Chapter Summaries

Angel left the Sealed Land with Elan and Nomephins’s avatar, then reunited with the Rabbit Hole Team in the All-Knowing Prison Hall. As Angel introduced his companions and prepared to explain more, a new surge of authority power reached him and left him stunned.

• Nomephins gave Angel a permanent teleportation card for the Sealed Land, explained that it would oversee challenges there, and asked about the sealed demon god divine thought.
• Angel warned Nomephins not to peer beyond the door because the divine thought’s perception port remained active, then left with Elan and Nomephins’s avatar.
• After nearly seven hours of waiting, the Rabbit Hole Team welcomed Angel back to the All-Knowing Prison Hall, where he promised to discuss his encounter with Sebas at the Stone Table Meeting.
• Angel introduced Nomephins’s avatar and Elan to the team, explaining that Elan was not an NPC and could not yet speak.
• A wave of authority power flowed through the hall, and Angel decoded its message before freezing in surprise.

Angel discovered that an outsider had appeared in the Sealed Land and suspected Decayer had returned to the Dream Crystal Plain. He went to Nomephins’s Interrogation Labyrinth, found where authority had gathered, and prepared to investigate the outsider.

• Angel told Rabbit Girl and the others that a new arrival required him to stay behind, then sent them out of the Echo Library.
• Angel returned to the Sealed Land and told Nomephins that Decayer might have come back through the Heart Chapter.
• Nomephins brought Angel to the surface layer and revealed the Interrogation Labyrinth, a trial maze under its control.
• Angel examined the labyrinth from above and located a blocked corridor where a large amount of authority had gathered.

Angel discovered that the Pleasure Pavilion Master and the Decayer were attempting to follow a Strange Dream path into the Sealed Land, but he had not decided whether to let them enter. After mist carried them into a bluestone corridor, the Pleasure Pavilion Master found her Dream Power and other abilities suppressed.

• Angel used the gate authorities to see Liriel, the Pleasure Pavilion Master, leading the Decayer along a Dream Bridge, and realized they had not entered the Sealed Land.
• Angel asked Nomephins about the Cruel Scholar’s knowledge of dreams and considered whether to let Liriel and the Decayer continue.
• The Pleasure Pavilion Master explained that the Decayer experienced years of accelerated thought during their two hours on the Dream Bridge, while she continued searching for the end of its Strange Dream path.
• Mist appeared on the Dream Bridge, and the Pleasure Pavilion Master led the Decayer into it despite fearing the danger.
• The mist cleared, leaving the pair in a bluestone corridor where the Decayer’s distorted sense of time ended.
• The Pleasure Pavilion Master tried to create a Dream-Following Beacon, but found her Dream Power, energy, and mental power suppressed.

The Pleasure Pavilion Master and the Decayer found themselves unable to use their powers in an unknown corridor and agreed to cooperate as they searched for a way out. They encountered a living Nomephins, who revealed that they were in the Interrogation Labyrinth and began a trial both of them had to answer; the Pleasure Pavilion Master accepted.

• The Pleasure Pavilion Master and the Decayer discovered that the place suppressed their abilities and agreed to explore together.
• As they walked, the Decayer told the Pleasure Pavilion Master that its civilization had perished but could one day be rebuilt.
• The two found a relief of Nomephins, whom the Decayer confirmed had been killed by Kostchurchi in the Parity Vault.
• Nomephins's sculpture opened its eyes and immobilized the Pleasure Pavilion Master and the Decayer with golden ripples.
• Nomephins announced the rules of the Interrogation Labyrinth and said both visitors had to answer its questions.
• The Pleasure Pavilion Master accepted the Wall of Questions trial after the Decayer agreed to take part.

Angel let Liriel and the Decayer enter the Interrogation Labyrinth, where Nomephins posed three questions about identity, origin, and destination. As the Decayer answered by recalling its past as Elsas, the Pleasure Pavilion Master realized the questions demanded an honest reckoning with oneself and began to worry about her own answers.

• Angel chose to let Liriel and the Decayer into the Interrogation Labyrinth, using its rules and Nomephins's control as safeguards.
• Angel set the nearby Wall of Questions to ask who the visitors were, where they came from, and where they were going.
• Nomephins refused the Pleasure Pavilion Master's request to discuss their answers and insisted they respond separately.
• The Decayer identified itself through its many roles, then revealed its preferred name: Elsas, the Scholar of Stars from Prussia Civilization.
• The Decayer traced its origins through its past, and Nomephins appeared satisfied as it confronted the civilization it had long buried.
• The Pleasure Pavilion Master understood the Decayer's answers as a confession of its past and worried that her own more widely known history might not satisfy Nomephins.

