Chapter Summaries

Iver, Sherlock, and Arsene searched Hypatia’s workshop and concluded that she had left unexpectedly, leaving her belongings behind. They decided to take her daughter and the workshop’s valuables, while Iver identified the pinkish-purple saffron doll as the likely child.

• Iver and Sherlock realized that time in Hypatia’s workshop had been frozen since she left.
• Sherlock found unfinished work and signs that Hypatia had only recently left, while Iver noted she had no time to hide her daughter.
• Iver said that all five elf dolls appeared to contain souls, raising the possibility of sacrifices, test subjects, or artificial souls.
• Iver identified the saffron-dressed doll as Hypatia’s daughter based on his memory of the game’s plot.
• Iver, Sherlock, and Arsene agreed to take the dolls, important documents, and valuables from the workshop.

Iver identified two powerful artifacts in Hypatia’s workshop and realized its collection of treasures had been gathered to prolong or restore her daughter’s life. He called on the Lord of Scales and Feathers, who appeared behind the group.

• Arsene questioned Iver’s choice of treasures, and Iver explained that the other items were materials phantoms alone could touch.
• Iver identified Olifant, a horn that could prevent allies from fleeing and let them survive lethal damage, and Sweet Dreams, a dreamcatcher that sent its user to the Sea of Sorrow and transformed them into a powerful sea monster there.
• Iver recalled how Sweet Dreams had corrupted a Good Lord who used it, and concluded that Hypatia’s collection was meant to extend her daughter’s life or resurrect her.
• Iver decided the Lord of Scales and Feathers might support Hypatia despite the Hourglass’s taboo, and called to Him.
• The Lord of Scales and Feathers answered from behind Iver, Arsene, and Sherlock.

Lord of Scales and Feathers explained that Crocus was essential to reviving Hypatia’s daughter and revealed that Sherlock’s ancestor Hermes had helped Hypatia write the Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire. The dream began collapsing, leaving Iver and the others to awaken with the treasures they had gathered.

• Iver asked Lord of Scales and Feathers what items they should bring to revive Hypatia’s daughter, and he advised them to bring all five flowers, especially Crocus.
• Lord of Scales and Feathers recounted how the apostle Mercury accidentally killed an elven child named Crocus, was punished by the Hourglass, and reincarnated as Hermes, founder of the Hermes Family.
• Lord of Scales and Feathers revealed that Sherlock’s ancestor Hermes had traveled with Hypatia and helped her create the Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire.
• Sherlock wondered if he was Hermes’s reincarnation, and Lord of Scales and Feathers said he was not, though he left open the possibility that Hermes had somehow escaped death.
• Lord of Scales and Feathers ended the dream, and Iver, Sherlock, and Arsene grabbed treasures before the world collapsed around them.

Zula, who had stayed inside to protect Mia, was attacked in her room by a group of Children of the Moon seeking information. Miss Hawkins began to enchant her, but the barrier suddenly vanished, and the vampire recoiled from an unexplained sense of danger.

• Zula refused invitations to go out because she had promised to protect Mia.
• A swarm of bats entered Zula's room and transformed into nine Children of the Moon.
• Charlie tried to attack Zula, but Lord Zeller crushed his head and ordered him to stand aside.
• The Children of the Moon sealed the room with a scarlet barrier, causing Zula to choke on the smell of blood.
• Miss Hawkins lifted Zula's chin and moved to bite her, but the barrier vanished and Miss Hawkins leaped back in fear.

Lily defeated the Children of the Moon who attacked the house and learned that Earl Rogers had sent them to seize the Dream-Entering Key. Iver and Arsene prepared to hurry to Duke Vendôme’s Estate to rescue Sherlock, while Lily stayed behind to protect Zula and the others.

• Lily appeared and killed Miss Hawkins’s companions, then captured Hawkins and learned that Earl Rogers had ordered the attack to take the key and kill Mia’s body.
• Lily killed Hawkins despite her surrender and reassured Zula, who said she had lost her desire to become a Child of the Moon.
• Iver and Arsene returned, and Iver explained that Sherlock’s soul had returned to his own body and that they needed to reach Duke Vendôme’s Estate urgently.
• Iver told Lily to stay and protect Zula and the dolls, while Arsene comforted Zula and carried her to bed.
• Arsene urged Iver to hurry before Sherlock was sent back into the Dream Realm, and Iver said the Duke would not do so because he had already reached Iris.

