Chapter Summaries

Leon was dragged into Tulas’s long-delayed duel after Angel appointed him as a witness, and learned Tulas’s movement techniques along the way. Meanwhile, Wallace discussed the magical plants he received from Liwita and prepared for the commotion expected when Firefly Capital Night Talk published its news.

• Jon lectured Leon and Angel in the Dream Wilderness until he left to check on Sunny’s hymn practice, allowing Leon to escape the Ocean Theater.
• Tulas arrived and asked Angel to witness his duel, but Angel sent Leon in his place.
• Frod confronted Tulas over the damaged street, so Tulas grabbed Leon and fled across the rooftops toward the duel.
• Tulas taught Leon how to exert force as they ran, and Leon became curious about Tulas’s techniques.
• Wallace inspected the magical plants Liwita had given him, then agreed with the Tree Spirit to let Angel choose from them before using the rest for Mirror.
• Wallace told the Tree Spirit that Firefly Capital Night Talk’s publication would cause a stir and that he had sent word to Lord Rhein.

Liwita and Di Xie'er prepared Firefly Capital Night Talk's issue reporting Angel's survival and the Lord of No Flame's fall. Luchi and Essek arrived to read the sample and asked Liwita to delay publication, but she warned that Savage Cave's Mirror would publish the story soon as well.

• Liwita received the sample issue and met Di Xie'er at the printing house, where he praised her report and approved its publication.
• A spatial rift opened above Genoa, and Essek and Luchi arrived to find Liwita and Di Xie'er.
• Luchi read the sample and confirmed that Angel was alive and the Lord of No Flame's true spirit had fallen.
• Luchi asked Liwita to delay the issue, and she said she could wait no more than two weeks because Savage Cave's Mirror would publish the story.

Angel observed a newly hatched Pure-Colored Soft-State Worm whose fleeting energy let it attack the Dreamweaver Ant with extraordinary speed and force. After suspecting the energy resembled the power of illusion, he decided to investigate it further.

• Monchi left Savage Cave after meeting Rhein at Cloud Tower and ordered Luchi to locate Angel, but Luchi's prophecy failed again.
• Angel incubated a transparent Soft-State Worm egg, which hatched into a pure-white worm unlike the Shapeshifting Softworm he had hoped to produce.
• Angel drove the Dreamweaver Ant toward the sleeping worm, and the worm awoke and swiftly broke two of the ant's legs with bursts of strange energy.
• Angel protected the Dreamweaver Ant, then analyzed the Pure-Colored Soft-State Worm and wondered whether its energy was related to illusion before deciding to experiment.

Angel discovered that the Pure-Colored Soft-State Worm used tangible Phantom Limbs, inspiring him to study how illusion magic could enhance physical strength. After safely isolating the worm and adjusting the insect nest, he waited with Leon and White Bear for Sanders’s return, until a Demon Falcon sent by Sanders arrived at the manor.

• Angel observed the Pure-Colored Soft-State Worm and discovered that its illusion energy formed real Phantom Limbs that let it attack with enhanced physical force.
• Angel analyzed the Phantom Limbs as related to True Illusion and added their study to his short-term goals.
• Angel housed the Phantom-Limb Soft-State Worm in the Demon Cave Worm Pouch, faked its death to discourage the mother insect from producing more, and introduced new variables to encourage other mutations.
• Angel, Leon, and White Bear discussed Sanders’s week-long absence, and White Bear said the odds favored a good outcome.
• A Demon Falcon arrived at the manor, and Angel recognized it as one raised by Sanders before it conveyed information to him.

Angel learned that Sanders had captured Rolando, whose strange second personality could reach the strength of an official wizard. Sanders entered the Dream Wilderness through the Dream Gate, while Rolando remained impossible to refine into a puppet because his second personality resisted mental control.

• Angel told White Bear and Leon that Xius had captured Rolando but that Rolando had broken free during puppet refinement.
• Angel waited for Sanders to use Nightmare Illusion Dream Entry, then approved his entry through the Dream Gate and welcomed him into the Dream Wilderness.
• Angel modified the Dream Gate so Sanders could enter without further approval, and they discussed how Nightmare Illusion Dream Entry could reach the Dream Wilderness.
• Sanders explained that Xius had recaptured Rolando with help from Angel's Geometric Lock after Rolando nearly escaped during puppet refinement.
• Sanders revealed that Rolando had a second personality filled with malice, which could raise his strength to the level of an official wizard.
• Sanders said Rolando's second personality resisted mental interference, leaving Xius unable to refine him into a puppet and forcing them to choose between killing him and remaining deadlocked.

