Chapter Summaries

Hobart explained how the Six Gods’ support helped Trensoost win the War of the Four Emperors, then offered a theory that the True Creator had secretly taken the Black Emperor Pathway’s Uniqueness and made a deal with Tudor. He ended by suggesting the Six Gods later destroyed Trensoost because he had acquired that Uniqueness, leaving the Tarot Club wondering why they attacked the emperor they had backed.

• Audrey, Alger, Fors, Emlyn, Cattleya, and “The World” contributed to the Crowdfunding, while Little Sun provided two Extraordinary Materials.
• Hobart said the Six Gods supported Trensoost during the War of the Four Emperors and speculated that the True Creator had taken the Black Emperor Pathway’s Uniqueness and promised it to Tudor.
• Hobart suggested Tudor’s dealings with the True Creator may have helped split the United Empire and driven Trensoost to side with the Six Gods.
• Hobart said the Night Emperor and Blood Emperor joined forces to destroy Solomon, and that Adam likely obtained two Black Emperor Sequence 1 characteristics as spoils.
• Hobart proposed that Trensoost took the Black Emperor Uniqueness and a Sequence 1 characteristic, prompting the Six Gods to destroy him; the Tarot Club members were shocked by the theory.

Hobart explained that the Night Emperor was likely killed by the Six Gods because he had been contaminated, then traded theories about the Black Throne and its possible purpose. He revealed that Rosell had become the second Black Emperor, leaving the gathering members shocked.

• Hobart said the Six Gods likely killed the Night Emperor because he had been contaminated, and explained that the churches still hunted Trensoost descendants for fear they shared that contamination.
• Hobart told the group that the ship Empire was a legacy of the Trensoost Empire and asked them to contact him if they learned where it was.
• Mr. World traded with Hobart for help removing contamination from an Extraordinary Characteristic, then joined Audrey, Cattleya, and Fors in paying for information about the Black Throne.
• Hobart theorized that the Black Throne had been built for secret explorations and might have carried Solomon’s escape plans, including information about the Western and Southern Continents.
• Hobart said Rosell had acquired the Black Throne and revealed that Rosell had become the second Black Emperor, shocking the gathering members.

Hobart explained how Rosell became the Black Emperor and speculated that his death and resurrection might have been part of a plan involving Adam and the Twilight Hermits Society. After reassuring Cattleya that the Creator would prevent George III from becoming the Black Emperor, Hobart arranged a rental with Alger and offered Cattleya a Mystical Item for sale.

• Hobart explained that Rosell switched from the Savant pathway to become the Black Emperor, and that the resulting madness might have been curable by expelling conflicting Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart said the Black Emperor’s resurrection could restore Rosell to a normal state, though he did not know Rosell’s exact plan or whether Rosell had resurrected.
• Hobart revealed that Adam had provided Rosell’s Black Emperor characteristics and Uniqueness, hoping to use Rosell’s Historical Torrent to advance, but Rosell had disrupted Adam’s plan.
• Hobart explained that Adam later approached George III and said the Creator would not let George III successfully become the Black Emperor, easing Cattleya’s immediate concern.
• Alger rented Hobart’s Travel Mystical Item for 100 pounds for up to three days, while Cattleya considered buying another Travel item for 12,000 pounds.

Hobart processed several Extraordinary Characteristics, returned to Jeffrey Town, and received the king’s summons to a National Day banquet. While showing Bernadette around his developing territory, he asked why she had come, and she raised the subject of the Creator.

• Audrey reported a series of major bank robberies suspected to involve a Wraith, while Hobart and Klein privately wondered whether Miss Sharon was involved.
• Klein tried to volunteer at a hospital but fled after a staff member recognized him as Gehrman Sparrow.
• Hobart processed the Marionettist and Sailor Characteristics, then gave Selena and Dennis opportunities to become Extraordinary individuals.
• Hobart returned to Jeffrey Town, where a royal messenger ordered him to attend the National Day banquet on March 5.
• Bernadette appeared in Hobart’s bedroom, and he showed her around Jeffrey Town and its surrounding countryside.
• Bernadette asked Hobart whether he had passed her regards to the Creator, explaining that new information about the Creator had brought the matter to mind.

Hobart told Bernadette that the Creator was not her resurrected father and warned her that Rosell had suffered contamination, then spent a peaceful day with her before asking Archibald to lead the territory’s bandit suppression. The next morning, Hobart inspected the West Bank and his lands with Fors, seeing the effects of his policies and the territory’s growing prosperity.

