Chapter Summaries

Angel used the Authority to learn about Dreamland Zoo, an instance that could provide tamable Fairyland pets, and decided with Laplace to bring it into being. Laplace revealed that A Lan, the Dream Chaser, was once human and the son of Hollow Men.

• Angel searched the Authority and learned that A Lan would appear with Dreamland Zoo, a Deep Dream instance that could be entered through dreams or Entry Tickets.
• Angel explained how tickets could be obtained and that Dreamland Zoo's vicious beasts could be tamed into Fairyland pets and brought back to reality with A Lan's approval.
• Angel and Laplace decided to purchase Light Swan and Evil Abyss so Dreamland Zoo could manifest, and Laplace looked forward to meeting A Lan.
• Angel wondered whether A Lan belonged to the Head-Mirror Race, and Laplace said that he had once been human and that both his parents were Hollow Men.

Laplace explained how A Lan’s Dream Friend ability shaped his life and how the separation of the Dream Realm from the Mirror World ended his dreams and led to his death. As Angel rested during the display, Little Red received newly purchased Hollow Men, and Laplace began explaining how Hollow Men came to be.

• Laplace told Angel that A Lan’s Dream Friends had been his family, but after the Dream Realm and Mirror World decoupled, A Lan could no longer dream and died while searching for a way to see them again.
• Angel and Laplace discussed how A Lan might have dreamed again if he had left the Mirror Realm, though he had never thought to seek his parents’ homeland.
• Angel rested while Laplace arranged for Gleipnir to buy Light Swan and Evil Abyss from the Head-Mirror Race, and Guta Lace secured them at a discount.
• Little Red received an oval mirror containing newly purchased Hollow Men, all humanoids whose origins she needed to identify for the All Things House.
• Angel asked Laplace where Hollow Men came from, and she explained that they could be deliberately thrown into the Empty Mirror Sea, swept there by a void disaster, or enter it accidentally through a connection with a real mirror.

Angel discussed cultivating Hollow Men as True Person NPCs to handle public-facing work for Dream Crystal Plain, and Laplace agreed to ask Hound Butler to plan the process. As a new race took the main display platform, Luigi explained that the Aroma-Seeking Tribe came from the roaming mirror world called Wandering Forest.

• Laplace described four ways beings could become Hollow Men, and Angel said he wanted to cultivate some as public faces for Dream Crystal Plain.
• Laplace agreed to ask Hound Butler to plan the Hollow Men’s cultivation, while Angel said Dream Wilderness would not need them.
• Sypolov explained that small races’ products and medium-sized races’ research topics attracted attention because they offered bargains or fresh ideas.
• The Aroma-Seeking Tribe from Wandering Forest took the display platform, and Sypolov identified them for Angel.
• Luigi explained that Wandering Forest roamed the Day Mirror Domain like a vessel, then recalled how its residents had walked out during his poetry performance.

Angel watched Ku Yena of the Aroma-Seeking Tribe present the tribe’s incense powder and learned that her humanlike appearance came from ties to the Yingji Race, possibly through biological experiments. As Ku Yena promoted an upgraded powder, Angel asked Laplace about the Wandering Forest’s mysterious origin legend, which she had found recorded on an ancient stone slab but could not verify.

• Angel recognized Ku Yena’s Aroma-Seeking Tribe as makers of incense powder and listened as Luigi explained that most of its members resembled plants or fungi.
• Sypolov said Ku Yena had visited relatives in Ice Country and suggested that biological experiments might explain her mixed Yingji and Aroma-Seeking Tribe ancestry.
• Ku Yena introduced Dark Incense Powder, an upgraded Netherpath Incense Powder that doubled how long Grudge Woman Town’s Mirror Ghosts could remain lucid.
• Angel asked Laplace whether the Wandering Forest’s legend of a mysterious forest spirit was true, and Laplace explained that she had found it on an ancient stone slab but could not confirm its reliability.

