Chapter Summaries

Hobart fought Bolunov and Connell while protecting Alice, defeated Bolunov, and learned that Brandon was a friend of his father Rex who intended to give him his inheritance. After Hobart and Alice returned to Backlund and the diplomatic exchange concluded, Hobart received public praise for a supposed act of bravery that he did not remember.

• Hobart used the Order Wood and a carefully prepared counterattack to severely wound Bolunov and drive Connell back, while Brandon watched from the sidelines.
• Brandon saved Connell, killed the wounded Bolunov, and offered Bolunov's spoils to Hobart before revealing that he was Rex's Seer friend and had information about Hobart's inheritance.
• Hobart Grazed Bolunov's spirit body, choosing Slaughter, Lethal Attack, and Fire Crow Art, then rested and recovered with Alice.
• Alice returned to Masi in time to sign the agreement, and she and Hobart later traveled back to Backlund with the Loen delegation.
• Georgina questioned Hobart after his return, while the King, Queen, and Military Intelligence Section 9 sent him rewards and a commendation.
• Audrey and Viscount Glynt congratulated Hobart on Alice's claim that he had blocked a bullet for her, leaving him confused about the story.

Hobart expanded rubber production on Longtail Island and oversaw harvest and land reforms in South Colson, while a mysterious attack killed everyone in Mike’s village. He joined Klein and Alger on a nighttime expedition, where they encountered a Feathered Serpent, and Hobart prepared to fight it for its Extraordinary Characteristics.

• Hobart corrected the Backlund Morning Post’s account of his diplomatic mission and discussed recruiting more noble children with Glaint.
• Hobart paid Longtail Island’s manor owners premium prices for rubber, offered loans for planting Rubber Trees, and watched rubber cultivation spread across the island.
• Farmers in South Colson harvested their crops as land distribution advanced, and Mike discovered that his village had been killed by a black fog before Raymond revealed Mike was dead too.
• Hobart met Klein and Alger near Bayam, and the three entered the Spirit World to explore an island and hunt Extraordinary creatures.
• The group encountered corpses building a palace and a winged Feathered Serpent emerging from a cave, and Hobart asked it to surrender its Extraordinary Characteristics.

Hobart, Klein, and Alger fought their way through a dangerous island, defeating several extraordinary creatures before reaching ancient ruins. There, Klein recognized a Blasphemy Slate in a mural.

• Hobart killed a demigod-level Feathered Serpent while Klein and Alger collected five Extraordinary Characteristics from the corpses it had controlled.
• Alger harvested a Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree's fruit and the group packed the tree into Hobart's spatial leather bag.
• Klein killed a Sequence 5 Curly-Haired Baboon, then Hobart defeated a demigod-level Curly-Haired Baboon as another creature petrified Klein and Alger.
• Hobart drove off the petrifying creature and brought Klein and Alger into the ruins, where they recovered and learned it was likely an Ageless Witch.
• Alger led the group through a church in the ruins and explained its Fourth Epoch style and mural area.
• Klein recognized the stone slab depicted in a mural as the Blasphemy Slate.

Klein, Alger, and Hobart explored a ruined church and mausoleum connected to the Ancient Sun God, where they encountered a blasphemous mural and a mysterious voice before the island vanished. Back in safety, they divided their spoils, and Hobart examined the Tyrant Blasphemy Slate and a dangerous Sealed Artifact tied to the Artificial Death.

• Hobart inferred that the abandoned church had once been elsewhere and that its believers had suffered persecution, then led Klein and Alger underground.
• Hobart killed a Six-Winged Gargoyle, and the trio found a mural depicting three angels mutilating a figure Klein suspected was the Ancient Sun God.
• The dead rose from the mausoleum coffins, but Hobart defeated the tentacled corpse and found the Tyrant card before a mysterious voice demanded answers from him.
• Hobart told the unseen speaker that the Creator would stand on its side, answered questions about the Creator, and escaped with Klein and Alger as the island disappeared.
• The trio divided their spoils, and Hobart agreed to help Alger explore another ruin while Klein discussed the Tyrant card and a plan to infiltrate Saint Samuel Cathedral.
• Hobart sacrificed the gains to the Country of Disorder, examined the Tyrant Blasphemy Slate, and discovered that the jade Sealed Artifact was marked by the Artificial Death and could be used safely for only three minutes.

