Recaps

Iver rejected the idea that a prophesied savior alone could change the future and persuaded Ismayil that people could save others through their own actions. He asked Ismayil to serve as his liaison and announced that he would abolish slavery.

• Iver told Ismayil that prophecy could be mistaken and that anyone with the power to act could help save the world.
• Iver reminded Ismayil that his benevolent rule had already saved people who would otherwise have died, prompting Ismayil to reconsider his beliefs.
• Iver helped Ismayil to his feet and told him neither he nor the slaves needed to kneel.
• Iver asked Ismayil to act as his liaison and report what he heard about the other Benevolent Lords.
• Iver announced that he would abolish slavery, arguing that its original purpose had ended and that harmful systems should be changed.

After Mahidfran and Ismayil retreated from Iver’s door, Iver confronted Hai Na about how much of her identity belonged to her and urged her to choose a path for herself. Hai Na agreed to support the Red Hand Party and go to Holy Spring City to witness the suffering of enslaved people.

• Mahidfran regretted provoking Iver, apologized outside his door, and fled with her people after Ismayil left.
• Iver asked Hai Na what truly made her who she was and what kind of person she wanted to become, but she admitted she could not answer.
• Iver reminded Hai Na that Lancelot’s mission had ended, Isabel no longer needed her protection, and the Path of Transcendence would soon disappear.
• When Iver asked whether she would speak up for enslaved people, Hai Na answered that she would.
• Iver ordered Hai Na to support the Red Hand Party and help destroy Holy Spring City by seeing and hearing the suffering there for herself.

Hai Na left Holy Spring City to seek her identity while Lily secretly followed to protect her, and Iver confronted a Water Raven Guard who brought a message from Aymar Nur. Before the messenger could speak, a fiery announcement declared that the Dedication Path had surpassed its limits and the Material Realm was about to ascend, leaving Iver wondering whether Grey had talked Flame Angel to death.

• Hai Na accepted Iver's suggestion, packed supplies, and openly left Holy Spring City to discover who she was.
• Iver sent Lily to follow Hai Na secretly and rescue her only if she faced a danger she could not overcome.
• A Water Raven Guard arrived at Iver's door with a message from Aymar Nur, and Iver ordered him to kneel before addressing him.
• The Water Raven Guard began delivering Aymar Nur's message, but a surge of heat burned his throat and sent steam from his mask.
• A voice announced that the Dedication Path had surpassed its limits and the Material Realm was about to ascend, and Iver wondered whether Grey had talked Flame Angel to death.

After the Hourglass announced sweeping changes that marked a new era, Iver learned that Grey had persuaded the Flame Angel to abandon her plan to transform dwarven civilization. The Benevolent Lords then met without Iver and used his apparent victory over the Flame Angel to challenge one another.

• The Hourglass changed the Seventh-Level Dedication Path promotion ritual, strengthened healing, and weakened the barrier between the Dream Realm and the Material Realm.
• Iver learned that Grey had talked the Flame Angel into releasing her power and walking the earth to seek new possibilities for her Path.
• Iver considered how the Flame Angel’s power could turn the dwarves and their accumulated military technology into a formidable mechanical civilization.
• The Benevolent Lords convened a meeting without Iver and claimed that the young Pope had defeated the Flame Angel alone.
• A voice challenged the assembled Benevolent Lords to admit they were inferior to the newly appointed Pope.

Aymar Nur revealed the Chain of Friendship’s powers to Parthia’s benevolent lords and outlined his plan to sacrifice Holy Spring City and use a god-slaying ritual against the Great Abyss. He then identified Iver Moriarty as the enemy who threatened Parthia’s future and announced that a traitor was among them.

• Aymar Nur explained that the Chain of Friendship could create a barrier against material attacks and convert destruction or sacrifice into magic power.
• Aymar Nur said he planned to sacrifice all of Holy Spring City to power a ritual capable of sinking a continent and killing gods.
• Aymar Nur claimed Calamity Red had promised its blessing, and Ismail questioned what the New Pillar God wanted from them.
• Aymar Nur named Iver Moriarty as the enemy they still had to defeat, prompting Mahidfran and Ismail to recall Iver’s power.
• Aymar Nur declared that Iver was a prophesied King of Kings who would destroy Parthia’s history and future, then revealed that a traitor was among the lords.

Aymar Nur exposed and killed Lawmaker Babak, revealing that he could turn a living person into gold, then ordered the good lords to help sacrifice Iver in the next day’s ritual. Ismail realized he needed to warn Iver, while Aymar demanded secrecy and obedience from the gathered lords.

