Recaps

Sno read Trissy’s warning about Katarina and decided her danger would push her toward advancing. In Backlund, Xio learned that the golden-masked man had once served her father and agreed to help her obtain a Judge formula, while warning her about the dangers of joining Sno’s faction.

• Sno read Trissy’s letter about her conflict with Katarina and recognized that Trissy was using it to signal her growing reputation and ambition.
• Sno chose not to reply, reasoning that Katarina’s pursuit would make Trissy more desperate to advance.
• In a Bridge District alley, Xio met the golden-masked man, who urged her to stop investigating Viscount Stratford and promised no one would trouble her family.
• The golden-masked man revealed that he had served Xio’s father, arranged for her to become an intelligence agent, and planned to help her obtain a Judge formula.
• Xio asked about her father, and the man described him as brave and just but also impulsive and hot-tempered.
• After Xio left, the golden-masked man told an unseen voice that she was beyond their reach and that he would not risk becoming a pawn in the factional struggle.

Audrey discovered that Hvin Rambis had hypnotized her and ordered her to investigate Xio and Fors and encourage princes’ advances, but Mr. Fool restored her memories. At the Tarot Club, she revealed what had happened, and Alger asked how they should deal with Hvin Rambis.

• Audrey noticed that Mr. Devil’s protection had vanished and realized Hvin Rambis had influenced her, so she went to her office and silently called on Mr. Fool.
• Mr. Fool restored Audrey’s memories, revealing that Hvin Rambis had entered her carriage and hypnotized her into carrying out his orders.
• Audrey thanked Mr. Fool for his protection, and he told her to go back and meet it.
• At the Tarot Club, Audrey told the members that Hvin Rambis had ordered her to arrange a meeting with Xio and Fors and hypnotize them to learn what Mr. Devil wanted.
• Xio clarified that she and Fors had received no instructions from Mr. Devil, though she had obtained an official position in MI9 with Trissy’s help.
• Alger redirected the discussion to how the Tarot Club should deal with Hvin Rambis.

The Tarot Club planned to hide its role in dealing with Hvin Rambis by making the Church of the Night Goddess appear responsible. When Hvin confronted Audrey during a staged interrogation of Xio and Fors, a mysterious castle broke his mental attack, and Sno struck him with a dragon-scaled fist.

• Audrey asked the Tarot Club how to deal with Hvin Rambis without alerting the Psychology Alchemists, and Mr. World warned that the Twilight Hermit Society might be watching them.
• Sno offered to draw Hvin's attention, while Alger suggested framing the Church of the Night Goddess for the attack; the Tarot Club refined its plan and arranged for Xio and Fors to give Audrey prepared answers.
• Audrey hypnotized Xio and Fors at Viscount Grellint's residence, then waited for Xio to visit a nearby church while Hvin secretly watched her.
• Hvin questioned Audrey and tested her with rapid questions, then invaded her mind and tried to force her to reveal her secrets.
• An ancient black castle shattered Hvin's mental blockade, and Sno appeared to punch him with a dragon-scaled fist, shouting, "Ola!"

Audrey fought Hvin Rambis while Sno von Pandax and Gehrman Sparrow waited to spring a trap. Klein turned Hvin into a marionette, and Audrey learned that Sno and Klein had been nearby all along, though Sno kept Mr. World’s whereabouts secret.

• Audrey used Fashion: Ilya and Mr. Fool’s protection to survive Hvin Rambis’s attacks, while her spirit avatar assaulted his spiritual island.
• Audrey realized Hvin wanted to control her, feigned fear, and lured him into lowering his defenses.
• Sno von Pandax and Gehrman Sparrow appeared in a black castle illusion, and Klein used Spirit Control Bullets to make Hvin his marionette.
• Audrey confronted Sno and Klein for staying hidden, and Sno said he wanted her to experience real combat.
• The group returned to Viscount Grellint’s study, where Sno picked up the fragments of Fashion: Ilya and refused to reveal where Mr. World had gone.

After sacrificing the decaying meteor, Klein worried about the mysteries surrounding the Starry Sky and the price of his advancement. He and Audrey learned why Hvin Rambis had targeted her, then Klein agreed to impersonate Sno for two days while Sno’s main body was away.