• Hobart told Bernadette that the Creator had said Rosell was not resurrected and had suffered contamination, then invited her to visit the territory and attend its auctions.
• Hobart and Bernadette toured the territory, fished and ate together on Full Moon Lake, and discussed the likelihood of war among the Northern Continent’s nations.
• Archibald revealed that it had commanded Fosac forces in the Southern Continent and won the Yaral Battle, so Hobart agreed to let it lead the bandit suppression while forbidding it from turning dying soldiers into marionettes.
• Fors confronted Hobart about Bernadette’s perfume in their bedroom, and Hobart reassured her before inviting her to inspect the territory the next day.
• Hobart secretly visited villages on the West Bank and watched reunited families and local officials respond to his policies.
• Hobart and Fors toured the territory, where residents greeted him warmly and he learned that wages from construction work and new stores were helping village families prosper.

During his inspection of the East Bank, Hobart met Jonathan, who agreed to hand over its governing authority and asked to hear about Hobart’s faith. Jonathan then explained the Gnostic Society’s origins and revealed that he and other Abraham Family demigods wanted to escape the Demoness Church’s influence.

• Hobart saw that his territory’s people prospered, while the East Bank’s residents were apathetic and its fields poorly tended.
• Jonathan arrived at the ruined Wright Viscount manor, demonstrated that he had taken the guards’ bullets, and discussed ordinary people’s dependence on Extraordinary Beyonders with Hobart.
• Hobart asked Jonathan to give him governing authority over the East Bank, and Jonathan agreed on the condition that Hobart explain his faith.
• Hobart preached that his Lord intended to overthrow the existing order and establish a new one, while Jonathan learned that Hobart’s territory had developed without direct divine instructions.
• Jonathan explained that the Gnostic Society had formed from Abraham Family members who joined the Demoness Church after Mr. Door was sealed and the Abraham Family split.
• Jonathan revealed that the Primordial Witch and the Demoness Church had influenced and corrupted many Gnostic Society members, and said he wanted to break free of their control with his clansmen.

Hobart weighed whether to shelter Jonathan’s Gnostic Society group, revealed his faith and looming dangers to Fors, and prepared to revive Captain Dunn. After Dunn learned he had died saving Tingen City, Hobart urged him to return for the sake of justice and the people who needed him, and Dunn asked what Hobart wanted him to do.

• Jonathan explained that his group could not seek refuge with the Orthodox God Churches because they worshipped Mr. “Door,” and Hobart decided he would eventually accept them and seek protection for them.
• Hobart told Fors that his family descended from the Tudor Family and worshipped the Creator, then warned her about the danger awaiting him in Feneport City and arranged protections for her in his absence.
• Hobart and Fors toured a manor, and Hobart agreed to transfer it to her after she said she wanted to stay there and wait for him.
• Archibald and Shier reported defeating a band of East Bank bandits, and Hobart rewarded two soldiers by promising them the chance to become Beyonders.
• Hobart and April prepared a refined body, and Hobart awakened Captain Dunn’s Spiritual Body and told him that he had died saving Tingen City.
• Dunn initially resisted returning to life, but Hobart appealed to his sense of justice, and Dunn asked what Hobart needed him to do.

Hobart revived Captain Dunn with April’s help, then brought him to the Special Operations Department to train its members in handling Extraordinary cases. As Dunn began teaching them, Hobart continued organizing his territory and grew more confident about changing disastrous events.

• Hobart persuaded Captain Dunn to join him and help guide his new Official Extraordinary organizations, and Dunn agreed while warning that he would end his life if his condition became abnormal.
• April fused Dunn’s spirit, the Nightmare’s Extraordinary Characteristics, and a prepared body, then used a Stone of Life to restore him to life.
• Dunn recovered in Hobart’s territory, while Hobart arranged a Feneport language charm and continued preparing governance, medical care, and rewards for his territory.
• Hobart introduced Dunn to the Special Operations Department as its teacher, and Dunn corrected Hobart’s account of their role in stopping the True Creator’s descent before beginning his lesson.

Hobart sought the Earth Mother Church’s protection for his companies in Jeffrey Territory and met Princess Aishe, who offered him a powerful political post in exchange for helping her accomplish a major undertaking. At Alhambra Palace, he learned that Christine had been injured while dealing with Loen spies and was allowed to rest before the Founding Day celebration began.

