Chapter Summaries

Sno endured a powerful detection from the Sunset Shut-in Society, then played music for Heavenly Punishment while refining a plan to leave Backlund in a month or two. Later, Fors and Xio visited him: Xio asked about the bounty on the Fool’s believers and brought up her debt now that she had advanced to Sequence Eight Sheriff.

• Sno concluded that the Russian Priest was unlikely to have personally sought him out and chose not to counter the divination with Heavenly Punishment, fearing it would alert Adam.
• Sno decided he would eventually leave Backlund, but not for at least another month or two, then played piano until Heavenly Punishment’s corruption became tolerable to ordinary Beyonders.
• Lily opened the door to Fors and Xio and silently looked down on them for accumulating debt.
• Sno reassured Xio that his bounty on the Fool’s believers was part of a search happening across Backlund, while Fors confirmed that Xio had been right not to worry.
• Sno pressed Fors about her progress promoting Battle Trend, and Fors admitted the task was nearly complete after he dismissed her concerns about gossip columns.
• Xio told Sno she had become a Sequence Eight Sheriff and asked about her debt.

Fors tried to persuade Xio to accept a patrol job arranged through Sno, while Xio grew more suspicious of Fors’s relationship with him. Klein visited Emlyn at Harvest Church, where Emlyn reported news about Jason Belia and introduced a doll that looked just like him.

• Xio suspected Fors was hiding her connection to Sno, and Fors claimed they had met through a secret circle.
• Fors urged Xio to accept Passion’s East Borough patrol job by pointing out its generous debt reduction, and Xio agreed to report for duty.
• Klein met Mrs. Summer before arriving at Harvest Church, where Emlyn told him that a Sanguine knew Jason Belia.
• Klein saw Emlyn’s new doll, which looked like his twin sister, and Emlyn realized she seemed familiar.

Klein learned that Emlyn’s information about Jason Belia had become outdated after Duke Negan’s assassination, then traded with Emlyn for materials and went to the East Borough. At Brave Man Bar, Klein learned that Casper Canlin had fled and met a new arms merchant whose voice sounded familiar.

• Emlyn admitted he had chosen Emily’s appearance himself and insisted the animated puppet was becoming more spirited as it absorbed his feelings.
• Klein told Emlyn that Jason Belia had assassinated Duke Negan and that officials were still investigating the mastermind behind him.
• Klein and Emlyn arranged a trade for the materials Klein needed, then Klein left to visit Daisy in the East Borough.
• Klein encountered more Fatty Meat Slice Cult missionaries and reported them before stopping at Brave Man Bar for lunch.
• The bartender told Klein that Casper Canlin had fled after becoming involved in a murder case and directed him to a new arms merchant called Old Man in billiard room three.
• Klein entered the room and recognized that Old Man’s voice sounded familiar.

Klein met Ian at the Brave Man Bar and learned that Tarot-card killings had been linked to the Fool, while MI9 had placed a bounty on Azik Eggers. As Klein considered asking Mr. Devil about the killings, Sharron appeared beside his cab and asked what he wanted to know.

• Klein met Ian, who had returned to Backlund and taken over Kaspars's business, and accepted his offer of free intelligence.
• Ian told Klein that Black Emperor had killed Duke Negan's banker assassin and that another killer had murdered a woman disguised as the banker, leaving Tarot cards at the scene.
• Klein suspected the killings were meant to implicate the Fool and wondered whether Mr. Devil had acted, since the Devil and Justice cards had covered the victim's eyes.
• Ian said MI9 had issued the bounty for the university tutor Azik Eggers, and Klein decided that pursuing him could be dangerous.
• Klein bought ordinary bullets and left the Brave Man Bar, then heard Sharron ask if he wanted to ask them something.

Klein read reports about the Aurora Society and Stardust Fighter while Sno waited anxiously for an attack that never came. At the Tarot Club meeting, Devil admitted imitating one of Justice’s execution marks, and Mr. Fool allowed members to use the symbol only if they prayed to him beforehand.

• Klein doubted the newspaper’s claim that the Aurora Society’s headquarters had been wiped out and read the latest Stardust Fighter serial.
• Sno saw the newspaper report and concluded that Qiao San had protected Enthusiasm and the Worker’s Movement, then forced himself to stay awake for the Tarot Club.
• Audrey told Klein that she had obtained three pages of Roselle’s Diary, and Sno contributed one page of his own.
• Devil admitted that he had imitated the execution mark of one of Justice’s Blessed to divert officials after hunting a Sorceress Cult member.
• Mr. Fool told Devil that it must be the last time, then allowed Tarot Club members to pray beforehand if they needed to use the mark.