Angel and Sanders considered how to handle Rolando, whose death-defying second personality and control of Crimson Sovereignty made him nearly impossible to restrain. Sanders suspected mysterious power might have caused the personality and strength changes, then returned to Xius as Yurika’s illusion rapidly weakened.

• Sanders explained that Rolando’s second personality resisted mental interference, welcomed death, and could manipulate Crimson Sovereignty, leaving Xius and Sanders unable to control him safely.
• Angel and Sanders reasoned that Rolando’s mild first personality might be the key to breaking the deadlock, though it had disappeared after the personality change.
• Angel suggested a mysterious object might have altered Rolando, and Sanders recalled sensing an unusual force rooted within Rolando’s spirit sea.
• Sanders left Dream Wilderness to investigate whether mysterious power had caused Rolando’s transformation.
• In the canyon, Xius watched imprisoned Rolando while Yurika’s illusion dwindled to about thirty-seven minutes, and Sanders suddenly opened his eyes behind him.

Sanders discovered that Rolando’s second personality was formed from mysterious power and devised a way to target the ordinary first personality through the Dream Wilderness. He began testing the idea by using dream-type magic on Rolando, whose confidence suddenly faltered.

• Sanders used illusion hypnosis on Rolando again and sensed mysterious power entwined with his mental consciousness.
• Sanders told Angel that Rolando’s second personality was likely created by mysterious power, making the first personality their target.
• Sanders and Angel reasoned that the Dream Wilderness might reject the mysterious second personality while allowing the ordinary first personality to enter.
• Sanders returned to the Geometric Lock and asked Xius to wait outside so he could test his idea alone with Rolando.
• Sanders enveloped Rolando in dream-type magic, and Rolando’s expression changed as he realized what Sanders was attempting.

Sanders sent Rolando into the Dream Wilderness to separate his two personalities and question his primary personality. The Dream Gate rejected the tainted darkened personality, leaving the primary personality trapped with Sanders, who began hypnotizing him.

• Sanders entered the Dream Wilderness and Angel approved Rolando's arrival through the Dream Gate.
• A second Rolando emerged from the first one's shadow, but the Dream Gate rejected him and closed because mysterious energy had invaded.
• The first Rolando found himself alone in the wilderness, unable to contact his darkened personality or escape.
• Angel and Sanders confirmed that the wilderness had separated Rolando's personalities, and Sanders approached the confused primary personality.
• Rolando suspected Sanders had lost his abilities in the dream, but Sanders used a magic-patterned leather scroll to hypnotize him.
• Angel emerged from the mist, and Sanders told him to prepare to question Rolando.

Angel and Sanders used hypnosis to uncover the origins and rules of Rolando’s darkened personality, which was created by a mysterious visitor from the Source Continent using the mysterious object Dark Canticle. They learned that killing Rolando’s original personality would leave Crimson Sovereignty unchanged, but killing the darkened personality could cause unpredictable consequences and alert the Guman King.

• Sanders deduced that Rolando Nord was not Rolando’s real name, and Rolando revealed that his true name had been stripped away when his darkened personality was born.
• Rolando recounted how a mysterious person from the Source Continent made a deal with the Guman King twenty years earlier to inspect Crimson Sovereignty and create the darkened personality.
• Rolando explained that Dark Canticle gathered negative energy to create an evil personality that cultivated independently and obeyed the commands of its holder; the mysterious person had ordered it to obey the Guman King and guard Crimson Sovereignty.
• Rolando confirmed that he had used the hide scroll to control Crimson Sovereignty and cause Yurika’s tragedy.
• Rolando told Angel and Sanders that his original personality’s death would let the darkened personality take over, while the darkened personality’s death could cause unpredictable changes to Crimson Sovereignty and help the Guman King locate it.

Angel and Sanders discovered that Rolando’s main personality could be the only weakness in Crimson Sovereignty’s defenses, and Sanders tried to bargain with him to free those affected by the artifact. Their negotiation was interrupted when Rolando began showing signs of waking in reality as his consciousness transformed into a Dream Realm resident, suggesting he might be facing mortal danger.