• Hobart visited Bishop Simpson, gave him a Cultivator-pathway material, and arranged Church protection for his companies in Jeffrey Territory.
• Hobart presented Archbishop Gabriel with Demon Hunter Extraordinary Characteristics, and Gabriel agreed that protecting Hobart in the Feneport Kingdom would benefit the Church.
• Hobart prepared for the Founding Day celebration, selected his Sealed Artifacts, and received Princess Aishe’s invitation to dine at her estate.
• Princess Aishe offered Hobart a senior government role and the prospect of a count’s title if he helped her accomplish a major task, while warning him about Loen spies and the next day’s ceremony.
• Hobart arrived at Alhambra Palace with Christine, who said he had been injured fighting Loen spies, and learned that the King’s Charter allowed Christine to rest in a side hall until the celebration began.

Hobart and Christine prepared a secret ritual inside the Alhambra Palace and revealed that Christine’s apparent defection was part of a plan to disrupt Castile’s attempt to accommodate the Arbiter Uniqueness. The ritual began as Loen’s royal demigods prepared to descend into the palace, leaving Hobart ready to seek the palace’s Level 0 Sealed Artifact.

• Hobart entered the palace with Christine, who secretly revealed a black flower that created a concealed space and killed the two servants who witnessed it.
• Christine explained that he had staged his defection to gain Fernando II’s trust and arrange a surprise attack on Castile during the Uniqueness accommodation attempt.
• Christine revealed that William Augustus, Derink Augustus, and other royal demigods would use his ritual circle to descend into the palace from the Astral World.
• Christine told Hobart to find and possibly claim the Level 0 Sealed Artifact protecting the palace, while keeping the black flower as a means of escape.
• Christine placed a Secrets Sorcerer Extraordinary Characteristic at the ritual circle’s center and began activating it.

William I and his allies confronted Philip I at Alhambra Palace to stop him from accommodating the Trensoost Brass Book, while Hobart infiltrated the palace to reach a guarded target. The battle escalated as angels from several factions arrived, and Philip I continued merging with the Uniqueness.

• William I led Christine, Hobart, Decklin, Grove, Georgina, and Selt to confront Philip I, who had already begun merging with the Trensoost Brass Book.
• Chester fought Decklin while Saints from both families clashed, and Hobart concealed the Secrets Sorcerer characteristic and black flower before joining the fleeing crowds.
• Hobart urged nobles to protect Fernando II, then used the panic caused by a flying silver-white figure to run toward a guarded palace near Cassia Hall.
• Selt revealed a Marauder-pathway Sealed Artifact while fighting a Warrior demigod, and Hobart reached his target as William I faced Alexei Einhorn instead of Philip I.
• Gade II, Clyde Wells, Roland, Dempsey Sauron, and Larion arrived to reinforce the battle, while Philip I had accommodated one-third of the Uniqueness.

As Philip I fought to fuse with the Trensoest Brass Book, the Augustus Family’s attack failed, and Hobart released the Ancient Death God’s corpse to disrupt the battle. Hobart marked the Brass Book with the Country of Disorder, forcing it from Philip I’s body, but Larion carried it away under a temporary seal as Hobart prepared to escape.

• William I’s attempt to stop Philip I failed when the Brass Book began drawing the Hand of Order characteristics from him, and William I used a shattered ring to reverse time and escape the effect.
• Hobart escaped Aishel’s palace trap after summoning Hunt to hold off her guards, then met the gravely wounded Christine, who told him Philip I was close to fusing with the Uniqueness.
• William I ordered the Augustus Family to retreat after Philip I demonstrated the Brass Book’s power, while Christine revived from apparent death and urged Hobart to buy twenty seconds.
• Hobart released the Ancient Death God’s corpse using the Country of Disorder, and the corpse attacked the assembled Angels and Saints, making Alexei and several Saints disappear.
• Hobart used True Sight to mark the Brass Book with the Country of Disorder, causing it to leave Philip I’s chest and fly toward the Ancient Death God’s corpse.
• Larion briefly seized the Brass Book, then sealed it with dusk light and carried it away, while Hobart abandoned the corpse and returned to the real world to escape.

Hobart escaped the destruction of Alhambra Palace after the Earth Mother sealed the Ancient Death God's corpse, and he later returned to safety with Christine. As Feneport's Church sought Hobart's help with contamination, Buck arrived in Jeffrey Territory to seize control but found Simpson and the local people standing against him.

