Chapter Summaries

Angel escaped the Base Laboratory and discovered it had risen into the sky, where No. 01 was using it to attack the Shiz larva. After No. 02 attacked him and Ermi drove the attackers off, Angel left and received a Mind Tether message from Lord Ruye asking how things were going.

• Angel reached the laboratory exit during the upheaval and flew out into the sky.
• Angel saw the airborne Base Laboratory attacking the Shiz larva and recognized No. 01 on one of its steel tentacles.
• No. 02 ambushed Angel, but Ermi blocked his attacks and overpowered him with shadow magic.
• No. 01 attacked Angel, but the figure was an illusion; after Angel disappeared, No. 01 sent No. 02 to find No. 03 and ordered No. 04 through No. 10 to inspect the laboratory.
• No. 01 resolved to continue his final objective against the Shiz larva despite doubting that Reynolds's fortune could help him.
• Angel descended toward the seafloor, picked up a black crystal sent by Lord Ruye, and heard Lord Ruye ask how things were going.

Angel confirmed that No. 00 was the laboratory itself and reunited with Nis while carrying Reynolds's badly injured body. Meanwhile, Kant and Feiluo fought the mutated No. 03, and a pink octopus traveled through the void toward the Southern Region.

• Angel saw the scarlet No. 00 marking beneath the airborne laboratory and flew to meet Nis.
• Nis explained that No. 03 had attacked Feiluo, fled after Kant arrived, and later mutated during the pursuit.
• Angel showed Nis and Reynolds the battered body in the ice coffin, then kept it after Reynolds refused to possess it and Nis offered to hold it.
• Kant and Feiluo faced No. 03, whose body had transformed into a tree-like form crowned with a fruit radiating mystery.
• A pink octopus crossed the void toward the Southern Region and glimpsed a mist-shrouded sea.

Boloye received the Inspector’s warning about the limits of its mission in the Southern Region, then set out to find Deep Space and its target. After Gruzdaiwald sensed a mysterious observer in the void, Boloye headed for the Southern Region while Angel and the others learned that No. 03 had transformed and grown stronger during her fight with Lord Ruye.

• The Inspector warned Boloye not to overstep while carrying out its mission, but Boloye accused him of discrimination and declared it would do as it pleased.
• Gruzdaiwald told Boloye the Order Guild would not punish it on his account, but warned that Southern Region powers and Shiz could retaliate if Shiz’s descendants were harmed.
• Boloye detected Deep Space possessing a decaying Demonic Beast and set off to investigate its target.
• Gruzdaiwald’s thought projection sensed a powerful, unusual presence watching from the void and advised Boloye to head to the Southern Region instead of seeking it out.
• Angel told Nis, Feiluo, and Kant about the Inspector and urged them to leave the area, while Feiluo reported that No. 03 had eaten something, transformed into a treant-like being, and greatly increased her strength.

Angel and Nis hurried toward Feiluo as No. 03’s transformation drew sea beasts and her red fruit increasingly attracted anyone who saw it. After Shiz’s cries faded and a vast wave of sorrow swept across the seas, Angel joined Feiluo and Nis, protected them from the fruit’s influence, and noticed that the seawater around No. 03 had turned red.

• Feiluo told Angel and Nis that No. 03 had become a treant, that sea beasts were gathering near her, and that Kant seemed fixated on the red fruit growing atop her head.
• Angel and Nis decided to reach Kant and warn him that Phantom City’s pursuit team was coming, while Shiz’s increasingly desperate cries signaled that the juvenile form was nearing death.
• A sorrowful breath drowned out the law energy waves, and radiance fell into the sea as terrifying phenomena stirred across the Mist Belt and part of the Devil Sea.
• At Summer Dew Ridge, a little girl told Madam Pei that the sea’s atmosphere seemed unusual, then left in her basket; elsewhere, a black-robed man on a giant ray recalled a similar feeling from when the favored child of sky and sea departed.
• Angel and Nis met Feiluo and saw No. 03 atop towering waves; the red fruit drew their attention so strongly that Angel used his Green Pattern’s Domain Field to weaken its pull on Nis and Feiluo.
• Angel observed that the seawater around No. 03 looked red, and Nis agreed that its color seemed strange.

