Chapter Summaries

The Chaotic Hound, Kezef, escaped its ancient prison and shook the deepest layers of the Abyss, prompting Demon Lords and Abyssal Titans to respond. Meanwhile, Obox-ob quietly advanced her long-running bid for influence through her powerful offspring, including Graz'zt.

• Kezef emerged from a hidden Plane and announced its return by unleashing its power across the Abyss.
• The Demon Lords and Abyssal Titans set aside their rivalries to address Kezef's escape and sought to drive it toward the Upper Planes or Material Plane.
• The upper Abyss remained largely unaware of the crisis as Kezef's influence had not yet crossed the intervening layers.
• Obox-ob continued her scheme to gain power by bearing Demons and sending her offspring into the contest for the Abyss.
• Obox-ob's children included several Demon Lords and Graz'zt, the Dark Prince of the Abyss, who could contend for supremacy.

The chapter recounts how Malcanthet rose to power by betraying Demogorgon and describes the enemies and captives now threatening her amid the Time of Troubles. Soran returns to the Realm of the Forgottens and learns that Malcanthet has vanished and the Succubus Legion has withdrawn from the Blood War.

• Malcanthet secretly guided heroes from the Prime Material Plane to sabotage Demogorgon's plan to become the Demon King, and his downfall helped her rise among the Abyss's most powerful rulers.
• Malcanthet imprisoned a dormant Lorrᵯar Lord in a ruby and later sought to absorb its power without losing her beauty and lust.
• As the Time of Troubles and Energy Storm brought new dangers and apparent escapes among her enemies, Malcanthet vanished from her Palace.
• Soran returned to his territory in the Realm of the Forgottens after a brief visit to the Eastern Realm.
• A Yugoloth told Soran that the Succubus Legion had withdrawn from the Blood War and that Malcanthet's disappearance had thrown the legion into turmoil.

Soran learned that the Succubus Queen had disappeared and suspected the news could destabilize the Abyss, but he focused on preparing his own plans. In Port Nyanzaru, George and the Drow transported a huge stockpile of heavy weapons that Soran had ordered for use in the Abyss.

• Soran rewarded a Yugoloth for reporting the Succubus Queen's disappearance and considered how her absence could shift power in the Abyss.
• Soran decided he lacked the strength to get involved in the unfolding intrigue and turned his attention to arranging the delivery of supplies.
• In Port Nyanzaru, George and a Drow loaded heavy weapons onto wagons for transport to a restricted area.
• George and the Drow noted that the weapons were unusually heavy and numerous, enough to arm a thousand Barbarians.
• The chapter explained that Soran had stockpiled the weapons because the Abyss lacked production and depended on smuggled equipment, and he intended to enter Extraplanar Trade.

Soren raised his arcanist class level to 5 using the slaughter experience he had gained from killing the God of Hunt, preparing to help Goria and Corinna open a channel to the Abyss. He invested in Dexterity and crafting and spell-penetration feats, then held off on advancing until he could reach Tier 6.

• Soren met Goria and the Fallen Witch, Corinna, in the War Chess Demiplane, where they were preparing to help him open a plane channel to the Abyss.
• Soren spent three million slaughter experience to raise his arcanist class level to 5, bringing his total wizard level to 15, though his arcanist and wizard abilities still did not synchronize.
• Soren put his two free attribute points into Dexterity, raising it to 32, and selected Craft Magic Item and Spell Penetration as his feats.
• Soren invested his skill points in Create Magic Weapon and decided to wait until he reached Tier 6 before pursuing his planned divine spellcasting abilities.

Soren used a temporary Portal to transport treasure and a large shipment of weapons into the Abyss, intending to equip his troops and sell the rest to Demons. He planned to use the profits to fund his military expansion and his wives’ Wizard Towers.

• Soren and Goria and the Fallen Witch worked together to create a temporary Teleportation Array into the Abyss.
• Soren mastered Divine Power Shockwave and gained stronger Slaughter Domain effects for Blasphemous Utterance.
• Soren opened a Portal to the Realm of the Forgottens and sent through treasure, rare materials, weapons, artillery, and war supplies.
• Soren planned to equip his Demon Avatar’s Elite Troops with half the shipment and sell the rest to Demons for a large profit.
• Soren decided Cross-planar Arms Trade could help pay for his military expansion and the Wizard Towers Goria and the Fallen Witch wanted to rebuild.

