Recaps

Triss warned Swain that Old Neil had been corrupted by The Hidden Sage and was close to losing control, prompting Swain to summon Dunn Smith. Meanwhile, Sno returned to Backlund after arranging the publication of Phantom Blood and reflected on his house’s proximity to Mr. A’s secret-gathering venue.

• Triss asked Swain about the dwindling crowd at the Dragon Bar, and he recalled her earlier purchase of ingredients.
• Triss told Swain that Old Neil was corrupted by The Hidden Sage and would lose control within a month, then vanished before Swain could seize her.
• Swain ordered Morik to find a patrolling Night Watcher and bring Dunn Smith to the bar.
• Sno finalized the publication of Phantom Blood with the Tussock Newspaper and returned to his house in Backlund.
• Sno noted that Mr. A’s secret-gathering venue stood directly across from his house.

Klein learned that Old Neil was safe but would need treatment, while Sno continued living cautiously in Backlund and prepared for his Tarot Club meeting. At the meeting, Sno presented a diary page that revealed he had obtained the Seer Potion formula, leaving Klein stunned and excited.

• Dunn told Klein that Old Neil had survived and would remain in the cathedral until the Night Watchers could send him to Backlund for treatment.
• Triss was shocked when saving Old Neil had digested far more of her potion than killing civilians had.
• Sno stayed indoors in Backlund, destroyed his contingency plans, and asked Lily to keep watch while he slept.
• Sno attended the Tarot Club and presented a page of Roselle's Diary.
• Klein read Sno's diary entry about obtaining the Seer Potion formula and struggled to maintain Mr. Fool's composure.

At the Tarot Club, Klein read a diary that appeared to belong to another transmigrator and suspected it was connected to Mr. Devil. Sno arranged a delivery with Miss Justice, while Klein’s divination revealed that a family elder of Mr. Devil had mentioned Roselle’s Diary.

• Klein read diary entries about someone gathering Seer Potion ingredients and learning that a Seer’s abilities depended on mystical knowledge.
• Sno declined a reward and explained that Mr. Fool had allowed him to offer sacrifices through prayer, prompting Mr. Hangman to reconsider Mr. Devil’s background.
• Miss Justice offered the materials Mr. Devil needed, and he arranged for them to be buried in the woods in Queen District after five that evening.
• Klein ended the Tarot Club gathering and divined why he thought the diary was connected to Mr. Devil.
• Klein heard that a notebook left by an elder in Mr. Devil’s family had mentioned Roselle’s Diary, and he wondered whether the elder was a transmigrator who came after Roselle.

Audrey sent Susie to bury a package and watch for its recipient, but a black cat named Lily retrieved it and brought it to Sno. Susie reported that the cat felt like a lady, leaving Audrey curious about its nature and pathway.

• Audrey hid a package in Susie's pouch and instructed her to bury it in the woods and watch for whoever collected it.
• Susie buried the package and hid in the bushes, where she saw Lily dig it up and noticed Lily had spotted her.
• Susie fled back to Audrey and reported that a cat had taken the package and seemed like a lady.
• Lily returned to Sno with the Sequence Eight Potion Formula, and Sno praised her, stored the Extraordinary Materials, and promised to bathe her.
• Lily reacted with disgust to Sno's mention of a bath and jumped from his shoulder.

Tingen remained under pressure from Aurora Society fanatics, while Trissy continued feeding dangerous information to the official Beyonders. The Black Cat sent her to investigate Elizabeth and offered to answer questions, but refused to explain how the Acting Method digested potions.

• Aurora Society members poured into Tingen to protect the approaching Evil God Progeny, overwhelming officials with relentless attacks and corruption.
• Trissy used her ability to relay warnings about threats around the city, keeping the official Beyonders busy with investigations.
• The Black Cat contacted Trissy through her mirror and assigned her to find Elizabeth, a student at Yvontes Public School whose family owned an estate in Lamud Town.
• The Black Cat told Trissy to report a haunting to Mr. Moretti if Elizabeth was troubled by a wraith or ghost, or otherwise tell a Seer that the town's ancient castle held clues about his altered fate.
• Trissy asked how the Acting Method digested potions, but the Black Cat said her 1,300-pound allowance was not enough to buy the answer.

