Recaps

Aishe secured South Baylam's support and trade agreements for Feneport, while Hobart explored Antarctica to find a site for another mausoleum. In a cave, Hobart discovered a seemingly living man named Sun Zhilin and clues linking him to Kunlun Station and a strange voice, then went to the vanished site of Great Wall Station.

• Hobart advised Aishe to occupy southwestern Dixi County and Dixi Bay, and promised South Baylam would send forces to the Backlund Battle.
• Aishe visited South Baylam's industrial zones, and her delegation signed economic cooperation agreements with the duchy.
• Hobart explored Antarctica, found a cave, and discovered a naked, frozen man beside clothes bearing the name Sun Zhilin and the words Great Wall Station.
• Hobart read Sun Zhilin's notebook, which mentioned a voice, a planned resurrection, and an anomaly at Kunlun Station.
• Hobart collected the notebook and electronic devices, spared Sun Zhilin, and followed a map to the location of Great Wall Station, where he found nothing.

Hobart explored the buried Great Wall Station and discovered records describing the First Creator’s awakening and strange events at Kunlun Station. At Kunlun, he found documents about an underground structure and six immense shadows that drove witnesses mad, leaving him to investigate the Antarctic mystery further.

• Hobart found the buried Great Wall Station and used his powers to recover its faded records.
• Hobart learned that the outside world had descended into chaos and that Kunlun Station had reported a contaminated biological sample and a mission to stop someone.
• Hobart followed the records to Kunlun Station, where he found its buildings and archives remarkably well preserved.
• Hobart read Folder No. 155 and learned that Kunlun Station had uncovered an underground structure beneath a black cube in Area 3.
• Hobart discovered that explorers had seen six blurry figures deep below the ice and that everyone who saw them had gone mad.

Hobart uncovered the history of Kunlun Station and learned that the First Creator had sealed six Outer Gods beneath Antarctica, while the expedition staff sacrificed themselves to keep them trapped. He encountered the escaped Primordial Witch in her Antarctic refuge, escaped her sealing traps, and reported what he found to the Earth Mother and the Goddess of the Night before ruling out Antarctica as a site for his mausoleum.

• Hobart read the station records and learned that the First Creator had moved Antarctica to seal six Outer Gods beneath its ice, and that the expedition members had frozen themselves and others to prevent the Outer Gods from escaping.
• Hobart found records of the First Creator speaking with the remaining expedition members, who asked it to protect Earth and preserve Human Civilization before they went to die at Great Wall Station.
• Hobart discovered that only five of the six Outer Gods remained beneath the ice and found an enclosed garden where the Primordial Witch had turned the escaped Outer God into a statue.
• The Primordial Witch attacked Hobart with ice and sealing barriers, but Hobart used the Black Emperor uniqueness to escape Antarctica.
• Hobart reported the Primordial Witch's condition to the Earth Mother and the Goddess of the Night, then concluded that Antarctica was unsuitable for his mausoleum.

Hobart joined Derrick, Colin, Loviya, and Klein for Silver City's renewed exploration of the Giant King's Court, where he demonstrated his overwhelming power and helped Klein recover from his damaged spirit body. The group crossed the castle's dangerous outer defenses and reached the road leading to the Giant King's residence, where the Dark Angel awaited.

• During a government meeting, Hobart received word that Derrick's group would explore the Giant King's Court the next day, and he arranged preparations for their arrival in six days.
• Hobart addressed South Baylam Duchy's immigration shortages, harvest, and ethnic conflicts, ordering plans to standardize national customs and infrastructure.
• Hobart met Derrick, Colin, and Loviya in the Land Abandoned by God, then used Distorting space to bring them to the Giant King's Court, where Klein appeared in a severely damaged state.
• Hobart Distorted Klein's spirit body back to wholeness, and Klein explained that the figure inside the Giant King's residence seemed to be only part of the Dark Angel's shadow.
• Hobart defeated the two Silver Knights guarding the entrance, took their Extraordinary Characteristics, and opened a path across a lake that swallowed matter and abilities.
• The group continued toward the Giant King's residence along the road Hobart had revealed through the black lake.