Mia woke after using too much mental power to sustain a coherent dream, and Iver healed her with Radiance. Iver sealed the Child of the Moon fragments in Star Ice and explained that they could be made into New Life Ointment, leaving him close to exchanging them for an SSS-rank Child of the Moon.

• Mia woke with a headache and found Iver and Arsene preparing chunks of meat in a box of rainbow-colored ice.
• Iver cast Radiance on Mia and explained that the headache came from the strain of maintaining a coherent dream.
• Mia learned that Iver was a bishop and asked about the rare material he was processing.
• Iver explained that the material could be made into New Life Ointment and teased Arsene about cooking some pieces for its aphrodisiac effect.
• Iver sealed the Child of the Moon fragments in Star Ice and noted that he had gathered enough to exchange for an SSS-rank Child of the Moon.

Iver and Arsene left the girls' dormitory after Iver explained how Mia could use the Children of the Moon remains. They were escorted to the Duke of Vendome's residence, where Iver found his mother waiting.

• Lily's knife skills impressed Iver, and he realized she had awakened new power connected to the Path of the Beast.
• Iver explained to Mia that Children of the Moon above the Fourth Level could be used to make medicine, and told her how to distribute the remains.
• Iver gave Mia the ice box and asked her to save three portions of ointment for him and find the Magic Potion Master.
• Iver and Arsene left the dormitory and agreed to go with two uniformed men who were waiting for Arsene.
• The men took Iver and Arsene to the Duke of Vendome's residence, where a large force of soldiers and Iver's mother stood at the entrance.

Iver met Annie de Vendome, a woman who looked strikingly like his dead biological mother, and discovered how deeply she had loved his father, Julio Alexander. They walked together toward the estate without resolving what Iver should call her.

• Iver saw Annie de Vendome and was stunned by her resemblance to his biological mother.
• Annie recognized Iver as Julio Alexander’s son and broke down in tears, revealing her grief and longing.
• Iver struggled to address Annie as his mother, while Annie timidly asked if she could call him Iver.
• Iver agreed, and he followed Annie toward the estate’s main gate as Arsene stayed behind them in silence.

Iver arrived with Annie at the Duke of Vendome’s castle, where the estate’s flowing-water defenses against the Children of the Moon heightened his unease about its owner. Annie reminisced about Julio, and the chapter left Iver stunned when he saw the Old Duke wearing pajamas almost identical to a pair Moriarty had given him.

• Iver and Annie crossed the bridge and climbed the stairs to the Duke of Vendome’s castle, whose moat kept the Children of the Moon from entering on their own.
• As they walked through the lavish estate, Iver felt that its architecture and defenses seemed strangely incongruous.
• Annie reminisced about her university days with Julio, and Iver remained silent as she described their relationship.
• Iver considered Annie’s sincere love for Julio and his own uncertain connection to her, while keeping the Swamp People secret between them.
• Iver and Annie reached the main hall near midnight, where Sherlock waited with the Old Duke in the Reception Room.
• Iver froze when he recognized that the Old Duke’s fur-lined pajamas resembled the pair Moriarty had given him.

Iver met his maternal grandfather, Argon de Vendome, and used his healing powers to restore Argon and Annie after discovering that their mysterious cold was not a natural illness. Annie explained that the Vendomes had suffered the condition for generations, and she revealed that her brother Belard had died from it.

• Argon de Vendome told Iver his name and said that Iver resembled him when he was young.
• Iver noticed Argon's abnormal sensitivity to the cold and healed him, restoring his health and emerald eyes.
• Iver learned that ordinary healing had failed to help Argon and asked whether Annie could receive the same treatment.
• Iver healed Annie, who said she no longer felt cold.
• Annie explained that a Vendome ancestor had committed a taboo, after which each generation suffered worsening nighttime chills, and that Belard had died from the condition at twenty.

Iver learned that the Vendome surname brings every bearer a strange illness and that losing it leads to death, while every Vendome has accepted their fate without taking the forbidden Twilight Path. He realized that his Child of the Moon incarnation reflected Iver de Vendome’s impossible self.

