Chapter Summaries

Uriel’s sorrowful harp performance drew the Evil Spirit, revealed as Priest Sion, to the camp and briefly brought clarity to his eyes before he departed. Angel and the others suspected the music could be a special attack that might help them learn what happened to Ligota, so they decided not to use it again until they were prepared.

• Kemei, Blanche, and Uriel saw the Evil Spirit standing at the edge of their camp, and Angel explained that Uriel’s music had drawn him there.
• Uriel recognized the figure as Priest Sion and played a sorrowful version of Misty Moonlight while reflecting on his anger, grief, and fear for Ligota.
• Sion listened, briefly looked at Uriel with apparent clarity, then turned and disappeared into the forest.
• Uriel told Kemei and Blanche that he felt Sion had recognized him, and Angel confirmed that Sion’s eyes had briefly seemed clear.
• Kemei urged Uriel to play again, but Angel warned that the music might be a special attack and advised saving it for a prepared confrontation.

Kemei’s group chose to seek surviving Forty Thieves scouts rather than approach the swamp natives, then decided to return to Withered Tree Stronghold and use the caravan’s military supplies as leverage for information. As they set out, Angel told Kemei that Darkman had gone home.

• Kemei proposed asking the Mist Swamp natives about the Evil Spirit, but Angel identified their territory on the map and explained that the natives and caravan offered optional routes rather than core story clues.
• The group chose to search the Forty Thieves’ patrol zones, where Kemei found a scout and told him about the attack on the stronghold, but the scout rushed back without answering.
• Angel suggested returning to Withered Tree Stronghold, and Uriel pointed out that recovering the caravan’s military supplies could serve as bargaining leverage.
• Kemei and the others agreed to head for Withered Tree Stronghold, and Angel told Kemei that Darkman had gone home.

Angel visited Darkman after the squad was eliminated from the Mist Swamp Instance and learned that Darkman’s illusion contained clues about the Whispering Curse. Darkman recounted how music had guided him through the curse, and Angel recognized the lyrics, leaving Darkman astonished.

• Kemei learned that Darkman had been eliminated, then continued through the misty forest while Angel left to find Darkman.
• Angel found Darkman awake in Rabbit Town, reassured him that the curse was not overcome by willpower alone, and explained that its illusion might contain clues to the Evil Spirit.
• Darkman described searching for the singing through a hostile, shifting city and then a maze inside a cathedral while being pursued by animated dolls.
• A stringed instrument’s music stopped the dolls and clarified the singing, but the music repeatedly changed and the dolls resumed their pursuit when it fell silent.
• Darkman recalled a male singer’s lyrics about moonlight and sorrow, and Angel recited the words, prompting Darkman to ask how Angel knew the song.

Angel learned from Darkman that Uriel’s performance of Misty Moonlight had affected the Whispering Curse’s dream illusions, and that the illusions grew more dangerous over time. Hoping to help Kemei’s group, Angel asked Darkman to recreate the dream scenes using illusion nodes, and Darkman began constructing them.

• Darkman recounted how Uriel’s song led him through the city and church dream scenes into a white room filled with black shadows, where he died after failing to identify the singer.
• Angel identified the dream scenes’ escalating malice, the shadows’ limited chances to approach, and Uriel’s harp music as important clues for Kemei’s group.
• Angel reassured Darkman that his information could help Kemei and explained that Darkman could not immediately reenter the instance.
• Angel asked Darkman to construct illusions recreating his dream experiences, and Darkman agreed.
• Angel gave Darkman Nightmare Illusion Nodes and taught him how to use them, after which Darkman began creating the dream scenes.

Angel recognized that Darkman’s reconstruction of the Whispering Curse’s dream might reflect the Radiant Church’s persecution of Ligota’s performers and returned to the Mist Swamp Instance seeking confirmation from Uriel. Kemei’s group obtained information from the Forty Thieves linking the Evil Spirit, Priest Sion, and an attempt to rescue an informant from the Radiant Church, but Uriel had only just begun recounting the events.

• Angel saw Darkman’s reconstructed dream and suspected its distorted city and church maze reflected Evening Lantern Harbor and the Radiant Church’s trial of Ligota’s performers.
• Angel discovered that Qiu Ka had also left the instance, then reentered the Box Garden perspective to check on Kemei, Blanche, and Uriel.
• Kemei’s group negotiated with the Forty Thieves’ new leader, One Ear, and traded the right to retrieve the caravan’s supplies for information.
• One Ear said the thieves knew little about how Priest Sion became an Evil Spirit but could share events from his life.
• Uriel began recounting how the Forty Thieves had ambushed Priest Sion while he escorted a prisoner, hoping to rescue an informant trapped by the Radiant Church.

