Chapter Summaries

William left Ivan and Xia at the Athens Base under guard, then joined Andre and the Blue Team to plan an assault on the Star of Light Church. The force prepared to raid an abandoned castle on Corsica Island, where agents had detected heat sources and armed guards.

• William ordered Ivan to protect Xia at the Athens Base while he and Halsey returned to the Phantom to discuss destroying the church.
• Mylon asked William to let the Blue Team join the assault because the church's attack had frightened Yelena, and William assigned them to lead the airborne troops.
• William met Andre aboard a Containment Carrier, and Tina identified Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily as possible locations where the church held Miko.
• Tina reported that an abandoned castle on Corsica best matched the evidence and that agents had detected heat sources and armed guards there.
• Andre ordered a live-fire exercise to be announced as cover and directed the group to begin an orbital drop in fifteen minutes.

Umbrella launched an orbital assault on a Star of Light Church base inside an ancient castle on Corsica, using Heavy Marines and Blue Team. John and the others cleared the castle and followed Cortana’s marker toward a large underground space where the Church’s modified soldiers and secrets might be hidden.

• Forty-one drop pods carrying Heavy Marines and Blue Team descended toward the castle on Corsica.
• Agents withdrew from the target as Umbrella’s drop pods crashed around and inside the castle.
• John led Blue Team and nine Heavy Marines into the castle, where they killed the armed guards and other defenders.
• Cortana detected a large underground space beneath the castle and sent its location to Blue Team.
• John led the group toward the underground space as Carl suspected the Church’s modified soldiers were hidden below, and Mylon urged them to kill everyone.

John led Blue Team and nine Heavy Soldiers beneath the castle, where they fought the Star of Light Church’s elite troops and discovered a laboratory filled with children undergoing experiments. William ordered them to capture the fleeing researchers and preserve the facility’s data while backup units explored the tunnels.

• John’s team reached the underground gate, and Mylon lifted it so the Spartans and Heavy Soldiers could pass through.
• John led the team around a corner, where they fought and defeated nearly one hundred elite church soldiers.
• Blue Team and the Heavy Soldiers destroyed defensive weapons and reached a large laboratory containing children in cultivation tanks.
• John reported that the church’s base appeared to modify humans and produce superhuman soldiers.
• William ordered John to capture researchers and protect the data, and John directed Blue Team and the Heavy Soldiers to pursue them.

The report described Umbrella and the UNSC’s destruction of the Star of Light Church after its attack on St. Mark’s Basilica. It also detailed Project Miko, a nine-year-old reality warper whom the church had intended to use to summon its God of Light.

• At 19:07 on August 28, 2015, the Star of Light Church attacked St. Mark’s Basilica, killing 63 civilians, and Ivan Russell executed the 24 militants.
• Umbrella and the UNSC uncovered the church’s history, arrested Henry Frederick, and learned that it had abducted youths to create superhuman Executioners.
• Umbrella and the UNSC destroyed the church’s bases, classified its believers and researchers as D-Class personnel, and returned surviving failed candidates to society after memory modification.
• Henry Frederick was executed on September 15, 2015, and his confiscated property was used to help kidnapped children return to society.
• The report identified Project Miko as Xia Stephensdottir Sigurros, a girl whose reality-warping ability appeared when she was four.
• Umbrella classified Project Miko as Keter after determining that the Star of Light Church had adopted her to fulfill its prophecy of summoning the God of Light.

Umbrella tested Xia and confirmed that she could alter reality, had exceptional defenses, and emitted radiation that intensified when she used magic. As the Olympus Board considered whether to execute her, William and Halsey decided that harsh containment could provoke a dangerous reaction, while Xia’s closeness to Ivan made her unusually cooperative.

• Dr. Catherine Russell Halsey obtained Xia’s blood with needles made from 148 Alloy and found that its composition matched ordinary human blood.
• Halsey’s team detected an unknown radiation band from Xia and found that it intensified when she used magic, while Halsey rejected testing the limits of Xia’s abilities.
• Umbrella recovered the Golden Altar from St. Mark’s Church and sealed records about Xia, while the Olympus Board considered whether to execute her.
• William asked Halsey whether Xia should be kept in the Containment Center or executed, and Halsey warned that isolation and prolonged unconsciousness could cause Xia to run amok.
• William agreed that Xia had shown no intent to harm anyone, and he and Halsey recognized that Xia clung to Ivan because he had rescued and comforted her when she was helpless.