• Ismail feared that Aymar Nur suspected him, but kept calm as Aymar accused a traitor among the good lords.
• Aymar seized Lawmaker Babak and killed him with murky yellow flames, transforming his body into a golden skeleton despite Babak’s Preservation.
• Aymar accused Babak of secretly funding rebel groups and blamed slave sympathizers for undermining Parthia’s rule.
• Ismail realized Aymar had used Babak’s death to intimidate the good lords and resolved to warn Iver about the deadly spell.
• Aymar revealed that the Ring Angel’s apostle had helped him plan to use Iver as a vessel and sacrifice him in the next day’s Ouroboros Ring Ritual.
• Aymar ordered the good lords to secretly redirect the ritual’s sacrifice to Iver and demanded their obedience.

Iver arrived alone at a gathering in the Fourth Ring, despite Ismail’s warning that Aymar Nur and twelve Sixth-Level Transcendents planned to sacrifice him to the Abyss Angel. Aymar Nur greeted Iver with public honor, while Ismail was stunned that Iver had come without allies.

• Ismail sent Iver a detailed letter describing the Fourth Ring gathering, Aymar Nur’s goldifying spell, the planned ambush, and the people involved.
• Ismail warned Iver to flee with the Red Hand Party, explaining that he would not join a doomed resistance and risk his family.
• Ismail reasoned that Aymar Nur’s plan to sacrifice Iver rather than attack him directly showed that Aymar feared Iver.
• Iver entered the gathering alone, leaving Ismail stunned and wondering whether his Consort had delivered the letter.
• Aymar Nur rose to welcome Iver as the human Pope and Savior of Anxi at Rest.

Iver confronted Aymar Nur and the benevolent lords at their conference, concealing his plan to turn their intended sacrifice into a chance to reclaim his complete former self. He prepared to use the Shepherding Method during the ritual, leaving the story poised for his attempt to seize the Abyss Angel’s body.

• Iver taunted Aymar Nur and the benevolent lords, who restrained themselves because they needed Iver alive for their ritual and feared facing the Abyss Angel without him.
• Iver used details from Ismail’s notes to realize that Aymar Nur did not know Jacob’s motives or the secret of the Ring Angel’s regional forms.
• Iver recognized that the ritual could reunite nearly all the fragments of the former Taboo Pillar God within him, making his sacrifice a path to restore himself rather than merely weaken the Abyss Angel.
• Iver decided to activate the Shepherding Method during the ritual to save people threatened by the Great Abyss and gain enough Path Resonance for his coming battle.
• Iver planned to rely on Plotinus to draw the Abyss Angel’s consciousness away, then take control of the body that had originally been his own.

Iver joined the Good Lords in Holy Spring City as they prepared to summon an Abyss Angel, and Aymar Nur revealed their plan to use the ritual to secure power from either the Abyss Angel or Calamity Red. At the Ritual Room, Iver recognized that the Oracle of the Holy Spring described Amber, the world’s cycles of reincarnation, and the Taboo Pillar God.

• Iver rejected the Good Lords’ formalities, and Hero Ismayil openly supported his blunt approach.
• Aymar Nur explained that the Ouroboros Ring Ritual would summon the Abyss Angel on the seventh day of the seventh month, with Calamity Red expected to fight alongside them.
• Aymar Nur admitted that the Good Lords hoped to crown the Abyss Angel and would abandon the plan if a true god opposed them.
• The group reached the frozen spring in the Ritual Room, where Aymar Nur recited the Oracle of the Holy Spring.
• Iver understood that the oracle described Amber’s self-sealing, the world’s nine cycles of reincarnation, and the Taboo Pillar God’s self-severing.
• Aymar Nur said the spring was once where the gods descended into the Human World and where the Candlemaster brought fire and light.

Iver learned the creation history of the world and the origins of its ancient gods from Aymar Nur at Mirror Lake. As the good gods faced an impending threat, Aymar entrusted the past to Iver and began a ritual to summon the waters of the Great Abyss.

• Aymar Nur explained how the Candle Holder awakened Twin Mirrors and how their powers divided dreams from reality and created the world.
• Aymar described how the Hourglass and Serpent Father offered opposing principles of order and change, and how their dispute led to new Source Rivers and the first war.
• Aymar revealed that an outsider became the Lord of Scales and Feathers after killing the Hunting King, and that the Parthian King and viziers alone preserved this ancient history.
• Aymar asked Iver to remember the history of creation if the good gods perished, while the others objected and he chose to proceed.
• Aymar touched Mirror Lake, prayed for it to cleanse them, and ordered the good gods to recite hymns for nine hours while he summoned the waters of the Great Abyss.

