Chapter Summaries

Dunn accepted the Goddess’s will and assumed a new identity, while Klein decided to travel to Backlund after learning it held the answers he needed. Before leaving, Klein discovered he had no money and awkwardly asked Azik’s messenger for help.

• Dunn learned that everyone believed he was dead, and Xu Yue explained that a ritual could eliminate the danger of his sudden death.
• Dunn performed a ritual, received a Faceless Man mask from the Goddess, and became Duncan Smith, agreeing to follow Xu Yue.
• Klein learned through divination that Ince Zangwill’s objective and his next potion formulas pointed to Backlund, so he decided to go there after visiting Benson and Melissa.
• Klein realized his money had vanished with his death and spent the night on a park bench, too embarrassed to ask Xu Yue for help.
• Klein summoned Azik’s messenger to request assistance, but it tossed him only a few pennies before leaving.

After returning from the dead, Klein received money from Azik and secretly comforted Melissa before heading back to Backlund with Xu Yue. He rented a room at 15 Minsk Street and settled in without encountering Ian.

• Klein received Azik’s congratulatory letter and a hundred pounds, then promised to keep searching for clues about Azik’s origins.
• Klein secretly performed as a clown for Melissa and gave her golden Sevia chrysanthemums, but left without revealing who he was.
• At the station, Xu Yue recognized Klein, helped him disguise himself, and took him to Backlund in a first-class compartment.
• Klein rejected living near Xu Yue and used Xu Yue’s note about Beyonder gatherings while searching for a place to rent.
• Klein chose a room at 15 Minsk Street in Chowood District, where landlady Mrs. Summer lived next door.

Klein held the Tarot Club gathering, where Alger paid for help against Zilingus with Roselle’s diary pages and Xu Yue revealed that he had killed the pirate. The group learned more about Xu Yue’s Shepherd abilities, while Audrey arranged to share the Zilingus reward with him and promised future help to Mr. Fool.

• Klein prepared his Sherlock Moriarty identity as a private detective and looked forward to the Tarot Club meeting.
• Alger offered nineteen pages of Roselle’s diary as payment for help eliminating Zilingus, and Mr. Fool credited Mr. The Lovers as well as his own Blessed.
• Xu Yue said he had killed Zilingus but needed Mr. Fool’s angel to escape God Singer’s pursuit, revealing that he was a Shepherd.
• Alger supplied diary pages describing Mr. Door, the Four Emperors, Bleach, and the Pale Disaster, which left Klein troubled by the madness of even deities.
• Audrey explained that the Zilingus and Duke Negan rewards amounted to about forty thousand pounds, then arranged an annual allowance and a possible property transfer for Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue accepted Audrey’s arrangement and offered to help resolve future troubles for Mr. Fool in return.

Xu Yue investigated Fors about Lawrence Nord while posing as an instructor for the Church of the Evernight, and Fors hid her suspicions from him. Meanwhile, Klein took his first case as Sherlock Moriarty when Ian asked him to find his missing employer, Detective Zeruel, and Klein proposed payment terms.

• Klein moved out and bought supplies to disguise himself.
• Xu Yue visited Fors and Hugh, using his Church of the Evernight work to ask Fors about Lawrence Nord.
• Fors cautiously denied knowing anything unusual, while Hugh and Fors suspected Xu Yue might be a Church member or Beyonder.
• Ian told Klein that his employer, Detective Zeruel, had vanished after signs of a break-in appeared at his home and someone impersonated him at a detectives' gathering.
• Klein proposed that Ian pay five pounds upfront and help him with three future tasks in exchange for taking the case.

Klein investigated Zeruel’s disappearance for Ian, then killed a Hunter who attacked him in his bedroom and discovered the man had served an Intis ambassador. Facing the danger of the ambassador’s retaliation, Klein turned to Xu Yue for help.

• Klein used dream divination to find Zeruel’s corpse and gave Ian the information, and Ian found him a channel for buying guns in Backlund.
• A newly advanced Hunter broke into Klein’s bedroom and attacked him without warning.
• Klein fought back using his agility, predictive ability, and techniques Xu Yue had taught him, and beat the Hunter to death.
• Klein extracted the Beyonder characteristic and learned through spirit channeling that the dead Hunter had served an ambassador.
• Klein decided he needed Xu Yue’s help and pleaded with him over dinner to save his life.

Fors joined Xu Yue and Klein for dinner, where Klein recognized her as someone who had recited The Fool’s honorific name. Xu Yue directed Klein to Marich to hire a Sequence 5 bodyguard, but the quoted price left the penniless Klein scrambling to figure out how to pay.