Liriel answered Nomephins’ three questions about who she was, where she came from, and where she was going, revealing her goals and her resolve to kill the Red Plague Great Demon God. She explained that the blood plague had destroyed her home when she was fourteen, leaving her as the only survivor.

• The Decayer told Nomephins that it longed to rebuild Prussia Civilization and guide it away from repeating past mistakes.
• Liriel described her identities as the Pleasure Pavilion Master, the Thorn Rose Hidden Society, and Aisha Underground City’s deputy city lord, while naming her deepest self as the girl from the Divine Xia Grassland.
• Angel and Nomephins discussed Liriel’s answer, and Nomephins judged her sincere and allowed her to continue.
• Liriel recounted her origins in the Abyss, the Wizarding World, and the Divine Xia Grassland, then listed her plans to attend the Savage Cave Tea Party, search for the City of Old Days, renew the Elysian Pure Land, and kill the Red Plague.
• Liriel revealed that a blood plague had killed her family, friends, neighbors, sheep, birds, and a thousand-year-old tree when she was fourteen, leaving her the sole survivor.

Liriel and the Decayer passed Nomephins's Wall of Questions and used their one promised question to ask how they could return to the Dream Bridge. Nomephins did not know, but told them to continue onward, while Angel prepared the next trials.

• Liriel revealed that she intended to take revenge on the Red Plague Great Demon God, and Angel decided to let her and the Decayer pass.
• Liriel reminded Nomephins of its reputation for keeping its word, persuading it to grant them one question.
• Liriel and the Decayer agreed to ask how they could return to the Dream Bridge, and Nomephins admitted it did not know the answer.
• Nomephins said they still had a chance to return and suggested they might find the answer by continuing through the labyrinth.
• Liriel and the Decayer entered the corridor, while Angel considered what questions to use at the next Walls of Questions.

Liriel and the Decayer opened a treasure chest in the Interrogation Labyrinth and discovered that it had activated a collection tracker for treasure chests and Walls of Questions. Angel explained to Nomephins that the collection task was Wonderland Authority’s way of granting Liriel a legal identity, while the pair continued exploring to make progress.

• Liriel and the Decayer explored several dead-end branches before finding an empty treasure chest and opening it cautiously.
• After opening the chest, Liriel and the Decayer saw matching icons tracking their treasure chest and Wall of Questions progress, and they agreed to collect more.
• Nomephins asked Angel about the icons after hearing Liriel and the Decayer discuss the collection system.
• Angel explained that Wonderland Authority had created the collection task to let Liriel earn a legal identity, while the Decayer was temporarily treated as a BUG because its entry had been illegal.

Liriel and Decayer found several hidden treasure chests in the Interrogation Labyrinth, including one concealed behind a puzzle in a pit, and raised their collection count to five. They discovered a dangerous mechanical alchemical construct guarding a glowing chest, then reached another Wall of Questions, where Nomephins announced that they would have to answer separately.

• Liriel and Decayer broke through a thin section of wall and found a hidden marble chest containing a portable torch, which Decayer lit using a wall torch.
• Decayer noticed symbols in a pit, and Liriel followed it down, where they solved a geometric puzzle that revealed an empty treasure chest.
• Liriel and Decayer found two more chests in hidden spots, bringing their count to five, before hearing a strange rumble near a fork in the path.
• Decayer scouted the right passage and reported a heavily armed mechanical alchemical construct guarding a glowing chest; Liriel inspected it and decided they could not fight it yet.
• Liriel and Decayer went to the Wall of Questions, where Nomephins promised to answer a question if they passed and said its test required them to answer separately.

Liriel and the Decayer were separated into a frozen neon city by Nomephins, who gave them an hour to answer questions while Angel used the delay to meet the Decayer privately. After confirming Angel’s identity, the Decayer apologized for entering the Interrogation Labyrinth without permission and began explaining what had happened since it awakened.

• Nomephins transported Liriel to a frozen city and tasked her with discovering its name, its supernatural system, and a hidden Easter egg.
• Angel revealed to Nomephins that the city illusion and Easter egg were meant to delay Liriel while he spoke privately with the Decayer.
• Nomephins sent the Decayer to a matching city, where it saw illusory Prushans before Angel revealed himself.
• Angel explained that he had used the Wall of Questions’ separate-answer rule to isolate the Decayer and asked why it had entered the Interrogation Labyrinth.
• The Decayer said the Cruel Scholar had forced it to enter, denied revealing the labyrinth to the Knowledge Venerable, and began recounting what happened after it awakened.

Angel learned that the Cruel Scholar could neither trace the Dream Crystal Plain through the Strange Dream remnants nor affect the Dream Realm, but he still worried about Liriel’s investigation and what the Cruel Scholar might do next. He and the Decayer discussed Liriel and the Prushans, while Angel explained that the Decayer had been granted entry to the Deep Dream World but could not safely enter while near the Cruel Scholar.