Trissy bargained with Black Cat for an explanation of potion digestion and learned that acting disguises a Beyonder’s Mental Imprint to overcome the imprint inside a potion. She suspected the Sorceress Cult wanted her to be assimilated by the Primordial Demoness, but Black Cat cut off their connection before she could ask more.

• Trissy negotiated with Black Cat and paid a thousand pounds for an explanation of potion digestion.
• Black Cat explained that Beyonder Characteristics retain Mental Imprints and that acting lets a Beyonder steal the potion’s power while keeping their own identity.
• Black Cat warned that losing oneself in the act could let the previous owner’s imprint merge with the Beyonder’s spirit, and mentioned that resurrection techniques cost five thousand pounds.
• Trissy connected Black Cat’s explanation to the Sorceress Cult’s plan to make her a vessel for the Primordial Demoness’s descent.
• Trissy realized Black Cat had ended their connection and complained that she still had three hundred pounds’ worth of questions.

Sno digested the Donkey of Buridan potion but still felt a trace of instability, so he went out to practice making decisions and visited Kaspars. Kaspars warned him to stay away from Eisinger Stanton's Beyonder gathering for now, while the chapter ended with speculation about Origin Quality and the protagonist's own Origin Quality.

• Sno finished digesting the Donkey of Buridan potion but felt his spirituality destabilize when he considered two options, so he used a coin to choose breakfast.
• Sno decided to keep acting as Donkey of Buridan, reopened his business, and left Lily behind before traveling in disguise to the Bridge District.
• Sno visited the Brave Man Bar and asked Kaspars about Eisinger Stanton's Beyonder gathering.
• Kaspars said the gathering was still operating but its atmosphere had been strange, and advised Sno to wait until the attention died down.
• Sno accepted Kaspars's warning and agreed to wait before attending the gathering.

At the ninth Tarot Club gathering, Sno tried to secure the Clown Potion Formula for Klein by offering diary pages and potion formulas for trade. Klein read the new diary entries, including a provocative account and speculation about the Primordial One, while the story left his exchange with Sno unresolved.

• Sno worried that Klein lacked a way to obtain the Clown Potion Formula and planned to offer it through the Tarot Club.
• Klein regretted losing access to Sno’s formula and struggled to find a reason to ask him for it as Tingen remained tense.
• At the ninth gathering, Klein introduced The Sun, and Justice and The Sun traded for potion formulas.
• Sno offered a page of Roselle’s diary for a powerful destructive item and proposed selling his batch of potion formulas through the members’ channels.
• Klein read the submitted diary pages and was startled by Roselle’s claim that a Secret Master Association higher-up tasted good.
• The final diary entry proposed that the Primordial One deliberately divided and recombined its powers to reorganize them.

Klein examined Panredax’s diary and learned that the Seer pathway included a Faceless potion and a search for live mermaids, then watched Sno trade low-sequence potion formulas with the Tarot Club. Audrey paid Sno for the name of a Psychology Alchemist Association member who could help her pursue the Spectator pathway.

• Klein read Panredax’s diary, which mentioned The Fool, the half-Sequence Zero Antigonus, the Faceless potion, and the need to find a live mermaid.
• Audrey told the gathering that the proposed public examination and selection of administrative officials had won approval and was expected to be implemented early next year.
• Sno presented potion formulas for the Seer, Assassin, Apothecary, and Lawyer pathways, offering to sell Mid Sequence formulas through suitable channels.
• Audrey asked Sno about obtaining a Spectator Sequence Seven formula, and he advised her to attract the attention of noble Psychology Alchemist Association members.
• Audrey offered Sno one thousand pounds for a member’s identity, and Sno wrote down the name of a former regular customer.

At the Tarot Club, Sno took Alger's commission to find Zilingus in exchange for help investigating disappearances at sea, while Audrey offered to assist. Back in his room, Sno reviewed his schemes and worried that Ince Zangwill still had not acted, so he began preparing to push Mr. Witch into stirring things up.

• Audrey learned that Madam Dairav's younger sister belonged to the Psychology Alchemist Association, and Sno advised her to attract the Association's attention at social gatherings.
• Alger commissioned Sno to find the whereabouts of Zilingus, the pirate known as Admiral Hurricane, and asked Mr. Fool for help from his Follower.
• Sno accepted the commission and asked Alger to investigate disappearances at sea, promising a separate reward even if Zilingus remained unfound.
• Audrey offered to help find Zilingus, and Alger described the pirate and his Mysterious Item, Wriggling Hunger, to the Tarot Club.
• Sno returned to his room, reviewed and burned his notes, sent Lily away, and worried that Ince Zangwill had not yet acted in Tingen.
• Sno began writing a script to persuade Mr. Witch to add fuel to the chaos.