• Fors followed the smell of Xu Yue’s cooking and accepted his invitation to dinner, bringing her own plate and cutlery.
• Klein recognized Fors as someone who had secretly recited The Fool’s honorific name, and Xu Yue gave him a cover story as an old acquaintance seeking help in Backlund.
• Xu Yue told Klein that a Sequence 5 Wraith was taking jobs and directed him to the Brave Man Bar to ask Kaspars for an introduction.
• Kaspars brought Klein to Marich, who agreed to ask a friend to protect him for three days for 1,000 pounds.
• Klein worried over the cost and considered whether he could earn money by offering Miss Justice something in return for a portion of her reward.

After learning that Xu Yue was busy training Church recruits, Klein attended the Tarot Club, where Xu Yue commissioned the assassination of Intis ambassador Backlund Jean Madan. The gathering left Klein reassured that others would handle the threat, but that night a controlled iron-wireworm invaded his home and warned him that the Puppet Master had found him.

• Klein learned that Xu Yue had left to train special recruits, then returned home to prepare for the Tarot Club.
• The Hanged Man shared diary information about the Monster pathway, Beyonder children, and the Black Emperor pathway.
• Xu Yue commissioned the assassination of ambassador Backlund Jean Madan and explained that he was a Sequence 6 Conspirer guarded by a Sequence 5 Puppet Master.
• Audrey agreed to investigate the target, while Xu Yue offered a reward of one condition within his capabilities.
• Klein felt reassured after the meeting, but that night he discovered a controlled iron-wireworm had invaded as a warning.

Klein pursued Mrs. Mary’s lucrative infidelity investigation while Audrey arranged intelligence gathering on the ambassador through Fors and Hugh. During the Blood Moon, Fors suffered Mr. Door’s whispers, and Klein unknowingly saved her by pulling her above the Gray Fog; she returned to find Xu Yue aiming a gun at her.

• Mrs. Summer introduced Klein to Mrs. Mary, who offered him money and a club membership to investigate her husband’s affair.
• Audrey warned Fors and Hugh that gathering information on the ambassador was dangerous, and they said they would use another, safer gathering afterward.
• As the Blood Moon rose, Xu Yue entered Fors’s room and threatened to shoot her if she lost control.
• Fors called out to an unknown existence, and Klein heard her prayer and pulled her above the Gray Fog, restoring her to normal.
• Fors returned to her body and found Xu Yue raising his gun, then hurriedly assured him that she had recovered and would not lose control.

Fors became Xu Yue’s informant under his supervision, while Klein secured Sharon’s protection and Xu Yue assassinated Ambassador Beckland. The chapter ended with Mr. A discovering that Xu Yue was a Shepherd who did not belong to the Aurora Society.

• Fors told Xu Yue how she became a Beyonder, and he recruited her as an informant while arranging for her to report to him regularly.
• Xu Yue trained the new Red Gloves at St. Samuel Cathedral, where Leonard served as an assistant instructor.
• Audrey gave Klein a thousand gold pounds, allowing him to hire Marich’s concealed bodyguard, Sharon.
• Sharon revealed herself to Klein briefly before vanishing again to protect him.
• Xu Yue used a mutated shadow to kill Beckland, then collected the ambassador’s Puppet Master item and Beyonder characteristics.
• Mr. A followed Xu Yue after the assassination and realized he was a Shepherd outside the Aurora Society.

Klein survived Master Luo’s ambush with Sharon’s help and obtained a contaminated Puppet Master characteristic, which he used to create the identity Mr. World. Meanwhile, Xu Yue led Mr. A into Backlund’s East District and learned that the True Creator had not alerted the Aurora Society about the stolen divinity.

• Chief Inspector Facin visited Klein with a warning, but Master Luo had assumed Facin’s appearance to stall Klein and locate Sharon.
• Master Luo used his Puppet Master abilities to control Klein and Sharon, but Klein activated the Filthy Ear and disrupted his control with the True Creator’s whispers.
• Sharon possessed Master Luo while Klein shot him, and Klein took the contaminated Puppet Master characteristic.
• Klein used the characteristic to create Mr. World, a Tarot Club identity that let him meet Xu Yue openly.
• Xu Yue brought Mr. A to the East District, where Mr. A asked whether Xu Yue was one of the True Creator’s Blessed.
• Xu Yue realized that the True Creator had not informed the Aurora Society about the stolen divinity.

