Chapter Summaries

Hao Ren and the others examined contradictions in his visions of the Red Moon and the Creation Goddess, then reconsidered how much of the Goddess’s work might have been influenced by the Lord of Madness. Alarmed that the unfinished Creation Engine could be part of that danger, Hao Ren ordered its assembly suspended.

• Hao Ren recounted his Red Moon discoveries and offered explanations for the Creation Goddess appearing sealed in a crystal throne.
• Lily and Nangong Sanba pointed out that the timeline undermined Hao Ren’s theory that the figure was the Goddess’s separated dark side.
• The group considered how the Lord of Madness could influence intelligent creatures, including the Creation Goddess, without thinking for itself.
• Hao Ren reviewed the Goddess’s many actions and worried that some might have served the Lord of Madness’s escape.
• Hao Ren told the Data Terminal to ask Lemendusa to suspend assembly of the Creation Engine, citing a fatal flaw in its blueprint.

After Vivian’s memories revealed that the Creation Goddess had split into two, Hao Ren worried that the Creation Engine might release the Lord of Madness and that the two identities could no longer be cleanly separated. Raven 12345 advised him that the Dark Valkyrie’s Bible could counter the corruption if they encountered the worst case.

• Hao Ren halted construction of the Creation Engine and planned to have its blueprints reviewed after the Red Moon experiment revealed the Creation Goddess’s split.
• Hilda thanked Hao Ren for involving the Erem Elves, who had gained useful inspiration for studying energy extraction.
• Hao Ren organized the new evidence and analyzed the Creation Goddess’s history with Nangong Sanba and Lily, but they found no clear way to distinguish her influence from the Lord of Madness’s.
• Vivian wondered whether the second Goddess, who inherited the Lord of Madness’s will, had been dragged into the Dark Domain and might be the one they eventually found.
• Hao Ren realized Vivian’s soul corruption and recurring madness had also originated from the Lord of Madness’s influence.
• Raven 12345 told Hao Ren to release the power of the Dark Valkyrie’s Bible if he faced a Creation Goddess corrupted by the Lord of Madness.

Hao Ren used Raven 12345’s method to read the divine book and received a blunt instruction to persuade the Creation Goddess by alternating reason with blows. Meanwhile, Lemendusa and Muru halted work on the Creation Engine, suspecting the real reason was connected to their mother, and Lemendusa recalled a faint shadow beside her before the God-slaying War.

• Hao Ren opened the black-bound book while Lily and Nangong Sanba watched, and concentrated on a question about what to do if the Creation Goddess had been corrupted.
• The book advised Hao Ren to reason with the Goddess, hit her with the chained book if she refused, and repeat until she listened; Hao Ren passed out after reading it.
• Lemendusa oversaw the suspension of the Creation Engine’s construction because its golden-disc cores were missing and Hao Ren had urgently ordered the project halted.
• Muru and Lemendusa agreed the blueprint flaw was probably an excuse and suspected the halt was connected to their mother.
• Lemendusa told Muru he knew some things but could not reveal them, then remembered a nearly imperceptible shadow beside the Creation Goddess before the God-slaying War.

After recovering from reading the Bible, Hao Ren discovered that the divine artifact offered an absurd oracle but had also granted him access to some of its power. The Data Terminal then combined the Red Moon’s star chart with a hidden chart from the Solar Dynasty ruins, revealing a complete route to a mysterious place in the Dream Plane.

• Hao Ren woke after passing out from reading the Bible and told Vivian that its oracle advised him to smack the corrupted Creation Goddess with the book.
• Hao Ren tested the Bible’s connection to him, heard its chain rattle, and put it away after deciding not to use it unless necessary.
• Hao Ren asked the Data Terminal to compare the Red Moon’s star chart with the charts they had collected.
• The Data Terminal found that the Red Moon chart complemented the star chart projected by the Great Pyramid on Purgatory Planet.
• The Data Terminal unfolded hidden coordinates in the Solar Dynasty chart and merged both charts into a complete map pointing to a mysterious place in the Dream Plane.

After the two halves of the star map were assembled, Hao Ren and Vivian realized that Vivian’s twin on Purgatory Planet had preserved one half before succumbing to corruption. Hao Ren sent reconnaissance drones toward the map’s mysterious coordinates, and two arrived safely two days later, sending back inconceivable images.