Klein weighed the cost of obtaining the Clown Potion ingredients and cautiously prepared to contact Sno von Pandax, while Audrey planned to approach Viscount Grellint through a social event. Sno sought an introduction to Grellint’s literary circle, and the chapter left his request in Madam Norma’s hands.

• Klein considered how to afford the Clown Potion ingredients and decided he could not report his progress to the Church without raising suspicion.
• Klein went Above the Gray Fog and divined that writing to Sno von Pandax would not be intercepted or attract attention before composing his letter.
• Audrey planned to attend one of Viscount Grellint’s salons or balls, hoping to spread word of her interest in becoming a Psychiatrist and give Xio and Fors a task involving Zilingus.
• Sno visited Madam Norma to examine her dog Hill and asked her to introduce him to Viscount Grellint’s literary circle.

Sno attended Viscount Grellint’s literary salon, where he used his Sequence Seven ability to conceal himself from observation while approaching Fors Wall. After speaking with Fors, he crossed paths with Audrey, whose thoughts became unreadable to Spectators.

• Sno arrived at Viscount Grellint’s salon and mingled with the guests, drawing on his predecessor’s social experience and connections.
• Sno activated his Sequence Seven ability to avoid detection by Spectators and other Beyonders in the banquet hall.
• Sno introduced himself to Fors Wall and praised her novel, then exchanged brief conversation about his serialized story, Phantom Blood.
• Sno left Fors after making a small impression, and Audrey arrived at the salon, attracting the guests’ attention.
• Audrey brushed past Sno, after which Spectators could only perceive the information she wanted them to see.

Sno protected Audrey from the Psychology Alchemists and received an anonymous offer of Sun Domain charms from K. Unable to establish a messenger contract on his own, Sno asked Mr. Fool to tell K that he would buy three charms for three hundred pounds each.

• Sno empowered Audrey with misdirection to protect her from the Psychology Alchemists and then returned to mingling at the banquet.
• Sno returned to his mansion and found an anonymous letter offering Sun Domain charms that could reach Sequence Six in power.
• Sno considered how to obtain a contract for a messenger and decided to seek help from Old Master of the Eye of Wisdom before taking risks.
• Sno prayed to Mr. Fool and asked him to tell K that he would purchase three charms for three hundred pounds apiece.
• Klein heard Sno's prayer, went Above the Gray Fog, and touched Mr. Devil's star.

Klein arranged for a message and protective charms to be sent to Sno in exchange for Mr. Devil’s diaries. Sno used a charm to gain entry to a Backlund gathering, where he asked for a contract and bought Contract Paper from Old Master of the Eye of Wisdom.

• Klein decided to relay Mr. Devil’s message through a disguised projection and told Sno that one diary would be free while the charms would take one to two weeks to make.
• Sno received Klein’s message, praised Mr. Fool, and went to Brave Man Bar with a protective charm for Kaspars.
• Kaspars accepted the charm, disguised Sno, and brought him to a secret gathering in a dark house.
• At the gathering, a fat man asked to buy a Medullary Crystal of the Spring of Elves, and Sno later asked for a contract effective on Low Sequence and below.
• Old Master of the Eye of Wisdom offered Sno a Mysterious Item that produced Contract Paper, and Sno agreed to buy it for two hundred gold pounds per sheet.

Sno summoned a spirit world creature and contracted with it to serve as his messenger, naming it Dodo. After dismissing Dodo, he concluded that no powerful being had appeared because he was not a hidden backup plan.

• Sno used perfume and Concept Swap to restrict his summoning to spirit world creatures affected by the ability, then recited the messenger incantation.
• Sno used a coin and Paradox Charm to slow the summoned spirit’s movement enough to see and speak with it.
• Sno explained the messenger’s duties, negotiated terms with the spirit, and wrote a contract witnessed by his honorific name.
• The spirit accepted the contract, Sno named it Dodo, and the Contract Paper turned to ash as their connection formed.
• Sno released the Paradox Charm and dismissed Dodo, then took the absence of any demigod, angel, or other powerful being as evidence that he was not someone’s backup plan.

