Chapter Summaries

Sanders told Angel that Su Mishi had sent an illusionary message to Demon Illusion Island, where Sanders planned to investigate and bring Gloria into the Dream Wilderness. Angel reconsidered the importance of finding the hidden room beneath his ruins, but his attempt to repair the knight’s damaged magic pattern remained fruitless.

• Sanders told Angel that Su Mishi had sent an illusionary message to Demon Illusion Island and said he would go there and inform Gloria.
• After Sanders left, Angel reasoned that his ruins might be connected to the Star Pool Ruins and decided to search for their hidden room by repairing the magic pattern on the knight’s armor.
• The Dream Gate notified Angel that Gloria had entered the Dream Wilderness, and he allowed her through while leaving Sanders to explain the place to her.
• Angel returned to studying the damaged magic pattern, but after working through the night, he still could not determine how to repair it.

Angel weighed whether repairing the knight's armor would take too many years and considered the urgency of the Nightmare Realm creatures at the Star Pool Ruins. He discussed the ruins and his plans with Rhein and Tree Spirit, then said he would reveal the variable he intended to introduce into the Tea Party within a few days.

• Angel wondered whether he could repair the knight's damaged magic patterns more quickly, then decided to look for a map beyond the Star Pool Ruins' gates.
• Rhein and Tree Spirit arrived, and Tree Spirit reported that Su Mishi had sent an illusionary message to Sanders, who had returned to Demon Illusion Island and gone silent.
• Angel described his spiritual intuition about the Star Pool Ruins, and Rhein and Tree Spirit discussed whether the two ruins shared an origin.
• Rhein said he would enter the passage at the center of Star Pool that night to check whether the leather-shoed creature was still there, and he would notify Angel if it was safe.
• Tree Spirit and Rhein asked Angel about the variable he had mentioned, and Angel said he would reveal it within the next few days after refining it.

Angel and the Tree Spirit discussed why Sky Mechanical City had denied any connection to the Doomscape, and they concluded that the time for its plans might not have come yet. After reviewing Lord Rosen and Dean Muse’s denial, Angel wondered what future change would lead Sky Mechanical City to send apprentices into the Reincarnation Box, and planned to follow the Void Illusion Gate’s energy once it finished accumulating.

• The Tree Spirit questioned whether Sky Mechanical City knew about the Doomscape, and Angel said Dean Muse and Lord Rosen were unlikely to be lying; they agreed Horus should watch over the apprentices.
• The Tree Spirit asked why Baruba and the two Kula Kuka were asleep, and Angel said his dream-and-illusion experiment had caught them up in it.
• Angel recalled Oupulia’s recorded exchange with Lord Rosen, in which Rosen and Dean Muse denied that Sky Mechanical City was connected to the Doomscape.
• Angel reasoned that Sky Mechanical City might send apprentices into the Reincarnation Box in the future, despite denying any current involvement.
• Angel noted that the Void Illusion Gate’s special energy had covered nearly ninety percent of the Door Model and planned to investigate when it finished accumulating.

Rhein activated the Star Pool Ruins’ barrier and entered the passage, where he found terrifying Demonic Beasts waiting in the darkness. After Angel arrived, the Tree Spirit learned that Sanders was already on his way, though he could not understand how Angel had contacted him.

• Rhein, Wallace, and Iron Armor Granny activated the observation pavilions’ barrier around the Star Pool Ruins.
• Rhein opened the passage beneath the Star Pool and entered it, confirming that the illuminated section held no immediate danger.
• Rhein crossed into the darkness and found a gigantic drooling head and blood-eyed Demonic Beasts blocking the passage.
• Angel arrived and told the Tree Spirit that he had already informed Sanders, leaving the Tree Spirit bewildered.
• Footsteps sounded behind the Tree Spirit as he stood wondering how Angel had contacted Sanders.

Sanders, Angel, and the Tree Spirit flew to the Star Pool Ruins after Lord Rhein emerged, discussing the strange passage and Angel’s secret communication method. They reached the ruins ready to consult Rhein about the recurring Demonic Beasts and investigate the magic patterns behind the gate.