• Angel concluded that Wicks and the others had forgotten their dream experiences, preventing the Cruel Scholar from learning about Sebas or locating the Dream Crystal Plain.
• Angel reassured the Decayer that it had done well by concealing what it knew, and the Decayer promised to keep restraining its thoughts if it returned to reality.
• The Decayer told Angel that Liriel owed the Cruel Scholar a favor and was wary of knowledge-wielding demonic gods, so Angel asked it to find out what the favor was.
• Angel and Nomephins decided not to hide the Easter egg as Liriel approached the final answer in the city illusion.
• The Decayer asked about Elan and the Prushans, and Angel said they were being settled in and that the Decayer could see them after entering the Deep Dream World.
• Angel explained that the world will had granted the Decayer qualification to enter the Deep Dream World, but its proximity to the Cruel Scholar and its unusual way of entering made the timing uncertain.

Angel explained that the world's will had noticed the Decayer and Liriel and assigned them a collection task, though he could not say how they would escape the Interrogation Labyrinth. After Nomephins opened a road, they chose to retrace their steps and gather more treasure chests, then compared what they had experienced in their separate trials.

• Angel told the Decayer that its unauthorized entry had disrupted what he knew about the labyrinth, but the world's will had not revoked its qualification to enter the Deep Dream.
• After learning about the treasure chest and Wall of Questions data, Angel said the world's will had assigned the pair a task and urged the Decayer to collect as much as possible before he vanished.
• Liriel asked Nomephins about the collection task, and it said completing it would bring benefits before opening a dark road through the Wall of Questions.
• Liriel and the Decayer ruled out the branch guarded by a mechanical alchemical construct and decided to return to explore earlier branches and collect more treasure chests.
• As they walked back, the Decayer and Liriel compared their separate trials, including their searches for Modern City's name, supernatural system, and easter egg.

Liriel and Decayer compared the Easter eggs they encountered and discussed Liriel’s cooperation with the Lord of Knowledge. Liriel revealed she owed Cruel Scholar a favor for showing her how to find the City of Old Days, and a new shelf appeared as they continued through the maze.

• Liriel described meeting Hertz, the Time Radio, and refusing its offer to exchange stories; Decayer said it had refused a talking pair of Golden Scissors.
• Liriel explained that she opposed the destruction of beautiful places, not invasion itself, and that humanity’s presence in the Abyss was preparation for war against its demon gods.
• Liriel told Decayer that she cooperated with the Lord of Knowledge because she owed Cruel Scholar a favor.
• Liriel explained that Cruel Scholar had told her the City of Old Days held a way to extend her student’s life and had provided a method for finding it.
• Angel realized Decayer had drawn the reason for the favor out of Liriel, while his own attempt to get her to exchange stories through Hertz had failed.
• Liriel noticed a row of wooden shelves suddenly appear along the corridor wall, and she and Decayer suspected a puzzle and treasure chest.

Angel worried that Liriel’s report could lead Cruel Scholar to discover Dream Crystal Plain, and Nomephins suggested framing the Strange Dream as a high-risk, low-reward mystery. Meanwhile, Liriel and Decayer continued through the labyrinth, where a fairness-themed Wall of Questions challenged their perspectives, as Angel planned to alternate ordinary questions with subtler attempts to influence Liriel.

• Angel asked Nomephins how Cruel Scholar might react to an unknown Strange Dream, then explained the events that had drawn Liriel to investigate it.
• Nomephins reasoned that Liriel’s report should make the Strange Dream seem dangerous and not worth pursuing, buying Angel time to prepare.
• Liriel and Decayer found three treasure chests in half an hour, bringing their progress to 8/99, and resolved to search more carefully.
• Liriel and Decayer answered three fairness-themed questions from a new Nomephins avatar, debating different perspectives before passing without Liriel getting to ask a question.
• Angel watched their exchange and decided to mix ordinary questions with later attempts to draw Liriel into discussing values, so she would not suspect his intentions.

Decayer and Liriel reached a Wall of Questions where Nomephins required them to ask each other questions and earn its approval for three of them. Liriel and Decayer began with bizarre hypotheticals, while Angel recognized that Decayer could use the rules to discreetly learn Liriel’s secrets.

• Decayer and Liriel found an empty, hidden room, suspected it concealed treasure, and recorded its location before moving on.
• An elderly Nomephins avatar silenced Liriel, allowed her one question after they cleared the stage, and explained that they had to ask each other questions until it approved three.
• Angel realized Decayer could use the questioning rules to investigate Liriel without making the interrogation seem one-sided.
• Liriel asked Decayer whether it would have a union of love with a succubus to save a kidnapped wife, and Decayer said it would save her even if she objected.
• Decayer set aside its planned question about Liriel’s loyalty and asked a similarly bizarre hypothetical about becoming a pig-headed person and bearing offspring to return to normal.

