Recaps

Yi Chen defeated Catherine in the Nightmare Game, but she escaped into the real world and was pursued by Zion’s Prophets and Executioner Group. As Yuri’s final attack struck a Magic Hat instead of Catherine, her fate remained uncertain.

• Catherine withdrew the dangerous scissors from her soul, conceded defeat to Yi Chen, and left the collapsing dreamscape.
• Yi Chen awoke and learned that Yuri, Mako, and the Executioner Group were pursuing Catherine outside Zion; he hurried after them, hoping she would survive.
• Yuri and the Executioner Group attacked Catherine, whose injuries forced her to split into ten tentacles to flee.
• Mako divined the tentacles’ escape routes, and the Executioner Group killed nine of them as Yuri closed in on the last one.
• Yuri threw a flesh-forged butcher’s blade at Catherine’s final tentacle, but it cleaved a Magic Hat that had appeared on the mountain path.

Yuri’s Executioner Group confronted Clown Art and Magician Gian after they arrived to rescue the weakened Catherine. Marco and Martin prevented a clash, and the circus members withdrew, leaving the group safe for now.

• Yuri halted the pursuit after Marco and Front-Side Martin warned that the enemy’s reinforcements were too dangerous to confront directly.
• Clown Art arrived with Magician Gian and the weakened Catherine, then advanced on Marco with the intent to attack the humans.
• Marco’s primary personality surfaced and stopped Art’s punch, while Martin and Yuri’s Executioner Group prepared to defend themselves.
• Magician Gian used an Earth card to separate Art from Martin and reminded Art that the circus’s Boss would punish him for causing trouble.
• Art and Gian withdrew with Catherine, and Yuri praised Marco and Martin for preventing a battle.

Yi Chen watched the Executioner Group negotiate with the circus and learned more about the powerful figures involved. After the conflict ended peacefully, he discussed his achievements and the Chief Seamster with Prophet Yuri, while Zede asked Spacy to look after his talented student.

• Yi Chen observed Clown Art unsettle him as he negotiated with Marco, while Jin joined Yi Chen and eagerly hoped the two sides would fight.
• Magician Gian persuaded Clown Art to leave, and Jin returned her blood sword before Yuri and Marco approached Yi Chen.
• Yuri and Yi Chen discussed reporting Yi Chen's contributions, and Marco praised Yi Chen while inviting him to visit the Twin Secret Cult.
• Yi Chen asked Yuri about Mr. Spacy and learned that the Chief Seamster had once matched Claude in combat.
• Hogney, Zede, and Spacy awoke as the dream collapsed, and Spacy offered to speak up for Zede, who asked him to look after his student.

After Zion declared the Nightmare threat eliminated, Yi Chen reflected on the city's vulnerability and resolved to pursue the First Gentleman position so he could learn more and push for reform. He visited Teacher Zed with Jin, where Zed began intense sparring that left both of them unconscious before they invited Regan to join them.

• The Executioner Group announced that the Nightmare threat had ended and that it would investigate the incident, reward contributors, and strengthen Zion's security.
• Yi Chen concluded that Zion could collapse without the Skin Field's protection and decided to fight for the First Gentleman position to learn more and help more people survive.
• Yi Chen and Jin visited Zed, who tested Yi Chen with a punch and announced that his physical training would become more intense.
• Jin joined Yi Chen in sparring with Zed, but Zed defeated them both within five minutes.
• Jin revived himself and Yi Chen with meat-juice injections, then called Regan to join them for dinner and training.

After recovering from their injuries, Yi Chen, Jin, Regan, and Zed discussed Zion’s possible future under the Gray Area and agreed they might leave together if the city became unsafe. A week later, Yi Chen received a sealed invitation to the ceremony honoring six contributors to the Nightmare Event.

• Yi Chen, Jin, Regan, and Zed shared a meal and discussed how the organization might respond if the Gray Area enveloped Zion.
• Regan explained that the city’s residents might either stay under protective measures or leave to wander, while Jin planned to go to the Cancer Palace.
• Yi Chen suggested that the group leave together if Zion became unsafe, and Zed recommended that Yi Chen contact Spacy about the Gentleman's Skin.
• A week later, the organization nominated six people, including Yi Chen, for its highest honor for their contributions to the Nightmare Event.
• A cloaked gentleman delivered Yi Chen an invitation bearing a golden G&D seal.

Yi Chen received an invitation to the Hall of Honor for his role in the Nightmare Event and went there hoping to secure a suitable weapon. At the ceremony, he joined the other invitees and met the organization’s surviving founders, including the aged bishop and a founder whose brain was housed in a giant iron knight.