• Sanders arrived, confirmed that Lord Rhein had emerged from the passage, and set off for the Star Pool Ruins with Angel and the Tree Spirit.
• The Tree Spirit wondered how Angel had contacted Sanders across the Mirror World’s barrier, and Angel confirmed that he was developing an unusual communication method without revealing how it worked.
• The Tree Spirit explained that Demonic Beasts kept emerging from the passage’s darkness after each wave was defeated, though Lord Rhein had reached the ruins’ gate and glimpsed magic patterns behind it.
• Sanders and the Tree Spirit discussed using the pauses between waves to manage the Demonic Beasts while they accompanied Angel through the passage.
• Angel recognized the flying heads Rhein had encountered as Flying Skull Monsters, and Sanders cautioned him that they were not unique to the Nightmare Realm.
• The group arrived near the Star Pool Ruins to speak with Lord Rhein and plan their next steps.

As the Living Threads erupted around the Star Pool ruins, Angel sensed chaotic emotions and then heard a distinct message after arriving. Despite the danger, he chose to enter the ruins passage that day, where the creatures’ words suggested they knew he had arrived.

• Angel sensed a noisy rush of chaotic emotions coming from the ruins as Rhein warned that the Living Threads were erupting.
• Sanders and the Tree Spirit flew toward the ruins without encountering any Living Threads along the way.
• Rhein offered to postpone the exploration, but Angel chose to continue that day.
• Angel told Sanders that he had sensed the door again and heard coherent emotions praising the moonlight, the Queen, and Shava.
• Sanders concluded that the creatures inside the passage had sensed Angel’s arrival.

Angel, Sanders, and Rhein entered the Star Pool passage to inspect the ruins while avoiding its dangers. Inside, they discovered that the demiplane had become a near-extension of the Nightmare Realm, and Angel sensed only excited, agitated emotions from the creatures nearby.

• Rhein asked whether Angel's Shava disguise made entering the passage dangerous, and Angel said they would only inspect the ruins' gate.
• At the Star Pool, Rhein warned the group to prioritize safety, avoid entering the ruins, and retreat to the passage entrance if danger appeared; he activated the Wall of Condensed Light.
• Rhein and Sanders entered the passage first, followed by Angel, who felt unusually comfortable as the Nightmare Realm's aura strengthened his magic and stirred the Green Patterns in his right hand and eye.
• Sanders concluded that the demiplane had become fixed and could allow Nightmare Realm beings to unleash their full strength.
• Near the boundary between light and darkness, Angel sensed coherent emotions of excitement and agitation from nearby Demonic Beasts, but detected no other clear emotional presence.

Angel, Sanders, and Rhein fought their way through a dark passage where Demonic Beasts repeatedly emerged from the darkness and vanished after death. As the creatures appeared more frequently, Rhein chose to press on toward the gate, but a tentacled spherical Demonic Beast appeared ahead.

• A Blue-Eyed Troll confronted Angel, but Sanders cut it down after Angel moved aside.
• Angel and Sanders caught up with Rhein as Demonic Beasts continued to emerge from the darkness after being killed.
• A fragrant breeze announced Poisonthorn Red Creepers, which Sanders burned to ashes after the group blocked their poisonous fragrance.
• Sanders noticed that the Demonic Beasts were appearing more frequently, but Rhein decided to continue toward the nearby gate.
• A twisted spherical Demonic Beast surrounded by tentacles emerged from the darkness ahead.

Rhein, Angel, and Sanders fought through waves of Demonic Beasts and discovered that Spherical Demons persisted after death and could enhance other creatures. At the ruin’s gate, Angel scanned its material and recognized it as the same material used in the gate to the ruins where he had lived.

• Rhein killed several Spherical Demons, and Angel noticed their remains were not consumed by the darkness.
• Rhein suggested the Spherical Demons might be living agents of another creature or might differ from the other Demonic Beasts.
• A Spherical Demon attached to a Blue-Eyed Troll, and the troll endured four of Rhein’s Silent Slaughter attacks before dying.
• Angel, Sanders, and Rhein concluded that the Spherical Demon had enhanced the troll’s abilities, and Rhein suggested capturing one for study.
• Angel scanned the ruin’s gate with the Eye of Nalda and recognized its primary material as the same as the gate to the ruins where he had lived.

Angel and Rhein investigated a door made from the same rare alloy as the gate at Angel’s ruins, strengthening their suspicion that the two sites were connected. While Angel cautiously probed beyond the doorway, Rhein killed a Stitched Corpse Demon, then sensed agitation in the darkness as Angel’s spiritual power moved slowly into what might be a demi-plane.

