Chapter Summaries

Angel and Sanders investigated the black fog to determine whether it was connected to the dissipated authority. After two exiled criminals entered as test subjects and were possessed by fog creatures, Angel planned to enter the fog himself.

• Angel described Lisa's younger brother as mindless and confined to the black fog, but said he could find no source for the fog.
• Frod proposed sending people into the fog to test its effects, and Angel recruited two exiled criminals with the promise of returning to Firstheart City.
• The unprotected criminal and the one carrying Angel's defensive leather scroll entered the fog, but neither returned.
• Angel reported that the fog formed creatures that attacked and possessed both test subjects, turning them into mindless wanderers who attacked others.
• Angel confirmed he could expel people from the Dream Wilderness through the Gatekeeper authority, found no sign of a foreign invasion, and decided to enter the fog himself.

Angel entered the black mist to investigate the creatures forming inside it and returned with Lisa’s younger brother, Shalu, still possessed and physically changing. After the other possessed men expelled their mist creatures, Sanders and Frod realized Shalu’s creature had remained inside him, and Angel hinted that they might still be able to study him in Dream Wilderness.

• Angel entered the black mist behind an Advanced Defense Spell barrier, sensed its negative power, and watched creatures form from it and attack him.
• Angel identified a familiar ripple as the creatures took shape and decided to leave the mist after making one more attempt.
• The two control group members were thrown out of the mist, and black shadows fled from their mouths before Sanders pulled Frod out of danger.
• Angel emerged carrying Lisa’s younger brother, but Sanders noticed that Shalu had not expelled a mist creature.
• Frod reported that the other men were confined and recovering, while Shalu remained possessed in a glass chamber and developed mutations.
• Angel suggested that studying Shalu might still be possible, then began to explain what he had discovered in the black mist.

Angel linked the black mist to an escaped authority and concluded that he needed a new authority to confront the threat near Firstheart City. He brought Sanders to the Nightmare Domain core and began using his green Patterns to extract an authority, activating the Lucky Scroll before dissolving the core.

• Angel explained that the black mist creatures carried an echo of authority, and Frod connected the discovery to the Lucky Scroll experiment's success.
• Angel left Frod in Firstheart City to monitor Shalu and the control group, then departed with Sanders.
• Angel revealed the Nightmare Domain core in a vast wilderness and explained that its sphere contained the Dream Wilderness's authorities.
• Angel touched the core and used his green Patterns to prepare to dissolve it and fuse with a new authority.
• Angel began activating the Lucky Scroll before extracting an authority from the core.

Angel used the Lucky Scroll while dissolving authority and fused with a point of light, which inflicted overwhelming pain in the Dream Wilderness and severe injuries in reality. After hours of torment, his condition began to improve, leaving Sanders unsure whether Angel had successfully fused with the authority and what it was.

• Angel used the Lucky Scroll during the dissolution process and fused a point of light into his body.
• Angel lost consciousness as a vision of a train battered his thoughts, while Sanders watched him suffer in the Dream Wilderness.
• Sanders returned to reality, found Angel bleeding heavily, and placed him in a recovery pod after treating his injuries.
• Angel endured hours of agony and clung to the will to live as his thoughts fractured.
• Angel's Green Patterns glowed, a new pattern briefly appeared on his back, and the pain subsided as he fell into a deep sleep.
• Sanders saw Angel's injuries begin to heal and wondered whether he had fused with the authority and what it represented.

Frod hoped Angel would obtain the Dream Wilderness’s core authority and help address Firstheart City’s underlying problems. After waking from a two-day coma, Angel confirmed that he had successfully integrated a core authority called the Authority Tree, though most of its information remained obscured.

• Frod looked over Firstheart City’s fragile prosperity and hoped Angel’s acquisition of core authority could help resolve its problems.
• Angel woke after two days in a coma and learned from Sanders that his real body had suffered severe bleeding.
• Angel recalled the Green Pattern subduing the unruly points of light and realized he had completed the authority integration.
• Angel examined the vast information in his mind and discovered that his new core authority was called the Authority Tree.

Angel explained the Authority Tree to Sanders and discovered that Sin Mist was a dangerous Authority that spawned nightmare plunderers called Sin Creatures. He could influence the creatures but could not reclaim Sin Mist, leaving him to warn Frod and consider the Authority Tree’s role in the Dream Wilderness.