As No. 03’s fruit grew more potent by absorbing the blood of sea beasts, it overcame Soul Touch and drew in even desireless Shadow Clones, leaving Angel and the others unable to reach Kant. The Inspector arrived and revealed that the fruit was a mysterious object in a state of half-disorder.

• Angel saw the sea beasts tearing each other apart and their blood being absorbed by No. 03, which made the fruit’s allure grow stronger.
• Nis sent a bone-armored soul attendant toward Kant, but the fruit drew it toward No. 03 and the battlefield’s energy destroyed it.
• Angel sent one of Ermi’s Shadow Clones to test the fruit; it too changed course toward No. 03, then exploded in the energy field.
• The group recognized that they could not safely leave Angel’s light barrier or contact Kant, while No. 03’s fruit continued to grow brighter.
• The Inspector appeared, confirmed the fruit was a mysterious object, and told Angel it was in a state of half-disorder.

Angel learned that the fruit was a mysterious object still short of full disorder, so the Inspector could observe it but not intervene. The group chose to stop its maturation and realized X3 might be able to do so; after subduing No. 02’s party, Reynolds began explaining their plan to X3.

• The Inspector explained that the fruit’s attraction might change as it matured and that he could act only after it fell completely into disorder.
• Angel concluded that stopping the fruit’s maturation was safer than accelerating it, while Kant remained trapped in a battle with No. 03 under the fruit’s influence.
• Dangros spotted No. 02 leading a group through the mist, and Reynolds recognized X3 as Song, his former close friend.
• Angel and Nis realized X3’s sea-beast control might stop the fruit from maturing, so they decided to capture the group rather than let them scout ahead.
• Ermi subdued No. 02, Angel sent the other combatants away in an illusion, and Feiluo took No. 02 for questioning.
• Nis told X3 she could leave alive if she helped, and Reynolds began explaining the plan to her.

Angel forced X3 to use her Soul Armament, the Shepherd’s Song, to turn away the sea beasts and slow the Mystic Fruit’s maturation. With the immediate danger contained, Angel and the others faced the harder choice of how to rescue Kant.

• Reynolds tried to persuade X3 to stop the sea beasts, but she rejected him and insisted the base could not be threatened.
• Feiluo reported that No. 02 knew nothing about No. 03’s fruit, and Nis ordered that No. 02 be kept captive for the Tree Spirit Lord.
• Angel used Nightmare Illusion to take control of X3’s body and warned that the illusion would punish her if she acted against them.
• X3 flew out to sea with Reynolds and Feiluo, then played her Soul Armament’s Shepherd’s Song to calm and guide away the sea beasts.
• Angel and Nis handled the powerful sea beasts that resisted X3’s song, and the Mystic Fruit’s maturation slowed.
• Angel and the others considered whether to seize the Mystic Fruit or focus on awakening Kant while the Inspector watched.

Angel and Nis sought a way to reach Kant through the unstable Night Veil, then requested reinforcements as the Mystic Fruit’s attraction spread to more sea beasts. After Angel stabilized the space for Sanders’s arrival, he asked the Inspector about the Shiz Juvenile and the Mist Shadow’s actions at the laboratory.

• Angel asked Nis how they could stabilize the spatial fluctuations around Kant, and Nis proposed finding a spatial wizard or an experienced True-Knowledge Wizard.
• Feiluo reported that the Mystic Fruit was attracting sea beasts from beyond the reef boundary, and the Inspector said No. 03 might be consciously helping the fruit mature.
• Angel and Nis decided to request reinforcements; Angel contacted Sanders through Nis and then stabilized the surrounding space for Sanders’s arrival.
• Nis warned Angel not to seek compensation from Lord Ruye, and Angel reminded him that their contract and the information he wanted were still in Angel’s hands.
• The Inspector told Angel that the Shiz Juvenile was near death but might be saved by its bloodline ancestor or the city lord of Phantom City.
• Angel showed the Inspector that No. 01’s bottle was inside the Geometric Lock, and the Inspector explained that the Mist Shadow had attacked the laboratory to draw its people away from the Shiz Juvenile.