Hobart, Klein, and Silver City's demigods entered the Giant King's palace and encountered Sasrir, the Dark Angel, whose Brass-colored Eyes revealed the Primordial One's influence and warned Hobart that Mysteries had left imprints in the Black Emperor and Judgement pathways. The group learned that Hobart could be vulnerable to the Celestial Worthy's will if he became a True God.

• Hobart offered to deal with Loviya's allegiance problem and proposed a missionary seminar between the Fool Church and the Earth Mother Church.
• Hobart restored Klein's connection to his shadow, defeated Enuni, and returned him to the Historical Void.
• Hobart led the group into the palace's darkness, where Sasrir's power separated them from their usual connections and led them to the Dark Angel's throne.
• Brass-colored Eyes recognized the auras of the Country of Disorder and Source Castle, then explained that Sasrir had split off another self to resist the Primordial One's influence.
• The Brass-colored Eyes warned Hobart that Mysteries had imprinted the Black Emperor and Judgement advancement rituals, allowing Its will to awaken in him if he became a True God.

Hobart and Klein defeated the Dark Angel in the Giant King's Court, allowing Silver City to see the outside world and choose a new faith. As the South Baylam Duchy joined the war, Medici used Hobart’s guerrilla tactics to disrupt Intis’s supply lines.

• The Ancient Sun God explained how Mysteries’s resurrection plans were disrupted, then revealed that the being on the throne was formed from the wills of the Ancient Sun God and the Primordial.
• Hobart used the Black Emperor Uniqueness and Sun Scepter to defeat the Dark Angel, while Amon seized the first Blasphemy Slate and escaped.
• Derrick and Loviya opened the doors to the outside world, Klein advanced to Sequence 2, and Loviya chose to sever her connection to the True Creator.
• Hobart warned Colin to keep Silver City’s God-level Sealed Artifacts secret, and Klein agreed to prepare a ship for Silver City’s advance team.
• Leonard learned that the South Baylam Duchy had joined the war, while Medici led its advance force in attacks that repeatedly destroyed Intis’s supply railways.
• Elliot used the Box of the Ancient Days to capture six military trains, and Hobart heard Medici teaching officers the principles of guerrilla warfare.

Medici’s South Baylam forces devastated the Intis rear camp with a coordinated angel-led offensive, while Hobart forbade Medici from killing enemy angels to avoid provoking divine intervention. Intis adapted its defenses, but Medici continued to outmaneuver its armies; the chapter ended with Merlin Hermes arriving in Anrelu City.

• Raymond and Beverly attacked the Intis supply camp with cold, storms, fire, and mutiny, then escaped after Bono Wa intervened.
• The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord and the Duke of Entropy battered the camp with a storm, and Medici later helped burn a third of it despite Intis’s added defenses.
• The South Baylam angels launched a general offensive while Medici’s troops ambushed Intis soldiers fleeing the camp; Hobart arrived and warned Medici not to kill enemy angels.
• The South Baylam Army withdrew after inflicting over 20,000 casualties, and Loen celebrated Hobart’s victory while Intis struggled to restore its forces.
• Intis resumed its assault with revised camp arrangements, but Medici kept attacking and once tricked Intis troops into fighting the Fosac Army.
• Merlin Hermes arrived in Anrelu City and introduced himself as a magician.

Klein traveled through the South Baylam Duchy as Merlin Hermes, testing its response to a Wild Extraordinary while witnessing its communities and policies. After helping a village harvest and leaving Anrelu, he toured the industrial and agricultural regions before learning that Backlund’s outer defensive line had fallen.

