Recaps

Yi Chen completed the fusion of black fluid and a failed high-grade skin, creating the Black Death Skin and upgrading his clothing into a death-infused overcoat. After Golden Mask congratulated him on his advancement, he learned the Duke's Merchant Guild was withdrawing from Lamp City and prepared to leave the hotel.

• Yi Chen waited ten days for the skin to soak in the black fluid before entering the bathroom with Candle Puppet Thirteen.
• Yi Chen absorbed the remaining black fluid and found a small piece of skin, which Yellow Skin confirmed was a flawless Black Death Skin combining the skin factory and Original Tomb attributes.
• Yi Chen asked Yellow Skin to fuse the Black Death Skin into his Gentleman's Attire, and the skin's threads spread through the clothing as it transformed into a black, furred overcoat.
• Dead Spine Lake reacted to Yi Chen's death-infused clothing, sending a spine and ax blade into his hand, while Yellow Skin warned him not to become immersed in death.
• Golden Mask told Yi Chen that the Duke's Merchant Guild was leaving Lamp City and the hotel would be stripped of its gold, so Yi Chen agreed to check out and offered to cooperate with repairs.

Yi Chen learned from a Golden Mask that his altered Skin Bible could draw suspicion from Old World extremists, and that the Affliction Master governed the Old World and its Source Plague Zones. He also learned how Pathways led toward the origin and that he would need to choose one to surpass Open Source, then prepared to leave the hotel.

• Yi Chen noticed that his Skin Bible had been stained and decayed by Black Death Skin, and a Golden Mask warned that changing a plague book could make him a target of Old World hardliners.
• The Golden Mask explained that the Affliction Master was the Old World's Origin Patient, that Open Source connected Yi Chen to Him, and that He had apparently allowed Yi Chen to exist so far.
• The Golden Mask described how the Source Plague Zones served the Old World and were granted the right to create plague books connected to the Primal Affliction.
• Yi Chen asked about Pathways, and the Golden Mask explained that they were routes toward the origin that could allow someone to break through Open Source.
• The Golden Mask advised Yi Chen to buy a Pathway Guide from the Duke, noted that the Silver-haired Youth had completed the rare Moon Pathway, and warned Yi Chen to be careful of him.

After leaving Ignacy with Duke’s Chamber of Commerce, Yi Chen headed toward Within the Original Tomb to seek death-related benefits and learn more about the Fear Circus. His Living Train reached Bonfire Valley, where he felt at home among the dead.

• The Golden Masks merged into one, and Duke’s enlarged castle departed Ignacy amid a public farewell with Yi Chen and Candle Puppet Thirteen following.
• Yi Chen told Duke he planned to visit Within the Original Tomb before the skin factory and hoped to obtain a Deadperson's Wedge Stone and possibly a Death Horse.
• Duke gave Yi Chen a meatball to eat when he was ready to seek information about the Fear Circus.
• Yi Chen hired a specialized Living Train after learning it could only take him near Bonfire Valley, the boundary between the dead and the living.
• After sleeping through the two- or three-day journey, Yi Chen saw Bonfire Valley’s enormous bonfire and felt at home as dead beings appeared.

Yi Chen and Thirteen approached Bonfire Valley, where the dead had built a city controlling access to the mountain pass. After Black Wolf Berna tested Yi Chen with a sudden attack, he recognized him and offered to take him into the Original Tomb.

• The Black Roundworm Train stopped early because the dead were spreading along its route, and Yi Chen continued toward Bonfire Valley with Thirteen.
• Yi Chen learned that Thirteen could withstand the Death Plague because she had been made to remain in a half-dead state as a container for the bonfire.
• Yi Chen saw that a city of the dead controlled the only road to the bonfire and decided to seek information about the Original Tomb there.
• Black Wolf Berna attacked Yi Chen with a tombstone greatsword, but stopped after recognizing him as the human who had defeated Balte Prada.
• Berna invited Yi Chen into the Original Tomb, and Yi Chen mounted the warhorse with Thirteen sitting on his shoulder.