• Angel told Sanders that the Authority Tree displayed Authorities already active in the Dream Wilderness, including Dream Gate, Gatekeeper, and Sin Mist.
• Angel examined Sin Mist and learned that it spawned Sin Creatures, which plundered Dream Realm residents and humans and could return through cycles of reincarnation after being killed.
• Angel explained that he could influence Sin Creatures to a limited extent and reclaim Authorities held by creatures or humans, but could not reclaim Sin Mist because it had already returned to the Dream Wilderness.
• Sanders suggested that Sin Creatures might serve the Dream Wilderness as protection against foreign enemies, though Angel remained concerned about the danger they posed to residents.
• Angel said he would speak with Frod and urge him to be careful, while Sanders concluded that the Authority Tree was like a heart connecting all Authorities.

Angel used the Lucky Scroll to help Sanders merge with a randomly drawn authority, then studied the Authority Tree while Sanders absorbed it. He discovered that Sin Mist could appear in many forms and might emerge inside Firstheart City, leaving the threat to its residents unresolved.

• Angel decided that Sanders and Frod were the only suitable people to receive authorities and planned for Sanders to gain one related to controlling energy.
• Angel used the Lucky Scroll and dissolved the Nightmare Domain core, then merged the mote of light representing a new authority into Sanders.
• Sanders endured the torrent of information from the merge while Angel returned to reality and found him sitting elegantly with his eyes closed.
• Angel studied the Sin Mist authority and learned that black mist was only one of its possible manifestations, which could also emerge in Firstheart City.
• Angel learned that he could use the Sin Mist authority to control sin-force creatures to a limited extent.

Frod showed Meng Lu the transformed Shalu and warned her to strengthen Firstheart City's defenses against monsters from the black mist. Angel then spoke through Shalu, revealed that the mist could appear near the city, and explained the danger of Sin Mist to Frod.

• Frod invited Meng Lu to uncover the glass pod, where she saw the monstrous Shalu and feared that Firstheart City was conducting human experiments.
• Frod corrected Meng Lu's suspicions, explained that black-mist creatures had possessed Shalu, and urged her to prioritize the city's safety.
• Frod asked Meng Lu to watch for Leon and send him to the office so he could learn how Angel was doing.
• After Meng Lu left, Angel revealed that he was speaking through Shalu and corrected Frod's claim that the black mist posed no near-term threat to Firstheart City.
• Angel explained Sin Mist and its creatures to Frod, who recognized that they might be as dangerous as Nightmare Predators.

Angel discovered that his Authority Tree could suppress Sin Mist creatures inside people, letting them keep their awareness and borrow the creatures’ strength, and could grant Sin Mist authority to people with high compatibility. The chapter left Angel considering how these powers could protect Firstheart City and free him from monitoring the Dream Wilderness himself.

• Frod asked Angel how he had learned to control Sin Mist creatures, but Angel said he would explain after returning.
• Angel discovered he could expel or suppress the Sin Mist creature inside Shalu, with suppression preserving Shalu’s awareness and combat strength while carrying the risk of the creature eventually breaking free.
• Angel realized he could read people’s compatibility with Sin Mist authority and found that Frod’s compatibility was 69%.
• Angel learned through the Authority Tree that he could perform an Authority Granting Ritual for people with high compatibility, allowing them to suppress or expel Sin Mist creatures themselves.
• Angel considered how suppression and granting authority could help protect Firstheart City, then wondered how Sanders’s authority was progressing as the Authority Tree swayed.

Sanders gained the Energy-Level Restriction authority, which was meant to limit the strength of beings entering Dream Wilderness, but he and Angel could not use their real-world power there. Frod explained that Dream Wilderness needed its own power system, leaving them to seek another unknown authority to complete it.

• Sanders fused with Energy-Level Restriction, and its activation sent ripples across Dream Wilderness.
• Angel and Sanders discovered that the authority could restrict visitors' strength but could not let them use real-world power in Dream Wilderness.
• Angel and Sanders realized the missing magic power was caused by Dream Wilderness's lack of a corresponding power system.
• Angel and Sanders went to Skyvault Tower and asked Frod about the problem.
• Frod explained that Dream Wilderness followed stricter rules than the Dream Realm and needed its own power system, likely tied to another unknown authority.