• Angel recognized that the door used the same rare alloy as the gate at his ruins, and Rhein agreed to investigate the connection later.
• Rhein opened the door and told Angel to inspect the corridor beyond it with his spiritual power without crossing the threshold.
• A Stitched Corpse Demon emerged from the darkness behind them, and Rhein killed it while Sanders guarded Angel.
• Rhein sensed something agitated in the darkness after the Stitched Corpse Demon was defeated.
• Angel’s spiritual tendrils crossed the doorway into a realm that felt like a demi-plane, where oppressive forces slowed his search for magic patterns.

Rhein and Sanders discovered that the stitched corpse demon approaching them was the missing wizard Ifige, whose abilities had been greatly amplified by a spherical demon. Rhein attacked Ifige and, as the creature began regenerating its shattered arms, prepared another Silent Slaughter to finish him.

• Rhein and Sanders recognized Ifige's head embedded in a massive stitched corpse demon and saw a spherical demon clinging above him.
• Rhein told Sanders to protect Angel and set up a defensive barrier, then attacked Ifige with Silent Slaughter.
• Ifige's Demon Manta Ray defensive spell blocked Rhein's first attack, revealing the spherical demon's powerful amplification.
• Rhein struck Ifige with five Silent Slaughters, shattering both arms, but Ifige survived by shielding his head.
• Ifige roared and began regenerating his arms, while Rhein gathered another Silent Slaughter and released it before the regeneration was complete.

Rhein killed Ifige, whose soul had been taken by the hidden controller of the stitched corpse demon. As Sanders began to evacuate Angel from the ruins, the controller appeared around the passageway corner, lamenting the loss of its pet.

• Rhein destroyed Ifige and the Spherical Demon, and Ifige's remains faded away.
• Rhein and Sanders suspected that the unseen controller held Ifige's bound soul.
• Rhein collected remnants of the Spherical Demon to study later with Dumartin.
• Rhein and Sanders sensed imminent danger in the passageway, and Rhein ordered Sanders to take Angel out.
• Sanders urged Angel to open the Void Illusion Gate and retreat, but a strange voice appeared with the familiar leather shoes at the passageway corner.

Sanders pulled Angel away from the ruins’ gate as an invisible, leather-shoed Demonic Beast appeared and began fighting Rhein. Sanders and Angel escaped through the Void Illusion Gate, but something struck Angel as they tried to pass through the water ripples to reach the Star Pool.

• Sanders used the Nightmare Substitute to take Angel away from the ruins’ gate, leaving a black-flamed nightmare in their place.
• Rhein confronted the faceless, invisible Demonic Beast, which spoke of Angel as “Your Excellency” and called Rhein a Watcher before Rhein raised a wall of Silence.
• Sanders explained that they were still on the dark side and led Angel through the Void Illusion Gate to the illuminated passage.
• Angel opened another Void Illusion Gate, and Sanders led him toward the water ripples that would take them to the Star Pool.
• As Angel tried to pass through the water ripples, he collided with something and was hit by an enormous force.

Angel was pulled into a wall by a hidden creature after a Void Traveler attacked him near the water ripples. Sanders and Iron Armor Granny sealed the breach before void energy could enter the passage, while Sanders captured and killed the Void Traveler.

• Angel dodged an unseen creature’s attack and began constructing Break Illusion to reveal it.
• Transparent hands emerged from the wall behind Angel, pulled him into it, and made him vanish.
• Sanders struck the wall and opened a hole that leaked void energy, but Iron Armor Granny sealed it with soft mud.
• Sanders identified the attacker as a Void Traveler, restrained it with spiritual force, and seized it.
• Sanders crushed the Void Traveler in his hand.

Sanders and Iron Armor Granny investigated the creature that had taken Angel, but found no aura beyond Angel’s lingering presence. Several Void Travelers appeared, rescued their damaged companion, and escaped into the wall, leaving Sanders and Iron Armor Granny wondering why the rare creatures had gathered in the ruins.