Yi Chen arrived at Blackmouth City with Berner, but Renato stopped them and required Yi Chen to undergo an entry test at the bonfire. When Yi Chen reached it, he and Little Grape discovered it was burning Evil Sun Kindling.

• Berner brought Yi Chen toward Blackmouth City on his transforming dire wolf and said Yi Chen could enter Within the Original Tomb without identity checks.
• Renato blocked the city gate and insisted that Yi Chen follow the entry rules, prompting Berner to ready his tombstone sword.
• Yi Chen calmed Berner and agreed to undergo inspection by attempting to obtain a flame seed from the bonfire.
• Renato vanished into the night but continued watching Yi Chen as he entered the deserted military fortress.
• Yi Chen climbed to the bonfire platform, where he and Little Grape realized the fire was burning Evil Sun Kindling.

Yi Chen resisted the urge to interfere with the ancient white flame, letting Thirteen receive its fireseed before they left Blackmouth City. He and Thirteen entered the dark canyon toward the original tomb, preparing to pass among the dead.

• Yi Chen felt the bonfire’s scorching awaken the Thorned Iron Chain, but Thirteen warned him that its firewood was Aozun, the evil sun’s second daughter, whose existence maintained the boundary between the living and the dead.
• Yi Chen forced the chains back into his body and told Thirteen to accept the fireseed; a crowned white figure infused the candle atop her head with a living white flame.
• Yi Chen decided to leave the bonfire undisturbed until he was stronger, while Little Grape urged him to return later and take its firewood.
• Thirteen’s new flame drove the dead away as she and Yi Chen descended into Blackmouth City, while Crow Knight Renato watched them with irritation.
• Yi Chen and Thirteen crossed the city and entered the dark canyon; he chained them together and used death-tainted clothing, a death spine, and an iron mask to disguise himself and endure the darkness.

Yi Chen and Thirteen crossed into the Realm of the Dead and followed the dead-plague bacteria through the Grave Forest toward the Original Tomb. They reached a bottomless abyss, where Yi Chen began climbing down with Thirteen on his back.

• Yi Chen and Thirteen entered the Realm of the Dead, where Thirteen warned him that time aged and might die in its depths.
• After crossing the canyon, Yi Chen examined the growing gravestones in the Grave Forest, and Little Grape said the place might awaken her memories and ancient corpses.
• Yi Chen used Little Grape’s Ash Eyes to trace the bacterial flow toward the Original Tomb rather than choose among the seven tomb districts.
• Thirteen pulled Yi Chen back from the edge after he became absorbed in microscopic vision and entered a Lost State.
• Yi Chen had Thirteen climb onto his back and used his Thorned Iron Chain ability to begin descending the abyss toward the Original Tomb.

Yi Chen and Thirteen descended through the Original Tomb Abyss, enduring days of climbing before reaching the world of the dead below. Yi Chen discovered that the dead lived happily together there, and Black Wolf Berna revealed that elevators offered a much easier way down.

• Yi Chen asked Thirteen about the abysses and discussed exploring the Extreme Dark Zone together after she mastered puppet crafting.
• Yi Chen climbed and then ran down the abyss for five days and nights, exhausting himself before reaching the dense death-plague fog.
• Yi Chen and Thirteen passed through the fog and saw a vast underground world where the dead danced, played sports, and enjoyed games and water parks.
• Yi Chen crashed into a plaza, drawing a crowd of amazed dead who recognized him as a rare visitor from above.
• Black Wolf Berna arrived and explained that Yi Chen had taken the hardest route because elevators were hidden among the gravestones.

Yi Chen toured the seven layers of the Original Tomb with Berner and learned about the Death Plague Knights and the First Dead. At the Lowest Level, he shielded Thirteen’s candle and went alone to meet the First Dead.