• Klein performed magic for children in Anjou and let Blake reunite with his soldier father, then registered as a Sequence 7 Seer with the local police.
• Klein explored Anjou’s food, public services, and social rules, then joined a village’s harvest after its Village Chief mistook him for a struggling wanderer.
• Klein helped the villagers finish the harvest, performed at their bonfire celebration, and left a note about a magician’s fate before departing without saying goodbye.
• Klein notified the Official Extraordinary headquarters that he had left Anrelu, then toured the duchy’s industrial district, government-run agricultural base, and construction projects around Asong City.
• Klein prepared to visit Lanagua Port and the church being built for him, but he received news that Backlund’s outer defensive line had fallen.

As divine battles erupted across the continent, Hobart joined the conflict to seize the Knowledge Emperor characteristics and helped his allies contest the Brass Book. The Goddess of the Night and Lilith brought down the Twilight Giant, while the Brass Book declared itself Hobart’s property.

• Fosac forces reached Backlund, and Hobart positioned Medici’s South Baylam troops to defend the city while its people lost hope.
• Hobart brought Fors and Audrey to watch the godly battle, then joined the Lord of Storms against the God of Steam and took the Knowledge Emperor characteristics.
• Beverly and Raymond battled the God of War Church’s angels over the Brass Book as Lilith, Tamara, Sua, Trensoost, and Hobart joined the struggle.
• Trensoost defeated Philip I with help from Sua and the Pale Empress, taking the Hand of Order characteristics from him.
• The Goddess of the Night and Lilith struck down the Twilight Giant, and the Brass Book opened and declared that only the Owner of the Country of Disorder could possess it.
• A white-robed priest drank a golden Potion in a small chapel outside Backlund.

Hobart seized the Judgement pathway’s Uniqueness and other spoils after the divine battle, while Trensoost, Tamara, and the Pale Empress escaped. He aided the Feneport Kingdom’s Philip I, then recognized that Trensoost could soon become a King of Angels and that the Baylam Empire had become an enemy.

• Hobart and his allies tried to capture Tamara, but she escaped with a Sealed Artifact that temporarily trapped them in an illusory light screen; Trensoost and the Pale Empress also fled.
• Hobart killed the badly wounded Larion, sent his spirit into the Underworld, and allowed Hunt to confront him before dividing the spoils with Lilith, Beverly, and Raymond.
• Audrey returned to Backlund and found its survivors and her family stunned by the sudden end of the disaster, while Medici organized the South Baylam Army to pursue the retreating forces and collect spoils.
• Hobart answered Aishel’s prayer and stabilized Philip I’s spirit body after Trensoost’s attack, then designated the Judgement Uniqueness as 0-80 Rule Brass Book and named the other artifacts.
• Hobart concluded that the Pale Empress’s betrayal made the Baylam Empire an enemy and realized that Trensoost could soon become a King of Angels with dual Sequence 1s.

After the divine war, Hobart recruited Hunt, absorbed the Twilight Giant’s power, and helped secure South Baylam’s military and business interests. At the Tarot Club gathering, the members learned the true identities of Earth Mother and the Giant King’s Queen, while Hobart revealed that he was the Blood Ancestor’s child and explained part of the ancient divine conspiracy.

• Hobart summoned Hunt, accepted his oath of loyalty, and promised him a Silver Knight characteristic and a post protecting factories in Intis.
• Sharon and another demigod found a twilight lake formed from the God of Combat’s blood, and Hobart absorbed it with his altered Sun Scepter, gaining the Twilight Giant’s power.
• South Baylam captured hundreds of thousands of Intis soldiers, fought off Fosac’s retreating forces, and preserved Earl’s Light’s assets after Beverly and Raymond confronted Intis legislators.
• At the Tarot Club gathering, Derrick revealed that Queen Omebella’s remains were in Silver City and that Earth Mother was not the Giant King’s Queen.
• Hobart revealed that Harvest Goddess had been Omebella, Earth Mother was the ancient god Lilith, and he himself was the Blood Ancestor’s child.
• Hobart explained that Goddess of the Night had helped the Blood Ancestor plan her fall and had stolen Omebella’s Fate with the Ancient Sun God.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart revealed his conjecture that Bardhair became the God of Combat by killing the Giant King, while Omebella, robbed of her Fate, witnessed the betrayal and died in Silver City. The gathering ended with warnings about the apocalypse in just over ten years and Hobart offering Emlyn and Leonard paths toward angel-level advancement.