Hobart examined the spoils from the expedition, checked Longtail Island’s rubber-tree plantations, and attended the Tarot Club with Fors. The meeting featured major sales and purchases of Sequence 5 materials, and ended with Hobart identifying a mural as an abstract depiction of the Ancient Sun God’s death.

• Hobart named the Feathered Serpent’s Sealed Artifact 1-110, assessed the expedition’s other loot, and decided which materials to keep or sell.
• Hobart inspected the expanding rubber-tree plantations on Longtail Island and anticipated slaughtering the plantation owners once the trees had been planted.
• At the Tarot Club, Klein explained that the Chinese characters in Rosell’s diary meant “home, the resting place of one’s heart and spirit.”
• Hobart bought several Extraordinary Characteristics, while Alger sold materials from the expedition and Audrey bought the Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree fruit.
• Klein arranged for Cattleya to help him meet the Mysterious Queen, and Hobart offered to finance Derrick’s purchase of a Priest of Light recipe and its Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Alger shared the mural of the Ancient Sun God’s death, and Hobart identified what it depicted.

Hobart explained to the Tarot Club how the Ancient Sun God fell, became the True Creator, and caused the Great Cataclysm, then described the significance of the two Blasphemy Slates. The chapter ended with Hobart revealing that the second Blasphemy Slate contained the method for becoming an Ancient One.

• Hobart privately assured Mr. Fool that he and Fors had not leaked Tarot Club secrets and explained how they had learned each other's identities.
• Hobart traded the club information about Sasrir, Redemption Rose, the betrayal of the Ancient Sun God, and the creation of the Land Abandoned by God.
• Hobart revealed that Sasrir became the True Creator after the Ancient Sun God's revival was interrupted, shocking Derrick and the other members.
• Hobart explained that the first Blasphemy Slate provided a path to godhood that helped humanity rise, while the second held significance for the gods.
• Hobart identified God Above the Gods as an Ancient One and said the second Blasphemy Slate contained the method for becoming one.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart explained the Blasphemy Slates and revealed that Adam had watched and released his exploration party, while the members discussed a rental deal and Silver City’s former chief. After the gathering, Hobart returned to South Colson and was called to investigate a village of the dead, where he suspected a God of Death pathway Beyonder was responsible.

• Hobart explained that the second Blasphemy Slate contained the Ancient Sun God’s corpse fused with part of His will, and that Adam possessed it.
• Hobart revealed that Adam had observed the exploration party and let them escape, while Fors arranged to rent Emlyn Leimanno’s Magic Book for his hunt.
• Derrick shared that Silver City’s former chief had sealed himself in a mausoleum, and Hobart suggested his advancement to a God of Death Sequence 3 had gone wrong.
• Hobart calculated his expenses, sacrificed money and traded items, then returned to the Lord’s Manor in South Colson.
• Helen reported that an entire village had died, and Hobart traveled with her to the West Bank to investigate with Dunn and the local team.
• Raymond reported that the villagers had unknowingly lived as corpses until a ghastly bone crumbled, and Dunn’s map pointed to the bone as the center of the incidents.

Dunn and Hobart led the hunt for the Skeleton Lord, and Hobart discovered its Scarlet Eyes could possess different skeletons before capturing them. He gave the demigod ingredients to Doffis, helped him become Undying, and then launched a public electric-light demonstration in Backlund that drew widespread attention.

• Dunn organized an ambush after the black fog revived the village corpses, and Helen and the others pursued the fleeing Extraordinary, whose powers seemed demigod-level.
• Hobart recognized clues pointing to the Skeleton Lord and led the search to a ghost town, where his rapier caused most of its Living Corpses to collapse.
• Hobart found that the Skeleton Lord’s Scarlet Eyes could transfer between skeletons, burned its bone piles, and trapped the eyes in a box.
• Hobart gave Doffis the Skeleton Lord materials, and Doffis drank his advancement Potion before Hobart killed him and watched him resurrect as Undying with lost memories.
• Hobart helped Doffis begin recovering his memories, then arranged for a huge electric light to illuminate Order Square and publicized its two-month test through an apology in the newspaper.

Hobart’s publicity campaign turned Earl’s Light bulbs into a sensation in Backlund, and their June 15 launch drew tens of thousands of orders. Meanwhile, Emlyn hunted down Galis and Argos, and the chapter ended with news that Longtail Island had undergone a major upheaval.