• Rolando explained that Crimson Sovereignty would only recognize a member of the Guman Royal House and that the Guman King had sent him to turn Yurika and Xius into puppets.
• Sanders identified the Dream Wilderness and the separation of Rolando’s main and darkened personalities as a possible breach in Crimson Sovereignty’s defenses.
• Rolando confirmed that his main personality controlled his body and could suppress the darkened personality, though Sanders said hypnosis alone could not reliably control him.
• Sanders decided to bargain with Rolando for him to restore Yurika and the servants affected by Crimson Sovereignty, offering temporary protection and a chance at freedom.
• Rolando hesitated to accept Sanders’s terms, then began flickering as Angel warned that his consciousness was turning into a Dream Realm resident, a possible sign of fatal danger in reality.

Sanders returned to reality and found Rolando mortally wounded after Yurika attacked him. He persuaded Rolando’s primary personality to choose survival, and with Xius’s help, healed most of his injuries; Sanders then demanded an explanation from Xius.

• Sanders returned from the Dream Wilderness and found Yurika beside a severely wounded Rolando in the magic cage.
• Sanders subdued Yurika and urged Rolando’s primary personality to resist the darkened personality and choose to live.
• Rolando’s primary personality agreed to Sanders’s help, and Sanders destroyed the magic cage so Rolando could use his magic to guide the healing potion.
• Sanders treated Rolando, but his condition began worsening when despair let the darkened personality interfere with his guiding technique.
• Xius joined Sanders in healing Rolando, and together they restored nearly eighty percent of his injuries.
• Sanders turned to Xius and demanded to know why he had entered the Geometric Lock and failed to stop Yurika.

Xius explained how Yurika escaped and how Rolando’s darkened personality had manipulated events to make the primary personality die. Rolando agreed to remove Crimson Sovereignty’s puppet transformations, and Angel returned to the estate, where Leon asked to visit Dream Wilderness to watch Tulas’s final duel with Knight Sabel.

• Xius admitted that he had released Yurika from the illusion nodes, then failed to stop her when she attacked Rolando because his emotions had been manipulated.
• Rolando revealed that his darkened personality had used Crimson Sovereignty to affect Xius and provoke others into killing the primary personality; Sanders explained that the darkened personality would then take over.
• Sanders asked Rolando to fulfill their agreement, and Rolando agreed to remove the puppet transformation from the affected people, asking for Xius’s promise regarding Yurika.
• Angel learned that Rolando had agreed to his conditions and let the Moon Bell Orchid Fairy stay at the estate to care for Toby and the Milkfruit Tree.
• Leon told Angel he wanted to enter Dream Wilderness to watch Tulas’s final duel with Knight Sabel, and Angel agreed to take him.

Angel left the crowded Stone Pillar Colosseum to bring Sanders into Firstheart City after Sanders logged into the Dream Wilderness far from town. They returned to watch Tulas face Knight Sabel, and Tulas led Angel, Sanders, and Leon toward the referee’s stand as the crowd wondered who the newcomers were.

• Angel sensed Sanders entering the Dream Wilderness outside Firstheart City and used the Dream Gate to bring him into the city.
• Sanders joined Angel at the Stone Pillar Colosseum and discussed the problem of returning to town after logging in far away.
• Angel found Tulas talking with Leon, and Tulas invited Angel to referee his duel with Knight Sabel.
• Tulas recognized Sanders and escorted him, Angel, and Leon toward the arena, drawing the attention of the crowd and Knight Sabel.

Tulas brought Angel and Sanders to the arena as judges, where City Lord Meng Lu treated them with striking deference. After Angel privately urged Sabel to fight seriously and humble Tulas, the two men prepared to begin their duel.

• Tulas led Angel and Sanders to the judging area, where Meng Lu greeted them reverently and baffled the spectators.
• Rabu, Lado, and Daluk recognized Angel, while Leon told Sabel that Angel was his younger brother and Sanders was Angel's mentor.
• Tulas challenged Sabel before the crowd and boasted that he had defeated the legendary pirate Redbeard.
• Angel quietly told Sabel to give his best and knock some of Tulas's arrogance out of him, prompting Sabel to suspect Angel was a transcendent being.
• Sabel entered the arena with his aura growing sharp, drew his rapier, and faced a suddenly serious Tulas as the battle was about to begin.

Tulas and Sabel fought an evenly matched duel in the Dream Wilderness while Angel and the others discussed their abilities and the arena’s potential. Sanders left before the match ended, and Angel told Leon that Rolando had reached a preliminary agreement and was returning to Pat Manor.