• The members deduced that Lilith had stolen Omebella's Fate and obtained the Moon Pathway's authority, and Emlyn realized the Earth Mother was the Sanguine Ancestor.
• Hobart explained that Omebella had lost her Fate, then conjectured that Bardhair killed the injured Giant King, took his characteristics, and left Omebella to die in Silver City, where her Curse affected Silver City's people.
• Alger reported that the mysterious Beyonders who attacked Loen's Beyonders in Caesar Port belonged to the Trensoost Family, and Hobart decided to have Xue investigate their gains during the war.
• The World warned that the apocalypse would arrive in just over ten years, and the members realized he knew its cause and had become an angel.
• Hobart offered Emlyn clues to the Summoning Master and Creator characteristics in exchange for serving as his representative in Loen, and offered Leonard a clue to a Death Archon characteristic if he considered switching to an Adjacent Pathway.
• Klein ended the Tarot Club gathering after the members fell silent.

Hobart and the South Baylam Duchy confronted the defeated nations and Loen over reparations and the postwar order at the Backlund Peace Conference. After South Baylam’s military advance forced negotiations to pause, the League of Nations was established, and Hobart returned to demand compensation directly for his duchy.

• The heads of seven nations gathered in Backlund, where Hobart and Audrey arrived in an advanced electric car and Gowenton II personally welcomed them.
• Agshid and Hobart made harsh demands of Intis and Fosac, but Bivisi resisted and later secretly persuaded Agshid to align with the defeated nations against South Baylam.
• On the second day, Hobart proposed the International League, while Agshid softened Loen’s reparations demands and began leaning toward Intis and Fosac.
• On the sixth day, Hobart announced that Medici’s army had invaded five Intis and Fosac colonies, then withdrew from negotiations until the fighting ended and the League was established.
• Agshid mediated an agreement to establish the League of Nations before peace talks resumed, and Audrey and Benson helped finalize its charter over the next three days.
• After the League of Nations was established, Hobart resumed negotiations and demanded at least 3.5 billion Gold Pounds, the five colonies under attack, and special operating rights for South Baylam industries.

Hobart helped conclude the Soderlak Agreement, then returned to South Baylam to oversee reconstruction and prepare the duchy for future conflict. As he arranged for Sharon and Christine to advance to angels, Haiter faced the Pale Empress, who demanded the Death Uniqueness.

• Audrey and Benson negotiated for South Baylam as the International League debated reparations, territorial arrangements, and rival proposals for the postwar order.
• Hobart announced that the York City religious negotiations had secured major churches' right to preach in South Baylam, shifting the balance of the talks and helping conclude the Soderlak Agreement on January 22.
• After a reporter challenged South Baylam's policies, Hobart rebuked him; Xue then reported that Loen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had contacted the reporter, and Hobart arranged for the International League to hear Rosed Islands independence claims.
• Hobart returned to South Baylam, inspected rapid reconstruction, planned his mausoleums, and prepared against the Baylam Empire while arranging for Christine and Sharon to become angels.
• Hobart secured Klein's agreement to Sharon's advancement and offered him Marionettist and Silent Apostle characteristics in return, then sent agents north to encourage nationalist movements.
• Haiter questioned changes in the Underworld before the Pale Empress, Sia, arrived and accused him of withholding the Uniqueness; she forced him to his knees.

Fors completed the Secrets Sorcerer advancement Ritual and spoke with Mr. Door, while Hobart questioned him about the Fallen Mother Goddess, the Mist of Uncertainty, Mysteries, and Tudor. Meanwhile, Silver City and Moon City were relocated from the Land Abandoned by God to a new city, where Donna welcomed them on Grand Duke Hobart’s behalf.