Angel and the others learned that Priest Sion had tried to protect Ligota from the Forty Thieves, correcting Uriel’s belief that Sion had harmed her. Angel then showed them Darkman’s journey through the Whispering Curse, and Uriel recognized its dreamscape as Evening Lantern Harbor and the maze’s dolls as enforcement priests.

• One Ear recounted how the Forty Thieves ambushed Priest Sion while he escorted Ligota, and Ligota was fatally struck by an arrow before Sion fell with her into the River of Troubles.
• Uriel confirmed Ligota’s identity and realized Priest Sion had preserved her feet and secretly escorted her toward Dawn City to protect her.
• Blanche comforted Uriel and promised to ask her teacher to help capture the Forty Thieves in reality.
• Kemei and Blanche debated why Ligota’s identity yielded only 3% exploration progress, while Angel suggested another way of discovering it might be the key.
• Angel showed the group an illusion of Darkman’s journey through the Whispering Curse, which he believed related to the second Truth Fragment and Ligota.
• Uriel recognized the dream city as Evening Lantern Harbor and identified the maze’s clerical robes as those of Radiant Church enforcement priests.

Angel argued that the Whispering Curse’s dreamscapes were connected to Ligota, and the group considered searching for her through the curse. As they prepared to enter the dreamscape, Uriel insisted that his musical skill made him essential to the effort.

• Angel reasoned that the dreamscapes reflected Ligota’s past, citing her connection to Misty Moonlight and the recurring woman’s singing voice.
• Kemei and Blanche questioned why Misty Moonlight had affected the Evil Spirit and where Ligota was, while Angel searched the Mist Swamp Instance and found no woman matching her appearance.
• Uriel asked to be cursed so he could find Ligota in the dreamscape, and Angel agreed that its end might hold the second truth fragment.
• Kemei and Blanche argued over who should enter the dreamscape, with Blanche urging Uriel to stay outside and perform Misty Moonlight.
• Uriel challenged them to identify rhythms and sounds in chaos, declaring that only he could do so.

Uriel agreed to enter the Dreamscape under the Whispering Curse while Blanche and Kemei performed Misty Moonlight through Angel’s illusion. After Angel provoked the Evil Spirit, Uriel heard its lament and collapsed as the curse took hold.

• Uriel proposed having Glaimo perform Misty Moonlight, but Angel warned that Glaimo might rush into the Dreamscape if he learned Ligota could be there.
• Angel concluded Uriel was better suited to face the Dreamscape’s stages and decided Glaimo could preserve the chance of an easy ending if Uriel died.
• Uriel, Blanche, Kemei, and Angel agreed that Uriel would enter the Dreamscape while Blanche and Kemei used Angel’s illusion to perform Misty Moonlight outside.
• Kemei and Blanche left Uriel near the Evil Spirit, and Angel created an illusion that shot an arrow to provoke it.
• The Evil Spirit released its lament, and Uriel heard the cursed sound, lost consciousness, and fell to the ground.

Angel and his companions protected the unconscious Uriel while he entered the dream illusion, and Uriel rapidly cleared its first scenes by following Ligota’s song. He identified the singer in the pure white room and recognized the boots in her silhouette’s hands as the Fireboot Punishment, leaving him poised to confront another part of Ligota’s past.

• Angel sent the phantom archer illusion to distract the Evil Spirit, then had Kemei and Blanche guard Uriel’s body in the Travel Cabin.
• The Travel Cabin eased Uriel’s exhaustion but did not remove the Whispering Curse, and Angel’s group agreed to play Misty Moonlight after half an hour.
• Uriel quickly found the exit from the dark space and followed Ligota’s voice to the church in the city dream illusion.
• Uriel navigated the corridor maze and entered the pure white room after spending only about ten minutes in the dream illusion.
• Uriel matched the song to a silhouette holding boots and recognized them as the Fireboot Punishment Ligota had suffered.

Uriel woke from his dream journey with the second Truth Fragment about the Evil Spirit after finding Ligota beneath the water. As a force began pulling him away from her, the Text Panel revealed that a living soul was hidden within the Evil Spirit.

• Angel returned from Rabbit Town after learning that Qiu Ka's dream journey had ended much like Darkman's.
• Uriel woke before Kemei could play Misty Moonlight and said he had obtained a new Truth Fragment.
• Uriel explained that he reached the pure white room, found the singing figure, and entered a forest where he navigated by sound and avoided danger by sensing changes in the song.
• Uriel followed the song to a raging river, jumped in, and swam underwater toward its source.
• Uriel found Ligota protected inside an ice dome, but an irresistible force began pulling him away from her.
• The Text Panel announced that Uriel had discovered the living soul hidden within the Evil Spirit and obtained its second truth.