Klein read Senior Perrdax’s diary and learned that the Psychology Alchemists were a branch of the Twilight Hermit Society, whose members manipulated history and could learn what was spoken about them. At the Tarot Club meeting, the Hanged Man offered Deep Sea Naga hair, while Mr. Devil offered Klein a Faceless characteristic in exchange for money and a material he already owned.

• Klein read Roselle’s Diary entries about Mr. Door, Queen Mystic, the Mental Stitch Monster, and the Primordial Demoness.
• Klein learned from Senior Perrdax’s diary that the Psychology Alchemists belonged to the Twilight Hermit Society, which sought to manipulate history and could learn what was spoken about it.
• Klein resolved to warn Miss Justice and reflected that Senior Perrdax had stayed obscure to avoid the Society’s influence.
• The Hanged Man offered to buy five strands of Deep Sea Naga hair for 550 pounds, and the World accepted the deal.
• Mr. Devil offered the World a Faceless characteristic for 4,000 pounds, then agreed to accept the Cerebral Mutation Pituitary Gland of a Thousand Faces Hunter and 2,200 pounds.

Klein regretted paying for the Skin Shadow as The Tarot Club discussed Duke Negan’s assassination and a secret organization infiltrating churches and governments. Fors asked how to handle excess Beyonder Characteristics, and Mr. Devil explained several ways to get rid of them.

• Klein finalized his 2,200-pound deal for the Skin Shadow and privately lamented that he might have overpaid by 200 pounds.
• Alger asked Audrey about Duke Negan’s assassination, and she shared information from her father’s documents about the Desire Apostle and the Black Emperor.
• Klein warned the club not to speak or write the secret organization’s name, and Mr. Devil revealed that a Demoness of Affliction had helped the Desire Apostle mislead investigators.
• Mr. Devil said the organization had infiltrated churches and official authorities, while Alger decided not to investigate it until he had advanced further.
• Fors asked how to manage excess Beyonder Characteristics, and Mr. Devil described digesting them, seeking help from a Sun pathway demigod, or using traditional methods.

After advancing to Faceless, Klein tested his new abilities and became wary of imitating people watched by true gods. Arrodes then showed him Machinery Hivemind exploring Ammon’s tomb, where a note and a Chinese inscription raised questions about Mr. Devil and the tomb’s history.

• Klein exchanged his savings and the Thousand Faces Hunter’s Cerebral Mutation Pituitary Gland for the Faceless Beyonder Characteristic, then brewed the potion after receiving the Deep Sea Naga’s hair from the Hanged Man.
• Klein tested his Faceless transformations and felt a warning when he tried to imitate Sno, so he avoided taking the identity of someone watched by a true god.
• Arrodes reported Machinery Hivemind’s exploration of Ammon’s tomb to Klein in a dream and offered to show him the expedition.
• Klein watched Horamick open the stone coffin and noticed a parchment that reminded him of a letter associated with Mr. Devil.
• Klein found the Chinese inscription “Third Uncle was here” beneath a damaged mural and wondered what happened to Beyonder Characteristics after a miscarriage.

Klein found writing in Ammon’s tomb that Horamick believed was not Roselle’s, while Sno received intelligence about the spread of the Worker’s Movement. Emlyn attended a Sanguine gathering despite his complaints and surprised its host by dancing.

• Klein examined the Rochard writing in Ammon’s tomb, and Horamick concluded that Roselle had not written it.
• Klein suspected Senior Perrdax had visited the tomb and taken Ammon’s portrait and time before Arrodes appeared and offered its service again.
• Sno read a letter from Tingen and considered how the growing Worker’s Movement was providing him with useful intelligence.
• Emlyn left Harvest Church, returned to his dolls, and went to a Sanguine gathering after remembering his family’s plans.
• Emlyn’s host, Cosmi Odora, learned that Emlyn was dancing and was surprised he had found a partner.

Emlyn White met Lord Nabeus, who told him the Apocalypse was near and ordered him to pray to the Fool, claiming Emlyn was a key to the Sanguine’s survival. Emlyn returned to the ballroom overwhelmed, with a decision beginning to form.

• Cosmi interrupted Emlyn White’s dance with the doll Dorothy and summoned him to meet Lord Nabeus.
• Emlyn left Emily and Dorothy in the ballroom, then followed Cosmi through hidden doors to Nabeus’s coffin.
• Nabeus said the Progenitor had warned that the Apocalypse was near and identified Emlyn as one of the keys, though Nabeus had fabricated that claim to deceive him.
• Nabeus ordered Emlyn to find an opportunity to pray to the Fool, and Emlyn protested that it would be dangerous.
• Emlyn returned to the ballroom, accepted a glass of wine from Emily, and began forming a resolve.