• Hao Ren and Vivian concluded that the Evil Spirit on Purgatory Planet had left the second half of the star map with the Solar Dynasty while she was still sane.
• Hao Ren proposed investigating the completed map’s coordinates, and the others gathered to hear his plan.
• Hao Ren explained that reconnaissance drones could jump near the unknown star sector using the map’s navigational data, despite the risk of deviation.
• The group agreed to send probes, and three reinforced reconnaissance drones began jumping toward the coordinates.
• Two days later, two drones reached the coordinates safely and transmitted utterly inconceivable images.

Hao Ren and his companions examined the drone probes’ reports at the Crystal Core Research Station, discovering a discontinuous spatial boundary and mysterious high-energy aggregates in an unexplored region. With the region roughly mapped, Hao Ren considered visiting it.

• Hao Ren gathered his companions at the Crystal Core Research Station and asked the drone swarm to explain what happened to the probes.
• The drone swarm reported that Probe One had gone missing during its jump, while Probes Two and Three reached the target system and recorded a boundary where the observed positions of stars abruptly changed.
• The drone swarm explained that space was discontinuous across the boundary, making nearby observations correspond to locations millions of light-years apart.
• Hao Ren used a cut-and-rejoined sheet of paper to explain the spatial displacement, while the Data Terminal joked about his non-explosive methods.
• The drone swarm showed Hao Ren images of disk-shaped high-energy aggregates scattered across the target region and reported that it had mapped the galaxy roughly.
• Hao Ren said the region looked worth visiting.

Hao Ren questioned the giants about the Red Moon’s connection to the Founding Star and learned that the Creation Goddess had brought the strange seabed crystals there. The clues suggested the Red Moon was a composite of the Founding Star across different eras, so Hao Ren decided Vivian should not summon it casually while the Lord of Madness remained a threat.

• Hao Ren told the giants that the Creation Engine’s blueprint might have been tampered with and asked whether Lockmadon had a lair on the Founding Star.
• Gorton confirmed that the Creation Goddess had made Lockmadon a lair on the Founding Star, while Locken said the strange crystals had not originally been there.
• Siv recalled seeing the Creation Goddess return from a long journey and cast similar crystals into the Sea of Origin.
• Hao Ren explained how Vivian’s Red Moon revealed the crystal clusters, and Vivian proposed that the Red Moon was a composite of the Founding Star across different eras.
• Hao Ren warned that Vivian should not summon the Red Moon casually because its connection to the Founding Star could provoke unpredictable consequences.

Hao Ren and his companions traveled to X Sector to investigate the unknown region and followed the star map left by the Creation Goddess. They crossed into X Sector safely, but an incoming high-energy attack struck just as they began heading for a drone outpost.

• Hao Ren decided to explore X Sector and brought his companions, including Vivian, while leaving Little Weakling in Nangong's parents' care.
• Hao Ren explained that he would wait to tell the Guardian Giants about the Creation Goddess until he confirmed her condition.
• Nolan established a direct link to the drone swarm, and Hao Ren ordered the ship to jump to X Sector.
• The ship crossed the discontinuous spatial boundary and arrived safely in X Sector's dark-purple starfield.
• As Nolan began navigating toward a drone outpost, the ship detected an offensive high-energy reaction and warned that the first impact was imminent.

Hao Ren and the crew were trapped by a vast energy storm as they approached the X Sector, and the Giant Turtle Rock Platform suffered severe damage while fighting to escape. With retreat and a precise jump impossible, Hao Ren ordered an emergency blind jump toward any gravitational source and summoned the drones to repair the ship and produce troops.

• Nolan raised the Giant Turtle Rock Platform’s shields and weapons when glowing energy branches attacked from every direction.
• Hao Ren ordered Nolan to fire on the branches’ energy nodes and accelerate toward an opening in the encirclement.
• The energy tendrils pursued the ship, and a powerful beam damaged the rear shield generators, hyperspace stabilizer, and gravity generator.
• Nolan reported that the attack carried divine power, while the storm grew too large for the ship to outrun or return through.
• Hao Ren ordered a blind jump toward any gravitational source and sent an emergency recall order to the drone swarm to repair the fortress and produce troops.

Hao Ren and his companions crash-landed on an abandoned planet after escaping a divine-power storm, leaving Nolan badly damaged but repairable. They confirmed the surface was safe and spotted overgrown city ruins, so Hao Ren planned an expedition.