After Uriel cleared the Dreamscape and discovered Ligota’s living soul inside Priest Sion’s consciousness, Angel realized the team had obtained clues out of order and reconstructed the Instance’s intended path. The group considered how to find the final truth, while Uriel asked whether Ligota could be revived, and Angel told him it was not entirely impossible.

• Uriel shared Wonderland’s message that a living soul was hidden within the Evil Spirit, and Angel concluded that it belonged to Ligota rather than Priest Sion.
• Angel expanded the message and uncovered an outline explaining that Priest Sion had placed layers of Dreamscapes around Ligota’s soul within his consciousness.
• Angel reasoned that his help and Uriel’s knowledge had let the team skip the intended first clue, making the E-rank Instance seem more difficult than it was.
• Blanche noted that Ligota’s clue gave 20% exploration progress while Kemei’s clue from One-Eyed Dragon gave 30%, supporting the idea that they had found the clues out of order.
• Kemei agreed that the final fragment likely concerned what happened after Priest Sion and Ligota fell into the river, but asked where they should search for it.
• Uriel asked whether Ligota could be revived, and Angel said it was not entirely impossible.

Angel joined Uriel, Blanche, and Kemei as they searched for the third fragment of truth and discussed how Ligota might be resurrected. He explained the principles Challengers used to explore new Instances, leading Kemei to suspect the crystallized withered tree—and its connection to the Withered Tree Stronghold—was the overlooked clue.

• Angel told Uriel that Priest Sion might have preserved Ligota's soul in hopes of resurrecting her, while Kemei explained that the Dream Crystal Plain could offer her a second life at the cost of leaving reality behind.
• Kemei, Uriel, and Blanche debated where to find the third fragment of truth, and Blanche argued that they should investigate the unresolved mysteries of the Evil Spirit and the Forty Thieves.
• Angel appeared at the Travel Cabin and agreed with Blanche's focus, then asked Kemei to explain the Challenger principles of identifying, searching, and connecting clues in a new Instance.
• Kemei explained that an Instance's crystal construct came from an important reference object within its story, then realized the Mist Swamp Instance's crystallized withered tree might be their overlooked clue.
• Kemei reconsidered the Withered Tree Stronghold, wondering whether the Forty Thieves had merely seized it rather than being inherently connected to it.

Kemei deduced that the Forty Thieves were guarding a secret in the Withered Tree Stronghold, while Angel warned that the Mist Swamp instance was collapsing and led the group toward it. Angel suspected Uriel’s arrival had stirred Ligota, the consciousness behind the Evil Spirit’s behavior, and the chapter left that theory unconfirmed as the group hurried to find the final truth.

• Kemei reasoned that the Withered Tree Stronghold concealed a secret the Forty Thieves refused to abandon, and Blanche accepted his analysis.
• Angel led Blanche, Kemei, and Uriel outside, where they found dense fog spreading through the Forest; Blanche sensed growing unease in it.
• Angel explained that the fog marked the instance’s collapse and that they had to find the third fragment of truth before the Dreamseeing ended.
• Kemei guided the group toward the Withered Tree Stronghold while Angel used strong winds to speed their travel through the fog.
• Angel told Uriel that the anomaly began when Uriel broke the Whispering Curse and suggested that Ligota, rather than Priest Sion, might be guiding the dream.
• Uriel declared that he would accept Ligota regardless of her body, while Angel cautioned that Ligota might influence the Evil Spirit without truly controlling it.

Angel and the others infiltrated the Withered Tree Stronghold, subdued its thieves, and questioned them through illusions. After clearing the foul-smelling tree hollow, Angel examined the strange inscriptions carved into a stone slab, which might hold clues connected to the third fragment of truth.

• One Ear dismissed a scout’s warning about the unusually heavy fog and ordered him to keep watch outside the stronghold.
• Angel’s group found the last scout outside, and Blanche killed him after Uriel declined to do so himself.
• Angel entered the tree hollow, restrained One Ear and the other thieves, and used illusions to send them outside for questioning.
• Blanche identified the carvings on the floor as possible inscriptions and explained that Camilo, who was absent, knew how to read them.
• Angel cleaned the hollow and examined the inscribed stone slab, whose faint traces of authority had drawn him into the Instance.

Angel discovered that killing at least eighty percent of the Forty Thieves would unlock the third truth fragment, then arranged for Uriel to finish them off. As the last thief died, Priest Sion’s soul briefly regained awareness before vanishing and leaving behind a drop of Luminous Water.

• Angel used the Authority Tree to reconstruct the slab’s information and learned the conditions for unlocking the third truth fragment.
• Angel told Kemei, Blanche, and Uriel that killing the Forty Thieves would unlock the fragment, presenting the information as a Wonderland prompt.
• Uriel took Angel’s dagger and killed the Forty Thieves while the others urged him on.
• Priest Sion’s soul emerged from the tree hollow as the thieves died and briefly regained awareness when Uriel killed the last one.
• Priest Sion’s soul vanished, leaving behind a condensed drop of Luminous Water.