• The Ancient Death God's corpse ravaged Alhambra Palace, but the Earth Mother restrained it with enormous Bean Pods and sealed it underground.
• Hobart escaped the palace with Christine, later learned that Philip I's plan had failed, and received rewards before reuniting with Monlisa.
• The Earth Mother directed Pope Roland to find Hobart and have him resolve the contamination affecting the Church's demigods.
• Fors received Hobart's letters confirming his safety and learned at the Tarot Club that Alhambra Palace had been reduced to ruins.
• Buck arrived in Jeffrey Territory to strip Hobart of his title and seize his assets, but Simpson protected the territory's people and Church-affiliated businesses.
• The gathered residents questioned Buck's accusations against Hobart, and Simpson warned Buck that the territory was different from other places.

After Hobart and Christine returned from their failed assassination attempt on Fernando II, the Loen press revealed their mission and announced their coming noble titles, while Hobart helped Earth Mother Church Saints remove corruption and arranged treatment for Christine. The chapter ended with nobles discussing Hobart’s likely elevation to Earl and seeking marriage ties with him, despite his existing marriage.

• Simpson calmed the people of Jeffrey Territory, then received Gabriel’s message asking him to contact Hobart.
• Xue read the newspaper’s account of Hobart and Christine’s secret mission, and Fors showed her the prosperous villages and estate she intended to watch over for Hobart.
• Aishel told Philip I that Hobart might have invoked the Creator during the battle, while Audrey and others in Loen learned that Hobart and Christine would receive noble titles and a hero’s welcome.
• Hobart agreed to help the Earth Mother Church Saints, summoned the Creator’s power to remove their corruption, and arranged for Gabriel to treat Christine’s severe wounds.
• William I learned that the Creator had protected the Balk Family and identified Hobart as the Creator’s Blessed.
• Earl Wolf told Earl Hall that Hobart might be made an Earl, and Audrey learned that wealthy nobles wanted to introduce their daughters to him despite his marriage.

Hobart received his earldom and the fief of Longtail Island at a lavish royal investiture, then discussed politics with Audrey and returned to his new mansion. There, Doffis asked to become Hobart’s butler and revealed that a family prophecy had led him to believe Hobart could help restore the Eggs Family’s former glory.

• Larion learned that the Trensoest Brass Book’s contamination came from the intelligent Sefirah, the Country of Disorder, while Gade II received the Lord of Storms’ warning that the being responsible for the Ancient Death God’s corpse was not an enemy.
• Hobart told Selt that he had found the giant bird in a Backlund ruin, then attended his investiture ceremony with Christine and received the title of earl, Longtail Island as a fief, and a seat in the Upper House.
• Hobart met Audrey at the royal ball, explained why he would not immediately choose between the reformists and conservatives, and discussed political compromise and the role of the people with her.
• Earl Hall advised Audrey to cherish her friendship with Hobart, and she arranged to visit Hobart with Glaint the following week.
• At his new Earl’s Mansion, Hobart welcomed Doffis as a prospective butler and learned that Doffis’s family prophecy concerned a descendant of the Night Emperor helping restore the Eggs Family’s glory.

Hobart prepared to manage his new island territory while strengthening his control over South Colson, and Klein advanced to Sequence 5 after drinking the potion amid the Mermaids’ song. At the Tarot Club, Hobart revealed the powerful figures who belonged to Redemption Rose, leaving the gathering stunned.

• Hobart appointed Doffis as his butler, gave him money to hire servants and prepare a tea party, and examined the map of Longtail Island before considering how to develop it.
• Klein drank the potion while listening to the Mermaids’ song, recovered from its effects, and began testing his new Spirituality Thread ability.
• Hobart visited Fors, discussed threats to South Colson and plans to inspect Longtail Island, then urged Grove to persuade Teuton to advance to Sequence 5 and fight the Aurora Society.
• At the Tarot Club, Klein punished Cattleya for revealing information about the gathering to Bernadette, and members exchanged requests for materials and potion recipes.
• Derrick described the ruined Afternoon Town altar, a clergyman’s confession about the Kings of Angels, and the coming Great Cataclysm; Hobart interpreted the clergyman’s reference to secrecy as pointing to the Goddess of the Night.
• After the Tarot Club members paid for Hobart’s information, he named the Goddess of the Night, the Dark Angel, several gods, and five angels as members of Redemption Rose.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart revealed that Redemption Rose conspired to bring down the Ancient Sun God, who had become far stronger than ordinary deities by accommodating the Uniquenesses and characteristics of multiple pathways. He also explained Derrick’s strange experience in Afternoon Town and shared details of the angel-level battle in Feneport City, while Klein left to pursue clues about advancing to Sequence 4.