Soren focused on gathering faith, strengthening his rule, and learning powerful spells while preparing his Demon Avatar to seize Gurumba Arena. As Falling Leaf City faced famine and unrest, Lane proposed that the half-elves seek help in Port Nyanzaru.

• Soran planned to use his latest weapons to attack Gurumba Arena and establish a power base in the Abyss.
• Soren prioritized gathering the Power of Faith, strengthening his Rule Domain, and researching new spells, including Antigravity.
• Falling Leaf City continued to decline as the orcs held conquered land, planted winter wheat, and prepared for a prolonged war.
• Lane warned a secret alliance of half-elves that food shortages and rising prices threatened the city as winter approached.
• Lane told the gathered half-elves, "I want to go to Port Nyanzaru."

Old Victor struggled to feed his grandson amid Falling Leaf City’s postwar famine and approaching winter. His nephew proposed taking the family to Port Nyanzaru, leaving Old Victor hopeful that he could find work and raise Jack there.

• Old Victor brought food home and watched Jack eat, hiding that he had not eaten himself.
• Old Victor worried that he could not support Jack through the coming winter as Falling Leaf City’s food and work ran out.
• Old Victor’s one-eyed nephew returned and announced that he wanted to take the family to Port Nyanzaru.
• The nephew explained that Lord Lane was arranging for people to leave and that they would need to secure a large ship themselves.
• Old Victor agreed that he wanted to go to Port Nyanzaru, and the desire to leave began spreading through Falling Leaf City.

Corinna and Goria completed an Adamantite Golem built to withstand the Wizard Tower’s defenses, allowing Soren and his allies to begin their assault. They reached the tower and began fighting its defenses, with Soren attacking the Magical Powered Armor as Tower Spirit 7 mobilized its forces.

• Corinna completed the Adamantite Golem, and Goria urged her exhausted mother to rest before the assault.
• After learning the golem was ready, Soren prepared his combat spells for the next day’s advance on the Wizard Tower.
• Soren, Goria, Corinna, and the High Priest arrived at the Wizard Tower, where Tower Spirit 7 identified them as intruders and activated its defenses.
• Soren warned the others about the Magical Energy Crystal Pulse Cannon as two Adamantite Golems shielded the group and the High Priest established a mental link.
• Tower Spirit 7 began casting spells, while Soren used Melf's Minute Meteors to barrage the Magical Powered Armor.

Soren and his allies fought their way into the Wizard Tower while evading its lethal pulse cannon. On the first floor, they discovered an unfinished Floating Ring that revealed secrets of how Floating Cities worked.

• Soren enhanced Icetail and the Gith Silver Sword with Greater Magic Weapon, then used Shadow Jump to escape the pulse cannon's attack and destroyed the Magical Energy Power Device.
• Soren shattered Tower Spirit 7's shield and pierced the gem in her chest, disabling her.
• Soren led the others into the Wizard Tower as the pulse cannon vaporized the Fallen Witch's Adamantite Golem outside.
• Soren and his allies defeated the remaining Adamantite Golems inside the tower and explored its first floor.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch identified an unfinished Arcanite Floating Ring with Antigravity Spell Runes, and Soren interrupted their investigation.

Soren and his companions cleared the Wizard Tower’s second floor by destroying the devices summoning Magical Bats, then found a few surviving items. With Goria and the Fallen Witch low on Spell Slots, Soren decided they would rest before exploring further.

• Soren disarmed a trap on the second floor, but a swarm of Magical Bats emerged from the darkness.
• Goria identified Magical Bat Summoning Devices, and the group fought off waves of bats, including spellcasting Mephits.
• Soren and his companions split up to destroy the summoning devices and stopped more bats from appearing.
• Goria found an unknown item in a storeroom, and the Fallen Witch recovered an unfinished Small Arcanite Levitation Ring from a wrecked laboratory.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch warned that they had few Spell Slots remaining, so Soren postponed exploring the third floor and planned to teleport back after they gathered the loot.