• Tulas and Sabel exchanged attacks for over an hour, with Sabel’s defensive swordsmanship holding against Tulas’s varied, aerial assault.
• Angel and Sanders discussed the fighters’ strengths and how becoming extraordinary could help each advance beyond mortal limits.
• Sanders suggested the Dream Wilderness might one day allow people to develop combat techniques, though Angel believed making it widely available would require careful planning.
• Angel told Leon that the duel’s outcome was uncertain because the Dream Wilderness had equalized their stamina and injuries.
• Sanders left the arena, and Angel told Leon that Rolando had reached a preliminary agreement and would arrive at Pat Manor within an hour or two.

Knight Sabel won the duel against Tulas, but Tulas lost control and attacked again before Angel intervened and sent him away. Back at Pat Manor, Angel showed Tulas the duel and convinced him to accept his defeat.

• Tulas became exhausted during the duel, and Sabel used a precise strike to send him to the arena floor.
• Meng Lu declared Sabel the victor, but Tulas suddenly rose and attacked him; Angel stepped in and fought Tulas as his strength grew.
• Angel made Tulas vanish from the arena, then told Sabel that he was the duel’s sole victor and directed him to ask Frod his questions.
• Angel returned with Leon to Pat Manor, where Leon left to arrange food and wine while Angel entered the Church of the Dead.
• Angel replayed the duel for Tulas, who saw that Sabel had shown him mercy and acknowledged that he had lost.

Meng Lu celebrated Sabel’s oath to protect Firstheart City, while Frod reassured her that Tulas would recover from his defeat. Angel checked on Frod’s plans for his servants and the search for scattered authority before a carriage from Storm Canyon arrived carrying Sanders, Xius, and their captive Rolando.

• Meng Lu told Frod that Sabel had pledged his knight’s soul to protect Firstheart City, and Frod assured her that Tulas would soon return.
• Tulas came back with Angel, dismissed his loss to Sabel as deliberate, and leapt from Skyvault Tower to resume his work.
• Angel discussed arrangements for his servants with Frod and examined the Strange Affairs Group’s investigation into the scattered authority.
• Angel returned to reality and saw a Storm Canyon carriage arrive at the Cloud Soil, carrying Sanders, Xius, and a Geometric Lock containing Rolando.

Pat Manor’s servants arrived in Firstheart City with their memories cut off by a red flash, and Jon and Frod guided them through registration. Jon promised to explain what happened and take them to meet the person who felt guilty for bringing them there.

• Swatch recognized that the plaza and tower were not in Waterford, while Mana recalled seeing a red flash before her memory ended.
• Frod and the staff told the newcomers that they were in Firstheart City and needed to register before living there.
• The servants recognized Jon, and Yorkshire confirmed his identity before astonishing everyone by speaking aloud.
• Jon promised to explain the events and introduce the servants to someone ashamed to face them, then led them away after registration.

After learning that the servants of Pat Manor had died, Angel brought them to the Dream Wilderness and arranged for them to live in a familiar copy of the manor in Firstheart City. The chapter ended with the servants entering their new home, reassured by its familiar rooms but noticing its barren grounds.

• Leon told the servants that their physical bodies had died and that their consciousnesses remained in the Dream Wilderness.
• Angel promised Leon he would help the servants adapt, then told Sanders he wanted to duplicate Pat Manor in Firstheart City.
• Sanders arranged for Xius and White Bear to leave Pat Manor, allowing Angel to use the Dream Conch to bring the estate into the Dream Wilderness.
• Angel placed Pat Manor in Firstheart City's eastern district and reassured Aoli that he might later bring her friends there.
• Angel led everyone into the manor, where they recognized their familiar rooms but found no farmland or plants.

Angel settled the servants at Pat Manor and focused on building the Door Model while Sanders traveled to seek a luck-enhancing scroll and supplies for Jon. The manor and its residents gradually recovered, and Sanders later told Angel that Asui did not have the scroll he sought.

• Angel and Leon reassured the servants that they would return to Pat Manor, and Leon stayed in Dream Wilderness to keep them company.
• Yurika awoke from her madness and left with White Bear, while Sanders departed for the Seventh Root Continent to seek a luck scroll and supplies for Jon.
• Angel arranged for a falcon to carry a login device, put Bobota to work caring for Soft-State Worms, and devoted himself to constructing the Door Model.
• Leon recalled the displaced servants and Kula Kuka people, who repaired the manor as the residents of Dream Wilderness rebuilt their lives.
• Angel met Sanders in Firstheart City, where Sanders said Asui had emerged from seclusion but did not possess a luck-attribute scroll.