• Klein returned to Viscount Grellint’s study and gave Sno Hvin Rambis’s Beyonder Characteristic, keeping the formula and Mysterious Item as agreed.
• Klein explained that the Psychology Alchemists had hoped to exploit Audrey’s closeness to the princes, while Hvin Rambis had personally acted because he believed she would lower her guard around him.
• Sno warned Klein and Audrey not to discuss the king’s secret in the real world, fearing that Above the Gray Fog might leave a mark on them.
• Sno transformed into Hvin Rambis and explained that he had used the characteristic to simulate Hvin’s aura and fate so the disappearance would not implicate Viscount Grellint.
• Sno asked Klein to impersonate him for two days and gave him a schedule that included sending Audrey daily ball invitations; Audrey then offered to help choose other noble guests.

Klein took Audrey and Leonard into Groselle's Travels to investigate the dream remnants of its former companions and safely gather information about powerful beings and the past. After visiting several dreams, they reached Grossel's home, while Klein explained that the companions had survived and were now living outside the book.

• Klein returned home exhausted after hosting a ball as Kidd Robin while attending another as Mr. Devil.
• Klein summoned himself above the Gray Fog and confirmed he could use its power to leave Groselle's Travels.
• Klein brought Audrey and Leonard into the book to explore the dreams of its former companions and learn about the Kings of Angels, ancient history, and potion formulas.
• Klein explained that the companions were alive outside the book and working for Mr. Devil, and that he had secured their consent before exploring their dream remnants.
• Audrey gave Longzeel a beautiful dream, and the three of them arrived at Grossel's home.

Klein, Leonard, and Audrey reached the sunken Miracle City Luvid and entered the palace of Dragon of Fantasy Angwided. Inside, the hall projected their thoughts aloud and began materializing them, leaving the three struggling to control what they imagined.

• Klein identified the city as a possible Miracle City Luvid, the ancient Divine Kingdom of Dragon of Fantasy Angwided, and led Leonard and Audrey inside.
• The three flew into Angwided's enormous palace and saw the Dragon of Fantasy take shape atop a giant pillar.
• The hall projected Leonard's, Audrey's, and Klein's thoughts as voices, exposing their private reactions to one another.
• Leonard's thoughts caused an image of Klein dressed as a woman to appear on the pillar, and Audrey's thoughts revealed her curiosity about Mr. Devil.

Klein, Audrey, and Leonard examined murals in the Hall of Truth and discovered that they recorded the history of Groselle's Travels and its owners, including 0-08. They suspected the murals could shape reality, but left the hall without testing the theory.

• Klein recognized that the murals on one wall depicted the events of Groselle's Travels and the development of its book world.
• Klein, Audrey, and Leonard found murals showing the book's previous owners, its appearance above the sea, and its encounter with 0-08.
• Klein wondered what power made the murals affect reality and proposed painting a new one to test the idea.
• Leonard's thoughts wandered into teasing Klein, and Klein threatened to make him drink a Demoness of Despair potion.
• Klein called off the exploration of the murals for the moment and suggested they continue exploring elsewhere.

At the Tarot Club, Klein read Senior Perrdax’s diary and reconsidered the origins of the world, its religions, and its Beyonder pathways. His suspicions about the Creator of Silver City and the pathways connected to the underground left him with an ominous premonition.

• Klein privately fumed over Mr. Devil’s misunderstanding of his disguise while the Tarot Club members exchanged greetings and Madam Hermit reported having no new diaries.
• Mr. Devil manifested Senior Perrdax’s diary, in which Perrdax described Earth-like church prayers, wedding customs, and creation myths that seemed too ancient to have come from Roselle.
• Klein connected the diary’s claims to his knowledge of the Ancient Sun God and the Creator of Silver City, wondering whether the latter had been a transmigrator.
• Klein listed the ancient Gods and noticed that several pathways appeared to have emerged only after the Creator of Silver City appeared.
• Klein recalled the Creator of Silver City in a deep valley and sensed that the missing pathways were connected to something underground.

Klein led the Tarot Club as Xio bought two Beyonder formulas and a Judge-pathway Mysterious Item. Sno then warned the members that Feysac would launch a full-scale war against Loen within a week as part of George III’s plan.

• Klein reflected on the underground and the secrets surrounding the Gray Fog before beginning the Tarot Club meeting.
• Mr. World offered Xio the Judge and Disciplinary Paladin formulas for 2,000 pounds, and Xio agreed to buy them.
• Cattleya offered Xio a Judge-pathway Mysterious Item for 3,500 pounds, and Xio accepted.
• Sno offered a Sequence IV Assassin-pathway Characteristic and formula, prompting the members to look at Leonard and Leonard to refuse.
• Sno reported that Feysac would wage full-scale war against Loen within a week as part of George III’s plan, describing a conflict that would involve everything from commoners to gods.