• Hobart used staged complaints, a professor’s wager, and a series of newspaper stories to build public interest in Earl’s Light bulbs; after the bulb stayed lit beyond ten days, the professor apologized and the factory announced its June 15 sale.
• Emlyn used Leimanno’s Magic Book to kill Galis, then used demigod-level Distortion to force the fleeing Argos back and killed him as well.
• On June 9, crowds watched the Order Square bulb remain lit past the wager’s deadline, and Hobart applauded with them.
• Earl’s Light announced prices, free installation, and battery services, while Hobart’s publicity and the promise of limited early supply encouraged customers to place orders.
• On June 15, Earl’s Light stores received tens of thousands of orders, while Hobart managed installations to avoid overloading the available power supply.
• As nobles sought cooperation with Hobart and some considered sabotaging his business, news arrived that Longtail Island had undergone a tremendous upheaval.

Hobart used debt collection, new labor protections, and tax laws to take control of Longtail Island, then secured royal support against the nobles criticizing him. Back in Backlund, he began investigating Duke Bowen’s curse and offered military figures a share in his rapidly growing lightbulb business.

• Hobart’s Governor’s Office used loan defaults and contract violations to seize plantations, rubber, and other assets from Longtail Island’s indebted owners.
• Hobart introduced resident status and wages for Longtail Island’s natives, imposed taxes, and bought out the remaining private properties, including Anolin’s plantation.
• Hobart and Fors calculated the costs and returns of the takeover, and Hobart celebrated how much the Longtail Island operation had advanced his Potion digestion.
• The Queen and Princess Alice publicly supported Hobart at a court ball, ending the nobles’ campaign against him; Alice also considered Hobart’s suggestion that someone in the Royal Family might have killed Prince Edessak.
• Hobart reviewed the records of Duke Bowen’s curse and arranged a private meeting with the Duke through Princess Alice.
• At the Eastern Baylam Veterans Club, Hobart offered twenty percent of the Earl’s Light lightbulb factory for 600,000 Pounds, explaining its value with the 36,000 first-day orders and their deposits.

Hobart identified Duke Bowen’s supposed Curse as contamination from a cane blessed by Artificial Death and removed it through the Underworld. The next day, after arranging Earl’s Light share purchases and receiving a letter from Klein, Hobart prepared to meet him by the river.

• Hobart told the club officers that Earl’s Light needed to spend its funds on power plants and electric wires, and they eagerly agreed to buy shares.
• Hobart found that Duke Bowen’s cane had contaminated his spirit body with Artificial Death, then used the Underworld to remove the contamination.
• Duke Bowen asked Hobart to keep the cane’s role secret and thanked him after his condition improved.
• The club officers signed contracts to buy Earl’s Light shares, and the Queen’s envoy delivered further rewards to Hobart.
• Klein’s messenger delivered a letter demanding one gold coin; Hobart paid it and learned that Klein wanted to meet that evening by the riverside.

Hobart expanded Earl's Light and Longtail Island while preparing with Klein for an operation, then infiltrated an Aurora Society gathering and killed Mr. X and a powerful Black Knight. He escaped before the Church's demigods arrived, leaving the Aurora Society's forces and the consequences of the attack behind.

• Hobart sold 20% of Earl's Light's shares to nobles, expanded its electrical infrastructure plans, and arranged separate funding for Longtail Island's development.
• Hobart obtained the Beast Tamer potion recipe for Glaint and learned that Xue had found Louis, the Abraham Family traitor hosting Aurora Society gatherings as Mr. X.
• Hobart entered Mr. X's gathering in the East End, killed Mr. X before he could escape, and killed three Aurora Society members who attacked from the shadows.
• Hobart fought the Aurora Society's Black Knight, overcame his Shepherded demigod souls and escape attempts, and killed him with a rapier strike and a final slash.
• As a fierce wind approached from Saint Wind Cathedral, Hobart collected the Black Knight's corpse, sealed the Underworld Rift, and traveled away.

Hobart dealt with the Black Knight, and Fors met with Dorian to tell him Louis Wien had been killed and to receive his thanks. Hobart and Klein then infiltrated Saint Samuel Cathedral to take the Antigonus Family Notebook, but Klein vanished before Hobart and Hobart was sent to Mist Town, where he woke in a watching cornfield.