Liriel answered the Decayer’s question by recounting how her student Asui sacrificed her life force and lifespan to save her from the Elysian Pure Land’s factions. The Decayer then revealed that its greatest regret was agreeing to carry Elan’s dream instead of urging him to pursue it himself.

• The Decayer asked Liriel what she regretted most, and she recalled becoming consumed by pleasure while caught in the Elysian Pure Land’s factional conflict.
• Liriel explained that Asui rebelled against the Pure Land and sought Siting’s help to save her, sacrificing her own life force and lifespan in the process.
• Liriel said Asui’s ruined foundation left her unable to advance, and admitted she had come to the Abyss partly out of shame over failing to make a wiser choice.
• Liriel rejected the Decayer’s pity and asked what decision it regretted most.
• The Decayer recalled agreeing to carry Elan’s dream after meeting him on the Academy of Stars rooftop, and said it wished it had urged Elan to pursue the dream himself.

Liriel and Decayer passed Nomephins' trial by sharing a painful memory and then discussing a rumor about Cruel Scholar. Decayer challenged Liriel's faith in the City of Old Days as a way to draw Nomephins into their exchange, and Nomephins urged them to continue.

• Liriel and Decayer answered Nomephins with regrets from their pasts, and Nomephins passed them for sincere answers.
• Liriel asked Decayer for interesting rumors about Demon Gods, and Decayer shared a rumor that Cruel Scholar had divided Its authority among Its divine-consciousness avatars.
• Decayer asked whether Liriel truly believed the City of Old Days could save her student, Asui.
• Liriel said she could not be certain but trusted Cruel Scholar not to deceive her, then asked Decayer whether He would.
• Nomephins called their exchange a good show and told them to keep asking questions.

Decayer challenged Liriel’s faith in Cruel Scholar’s promise that the City of Old Days could save Asui, forcing her to confront the possibility that the Demon God’s offer was a trap. After Nomephins let them pass the Wall of Questions, it revealed that although it did not know how to extend Asui’s life, it might know another way to keep her existing for a long time.

• Decayer questioned why Knowledge Venerable had promised Liriel a concrete clue in exchange for an intangible favor and warned that the City of Old Days might serve the Demon God’s interests instead.
• Liriel admitted that she had no other hope for saving Asui and could only wait for the City of Old Days, while Decayer asked whether its miracle would benefit her or the Demon God.
• Nomephins praised their exchange and opened the Wall of Questions, then gave Decayer and Liriel one question each.
• Decayer asked Nomephins whether it knew any way besides the City of Old Days to extend Asui’s life, and Nomephins said it could not give a definite answer without seeing her.
• Nomephins added that if they only wanted Asui to continue existing for a long time, it had a method, astonishing both Decayer and Liriel.

Liriel and Decayer passed Nomephins's Wall of Questions after learning that Asui could survive as a consciousness entity, though the method had unknown side effects and a price. As they continued through the maze, Liriel decided to seek the method as another option for Asui, while she and Decayer began wondering whether the maze was part of the legendary Deep Dream Civilization.

• Nomephins explained that it had survived its physical death as a consciousness entity and offered the same path for Asui in exchange for a price, warning that it had side effects.
• Liriel used her question to ask whether Decayer's civilization still had a solution, and Nomephins replied that Decayer already had the answer within itself.
• Liriel and Decayer left the Wall of Questions, and Liriel said she wanted to obtain Nomephins's method so Asui would have another choice.
• Decayer agreed to prioritize learning the method's benefits and drawbacks at future Walls of Questions, noting that it might one day be useful to them too.
• Liriel guessed that the realistic maze might be part of the Deep Dream Civilization, a legendary civilization within the Dream Realm.

Liriel explained to the Decayer why the Interrogation Labyrinth seemed far more stable than an ordinary dream and speculated that it might be connected to the Deep Dream Civilization. She recounted the Dream Chaser’s pursuit of that forbidden civilization, but ultimately doubted that the labyrinth had anything to do with it.

• Liriel explained that ordinary dreams stayed coherent only around the dreamer, while the Interrogation Labyrinth appeared tangible and consistent throughout.
• Liriel said that if the labyrinth was not a dream, its captors must possess authority powerful enough to violate the Dream Bridge’s foundational protections.
• Liriel told the Decayer that the Dream Chaser’s manuscripts confirmed the Deep Dream Civilization existed, based on information attributed to the Star Lord.
• Liriel described how the Dream Chaser’s teacher pursued the Deep Dream Civilization and disappeared after entering the Dream Realm Deep Region.
• Liriel said dream wizards could not resist the lure of exploring the Deep Dream Civilization, but doubted the labyrinth was connected to it because that civilization never communicated with the outside world.