• Yi Chen received a Hall of Honor invitation and considered using the recognition to obtain a weapon from the organization.
• Yi Chen left Jin a note, ate at a lower-district restaurant, and met Branklin, who thanked him for helping him gain freedom and a prosthetic body.
• As he traveled to the Hall of Honor, Yi Chen reflected on his obscured past, his plans to investigate his death, and the many studies and duties awaiting him.
• Yi Chen climbed to the Hall of Honor, viewed its memorials to the organization’s honored members, and joined the other five invitees in the central hall.
• Gregory Alaus and the other surviving founders arrived, including an impossibly aged bishop and a founder whose brain was carried in a giant iron knight.

After the Nightmare Event, the founders honored the participants and named William Berens Best Contributor. Yalleris Hiton took William to the Original Church's Secret Treasury, while Spicy warned him that the First Gentleman selection might happen soon.

• Yalleris Hiton and the other founders welcomed the Nightmare Event's core personnel and arranged for Yalleris to carve an Honor Sculpture of them.
• Yalleris awarded each participant one hundred thousand Silver Coins and announced a vote for Best Contributor, whose prize was a visit to the Original Church's Secret Treasury.
• The participants unanimously voted for William Berens, and Yuri, Zede, Regan, and the others left the Hall of Glory.
• Spicy told William that he might soon be considered for First Gentleman and urged him to visit that night to learn about skin.
• After the others departed, William anticipated choosing a treasure from the secret treasury.

Yi Chen entered the Church of Light’s Secret Vault to choose a reward, but rejected First Knight Morati’s Golden Holy Sword after its holy light burned his hand and repelled his negative attributes. After searching for three hours, he asked Bishop Alaris whether the vault contained a corpse, prompting the bishop to question how he sensed the sealed holy body.

• Bishop Alaris led Yi Chen and First Knight into the Secret Vault while First Doctor Alaus stayed behind.
• Little Grape sensed the scent of a five-hundred-year-old grape and asked Yi Chen to find its well-preserved owner.
• First Knight Morati summoned his Golden Holy Sword, but it repelled Yi Chen’s chains and Death Substance, burned his hand, and was damaged.
• Yi Chen searched the Secret Vault for three hours but found no suitable weapon or the corpse Little Grape had sensed.
• Yi Chen asked Bishop Alaris whether the Secret Vault contained a corpse, and Bishop Alaris asked how he could sense the sealed holy body.

The Archbishop brought Yi Chen and Little Grape to the Holy Body Chamber after realizing Little Grape could absorb Cemetery essence and that Yi Chen sensed the preserved bodies. There they found Rudolf Fischer, whose cursed eyes seemed connected to Yi Chen and drew Little Grape to them, leaving the eyeballs torn from his sockets and floating toward Little Grape.

• The Archbishop explained Holy Bodies and led Yi Chen and Little Grape through a hidden passage to the Holy Body Chamber.
• Little Grape followed a distinctive scent to Rudolf Fischer’s crystal cabinet, where Rudolf’s eyes focused on Yi Chen.
• The Archbishop identified Rudolf as the creator of the Prophet System and explained that his cursed eyes and part of his soul remained trapped in them.
• The Archbishop invited Yi Chen to examine Rudolf’s eyes, while Little Grape eagerly wanted to eat them.
• Little Grape touched Rudolf’s scorched eyeball, triggering its Eyeball Collector ability and pulling both cursed eyes from their sockets.

Little Grape survived the Scorched Eye Affliction after its corpses accepted the curse, awakening Gemhal and gaining a powerful Ember State. The chapter left Yi Chen with a transformed companion whose strength had reached Open Source standards, though merging with it could spread the dangerous ember disease to him.

• The Hall of Glory's bells rang as a scorched Giant Eye appeared above it, burning the eyes of those who stared.
• Little Grape absorbed Rudolf's Ember Eye and burned into ash while Yi Chen watched helplessly under the Archbishop's protection.
• The ashes formed an ember-flickering grave mound, and prophets including Deslin sensed an evil presence with prophetic attributes.
• After an hour, Little Grape emerged as a scorched corpse covered in eighteen eyes, alarming Yi Chen and the Archbishop.
• Little Grape revealed that Gemhal had fully awakened and fused its evil-eye technique with the Scorched Eye Affliction, then returned to its Black Flesh Ball form.
• Yi Chen received an update showing Little Grape's Ember State, its new disease ability, and the danger of merging with it.