Angel learned that the bottle contained a Crystal Shell shed by Shiz, then explained that the Dream Wilderness and Mother Tree Network had enabled Sanders to arrive quickly. The Inspector accepted Angel’s invitation to explore the Dream Wilderness as the group prepared to address the pressing situation.

• The Inspector confirmed that the bottle held a Crystal Shell shed by Shiz, and Angel considered using it as an organ while weighing the risk of angering Phantom City.
• Angel asked whether Reynolds’s unusual luck came from a talent, but the Inspector could not identify its cause before a Planar Corridor opened nearby.
• Sanders emerged from the corridor, and Angel’s Domain Field eased the pressure he felt from the Inspector’s aura.
• The Inspector wondered how Angel and Nis had summoned Sanders, and Angel explained that the Dream Wilderness and Mother Tree Network had helped Sanders arrive quickly.
• Angel offered the Inspector a monocle so he could visit the Dream Wilderness, noting that a full explanation would take time.

Angel and Sanders rescued Kant from the fruit’s influence by stabilizing the space around him and pulling him through the Void Illusion Gate. As the group prepared to retreat from No. 03 and the strange fruit, the fog vanished and the Inspector announced that something had arrived.

• The Inspector accepted Angel’s monocle after deciding its truth was worth the restitution he might owe.
• Angel explained Nis’s plan to rescue Kant, and Sanders used spatial rituals to stabilize Kant’s location while Angel opened the Void Illusion Gate.
• Angel and Nis used the Green Pattern Domain Field, Magic Hands, and a skeletal chain to pull Kant through the gate.
• Sanders treated Kant, who recovered enough to stop the Night Veil from backlashing, but No. 03 approached on a towering wave.
• Kant urged everyone to retreat from the fruit, but the sky turned to night and the fog rapidly disappeared.
• The Inspector watched the changed firmament and said, “It has come.”

Boluoye, a Phantom City second-class citizen with power comparable to a Legend, arrived in the Southern Region and confronted the Observer. After noticing Angel and the mysterious object near No. 03, Boluoye chose to pursue its mission target, No. 01, before attempting to claim the object.

• A spatial rift opened above the Mist Belt, and Boluoye emerged, overwhelming the area with pressure and tearing the rift apart with its tentacles.
• No. 01 stood over Shiz's corpse and taunted Boluoye, but Boluoye recognized him and flew toward No. 03 instead.
• Boluoye met the Observer, who warned it to obey the Southern Region's rules while allowing it to pursue the mysterious object if it did not cross the line.
• The City Lord drew Boluoye's attention to Angel's Green Pattern and Domain Field, but Boluoye ultimately shifted its gaze away from him.
• Boluoye confirmed that the Observer would not interfere with its attempt to obtain the mysterious object, then decided to deal with No. 01 first and flew toward the laboratory.

Angel and his companions left the laboratory waters for Reefrock Island, while the Observer reflected on the opportunity Angel had missed. On the way, Reynolds heard the Call of the Soul Homeland, revealing that the Quest World was about to connect with the Southern Wizarding World and draw many undead toward it.

• After Boluoye departed, Angel and the others thanked the Observer and left the central waters aboard the Gondola, heading for Reefrock Island.
• Angel reviewed the laboratory expedition and discussed No. 01’s likely fate with Feiluo and Kant through the Mind Tether.
• As the group neared Reefrock Island, Reynolds said he heard a supernatural tide calling to him, and Nis identified it as the Call of the Soul Homeland.
• Angel used Soul-Severing Murmur and heard the call himself, while Sanders explained that it heralded the Quest World’s approaching connection with the Southern Wizarding World.
• Nis and Kant explained that the connection would draw many undead into the Quest World and make ancient ruins easier to explore.