After learning that war among the Gods was approaching, Klein resolved to finish acting and pursue the Scholar of Yore potion. Sno arranged for Medici to obtain a Conqueror characteristic and ordered Trissy and Adelina to distribute Sequence One Hunter Pathway dolls around Backlund, leaving them racing to build their networks.

• Klein considered warning Benson and Melissa to leave but decided they would be safer in the capital and resolved to pursue the Scholar of Yore potion.
• Sno met Medici in a warehouse, gave him information about someone he had found, and suggested Medici trade it for a Conqueror characteristic.
• Trissy and Adelina fought over their competing networks and their hopes of becoming men until Sno interrupted them.
• Sno gave Trissy and Adelina dolls bearing a Sequence One Hunter Pathway aura and ordered them distributed in sparsely populated parts of Backlund within three days.
• Trissy and Adelina promised to complete the task within two months and hurried to leave before the dolls caused trouble.

Klein discovered that the Red Angel Evil Spirit had returned to Backlund and received a cryptic warning from the God of Death before Feysac launched a major air raid on the city. As the attack began, Church forces organized evacuations, and Audrey saw a house bring down an enemy airship.

• Klein saw the Red Angel Evil Spirit beside Patrick Brane and fled before he could expose himself or endanger the Death Uniqueness’s digestion.
• Klein prayed to the God of Death, who replied, “He has come here. The land will rise with weapons,” prompting Klein to connect the warning to the Beacon of War and begin searching for the lucky pirate.
• Bishop Electra told Klein to go to St. Samuel's Cathedral for an air raid drill, but Klein soon saw Feysac airships approaching Backlund and realized the full-scale war had begun.
• Sno directed orders through the faith network as Feysac’s airships attacked Backlund, and Jana led fleeing civilians toward subway stations.
• Audrey saw a house strike a bomb, destroying the airship that had released it.

Abaddon used his accumulated training strength and immortality to attack Feysac airships over Backlund, while Duchess Georgina negotiated Sno’s support for the war. The chapter ended with Sno asking what task the kingdom truly wanted him to perform.

• Abaddon hurled sections of a tower at Feysac airships, bringing one down with the weight of the masonry.
• Abaddon’s body suffered catastrophic damage from releasing his accumulated training, but his immortality kept him alive and an Angel healed him.
• Georgina told Sno that Backlund’s defenses were active and asked him to help influence public sentiment during the war.
• Sno agreed that the Worker's Movement and Passion could help calm the public if the working class received better treatment.
• Georgina offered the Worker's Movement five seats in the House of Commons, a hereditary seat for the Perrdax family, and possible military positions for Passion.
• Sno accepted the written terms and asked Georgina to reveal the real task behind them.

Sno warned Medici that MI9 was watching him, gave him a talisman, and tested his reaction to a mysterious box. Meanwhile, Klein rejected the future George III sought through war, but Sno used The Story Written for Someone to redirect Klein toward visiting home before he left.

• Sno told Medici that he regarded the man Klein had met as a partner rather than a pawn, and Medici revealed he had sent him to find Katarina.
• Sno showed Medici a stone box that stirred his desire, then gave him an upgraded talisman and left after Medici ordered him out.
• Klein returned to Backlund, considered how George III and others would exploit the coming war, and decided he would not accept that ending.
• Sno set down his Feather Quill and wrote that Klein would meet Melissa while acting in 'Hospital Ghost Story' and agree to visit home.
• Sno explained that Abaddon's immortality depended on observation and repairs, then clarified why the airship had fallen under the weight of a house.

Sno and Lavish discussed building support in Feysac while Klein met with Bernadette in Backlund to discuss the war and stopping George III. Bernadette agreed to cooperate, and Klein suspected Adam had shaped George III’s personality to resemble Roselle’s.

• Sno told Lavish that Grossel was adapting well and could become a symbol after the God of Combat Church collapsed.
• Klein entered the Golden Theater at Serenzzo Restaurant while Chunuss and Enuni helped obscure his location outside.
• Bernadette explained how she had come to understand Roselle’s despair and suffering during his pursuit of the Black Emperor.
• Klein questioned Bernadette about Roselle’s madness and then admitted he wanted to stop George III from advancing to the Black Emperor.
• Bernadette agreed to cooperate with Klein, and he suspected Adam had adjusted George III to resemble Roselle.