• Berner showed Yi Chen the Original Tomb Square and explained how the tombstone elevators launched troops to the surface.
• Berner demonstrated how his Death Horse transformed into a wolf-head pendant and led Yi Chen to a knight’s elevator.
• The elevator attendant Vivi recognized Yi Chen, activated tour mode, and described the Original Tomb’s history and seven layers.
• Vivi criticized the Knight Order’s decline, and Berner rebuked her as the elevator descended toward the Lowest Level.
• At the Lowest Level, Yi Chen shielded Thirteen’s candle from the First Dead’s deathly presence, then left Berner with his student and walked alone toward the mausoleum.

Yi Chen reached the First Tomb and met the First Dead, who offered him a place in the original tomb and proposed a future exploration of death together. Bound by an existing Soul Contract, Yi Chen declined to stay but agreed to return once he had fulfilled the contract and grown stronger.

• Yi Chen crossed the Giant Tomb, found flowers and the inscription “For-My-Older-Brother” at a damaged gravestone, and followed a newly revealed passage into the First Tomb.
• Yi Chen saw the First Dead bound to a towering cross, its lower skull nurturing the oldest death plague.
• The First Dead offered Yi Chen death resources and a hundred years to grow in exchange for joining it.
• Yi Chen explained that his Soul Contract prevented him from accepting, and the First Dead verified the contract by probing him with Black Fog.
• Yi Chen and the First Dead agreed to explore death together in the future, after Yi Chen fulfilled his contract and approached the First Dead’s level.

Yi Chen received High-class Dead Citizen status from The First Dead and learned that a Deadperson's Wedge Stone could only be obtained by defeating an Abyssal Death Image. He secured a chance to join a subjugation if he could persuade Vivi to accompany the party, then went to investigate her while staying at Black Funeral House.

• The First Dead sent Yi Chen back to the elevator and granted him High-class Dead Citizen status.
• Vivi brought Yi Chen to the fourth-level residential district, where he met Berner and Thirteen at Berner's underground residence.
• Yi Chen told Berner he wanted a Deadperson's Wedge Stone to upgrade Dead Spine Lake, and Berner explained that the stones could drop from Abyssal Death Images.
• Berner agreed to seek approval for Yi Chen to join a Death Image subjugation if he persuaded Vivi to come along.
• Yi Chen chose to stay at Black Funeral House and investigate Vivi before approaching her for a private conversation.

Yi Chen learned how the Original Tomb was governed and sought out Mr. Bone Listener for information about Vivian West. After paying six thousand Ancient Coins, he received details about her schedule and the Knight Order, leaving him with the information he needed to plan his next move.

• Yi Chen studied the Original Tomb’s hierarchy and learned that the Knight Order managed it under The First Dead’s authority.
• Yi Chen asked the Black Funeral House’s owner about Vivian West and was directed to Mr. Bone Listener.
• Mr. Bone Listener offered Vivian’s information for thirty thousand Ancient Coins or an ear, then agreed to a discount after touching Yi Chen’s ear for three hours.
• Thirteen massaged Yi Chen’s swollen ear through the night, and Yi Chen later paid six thousand Ancient Coins for detailed information about Vivian and the Knight Order.
• Mr. Bone Listener warned Yi Chen to read and destroy the information or he would take Yi Chen’s ear and hearing.

On her monthly day off, Vivian met Yi Chen at a bar and discussed the Cancer Palace, the First Dead, and the former Death Plague Knights commander. After Yi Chen proved he was wanted by the Monastery and showed Duke Garryson’s mark, Vivian’s attitude toward him changed.