• Iver reasoned that the Vendome family’s affliction resisted ordinary treatment because it was not a curse that a healer or Curse Master could remove.
• The Old Duke told Iver that everyone who bears the Vendome surname becomes a Transcender and develops Cold Disease, while anyone who loses the name soon dies from weakness and declining vitality.
• The Old Duke explained that Vendome artists were drawn toward creation by their proximity to death, and said no Vendome had ever become a Child of the Moon or taken the Twilight Path.
• Iver realized that his Child of the Moon incarnation mirrored Iver de Vendome rather than Iver Moriarty, representing a self he could never become.

Sherlock explained that the river around the Vendome residence was more likely meant to keep Children of the Moon imprisoned than to keep them out, then revealed that Ludwig II had secretly orchestrated Iris’s Third Rebellion. The chapter left Sherlock beginning to explain how the Mad King’s obsession with the Swan Knight opera shaped the events.

• Sherlock explained that Children of the Moon feared crossing running water but could find ways to do so, and suggested the river was meant to prevent their escape.
• Duke Argon invited Sherlock to share his investigation, while Iver supported Annie by taking her hand.
• Sherlock revealed that a hidden third party had manipulated Iris’s Third Rebellion and that Ludwig II had directed the uprising himself.
• Iver recalled Ludwig II’s reputation as the Swan King and the story of the Swan Knight opera that had captivated him.

Sherlock explained how the Swan King’s attempt to test his subjects by provoking a rebellion led to his execution and left Iris’s nobles and Archdukes suspicious of one another. He revealed that the Archduke had tasked him with discovering who the mysterious rebel Louis Soir had served.

• Sherlock described the Swan King as a sensitive, idealistic monarch whose refusal to compromise made Iris’s nobles obstruct his rule.
• After rebellions were suppressed, the Swan King planned to fake his death by making a rebellion target him and expose who was loyal.
• Jester Angel helped push the plan forward, while the three Archdukes stayed neutral and the nobles only pretended to oppose the rebellion.
• Louis Soir captured and beheaded the Swan King, then disappeared as the rebels purged nobles without challenging the Archdukes.
• Sherlock told Iver that the Archduke had asked him to investigate whose faction Louis Soir belonged to.

Iver questioned Sherlock about the Swan King’s power and the lack of evidence surrounding his capture, then proposed three explanations for the king’s disappearance. Sherlock confirmed that his investigation concluded the Swan King had never completely died and that his soul was still somewhere in the Iris Kingdom.

• Iver learned from Sherlock that the Swan King had reached the Fourth Level by age twenty-three, but no signs of a battle with Louis Soir had been found.
• Sherlock explained that Third-Level safety seals in Swan Castle showed no evidence of transcendent power above the Third Level being used there.
• Iver argued that investigators should focus on motives and learned that the Swan King had neither entered the Dream Realm nor become an apostle after his beheading.
• Sherlock asked Iver whose side Louis Soir had been on, and Iver offered three possible explanations for the Swan King’s absence from the Dream Realm.
• Iver suggested that the Swan King might never have died, and Sherlock confirmed that his soul remained somewhere in the Iris Kingdom.

Sherlock concluded that no mastermind had caused the Third Rebellion; the nobles had panicked after the royal family was killed and surrendered, while the three grand ducal families directed the uprising’s violence. Iver realized Old Argon wanted to find a culprit because he hoped to start a war that would overthrow the Citizen Council and launch Iris’s Fifteenth Rebellion.

• Sherlock told Old Argon that the person behind the royal family’s death was still alive, then suggested the Old Duke wanted an organization or rival grand duke to blame.
• Iver explained that industrialization and the nobles’ fear of an unknown power had made the Third Rebellion possible, and Sherlock concluded that the nobles had scared themselves into a theatrical rout.
• Old Argon revealed that the three grand ducal families had helped execute the rebels, with the Stonemason Brotherhood infiltrating the uprising, Duke Harcourt keeping the army out, and Argon targeting nobles he believed deserved punishment.
• Old Argon said Duke Beaufort had organized the Citizen Council and pushed for the rebellion to end quickly, though he had suspected him most.
• Iver concluded that Old Argon wanted to overthrow the Citizen Council and begin Iris’s Fifteenth Rebellion.