• Dorian prepared Fors’s Secrets Sorcerer Potion and asked her to learn the truth behind Mr. Door’s full-moon cries for help.
• Fors released and sealed a creature from the Demon Oil Painting with Hobart’s assistance, then drank the Potion and advanced as Hobart Altered the Ritual’s spiritual imprint.
• Fors spoke with Mr. Door, who explained the Abraham Family’s Curse and suggested ways to free him; Hobart then joined their conversation and asked about the Fallen Mother Goddess, the Mist of Uncertainty, Mysteries, and Tudor.
• Mr. Door said the Mist of Uncertainty could accommodate Black Emperor and Judgement characteristics and told Hobart that Mysteries would awaken again; Hobart ended their connection and Fors returned to the real world.
• Derrick, Candice, and Ginode returned to Silver City and reported that the new city was ready, prompting the residents to prepare for relocation.
• Colin led Silver City and Moon City through the transfer to the new city, where Donna introduced herself as an official sent by Grand Duke Hobart to provide supplies and coordinate with Derrick.

Derrick welcomed the people of Silver City and Moon City to their new home, while Hobart connected his mausoleums and agreed to help Bernadette search for her father’s final resting place. After The Fool freed Moon City’s people from their deformities, Amon rang the cathedral bell, and a second bell restored order against him.

• Donna explained the terms of aid and resettlement to Derrick, including citizenship, education, work, and repayment for future assistance.
• Hobart established connections with his six mausoleums and considered creating an Order-Slaying event as an opportunity to accommodate the Uniqueness.
• Bernadette told Hobart she planned to search for her father’s final mausoleum, and he lent her a Mystical Item and promised support.
• Klein used Source Castle to remove the bodily deformities of the people of Moon City, whose prayers gathered as anchors for him.
• Amon appeared in The Fool Cathedral’s clock tower and rang its bell, prompting Derrick to report the disturbance to The Fool.
• A second bell sounded, restoring normal Order and eliminating the surrounding loopholes, while Amon challenged the power of the Clock of Order.

Klein created Utopia while Hobart prepared for war, but a deadly supernatural outbreak in Aconcagua Province forced him to evacuate Montesson Port as the Underworld began merging with the city. The chapter ended with Hobart looking up and recognizing Calderon above them.

• Amon escaped after the Clock of Order's effects ended, and Klein and Hobart both reacted angrily to the Fool's Holy Book's descriptions of them and their allies.
• Klein used his powers to create the town of Utopia and its deepwater port on an uninhabited island.
• Audrey negotiated a peace treaty with the Baylam Empire while Hobart planned to delay talks until after spring planting.
• Extraordinary attacks in Montesson Port turned sleeping victims into Living Corpses, and Gabriel killed Governor Doco before becoming a monster himself.
• The Pale Empress threatened Audrey, who chose to remain in Selvas and confront the Baylam authorities while Hobart traveled to Aconcagua Province.
• Hobart evacuated Montesson Port as the Underworld merged with it, but the Teleportation Array failed, and he saw Calderon above the city.

Hobart investigated the mutation transforming Montesson Port into the City of the Dead and learned from Audrey that the Underworld Faction had been researching Calderon and a powerful force within it. As ancient Undead awakened and the Ancient Death God’s revival was announced, Hobart protected his companions and set out to find the faction’s members.

• Hobart found that the mutated Underworld was eroding Montesson Port and used his abilities to protect the Official Extraordinaries from its deadly environment.
• Hobart sent Audrey to gather intelligence, and she learned from Santos that the Underworld Faction had researched Calderon and that Baylam angels could operate around its outskirts.
• Hobart decided to explore alone and brought Ted and the others to shelter in City Hall behind a barrier made with an Order Crystal.
• An Undying Bird told Hobart that their progenitor was about to revive and that his divine kingdom would return.
• Ted resisted the City of the Dead’s illusions of his dead daughter and mother while maintaining the barrier for his companions.
• Hobart used the Rule Brass Book, 0-80, to expose himself as an outsider to the Undead, then read its flattering new rule about the Creator.