• Vivian disguised herself as an ordinary dead person and went to the Patella and Wine bar, where Yi Chen approached her.
• Yi Chen explained that he had severed ties with Berner, visited the Cancer Palace, and hoped to remain neutral; Vivian questioned him about the Tumor Knights.
• Yi Chen shared his impression that the First Dead seemed uninterested in the Original Tomb’s affairs, prompting Vivian to criticize the current leadership and praise the former commander.
• Vivian recounted how invaders implanted a Mind Entity in the former commander, leaving him in a Lost State, and revealed that the Monastery imprisoned him in its dungeon.
• Vivian suspected Yi Chen had ties to the Monastery because of his Spiked Mask, but Yi Chen said he was a wanted criminal and planned to confront the Monastery’s leader.
• Yi Chen showed Vivian the chains inside his body and Duke Garryson’s product insignia, convincing her and changing her attitude toward him.

Yi Chen persuaded Vivian to help him hunt an Abyssal Death Image in exchange for a Wedge Stone and the chance to reach the Original Commander. Vivian and Berner assembled a team with Mr. Bone Listener, and they set out for the Lowest Level.

• Yi Chen and Vivian spent the night discussing the Original Commander, and Yi Chen explained that he wanted to obtain a Wedge Stone before going to the leather factory.
• Yi Chen offered to help Vivian reach the Original Commander if she helped him hunt an Abyssal Death Image and obtain a Wedge Stone.
• Vivian agreed to the hunt and told Yi Chen to fetch Berner before her Elevator Duty resumed.
• Berner returned with Mr. Bone Listener, who recognized Yi Chen and reacted strangely when he saw him.
• The group prepared to travel to the Lowest Level, where the Death Image was located.

Yi Chen joined Berner, Vivian, and Stephen on a mission to destroy an Abyssal Death Image and retrieve a Wedge Stone. After their ambush shattered what they thought was their target, Stephen and Berner realized it was a decoy and that the real death image had lured them into a trap.

• Berner explained that death images formed around the First Dead and that breaking one could yield a Wedge Stone, while Vivian warned Yi Chen that even a slight injury could inflict Final Withering.
• Stephen used his sound-sensing abilities to locate two disturbances, and the squad followed him toward the weaker death image.
• Berner launched a silent Wolf Strike that cracked the stone image, and Vivian tore it apart with giant hands.
• Stephen noticed the sound of the shattered image was wrong, and Berner identified it as bait made by the awakened real death image.

Yi Chen and the others faced a powerful, self-aware Death Image that wielded a giant scythe and Deep Death. With Vivian’s help, Yi Chen reached the creature’s shoulder and aimed Bartosh at its neck, poised to attack.

• The Death Image struck the group with its giant palm, eroding their mounts, but Yi Chen carried the injured dire wolf out of the spreading Deep Death.
• The Death Image revealed its skull-built scythe and attacked so quickly that it knocked Berna into a wall, prompting Vivian and Stephen to use their Limit Releases.
• Yi Chen told Vivian that Deep Death did not affect him and asked for her help with a plan, then evaded the Death Image’s scythe using Star Transfer.
• When the Death Image tried to seize Yi Chen, Vivian created pale palms that propelled him onto its shoulder.
• Yi Chen aimed Bartosh, loaded with Ember Rune armor-piercing rounds, at the Death Image’s neck.

Yi Chen, Vivian, and Berner destroyed the fully conscious Death Image and collected the Wedge Stones it dropped. As they left the cavern, Stephen offered to find Yi Chen a master blacksmith in exchange for touching his ears for two more hours.

• Yi Chen used Vivian’s strengthening words and Little Grape’s mental force to shoot an Evil Sun bullet into the Death Image’s neck, cracking it but failing to pierce it completely.
• Berner charged in wolf form and struck the bullet with the Tombstone Greatsword, crushing the Death Image’s neck and destroying its body and consciousness.
• The group gathered four Deadperson’s Wedge Stones and divided them, with Yi Chen receiving the purest one.
• Berner left to seek The First Dead’s help with the Deep Death affecting him, while Vivian rode with Yi Chen toward the elevator and asked about his resistance to Deep Death.
• Yi Chen told Vivian that his power seemed to come from another plane and that he would investigate it when strong enough to cross between worlds.
• Stephen offered to find Yi Chen a master craftsman to work with his Wedge Stone in exchange for touching Yi Chen’s ears for two more hours, and Yi Chen accepted.