Sno contacted Mr. Door to ask about Tudor’s secret mausoleums, the Abraham curse, and the nature of paradox before preparing for his advancement ritual. He sent Gehrman Sparrow Mr. Door’s answers and a warning that he could help no further, then prepared to publish his long-finished Original Manuscript of Sea of Stones.

• Sno set up a ritual using flesh from a Sealed Artifact tied to the Abraham family and summoned Mr. Door.
• Mr. Door explained how to enter Tudor’s nine secret mausoleums and how to lift the Abraham curse.
• Mr. Door said the authorities Sno described were closest to those of the Black Emperor and The Error pathways, especially Ammon.
• Sno wrote down Mr. Door’s instructions and had Miss Coconut Egg Tree deliver them to Gehrman Sparrow, along with a gold pound.
• Sno finished dismantling the ritual, checked on the ancestor within the Cocoon of Light, and prepared to publish his Original Manuscript of Sea of Stones.

Sno met Klein through a Historical Projection and shared what he knew about the Apocalypse, the Western Continent, and other transmigrators. He left Klein with the location of Roselle's final mausoleum, but said saving Roselle would require Klein to become a god.

• At Black Swan Castle, Sno felt a summoning and awakened as a Historical Projection in Klein's house.
• Sno and Klein recognized each other as fellow transmigrators, exchanged their Chinese names, and discussed the approaching Apocalypse.
• Sno told Klein that the Western Continent lay east of the Forsaken Land of the Gods but was sealed behind Gray Fog.
• Sno used his castle's spirituality pool and spirit servants to provide Chinese food, then explained that transmigrators carried the aura of Origin Quality and that Klein was connected to Origin Castle.
• Sno revealed that Roselle's final mausoleum was on an island in the Fog Sea and that Klein could attempt to save him only after becoming a god.

Klein learned that Sno could make a charm to repair Mr. Azik’s damaged soul, while Sno prepared to advance and arranged for Trissy and Adelina to choose between two potions. The chapter ended with both women drinking, and Trissy realizing she may have taken the wrong potion.

• Sno told Klein that the Ship of Theseus charm could repair Mr. Azik’s soul if Klein provided some of his body as ritual material.
• Sno returned to his body, considered the risks of failing to advance, and began preparing his potion.
• Sno offered Trissy and Adelina a Demoness of Despair potion and an Iron-Blooded Knight potion, giving Adelina first choice and warning that they needed to maintain the appearance of a marriage.
• Adelina drank the potion she chose, and Trissy drank the other after deciding she could not afford to wait.
• Trissy was overwhelmed by despair and realized she may have drunk the wrong potion.

As George III’s speech began a ritual that stirred grief across Loen, Sno revealed a plan to disrupt it by appearing as a Clown. The chapter ended with Edsac Augustus using a talisman to order MI9 to stand down.

• George III addressed crowds across Loen, and his speech used a supernatural ability to spread sorrow and emotional resonance.
• Audrey recognized that Mr. Devil had sent an avatar and worried that his absence and Mr. World’s interest in the speech signaled trouble.
• Sno prepared to disrupt the ritual while Edsac and Trissy prepared to act, and Trissy agreed to pursue becoming queen before seeking an Iron-Blooded Knight.
• Sno drank a potion, removed the cognitive obstruction around himself, and triggered a discordant melody that interrupted George III’s speech across Loen.
• Edsac appeared before the MI9 guards and used a talisman to order them to stand down.

Sno disrupted George III’s Black Emperor ritual by turning the people’s anger against him and killing him in public. The Clown was shot dead as well, leaving Audrey shocked by Sno’s apparent death.

• Sno used a talisman to interrupt the nationwide ritual and set out to destroy Qiao San’s social identity by killing him publicly.
• Sno, disguised as a Clown, confronted George III during the nationwide broadcast and denounced his disregard for the people suffering in the war.
• Sno’s words redirected the crowd’s emotions toward George III, while a woman restrained the broadcast staff with spider silk.
• Sno drew a revolver and shot George III, whose head was blown open in front of the crowd.
• The guards shot Sno repeatedly until his body fell, and Audrey sensed that his mental island had disappeared.