Mr. A studied how Sno’s organizations survived crackdowns and realized that their benefits-based approach had turned authorities into their protectors. He decided to spread his new shepherding principles elsewhere, while the Little Sun woke in the True Creator’s sanctuary with time to attend the Tarot Club.

• Mr. A observed that the Fatty Meat Slice Cult had been purged while Passion and the Worker's Movement remained untouched by official crackdowns.
• Mr. A investigated the groups and discovered that MI9 members and wealthy interests were protecting them.
• Mr. A concluded that Sno united believers by giving them shared benefits, making them defend their own interests and gaining the authorities’ support.
• Mr. A considered requesting a transfer from the Backlund diocese so he could test his new shepherding principles elsewhere.
• The Little Sun woke in the True Creator's sanctuary, judged that there was time before departure, and prepared to attend The Tarot Club.

After Sun Derrick described being trapped in a repeating cycle inside the True Creator's temple, Sno explained four High Sequence powers that could cause it. Sno suspected Derrick had encountered lingering traces of an Angel's aura and advised him to use Mr. Fool's protection to investigate the cycle.

• Sun Derrick recounted his repeated temple explorations and asked the Tarot Club how to solve the cycle.
• Sno listed powers of the Thief, Lawyer, and Destiny Pathways that could create repeating experiences or time loops.
• At Audrey's prompting, Sno named Mr. Fool's grafting authority as a fourth possible cause, leaving Klein worried that the Tarot Club expected him to use it.
• Derrick asked whether Ammon was responsible, and Sno said the cycle was more likely a lingering phenomenon from an Angel's aura than an Angel deliberately tormenting him.
• Sno advised Derrick to retain his memories under Mr. Fool's protection, learn the cycle's pattern, and find the way to break it.

The Tarot Club connected the City of Silver’s supernatural dangers and murals to the ruins at the eastern end of the Sunia Sea, possibly identifying the region as an ancient battlefield of the gods. The Sun considered whether Jack or the mural could be the key to escaping the repeating cycle, while Klein noticed a connection to Rose Redemption.

• Audrey suggested that sparing or handling Jack differently might change the cycle, and Alger recalled an Aurora Society Listener who had searched for the True Creator’s sanctuary with a child resembling Jack.
• Alger advised the Sun to mention the Sunia Sea, the Loen Kingdom, and port cities to Jack, and the Sun showed the Tarot Club the murals and scenes from the exploration.
• Sno compared the City of Silver’s anomalies with lingering divine powers at ruins in the Sunia Sea and proposed that both places were linked to an ancient battle of the gods.
• Alger reasoned that the City of Silver might lie at the end of the Sunia Sea ruins, and Sno associated its disappearances, thunderstorms, and dark monsters with the powers of the Evernight Goddess, the God of Storms, and the Hanged Man Pathway.
• The Hanged Man suggested that the Sun test whether destroying the mural affected the cycle, and Klein quietly identified a detail as Rose Redemption.

At the Tarot Club, Mr. Devil warned that Rose Redemption and its angels were dangerous to discuss, while Hanged Man suppressed a disturbing realization. Klein read Roselle's Diary and found a clue that deepened his suspicions about the Gray Fog and his path home, then examined Perrdax's Diary.

• Justice asked Mr. Fool what Rose Redemption represented, and Mr. Devil warned the club that even remembering the secret names of its angels could be dangerous.
• Mr. Devil urged Mr. Sun to watch for angel images in the murals and avoid speaking their names outside the Tarot Club.
• Hanged Man suppressed his fearful thoughts, then redirected the discussion toward Mr. Sun's plan to examine the murals and speak with the little boy.
• Justice, Magician, and Mr. Devil provided diary pages, and Klein read Roselle's account of miracles and returning from death.
• Klein connected Roselle's words to his own resurrections and the Gray Fog, and wondered whether the staircase above it could lead him home.
• Klein read Perrdax's Diary and encountered a crude remark about driving a Warrior Pathway vehicle.

Klein read Perrdax’s diary, which linked Giant King's Court and the True Creator’s sanctuary to the Eastern Continent, then sought clues about mermaids at The Tarot Club. Mr. Devil said the Church of Evernight kept most living mermaids and that others might be found near the Sunia Sea’s Divine War Ruins.

