Chapter Summaries

Angel and Laplace discussed whether authority and special talents would work in the Dark Corner, and why the Dream Crystal Plain had done little to publicize its campaign there. Angel decided to explore only after preparing with the Dream Conch and possible wizard scouts.

• Angel used Mind Tether with Laplace, Gleipnir, and Luigi to discuss whether he could use his authority in the Dark Corner and learned that conquering the Dreamscape Layer could bring it under the Dream Crystal Plain’s authority.
• Gleipnir explained that the Dream Crystal Plain’s lack of fanfare suggested it was not mobilizing broadly, while Laplace speculated that it viewed Angel as an exception capable of achieving what others could not.
• Laplace advised Angel to be cautious and possibly wait until a lord of the layer emerged, while the group considered whether Gray Porcelain’s Danger Sense would help him survive there.
• Luigi suggested sending Gray Porcelain to the Dark Corner to toughen him up, but Angel refused because Gray Porcelain was more useful and secure in the Dream Crystal Plain.
• Angel told Laplace he would not enter the Dark Corner recklessly and planned to prepare with the Dream Conch, defensive and offensive items, and possibly wizard scouts from Savage Cave.

Angel and the others discussed how to prepare for exploring the Dark Corner, and Laplace proposed sending her Time Doppelgänger Sigmund first. Luigi suggested Angel learn to create a clone to explore in his place, leaving Angel to consider the idea and other possibilities.

• Laplace agreed that Angel could eventually enter the Dark Corner but urged him to understand its risks and prepare thoroughly.
• Gleipnir proposed sending Sigmund to explore the Dark Corner, and Laplace explained that he was her sword-focused Time Doppelgänger with strong wilderness survival skills.
• Laplace said secret arts could let her learn something of Sigmund's experiences despite the distance, which would help them make more targeted preparations.
• Luigi suggested Angel improve himself by learning to create a clone that could explore the Dark Corner without putting his true body at risk.
• Angel explained that clone techniques were difficult to develop and could split the mind as well as the body, but Luigi's suggestion gave him another possibility to consider.

Angel answered Gray Porcelain and Gabriel’s questions about his abilities and the Dream Conch, then discussed how to investigate Dark Corner. The meeting ended with Angel assigning Gleipnir to find a suitable gifted citizen to send there and telling Luliana and Doros to welcome Dream Mirror members at the Underwater Church.

• Angel told Gray Porcelain that his ability to communicate from an instance and summon meeting phantoms came from Fairyland-granted authority, then explained that the Dream Conch could bring real-world items into dreams.
• Gabriel suggested bringing Gray Porcelain to Dark Corner because his Danger Sense could help him survive, but Angel said Gray Porcelain would be more useful in Dream Crystal Plain.
• Angel explained the Dream Conch’s uses and limitations to Gabriel and Gray Porcelain, saying members could apply to use it after making greater contributions to the Dream Mirror Organization.
• Gleipnir asked whether Angel would announce Dark Corner in Dream Crystal Plain and suggested testing Fairyland’s mechanisms by sending a gifted citizen there; Angel agreed to let her find a suitable candidate.
• Angel ended the meeting and instructed Luliana and Doros to treat Dream Mirror members who visited the Underwater Church as they would treat him.

Angel and Laplace discussed how to track Sigmund in Dark Corner through the Empty Mirror Sea or astrology, depending on whether the world allowed outside observation. Angel then proposed seeking an authority that could strengthen the Dream Crystal Plain’s shells, and left the Hidden Waters to search for one.

• Laplace explained that her bond with the Empty Mirror Sea might let it project images of Sigmund if he carried a stable mirror in Dark Corner.
• Laplace warned that Dark Corner might be too closed off for either the Empty Mirror Sea or Gleipnir’s astrology to reveal Sigmund’s situation.
• Angel told Laplace he wanted to seek an authority that could strengthen the Dream Crystal Plain’s shells to improve safety in Dark Corner.
• Angel left the Hidden Waters without disrupting the Modern City Instance and prepared to search the Nightmare Domain entity for a suitable authority.

Angel searched the Dream Crystal Plain’s authority core for powers that could strengthen his body and help Laplace understand or repair memories. He found promising memory authorities but no way to repair a memory stolen by a Miracle Life, then learned that Napoli had asked Rabbit Girl to contact him about the Orichalcum.

• Angel used a Lucky Scroll to search for an authority that could directly strengthen his body, but found none.
• Laplace told Angel that an incomplete memory mattered to her because she wanted to use it to construct a Time Doppelgänger, and she sought a memory authority to understand memory more deeply.
• Laplace revealed that her incomplete memory involved a Miracle Life, and Angel suspected that the being had stolen it.
• Angel found several authorities suited to Laplace’s memory research, but his search for an authority that could repair memories stolen by a Miracle Life yielded no result.
• Laplace said she would keep seeking a way to complete the memory, then told Angel that Napoli had contacted Rabbit Girl and asked him to log off and check whether the Orichalcum had been made.