Yi Chen followed Mr. Bone Listener to the Death Plague Knights’ training grounds and met their field artisan, Mr. Alpachi, to have Dead Spine Lake and the Deadperson’s Wedge Stone crafted into a weapon. Alpachi began the work after Yi Chen willingly sacrificed his dominant hand, leaving Yi Chen waiting outside the shop.

• Yi Chen learned from Vivian that Mr. Bone Listener honored reasonable bargains, then waited for him to find a blacksmith.
• Mr. Bone Listener visited Yi Chen and Thirteen, and Yi Chen agreed to visit the blacksmith before completing their private transaction.
• Mr. Bone Listener explained that the sixth floor’s coffins were reserved for knights’ death meditation and warned that too much proximity to The First Dead could make them lose themselves.
• Mr. Bone Listener brought Yi Chen to Mr. Alpachi, a field artisan of the Death Plague Knights, who agreed to craft a weapon from Yi Chen’s Wedge Stone.
• Mr. Alpachi demanded Yi Chen’s dominant hand, and Yi Chen cut it off before leaving to wait for the weapon.

Yi Chen waited for Stephen to finish forging a weapon from his Wedge Stone, while Stephen listened to Yi Chen and offered to let him claim his head in a future duel. A week later, Yi Chen collected the completed axe, which had been shaped to channel his hidden negative emotions and needed to taste a strong enemy before it could be safely unleashed.

• While Stephen touched Yi Chen’s ears, he revealed that he could hear the dark emotions within Yi Chen and guessed that Yi Chen sought more than the Wedge Stone.
• Stephen offered Yi Chen the chance to challenge him for his head once Yi Chen was strong enough, and Yi Chen dismissed the offer as mad rambling.
• After a week, Stephen told Yi Chen that the Wedge Stone’s Death Echo had drawn knights to the smithy and offered to escort him there as a bodyguard.
• At the smithy, Stephen drove away a curious Rabbit Mask knight and brought Yi Chen to Mr. Alpachi, who had finished forging the weapon.
• Mr. Alpachi explained that the wrapped axe reflected Yi Chen’s hidden negative emotions and would damage itself unless its first release tasted a strong enemy.

Yi Chen finished his journey through Within the Original Tomb and encountered Dean Diss and Rotvis before leaving with Stephen. At the Grave Forest, Yi Chen set out for the Abyssal Skin Factory after giving Stephen his severed ear as a keepsake.

• Yi Chen left the craftsman's shop with the shrouded weapon after explaining its origin to the Death Plague Knights.
• Yi Chen and Stephen encountered Rotvis and Sun Dis at the Tombstone Elevator, and Yi Chen greeted Dean Diss while Rotvis recognized him as a survivor from Lewenholm.
• Rotvis led Sun Dis toward the training grounds, while Yi Chen said farewell to Black Wolf Berna and Death Speech Vivian.
• Stephen escorted Yi Chen and Thirteen to the surface and explained the benefits Yi Chen had gained from climbing the abyss.
• When Stephen declined to accompany him to the Abyssal Skin Factory, Yi Chen cut off his right ear and gave it to Stephen before departing.

Yi Chen and Thirteen left the Original Tomb, but Renato Battis tried to stop them from leaving Blackmouth City. Yi Chen overpowered Renato and warned him not to interfere as they continued toward the exit.

• Yi Chen and Little Grape discussed how the Original Tomb had changed Yi Chen and how Little Grape would keep accompanying him.
• Yi Chen and Thirteen passed through the city gates after the bonfire tested Yi Chen and let him leave the Realm of the Dead.
• Renato Battis blocked Yi Chen’s path and demanded that he either serve in Blackmouth Fortress for twenty years or weaken the mountain bonfire.
• Yi Chen used his Frenzied Brain to attack Renato, then gripped him with Thorned Iron Chains as the bonfire’s light weakened the knight.
• Yi Chen warned Renato not to interfere again and led Thirteen through Blackmouth City, while Renato later tortured imprisoned Dead Citizens in anger.