Angel heard Laplace’s account of the Origin Land, which offered little information about the Nightmare Realm, before the Aroma-Seeking Tribe shared its Six-Point Identification Method for fragrant wood. The Hound Butler predicted that the next speaker would be a disliked race using the resulting popularity, and the Changhuo Clan took the stage.

• Laplace speculated that the Mysterious Forest Spirit might exist in the Nightmare Realm, and Angel considered asking Spotty Dog about it.
• Laplace told Angel that the Origin Land had been created by the Wandering Forest’s earliest lifeforms, the Mystic Ancient Spirits, and recounted their explorations.
• The Aroma-Seeking Tribe presented its Six-Point Identification Method for Aromatic Wood, drawing intense interest from the other races.
• The Hound Butler explained to Sypolov that the method could increase the Aroma-Seeking Tribe’s fragrant wood supply and might help a disliked race attract an audience next.
• After Ku Yena left the stage, the Changhuo Clan from the Valley of Division immediately took her place, confirming the Hound Butler’s prediction.

Yaxin introduced the Changhuo Clan’s two presentations at the display event, drawing attention with a promise of research into breaking barriers. She then announced that her own presentation would be the Changhuo Clan’s latest invention, the Rage Collector.

• Hound Butler explained that the Changhuo Clan’s Shadow Lineage included restrained doves and indulgent hawks, while its Dark Lineage acted without limits.
• Hound Butler described how conflict between the Changhuo Clan’s two lineages split Shadow Valley into the Valley of Division, though it might have been staged by the clan’s leaders.
• Yaxin took the center of the display platform as the unknown Dark Lineage shadow stepped aside, and the Changhuo Clan’s popularity pillar fell by ten percent.
• Yaxin mocked the earlier presenters and announced that the Changhuo Clan would present a new product and research results related to breaking barriers.
• Yaxin revealed that her companion would explain the barrier-breaking research and introduced the Changhuo Clan’s latest invention, the Rage Collector.

Yaxin and Coward presented the Changhuo Clan’s Rage Collector and its research into Breaking the Mirror and Breaking Barriers. The supposed method for overcoming barriers required shattering mirror-surface space, threatening the territories of several races and promising turmoil across the Mirror Realm.

• Yaxin explained that the Rage Collector gathered negative emotions and could be sold back to the Changhuo Clan, amplify anger, or slowly foster conflict; Angel noticed Luigi and Sypolov were interested in using it.
• Coward introduced the Changhuo Clan’s Breaking the Mirror and Breaking Barriers research as a gift, but Hound Butler warned that Yute’s involvement meant it was unlikely to be selfless.
• Coward revealed that the method copied the Glorystone Clan’s talent and produced Barrier-Breaking Energy by shattering mirror-surface space.
• Coward said the highest-grade energy required destroying mirror worlds with complete laws, including the Crystal Kingdom, Pirus’s Pipi Castle, the Yingji Race’s Ice Country, and the Glorystone Clan’s Land of Permanence.
• Angel and Hound Butler recognized that the Changhuo Clan’s proposal could drive races to destroy one another’s territories, while Luigi warned that a greater disaster was approaching even sooner.

As the uproar over the Changhuo Clan’s “Breaking the Mirror and Breaking Barriers” spread, Hound Butler prepared to help powerful clans verify the method, while Angel, Laplace, and Luigi discussed Kross’s identity. Luigi concluded that Kross was likely a high-ranking representative of a Void Merchant Caravan, and their investigation suggested Kross had at least peak Level Three strength.

• Hound Butler told Angel and the others that clans wanted its help verifying the Changhuo Clan’s barrier-breaking method, and it worried Changhuo Clan members would soon visit Hound House.
• Angel and Luigi considered whether other clan leaders could meet through Dream Crystal Plain, but Angel noted that they might still fear Hound Butler’s talent there.
• Luigi consulted Gleipnir and told Angel and Laplace that they believed Kross was probably an agent of a Void Merchant Caravan because he traveled between worlds quickly and returned with foreign intelligence and materials.
• Laplace said All Things House did not seem to function as a Void Merchant Caravan station, while Luigi clarified that his investigation focused on Kross rather than the House.
• Luigi reported that Kross had once gone alone to the Dark Mirror Domain and resolved a strange phenomenon that Vine Butler and Blood Butler could not handle in less than a day.
• Luigi judged Kross to be at least as strong as a peak Level Three wizard, though they could not determine whether he had reached legendary level.