William and Halsey decided that Andre would adopt Xia as her grandfather, keeping her safe while planning to recruit her as an Outsider when she turned eighteen. They brought Xia to the Tsar, where she nervously met Andre and began to feel more at ease with him.

• William and Halsey agreed that Andre should adopt Xia and that they would deal with any future relationship between Xia and Ivan later.
• William arranged for the Golden Altar to be transported to the Containment Center and ordered the European agents to keep hunting the Star of Light Church's remnants.
• William, Halsey, Ivan, and Xia traveled from Athens Base to the Tsar aboard the Phantom.
• Andre prepared to adopt Xia and asked his guards to bring William and the others to a conference room.
• William introduced Xia to Andre, who softened his expression when she hid behind William.
• William reassured Xia that Andre was considerate, and Xia began to feel less nervous around him.

Andre adopted Hya and gave her the name Hya Andrena Ostrovskaya, while William and Ivan discussed her care and the children’s plans to return to Haifa for school. The chapter ended with William agreeing to discuss moving Ivan and Yelena back to their seaside villa with Catherine.

• Andre took Hya into his care and suggested that Ivan and Yelena return to Haifa to attend school.
• Hya accepted Andre’s surname, and he named her Hya Andrena Ostrovskaya.
• Ivan waited for William aboard the Phantom and asked how Hya was doing with Andre.
• William praised Ivan for defending passengers from the Armed Cultists and said the deed had raised his standing in the military.
• Ivan agreed that school would suit him and Yelena, and William said he would discuss their move back to Haifa with Catherine.

The files revealed that Xia Andrena Ostrovskaya was a cooperative Keter-class reality warper adopted by General Ostrovsky and enrolled in Umbrella Comprehensive School, where Ivan Russell and Yelena Russell later joined her. They also detailed Umbrella’s Zaku-type MS and the completed Spartan-II program, while the Spartan III program remained in early research at The Hive.

• General Ostrovsky adopted the nine-year-old reality-warping project, renamed her Xia Andrena Ostrovskaya, and arranged for her to attend Umbrella Comprehensive School in Halifax City.
• On October 1, 2015, Ivan Russell and Yelena Russell were assigned to the school in grade K-1.
• Umbrella developed Zaku-type MS variants for the UNSC, which was expected to receive its own mobile weapons in the fourth quarter of 2016.
• On April 1, 2016, all 240 Spartan-II soldiers completed enhancement surgery successfully, and on April 30 their divine bodies passed testing.
• On July 1, 2016, Umbrella launched the Spartan III program under Dr. Catherine Russell and Dr. Rebecca Chambers, moving its research to The Hive in Halifax City.

Umbrella described the Ghost Academy’s reserve and Ghost Agent programs, then recorded the opening of a containment operation for the Weeping Angel in Constantinople. The chapter left Second Lieutenant ■■ Kemur working undercover at a police station near Hagia Sophia as the operation began.

• Umbrella reported that it had adopted 3,214 newborns with psionic potential and divided them into USS reserves and Ghost Agents on Minos Island.
• Doctors Catherine Russell and Rebecca Chambers established four psionic levels, while Umbrella outlined separate training programs for reserves and Ghost Agents.
• Major Hunk became principal of the Ghost Academy, and Alpha Squad transferred there as instructors.
• Umbrella introduced the Weeping Angel, a stone statue discovered at Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople and classified as Euclid.
• On April 2, 2016, Second Lieutenant ■■ Kemur worked undercover as a police chief with six Umbrella agents at a station near Hagia Sophia.

Kemur led Umbrella agents into Saint Sophia Church after reports that living angel statues had killed several security guards. Umbrella contained the twelve statues, but experiments revealed their abilities and the rescued guard transformed into another project thirty-six hours later.

