Chapter Summaries

Iver killed Cardinal Loki and suspected the Cardinal had deliberately provoked him as part of a concealed plan. With Loki’s death disrupting the Theocracy’s surveillance system, Iver considered whether he could become a Cardinal Bishop himself.

• Iver received 1,500 Free Experience for killing Cardinal Loki and questioned why Loki had seemed so weak and willing to die.
• Viennes explained that the bloody light had been only a mirror projection, leading Iver to suspect Loki had engineered his own apparent death for a hidden purpose.
• Iver considered how Loki might have pursued a Perfected One identity but doubted that a substitute could have gained the necessary levels in Love and Transcendence.
• Yanis arrived at the Eleventh Ring, found Loki’s corpse, and agreed to leave the scene untouched until Pure White arrived.
• Yanis warned that Loki’s death could cripple the Theocracy’s Central Observatory and leave it vulnerable to chaos before the Pope’s succession ceremony.
• Iver asked whether Advanced Divine Arts and resonance with a Pillar God could make him a Cardinal Bishop, then decided to try.

After Cardinal Loki’s death, Iver learned that Lily’s strange reaction to Bram and Loki resembled her experience with the 'Silken Grimoire.' Pure White confirmed that the stolen Tears of Time had been found, cleared Iver of attacking a Cardinal Bishop, and explained that the Theocracy’s rules let her settle the matter because Loki was dead.

• Iver learned from Lily and Freya that news of the incident had already caused unease in the Fifth Ring, and Freya repeated Oswald’s remark that the matter would end safely in Moriarty Style.
• Iver asked Lily about her reaction to Bram and Cardinal Loki, and she recalled a fleeting sensation like the one she felt when reading the 'Silken Grimoire.'
• Iver explained that Loki had stolen the Tears of Time and harbored ill will toward the Saintess, while Freya inferred that her father had tried to frame him.
• Pure White visited with two Pope Guards and told Iver that the Tears of Time had been found in Loki’s possession, confirming his involvement.
• Pure White said Loki would be stripped of his Cardinal title pending further investigation, so Iver had not committed the crime of attacking a Cardinal Bishop.
• Pure White explained that she could settle the matter because no Cardinal Bishop had objected and Loki was already dead.

Iver learned how the Theocracy handled wrongdoing through restitution and how Cardinal Bishops bore responsibility for its Necessary Evil. Pure White arranged for Freya to develop a cheaper healing potion, then warned Iver about Controlled Fire’s remaining loyalists and explained the stages of Advanced Divine Arts.

• Freya agreed to develop a healing potion costing at least eighty percent less than existing medicines while retaining half their efficacy, with Pure White sponsoring her research and protecting her patent.
• Pure White explained that the Theocracy often made criminals atone through beneficial labor, but could turn irredeemable people into materials or use them for experiments, leaving Cardinal Bishops to judge their own limits.
• Iver agreed to apologize to, treat, and compensate the innocent priests caught up in the affair.
• Pure White warned Iver that Loki’s fanatical followers might retaliate, even while Controlled Fire underwent an investigation.
• Pure White explained that Advanced Divine Arts involved mastering techniques, completing a long ritual for a chosen deity, and passing that deity’s test, and offered to send Iver study materials.

Iver visited the Eleventh Ring to apologize for the Night Demon's actions, but the elves had already recovered and welcomed him with gifts instead. After receiving a set of Advanced Divine Arts textbooks, he struggled to read them and decided to ask the Pure White Saintess to explain them so he could learn through experience.

• Iver arrived at the Eleventh Ring too late to treat anyone, and the elves reassured him and gave him gifts rather than blaming him for Cardinal Loki's death.
• Iver learned that Freya had returned with all the jujubes he had given the Pure White Saintess, and he considered what that might mean for the Saintess's plans.
• Iver opened a medicine gift set from Antimony and set it aside to take home because it was unsuitable for sacrificial transport.
• Two Pope Guards delivered a sealed bookcase containing eleven Advanced Divine Arts textbooks and taught Iver how to open it.
• Iver read the introduction, learned the history of Advanced Divine Arts, and stopped after forty pages because the taboo knowledge made him ill.
• Iver decided to ask the Pure White Saintess to explain the books so he could master the art by spending experience.

Iver met Isabel in a dream and turned her request to experiment with restraints into a game that included questions about the Southern Continent. Afterward, he went to the Eleventh Ring, where Pure White began teaching him Advanced Divine Arts and his system offered him a chance to learn it for 384 public experience.