Luigi and Laplace considered why Kross had founded the All Things House, but they could only guess that it was trying to gain influence in the Day Mirror Domain. Angel asked Wang Wang about the Goose Butler and Kross, then requested images to help obtain more information; meanwhile, Nawat arrived at the Hound House for a mind-reading ritual.

• Luigi explained what the Hound Butler knew about Kross and the Goose Butler, but none of it revealed Kross's purpose.
• Laplace observed that the All Things House intervened in disputes across the Day Mirror Domain and might be seeking a greater voice there.
• Angel consulted Wang Wang through Hyde Land but learned nothing, then told Luigi that images of the Goose Butler or Kross could help uncover more information.
• Luigi dragged the Hound Butler into the Pumpkin House while Little Red waited to receive the Changhuo Clan visitors.
• Nawat arrived with a shadowy black panther for the mind-reading ritual and greeted Angel's group.
• The Hound Butler emerged from the Pumpkin House looking flushed and unsteady, with the smell of alcohol around it.

Nawat visited Hound Butler to sign a contract confirming the Barrier-Breaking Method, while Angel and the others watched. Hound Butler perceived Nawat's thoughts without any detectable energy use and explained that thoughts left lingering imprints.

• Nawat formally greeted Hound Butler, who revealed that Naluoduo had sent him because she feared having her heart examined.
• Hound Butler said privacy no longer mattered after the Barrier-Breaking Method became public, and Little Red prepared a contract in the main hall.
• Angel used the Nightmare Illusion's feedback to inspect the contract and watched Little Red write terms dictated by Hound Butler.
• Hound Butler signed the contract without questioning Nawat, then revealed that Nawat wanted to make a move on the Undying Mirror Sea.
• Hound Butler demonstrated that thoughts left traces like wine on a tabletop, allowing it to perceive thoughts that had not yet faded.

Nawat signed a contract with Hound Butler for the Changhuo Clan’s Barrier-Breaking Method, while Hound Butler learned from his heart that the clan intended to use it against the Undying Mirror Sea. After Nawat left, Hound Butler explained the plan and its possible hidden secrets to Angel, Laplace, Luigi, and Sypolov, leaving them to consider the mutual suspicion between Nawat and Naluoduo.

• Nawat realized Hound Butler could read thoughts from heart imprints and struggled to suppress his instinctive killing intent.
• Hound Butler told Nawat that the Changhuo Clan intended to use the Barrier-Breaking Method to target the Undying Mirror Sea, and Nawat hinted that Naluoduo had sent him despite his limited knowledge.
• Nawat left Hound House, and Hound Butler agreed to explain the Changhuo Clan’s purposes to Laplace and the others.
• Hound Butler explained that the Barrier-Breaking Method could inflame conflicts among races and might let researchers create a perpetual barrier-breaking machine using the Undying Mirror Sea.
• Hound Butler said the method might contain secrets known only to Naluoduo, and Luigi concluded that Nawat and his teacher were suspicious of each other.

Nawat returned to the All Things House with the signed contract and met his younger brother Heinaduo, whom Yaxin had sent to keep the Changhuo Clan’s base safe. As Nawat headed to meet the Ghost Butler about another commission, Heinaduo recognized Sypolov and revealed that he had once entered the Black Goat’s secret chamber.

• Nawat encountered Heinaduo in the affairs hall and let him merge into his shadow for protection.
• Nawat went to seek the Ghost Butler about signing a second commission and shared the events of his visit to the Hound House with Heinaduo.
• Heinaduo asked about Angel, but Nawat’s warning about the dangers of the Mirror-External World dampened his interest.
• Heinaduo recognized Sypolov and told Nawat that he had seen him at the Black Goat’s place and in its secret chamber.