• An officer reported that angel statues had come to life inside Saint Sophia Church and killed security guards, so Kemur mobilized nearby agents and alerted the European regional AI.
• Kemur and thirteen other agents reached the church, secured its entrance, and entered after UNSC forces arrived to seal off the area.
• Kemur's team found twelve grotesque angel statues and several dead guards in the chapel, while a surviving guard warned them not to blink.
• The agents contained the statues and took the surviving guard away for examination.
• Experiments showed that the statues froze whenever any living organism viewed them, could not be physically destroyed, and could assimilate victims or imprint their image on D-class personnel until they transformed.
• The rescued security guard transformed into a project thirty-six hours later and lost all signs of life.

The files detailed Project: Siren Nun, a nun-like anomalous woman whose appearance drove men to dangerous obsession, and the measures Umbrella took to contain and care for her. The chapter also reported Umbrella’s six Infinity-class warships and where its fleets were stationed.

• Umbrella classified the indestructible, rapidly reproducing Weeping Angel as Euclid and described its reinforced cell, constant surveillance, and emergency disposal plan.
• Umbrella discovered Project: Siren Nun at a convent in Italy in 2015 after agents Michel and Bruce saw her and became violently obsessed with her.
• William Russell sent female agents to contain the project, but the incident injured everyone involved and one agent later died; Bruce remained obsessed after a Memory Wipe and was executed.
• Umbrella moved the project to a convent on Greenland Island, where female agents guarded her and Umbrella funding supported her and the nuns.
• By January 1, 2018, Umbrella had six Infinity-class warships and stationed its fleets across the Solar System, Epsilon Eridani, and distant colony systems.

William reflected on the twelve years since arriving in this world and settled into family life in Halifax as his children began school. He asked the system to scan Ivan and Yelena, but the chapter ended before the results appeared.

• William read a containment file about the Nine-Tailed White Fox, whose powers had caused forty-two deaths before she was contained in 2017.
• William looked back on the years since he arrived in 2006 and noted that his family had settled in Halifax.
• Halsey took Ivan and Yelena to their first day of school with John, Carl, and Mylon accompanying them.
• William thought about the Succubus Nun and the agent rebellion nearly three years earlier, then dismissed his curiosity about her.
• William asked the system to check Ivan and Yelena, and the system began scanning them.

William reviewed Yelena and Ivan's abilities, watched an interrogation video of Daji, and approved UNSC weapons orders as humanity continued expanding through the Orion Arm. The chapter ended as Yelena and Ivan returned from school and complained about it.

• William read that Yelena's reduced traits would become full abilities at eighteen and that Ivan possessed the Demigod trait.
• William watched footage of Daji, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, being questioned by researchers and learned she wanted to cooperate with Umbrella.
• William reviewed Selena's reports and approved UNSC orders for strategic weapons, including Electromagnetic Accelerator Cannons and Yamato Cannons.
• Yelena and Ivan came into the study, with Yelena complaining that school was boring and Ivan explaining that it helped her integrate into society.

William reunited with Halsey, Ivan, and Yelena after school and reminded the children to do their homework. Serena then reported that Fleet Zero had found an anomalous area near Venus that appeared blurred by signal interference.

• William greeted Ivan and Yelena after they returned from school, and Yelena asked to stay home because she was bored in class.
• Halsey warned William not to spoil Yelena, so he sent both children to their rooms to do their homework.
• Halsey teased William about playing doctor and nurse after the children fell asleep.
• Serena called William and Halsey to report that Fleet Zero was near Venus and that part of the planet's equator was obscured by apparent signal jamming.

William and Halsey investigated an anomalous phenomenon on Venus and concluded that it was at least Euclid-class. Unable to study it remotely, William assembled a reconnaissance mission and sent two USS to investigate Venus in a modified Pelican.

• Halsey told William that the anomaly's presence on Venus meant it could withstand extreme heat and pressure, making it at least Euclid-class.
• William ordered Serena to keep Fleet Zero monitoring the anomalous region and traveled to the Space Sector with Halsey.
• Aboard the Endless near Venus, Halsey explained that the thick cloud layer and signal interference prevented remote observation and that only a living person could gather useful information.
• William agreed to form a reconnaissance unit while Halsey directed engineers to modify a Pelican for Venus's harsh environment.
• William selected two USS for the mission, and the captain confidently accepted the task of investigating the anomalous region.

