Recaps

William won second place at the Demon Feast and earned a chance to perform during the circus’s opening show, where his disturbing act helped form his Phobia. After the circus withdrew from the Tumor Knights, William became Chief Actor and set out to find an Abyss and choose his Pathway.

• William cooked Red Oil Dumplings with Boss’s Scalp Meat, placed second at the Demon Feast, and accepted the intermission performance assignment.
• William recruited the Poker Faces and prepared a live-feast performance as the circus opened its show with Zoke Atkin’s cavern act and the acrobatic troupe’s Human Maze.
• William forced the audience to draw and eat his dishes, then used Yi Chen’s memories to lead them through a disturbing journey inside his brain.
• William joined Gian’s abyss performance, survived the fall, and found a living door beneath the darkness before Gian pulled him and the remaining audience back.
• William and Catherine fought the Tumor Knights, and William let one knock him beyond the mountain before returning to find Art had devoured another Knight.
• Boss named William Chief Actor and created a theater department, while Jin told him to choose an Abyss for his Pathway within two months.
• William used the Lucky Meat to identify an unknown location on the Old World model, then left the circus to explore the canyon and recover his candle doll.
• William met the Golden Mask, received the restored Thirteen, and boarded the Black Roundworm Train toward the Abyss.

William investigated Rat City’s Abyss, defeated Dugar, and helped the infected Second City Lord regain control. After recruiting Price, he led the group into the Extreme Dark Zone, where he learned that he must face the Tenth Abyss’s pilgrimage alone.

• William entered Rat City, was swallowed by Congreve Blacktail’s hidden World in the Wall, and learned that the Abyss was connected to a mine before Congreve’s death collapsed the hotel.
• William transformed the Apostle Skin Pouch into Black Death Skin, rejected the pathway it opened, and confronted the Plague-bed officers to reach Dugar.
• William destroyed the Plague-bed, pursued Dugar into the Dark Nest Mine, and defeated him after Dugar’s Abyssal transformation failed.
• Jin joined William, while Little Grape reached the Open Source Limit and discovered that the sealed Second City Lord remained alive inside Dark Moon Tower.
• William entered the tower and helped the city lord break free of the Abyss Mask, prompting Price to recognize William as Queen Phisney’s reincarnation and join the group.
• William, Jin, Price, Thirteen, and Little Grape traveled toward the Tenth Abyss, crossed the Black Curtain, and entered the Extreme Dark Zone.
• A headless-horse carriage took the group toward the Abysmer Settlement, where the coachman explained the pilgrimage and its Face Condensation requirement.
• William decided to undergo Face Condensation and attempt the pilgrimage alone, while Jin, Price, and Thirteen explored the settlement.

William completed his advancement through the Tenth Abyss and the Gland District, becoming its Spokesperson while refusing to be bound as its slave. Back at the circus, he began building his department and training others as he adjusted to his transformed body.

• William entered the Tenth Abyss’s Pilgrimage, and Yi Chen’s brutal worship carried them to its lowest level before William’s Black Door led him to the Pathway Vestibule.
• William rebuilt his body in the Original Plague Silver Liquid, recorded the Ancient Gene fragments, and completed Silver Turbidity after stabilizing a framework that accommodated his diseases.
• William composed a piece with Yi Chen on the Bionic Human Pipe Organ, completed his advancement into the Silver Circle, and returned to the Tenth Abyss for his Audience.
• William refused the Tenth Abyss’s attempt to bind his soul, negotiated to serve as its Spokesperson, and was recognized as William.Y. Behrens, The Gestalt One.
• William returned to the surface, reunited with Jin, Price, and Thirteen, and learned that Jin’s broken sword was a divine artifact connected to Yi Chen’s world.
• William returned to the Fear Circus with Price, and the Boss revealed her shattered condition and granted William a month’s leave after the theater’s preliminary work was finished.
• William worked with the Natalie Sisters on theater plans and contortion training, then had Yellowhide identify his completed path and S-rank title as The Gestalt One.
• William set study goals for students, enhanced Candle Puppet Thirteen’s brain, learned that becoming a Plague Lord required the world’s permission, and sent Little Grape to explore the Old World.

William infiltrated New Zion, gathered intelligence, and helped organize a plan to rescue Zede and reclaim the city. During the assault, he drew Marquis Gluttony away from his allies and emerged from being crushed with a changed aura and an extra pair of eyes.

• William returned to the Human World, learned Zion was sealed behind a Skin Tower’s pulses, and reunited with the organization in Flumouth.
• William recruited Regan and Lorien, then infiltrated New Zion with Lorien and discovered its bloodfolk forces and defenses.
• William returned with intelligence about the Blood Sac High Wall, the nobles, and Moon’s support, and helped plan a rescue for Zede and an assault on the Pulse Tower.
• William led the force through the breached wall as the Reclaim Plan began, while Lorien escorted Deslin’s squad toward the Academy District.
• William drew Marquis Gluttony and several Counts into a Blood Prison, then used his fear power to scatter the Blood People and escape with Jin.
• Lorien helped Deslin, Marco, and Regan enter the Academy, where they found Zede imprisoned in a Blood Vat and fought the guards.
• William and Jin clashed with Gluttony and Potter Megab near the Black Bridge, and William separated Gluttony from the others.
• Gluttony devoured the space between them and crushed William, but William’s body melted into black blood and he crawled out with a changed aura and another pair of eyes.