Angel and his companions returned to Reefrock Island, then detoured to Ghost Shipyard Island to check on Lunke after the Mist Belt cleared. As Nis and Nausicaa examined Lunke aboard the Moonlight Tu Bird, Angel discovered a pale purple outline in his spatial bracelet and went off alone to investigate it.

• Nis and Angel discussed whether No. 01 had planned to die and enter Quest World to escape Phantom City’s pursuit.
• The group landed at Reefrock Island, reunited with Nausicaa and the others, and decided to leave the dangerous Mist Belt by way of Ghost Shipyard Island.
• Kant told Angel that he had come to find him about a troublesome matter and promised to explain it privately.
• At Ghost Shipyard Island, Angel left the others and found a pale purple outline in his spatial bracelet.
• Nis and Nausicaa visited Lunke aboard the Moonlight Tu Bird to observe how he was responding to Forging Water, while Reynolds remained with Sanders.

Nis discovered that Lunke was still enduring the Forging Water’s tempering, and Angel announced his decision to return alone to the center of the Mist Belt. After leaving the Moonlight Tu Bird, Angel was joined by an illusionary avatar of Sanders, who accompanied him part of the way.

• Nis realized that Lunke’s Forging Water tempering had not ended and explained that Lunke had endured the pain without collapsing.
• Nis expressed interest in taking Lunke as an apprentice if he possessed a soul-type Gift, while Angel and the others visited the medical room.
• Angel told the group he planned to return to the center of the Mist Belt, and Sanders accepted his decision after Angel said he would go alone.
• Angel explained that witnessing the birth of an object of disorder could help his alchemy, then prepared to leave in fifteen minutes.
• Angel stored his copied books in the Dream Wilderness, bid farewell to the group, and flew away from the Moonlight Tu Bird.
• Sanders sent an illusionary avatar to join Angel and accompany him part of the way.

Angel continued toward the center of the Mist Belt after telling Sanders that he had to perform a positioning task and felt his choice could alter the course of his life. The Time Thief noticed the marked choice but decided not to intervene, instead setting Angel’s clock among the clocks of beings with far-reaching influence.

• Sanders warned Angel that his life mattered and asked whether he trusted someone to save him, while Angel confirmed he still intended to return to the center of the Mist Belt.
• Angel explained that he was returning only to perform a positioning task that Hyde Land could not do, and that a strong premonition had convinced him his choice was important.
• Sanders recognized Angel’s premonition as resembling the feelings caused by the Time Thief’s mark, then stopped trying to dissuade him and wished him a safe return before vanishing.
• After Sanders left, Angel questioned whether his decision had been influenced by anything outside himself.
• The Time Thief noticed that a marked choice had stirred, but a bad premonition stopped him from passing through a metal door to reach it.
• The Time Thief recognized Angel in the clock’s phantom, left Angel’s clock beside the great timewheel, and called him a boy with far-reaching influence.

Angel returned to the central Mist Belt to observe No. 03’s impending advancement and found Boluoye holding No. 01 captive nearby. Boluoye questioned No. 01 about Angel as the growing disorder drew Angel closer to No. 03.

• Angel flew into the central Mist Belt with Dangros and headed toward No. 03, judging that the mass of dead sea beasts meant the fruit above it was nearing maturity.
• Angel approached the tidal walls despite the strengthening pull of disorder, using his Domain Field to resist it and carefully tracking its increase.
• Boluoye noticed Angel and discussed with Gruzdaiwald whether his connection to another world or the Shiz larva’s shed shell warranted concern; Gruzdaiwald said Angel’s arrival was not an assignment from that world.
• Boluoye removed No. 01’s language seal by striking him, then demanded to know who Angel was.
• No. 01 said he did not know Angel and only knew that Angel had once secretly entered the laboratory; Boluoye considered asking Deep Space about him, while a white-haired inspector also spotted Angel.