• Radar Valentine, Anthony Stevenson, and Holamik Haydn examined the alley where a demigod had killed an Aurora Society Black Knight, but they could not identify the victor.
• Hobart collected Louis Wien’s head and the corpses’ Extraordinary Characteristics, healed his wound, and decided how to use or sell the spoils.
• Fors showed Dorian Louis’s head, and Dorian rewarded her with an Astrologer crystal ball, a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact, and deeds to two Backlund properties.
• Hobart misdirected Military Intelligence Section 9’s investigation and later joined Klein, who gave him amulets for their planned operation in Mist Town.
• Klein disguised himself as a cathedral servant, entered Chanis Gate, and reached the Antigonus Family Notebook, but a hooded figure appeared before he could take it.
• Klein disappeared, and the hooded figure pointed at Hobart, who was erased and awoke in a mist-covered cornfield where the corn stalks turned toward him.

Hobart rescued Klein in Mist Town, and the two entered its dangerous church, where they met a dead historical image of an elderly Seer. The old man offered to explain how they could escape, but the chapter ended before he revealed the way out.

• Hobart fought Ryan Solomon in a monstrous cornfield, stole several of his abilities with a Deprivation Amulet, and escaped while Ryan stopped to lick Hobart’s blood from the corn.
• Hobart found Klein being attacked by Panatiya, rescued him, and treated their injuries after the Red Moon rose and the town filled with whispering residents.
• Hobart and Klein discussed Mist Town’s links to Concealment, the Country of Night, and the ancient ruins, then identified their enemies and planned to investigate the church.
• Hobart and Klein evaded Mr. A and the pursuing Panatiya before entering the church, where they resisted the Madness Magician’s Frenzy and discovered that hanging corpses were suspended by their Spirituality Threads.
• Hobart and Klein met a hooded old man beside a statue resembling the woman who had sent them to Mist Town; he claimed to be a historical image and offered to tell them how to escape if they scattered his ashes in the Serenzo River.

Hobart and Klein negotiated with Ryan, Panatiya, and Mr. A to retrieve the obsidian and escape Mist Town, then used mushrooms and the Black Hound Spirit Beast to turn the group against each other. Hobart killed Panatiya, but Ryan lost control and transformed into a monster, leaving Hobart to confront him with a Deprivation Amulet.

• Zaratul restored Klein’s Wraith marionette, treated his injuries, and promised the Trick Sorcerer Potion Recipe and the symbol for the Escape Gate in exchange for the obsidian.
• Hobart and Klein lured Ryan, Panatiya, and Mr. A into cooperating by claiming the church offered a way out, then secretly fed them mushrooms that reacted with fish meat.
• The group reached the mill, where Ryan removed the bracelet sealing the Black Hound Spirit Beast, and Hobart ordered the freed creature to attack Ryan.
• The mushrooms spread through Mist Town as the Black Hound Spirit Beast fought Ryan, while Hobart used his abilities to kill Panatiya.
• Ryan succumbed to madness and transformed into an armored monster, so Hobart took a Deprivation Amulet from Klein and charged into the fight.

Hobart and the Black Hound Spirit Beast defeated Ryan, a Solomon Family Madness Magician, but Ryan’s bracelet repeatedly restored him and allowed him to draw power from the street’s mushrooms. Hobart finally seized and sealed the bracelet, learned of a Solomon gathering, and split the spoils with Klein before they returned to the town church.

• The Black Hound Spirit Beast and Hobart overwhelmed Ryan, while Hobart used amulets to steal Ryan’s abilities and help land a devastating attack with Ferryman’s Lampfire.
• Ryan’s Level 0 Sealed Artifact bracelet revived him and let him use the mushrooms to regenerate, so Hobart used a Fate Stealing Amulet to exchange their fates and take the bracelet.
• Hobart sealed the bracelet in the Order Crystal, and Ryan revealed the location of the Solomon Family’s December gathering before dying and asking Hobart to attack his clansmen.
• Hobart and Klein divided the spoils: Hobart took Ryan’s bracelet and Extraordinary Characteristics, while Klein received the mutated Crawling Hunger; Hobart also agreed to buy the Despair Witch’s Extraordinary Characteristics for 20,000 pounds.
• Hobart and Klein took the obsidian they had found and entered the town church again.

Hobart and Klein escaped Mist Town, and Hobart recovered the Ancient Death God's corpse before investigating a Level 0 Sealed Artifact and naming it 0-70. The chapter ended with Hobart learning that the Castile Clan Head had arrived on Longtail Island while Angus prepared to report the situation to him.