• Isabel told Iver she had waited for him, and he explained that Bear Angel had hunted him again before Lord Heaven Rakshasa saved him.
• Isabel proposed trying restraints, and Iver blindfolded and handcuffed her while promising to discuss the Southern Continent through a question-and-answer game.
• Iver learned that Sherlock had stayed out all night, decided he was likely pursuing a clue, and told Lily to write him a letter demanding a reply.
• Iver carried a shelf of books to the Eleventh Ring and asked Pure White to explain Advanced Divine Arts.
• Pure White sealed the room, explained the Theocracy’s secret phrases, and began teaching from Introduction to Advanced Divine Arts.
• Iver’s system offered to let him master Advanced Divine Arts for 384 public experience, and he eagerly accepted.

Pure White taught Iver the foundations of Advanced Divine Arts and saw signs that he mastered the material by remembering it rather than learning it. She considered whether he could become Acting Pope, but rejected the idea because the role would consume his lifespan, and continued teaching him while hoping to witness a miracle.

• Pure White explained that Phantom Demon Eggs had a special aptitude for Advanced Divine Arts and began teaching Iver about the Vessel of Souls.
• Iver accepted the system prompt to master the second Advanced Divine Arts lesson for 112 Public Experience.
• Pure White saw the sunrise-like glow in Iver’s eyes grow brighter and recalled reports of how quickly he had mastered the Sacrificial Fire Method.
• Pure White considered making Iver Acting Pope to delay a crisis in the Theocracy, but decided she could not sacrifice his lifespan.
• Pure White continued teaching Iver and hoped to witness a miracle.

Iver mastered Advanced Divine Arts and became a vessel capable of hosting a phantom demon, receiving the First Generation Pope An Eternal’s offer of a contract. After the Pure White warned that he could safely perform only one divine descent before his next Promotion Ritual, Iver chose the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

• Iver spent 644 public experience to master Advanced Divine Arts and learned how its rituals prepared his soul to host powerful beings.
• As Iver’s soul opened and his body was marked, he encountered An Eternal in a vision, and the Candle Heaven Holder offered him a contract if he could not find another god.
• The vision ended, and the Pure White healed Iver as a black, snake-eating-its-tail brand formed in the center of his chest.
• The Pure White congratulated Iver for becoming the first Short-lived Race to master Advanced Divine Arts and warned that another divine descent could damage his soul before his next Promotion Ritual.
• Iver chose the Lord of Scales and Feathers as his first contract target.

Iver chose Lord of Scales and Feathers for his first Advanced Divine Arts contract and went with Pure White to the Ninth Ring for the ritual. After meeting Cyril Cardinal, Iver realized that Lord of Scales and Feathers had foreseen his choice and had already agreed to their future partnership.

• Pure White explained the risks of Advanced Divine Arts, and Iver confirmed that he wanted to contract with Lord of Scales and Feathers.
• Pure White brought Iver to the Ninth Ring to meet Cyril Cardinal, who would oversee his first ritual.
• Cyril greeted Iver with words that recalled Lord of Scales and Feathers' greeting in a dream, then revealed that he was Living Silver.
• Iver remembered meeting Living Silver in the dream and recognized that Lord of Scales and Feathers had used the same words.
• Iver concluded that Lord of Scales and Feathers had foreseen his decision to apply for a contract and had already welcomed their partnership.

Cardinal Cyril performed Iver’s first ritual and praised him for resisting Heavenly Sin, after which Iver awoke in a dreamlike vision of his former life. The Lord of Scales and Feathers revealed that Iver was not the transmigrator Ai Shiping but an abandoned former self, a fragment of Heavenly Sin and the remains of reincarnation.

• Cardinal Cyril told Iver he foresaw him resolving the Theocracy’s troubles and performed a ritual without using materials.
• Iver awoke to alarms in an unfamiliar apartment and heard someone outside call him Ai Shiping.
• The Lord of Scales and Feathers appeared and challenged Iver’s memories of his supposed previous life.
• The Lord revealed the River of Survival and explained the Path of Adaptation as changing oneself or making others adapt.
• The Lord told Iver he was not Ai Shiping or a transmigrator, but an abandoned former self and the remains of reincarnation.

The Lord of Scales and Feathers revealed that Iver was a fragment of the Ring Angel’s transcendence and showed him a possible future in which the Ring Angel devoured him and became the Ouroboros Ring. Iver asked how to escape that fate, and the Lord accepted their contract but required him to undergo a Promotion Ritual.