Hobart investigated the Underworld Faction’s research in Calderon and learned that its members were trying to revive the Undying Bird Ancestor by merging the Underworld with the real world. He reached the Eternal Dark River’s entrance, where the Ancient Death God Gregaire resurrected, and confronted Him with the Country of Disorder and the Rule Brass Book.

• Hobart interrogated Underworld Faction members, but one died during Spirit Communication and another revealed that the faction had altered itself while researching the Undying Bird Ancestor’s resurrection.
• Hobart crossed Calderon’s increasingly dangerous streets, spoke with Selena about Freya and Dennis, and defeated Eris’s attacks by distorting a haunted-house scene into a dance hall.
• Hobart entered the city’s central palace and used the Rule Brass Book to silence the coffins before finding the sealed passage to the Eternal Dark River.
• Hobart tried to seal the passage with the Country of Disorder, but the Eternal Dark River resisted and Gregaire emerged, resurrected as the Ancient Death God.
• Hobart expanded his barrier around Gregaire as a new rule appeared in the Brass Book declaring that the God of Death was dead.

Hobart stopped the Ancient Death God's resurrection by sealing the Eternal Dark River's entrance, then turned the Underworld-damaged land near Montesson Port into a training base and declared war on the Baylam Empire. Medici's forces seized three cities with the help of Teleportation Arrays, while the Northern Continent backed the restoration of the Pas Kingdom, whose newly crowned king was Trensoost.

• Hobart made Calderon lean toward reality, weakened the Eternal Dark River's influence, and sealed its entrance, ending the Ancient Death God's resurrection and stopping the Underworld's spread.
• Hobart confined the Underworld Faction members in Montesson Port, established a Spirituality Barrier around the corrupted region, and ordered preparations for war against the Baylam Empire.
• Audrey declared war on the Baylam Empire in Selvas as Medici led the South Baylam Army across the border and captured Miguel, Vaniki, and Lanyadi.
• The South Baylam Army used Teleportation Arrays to supply and reinforce the three cities, frustrating the Imperial Army's attempts to retake them.
• The Northern Continent nations supported the restoration of the Pas Kingdom to counter the South Baylam Duchy, and Trensoost appeared as its newly crowned king.

Hobart confronted Zaratul, Amon, Sua, and Trensoost while Trensoost’s coronation assassination unfolded on Oak Island. Hobart reached William I’s battlefield, where he appeared to turn against him by stabbing him with the Kingslayer Sword.

• Hobart exposed Zaratul’s coronation hall illusion, and Mr. Fool restrained Zaratul while Amon watched without joining the fight.
• Hobart countered Zaratul, Sua, and Trensoost with his abilities and the Brass Book of Rules, then revealed that he had used himself to keep Trensoost occupied while William I was targeted.
• Trensoost left for Oak Island, followed by Hobart, while Zaratul, Sua, Lilith, and Mr. Fool departed the ruined hall.
• On Oak Island, William I’s allies fought the Death Archons, Sherry, Tamara, and the Pale Empress as they attempted to protect him.
• Hobart arrived and disrupted Trensoost’s division of the battlefield, then pierced William I’s chest with the Kingslayer Sword.

Hobart killed William I, declared South Baylam independent as the Atlantis Kingdom, and was crowned king alongside Audrey and Fors. As international tensions peaked, he accommodated the Black Emperor Uniqueness, became a King of Angels, and seized Tamara’s Kingslayer Prince characteristic.