• A damaged spaceship burst from distorted space and crashed on a wasteland outside a forest-swallowed city.
• Hao Ren and the others recovered on the bridge, and Nolan reported that her engines, jump system, shields, and other systems were damaged.
• Nolan said the ship could be repaired but would need at least a week before it could fly again.
• Nolan scanned the planet and found a comfortable, oxygen-rich environment with no threatening energy sources.
• Lily pointed out city ruins they had passed during the fall, and Nolan showed images of the vegetation-covered structures.
• Hao Ren decided to organize an expedition to explore the ruins.

Hao Ren led Vivian, Lily, and Nangong May into the alien jungle at night to scout ruins near the crash site while the Giant Turtle Rock Platform repaired itself. The group found a collapsed metal tower overgrown with vines, evidence that a civilization had once existed on the planet.

• Nolan recommended a route through the jungle, and Hao Ren assigned the rest of the group to remain aboard the ship while it repaired itself.
• Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, and Nangong May left the Giant Turtle Rock Platform to inspect ruins northwest of the crash site.
• Hao Ren and the others observed the crash damage as the ship began visibly restoring its hull and replacing ruined components.
• Lily noticed two moons in the sky, while Vivian sent shadow bats ahead to scout the jungle.
• Hao Ren's group encountered a collapsed metal tower covered in vines and moss, marking the remains of an ancient civilization.

Hao Ren's group explored the overgrown ruins of an ancient metropolis while investigating the deliberate divine-power attack that had stranded them on the planet. The Data Terminal revealed that the strange mountain range beside the city was actually an enormous tentacle reaching up from underground.

• Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, and the Data Terminal examined a durable relic and discussed how the planet's civilization might have fallen.
• Hao Ren and Lily considered who might have engineered the attack in space, but Hao Ren held off on deciding until they understood the divine-power storm.
• Hao Ren's group reached the city ruins and saw a vast, collapsed metropolis overrun by forest, while Vivian sent bats to search it and the Data Terminal scanned for energy traces.
• Hao Ren noticed a barren area where the forest had not reclaimed the land and wondered what had destroyed it.
• The Data Terminal showed the group footage of a smooth, dark formation beside the city, and Hao Ren recognized it as an enormous tentacle rising from underground.

Hao Ren discovered an active Firstborn tentacle on the planet and ordered the Lullaby system and engine repairs prioritized. He watched local aircraft bomb the tentacle and learned from their intercepted communication that they were returning to a base called Zenith Seat.

• Hao Ren recognized that the forest had grown around an active Firstborn tentacle and ordered Nolan to activate Lullaby and prioritize engine repairs.
• Six iron-gray aircraft flew over the ruins and attacked the Firstborn tentacle with missiles, gunfire, and specialized bombs.
• The Firstborn's force field destroyed four aircraft, while the surviving two completed their bombing run and continued toward their base.
• The Data Terminal intercepted the aircraft's communication and identified their base as Zenith Seat.

Hao Ren and his companions explored the ruins after discovering that survivors were still fighting the planet’s Firstborn. They entered a large, well-preserved building and found a hall filled with sculptures that might preserve the ancient civilization’s history.

• Hao Ren learned that the planet’s survivors were fighting the Firstborn and agreed with Nolan to gather intelligence while repairing the Giant Turtle Rock Platform.
• Hao Ren led Lily, Vivian, and Nangong May deeper into the ruins to search for records of the ancient civilization.
• The group reached a massive pyramid-shaped building and entered through a crack in its damaged exterior.
• Nangong May spotted a broken statue resembling a human, and Hao Ren concluded that the planet’s intelligent life had a familiar form.
• Vivian noticed a hall filled with sculptures and reliefs, which Hao Ren hoped had been made to preserve a message for future generations.

Hao Ren and his companions explored the ruined city and discovered reliefs depicting the Firstborn’s destruction of the planet’s civilization and its people’s attempted escape into space. After returning to Nolan, they debated what happened after the reliefs ended and questioned whether the aircraft they encountered belonged to descendants who stayed behind or people who had fled the planet.

• Hao Ren and his companions used the Data Terminal to restore damaged reliefs depicting the Firstborn destroying the native civilization and survivors launching spacecraft into space.
• Vivian pointed out that the reliefs ended with the spacecraft launches, leaving the fate of those who escaped unknown.
• Hao Ren’s group found sealed chambers containing the remains of city defenders who had died by suicide, along with ruined engines and reactors.
• Hao Ren and the others returned to Nolan by Spatial Teleportation after exploring the city and finding no further major clues.
• Hao Ren and the crew discussed the reliefs and concluded that the Firstborn’s destruction may have stopped after the native population died out.
• Hao Ren asked whether the aircraft they had encountered belonged to descendants who remained on the planet or to people launched into space.