Angel repaired the one-legged crystal puppet Ninety-Five with an illusion, revealing a technique that Napoli realized could reshape alchemy. Napoli then led Angel toward Lord De, still awed by what he had witnessed.

• Napoli met Angel outside the Illusion Cottage and explained that the one-legged crystal puppet was called Ninety-Five, after its faded serial number.
• Napoli told Angel that Ninety-Five had lost a leg in a fall but had shown unusual intelligence, so he had kept it in the warehouse and rewarded it with condensed crystals.
• Angel restored Ninety-Five's leg with a snap of his fingers and told it to stand up and return to work.
• Napoli asked how Angel had made the leg, and Angel explained that he had used an illusion to create its detailed internal structure.
• Angel reflected that the leg was an early form of Fantasy Alchemy and would last only half a year without replenishment.
• Napoli led Angel toward Lord De, deeply impressed and comparing Angel's presence to that of Algalong.

Angel learned that Algalong had prepared rare materials for him and left a Teleportation Platform made from Orichalcum. The platform would take Angel to a Text Treasury created by Eya, where he would have to retrieve the Orichalcum and offer Algalong some compliments.

• Napoli led Angel to a hidden warehouse filled with rare materials that Algalong had prepared for him.
• Napoli showed Angel Dragon Treasures stored in sealed boxes and explained their unique value as alchemical materials.
• Napoli retrieved a cotton-like object from a spatial array and revealed that it was the Teleportation Platform forged from Orichalcum.
• Napoli unfolded the platform and warned Angel not to investigate its living quality because Algalong had placed restrictions inside it.
• Napoli explained that the platform would transport Angel to a Text Treasury created by Eya for Algalong, where Angel would need to compliment Algalong.

Angel entered Algalong Temple, a treasury in Text Space, and began exploring its Twelve Treasure Palaces. Napoli guided him remotely through the Silver Palace and explained that its displayed artifacts were forged by Lord De using extraordinary materials.

• Napoli brought Angel through the Cloud Soil transition platform and welcomed him to Algalong Temple at the foot of a barren mountain.
• Angel read the textual information about the Temple Stone Steps and discovered that the mountain contained a transplanted Silver Palace ore vein.
• Napoli explained that he could transmit his voice and observe Angel from the mountain's foot, while Angel climbed alone to the First Palace, the Silver Palace.
• Angel entered the empty palace and learned that its exhibits were artifacts personally refined by Lord De, each incorporating Silver Palace.
• Angel examined a spiked weapon called the Nebula Chain Ball, and Napoli explained that its actual materials included Chill Kun, Orichalcum, Silver Palace, and Star Diamond rather than the refined iron described by the text.

Angel toured Algalong’s Twelve Treasure Palaces, creating dazzling illusions to demonstrate the exhibits after Napoli asked him to help. He reached the Algalong Main Temple, where the Orichalcum reserved for him awaited.

• Napoli described the Nebula Chain Ball and its maker, Prisoner, and Angel created an elaborate illusion of Prisoner battling Mirror Ghosts.
• Napoli asked Angel to leave the illusion for future visitors and then requested demonstrations for the other exhibits; Angel agreed on the condition that his name remain confidential.
• Angel toured the Twelve Treasure Palaces, studying Algalong’s designs and making increasingly extravagant illusions for the displayed treasures.
• Angel finished the illusions in the Titanium Crystal Palace and headed for the Algalong Main Temple, reflecting on the many forms Orichalcum took in the exhibits.
• Angel reached the summit and saw the Main Temple topped by a towering dragon statue made from genuine rare materials and magical gemstones.

Angel entered Algalong Main Temple and met Benbo Barlow, Algalong’s Time Doppelgänger, who explained his reputation and revealed that he had the Orichalcum. Benbo wanted to hand it over personally, but first asked Angel to customize a Login Device just for him.

• Napoli escorted Angel to the steps of Algalong Main Temple, where the doors opened as Angel approached.
• Angel met Benbo, a winged, one-eyed figure who introduced himself as a famous playwright and clarified that his reputation as a people-eating gourmet came from a misunderstood publicity gimmick.
• Benbo revealed that he was Algalong’s Time Doppelgänger and said fewer than ten people knew his identity.
• Benbo told Angel that he had the Orichalcum and had asked to deliver it himself.
• Benbo asked Angel to customize an exclusive Login Device, and Angel agreed that he offered customization services.

Angel created a customized Login Device for Benbo using Fantasy Alchemy, then revealed the technique to him and explained that it remained limited. After Benbo gave Angel Orichalcum and asked him to make a second, more permanent Login Device on the spot, Angel agreed.