Angel persuaded the Inspector to let him stay nearby by claiming his return followed a Choice of Fate, then waited with him as the disorderly object accumulated sacrifices. The Inspector began explaining his theory about Reynolds’s unusual fortune, ending with the story of Childe, whose family prospered through increasingly extraordinary luck.

• Angel told the Inspector that the Time Thief had marked him and that Fate Guidance had led him to return, convincing the Inspector to let him remain at his side.
• The Inspector warned Angel that Boluoye was spoiled, dangerous, and interested in him, while assuring him he would be safe nearby.
• Angel watched No. 03, Boluoye, and No. 01 from a high point and considered whether Wang Wang might help kill Boluoye.
• The Inspector offered to explain Reynolds’s peculiar fortune, saying he had never heard of a luck talent and could only provide a guess.
• The Inspector recounted how Childe’s impoverished family gained extraordinary luck after his birth and became wealthy merchants through improbable coincidences.

The Inspector explained how Childe’s lifelong misfortune became the Misfortune Coin, a mysterious object that harms its holder while bringing luck to others nearby. He suggested Reynolds’s luck might have a similar origin, but stressed that this was only speculation.

• The Inspector described how Childe’s sisters and parents abused and abandoned him, and how he died from an infected whipping wound in a dog cage.
• After Childe’s death, his misfortune gathered in a cemetery, where it killed visitors and Efa Wizards until a mysterious hunter uncovered the fragment that became the Misfortune Coin.
• The Inspector explained that the Misfortune Coin brings its holder worsening bad luck while improving the luck of nearby people, and that its unattended field causes misfortune within a kilometer.
• Angel connected Childe’s story to Lucas’s lies becoming real and recognized that both cases might involve mysterious objects.
• The Inspector suggested Reynolds’s luck might be connected to a mysterious object, but said there was no proof and that such objects were best left to arise naturally.

Angel connected with Wang Wang through the Void Network and learned that Boluoye carried a fragment of Gruzdaiwald’s consciousness. Wang Wang planned to rescue a trapped Void Traveler with help from a powerful adult, while the Inspector noticed Angel’s interaction with Hyde Land just as a splash sounded nearby.

• Angel used Hyde Land to contact Wang Wang and confirmed that he was less than one nautical mile from Boluoye.
• Wang Wang revealed that Boluoye contained a fragment of Gruzdaiwald’s consciousness and explained that it wanted to rescue a Void Traveler trapped in Phantom City.
• Angel warned Wang Wang that confronting Gruzdaiwald was dangerous, and Wang Wang said it had asked a powerful adult to help instead.
• Angel ended the communication and soothed Hyde Land while preparing to check the mysterious fruit’s progress.
• The Inspector asked whether Void Travelers could communicate and questioned Angel about Hyde Land’s energy tendrils, but a splash interrupted him.

The mysterious fruit’s heartbeat grew stronger, spreading dangerous fluctuations across the Devil Sea and drawing wizards toward the Mist Belt. As Angel watched it change, familiar faces began gathering nearby, leaving the story poised for the fruit’s next metamorphosis and the arrival of more intruders.

• The mysterious fruit beat at shortening intervals, turning the surrounding sea into a vast field of blood and spreading its fluctuations beyond the Mist Belt.
• Si Man sensed the mysterious aura near Sidro Island, sent Helen to notify Madam Pei, and flew toward the Mist Belt to investigate.
• News of a possible mysterious object spread through Sky Mechanical City and wizard organizations, prompting individuals to travel toward the Mist Belt.
• Sanders warned the others that the fruit’s disorder could be far more dangerous than the Silver Palm Island incident, then had Nis enter the Dream Wilderness to warn Savage Cave away.
• After waiting half a day as the fruit’s beats accelerated, Angel spotted Maguston among the wizards gathered nearby and recognized another familiar wizard.