Angel and Sanders sought another Authority to complete Dream Wilderness's energy-level limitation, and Frod chose to control the weather for the residents' sake. Frod's attempt to merge with the Authority became dangerously painful, and Sanders warned that Frod had to give it up or risk being torn apart.

• Angel and Sanders agreed to seek another Authority, and Angel brought Frod to the Nightmare Domain to choose one.
• Frod first suggested an Authority to defend against malefic-force creatures, then chose to change the weather so Dream Wilderness's residents could experience clear skies, rain, and snow.
• Angel used the Lucky Scroll to summon the weather Authority, and Frod began merging with it.
• Frod screamed and convulsed as his body swelled and reddened, alarming Angel.
• Sanders recognized that Frod could not control the Authority and urged Angel to make him give it up before it killed him.

Frod failed to fuse with the authority of Celestial Change, which returned to the Dream Wilderness and cleared the sky over Firstheart City. After discussing the risks of using the Lucky Scroll, Angel, Sanders, and Frod returned to Skyvault Tower, where Angel prepared to discuss the Sin Creatures before someone knocked.

• Frod gave up trying to fuse with the authority, and its light vanished from his body.
• A rainbow swept across the Dream Wilderness, clearing the sky, and Angel identified the returned authority as Celestial Change.
• Angel explained that Celestial Change was too broad and powerful for anyone to fuse with, though he could control it through the Authority Tree.
• Sanders urged caution with the Lucky Scroll and postponed his own attempt to obtain an authority for constructing a power system.
• Angel, Sanders, and the injured Frod returned to Skyvault Tower, where Angel began to bring up the Sin Creatures before a knock interrupted him.

A chaotic Celestial Change battered Firstheart City, and Angel found and returned the missing Lado before restoring the weather to normal. After Lado’s brother Rabu arrived to take him home, Angel stopped him briefly and studied him before letting him leave.

• Meng Lu told Frod that the weather had turned bizarre and people had gone missing, and Frod saw Firstheart City split between violent storms and clear daylight.
• Meng Lu explained that a child named Lado had been blown away, and Angel used his omniscient perspective to find him unconscious outside the city.
• Angel brought Lado back to Skyvault Tower, where Frod determined that the child had fainted from fright rather than been injured.
• Angel said the chaotic weather would soon pass, and the sky cleared as he restored Celestial Change to normal.
• Rabu arrived to take Lado home, but Angel stopped him briefly to study him before allowing him to leave.

Angel explained that Dream Realm residents could use the power of Sin Creatures to resist them, with authority granted to people compatible with Sin Mist. He revealed that Rabu had 98% compatibility, and Frod agreed to assess whether Rabu was suitable to receive the authority.

• Angel shifted the discussion to finding a way to protect Firstheart City from Sin Creatures without trying to eliminate Sin Mist itself.
• Angel proposed empowering Dream Realm residents to suppress Sin Creatures, and Sanders compared the method to demonized humans in the Panic Realm.
• Angel explained that he could grant others authority over Sin Creatures, but only if they had sufficient compatibility with Sin Mist.
• Angel revealed that Rabu had 98% compatibility with Sin Mist and could likely suppress Sin Creatures if granted authority.
• Frod agreed to carefully assess whether Rabu had the character and resolve to take on the responsibility.

Angel considered testing whether Sin Mist could suppress Sin Creatures and selected an experimental subject. At Stone Pillar Colosseum, Shalu fought Knight Sabel, then began transforming into a monstrous creature.

• Angel considered granting Rabu the authority of Sin Mist, but realized experiments were needed and looked toward a covered glass chamber.
• Shalu used his astonishing speed to attack Knight Sabel, but Sabel intercepted him with his rapier domain and forced him to retreat.
• Leon watched the duel with Angel and learned that Sabel's opponent was Lisa's younger brother, Shalu.
• Shalu's eyes turned completely black, black smoke formed the image of a strange creature, and sharp spines began growing from his body.

Shalu resonated with the sin demon inside him and transformed during his match with Knight Sabel, while Angel warned that Shalu was nearing the point of losing control. As Sabel knocked Shalu out of the arena, the sin demon urged him to release more power, and Shalu refused to accept defeat.