• Hobart told the Tarot Club that Redemption Rose included six deities and numerous angelic figures, and that its members plotted against the Ancient Sun God, with whom the Goddess of the Night had cooperated.
• Hobart explained that the Ancient Sun God had accommodated Uniquenesses and Sequence 1 characteristics from several pathways, making Him strong enough that Redemption Rose had to rely on a conspiracy to defeat Him; he warned that knowing the deeper information caused corruption.
• Hobart promised to investigate whether the Ancient Sun God had left contingencies, then explained that Derrick’s concealed state and living shadows in Afternoon Town came from lingering powers connected to the Goddess of the Night and the Secret Supplicant pathway.
• Alger and Cattleya shared news of the Feneport City battle, and Hobart revealed that the Augustus and Castile Families had fought over the Arbiter Uniqueness with numerous angelic allies before the Creator intervened decisively.
• Cattleya recounted her voyage through the God War Ruins and described a corpse and a sailboat marked with the words “Fountain of Youth”; Audrey and the others concluded that the message was likely a Devil’s scam.
• Klein divined his prospects for reaching Sequence 4, received visions of the Hornacis Mountain Range and the Antigonus Family’s notebook, and then left Above the Gray Fog to test his new ability; Cattleya later inferred that the Creator had protected Hobart’s knowledge of Redemption Rose.

Hobart negotiated with Princess Aishe to take governing authority over South Colson in exchange for removing the Country of Disorder’s pollution from the Castile Family. After the family was cleansed, Hobart changed his plans and summoned his core associates to return to the Lord’s Manor on the East Bank.

• Hobart received Princess Aishe’s invitation and decided to meet her in an abandoned warehouse in Bailan Town.
• Aishe asked Hobart to help remove the pollution afflicting the Castile Family, and Hobart demanded governing authority over South Colson in return.
• Aishe consulted Philip I, who approved Hobart’s terms, and she and Hobart agreed on a liaison office and the auction of Arbiter pathway Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Aishe gathered the contaminated Castile Family members and invoked the Creator, whose power removed their pollution and convinced Philip I that the Creator was not the Mist of Uncertainty.
• Hobart considered the advantages of preserving the Castile Family, then traveled to Jeffrey Territory and told Fors, Conrad, Philip, and the others to prepare to return to the Lord’s Manor on the East Bank.

Hobart reclaimed South Colson’s rule from the Royal Family through a negotiated transfer, then set out with Archibald to hunt a Six-legged Sprite for one of its bones. On the isolated island, Hobart and the Sprite began a battle that ended with Hobart identifying the creature’s defenses and psychological weaknesses.

• Hobart led South Colson’s people to the Lord’s Manor, where Buck and the Royal Family’s followers left without a fight.
• Hobart announced that South Colson was under the Lord’s Manor’s rule, then assigned Conrad and Corwin new governing duties and outlined plans for the territory.
• Hobart told Fors that he had negotiated with Aishel and later asked Archibald to take him to a Six-legged Sprite so he could obtain one of its bones.
• Hobart and Archibald traveled to an isolated island, planted Order Wood as a trap, and lured the Six-legged Sprite toward them.
• The Six-legged Sprite drew Hobart and his companions into a swamp, where it attacked with tentacles and manipulated gravity.
• Hobart used his Sealed Artifacts to counter the Sprite’s gravity and mental abilities, then realized its six legs redirected lethal attacks and that it lacked Lawyer-pathway psychological attacks.

Hobart killed the Six-legged Sprite and collected its materials, then brought Dennis, Freya, and Selena to Backlund and urged them to help improve society. After Teuton advanced to Sequence 5, Hobart exposed his plan, used Teuton's despair to complete his own advancement to Sequence 5, and killed him.

• Hobart trapped the Six-legged Sprite in magma, used the Underworld Gate and Chaos to overcome its Distortion, and killed it before sacrificing its corpse to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart bought Archibald's Sequence 5 catfish-like creature, collected its materials, ordered Archibald and Shier to expand the territory's soldiers to one thousand, and inspected both creatures' materials.
• Hobart took Dennis, Freya, and Selena to Backlund, assigned them future roles, and discussed poverty and social inequality with them, fully digesting his potion.
• Teuton used the Black Crystal and a prepared ritual to advance to Sequence 5, while Hobart and Grove had already secured control of Teuton's territory.
• Hobart pinned Teuton with Order Wood, summoned a Mirror World creature to weaken him, and prepared the Fallen Earl potion as Teuton realized Grove had remained loyal to Hobart.
• Hobart drank the potion, resisted its temptations with help from Teuton's despair and the territory's support, completed his advancement to Sequence 5, killed Teuton, and discovered his new Amplify, Exploit, and Tamper abilities.