• Iver realized his memories of his previous life were incomplete and wondered whether the Ring Angel had kept valuable memories when it separated him.
• The Lord of Scales and Feathers explained that Iver inherited overflow from the Ring Angel’s transcendence, not its power of the Equilibrium Path.
• The Lord showed Iver a vision of a future self wielding the Ouroboros Ring and explained that the Ring Angel would eventually need to merge with Iver to complete its cycle.
• Iver learned that the Silver Crowned Dragon was a failed experiment by the Ring Angel and that the Lord of Scales and Feathers had chosen him as another possibility.
• Iver asked how he could avoid becoming food without dying, and the Lord cryptically told him that he was the answer.
• The Lord accepted Iver’s contract and said that completing the Advanced Divine Arts required a Promotion Ritual personally presided over by the Lord.

Iver agreed to undergo a solo Promotion Ritual hosted by the Lord of Scales and Feathers, who planned to use him as bait to weaken the Bear Angel and claim the Warrior profession. The ritual left Iver marked with a new emerald, and Cyril Cardinal prepared to complete the final step.

• Iver worried that the Ring Angel might oppose his promotion and that the Bear Angel's pursuit could endanger others, but the Lord of Scales and Feathers explained that the ritual would be a solo Lunar Eclipse Ritual.
• The Lord of Scales and Feathers revealed that he intended to lure the Bear Angel through Iver and seize the Bear Angel's monopoly over the Warrior profession.
• Iver realized that restoring the Warrior profession could reshape warfare and world politics, and agreed to help disrupt the future planned by the Ring Angel and others.
• Iver offered to bait the Bear Angel, and the Lord of Scales and Feathers promised him a share of the gains before the world shattered and Iver awoke.
• Iver saw that the Ouroboros mark on his chest had become a vertical slit holding an emerald, and Cyril Cardinal asked what color robes he wanted for his Cardinal Bishop attire.

Iver learned how his Path Crystal safely carried the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ power and chose black and gold for his Cardinal Bishop robes. After hearing about Cardinal Loki’s brutal trial and death, Iver realized Loki’s plans might have cleared the way for Iver to become the Eternal Pope.

• Iver asked Cyril Cardinal about the gemstone in his chest, and Cyril explained that the Path Crystal contained incompatible power so it would not overwhelm Iver’s body.
• Iver chose black robes with gold or platinum details and asked that his chest stigmata remain exposed without restricting movement.
• Cyril Cardinal described his own lengthy promotion trials, Cardinal Matilda’s monument task, and Cardinal Loki’s trial of repeatedly burning his sins and enduring death.
• Iver considered whether Loki had sincerely atoned and how his death benefited the Pure White Saintess, the Theocracy, and Iver.
• Iver connected Loki’s death to the Moriarty Style and suspected Loki had planned for Iver to become the Eternal Pope.

After realizing that Iver’s temporary ascension to the papacy could satisfy the factions of the Theocracy, Iver planned to wait until the New Moon Ritual to strike the Bear Angel. Lily’s emerging split personality, Selene, offered an unforeseen path forward, while a letter from Sherlock summoned Iver to investigate an astonishing new problem.

• Iver concluded that the factions could accept a human Pope and estimated that he could relinquish the crown within six months, once Pure White cured crystallization.
• Iver resolved to conceal his ritual plans until the New Moon Ritual in fewer than ten days, when he would attack the Bear Angel.
• Lily told Iver that her study of the Ovum Moon Grimoire was progressing, and Selene revealed she could create a moon monster from Iver’s flesh and blood.
• Iver agreed to Selene’s request, recognizing Lily’s split and the creature’s creation as developments outside anyone’s plans.
• Iver read Sherlock’s letter asking him to come the next day to address a client’s incredible but supposedly non-dangerous problem.

Iver and Lily reached a secluded villa and met Neelim, a young fairy who warmed to Iver after he treated her respectfully. Neelim transformed his leaf gift into a shining Princess crown, astonishing Lily.

• Iver took Lily across the Fifth Ring to the secluded villa named in the commission.
• Iver caught an invisible fairy hiding in his collar, and she introduced herself as Neelim.
• Iver explained how fairies responded to respectful forms of address and called Neelim a respected lady.
• Iver folded a Chestnut Tree leaf into a ring and gave it to Neelim as a gift.
• Neelim said she liked Princess crowns, placed the leaf ring on her head, and transformed it into a genuine crown while Lily watched in surprise.

Iver met Sherlock’s client, Yunus, and listened as Yunus and Neelim performed a song about life far from home. Yunus recognized the necklace Isabel had given Iver and invited him to dinner, leaving Iver wary that Yunus knew its significance.