Xu Yue accepted the role of the True Creator’s blessed, while Klein investigated the ambassador’s assassination and explored the dangerous ruins beneath Williams Street with Sharon. The chapter ended as Fors and Klein joined the Tarot Club as new members.

• Xu Yue realized that Evernight, Adam, and the True Creator had arranged for him to act as one of the True Creator’s blessed, and he accepted the identity.
• Loen’s investigation into the Intis ambassador’s assassination concluded after the Aurora Society claimed responsibility, allowing both countries to avoid escalating the incident.
• Klein and Sharon accepted a mission to investigate the ruins beneath Williams Street, then postponed exploring them because of the powerful evil spirit inside.
• Klein and Sharon left after arranging to notify each other before any future excavation, and they exchanged contact information as Sharon’s employment ended.
• Fors and Klein joined the Tarot Club as the new members Magus and World, and Audrey recognized Fors.

Xu Yue revealed that he had killed the Intis ambassador and sold Alger the Wind Consort formula, while Klein used World to arrange material trades. The chapter left Alger with a steep bill and a strange book of motivational advice for his sailors.

• Audrey asked whether Xu Yue had killed the Intis ambassador, and Xu Yue confirmed it while promising to fulfill a favor for her.
• Klein used World to request Beyonder materials, and Little Sun agreed to trade them for a suitable weapon.
• Alger requested the Wind Consort formula, and Xu Yue offered it to him for 1,000 gold pounds.
• Xu Yue gave Alger a free book of success advice to boost his sailors' morale, and Klein manifested its contents with Mr. Fool's help.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Klein used a private deal between The World and Miss Justice to hear Xu Yue reveal the Sauron family’s history and its role in the War of the Four Emperors. Fors sought an Apprentice potion formula and learned that the Abraham family was endangered by the Aurora Society, while the gathering ended with her considering a visit to Audrey.

• The World and Miss Justice privately agreed to exchange knowledge about Witches for information on impoverished nobles in Backlund.
• Xu Yue sold Audrey details about the Sauron family, explaining that Medici trapped Sauron and that the Blood Emperor used Medici’s trap to become a half-mad True God.
• Xu Yue warned Klein that further knowledge could contaminate him, and Klein stopped speculating about what might exist beyond True Gods.
• Fors asked the gathering to find an Apprentice Sequence 8 formula, and Xu Yue said the Abraham family controlled the pathway’s formulas but had been attacked by the Aurora Society.
• Fors recalled that she and Hugh had left Mr. A’s gathering and considered privately visiting Audrey for advice.

Fors learned about the Tarot Club and the Acting Method from Audrey, while Xu Yue prepared the Aurora Society for the True Creator’s planned descent. Klein investigated a serial murder case tied to the Black Emperor Godhood Plan and met detective Aisinger Stanton, who suspected he was a Beyonder.

• Audrey explained the Tarot Club to Fors, clarified that Mr. The Lovers was not from the Aurora Society, and taught her the Acting Method in exchange for two pages of Emperor Roosevelt's diary.
• Fors considered approaching Lawrence Nord to seek potion formulas for advancing her Sequence.
• Xu Yue instructed Mr. A to organize unemployed workers in preparation for the True Creator's descent through an avatar.
• Klein accepted a journalist's request to investigate a serial murder case and discovered that his inquiry could connect to the Luen Royal Family's Black Emperor Godhood Plan.
• Aisinger Stanton invited Klein into his carriage, tested whether he was a Beyonder, and accepted Klein's explanation without pressing him further.

Klein learned that the wealthy Kapin was suspected of trafficking young women, sold two Sun pathway formulas to ease his money troubles, and bought the Hurricane Axe for Little Sun. After discussing Emperor Roselle’s diaries with Xu Yue, Klein invited him to explore an underground Fourth Epoch ruin beneath Backlund, and Xu Yue agreed.

• Klein and Aisinger exchanged information about Kapin, a wealthy man suspected of leading a criminal trafficking operation in Backlund.
• Klein sold the Bard and Light Pray-er formulas for 600 pounds, then spent the money on the Hurricane Axe for Little Sun.
• Klein visited Xu Yue and ran into him returning home; Fors joined them for dinner by opening her window.
• Klein asked Xu Yue whether he had encountered anyone else who knew Chinese, then mentioned that someone was collecting Emperor Roselle’s diaries.
• Klein told Xu Yue about an underground ruin beneath Backlund containing a potentially demigod-level evil spirit, and Xu Yue agreed to join the exploration.