Soren explored the Wizard Tower’s third floor and discovered a Golem Hall packed with dormant golem puppets and a dangerous combat-type Tower Spirit. After the group withdrew, Goria and the Fallen Witch prepared to choose spells for their next assault while Soren considered claiming the inactive golems intact.

• Soren entered the Wizard Tower’s third floor, passed a spell trap, and found hundreds of golem puppets and two inactive Magical Energy Power Devices.
• Soren observed a patrol of golems circling a seemingly dormant combat-type Tower Spirit and realized that revealing himself might awaken the defenses.
• Soren memorized the hall’s layout and Energy Transmission Pipelines, then found the stone door to the fourth floor sealed.
• Soren returned to Goria, the Fallen Witch, and the Mage Maidens after they had finished clearing the battlefield and collecting parts for study.
• The group withdrew from the Wizard Tower, and Goria and the Fallen Witch began preparing spells to face the golems and advanced devices while Soren considered taking the dormant puppets.

Soren took Goria to the Astral Plane, where they shared a quiet evening beneath the stars and she danced for him. The next morning, Old Sea Dog returned to Port Nyanzaru aboard a warship flying Soren's Black Flag.

• Soren embraced Goria and took her through the Astral Plane with the Radiance of Divinity.
• Soren and Goria strolled hand in hand through the Endless Starry Sky and admired the stars.
• Goria performed the Eastern Dancer's Whirlwind Dance amid swirling Astral Sand.
• Goria and Soren stayed together in the Astral Plane after she told him she wanted him.
• A warship bearing Soren's Black Flag arrived at Port Nyanzaru, and Old Sea Dog came ashore, relieved to be back alive.

Old Sea Dog returned with a chart and strange artifacts from a vast island near the Eastern World, but Soren decided not to pursue expansion into the Eastern Waters during the Time of Troubles. A report then revealed that Half-Elves in Falling Leaf City wanted to migrate to the Overseas Islands, leaving Soren to consider where they could settle because Port Nyanzaru was already full.

• Old Sea Dog returned to Port Nyanzaru after finding a new route through the Amazon Tropical Rainforest and exploring the outskirts of an island with ancient city ruins, Undead, and Shadow Spirits.
• Old Sea Dog gave Soren a nautical chart, unusual soil, Alchemy components, Mutated Creature carcasses, and a glowing object from the ruins.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch examined the artifacts and said they could not identify the ruins, while Soren decided to postpone any expedition until after securing the Wizard Tower.
• Soren rejected expanding into the Eastern Waters because the distance and costs outweighed the benefits during the Time of Troubles, though he marked the region for future interest.
• Port Nyanzaru's intelligence network reported that Half-Elves in Falling Leaf City wanted Soren's protection and planned to migrate to the Overseas Islands.
• Soren welcomed the Half-Elves, but Port Nyanzaru's limited capacity meant they would likely need to settle in developing towns nearby.

Lane returned to Falling Leaf City with news that Port Nyanzaru would accept its starving Half-Elves, briefly restoring hope as the city faced winter and Devilish influence. The Noble Council arrested him for colluding with the enemy, leaving the people to pray for Soren’s help as darkness gathered.

• Lane returned to Falling Leaf City and learned that hunger, cold, crime, and possible Devilish influence had worsened its crisis.
• Lane confirmed that Port Nyanzaru would take in the Half-Elves, and the refugees cheered at the prospect of migration.
• The Noble Council’s Law Enforcement Team presented an arrest warrant accusing Lane of colluding with the enemy and violently dispersed the crowd.
• Lane surrendered to avoid a hopeless fight and urged the people to pray as officers took him away in shackles.
• The Noble Council continued to rely on dark powers while Devils and other Evil forces prepared to exploit the coming winter.

As Falling Leaf City descended into hunger and supernatural violence, refugees gathered at an altar and prayed to Soren for help. Soren sensed their faith, discovered evil forces and devils had infiltrated the city, and realized several monsters were converging on its ruins for the souls.

• Ghouls emerged from the sewers in Falling Leaf City, and Mark's Patrol Guard fought them while concealing the attacks from the public.
• Mark saw growing hunger and resentment, growing dissatisfaction among army officers, and considered switching sides to support the arriving lord.
• Refugees gathered around a crude altar and prayed to Soren, whose divine power had been difficult to reach during the Time of Troubles.
• The refugees' combined prayers reached Soren, who formed Telepathic Bonds with believers and learned how badly the city had deteriorated.
• Soren sensed an evil god's minions and devils in Falling Leaf City, along with traces of other beings, and concluded that monsters had gathered to claim the city's souls.