The Ice Heart Duke revealed that he planned a fifteenth rebellion to seize Iris’s power and eliminate the Child of the Moon as the Nine Paths entered a chaotic age. Arsene realized the Duke had orchestrated Sherlock’s release and Arsene’s journey into the Dream Realm, leaving him to understand that both had served the Duke’s purposes.

• Iver correctly guessed the Ice Heart Duke’s plan, and the Duke confirmed it as Annie and Arsene questioned why Iris needed a rebellion.
• Iver and the Duke agreed that more Celestials would descend and that the Pillar Gods’ and Celestials’ desires made their actions predictable.
• The Duke said taking control would not solve Iris’s problems by itself, but they could remove the causes, including the Child of the Moon.
• Arsene connected the Duke’s plan to the family’s cooperation with the Hawkeye Organization and his own acquisition of the Blade of Separation of All Things.
• Arsene realized the Duke had understood Sherlock’s coded letter, allowed Sherlock to be released, and permitted Arsene’s dangerous Dream Realm journey as both a means and a punishment.

Iver and Sherlock uncovered the Iris prime minister’s ties to the Hawkeye Organization as the Old Duke prepared to suppress an imminent Health Party rebellion. Iver revealed that a phantasmagoria transformed from the Swan King was rewriting Iris’s history, leaving the cause of the endless rebellions in the hands of the Children of the Moon.

• Iver pointed out that Iris’s prime minister led the Hawkeye Organization, and Sherlock explained how the prime minister had suppressed reports of its assassinations.
• The Old Duke revealed that he was preparing for a Sixteenth Rebellion because the Health Party and the Children of the Moon were about to act before the next election.
• The Old Duke proposed blaming the Third Rebellion on the Children of the Moon, but Sherlock rejected using a lie to shape the truth.
• Iver said the Swan King’s transformed phantasmagoria was likely controlled by the Children of the Moon and had written the Third Rebellion as a script.
• Iver concluded that someone was rewriting the phantasmagoria’s script and manipulating reality across Iris.

Iver recognized that the Swan King’s lingering soul and preserved head were tied to the Void Box dungeon. He explained how the Children of the Moon could keep the Swan King’s head alive with blood, leaving Sherlock and the Old Duke with the likely location and method of its preservation.

• Iver recalled the Void Box dungeon and its opening, which featured a handsome head leaping from a treasure chest.
• Iver deduced that a Child of the Moon Earl was preserving the Swan King’s head, surprising Sherlock with the specificity of his claim.
• The Old Duke identified the preservation method as a technique derived from the Lion Head Secret Covenant.
• Iver described the Lion Head Technique and explained that the Children of the Moon could keep the Swan King’s head between life and death by supplying it with blood.

Iver explained how the Children of the Moon used the Void Box and the Swan King’s dreams to shape Iris’s fate, while a ritual harvested the people’s mana. The Swan King was nearing a transformation from a Heavenly Sovereign of Beauty into a Pillar God of Void.

• Arsene questioned why the Children of the Moon had kept the Mad King alive, and Iver offered possible motives for their actions.
• Iver recounted how a Dream Medium led the protagonists to discover that Iris’s dreams had been twisted into a vortex and diverted from the Dream Realm.
• The protagonists learned that a grand ritual harvested the mana of Iris’s people as they dreamed, worsening their mental exhaustion and accumulating power.
• Iver explained that a Child of the Moon Earl had sealed the still-living Swan King’s head in the Void Box and used whispers to guide his dreams and write scripts for Iris’s future.
• The Swan King awoke at the end of the dungeon run as the Nearly Damaged Void Container, poised to become a Pillar God of the Path of Void.

Iver realized the Swan King’s Void Box could bring the apocalypse early if the Child of the Moon Earl exploited it, and he warned the Ice Heart Duke. The Duke decided to act immediately and identified the Hallick Family as their target.

• Iver connected the Swan King’s rebellion and the Void Box to the River of the Void, which had caused the apocalypse in earlier cycles.
• Iver concluded that the Swan King was probably still asleep, but warned that the Child of the Moon Earl might soon discover he could alter reality with little risk.
• The Ice Heart Duke agreed that the Swan King’s power posed an urgent danger and ordered everyone to leave at once.
• Arsene questioned whether the Duke could locate the Child of the Moon Earl, and the Duke said the culprit could only be from the Hallick Family.