Little Grape accepted Prophet Rudolf’s eyes and agreed to pursue Gentleman Status and take Zion’s Prophet Examination after Yi Chen persuaded him. After receiving a recommendation from Bishop Alaris, they went to Savile Tailor Market to have Little Grape fitted for clothes and sought out Chief Seamster Mr. Spicy.

• Little Grape explained that he had inherited the Scorched Eye Affliction and needed to find ancient firewood to deepen its power.
• Bishop Alaris offered Little Grape a Gentleman Status and a chance to take the Prophet Examination, and Yi Chen persuaded him to try.
• Gentleman Hall registered Little Grape under the name Ember. Gryph and gave him Gentleman's Skin and a letter of recommendation.
• Principal Deslin met Yi Chen and Little Grape, encouraged Little Grape to attempt the examination, and asked Yi Chen to visit her to discuss his Star Magic insights.
• Yi Chen brought Little Grape to Savile Tailor Market, where a tailor led them toward Chief Seamster Mr. Spicy.

Yi Chen and Little Grape visited the Tailor Association to meet President Wrinkled Skin, who arranged clothing for Little Grape and warned Yi Chen that the First Gentleman selection was a month away. Wrinkled Skin agreed to guide Yi Chen as Zede’s temporary student and asked to see his Limit Release.

• Fabrico Tell admired Yi Chen’s clothes and guided Yi Chen and Little Grape to the Tailor Association.
• Yi Chen entered Wrinkled Skin’s skin-filled room, where Wrinkled Skin offered to arrange clothes for Little Grape.
• Wrinkled Skin assigned Jessica to make Little Grape an outfit and revealed she was a dangerous candidate for First Gentleman.
• Wrinkled Skin told Yi Chen the selection would take place in a month and agreed to treat him as a temporary student because Zede had once saved his life.
• Wrinkled Skin asked Yi Chen to demonstrate his Limit Release.

Yi Chen impressed Spacy with his nearly flawless Limit Release, and Spacy lent him a genuine Skin Bible to study before the First Gentleman selection. After Yi Chen left, Spacy suspected he had a secret connection to the Skin Field but decided it did not matter if his character was upright.

• Spacy examined Yi Chen's Limit Release and marveled at how perfectly he used his skin, then accepted Yi Chen's explanation that he had devised it himself with help from his extraordinary brain.
• At Yellow Skin's urging, Yi Chen concealed its role, and Spacy concluded that Yi Chen's brain was adjusting his skin and that the effect would weaken over time.
• Spacy offered to lend Yi Chen his Skin Bible, explaining that it had taught him consciousness-based skinning and Nightmare Skin Grafting, though studying it had caused him backlash.
• Yi Chen accepted the Skin Bible, whose face-like cover briefly opened its mouth and breathed as he touched it.
• After Yi Chen left to meet Little Grape, Spacy suspected he had a secret connection to the Skin Field but decided to trust him as long as his character was upright.

Yi Chen concealed the Skin Bible and saw Little Grape off to the prophet examination before meeting Principal Deslin to discuss the book and demonstrate his Star Magic. Deslin warned him that reading the book could transform him, then became excited by his stellar illusion and began discussing the stars with him.

• Yi Chen discovered that the Skin Bible could dissolve into his clothes and emerge again when he thought of retrieving it.
• Yi Chen visited Jessica's Tailoring Room and saw Little Grape wearing his finished coat; Jessica asked about Mr. Ivan's distinctive stitching.
• Little Grape registered for the prophet examination at Gentleman Hall and stayed there for a week of monitored life, while Yi Chen returned to school alone.
• Yi Chen showed the Skin Bible to Principal Deslin, who warned that its writing could cause a pathological transformation into a native of the Skin Grounds.
• Yi Chen demonstrated a stellar illusion that combined the stars and the moon, prompting Deslin to begin an in-depth discussion of Star Magic.

Yi Chen discussed Lorien and the Old World’s mysterious new moon with Principal Deslin, then asked how she had once restrained Teacher Zed. Deslin challenged him to a sparring match in her office, brutally beat him, and sent him to wash up before leaving.

• Deslin warned Yi Chen that Lorien might be dangerous, and Yi Chen said he would stay cautious while keeping the initiative.
• Yi Chen asked how Deslin had suppressed Zede, and she explained that Professor Chamberson and other professors had helped restrain him.
• Deslin challenged Yi Chen to a sparring match in her office, where she used stellar matter to pin and attack him.
• Yi Chen tried to defend himself, but Deslin crushed his arms, broke his nose, and kicked him from the observation deck.
• Deslin sent Yi Chen flying into a filled bathtub and ordered him to wash off the dirt before coming out.