Soren decided to evacuate the people willing to leave Falling Leaf City before the Time of Troubles, rather than fight to control the city. He assembled an army in the plain north of the city and ordered it to push straight through.

• Soren weighed purging Falling Leaf City against taking away those willing to follow him, then chose to give the residents one final chance to leave.
• Soren and the High Priest prepared a powerful Teleportation Array in Port Nyanzaru, with Goria and the Fallen Witch overseeing its activation.
• Soren sent the Golem Legion and Port Nyanzaru's elite troops through the Portal to the plain north of Falling Leaf City.
• An army several thousand strong assembled on the plain, and Soren ordered it to push straight through toward the city.

Soren’s army stormed Falling Leaf City to secure civilians before the coming Time of Troubles, while Soren ordered his forces to avoid harming civilians and prisoners. After they rescued the tortured Lane, Soren healed him and turned toward the city with clear killing intent.

• Soren led Port Nyanzaru’s army to Falling Leaf City and ordered the Adamantite Golems to smash through its northern gate.
• Soren’s troops occupied a fifth of the city, secured the area, and raided the prison to rescue Lane while the Archbishop prepared to negotiate for the civilians’ departure.
• Falling Leaf City’s army assembled as Soren ordered his forces not to attack unless the half-elf soldiers attacked first.
• Scarface carried the gravely tortured Lane to Soren, who used divine magic to heal his wounds.
• Soren saw Lane’s condition, told him to rest, and turned with fury and killing intent.

Soren retaliated against the Noble Council after discovering Lane had been tortured, and his magic exposed devils and undead hidden among Falling Leaf City’s nobles and soldiers. He uncovered Mammon as the mastermind and pursued the Archduke of Hell as he tried to flee.

• Soren ordered his troops to take Falling Leaf City and kill anyone who resisted, while Lane’s supporters joined the attack against the nobles.
• The Fallen Witch struck down enemy Spellcasters as Soren used divine magic to seal off teleportation and blast the city with Sunburst.
• Sunburst revealed that nobles and soldiers had been transformed into vampires and Ghouls, while the central noble became Mammon, Archduke of Hell.
• Soren recognized Mammon as the force behind the intrigue and watched him kill nearby nobles as their corrupted souls were drawn into him.
• Mammon tried to escape through fire, but Soren vanished after him and vowed not to let the Archduke get away.

Soren tracked down Mammon after the Archduke of Hell tried to escape, defeated his avatar, and used its soul and divinity to transform Icetail into a tier 2 artifact. The new weapon gained a curse that could permanently lower an enemy’s attribute and the ability to drain souls.

• Mammon harvested souls from the nobles of Falling Leaf City, then vanished into the space between the Spirit Realm and the Material Plane when Soren confronted him.
• Soren used his [Tracking] portfolio to find Mammon and sealed the surrounding space before attacking with his abilities.
• Soren overwhelmed Mammon’s weakened avatar, severed his arm, and cut off his head.
• Mammon’s soul emerged and tried to flee, but Soren sealed it in a gem and gathered the other souls into it.
• Soren infused Icetail with Mammon’s soul, divinity, and his own divine power, creating a tier 2 artifact embryo with a curse and [Soul Drain].

Soren chose to infuse Icetail with the power of his portfolio’s laws, while Mammon plotted after losing part of his power. Soren seized control of Falling Leaf City and prepared to relocate its people as the Time of Troubles brought new extraplanar dangers.

• Soren chose to infuse Icetail with his portfolio’s power of law so his followers could wield it with his permission.
• Mammon realized Soren had taken part of his power, then agreed to hear the Hell Poet’s proposal to work together.
• Soren’s forces took Falling Leaf City, crushed the riots, and placed the surviving Noble Council members under his protection.
• Soren incorporated part of Falling Leaf City’s army into his forces and planned to relocate willing residents to the Overseas Islands.
• Soren warned that extraplanar enemies could soon reach the Material Plane and told the people to fend for themselves.