Chapter Summaries

Xu Yue confronted the Dark Angel Vile Spirit and learned how the Ancient Sun God’s allies had killed him before three of them betrayed him. With fortune and his ability to control shadows, Xu Yue’s group began to overpower the spirit, which was left struggling against Xu Yue’s attempt to graze it.

• Xu Yue questioned the Dark Angel Vile Spirit about the Original Creator’s awakening and the founding of the Rose of Redemption.
• The Dark Angel Vile Spirit explained that it had entered the palace to resist the Original Creator, then was killed by Amanises and the others before Leodero, Aucuses, and Herabergen devoured its body.
• The Dark Angel Vile Spirit abruptly attacked, causing Luoweiya to nearly lose control, but Xu Yue mocked it and rallied the group to fight.
• Xu Yue used his shadow clones and the Fate Dice’s fortune to help his allies suppress the Dark Angel Vile Spirit, while revealing that it contained a small, mad consciousness of the Original Creator.
• Xu Yue’s grazing power began pulling the Dark Angel Vile Spirit into a grazing state, leaving it alarmed and unable to understand how a Sequence 4 could affect it.

Klein watched Xu Yue and the others defeat the Dark Angel Vile Spirit, while Amon and the True Creator raced to seize the Blasphemy Slate. With the way cleared, Silver City’s residents began their migration out of the Gods’ Battlefield and sailed safely toward the outside world.

• Klein and Medici watched Xu Yue Graze the Dark Angel Vile Spirit, exposing the first Blasphemy Slate.
• Amon seized the Blasphemy Slate, and the True Creator pursued him as both fought over it.
• Xu Yue and the advance party escorted Silver City toward the Giant King's Court after clearing the route.
• Bernadette Gustav made vine bridges so Silver City's residents could board the five ships, and many wept upon seeing sunlight.
• The five ships sailed out of the Gods' Battlefield, while Xu Yue turned the Fate Dice to six and the journey went smoothly.

Silver City’s fleet left the Gods' Battlefield and impressed its new allies with its strength, while Tracy and Xu Yue’s reunion with Katarina ended with Xu Yue pressuring the Witch Church’s Saintess to help them.

• Silver City’s fleet sailed away from the Gods' Battlefield, and Bernadette Gustav, the Abraham family representative, and Vice Admiral Iceberg recognized the value of allying with Silver City.
• Tracy spoke with Xu Yue aboard the fleet after the group left the battlefield.
• Katarina emerged from a mirror and joined Tracy and Xu Yue for afternoon tea, initially unaware of the fleet’s unusual strength.
• Katarina sensed the many Beyonders around her and realized that Tracy’s situation was far more serious than she had assumed.
• Xu Yue summoned a Dark Angel Vile Spirit and offered Katarina the choice of helping willingly or helping after he grazed her.

Xu Yue appointed Katarina as his representative in New Silver City and hinted at important intelligence to discuss after Silver City was settled. When the fleet reached Bayom, George Negan approved its arrival, but Sea King Yann Courtman raced toward the docks after learning that it carried over a thousand Beyonders.

• Xu Yue introduced Katarina as an Ageless Witch and named her his representative in New Silver City, while allowing her to handle Witch Church assignments part-time.
• Xu Yue told Klein that Katarina had shared important intelligence they would discuss after resolving the Silver City situation.
• The fleet arrived outside Bayom with the Black Death, Golden Dream, and Future, prompting alarm at the docks.
• George Negan approved the fleet’s entry under Duke Negan’s orders and instructed its crews to keep a low profile.
• Emilius Livit saw the fleet’s many Beyonders and hurried to Waves Cathedral for help from Sea King Yann Courtman.
• Yann Courtman initially dismissed Emilius’s concern, then vanished toward the docks when Emilius mentioned there were over a thousand Beyonders.

The Sea King met Xu Yue and Colin at Bayom’s docks and agreed to let Silver City settle in the Rosted Islands after learning they were friends of the Goddess of the Night. As Silver City began establishing New Silver City and the Tarot Club received its payment, Xu Yue tempted Klein with clues about demigod advancement and Mr. Fool’s connections.

• The Sea King examined the arriving Silver City Beyonders, recognized their formidable lineup, and came aboard the Future to hear Xu Yue’s explanation.
• Xu Yue presented Duke Negan’s letter and described Silver City’s need for a place to settle; the Sea King accepted their presence after Xu Yue said they were friends of the Goddess of the Night.
• Silver City’s residents moved to land outside Bayom, where Colin envisioned New Silver City as onlookers and spies spread news of their arrival.
• The Tarot Club members received payment in Beyonder characteristics, Sealed Artifacts, and ancient records, while Klein bought the Hunter pathway revolver Sanguine Bell and paid off his debt to Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue offered Klein cheap demigod advancement clues, then baited him with information about Mr. Fool’s friends and enemies.