After George Augustus III was assassinated, Edsac announced emergency policies while Sno’s plan redirected the public’s anger and allowed him to advance through the Schrödinger’s Cat ritual. Audrey watched the political crisis unfold until Sno appeared on her mind island and revealed that the assassination was part of the Choice of the Era.

• Edsac announced that George Augustus III had been assassinated and that the cabinet would take charge of war affairs while providing food and relief.
• Audrey realized that the public’s grief and anger were fading after the king’s death, while Sno’s body died and his consciousness began advancing through the Sea of Collective Subconscious.
• Sno’s Pallbearer characteristic shielded his consciousness as he used his conviction of being uniquely special to resist the thoughts flowing through the mind islands.
• Audrey watched nobles, officials, and Prince Edsac gather under guard at the Parliament building as the kingdom faced political upheaval.
• Sno appeared on Audrey’s mind island and told her that the events were the Choice of the Era.

After advancing to Sequence Two, Sno entered Audrey’s mind island and used her help to reach his avatar while avoiding the Three Great Churches’ notice. Once reunited with his body, he examined Schrödinger’s Cat’s abilities and their risks.

• Sno told Audrey that his advancement ritual required him to die and be revived through the remembrance of others.
• Audrey approached Sno’s avatar so Sno could use a passing thought to jump onto its mind island.
• Sno regained his body, restrained his spirituality, and pretended to be exhausted to avoid attracting the Churches’ attention.
• Sno examined Eternal Immortality and the Ship of Theseus, which let him return through others’ memories and repair the resulting mental contamination.
• Sno reviewed his other abilities: Steal the Heavens and Change the Sun, The Usefulness of Uselessness, and Zhuang Zhou’s Dream Butterfly.

Sno reflected on the risks of his resurrection and arranged for Ammon to confront Klein, hoping the encounter would help Klein learn to face him. At the Tarot Club, Klein congratulated Sno on becoming an Angel, while Sno credited Klein’s help with his advancement.

• Sno considered how memories could distort his personality during resurrection and decided to repair himself once he escaped the Church’s surveillance.
• Klein escaped Charon, hid in a Backlund hotel, and began a ritual to reach the Gray Fog, but Ammon appeared and paralyzed him.
• Ammon began repeating Klein’s ritual and recognized Klein’s plan to save himself through the Gray Fog.
• Sno revealed that Little Red had given Ammon his information so Klein could gain experience confronting Ammon, then remembered he still had to deal with Loen’s affairs.
• At the Tarot Club, Klein congratulated Sno on his advancement to Angel, and Sno thanked him for providing the stage that enabled it.

At the Tarot Gathering, Mr. Fool confirmed Mr. Devil’s advancement to Angel and explained the truth behind George III’s failed attempt to become the Black Emperor. Mr. Devil outlined Loen’s political and military situation, while the chapter ended with Mr. World seeking information about Star worms from the Abraham family.

• Mr. Fool reassured the Tarot Club that the gathering would proceed and said he had used Mr. World’s body to play a game with Ammon in the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Derrick asked Mr. Fool to bless the City of Silver Chief’s ritual, and Mr. Fool agreed.
• Mr. Fool revealed that George III had tried to become the Black Emperor but failed when his secret mausoleum was destroyed and his substitute was assassinated during the ritual.
• Mr. Fool said the Seven Gods had tacitly accepted George III’s bid, though they disagreed over who should become the Black Emperor.
• Mr. Devil explained that his advancement ritual had consumed Loen’s war-born negative emotions, that Prince Edsac would likely inherit the throne, and that the war would not worsen soon.
• Mr. World asked Fors to find out whether the Abraham family had any Star worms with remaining spirituality and what they would demand in exchange.

Sno and Bernadette left Loen aboard the Black Pearl to search the Illusory Sea Domain for the corpse connected to Roselle. They found the source of its panting and prepared to enter the ruins, with Bernadette using her humanity and the Sage’s abilities to withstand the sea’s effects.

• At the Tarot gathering, Sno offered to exchange spiritually intact Star worms for a Spirit Worm, and Klein accepted.
• After Loen stabilized, Sno met Bernadette at the Serenzzo Restaurant and confirmed she was ready to leave.
• Sno and Bernadette traveled to the Illusory Sea Domain aboard the Black Pearl.
• After three days and nights in the domain, Sno and Bernadette heard the corpse’s panting again near a submerged ruin.
• Bernadette merged with the sea’s information to resist its effects, while Sno concealed himself within her memories.