Yi Chen fused Star Magic with his body and developed the Nebula Body after learning from Principal Deslin’s sparring techniques. He left the Principal’s Office with the Skin Bible, while Deslin began exploring the stars more deeply.

• Yi Chen relaxed in Deslin’s bathtub, absorbed Stardust Particles, and used the Moon as a reference while fusing his body with Star Magic.
• The Star System completed a specialized advancement and was renamed Nebula Body, granting Yi Chen abilities for short-range movement, evasion, and attacks that inflicted True Damage.
• Yi Chen found Deslin asleep on the bathroom floor, carried her to the sofa, covered her with his coat, and began practicing Nebula Body in the Principal’s Office.
• Deslin awoke and watched Yi Chen’s simulated battle before telling him he could return to discuss the magic or spar again.
• After Yi Chen left with the Skin Bible, Deslin transformed her clothing into a galaxy and began exploring the realm of the stars.

After training with Principal Deslin, Yi Chen returned to his dormitory, where Jin arrived to invite him to visit Zed. Jin revealed a Plague Book of his own, and the two opened it alongside Yi Chen’s Skin Bible, causing their conflicting Plague effects to spread across the Teaching Building.

• Yi Chen returned from Principal Deslin’s office with improved physical speed and the ability to perform short-range Spatial Movement, though it consumed much Plague Value.
• Yi Chen found Jin brewing Meat Potion in his private dormitory, and Jin identified the injuries and Deslin’s scent on him.
• Yi Chen persuaded Jin to postpone visiting Zed by showing him the Skin Bible, which Jin recognized as a dangerous Plague Book.
• Jin removed his mask and revealed The Swelling Chronicle, a tumor-themed Plague Book from the Cancer Palace, then proposed reading it alongside the Skin Bible.
• Yi Chen and Jin opened their books together, causing skin and tumors to erupt through the dormitory and spread across the Teaching Building, forcing its residents and supervisors to evacuate.

Yi Chen read the Plague Book’s prologue, triggering a pathological change that spread through Dormitory Four until he closed the book. After Professor Chamberson helped contain the incident, Yi Chen learned that Spacy’s loan of the book signaled his support for Yi Chen as a future First Gentleman and was advised to study the other candidates.

• A security guard reported that Dormitory Four was undergoing a rapidly spreading pathological change after an elite gentleman from Keximani had threatened William Berens and influenced him perceptually.
• Chamberson stopped the professors from forcibly entering the dormitory, reasoning that William and Jin Almeida were engaged in an intense pathological discussion, and sealed the building with Professor David and Associate Professor Vincent.
• Yi Chen accepted the Plague Book’s forced reading, used his Diligent Learner ability to study its prologue, and glimpsed an abyssal leather factory before exhaustion forced him to close the book.
• The pathological change retracted when Yi Chen shut the book, and Jin Almeida told him that he had been reading for a day and a night while academy staff waited outside.
• Yi Chen and Jin settled the incident with Chamberson’s help, and Chamberson explained that Spacy’s loan of the Plague Book suggested he saw Yi Chen as a potential First Gentleman.
• Yi Chen gave Chamberson his nightmare reward funds card for safekeeping and agreed to learn more about the other candidates.

The D&G Organization recalled Yordesapen Galon from Wulde Town after Divine Skin Manor sent word that Mr. Claude was failing. During the journey, Galon fell asleep and somehow slaughtered a swarm of Diseased Apes without moving from his bed, leaving the coachman stunned.

• The D&G Organization’s recall plan brought its lone gentleman in Wulde Town back to Zion, and a masked coachman delivered him a recall letter and a message from Divine Skin Manor.
• Yordesapen Galon agreed to leave after learning that Mr. Claude could not hold on, then said goodbye to the townspeople and boarded the carriage.
• The coachman found Galon asleep with his eyes open shortly after the carriage departed for Zion.
• A swarm of Diseased Apes attacked the carriage, and the coachman, horses, and Galon all fell asleep during the crisis.
• The coachman awoke to find the nearby forest and road littered with dead Diseased Apes while Galon remained motionless in his sleeping position.

Yi Chen mastered an outfit with 80% Skin Content as he prepared for the First Gentleman screening, then learned that Gryph had passed the prophet examination. Outside the registration office, a mysterious carriage’s passenger overwhelmed Yi Chen with drowsiness before vanishing, leaving him with charred eyeballs and no answers.