Xu Yue warned Klein that the Desire Mother Tree might have detected his Origin Castle aura and targeted him, then offered clues about advancement. Klein investigated the threat and discovered that even divination above the Gray Fog could be misled, leaving him alarmed and uncertain about his next move.

• Xu Yue told Klein that the Goddess of the Night and Mr. Fool were likely allies, but warned that the Desire Mother Tree could detect Origin Castle's aura and target him.
• Xu Yue offered Klein incomplete information from the first Blasphemy Slate, including a demigod advancement ritual and clues to further information.
• Klein consulted Arrodes and the Serpent of Fate, who pointed him toward the Church of the Evernight, Mount Huonachis, and Charon for advancement clues.
• Klein divined whether the Desire Mother Tree had targeted him and found that the answer changed, revealing that his divination above the Gray Fog had been misled.
• Klein realized he might already be under threat despite being in New Silver City, and feared that an Angel could be sent after him.

Klein paid Xu Yue for the Sequence 4 Mysterious Illusionist ritual and clues, then sought help preparing for a possible attack by the Desire Mother Tree. After arranging angelic protection at great expense, he was left deeply in debt again.

• Klein paid Xu Yue twenty thousand gold pounds for the Mysterious Illusionist advancement ritual and clues to the potion formula.
• Xu Yue told Klein to seek the Antigonus Notebook at the Church of the Evernight in Backlund for the formula.
• Klein asked Xu Yue about defending against an angel sent by the Desire Mother Tree, and Xu Yue assessed the forces available around Silver City.
• Xu Yue listed the Mother Tree's possible forces, including the God of Bonds, Sia, and Balanca, while noting that the Storm Church might aid them.
• Klein contacted Mr. Azik and summoned Lennon Tinikol, who agreed to provide protection for ten thousand gold coins in installments.
• Klein accepted the protection deal, leaving himself in debt after paying the intelligence fee and bodyguard costs.

Jax prepared the Rose School’s attempt to capture Gehrman Sparrow, assuming New Silver City had several powerful demigods and arranging for Lord Sia and Admiral Blood to support the attack. Klein remained anxious despite gathering allies, and when Admiral Blood attacked him, Xu Yue intervened and subdued the pirate.

• Jax learned about New Silver City and reasoned that the Storm Church’s lack of intervention meant it could contain the settlement’s power.
• Jax decided to seek help from the Sequence 1 angel Lord Sia and arranged for Admiral Blood and his pirates to join the capture mission.
• Klein received word that Azik was coming and secured Miss Messenger and Xu Yue, but still feared the threat of the Desire Mother Tree’s allies.
• Klein refused to give Medici free control of the Sanguine Bell, though he agreed to let Medici possess it if necessary.
• Admiral Blood Senior attacked Klein in his room, and Xu Yue burst in, defeated Senior, and agreed that Klein could make the pirate his marionette in exchange for the bounty.

Jax sent Sia to draw the demigods away while he tried to abduct Klein, but Klein and his allies killed Jax before he could act. Sia withdrew, and Azik warned that the Rose School’s King of Angels could provoke a True God’s descent if he appeared.

• Jax concluded that a demigod was near Klein and asked Sia to create a diversion with an attack on New Silver City.
• Sia’s attack drew the demigods’ attention, and Sea King charged into the sky after identifying the Rose School as the enemy.
• Jax entered Klein’s room to abduct him, where he found Azik, Xu Yue, Miss Messenger, Caterina Pelai, and the Witch waiting.
• The Witch restrained Jax, Miss Messenger bit him, and Azik and Xu Yue beat him down before Klein shot him dead.
• Sia sensed Jax’s death and retreated, ending the attack without the other groups learning that a Sequence 3 demigod had died.
• Azik told Klein that a King of Angels’ arrival could trigger a True God’s descent.

Klein returned to Backlund under the identity of Dunn Tangtes after resolving the Silver City incident and advancing, while planning to obtain the Antigonus family's notebook. Xu Yue reunited with Leonard, whose support helped establish Klein’s new persona and highlighted Xu Yue’s growing influence in Backlund.

• Azik left to search for the ring, and Katarina warned Klein that Azik had once been the Death Arbiter and an executor of the Pale Disaster.
• Klein decided not to abandon Azik despite the danger of his past resurfacing.
• Klein created a wealthy gold prospector identity as Dunn Tangtes, using his Silver City connections and Little Sun’s help to make the story convincing.
• Klein and Xu Yue arrived in Backlund by steam train, where Leonard greeted Xu Yue and discussed his continued training.
• Xu Yue introduced Klein to Leonard as a wealthy new Beyonder, and Leonard offered the Church’s support for Klein’s plans to enter high society.