Captain Maken and Second Lieutenant Hott piloted a modified Pelican through Venus’s hostile atmosphere to investigate an anomalous phenomenon. They reached the planet’s surface and saw a colossal glowing, winged figure, which Hott wondered might be an angel.

• William chose Maken and Hott for the reconnaissance mission and sent them off in a Pelican equipped for Venus’s environment.
• Maken and Hott departed from the Endless after Serena briefed them on the mission’s one-hour limit and loss of communications near the anomaly.
• The Pelican survived Venus’s turbulence, lightning, hurricanes, and corrosive sulfuric-acid mist as the pair descended toward the surface.
• Maken and Hott spotted a giant radiant figure with a red-glowing sword and enormous winglike structures standing on Venus.
• Hott asked whether the figure could be the angel from legend.

Maken and Hott completed their reconnaissance of a giant on Venus and returned safely with measurements and footage. After reviewing the data, Halsey identified the giant as a Cherub and suspected Jehovah was another god-level anomalous phenomenon.

• Maken measured the giant at 147 meters tall and recorded that its greatsword reached approximately 20 million degrees Celsius.
• Hott spotted a door behind the giant, and a voice warned the reconnaissance team to leave.
• Maken ordered the Pelican to retreat, and he and Hott returned to the fleet after completing decontamination and inspection.
• Maken's footage and data were presented to Halsey, William, and Serena aboard the Endless.
• William recognized the giant as resembling the Gatekeeper, while Halsey concluded that it was a Cherub and suspected Jehovah was a god-level anomalous phenomenon.

William, Halsey, and Serena investigated evidence that Venus once supported an ancient civilization and identified the guarded gate on its surface as the entrance to the Garden of Eden. William concluded that the Tree of Life might be inside and decided to seek its fruit.

• William and Halsey identified the four-winged creature guarding a gate on Venus as a cherub, possibly guarding the Garden of Eden.
• Serena revealed that a former Soviet researcher had led the company to an abandoned Chernobyl archive containing a Venera 3 image of Venus and a reconstruction of a vast circular city.
• Halsey explained that Venus might once have been more suitable for life than Earth, and Catherine's simulations supported the possibility that it was the Solar System's first world to nurture life.
• William asked whether the Tree of Life's fruit lay inside the Garden of Eden and said he intended to obtain it to overcome humanity's limited lifespan.

William ordered Fleet Zero to enter Venus’s atmosphere and investigate the Garden of Eden, hoping to reach the Life Fruit while preparing for a possible confrontation with its cherub guardian. As the fleet approached the angel, technicians readied four D-Class personnel for an experiment.

• Halsey accepted William’s argument that they should test the cherub’s defenses, despite fearing they might attract Jehovah’s attention.
• William ordered Serena to have every ship activate its Energy Shield and lead Fleet Zero into Venus’s atmosphere.
• Fleet Zero descended through Venus’s storms and sulfuric acid clouds, stopping about five kilometers from the cherub and three hundred meters above the surface.
• Technicians prepared Marine Corps soldiers in CMC Power Armor while the USS guarded four D-Class personnel chosen for a dangerous experiment.

Captain Maken began an experiment to determine whether the Angel anomaly was hostile to humanity, sending four D-class personnel toward the Seraph in a convoy of armored vehicles. The convoy reached the Seraph and received a solemn warning to leave.

• Technicians fitted four D-class personnel with modified Engineering Power Armor as USS and Heavy Marine forces prepared for the experiment.
• Captain Maken announced that the experiment would test whether the Angel was hostile to humanity and ordered the group to proceed.
• USS troops and Heavy Soldiers escorted the four D-class personnel into a Mammoth with eight Crucio Siege Tanks for support.
• The Mammoth and its escorts descended to Venus's surface and drove toward the Seraph, five kilometers away.
• The convoy reached the Seraph, where an unknown speaker solemnly warned them to leave.