Shi En discovered that Mrs. Maru had used the Method of Seeking Self before her death and witnessed an apparent reunion with her child, prompting him to secretly learn the inscription. Later, he freed Ligota from a church-ordered punishment and arranged for her to hide in the Forest, then accepted a mission escorting a bandit informant to Dawn City.

• Shi En found Mrs. Maru's body in her wardrobe and learned from her diary and a hidden parchment that she had used the Method of Seeking Self to seek reunion with her dead child.
• When Shi En moved Mrs. Maru's body, the inscription revealed an image of her embracing her child, leading him to believe the method had transcendent power.
• Shi En decided to learn the Method of Seeking Self before reporting it to the church, but soon received an order to perform Fireboot Punishment on Ligota for Heresy Performance.
• After investigating, Shi En concluded Ligota had been implicated in a religious cover-up and chose to carry out her punishment in an isolated Forest.
• Shi En released Ligota, faked the punishment using a rabbit's blood and gel, and hid her in a Hunter's Cabin while promising to help her return to Dawn City.
• Shi En reported that he had completed the punishment, then accepted a mission to escort a bandit informant to Dawn City.

Angel and the others received Priest Sion’s memories from the droplet, while Angel viewed the final two segments. The memories revealed how Shi En sacrificed himself to shelter Ligota’s living soul, leaving her fate unresolved.

• Angel explained that the droplet contained Priest Sion’s memories, and Uriel chose to view the first segment.
• Uriel, Kemei, Blanche, and Angel divided the five memory segments and began absorbing them.
• Shi En escorted Ligota toward Dawn City, but the Forty Thieves ambushed them and gravely wounded them both.
• Shi En carried Ligota through the River of Troubles toward the Swamp Forest, hoping to find help.
• With Ligota dying, Shi En used the Method of Seeking Self to ask for her soul to be housed in his body and sacrificed his own soul to preserve it.
• Shi En completed the inscription, saw an immense shadow look down at him, and sank into darkness.

Angel and the others pieced together Priest Sion and Ligota’s tragic story, learning that Sion used the Method of Seeking Self to house Ligota’s soul in his body. Their discoveries completed the main quest at 98%, but Uriel resisted settling the instance because Ligota’s corpse remained unaccounted for.

• Uriel, Kemei, and Blanche shared their memory fragments, revealing Madam Maru’s kindness and death, Sion’s connection to the Method of Seeking Self, and his attempt to spare Ligota from Fireboot Punishment.
• Angel recounted how Sion carried Ligota from the River of Troubles and used the Method of Seeking Self to prolong her life by housing her soul in his own body.
• Blanche and Angel suspected that the Shadow of the High Heavens, rather than Sion himself, had answered the inscription, and Blanche planned to consult Camilo about it.
• The Text Panel recorded all three truth fragments and announced that the main quest was complete at 98% exploration.
• Kemei argued against settling before a possible perfect clear, while Uriel refused to settle because he still wanted to find out where Ligota’s corpse was.

Angel and the others discovered that the Evil Spirit’s return to the Withered Tree Stronghold completed their exploration of the Mist Swamp Instance. After earning a perfect clear, they entered the special reward settlement, where Angel, Kemei, and Uriel ranked as the top contributors.

• Uriel wondered where Ligota’s remains had gone, and Blanche suggested they could question the Forty Thieves in reality.
• Angel searched the collapsing instance and spotted a figure approaching from the Withered Tree Stronghold.
• The Evil Spirit entered the tree hollow and sat on the inscribed stone slab, raising the exploration completion rate from 98% to 100%.
• Wonderland Authority began special reward settlement and named Angel, Kemei, and Uriel the top three contributors.
• The reward list appeared, and Blanche became especially interested in Wonderland identities because they granted role-related knowledge.

After the Instance was perfectly cleared, Uriel chose the special reward that could give Shi En a new life in Dream Crystal Plain, rather than the one that would bring Ligota there immediately. Angel offered Blanche his reward choice in exchange for rescuing Ligota’s soul, but Blanche refused the credit and promised to help her herself.

• Uriel found the special reward “Dream of Returning Spirit,” which could use Shi En’s remnant memories and consciousness to forge him a new body in Dream Crystal Plain.
• Angel pointed out that Uriel could instead choose “Soul Anchoring” to bring Ligota’s living soul into Dream Crystal Plain, but Uriel chose Shi En’s revival because Ligota still had another chance to be saved.
• Angel offered Blanche his reward choice if she would pull Ligota’s soul from the Evil Spirit into Dream Crystal Plain after awakening.
• Blanche refused Angel’s offer and said she and her teacher would rescue Ligota themselves, insisting that Uriel would owe them for the help.