Xu Yue and Klein returned to Backlund, where the bicycle industry had grown and the Church of the Goddess of the Night had arranged Xu Yue a villa beside St. Samuel's Cathedral. Klein began searching for a butler whose knowledge could help him investigate the Great Smog Incident, leaving the cathedral after making a conspicuous donation and considering how to enter Backlund's upper-class circles.

• Leonard told Xu Yue and Klein about Backlund's changes, including the growth of the bicycle industry and the villa Dunn had rented for Xu Yue near St. Samuel's Cathedral.
• Klein reminded Xu Yue about his shares, then asked Leonard for advice on finding a butler and accepted Xu Yue's offer to stay at his villa.
• Klein arranged interviews with promising butlers and used divination to identify three who could provide clues about the Great Smog Incident.
• Klein visited St. Samuel's Cathedral, donated 50 gold pounds, and carefully maintained his wealthy, devout persona.
• Klein fed pigeons outside the cathedral while considering which butler could help him enter Backlund's social circles.

Klein hired Walter as his butler, established a new residence on Berkeley Street, and endured a Night Watcher’s dream-infiltration test as he prepared to investigate the Church of the Evernight for the notebook. The chapter then moved to the first formal Tarot Club gathering since the Silver City rescue, where the members assembled eager to discuss the Witch Church’s conspiracy.

• Klein visited Xu Yue, discussed the risks of joining the circle, and insisted on pursuing the ritual and potion independently.
• Klein interviewed three applicants and hired Walter, whose past connection to Prince Edsac and the Great Smog Incident made him useful to Klein’s investigation.
• Klein chose a house at 160 Berkeley Street, hired servants, and settled in before facing a Church of the Evernight Beyonder’s dream-infiltration test that night.
• Klein gathered the Tarot Club members above the Gray Fog for their first formal meeting since the Silver City rescue plan.

At the Tarot Club, Klein read a diary page about Emperor Roosevelt, Mr. Door, and the War of the Four Emperors, while The Hermit sought information about Mr. Door. Fors revealed that Mr. Door caused the Abraham family's full-moon pleas and decline, then The Lovers offered further information for 5,000 gold pounds.

• Klein read a diary page describing Mr. Door's resurrection methods, the War of the Four Emperors, and Emperor Roosevelt's possible attempt to become a Black Emperor.
• The Hermit asked who else featured in the diary, and Klein identified Mr. Door.
• Klein prompted Fors to recognize Mr. Door as the being behind the Full Moon Murmurs, and Fors explained that the Abraham family could not withstand his calls for help.
• The Hermit offered at least 500 gold pounds for more information about Mr. Door.
• The Lovers offered additional information for 5,000 gold pounds, and the Hermit agreed to hear it before judging its value.

Xu Yue revealed that George III was working with the Witch Cult to become the Black Emperor, while Emperor Roosevelt was secretly preparing to resurrect. The Tarot Club members were left weighing whether to investigate or alert the Churches, with Xu Yue warning them to protect themselves.

• Xu Yue explained that Bethel Abraham remained sealed as a King of Angels and warned Cidalia against trying to contact him.
• After the trading session, Xu Yue told Audrey that George III planned to become the Black Emperor with the Witch Cult’s help.
• Xu Yue revealed that the Great Smog Incident, new laws, Duke Negan’s assassination, the Balam Crown, and the vanished population were connected to George III’s ritual.
• Xu Yue said Emperor Roosevelt was preparing to resurrect and would be completely destroyed if George III succeeded.
• Alger proposed reporting the plot to the Church, but Xu Yue questioned whether they had evidence and warned that the Churches might eliminate anyone they considered a threat.

Klein and Audrey considered the consequences of the Black Emperor’s possible apotheosis, while Audrey prepared to return to Backlund. Bernadette visited Xu Yue to ask what he knew about Roselle and the Black Emperor, and the Lamp God reacted strangely when she brought it out.

• Klein read news about the booming bicycle industry and wrestled with whether to trust Xu Yue’s claim that the Churches might not oppose the Black Emperor’s apotheosis.
• Audrey asked Count Hall to let her return to Backlund, and he agreed to have Alfred escort her when he came back from an assignment related to Silver City.
• Count Hall told Audrey about the bicycle industry and encouraged her to investigate it and consider investing in shares.
• Bernadette visited Xu Yue and asked what he knew about Roselle and the Black Emperor; Xu Yue asked to see her Lamp God.
• Bernadette warned Xu Yue that the Lamp God twisted wishes and that a third wish was dangerous, then brought it out and noticed it seemed to resist being taken from her.