During the Twin Mirrors’ prophecy, Iver confronted a reflection of himself and rejected the god’s warning to ease the burden he carried. He chose his own path, and the Ouroboros Ring Ritual began as he returned to reality.

• As Aymar Nur led the hymn, Iver entered a vision where the Twin Mirrors showed him his reflection trapped before a mirror that became a door.
• The door revealed a burning mountain stronghold, and the Twin Mirrors appeared as Isabel to warn Iver against false oaths and carrying too much responsibility.
• Iver explained that the future kept changing and rejected endless proliferation as a solution to the void, declaring that he had forged his own path.
• The Twin Mirrors blessed Iver, and he returned to reality as Aymar Nur finished praying and the good gods invoked Gaia.
• The Great Abyss runes lit across Anxi, beginning the Ouroboros Ring Ritual.

As Aymar Nur and the Good Lords completed the Ouroboros Ring Ritual, the Great Abyss began crashing into the world. Iver sacrificed himself to redirect the ritual, and the golden hand-sword descended toward him.

• Aymar Nur completed the runes as the sky warped, a gigantic eye appeared, and the Great Abyss struck the world.
• The Good Lords watched for Iver to counter the ritual while Hero Ismayil worried that Iver had not acted on the stolen information.
• Aymar Nur began the final passage and a one-handed clock advanced toward Iver's position.
• Iver poured out golden liquid soul and prayed as the ritual's hand passed his position.
• Iver stabbed himself through the heart at the center of the shattered Holy Lake and declared, “This is mercy,” as the golden hand-sword crashed down.

Iver’s death triggered the collapse of Paradise and summoned the Abyss Angel, whose arrival flooded Holy Spring City with rain and seawater. Just as the tsunami was about to destroy the city, the sea suddenly froze.

• The ritual’s power burned through Iver’s body until he collapsed into a lightless point that swallowed the White Mist and dried up the Holy Lake.
• The sky over Paradise shattered, bringing a catastrophic downpour and pillars of water that tore through the city.
• Holy Spring City’s priests sang a sacrificial hymn to appease the Abyss Angel, but all except one Water Raven Guard were killed by the storm.
• The Abyss Angel descended into the Material Realm, smashed the Fourth Ring, and began drowning Holy Spring City.
• Part of the Abyss Angel’s eyes turned purple, and the advancing waves and falling water froze in place.

Plotinus used the Thorn Crown to draw the Dawn Angel into his mind and fight the headless Abyss Angel, interrupting its fusion with Iver. Iver awakened within the Abyss Angel’s body, stopped its power from leaking out, and restored the people caught in the frozen sea’s destruction.

• Plotinus and two Nephthys Guards began the Sun Incarnation Ritual atop the Clock Tower, and the guards sacrificed themselves to fuel it.
• Plotinus activated Iver’s Tarot Card, the Thorn Crown, and let the ritual bring the Dawn Angel’s consciousness into his body.
• The Dawn Angel attacked the headless young man in Plotinus’s ritual space while the creature’s tentacles began devouring Plotinus’s mind.
• Iver awakened inside the Abyss Angel’s body after its original consciousness vanished, realizing Plotinus had seized it and stopped their fusion.
• Iver halted the Abyss Angel’s destructive power and restored the injured people beneath the frozen sea with falling droplets of water.

Iver’s remorse and hope awakened a new power of miracles, which healed the wounded and resurrected the dead. The chapter ended with the Source River’s power entering Iver’s soul and revealing a new, white Path of hope and miracles.

• Iver realized the healing came from a new power born through the Shepherding Method, rather than the Dedication Path or another known Path.
• The Abyss Angel’s tears, guided by Iver’s hope, healed the injured, strengthened the weak, emboldened the timid, and brought the dead back to life.
• The Giant Whale rose into the crystalline sea and cried out melodiously instead of harming the city.
• Iver understood that miracles could correct mistakes and restore meaning, countering the meaninglessness imposed by nothingness.
• The Dream Realm shook as the Source River tried and failed to form a new tributary, but some of its water entered Iver’s soul.
• Iver sensed the seedling of a new Path’s power: a tender white light of hope and miracles.