• Benbo asked Angel for a Login Device shaped like a pen, and Angel produced a usable Black Feather Pen made through Fantasy Alchemy.
• Benbo tested the pen by entering the Dream Bridge, then questioned Angel about how his illusion-based alchemy worked.
• Angel explained Fantasy Alchemy and admitted that its creations were still far weaker than normally refined objects.
• Benbo revealed that Algalong had provided two pieces of Orichalcum, one for Angel and one for Benbo's Login Device.
• Benbo asked Angel to make its Orichalcum Login Device there with Benbo's help, and Angel agreed.

Angel examined a piece of Orichalcum shaped like a fountain-pen barrel and discovered that its structure changed in response to his thoughts. Benbo urged him to continue researching it later and refine the Login Device before the borrowed Netherflame forgot its task.

• Angel entered a Bubble Workshop with Benbo, who explained that the Netherflame could smelt Orichalcum but was temperamental and recognized only Benbo's main body.
• Benbo told Angel that his main body forbade sharing information about Orichalcum so researchers could explore it from their own perspectives.
• Angel opened the box and found a black, fountain-pen-shaped piece of Orichalcum that carried the scent of iron gall ink.
• Angel's tests found no ink or hollow interior at first, but a later spiritual scan revealed a swan-feather quill structure containing black liquid.
• Angel realized the Orichalcum seemed to change its internal structure in response to his thoughts, and Benbo confirmed that such discoveries were expected.
• Benbo suggested that Angel try other research methods later and urged him to refine the Login Device before the Netherflame forgot its mission.

Angel proposed using his mind to forge Orichalcum, but Benbo explained that mental influence could not alter its properties enough to make the method practical. As Algalong’s Netherflame carried out a carefully planned forging that Angel was forbidden to observe, Benbo promised him compensation that would make up for missing it.

• Angel suggested shaping Orichalcum through his inner voice, and Benbo explained that mental influence could change its shape only slightly and could not reach the threshold for altering its properties.
• Benbo revealed that Algalong’s influence over Orichalcum reached about eighty percent at most, while its accompanying Netherflame enabled it to cross the threshold for property changes.
• Benbo explained that Algalong had already prepared the materials and a forging plan that would give the pen barrel the properties of activity and high ductility.
• Angel learned that his roles were to add a chip to the vessel embryo and help shape its final appearance, while the Netherflame performed the forging.
• Benbo told Angel to turn away and avoid listening because observing the Orichalcum forging could introduce variables and alter its result.
• Benbo promised Angel compensation from the Netherflame’s storage space, saying it would make up for his regret at missing the forging.

Angel and Benbo completed the Netherflame forging process, and Angel inscribed Nightmare Illusion onto the living Orichalcum artifact before preparing to shape it into a pen. He discovered that the enchantment had spawned a new circuit containing Nightmare Illusion and began probing it, leaving the artifact’s properties unknown.

• Angel tried to learn about Orichalcum from Benbo, but Benbo refused to discuss it while Angel used Benbo’s emotions to test possible properties.
• A lewd, palm-sized Matchstick Man made from Orichalcum arrived on an iron tray, and Angel inscribed Nightmare Illusion into its chest chip slot.
• After the Matchstick Man left, Benbo and Angel approached the Netherflame as it entered the final shaping stage.
• Angel found a soft, highly malleable artifact blank on the tray and noticed a new circuit containing traces of Nightmare Illusion beside his enchantment.
• Angel extended his mental power into the newborn circuit to investigate its connection to Orichalcum.

Angel explored a memory embedded in the Orichalcum artifact embryo and discovered it came from Flamenco’s emerald, whose intense emotions had shaped the embryo’s spirituality. He identified a new property of Orichalcum and gained an idea for shaping the artifact, though he still needed Benbo’s help.

• Angel saw fragments of Flamenco’s memories: a warrior rescued her from breaking ice, she fell in love with him, and she later drove a pen into her chest.
• Angel returned to the Bubble Workshop and logged into the Dream Crystal Plain to contact Charles Imperial Palace.
• Angel learned that the red-haired woman was Flamenco, a dancer who had become a mirror-born being and later died after her lover Lunbota was killed on patrol.
• Angel asked Benbo to manifest the Orichalcum’s auxiliary materials and recognized the turquoise that had been Flamenco’s emerald necklace.
• Angel concluded that the emerald’s intense emotions had influenced the artifact embryo’s spirituality through Orichalcum, and he found inspiration for its shaping.

Angel shaped a colorless Crystal-Eyed Race double-ended pen from Flamenco’s memories for Benbo, with Netherflame performing the final property alteration. As the pen neared completion, Benbo revealed that Alchemical Omens involving Orichalcum usually fell on the metal’s owner rather than the craftsmen who worked it.