After escaping Blackmouth City, Yi Chen discovered that Deep Death had seeped through his Mad Brain and corroded his Memory Palace. Inside the hidden aquarium where his sealed memories were stored, he encountered a strange corpse swimming toward him.

• Yi Chen explained that he had used psychological pressure to keep Renato from pursuing him, then told Thirteen and Little Grape he would seek help if Renato attacked.
• Yi Chen asked the train attendant to take him to the Abyssal Skin Factory, but Death Corrosion injured her worm feelers when she tried to enter his brain.
• Yi Chen found black liquid flowing through his Mad Brain and decided to reseal his memories to keep himself under control.
• Yi Chen entered the Memory Palace and discovered that black liquid had corroded the shelves, passage, and doors leading to the aquarium.
• Yi Chen relit the aquarium's candles and saw tanks filled with his own corpses, then noticed a strange corpse with half its head severed and a halo swimming toward him.

William confronted a Death Construct resembling his past self in the Memory Palace, resisted its attempt to make him release it, and sealed it away before returning to the Living Train. After recovering and preparing for the journey to the Abyssal Skin Factory, he reread The Skin Bible and saw a vision of the factory transformed by death.

• William recognized the Death Construct’s resemblance to Yi Chen and nearly shot the aquarium glass after it urged him to unite with it, but a seizure restored his control.
• William repaired the aquarium and sealed the black iron door, telling Yi Chen to stay inside.
• William awoke on the Living Train after three days and two hours of sleep, with Thirteen massaging his head and his Death Sense restored.
• William exercised, inspected Bartosh, and assigned Little Grape to prepare bullets for skin-based creatures while three days remained before their arrival at the Abyssal Skin Factory.
• William reread the blackened The Skin Bible and saw a death-stained vision of the skin factory, wondering if it suited his future.

William read the first official chapter of the Skin Bible, but Yellow Skin interrupted him when the text began deforming his body. The Living Train reached the Abyssal Skin Factory’s outskirts, where a blood stench and the absence of any visible life made Yellow Skin warn him that something was wrong.

• William used his improved skin to read the Skin Bible until Yellow Skin stopped him and pointed out that his body was wrinkling into skin.
• Yellow Skin repaired William’s appearance and warned that it would stay hidden because the factory’s origin existence had created memory cells targeting it.
• After sleeping, William learned that the Living Train had entered the factory’s marginal region and was nearing the Foot of Connective Mountains.
• William looked out at the Marginal Skin Plain and the Irregular Connective Mountains, but saw no skin slaves or other life-forms.
• The Living Train stopped at the Foot of Connective Mountains, and William sealed his sense of smell against the blood stench as Yellow Skin warned him to be careful.

William and Thirteen investigated the deserted Abyssal Skin Factory, where a toxic blood plague surrounded its bleeding headquarters. They discovered Bloodfolk, thought to have nearly vanished after Blood Manor was destroyed, guarding the factory.

• The Black Roundworm Train warned William about the factory's dangerous condition, but he chose to continue with Thirteen.
• William's Black Umbilical Cord absorbed the air's blood matter, convulsed, and retreated after coughing up bloody water.
• Guided by the Yellow Skin, William saw that the factory's giant peak was bleeding and watched by winged Sick Ones associated with the blood plague.
• The Yellow Skin said the factory had likely cooperated with the blood-plague Sick Ones and warned William to be careful.
• Thirteen identified the watchers as Bloodfolk from the destroyed Source Plague Zone Blood Manor, leaving William to suspect that Blood Manor had become entangled with Abyssal Skin Factory.