• Shalu transformed, growing black bone blades and barbs as Angel explained that he was resonating with a sin demon and approaching the Zero Boundary Point.
• Shalu heard a voice urging him to use the sin demon's power to become stronger and kill the person who had experimented on him, but he wondered whether the voice was truly his own.
• Shalu attacked Knight Sabel at overwhelming speed, but Sabel read his approach and blocked his bone blade with his rapier.
• Sabel thrust at Shalu's chest, then flicked his rapier to send Shalu flying toward the edge of the arena.
• As Shalu fell beyond the arena, the voice urged him to release more power, and he murmured that he was not willing to admit defeat.

Shalu transformed after the Sin Demon took over his consciousness, overpowering Sabel until Angel intervened. Angel restrained the Sin Demon and concluded that future hosts would need strong mental fortitude to resist its temptations.

• Shalu hovered above the arena as the Sin Demon emerged from black mist and transformed his body.
• Shalu attacked Sabel, trapping him in nightmares and nearly striking his neck with a bone blade.
• Angel appeared and protected Sabel with a Green Pattern, then explained that the Sin Demon had replaced Shalu’s consciousness.
• Shalu tried to flee, but Angel used the Sin Demon authority to immobilize him.
• Angel recognized that the Sin Demon could think, flee, and tempt its host, and concluded that future hosts would need the strength to resist its influence.

Angel removed the Sin Demon from Shalu and gathered Firstheart City's leaders to explain the danger of Sin Mist and the risks of using Sin Demons. They agreed to prepare a system for selecting and managing bearers, with Meng Lu and Knight Sabel given responsibility for its organization.

• Angel judged Shalu unfit to bear a Sin Demon, expelled the Snake-Tailed Worm from him, and had Frod place it in a special container.
• Angel invited Knight Sabel, Tulas, City Lord Meng Lu, and others to Skyvault Tower, where Frod explained the Sin Mist and Sin Demons.
• Sabel volunteered to bear a Sin Demon to protect Firstheart City, and Angel warned that bearers needed discipline, strong wills, and the ability to endure loneliness.
• Meng Lu and the others accepted that the city needed to develop its own defenses rather than rely on outside protectors.
• Angel assigned Meng Lu to establish the institutional framework and Knight Sabel to manage future bearers, then made Tulas Sabel's deputy.

Angel attended a wizard exchange gathering that expanded his knowledge, then reviewed the New Star Tournament’s ranking-match rules and checked how Youthful Grace Hall members were faring. He decided to visit Youthful Grace Hall to ask about the unpredictable matches.

• Meng Lu established the Sin-Hunting Group as a precaution, with Sabel appointed its head and expected to fuse with a compatible Sin Demon.
• Angel stayed in the Dream Wilderness for two more days, then attended Horus’s wizard exchange gathering and learned about cultivation and the path to becoming a True Knowledge Wizard.
• Angel declined an invitation to explore an ancient wizard’s laboratory because he had too many other matters to handle.
• Angel learned that contestants ranked seventeenth through one hundredth could challenge higher-ranked opponents, while the top sixteen advanced to the finals.
• Angel checked the rankings and saw that Serum had fallen to thirty-first, Nausicaa was ninety-eighth, David was absent, and Xiliu was fifteenth.
• Angel decided to visit Youthful Grace Hall and ask its members about the ranking matches.

Angel visited Youthful Grace Hall, where he saw Shan and Leon and learned that Nausicaa was talking with Reynolds, the New Star Tournament contestant known as Number One. Angel was certain Nausicaa would reject any romantic confession because she was focused on pursuing truth and immortality.

• Angel reviewed the New Star Tournament rankings and noted that Xiliu was the only Savage Cave contestant among the top sixteen.
• Angel visited Youthful Grace Hall and reunited with Shan and Leon over their planned barbecue.
• Angel learned that Serum was absorbed in the Black Codex and Xiliu was sleeping, then asked about Nausicaa.
• Shan and Leon secretly watched Nausicaa speaking with Reynolds, whom Shan suspected of having feelings for her.
• Angel overheard Reynolds explain that his alias came from being Number One in an experiment, then stopped listening to respect his privacy.
• Angel said Nausicaa would reject Reynolds because she was determined to seek truth and immortality.