Iver realized the Great Abyss’s grief and fury at the Void, then recognized the prophecy’s sun disk and heavenly fire as himself and the Encyclopedia. When enemies sacrificed the people of Holy Spring City to attack him, Iver used Gluttony Star to freeze and protect the city, leaving the battlefield set for his fight against the benevolent masters.

• Iver understood that the Great Abyss’s rage came from the Void and that its seawater might be its tears.
• Iver realized the prophecy’s sun disk referred to him and its heavenly fire to the Encyclopedia, the Dawn Angel’s coordinate.
• Vicious spells struck Giant Whale Iver as enemies drained the life force of the people he had revived in Holy Spring City.
• Iver revived the victims and activated Gluttony Star’s Light of Civilization’s Continuation.
• Iver crashed into the Fourth Ring, and Gluttony Star’s Preservation effect turned the city and its people into dusky-yellow statues, shielding them from the shock wave.
• Iver faced the benevolent masters as the Angel they had challenged.

The Good Lords confronted the Abyss Angel in Holy Spring City after Aymar Nur’s promised weakness failed to materialize. As they prepared a coordinated assault, the angel swept Hero Ismayil away and one Good Lord suddenly aimed an Instant Death Spell at Mahidfran.

• Mahidfran angrily challenged Aymar Nur over the Abyss Angel’s strength, but he said they had no way out and raised a Flawless Mirror Wall against its roar.
• Mahidfran agreed to empower the others with healing, and Hero Ismayil volunteered to draw the Abyss Angel’s attention.
• The Abyss Angel engulfed Ismayil in a wave of seawater, and he let it carry him out of the battlefield after casting Preservation on himself.
• The angel flooded Holy Spring City, while Aymar Nur protected the remaining Good Lords and they prepared spells and attacks against it.
• Calamity Red withheld its power from a Good Lord’s ritual, and as the Good Lords began to think they could defeat the angel, one of them aimed an Instant Death Spell at Mahidfran.

Iver, controlling the Abyss Angel, used its powers and knowledge of its battle mechanics to kill Mahidfran and most of the goodmasters. The Abyss Angel unleashed a catastrophic wave that injured the Dawn Angel, while Aymar Nur alone survived through the Chain of Friendship.

• Mahidfran was driven mad by the Thunder of Truth and killed by her maddened teammates before she could use her ritual spells.
• Aymar Nur recognized that the Abyss Angel understood their conversation and suspected Iver was controlling it, but Calamity Red did not respond to his call.
• The Abyss Angel gathered immense magical power beneath the sea as the goodmasters panicked and some were torn apart by its tentacles.
• Aymar Nur realized Calamity Red had betrayed their agreement as the Abyss Angel unleashed a towering wave that struck the Veil of Equilibrium and injured the Dawn Angel.
• The attack killed nearly all the goodmasters, but Aymar Nur survived by relying on the Chain of Friendship.

As the Abyss Angel descended on Holy Spring City, Hassan learned that the God of War would not join the benefactors against it. Autolycus revealed the old roles and rivalries shaping the conflict, then asked Hai Na whether she would accept an Angel’s power and fight a Pillar God to the death.

• Hassan watched the Abyss Angel’s descent from afar and admitted that its pressure made him feel powerless, while Hai Na insisted that facing a dragon required strength.
• Morgan appeared and explained that Hassan was punishing himself for being too weak to join the battle; she also revealed that the God of War had abandoned the benefactors.
• Autolycus appeared and explained that the God of War had recognized Iver’s connection to Arthur, while remaining unaware that the Crowned Lord had not completely died.
• Lily emerged from Hai Na’s shadow and confronted Autolycus, who revealed that he was the Gray Angel and had created evidence of his death to blend into lies.
• Autolycus and Morgan connected the present conflict to the roles of Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Morgan, the Round Table Knights, and the giants, then asked Hai Na whether she would accept an Angel’s power and fight a Pillar God.

Hai Na accepted the possibility of becoming the vessel for the Rider Angel Lancelot, despite knowing the ritual would require her death. She affirmed that she would carry out any responsibility entrusted to her and revealed she had written a suicide note on her first day as an Inspector.

• Autolycus explained that the shattered Veil of Equilibrium could be crossed again to summon other Angels, and that Hai Na could serve as the vessel for the Rider Angel Lancelot.
• Hassan offered to become the vessel for the Geometric Angel, but Autolycus said the Fire Tetrahedron could make up for his lack of compatibility and power.
• Hai Na realized becoming a Pillar God would require her to die in the Material Realm and reshape her body in the Dream Realm River.
• Hai Na admitted she doubted she was the best choice, but said she would not shirk any responsibility or give up before confirming failure.
• Hai Na revealed that she had written her suicide note on the day she began work as an Inspector.