Nawat visited Ghost Castle but was turned away by a Dragon Raven acting on Mollyan’s orders, while Luigi coaxed an incomplete portion of the Barrier-Breaking Method from Hound Butler. As the Yingji Race, led by Oleg, took the stage, Angel and Luigi resumed their private conversation about void intelligence.

• Nawat warned Heinaduo against pursuing the Black Goat Secret Mirror and the Lust Demon God, then arrived at Ghost Castle to seek another commission.
• A Dragon Raven drove Nawat away from Ghost Castle, and Nawat recognized her actions as Mollyan’s doing.
• Luigi persuaded Hound Butler to share the incomplete Barrier-Breaking Method that it had glimpsed in Nawat’s inner imprints.
• Sypolov failed to obtain the method as Oleg and the Yingji Race took the main display stage.
• Angel struggled to understand the method’s specialized concepts, then covered himself and Luigi in mist as Luigi prompted him to continue describing Goose Butler.

Angel discovered that Hyde Land's intelligence and ability to communicate had improved, and told Wang Wang about the change. Wang Wang confirmed he had noticed the progress but was troubled by what it might mean for the endangered Void Travelers.

• Luigi complained to Angel over the Mind Tether after Angel pushed him out of the mist.
• Angel noticed Hyde Land's vexation when he interrupted Strange Fire Alchemist and found that Hyde Land could understand and answer simple questions about it.
• Angel entered the Void Network with Hyde Land and asked Wang Wang to investigate Goose Butler, sending descriptions of Goose Butler and Kross.
• Angel told Wang Wang that Hyde Land's intelligence seemed to be growing, and Wang Wang said he had noticed similar changes.
• Wang Wang worried that testing whether contact with intelligent beings could improve Void Travelers would expose the dwindling population to danger.

Angel reassured Wang Wang about Hyde Land’s potential growth and agreed to help nurture it, while Wang Wang would monitor and record its progress. Their conversation also produced the first report of a dangerous hollow outside Loft World, but Spotty Dog had not yet replied about the Singularity Scattering Meditation Method.

• Angel told Wang Wang to focus on nurturing Hyde Land first and suggested that Hyde Land could eventually help other Void Travelers learn if it grew more intelligent.
• Angel offered to nurture Hyde Land through its interest in films and asked Wang Wang to keep communicating with it and report changes in its intelligence.
• Wang Wang told Angel that the Void Travelers had found no information on Goose Butler or Kross, but had spotted a strange, dangerous hollow in the void outside Loft World.
• Wang Wang said the nearby Void Travelers considered the hollow as lethal as the Void Blood Tree, and Angel recorded the information for the Inspector of the Southern Region.
• Angel asked whether Spotty Dog had replied to his request for the later portions of the Singularity Scattering Meditation Method.

Angel learned that Spotty Dog had gone to the Black Outer Ring Belt, where a Time Sacrifice had appeared, and considered what Spotty Dog’s cryptic message might mean. As he waited for intelligence from the Void Travelers, Wang Wang received a report suggesting Goose Butler might belong to a winged race in the North Cross region, though Kross remained unlocated.

• Wang Wang told Angel that Spotty Dog had gone to the Black Outer Ring Belt to investigate a Time Sacrifice.
• Wang Wang relayed Spotty Dog’s vague explanation that a Time Sacrifice was a time-type magical material suitable for Minister Dim to smelt and forge.
• Angel reasoned that the “His Majesty” mentioned in Spotty Dog’s image likely meant the real Shava, but he could not determine why Spotty Dog had sent him the image.
• Angel authorized Wang Wang to contact Spotty Dog, but Spotty Dog rejected the Void Network request.
• Wang Wang received a report of a winged humanoid race in the North Cross region whose emerald eyes and blue pupils matched Goose Butler’s, and sent its image to Angel through Hyde Land.

