nabeus for Sanguine support if Lenburg’s war against Intis led to Trier’s fall, hoping to restrain the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun while he pursued a Sequence One opportunity. Nabeus agreed to a personal arrangement involving his descendants, and Sno offered the Sequence Two characteristic under the Evernight Goddess’s witness.

• Sno met Nabeus in a coffee shop and rejected the Sanguine’s offer of a Sequence Two Sealed Artifact because he already had the characteristic.
• Sno explained that he wanted Nabeus’s descendants to tie down the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun if Lenburg defeated Intis and reached Trier, in exchange for a Sequence Three characteristic or Sealed Artifact.
• Nabeus questioned how Lenburg could defeat Intis, and Sno cited Intis’s republican system and the Iron and Blood Cross Order.
• Nabeus agreed to a personal promise that would involve only his descendants, not the entire Sanguine race.
• Sno revealed a Sequence Two characteristic and an emblem of the Evernight Goddess, requiring Nabeus to sign a contract under a true God’s witness before taking it.

Sno assessed how Intis’s arrogance and political divisions would lead to defeat, then arranged with Nabeus to draw the Sanguine into the conflict. He wrote Mr. A instructions to shape public opinion against the ruling class and sent an Unshadowed formula, while considering Nabeus’s strength and readiness to advance.

• Sno reasoned that Intis’s republican rulers would distrust the Solen Family and that its churches and hidden allies would not give it decisive support against Lenburg.
• Sno concluded that a war and the resulting unrest would create an opening for the Worker’s Movement, and that involving Nabeus and the Sanguine was worth the cost of a Sequence Two characteristic.
• Sno wrote Mr. A that they should spread the impression that powerful countries were hollowed out by their elites, and included an Unshadowed formula.
• Sno summoned Duoduo and sent the letter to Mr. A, asking whether it remembered the crazy beauty from Intis.
• Sno considered Nabeus’s standing among the Sanguine and concluded that the veteran High Summoner was likely prepared to advance as soon as he obtained the characteristic.

Klein asked Arrodes how to disguise himself as one of the corrupted guards behind the Chanis Gate and learned he would need to sacrifice a marionette to the Sealed Core’s corruption. Meanwhile, Earl Hall moved Audrey’s return to Backlund forward, and Emlyn won the Sanguine Hunting Competition.

• Klein summoned Arrodes, which advised him to corrupt a marionette until it matched the internal guards and then contain it within his body.
• Arrodes showed Klein images of Bernadette and Mr. Devil as possible sources of help, explaining that it used a sketch of Mr. Devil because he could detect its observation and retaliate.
• Klein considered Senior Perrdax’s message and Mr. Devil’s abilities, then decided to ask Mr. Devil for help after Mr. Hanged Man explored the primitive island.
• Earl Hall told Audrey that the changed situation on the continent meant they had to return to Backlund immediately, and Audrey guessed the tensions involving Feynapotter, Intis, Lenburg, and Feysac were connected.
• Baron Cosmi announced that Emlyn White had won the Hunting Competition after hunting three targets, while Emlyn silently celebrated his victory.

Klein arranged for Alger to meet him and Sno in Bayram, then the three traveled through a portal to a primitive island. The chapter ended with a discussion of the political and military realities of the Fifth Epoch.

• Klein received Alger’s message from Bayram and arranged a midnight meeting at the cemetery.
• Alger found that Gehrman Sparrow’s earlier destruction had changed the terrain outside Bayram before Sno introduced himself as the Devil.
• Gehrman and Sno traded barbs, leaving Alger feeling out of place among their powerful, familiar partnership.
• Sno opened a portal to the primitive island, and the three traveled through it to the edge of a forest.
• The narration challenged claims about national alliances and explained that ordinary armies remained the main force in Fifth Epoch wars.

Sno separated from Alger and Klein in the Black Forest, then sought out Adam to request Divine Child Adam’s blood. When Adam did not answer, Sno explored alone and killed a demigod-level Lady Spider, planning to search for a Lamia’s heart next.

• Sno gave Alger his honorific name and told him and Klein to call for help if they encountered danger, then vanished to take another route.
• Alger recognized that Sno had likely advanced to Saint, while Klein considered what Sno’s honorific name revealed about his identities and its risks.
• Sno called out to Adam and asked for Divine Child Adam’s blood, but received no response and began exploring the Black Forest.
• Fist-sized spiders attacked Sno and spread a disease, which he countered with Sun Domain power before disrupting the surrounding spiritual structure with his Chaos Aura.
• A demigod-level Lady Spider attacked Sno, but he appeared behind her, pierced her heart, and killed her with a curse.
• Sno noted that Lady Spider’s egg sac could serve as a main material for Demoness of Despair and set out to look for a Lamia’s heart.

Sno killed a Medusa and found that his potion acting still limited his advancement, while Klein and Alger discovered a painting depicting Kings of Angels devouring the Ancient Sun God. Their discussion was interrupted when three corpses rose from their coffins.

• Sno secretly transformed Medusa into a sheep, killed her, and collected the Beyonder Characteristic she precipitated.
• Sno reflected that his Silent Disciple potion required more acting and searched the ruins for a demigod-level Feathered Serpent.
• Klein and Alger entered the Underground Burial Hall and saw a painting of three Kings of Angels devouring the Ancient Sun God.
• Klein told Alger that the Eternal Blazing Sun had close ties with the White Angel, leading Alger to treat the painting as proof that the figures were Kings of Angels.
• Three twisted corpses burst from their coffins and rose before Klein and Alger.