• Klein read Perrdax’s account of discovering Giant King's Court in a Warrior woman’s subconscious and learning that Feysac clans dreamed of it.
• Perrdax connected Giant King's Court’s rumored location to the Aurora Society’s search for the True Creator’s sanctuary and speculated that the Eastern and Western Continents might be the same land.
• Klein concluded that the Forsaken Land of the Gods was likely on the Eastern Continent, then dismissed the diary and began The Tarot Club’s trading portion.
• Klein asked The Tarot Club for clues about mermaids, and Mr. Devil asked about his relationship with the Church of Evernight.
• Mr. Devil explained that the Church of Evernight kept most living mermaids, while mermaid tribes might also inhabit the Divine War Ruins in the Sunia Sea.

After Mr. Fool identified Augustus as the name linked to a brewing disaster in Backlund, Sno realized Klein’s information had disrupted his plans and chose to take a more dangerous course. He set preparations in motion, left his JoJo manuscripts with the Tussock Newspaper, and disappeared from public view as the changes began.

• At the Tarot gathering, Mr. World warned that a major event could bring instability and tragedy to Backlund, and Mr. Fool answered with “Augustus.”
• Sno considered whether the Goddess or the Russian Priest had exposed Klein to the information, but decided not to contact Klein because it could reveal his hidden objective.
• Sno abandoned his plan to leave Backlund and instead prepared to act there, feeding Mysterious Items and Beyonder Characteristics to Heavenly Punishment while keeping three rings and an arrow.
• Sno told Mr. A’s butler to send the requested things to the North Borough, leave Backlund afterward, and seek help from the people of Passion if needed.
• Sno delivered manuscript reserves and illustrations for JoJo Parts 4 and 5 to the Tussock Newspaper, then vanished from everyone’s sight.

Sno began a piano ritual at the Ermida Grand Theater, drawing the attention of the True Creator through Heavenly Punishment. At Red Rose Manor, Edsac drank Trissy’s potion and became Adelina as Trissy prepared a substitution involving two dolls.

• Sno left an extravagant lunch and went to the reserved Ermida Grand Theater.
• Sno inserted Heavenly Punishment into the piano’s holder and played music that connected it to the True Creator.
• Edsac removed his royal ring, put on a ring marked “10” and “Kingdom,” and drank the potion Trissy had prepared.
• Trissy used the Plum Replaces Peach spell to animate two dolls and place Edsac’s royal signet ring on the male doll.
• Edsac finished transforming into Adelina, and Trissy gave her clothes and reminded her of her new name.

Sno performed in Backlund while using the True Creator’s gaze to bring his divided consciousness together, then changed his music as a strange fog spread through the East Borough. Old Kohler collapsed in the fog, but a man in black found him alive and called for help.

• Sno played at the Ermida Grand Theater as the True Creator watched him, and he sent Dodo away with a prepared letter.
• A distant glow appeared, and Sno paused before resuming a classical piece as the True Creator’s contamination eased.
• The True Creator’s sudden fury terrified Sno and briefly unified his split souls, allowing his main consciousness to return to his body.
• A Thirty-Six Winged Angel helped Sno recover, and Sno began playing a new movement as he resolved to save whoever he could.
• Old Kohler encountered a foul, iron-black and pale yellow fog in the East Borough, became gravely ill, and collapsed while clutching his ham.
• A man in black emerged from the fog, found Old Kohler alive, and called for help.

As the smog spread through Backlund, Sno’s song and the True Creator’s power helped people endure the deadly illness and survive. With the chorus reaching across the city, a mysterious woman appeared before Sno, who asked to make a deal with her.

• Liv and Freya followed Passion’s rescuers through the smog as they fled the Eastern Borough with dozens of other people.
• Passion and the Worker’s Movement led people in singing, and the growing chorus eased their symptoms while transferring their suffering to Heavenly Punishment.
• The True Creator’s consciousness grew clearer and stronger as the song gathered more followers and Sno played the movement on the piano.
• Sno activated all ten portions of Worshipper Beyonder Characteristics in the piano, causing the music and golden radiance to spread across Backlund.
• A black-haired woman appeared before Sno, and he greeted her before asking to make a deal.

After Eraser Angel disappeared, Sno recovered from the encounter and considered how to bring his split souls under control. Audrey learned that the crisis had been resolved, while Archbishop Anthony refused to tell the furious Reddar Valentinus how the Churches had learned of the Sorceress Cult’s conspiracy.

• Sno returned to the piano after Eraser Angel left and planned to use Pavlov's Dog's ability to unify his split souls.
• Audrey recognized the piano music becoming lively again and waited anxiously until Earl Hall returned and told her the matter had been resolved.
• Reddar Valentinus examined the Third Prince's drained corpse and demanded answers from Anthony Stevenson about the investigation and the Aurora Society.
• Anthony withheld the source of the information, thinking that he would follow the Oracle and keep the matter secret.