• Angel began shaping the soft mud into a Crystal-Eyed Race double-ended pen, guided by an unexplained sense of ease.
• Benbo recognized the Shuttle Pen design and imagined showing off its crystal light effects, then suggested making it amethyst.
• Angel chose a colorless crystal texture to match the pen in Flamenco’s memories, and he worked with Netherflame on the final adjustments.
• Angel and Benbo discussed the pen’s simple appearance while Netherflame’s tempering neared completion.
• Angel worried that the precious Orichalcum might draw an Alchemical Omen, but Benbo said Netherflame’s main body, Algalong, was prepared to face the trial.
• Benbo revealed that Alchemical Omens from Orichalcum usually sought its owner, since craftsmen could make only limited changes to the metal.

Angel and Benbo completed the refinement of a crystal pen, but an unusually large Alchemical Omen forced Algalong to endure the trial. After Algalong emerged, the pen’s completion phenomenon revealed that it had transformed into a crystal umbrella, leaving Benbo eager to discover what new property it possessed.

• Benbo told Angel about Raven, a summoner alchemist who had refined Orichalcum and swindled eight chunks from Algalong, deepening Algalong’s disgust toward humans.
• Netherflame finished refining the crystal pen, and Angel and Benbo saw the Alchemical Omen’s crystal door vanish toward Algalong.
• Algalong paused on its way to the Valley of Division to endure the Omen, then entered a vast crystal doorway that exceeded its expectations.
• Benbo suspected the crystal pen had developed a new Orichalcum characteristic, possibly because Angel had drawn the chip, as Algalong’s trial continued unusually long.
• Algalong reported that it had endured the Omen, and the crystal pen’s completion phenomenon ended with the pen replaced by a transparent crystal umbrella that was still taking shape.

Angel and Benbo watched the newly forged crystal pen transform into a detailed crystal woman before shrinking back, revealing that its preset traits had developed beyond their design. Algalong concluded that an unexplained variable had amplified the pen’s abilities and given it a possible emotion-related power, and he asked Benbo to investigate before he returned.

• The crystal pen transformed into an umbrella-bearing woman, then shrank back onto the experimental table and spoke in a seductive voice.
• Angel and Benbo realized the pen’s intelligence and precise shapeshifting exceeded the intended effects of being alive and highly extensible.
• Benbo shared the forging and the pen’s behavior with Algalong through their mental link.
• Algalong concluded that a variable had occurred during forging and suspected Angel was its source, then asked Benbo to bring him Netherflame and the pen.
• Algalong described an Omen in which objects were intelligent, space stretched, and he resolved a couple’s emotional problem, suggesting the pen had an unknown emotion-related ability.
• Algalong told Benbo to investigate that ability and locate the new trait before he returned.

Angel and Benbo discovered that the Crystal Pen had developed a new ability, Heartbreak Ink, after Angel's presence altered its refinement. The fledgling spirit explained that the ink could ease heartbreak and make love stories more affecting, and Benbo decided to write romance plays with it.

• Angel told Benbo about his vision involving Flamenco, while Benbo questioned the newly awakened Crystal Pen and taught it basic knowledge.
• Benbo learned that the Crystal Pen had three abilities: logging into Dream Crystal Plain, transformation, and the new Heartbreak Ink.
• The Crystal Pen explained that Heartbreak Ink could be drawn from people suffering romantic heartbreak, causing them to forget the wound of love.
• Benbo revealed that stories written with Heartbreak Ink could make readers empathize more easily.
• Angel asked whether Benbo specialized in romance scripts, and Benbo said he could start doing so now.

Angel told Benbo he had seemingly discovered two new characteristics of Orichalcum and explained his first conjecture: Orichalcum could refine intense emotions contained in materials. Benbo agreed the evidence formed a plausible chain and said he would verify Flamenco’s story, while Angel mentioned that the Crystal Pen’s Heartbreak Ink might support his second conjecture.

• Benbo joked that he had become an emotional lecturer, and Angel teased it about Algalong being deceived by a witch.
• Angel revealed that he might have discovered two Orichalcum characteristics, leaving Benbo astonished at how quickly he had found them.
• Angel explained that Orichalcum could refine intense emotions in materials and described how the Crystal Pen’s personality had been affected by those emotions.
• Angel said he had seen Flamenco’s tragic love story in an emotional memory while shaping the Crystal Pen, linking it to the bloodstained turquoise used in forging the Orichalcum.
• Benbo accepted that Angel’s account formed a plausible chain of evidence and promised to verify Flamenco’s history.
• Angel said his second suspected characteristic lacked clear proof, though the Crystal Pen’s Heartbreak Ink effect might corroborate it.