• Hobart used the Kingslayer Sword to kill William I, took the Hand of Order characteristic from Trensoost, and ended the alliance with Loen.
• Benson announced South Baylam’s withdrawal from the League of Nations and independence; the duchy was renamed the Atlantis Kingdom.
• Hobart was crowned king at the Earth Cathedral, while Arianna crowned Audrey and Klein crowned Fors.
• After the coronation, Trensoost and his allies confronted Hobart in the mountains as his supporters and the gods’ factions gathered to prevent interference.
• Hobart accommodated the Black Emperor Uniqueness in his mausoleum and gained the powers of a King of Angels.
• Hobart found Tamara praying at an altar, extracted her Kingslayer Prince characteristic, and left her in mortal danger.

Hobart took Tamara’s Extraordinary Characteristics and confronted Trensoost, but Amon intervened to stop him from killing Trensoost or damaging the Pas Kingdom. After returning Anrelu City and consulting the Earth Mother, Hobart formed plans concerning Amon and the Baylam Empire, while Medici’s forces pursued the retreating Baylam army.

• Hobart drew the Kingslayer Prince Extraordinary Characteristic from Tamara, interrupted the Mist of Uncertainty’s influence, and killed Her before taking Her contaminated Balancer Extraordinary Characteristic.
• Hobart attacked Trensoost in Caesar Port, but Amon appeared and negotiated a pause in the conflict in exchange for returning Anrelu City.
• Hobart caught Anrelu City as it fell, restored it to its place, altered the residents’ memories, and received a shining stalk of wheat from the Earth Mother.
• Hobart concluded that Amon wanted to limit the Creator’s forces, then devised plans targeting Amon and the Baylam Empire.
• Medici learned that Hobart’s campaign had achieved its goal and ordered the Atlantis Kingdom’s forces to pursue the retreating Baylam army toward Selvas.

Medici’s victories left the Baylam Empire and Pas Kingdom locked in a stalemate, while Hobart prepared to draw the Northern Continent into a wider war. At the Tarot Club, the members learned that several Beyonder Pathways were linked to the starry sky, settled plans for Leonard’s advancement, and heard Hobart declare that reconciliation had ended.

• Medici’s forces trapped and routed the Baylam Imperial Army, then withdrew to three cities and left the war in a stalemate.
• Hobart told Medici to prepare a Southern Continent-wide war and planned to provoke the Northern Continent into sending its elite forces south.
• Hobart promised Audrey a path toward becoming an angel and attended the Tarot Club gathering with her.
• The Fool explained that the First One was aggregating and that the Moon, Cultivator, Prisoner, Criminal, Lawyer, and Arbiter Pathways had connections to the starry sky and Outer Deities.
• Emlyn questioned the gendered names of high-sequence Potions, Leonard reported that the Night Church had approved a transaction that could let him become an angel, and the members discussed Utopia and Silver City’s adjustment to life outside.
• Hobart warned that the Northern Continent and Atlantis Kingdom might soon go to war, then told The World that the Iron Curtain had fallen.

Hobart explained why Atlantis Kingdom and Loen were headed for war, then met foreign envoys to secure allies and press his political aims. After his meetings, news spread that Princess Aishe had become Queen of Feneport with Atlantis Kingdom’s support, alarming Northern Continent rulers.

• Hobart told the Tarot Club that William I had been killed after Trensoost tried to seize his Extraordinary Characteristics, and he offered Cattleya a path toward angelhood through clues to adjacent-pathway characteristics and a Potion Recipe.
• Hobart gave Audrey a month of leave and advised her to stay at the family estate in East Chester County rather than return to Backlund.
• Hobart met Princess Aishe and offered an angel’s help in her bid for the Feneport throne if she introduced Atlantis Kingdom’s political system and established a cabinet.
• Hobart rejected Princess Alice’s attempt to discuss William I’s death and told her that war was now the only way to settle the countries’ differences; he also refused Intis’s request for early release of its prisoners of war unless it paid its reparations in full.
• With Atlantis Kingdom’s support, Fernando II abdicated and Princess Aishe became Queen of Feneport, unsettling the Northern Continent’s political elites.