Angel investigated reports of Goose Butler’s possible homeland through Wang Wang, learning of a winged traveler in the North Cross Region and its enormous, commonly ridden creature. Back in Hound House, he learned that Unfallen King City had appeared on the display platform, and Laplace explained that its divine edict was intended to poach people.

• Angel learned from Wang Wang that a winged humanoid had been seen traveling alone through the North Cross Region atop a huge, strange creature, and that similar creatures had carried different masters in three sightings.
• Angel studied images of the other two riders but recognized neither, and Wang Wang had no further intelligence about Kross.
• Angel stored the exhausted Hyde Land in his bracelet and returned his attention to the display platform in Hound House.
• Angel saw priests and representatives from several races on the platform and learned from Laplace that they came from Unfallen King City.
• Laplace told Angel that Unfallen King City’s divine edict was designed to poach people.

Angel learned that Unfallen King City’s public announcement of its Divine Statute Code was both a recruitment effort and a warning about rules that could kill anyone who violated them. Laplace explained that the current prohibitions came from mysterious phenomena originating in the Dark Mirror Domain, though how Unfallen King City contained them remained unknown.

• Angel asked Laplace what the Divine Statute Code was, and she explained that it set the laws and regulations for Unfallen King City.
• Laplace described how the eighth and ninth statutes recruited outsiders by offering citizenship to talented people and opening the city’s district energy barriers.
• Laplace explained that the Code included six great prohibitions and three divine oracles, and that breaking a prohibition triggered the power of rules rather than ordinary legal punishment.
• Angel was baffled by everyday prohibitions such as holding black flowers in public, and Laplace said the prohibitions were mysterious phenomena brought from the Dark Mirror Domain.
• Laplace explained that restrictions such as the ban on calling the Winter Night King’s seven-part true name were difficult to trigger, suggesting the Red Mirror Priest had reduced their danger.

Angel learned that the Three Divine Oracles offered daily and weekly cultivation benefits but could gradually shape people’s faith. Laplace warned that the Red Mirror Priest might replace Mirror Princess as the object of worship and that the oracles’ true cost was unknown, leaving Angel more wary while Luigi remained unconvinced.

• Angel asked Laplace what the Three Divine Oracles were and learned they granted Inspiration, tranquil emptiness, and purification in exchange for performing prescribed rituals.
• Laplace warned Angel that repeated prayers and confession could deepen devotion to the Divine Court, and Luigi said the rituals did not inevitably turn people into fanatics.
• Luigi argued that becoming more accepting of Mirror Princess was harmless, but Laplace warned that the Red Mirror Priest could replace or impersonate her as the faith’s symbol.
• Laplace questioned whether the Six Great Prohibitions truly paid for the oracles’ benefits and suggested that worshippers might instead be paying with their loyalty.
• Angel became more persuaded by Laplace’s caution, while Luigi continued to trust his observations of friends who performed the rituals.

The Hundred Dragons Divine Kingdom began its presentation with Ufuli sharing the Scaled-Clan Tempering Technique, which held little interest for Angel and the others. Angel then revealed images and rumors tied to Goose Butler’s possible origins in the North Cross Region, leaving Laplace to consider what the clues meant while Luigi wondered how Angel had obtained them.

• Ufuli, an assistant to Lady Mollyan, took the stage and discussed the Scaled-Clan Tempering Technique, drawing little interest from the non-scaled audience in Hound House.
• Angel learned from Luigi that Ufuli was rumored to have a secret crush on Kukulus, but he showed little interest in the gossip.
• Luigi asked Angel whether his intelligence network had learned anything about Goose Butler and Kross, and Angel said he had found a vague lead concerning Goose Butler.
• Angel screened off the group with illusion mist and showed Laplace and Luigi images of someone suspected to be Goose Butler’s kin, an unknown Void creature, and two of its masters, all connected to the North Cross Region.
• Laplace considered whether Goose Butler might have come from the North Cross Region, while Luigi tried to deduce how Angel’s intelligence network had gathered and transmitted the images.