Xu Yue told Bernadette that Huang Tao had planned for his resurrection and warned her that the search for his mausoleum would be dangerous, while Bernadette focused on stopping George III's godhood plan. Later, Klein visited Xu Yue for dinner, where they discussed the Macht family’s young Beyonder neighbor.

• Xu Yue agreed to answer Bernadette’s questions and explained that he and Huang Tao came from the ancient Western Continent and had awakened in different eras.
• Xu Yue explained that Huang Tao had become the Black Emperor to escape the God of Steam and Machinery’s suppression and had planned to use its resurrection trait to rid himself of excess Beyonder characteristics.
• Xu Yue warned Bernadette that Huang Tao had also been corrupted by an unspeakable entity and advised her to wait until she became an angel before seeking his mausoleum.
• Bernadette left to prioritize sabotaging George III’s godhood plan, believing that George III would not succeed.
• Klein brought Xu Yue a housewarming gift and joined him for dinner after visiting St. Samuel’s Cathedral.
• Klein told Xu Yue about a young Beyonder living nearby, and Xu Yue identified her as Miss Heiryl Macht.

Klein’s use of the telegraph machine left an aura of Origin Castle on him, which Pallez detected when Klein met Leonard at the Church of the Evernight. After Leonard confronted Xu Yue, Xu Yue revealed that Dwayne was Klein in disguise and a Blessed of Mr. Fool.

• Klein met Leonard at the Church of the Evernight while disguised as Dwayne.
• Pallez sensed an ancient, familiar aura on Klein and warned Leonard that it had not been there before.
• Leonard went to Xu Yue’s home to ask about Dwayne, suspecting he might pose a threat to Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue recognized that Pallez had detected the aura and showed that he knew about Pallez’s presence inside Leonard.
• Xu Yue revealed that Dwayne was Klein and that the aura Pallez sensed came from Origin Castle.

Xu Yue told Leonard that Klein had faked his death and was living as Dwayne Dantès, while warning him to keep the secret. Klein worried that Leonard’s hidden angel might threaten his plans, then faced tedious lessons and joined a Tarot Club plan to coordinate the Black Emperor investigation in Backlund.

• Xu Yue showed Leonard an old newspaper linking Klein to Baron Sherlock and told him the Goddess knew about Klein’s survival.
• Leonard met Klein as Dwayne Dantès and exchanged polite remarks while hiding that he recognized him.
• Klein asked Xu Yue whether Leonard had noticed something, and Xu Yue warned that the Goddess might know about the angel inside Leonard.
• Klein arranged for Miss Sharon to investigate the Black Emperor’s godhood ritual and asked Miss Messenger to deliver his letter.
• After a philosophy lesson, Klein received Miss Justice’s invitation to a temporary Tarot Club gathering to coordinate the Backlund investigation.

At the gathering, Emlyn White and the others discussed the growing tension in Backlund and the True God Churches’ apparent inaction toward George III’s plan to become a Black Emperor. Klein realized the churches might use their knowledge of the mausoleums to pressure the Loen Royal Family into a deal.

• Emlyn White said the Sanguine higher-ups had sensed trouble approaching and ordered their people to keep a low profile.
• Fors revealed that her teacher had encountered Louis Wayne, a Sequence 5 Traveler and Aurora Society emissary who had joined after betraying the Abraham family.
• Xu Yue said Louis Wayne could be useful to the Aurora Society and offered to contact them, while noting they likely knew little about the plot.
• Audrey said she had reported the matter to the Three True God Churches, but none had responded, and she planned to meet a Psychic Alchemist Society figure.
• Xu Yue asked what the churches would do, and Klein suggested they might negotiate with the Loen Royal Family.
• The gathering considered that the churches could use their knowledge of the mausoleums to pressure the royal family and reclaim the initiative.

The Tarot Club discussed whether they could stop the Luen Royal Family from helping George III become the Black Emperor, but the True God Churches’ likely tacit approval and the threat of war made intervention seem nearly impossible. The chapter ended with Medici offering Klein help if he found Hunter pathway characteristics, while Drinker Augustus watched a mausoleum nearing completion.

• Xu Yue and Klein concluded that stopping George III’s ritual would likely require attacking his most important mausoleum, and Xu Yue warned that Loen might start a war without striking first.
• Fors and Mr. Moon judged that the Tarot Club could do little, while Audrey and Klein remained troubled; Xu Yue suggested asking the other members at the next official gathering.
• Audrey traveled back toward Backlund with Alfred Hall and said she wanted to pray at St. Samuel’s Cathedral because her heart felt unsettled.
• Medici offered to help Klein hold back an angel if Klein found him Hunter pathway Beyonder characteristics.
• Drinker Augustus watched workers near a nearly completed underground mausoleum and reflected on the Black Emperor’s grand scheme.