• Yi Chen controlled the 80%-skin outfit within seconds, and Mr. Ivan warned him that the First Gentleman candidates included Jessica Lorez and other formidable rivals.
• Yi Chen spent ten days studying the Plague Book and training with Jin in a sealed space to avoid another disease outbreak.
• The Principal told Yi Chen that Gryph had passed the prophet examination and was set to become Zion’s Thirteenth prophet.
• Yi Chen went to the prophet registration office to meet Gryph, but a passing carriage sent a wave of drowsiness through his Mad Brain and knocked him unconscious.
• Gryph found Yi Chen outside the office beside charred eyeballs, and Yi Chen chased after the vanished carriage without learning who had been inside.

Yi Chen met the powerful candidate Galon at Divine Skin Manor and learned that the selection for First Gentleman would begin in nine days. After receiving the final skin that brought his Skin Content to 100%, Yi Chen prepared to face the coming selection with Galon as a major rival.

• Yi Chen and Little Grape tracked the Undead Carriage to Divine Skin Manor, where Yi Chen waited to meet the First Gentleman.
• Galon emerged from a side room, recognized Yi Chen as Yordesapan Galon, and warned him not to peer at him while he slept.
• Yi Chen sensed that Galon's attire held a powerful skin and learned that Galon had killed a Skin Slave and obtained its skin.
• The First Gentleman told Yi Chen that Galon was his favored candidate and that the selection would begin in nine days.
• Yi Chen received the final skin needed to raise his Skin Content to 100% and promised to take Galon seriously.

As the First Gentleman assessment drew near, Yellow Skin offered to train Yi Chen outside the city, warning him that Sleeper Galon was a major obstacle. Yi Chen recruited Regan and Fei for a week of sparring practice, and they set out with Jin.

• Yi Chen realized Mr. Claude’s accelerated deterioration had cut the assessment timeline to nine days and decided he needed the Chief Seamster’s guidance.
• Yellow Skin told Yi Chen that Sleeper Galon had killed and seized control of a skin slave, then offered to train Yi Chen and his companions outside the city.
• Yi Chen visited Regan at the Power Station and found him testing a new combat form with Fei, whose body was connected to exposed cables.
• Yi Chen asked Regan to help him prepare for a mental-power opponent, and Regan identified Yordesapon Galon from an old institute file.
• Regan agreed to join the training and asked Yi Chen to bring him and Fei to the selection competition; Yi Chen agreed.
• Regan, Fei, Yi Chen, and Jin boarded a carriage and began their week-long special training outside the city.

Yi Chen brought Regan and Jin to the abandoned Twilight Clinic for a week of special training away from the organization’s surveillance. Regan’s first mental endurance attack overwhelmed Jin and injured Yi Chen, who learned that Regan’s personality now existed outside his physical body.

• Yi Chen chose the abandoned Twilight Clinic as the remote training site and led the group to the old apprentice dormitory.
• Jin asked to join the mental training, and Yi Chen arranged daily sessions from morning until sunset with nights free.
• During the first session, Jin used tumor clones to mislead Regan while Yi Chen relied on Mad Brain to conceal his position.
• Regan’s externalized personality pinpointed Yi Chen and Jin and struck them with a powerful mental attack, burying Jin and leaving Yi Chen bleeding and disoriented.
• Yi Chen asked about Regan’s new disease, and Regan explained that he had sculpted an external personality after achieving reality isolation.

Regan, Yi Chen, and Jin struggled through special training, then foraged for food and feasted on Jin’s takeout. Regan sensed a dead Fallen Gentleman approaching from the city, and Yi Chen welcomed the chance to face it.

• Regan’s Mental Power training exhausted him, while Jin and Yi Chen suffered damage, forcing the group to stop at noon.
• The trio split up to forage, but Yi Chen and Regan found only diseased animals and rejected them as food.
• Jin returned with Imitation Meat and packed meals from Zion, and the group ate together.
• Regan detected a dead Fallen Gentleman exhaling Black Fog as it entered the city and headed toward them.
• Jin proposed letting the stranger approach to fight it and possibly lure in others, and Yi Chen agreed.

Scott, a dead surgeon sent from Lewenholm to investigate Twilight Clinic and its Twilight Silver Liquid, encountered a mysterious Woman in Red inside the abandoned building. He awoke on an operating table as doctors removed his brain and carved a character into it.

• An Acolyte Knight assigned Scott to travel from Lewenholm to Twilight Clinic and gather information about Twilight Silver Liquid.
• Scott reached Vinal City and confirmed that no Moonification Disease carriers remained before approaching the clinic.
• Scott saw a Woman in Red at the clinic and pursued her through a corridor that stretched beyond the building.
• Scott was overcome by dizziness and weakness after rushing toward the Woman in Red, then lost consciousness.
• Scott woke bound on an operating table while doctors removed his brain and carved a large character into it.