Audrey attended Madam Norma’s afternoon tea with mysticism experts Hilbert Alucard and Miss Islander Oseilka, then prayed to the Fool about their strange behavior. Klein answered her prayer and began divining the purpose of the unusual cloud-white horse hovering above her head.

• Audrey met Hilbert Alucard and Islander Oseilka at Madam Norma’s afternoon tea and sensed they were observing her.
• Madam Norma suggested Audrey study psychology and offered Escalante and Alucard as possible teachers; Audrey said she might ask Escalante to tutor her.
• Audrey returned home, asked Susie to guard her door, and prayed to the Fool about the afternoon’s events.
• Klein heard Audrey’s prayer while on duty, went Above the Gray Fog, and noticed a shifting image of clouds and a galloping horse above her.
• Klein wrote a divination statement about the anomaly above Audrey and entered a dreamlike state to investigate it.

Klein investigated the strange effect protecting Audrey and learned that Mr. Devil had placed it on her, with only a slight risk of discovery by powerful beings. He warned Audrey and left her to investigate Mr. Devil’s identity, leading her to question Grelint about the man at his literary salon.

• Klein used dream divination to discover that Mr. Devil’s power made people overlook Audrey’s less innocent traits and concluded that Mr. Devil had placed it on her.
• Klein used pendulum divination to find a very small risk that high-level existences could detect the anomaly, then sent Audrey his visions and warning.
• Audrey realized she could not remember the man from Grelint’s salon and decided to ask Grelint about him.
• Two days later, Audrey slipped away from a ball at Grelint’s home and met him in his study.
• Audrey described the man from the salon, and Grelint reacted strangely.

Audrey inferred that Sno von Pandax was Mr. Devil and decided to arrange any trade for the Spectator formula through the Tarot Club rather than meet him directly. In Tingen, Klein used the Mutated Sun Scepter to create five Flaring Sun Charms and wondered how to deliver them to Mr. Devil.

• Grelint identified Sno von Pandax as a veterinarian with an unsavory reputation and warned Audrey against contacting him.
• Audrey concluded Sno was Mr. Devil, chose not to meet him, and planned to have a trade arranged through a formal Tarot Club occasion.
• With Leonard's help, Klein got time alone with the Mutated Sun Scepter inside the church and performed a ritual to borrow the Eternal Blazing Sun's power.
• Klein completed five Flaring Sun Charms and considered selling three for 900 pounds, but could not decide how to get them to Mr. Devil.

Sno received Klein’s request for three Sun charms through Mr. Fool and sent his messenger Dodo to deliver them. Klein received sixty pounds in return, then realized one charm had been payment for the diary exchange and that he was still broke.

• Sno read Phantom Blood readers’ letters and began writing again, but paused when he received Klein’s prayer requesting charms for Mr. Devil.
• Klein went Above the Gray Fog, heard Sno’s messenger incantation, and divined that contacting the messenger was not dangerous.
• Klein summoned Sno von Pandax’s messenger and handed Dodo three Sun charms.
• Dodo returned with sixty pounds, and Klein realized one charm had been payment for the diary exchange.

Klein attended another Tarot Club gathering, where the Little Sun revealed that the Acting Method was taught in the City of Silver. Sno connected this practice to the city’s faith and population, then suggested that its god had been silent for a long time, prompting the Little Sun to beg for answers.

• Klein planned to advance to Clown during his days off and intended to buy Extraordinary Materials after the Tarot Club.
• Justice apologized for not obtaining any Emperor Roselle’s Diary entries and received the Telepathist Potion Formula from the Little Sun.
• Justice offered three hundred and fifty pounds in funding, and Klein provided an anonymous Backlund account for the payment.
• The Little Sun said he would save his compensation for a Sequence Eight formula or necessary materials and explained that the City of Silver taught the Acting Method in general education classes.
• Sno asked about the City of Silver’s faith and population, then suggested that its god had not answered it for a long time.
• The Little Sun asked Sno how he knew and offered to trade everything he could for more information.

Mr. Devil explained that the Acting Method let Beyonders bypass, rather than defeat, the Mental Remnants within potions, and suggested that the churches concealed it because its widespread use could affect even true Gods. Mr. Hangman began to infer that ordinary potion mastery might weaken Mental Remnants, but an author’s note clarified that the explanation was speculation rather than canon.