• Iron Armor Granny could sense no aura behind the wall apart from Angel’s, while Sanders questioned whether the hidden creature was alive or belonged to a special race.
• Sanders discovered that the Void Traveler he had crushed was reassembling and prepared to destroy it again.
• Three more Void Travelers appeared and saved their companion from Sanders’ spell.
• Sanders and Iron Armor Granny tried to capture the newcomers, but the three Void Travelers fled through the wall carrying chunks of their companion.
• Sanders concluded that the Void Travelers carried almost no Nightmare Realm aura, and Iron Armor Granny wondered what had drawn them to the ruins.

Angel was carried through darkness by an intelligent Nightmare Realm creature and dropped into a mushroom-filled garden inside the ruins. He found that the Void Illusion Gate could not take him out of the demiplane, leaving him to search for a way out.

• Angel sensed the unseen creature holding him as it carried him through darkness, its emotions shifting rapidly.
• After they crossed into the Nightmare Realm, Angel tried to look at his companion, but it shrieked, fled as green smoke, and left him falling.
• Angel landed in a mushroom garden and found no trace of the creature that had brought him there.
• Angel sensed the dense Nightmare Realm aura and concluded that the garden was inside a demiplane.
• Angel tried to open the Void Illusion Gate but could not lock onto the passage, so he realized he would have to find his own way out of the ruins.

Angel searched for a way out of the strange mushroom garden while three emerald-green mushrooms followed him. After crossing a pink stream, he encountered a bee wearing a red-pink bib and a pink hat.

• Angel told Sanders that he was trapped in an unfamiliar mushroom garden and promised to find a way out, and Sanders urged him to prioritize his safety and stay in contact.
• Angel woke in the garden and discovered three emerald-green mushrooms that showed affection toward him and followed him underground wherever he went.
• Angel headed in the direction where the woman who had hugged him had disappeared, hoping she could provide information.
• Angel crossed a pink stream with his Void Illusion Gate and continued over a small hill.
• Angel saw a bee wearing a red-pink bib and a pink hat.

Angel encountered Bee Blair while passing through the mushroom garden, which Blair called Duoling Garden, and used Shava’s identity to avoid a confrontation. Blair recognized him as Lord Shava, but Angel’s attempt to learn more about their acquaintance ended with Blair disappointed that he remembered only its outfit.

• Angel spotted a giant bee dressed as a nurse and farmer, and cautiously walked past it rather than retreating or attacking.
• Bee Blair swung its hoe to stop a strand of Miying mycelium from reaching Angel, then bowed and addressed him as Lord Shava.
• Blair praised the moonlight, the Queen, and Shava, and explained that its lack of focus had nearly let Miying’s offspring disturb Angel.
• Angel learned that the place was called Duoling Garden and pretended that Blair looked familiar to test what it knew.
• Blair said it had seen Angel at the Queen’s procession, but Angel clarified that he recognized only its outfit, leaving Blair dejected.

Angel impersonated Shava while questioning Blair about Duoling Garden and Misty Gold. Blair revealed that the garden’s only exit was in Misty Gold’s castle chimney, leaving Angel with no answer about why Misty Gold had brought him there.

• Angel inferred that Blair revered Shava but had never met her, so he continued impersonating Shava while questioning it.
• Blair said it was planting Miying near Pink Princess on Misty Gold’s orders and identified Misty Gold as the owner of Duoling Garden and Lord Nuka’s subordinate.
• Angel recognized the name Nuka from Pat Manor but abandoned his questions about Nuka to focus on leaving the ruins.
• Blair told Angel that Duoling Garden’s only exit to Heart’s Desire was inside the chimney on Misty Gold’s castle roof.
• Angel learned that Misty Gold had brought him to Duoling Garden, but Blair did not know why she had sought him.

Angel observed Blair cultivate Miying in Duoling Garden and learned that it could control humans more effectively than Illusion Performance. He suspected Miying might be connected to the Living Threads outbreak, leaving him wary of the danger it posed.

• Angel stayed to watch Blair cultivate Miying, while Blair mistook his attention for a chance to impress Lord Shava.
• Blair nourished Miying with Pink Princess's tears, then used its bloodlit tail spike to transform a small mushroom into a house-sized fungus that released glowing green dust.
• Angel sensed countless living things within the green dust and remained alert to its unknown effects.
• Blair said its injured tail spike prevented Miying from reaching its mature form, but claimed it could still control most humans.
• Blair revealed that Miying had controlled a captured human who resisted Illusion Performance, leading Angel to suspect a link between Miying, Illusion Performance, and the Living Threads outbreak.