Chapter Summaries

Yi Chen recovered from his previous death and prepared to face Teacher Zed again, while Catherine planned to use nonphysical attacks and have Yi Chen draw Zed’s attention. They found Zed waiting in the park, where his Living Dead frame appeared, and Catherine began transforming for battle.

• Yi Chen studied Teacher Zed’s physical combat and reshaped his own body to make it more streamlined.
• Catherine proposed attacking Zed with nonphysical methods while Yi Chen drew his fire, and she prepared to reconnect Nightmare Town’s areas.
• Catherine discovered that Zed had gone to the park and was waiting for them, so Yi Chen and Catherine headed there.
• As they entered the clearing, Zed’s Living Dead frame appeared above him.
• Catherine cut open both corners of her mouth with red scissors as she prepared to fight Zed.

Catherine transformed herself into a Scare Box and scattered more boxes across the dream battlefield as she prepared to fight Zede. At the circus, Gian and Yate decided to go retrieve her after learning she was in danger.

• Catherine cut open her mouth, sacrificed her lower half, and fused her upper body to the Treasure Box, becoming a Scare Box.
• Catherine scattered hundreds or thousands of Scare Boxes and announced that the party had begun.
• Mosander recovered in the infirmary while Gian defended him and learned that Zede had defeated him in the dream.
• Yate sensed Catherine using his prop and asked Gian and Mosander what had happened in the dream.
• Gian agreed to accompany Yate to retrieve Catherine, and he explained to Mosander that Yate helped the circus handle dangerous places.

Yi Chen tried to grapple Teacher Zed, but Zed countered and nearly struck him with a lethal knee. Catherine’s ambush wounded Zed for the first time, and she reassembled herself and urged Yi Chen to try again.

• Catherine’s connection to the Treasure Box transformed her into a more malicious Nightmare Creature, and she ordered Yi Chen to hold off Zed.
• Yi Chen used Physical Disguise to mislead Zed, then sank low and grabbed Zed’s thighs for a takedown, but Zed pressed down and could not be lifted.
• Zed launched a close-range knee strike at Yi Chen, stopped it midway, and twisted to kick Catherine out of the shadows, shattering her body and Treasure Box.
• Zed followed with a soccer kick, but Yi Chen retreated and noticed that Zed’s foot was bleeding and the liquid in his silver frame had decreased.
• Catherine reassembled from a Scare Box beside Yi Chen and urged him to restrain Zed again so she could attack.

Zede lost control after Catherine’s attack and brutally fought Yi Chen and Catherine, exploiting Yi Chen’s re-forming body to kill Catherine while destroying most of her Scare Boxes. As Zede charged for the final clash, Catherine suddenly turned her fury on Yi Chen, who revealed that he had been waiting for her to arrive so he could end their game.

• Zede examined the wound on his foot, began losing control, and attacked Yi Chen with a Flash and a crushing kick.
• Zede used a wind-pressure scythe to sever Catherine from her spring and destroy Scare Boxes, then decapitated her with a Hand Blade made from Yi Chen’s arm.
• Yi Chen re-formed and gathered his black liquid body while Catherine warned him that Zede could cause lasting damage by using his body as a weapon.
• Zede destroyed more than ninety percent of the Scare Boxes and charged toward Yi Chen and Catherine as they prepared to fight back.
• Catherine suddenly appeared in the darkness, accused Yi Chen of doing something, and Yi Chen said it was time to end the game.

Yi Chen entered Catherine’s Nightmare gambling game to save Zion and secretly arranged for Yuri’s maids to help locate him and the Dream Entry Point. Yuri, Marco, and Martin found the hidden bedroom and threatened Catherine through the shared dream, leaving Yi Chen urging her to admit defeat.

• Yi Chen prepared an insurance measure by training Yuri’s maids, retaining a teacher-student bond with seven of them, and relying especially on Irina.
• Irina noticed Yi Chen leaving a meeting with Catherine and reported his unusual behavior to Yuri, who ordered the seven maids to track him secretly.
• The maids traced Yi Chen’s movements to Vanishing Street, and Yuri went there to investigate in disguise.
• Marco and Martin met Irina, joined Yuri, and used Marco’s divination to locate the entrance to Vanishing Street.
• Yuri, Marco, and Martin found Yi Chen and Catherine connected to an intravenous tube in a secret bedroom, and Yuri’s threat against Catherine reached the dream.
• Yi Chen told Catherine that her Dream Entry Point had been tracked and urged her to end the game and admit defeat.

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.