• Mr. Devil explained that the Seven Orthodox Churches made official Beyonders swear not to spread the Acting Method.
• Mr. Devil described Mental Remnants in Extraordinary Materials as a source of madness and explained that acting too deeply could let them overtake a Beyonder’s identity.
• Mr. Devil said Mental Remnants remained in the potion after a Beyonder died and could influence the next person who consumed it.
• Mr. Devil argued that practicing the Acting Method could leave Mental Remnants unchanged or even repair them, while Mr. Hangman realized that ordinary potion mastery might weaken them.
• The author noted that Mr. Devil’s explanation was a speculative interpretation, not canon.

At the Tarot Club, Mr. Devil explained how Beyonders overcame a potion’s Mental Remnant and warned The Little Sun that knowledge about the City of Silver could be dangerous. Klein read Perrdax’s Diary, then Audrey thanked Mr. Devil for protecting her and asked how long his protection would last.

• Mr. Devil explained that mastering a potion meant a dangerous struggle between a Beyonder’s spirit and the potion’s Mental Remnant.
• The Little Sun described the City of Silver’s sacrificial rituals, and Mr. Devil confirmed its location while warning that further knowledge could endanger him and his city.
• Klein read Perrdax’s Diary entries about Extraordinary Characteristics and a warning against Spectators.
• Audrey thanked Mr. Devil for protecting her but said she wished he had discussed his actions with her first.
• Mr. Devil assured Audrey that his protection would remain effective as long as she kept attending social events, and that only a Grounded Angel could notice it.

At the Tarot Club, Alger warned that Zilingus had come to Backlund for an item that could help him rise quickly in Sequence, and Klein decided to alert Mr. Azk. Meanwhile, Ince Zangwill’s plans advanced as the Churches prepared to draw people away from Iron Cross Street, and Klein was called to join the Night Watchers’ response to the Evil God Progeny.

• Alger told the Tarot Club that Zilingus was in Backlund seeking an item that could help him become a High Sequence powerhouse, and Audrey asked why he would risk Loss of Control.
• After the meeting, Klein wrote a letter to Mr. Azk about Zilingus and the Sacrifice Ritual.
• Ince Zangwill used 0-08 to set events in motion, including a charity event that would move the poor away from Iron Cross Street while the Churches’ forces were diverted.
• Klein was summoned to Blackthorn Security Company, where Dunn said the Three Great Churches had found the Evil God Progeny and assigned Klein, Leonard, and Royale to remain at headquarters.

Klein revived in a cemetery after the confrontation with Ince Zangwill and checked that his companions were safe. Meanwhile, Mr. A returned to Backlund, tasked Sno with finding Lanevus, and gave him a Listener Potion that let him hear a filtered fragment of the True Creator’s whisper.

• Klein crawled out of his grave, recovered from his burns, and searched the cemetery for familiar names.
• Klein found no sign that Leonard, Royale, or the others had died and left to learn whether his killer had survived the Flaring Sun Charms.
• Mr. A returned to Sno’s mansion and ordered him to find Lanevus without alerting him, since Lanevus carried the True Creator’s divinity and was intended as a living sacrifice.
• After learning Sno had digested his Secret Speaker Potion, Mr. A prepared a Listener Potion for him in the basement.
• Sno drank the potion, filtered the True Creator’s whisper, and heard the fragment “Suka Bulie!”

After drinking the Pavlov's Dog potion, Sno discovered its enhanced abilities, resistances, and dangerous conditioned reflexes. He left the laboratory wary of his unknown reflexes, while Mr. A planned to send him to develop lambs in the Eastern District in a few days.

• Sno assessed the Pavlov's Dog potion's enhancements, resistances, Divine Profanity, and side effect of involuntary conditioned reflexes.
• Sno's first reflex triggered when he saw a test tube lying sideways, making him leap onto the wall and hang from the ceiling.
• Mr. A tested Sno by knocking over another test tube, and Sno jumped to the ceiling again.
• Sno realized he instinctively jumped whenever he saw a long object lying horizontally, and Mr. A reassured him that the effect might fade as he digested the potion.
• Mr. A told Sno to meditate and prepare to develop lambs in the Eastern District in a few days, while Sno left the basement to avoid further triggers.