• Neelim befriended Iver, then hid in his hair when Sherlock appeared, upset that Sherlock had called her a fairy.
• Sherlock introduced his client Yunus and explained that he had brought Iver because the matter might require a priest.
• Neelim recognized Yunus’s singing and joined him in performing a melancholy song about a wanderer missing home.
• Yunus invited Iver to dinner and asked to hear the story behind his deeds, while Iver suspected Yunus had recognized Isabel’s necklace.

Iver and Sherlock visited Maxim Rockhewer and Grace Dryleaf Butterfly to investigate Yunus's strange encounter with their daughter, Anastasia. Maxim revealed that his family belonged to the Home Faction, led by Cardinal Fafner, and began explaining its principles to Iver.

• Sherlock told Iver he had confirmed his theory, while Yunus ushered them into the Rockhewers' home.
• Yunus introduced Iver to Maxim Rockhewer and Grace Dryleaf Butterfly, and Iver clarified that he was engaged to Isabel.
• Maxim explained that Yunus had claimed to rescue Anastasia Moonlight years ago, despite her having transformed into a tree twenty years earlier.
• Iver asked whether the Rockhewers opposed the Controlled Fire faction, and Maxim confirmed that they belonged to the Home Faction.
• Maxim said Cardinal Fafner led the Home Faction and taught that enduring dedication came through construction.

Mage Maxim explained the Home Faction’s doctrine of helping whole communities through construction, while Iver and Sherlock confronted Yunus over his apparent detachment from Anastasia. After Maxim avoided discussing her, Yunus came to Iver’s room for a private drink, leaving their conversation about to begin.

• Maxim described the Home Faction’s infrastructure projects and offered to help with Avalon’s railway, then decided to go sooner to ensure the Lizardmen’s work was reliable.
• Sherlock challenged Yunus for abandoning his royal family and asked how long he would remember Anastasia if she had been his daughter.
• Yunus withdrew after introducing Maxim, and Maxim hosted Iver and the others for lunch while repeatedly steering their conversation away from Anastasia.
• Iver noticed Maxim had avoided the subject again and let it drop, then waited in his room after the meal.
• Yunus arrived at Iver’s door with elven wine, and the two agreed to have a drink together.

Iver confronted Prince Albert, who had been living in disguise as Yunus, over abandoning his daughter Isabel and the kingdom of Avalon. He demanded that Albert return for Isabel’s birthday and warned him not to come back if he failed to do so.

• Yunus revealed himself as Prince Albert after Iver addressed him by his title, and Iver explained that he had recognized him from the start.
• Iver told Albert that the real Yunus had died saving him, and that Albert’s former self had died with his friend.
• Albert asked whether Iver changed the future because he had seen it, and Iver confirmed that he had.
• Iver rebuked Albert for missing his wife’s funeral and leaving Isabel to face the curse, Avalon’s political threats, and her rise to power alone.
• Iver told Albert that Isabel would ascend the throne on her birthday and warned him not to return if he did not come that day.

Iver confronted Prince Albert over abandoning Isabel and heard the story of Albert’s marriage to Inilis, her cursed death, and his flight from Glass Island. Albert said he had returned to the Theocracy to apologize to Inilis’s mother, and the chapter ended with Iver realizing the name might connect to someone he knew.

• Iver told Prince Albert he looked down on him for abandoning Isabel, though he would respect Isabel’s decision about whether to forgive him.
• Prince Albert explained that he had married Inilis when he was a teenager after she became pregnant with Isabel, and that he had treated her coldly because he was ashamed of their relationship.
• Albert recounted how Inilis was cursed to death while he was away, and how he fled Glass Island out of fear that Isabel would die in front of him as well.
• Albert said he had returned to the Theocracy to find Inilis’s mother and apologize, since Iver was looking after Isabel.
• Iver asked for Inilis’s surname, and Albert confirmed it was Blooming Flowers.

Iver pieced together Yanis’s connection to Isabel’s family and confronted Prince Albert about his years of guilt and avoidance. Albert finally admitted that the only thing he had done for Isabel was leave her his necklace.

• Iver connected Innelis Blooming Flowers to Betina Tia and considered why Yanis had returned to Avalon and taught Isabel so little.
• Iver learned that Yanis had visited Isabel when she was young, spoken privately with Innelis, and later returned to protect Isabel.
• Prince Albert explained that he had stayed away after Innelis’s death, then took on Yunus’s identity after Yunus died.
• Iver told Albert that he had spent his life running from responsibility for Innelis, Isabel, and his own identity.
• When Iver asked what he had done for Isabel, Albert replied that he had left her his necklace.