Hai Na accepted that she might die in order to protect innocents, and Gray Angel helped her discover that her path could lead to a new Pillar God of Justice. Gray Angel revealed a plan to turn Hai Na and her companions into new Pillar Gods and use their combined strength to slay Calamity Red.

• Hai Na reflected on how she had grown cautious after finding fulfillment, then resolved to risk her life for a sacred mission and protect innocents.
• Gray Angel seized the fading sword formed by Hai Na’s resolve and explained that her many conflicting qualities had kept her from committing to a single path.
• Hai Na said she did not want to become any existing Pillar God, and Gray Angel proposed that she become the Pillar God of the Thirteenth Source River, Justice.
• Gray Angel explained that new Source Rivers could emerge beyond the known ones and said he intended to bet on new possibilities with Hai Na, Hassan, and Morgan.
• Hassan realized Gray Angel planned for them to undergo the Ouroboros Ring and become Angels, then join forces to confront and slay Calamity Red.

Gray Angel explained that their willingness to die came from hope in a future their sacrifice would make possible, and Hassan recognized himself as The Fool who had repeatedly risked everything for change. Hassan and Hai Na agreed to help, and Jacob Alexander appeared to conduct their ritual.

• Gray Angel told Lily that their deaths would be meaningful because they believed their cause would be completed, describing the Twelfth Source River as the River of Hope.
• Hassan realized his past choices made him The Fool and asked Gray Angel what he should do.
• Hai Na agreed to join Hassan, and Gray Angel said a friend could help conduct the large-scale ritual.
• Angel Iver appeared, and Jacob Alexander introduced himself as Iver's grandfather and Hai Na's old friend.
• Jacob offered to conduct the ritual, leaving Hai Na stunned to see him again.

Iver’s Abyss Eye attack devastated the Good Lords and left Aymar Nur’s mind shattered despite the Chain of Friendship protecting his body. After Iver claimed the Chain, he sensed three powerful energy signatures flare at the city’s outskirts.

• Iver’s wave attack destroyed the Good Lords’ defenses and drove Aymar Nur’s converted injuries into a catastrophic mental collapse.
• Iver struck Aymar Nur repeatedly, leaving him motionless before the waves submerged him.
• The Chain of Friendship returned to Iver, who placed it atop his head.
• As Iver considered how to make the Abyss Angel kill itself, he sensed three powerful energy reactions at the outskirts of the city.

Three Angels descended outside Holy Spring City to reenact the War of Heavenly Punishment and target Calamity Red, while Iver realized his ritual role was Amber. The returning Abyss Angel took control of his body and unleashed a world-swallowing flood toward the three Angels.

• Iver recognized the descending figures as Geometric Angel, Rider Angel, and Gray Angel, and guessed that Hai Na and Lily might be their vessels.
• Iver understood that the Angels were recreating the War of Heavenly Punishment, with Calamity Red as their target and Iver playing Amber alongside Hourglass.
• Abyss Angel's battered consciousness returned to his body, and Iver yielded control without revealing his presence.
• Abyss Angel mistook the three descending Angels for challengers and surged toward them with an immense flood.
• Abyss Angel's waves submerged Holy Spring City and swallowed the surrounding landscape, covering the sky and threatening to drown the world.

Lancelot and Guinevere united as the Rider Angel while Loki fused with the Gray Angel, and the Geometric Angel revealed its origins as the Supreme Host Plato. As the Gray Nest sheltered the Red Hand Party from the approaching wave, Loki waited for Lily to finish hiding the mortals and prepared to summon Calamity Red.

• Lancelot and Guinevere became the Rider Angel through their shared power of the Path of Love, with Guinevere's flame awakening Lancelot's memories and knightly conviction.
• Cardinal Loki reunited with the Gray Angel by reclaiming his Angel Shard and lost power, inheriting the Gray Angel's memories, will, and divine essence.
• The Geometric Angel explained that returning to its true form offered little advantage and asked whether Loki had prepared a countermeasure.
• The chapter revealed that Plato was a construct formed from the transferred souls and knowledge of the ancient Winged Ones mages, and that its many consciousnesses operated as a council.
• Lily used the Silken Grimoire to hide the Red Hand Party within the Gray Angel's Gray Nest, shielding them from the approaching wave.
• Loki waited for the ritual to be ready and declared that Calamity Red should descend first.