Hao Ren’s group investigated the planet’s ruins and survivor attacks, then set out to recover data from crashed aircraft near a Firstborn tentacle. Lily detected a burnt smell as they reached the wreckage area.

• Hao Ren ordered Nolan to scan the planet and prepare armed Autonomous Mechanical Units for an expedition to the aircraft wrecks.
• Nolan scanned the continent overnight, finding extensive ruins, sluggish Firstborn tentacles, and signs of recent survivor bombardments but no survivor base.
• After breakfast, Hao Ren, Lily, Vivian, and May traveled to the forest boundary to search for the aircraft wreckage.
• The group entered the Firstborn tentacle’s sensory range, and the Data Terminal reported that nearby plants had detected them while the Firstborn had not reacted.
• Lily smelled something burnt and pointed toward its source.

Hao Ren and his companions searched the crash sites for aircraft wreckage and survivors, finding evidence of the attackers’ advanced weapons and industrial strength. Lily discovered a badly damaged robot woman who had shot her, leaving the group with a possible survivor to investigate.

• Hao Ren examined a wrecked radar compartment beside a neural offshoot of the Firstborn and concluded that the creature had stopped the aircraft abruptly.
• Lily led Hao Ren’s group to a weapons module, where the Data Terminal identified the remains of a railgun.
• Hao Ren and Vivian inferred that the attackers needed a substantial industrial system and population to sustain their war against the Firstborn.
• Hao Ren directed the Autonomous Mechanical Units to collect the wreckage for Nolan to study.
• Lily was shot while searching the forest, but May healed her superficial wound.
• Hao Ren’s group found a severely damaged robot woman in a burned-out crash site, and Vivian confirmed that Lily’s supposed injured person was a robot.

Hao Ren’s group recovered a badly damaged robot First Officer from the wreckage of four crashed craft and found no other survivors. He brought her back to the Giant Turtle Rock Platform, where Nolan began analyzing her parts to determine whether she could be repaired.

• The Data Terminal determined that Lily’s approach had triggered the robot’s defense system, causing a short circuit and system crash, and said her logic circuits and memory might still be intact.
• Hao Ren had the Autonomous Mechanical Units carefully cut the robot free and stored her remains, then searched the surrounding area and found no other survivors or intact pilots.
• Hao Ren led the group back to the Giant Turtle Rock Platform after retrieving Lily from the woods, where she had been picking fruit.
• Elizabeth volunteered to repair the robot, but Hao Ren forbade her from entering the laboratory and instructed Nolan to examine the wreckage instead.
• Nolan floated the robot’s remains above an engineering workbench and began dismantling and scanning the components while Lily ate fruit that Nangong May had checked for poison.

Hao Ren waited for the robot First Officer to be repaired while discussing the planet’s strange Firstborn with Vivian. Nolan then discovered a massive space structure in orbit, and Hao Ren suspected it was the giant spaceship shown in the relief.

• The analysis mainframe estimated that repairing the robot First Officer would take forty-eight hours and restore her to seventy percent functionality, so Hao Ren left the work to the laboratory.
• Hao Ren joined the crew in the ship’s bar, where they ate, played cards, and discussed the planet’s unusually inactive Firstborn.
• Vivian and Hao Ren noted that the Firstborn had barely reacted to the Lullaby System and had not shown the expected signs of nervous-system shutdown.
• Nolan repaired an optical observation module and showed the crew a massive egg-shaped space structure in orbit.
• Hao Ren guessed that the structure was the giant spaceship depicted in the relief as having launched into space.

Hao Ren discovered that the survivor resistance forces operated from a lunar industrial base and an orbital fortress, the Zenith Seat, and ordered Nolan to gather information and prepare for peaceful contact. Nolan also reported that the planet’s Firstborn had suffered brain death, leaving its tentacles with only basic reflexes.

• Nolan confirmed that the orbital Space Station was the Zenith Seat, the former escape ship, and that survivor spacecraft launched from it to attack the planet.
• Nolan revealed that the resistance army mined the moon for raw materials and manufactured War Weapons there, while the Zenith Seat served as its command center and frontline fortress.
• Hao Ren ordered Nolan to intercept the survivors’ communications and develop a contact plan while repairing the mothership’s engines, weapons, and shields.
• Hao Ren directed the drone swarms to build bases and a physical communications chain toward the mothership’s planetary system despite interference in the X Sector.
• Nolan reported that the planet’s adult Firstborn had abnormally sluggish neural activity and had suffered brain death.