• Zaratul vanished after giving Hobart and Klein a temporary Open Door symbol and leaving behind his urn, and they escaped Mist Town using the Goddess of the Night's symbol.
• The Black Hound Spirit Beast led Hobart to the Ancient Death God's corpse, and the vines sealing it withered after Hobart used the Fork of Healing.
• Hobart sacrificed the corpse and Black Hound Spirit Beast to the Country of Disorder, then examined the Fork of Healing and suspected it bore the Earth Mother's mark.
• Hobart studied the Madness Magician's Level 0 bracelet, named it 0-70, and considered how to manage its dangerous effects.
• Hobart returned to Fors, while Angus learned that the Clan Head had arrived on Longtail Island and sent subordinates to contact Hobart and Archibald.

Hobart negotiated the Tudor Family’s support for his territory, then learned April had regained consciousness and secured a major military lighting contract. At the Tarot Club, The Fool warned that an Amon avatar was in Backlund, and Hobart offered to share details of his previous battle with one.

• Hobart persuaded Barnett to send Tudor Family members to South Colson, while insisting they follow Hobart’s orders at work and learn about the Creator.
• Hobart summoned Beverly Heather Tudor, whose appearance convinced Barnett to commit the family to Hobart’s cause; Barnett also offered the materials for a Tudor member to become a Law Enforcer.
• April regained consciousness after hearing her child call her “Mother,” suppressed her mutations, and told Spike she had succeeded.
• Hobart learned that Amyrius and Miller had secured a large military contract for electric lights, then demonstrated his Demigod strength during a spiritual contest at the club.
• At the Tarot Club, The Fool revealed that an Amon avatar was in Backlund and was looking for the members; Hobart offered to recount the previous battle against an avatar for free.
• Hermit asked where Roselle’s heart and spirit rested, and The Fool answered that it was neither on the island nor deep in the starry sky.

Hobart recounted how the Tarot Club could survive an encounter with Amon, then shared his research into Mother of Heaven and the Country of Night. He revealed that Mother of Heaven and Antigonus were children of the Destruction Demonic Wolf and began explaining how Antigonus turned the dead of the Country of Night into marionettes.

• Hobart described Amon's stolen thoughts and fate, the hunt that killed many of His avatars, and the danger posed by Marauder pathway Sealed Artifacts.
• Hobart agreed to share information about Mother of Heaven and the Country of Night in exchange for a detailed Time Worm charm-making method and favors from the other Tarot Club members.
• Hobart manifested a stone statue of Mother of Heaven and explained that its beast legs matched descriptions of the Destruction Demonic Wolf.
• Hobart revealed that Mother of Heaven and Antigonus were the Destruction Demonic Wolf's children, with Antigonus later becoming the ancestor of the Antigonus Family.
• Hobart explained that Mother of Heaven and Antigonus founded the Country of Night, where the dead appeared to return as Antigonus's marionettes.

Hobart recounted how Antigonus used Amon and Adam’s help to accommodate the Seer pathway’s Uniqueness and become a King of Angels, while the Tarot Club questioned the motives and mechanics behind the process. He revealed that Antigonus later disappeared and ended by saying the Goddess of the Night belonged to the same race as Antigonus and Mother of Heaven.

• Hobart explained that Antigonus was born an angel and could control vast numbers of Marionettes, prompting the Tarot Club to discuss how the Country of Night’s residents might have been controlled.
• Hobart said Antigonus had served the Solomon and Tudor Empires alongside Mr. Door, Amon, and Adam, then described how Adam implanted a demigod’s memories and Amon transferred Antigonus’s identity and fate to him so Antigonus could accommodate the Seer Uniqueness.
• Audrey, Derrick, Emlyn, Fors, and Alger questioned the implications of memory implantation, stolen fate, and Antigonus’s Uniqueness, while Hobart offered possible explanations and said the process might have required a Ritual.
• Hobart speculated that Tudor had promised to help Antigonus accommodate the Uniqueness and that Amon had joined the process to observe it; Klein privately suspected Amon had deeper motives.
• When Emlyn asked whether Antigonus became a god, Hobart said Antigonus could not obtain all the characteristics needed to advance, prompting the members to infer that Mr. Fool was the Seer pathway’s True God.
• Hobart said Antigonus disappeared after the Blood Emperor fell, the Goddess of the Night Church destroyed the Country of Night, and the Goddess of the Night shared a race with Antigonus and Mother of Heaven.