Klein shared information about the ruined underground site with Xu Yue, and they agreed to investigate it with help from Xu Yue’s Wraith companion. They went to the Brave Man Bar to recruit Marich, where Sharon appeared as they discussed the plan.

• Klein told Xu Yue that the ruin stood beneath a former Pond Family residence, whose noble house had rapidly declined after its heirs died.
• Xu Yue suspected the ruin’s connection to the Tudor-Trensoest United Empire and proposed investigating the impoverished noble and the site, despite its demigod-level Fierce Spirit.
• Klein said he had a Sequence 5 Wraith friend and a Beyonder item that could briefly grant him Sequence 5 strength, and Xu Yue agreed their combined abilities might suffice.
• Klein and Xu Yue went to the Brave Man Bar and found Marich, whom Xu Yue teased about being a Living Corpse.
• Sharon appeared in Wraith form and quietly watched Xu Yue and Marich argue.

Rafter Pond revealed the Tudor Family’s connection to the ruins after Xu Yue threatened him, and Klein, Sharon, and Xu Yue brought him there to investigate. Xu Yue illuminated the final hall with Sunflame Charms, forcing the evil spirit to appear.

• Xu Yue exposed Rafter Pond’s practiced concealment and threatened to perform spirit channeling, breaking his resolve.
• Rafter told Klein, Sharon, and Xu Yue that the Tudor Family believed the ruins could restore their ancestors’ glory and that a trapped evil spirit lay inside.
• Xu Yue concluded that the ruins might hold secrets connected to the Blood Emperor’s level, and the group took Rafter to the ruins.
• Xu Yue gave Klein and Sharon Sunflame Charms as they entered the concealed ruins beneath Backlund.
• Xu Yue threw Sunflame Charms into the final hall’s four corners, revealing the evil spirit, which cursed him in a hoarse, overlapping voice.

Xu Yue, Klein, and Sharon fought Medici and the two other angels possessing Rafter Pond, using Sunflame Charms to keep the evil spirit at bay. When the charms ran out, Xu Yue revealed his Shepherd power and immobilized them, leaving Medici stunned by the divinity he sensed.

• Medici ambushed the group, possessed Rafter Pond, and threatened to kill him unless Klein and Sharon stopped attacking.
• Xu Yue continued bombarding the possessed Rafter with Sunflame Charms, while Klein and Sharon joined in after realizing the evil spirit was trying to draw them into close combat.
• Medici taunted Xu Yue about running out of charms and claimed that the attacks had loosened the seal, as the three spirits endured the bombardment.
• Xu Yue put on a pair of gloves and charged Medici after the group exhausted its Sunflame Charms.
• Xu Yue pressed his gloved hand to Rafter's head, binding Medici, Ain Thorne, and Sauron, and Medici sensed the Lord's divinity in him.

Xu Yue captured Medici and the other spirits inside Crawling Hunger, then explained their identities and warned Klein about Amon. After the group divided the spoils, Xu Yue kept the greatest benefit, while Klein and Sharon chose their rewards.

• Medici, Ain Thorne, and Sauron argued over being shepherded into Crawling Hunger, with Medici insisting it would preserve them from weakening and dissipating.
• Klein and Sharon realized Xu Yue had used Shepherd, and Klein asked him about the item and his monocle.
• Xu Yue said he was not Amon, identified Medici as a former King of Angels, and explained that Amon was the Angel of Time who favored wearing a monocle.
• Xu Yue warned Klein not to imitate Amon, while Medici agreed that Amon had a terrible personality.
• After Xu Yue claimed the greatest benefit, Klein chose the Red Priest Desecration Card, and Sharon chose the Beyonder Characteristics from the Pond Family heirs and the right to read the card.

Klein displayed the Red Priest Desecration Card at the Tarot Club and learned from a diary page that another Desecration Card might be hidden as a bookmark in a valuable book. Meanwhile, Fors received a request from Lawrence Nord, and Little Sun reported finding the main ingredient Klein needed to advance.

• Klein merged the Red Priest Desecration Card with his own card and decided to present it as a gift from Mr. World at the Tarot Club.
• Mr. A led the Aurora Society in distributing food in Backlund's East District and explained that they intended to preserve it as a long-term source of power for their Lord.
• Lawrence Nord chose to end his life and asked Fors to deliver his Beyonder characteristic and item to a friend, leaving her unsure whether to accept the task.
• Klein showed the Red Priest Desecration Card at the Tarot Club, and a diary page revealed that another Desecration Card had been hidden as a bookmark in an unspecified valuable book.
• Little Sun told the Tarot Club that he had found the main ingredient Klein needed to advance to Magus.