Chapter Summaries

Cobb tried to escape the school after learning his whereabouts had been exposed, but repeatedly returned to the same corner and concluded he was trapped in a Dreamscape. Josh insisted that the school was reality, then transported Cobb into outer space to prove his power, leaving Cobb struggling to survive.

• Cobb left with the gifts for his children, but found that every route through the school led him back to the classroom where Josh and Avila waited.
• Cobb tested his spinning-top totem and concluded that someone had cracked it and trapped him in a Dreamscape.
• Cobb approached Josh and demanded to know who they were and what they wanted, but Josh insisted that Cobb was in reality.
• Josh left Avila behind, grabbed Cobb, and transported him into outer space.
• Cobb saw Earth and nearby satellites as he was overwhelmed by the pressure and lack of oxygen, and Josh apologized for forgetting that humans could not adapt to space.

Josh brought Cobb into space, convinced him that the encounter was real, and offered to resurrect his wife Mel in exchange for learning how to construct a Dreamscape. Cobb agreed to let Josh join his operation, while Josh explained that Mel would need a new body made from her DNA.

• Cobb reasoned that the absence of Dreamscape defenses meant his surroundings were probably real, and Josh confirmed that they were in space above Earth.
• Josh told Cobb that he wanted to learn to construct a Dreamscape and offered to resurrect Cobb's wife as payment.
• Josh opened the Hell Gate, found Mel's soul, and brought her before Cobb without waking her.
• Cobb agreed to let Josh participate in his operation after seeing Mel's soul, and Josh warned him about a black hole forming above them.
• Josh told Cobb that resurrecting Mel would require DNA so someone could make her a new body.

Cobb brought Josh and Avila to meet Professor Miles and recruit Ariane for a dream job, while Josh observed their first shared dream from outside. After Mel attacked Ariane and the dream collapsed, Josh offered Cobb a way to construct dreams again.

• Cobb declined Josh’s offer to return to the United States immediately and said he wanted his whole family to live together again.
• Cobb asked Miles to find a student for his job, and Miles agreed after Cobb appealed to their shared concern for family.
• Cobb recruited Ariane and brought her, Josh, and Avila to Arthur’s workshop to enter a dream.
• Josh stayed outside the dream while Mel, Cobb’s subconscious projection, stabbed Ariane and caused the dream to collapse.
• Ariane left angrily, and Josh asked Cobb whether he would accept a way to construct dreams again.

Josh offered to help Cobb recover, but Cobb refused to forget Mel and chose to focus on completing their missions. As Arthur questioned Cobb about Josh’s powers, Josh and Avila grew closer while discussing the nature of their worlds.

• Josh offered to restore Cobb’s dreambuilding ability or temporarily erase his painful memories, but Cobb rejected forgetting Mel and his past mistakes.
• Arthur accepted Cobb’s decision and asked about Josh and Avila, who explained that they would join the group as companions.
• Josh told Avila that even if their lives were part of someone else’s story, they were still living beings, and she thanked him for the experience of traveling between worlds.
• Arthur spoke privately with Cobb, who described Josh leaving Earth, showing him Mel’s soul, and the dream in which Mel attacked the girl Cobb had taken to build a dream.
• Arthur struggled to believe Cobb’s account and asked what they should do next.

Josh teleported Cobb and Arthur from France to Mombasa to find Imus, whose ability to impersonate people in Dreamscapes interested Josh. While Josh and Avila waited in a bar, Cobb and Arthur returned with Imus.

• Josh created a magic ring and teleported himself, Avila, Cobb, and Arthur to Mombasa inside a dimensional space.
• Josh explained that Imus could impersonate people in Dreamscapes and influence targets through their subconscious, an ability he wanted to study.
• Cobb and Arthur set out to find Imus while Josh and Avila explored Mombasa and then waited in a bar.
• Cobb and Arthur arrived at the bar with a middle-aged man while Josh and Avila were discussing Zhen Huan.

Josh and Avila joined Cobb, Arthur, and Imus in Kenya, where Josh demonstrated his power by turning one of Cobol Engineering’s gunmen against his companions. After the attack, Josh sent Cobb and the others to find Yusuf while he and Avila left for France.

• Imus asked Josh to deal with the people tracking Cobb, and Josh agreed in exchange for observing Imus’s forgery ability in the Dreamscape.
• Josh used his magic to control a gunman and make him attack the mercenaries sent by Cobol Engineering.
• The controlled gunman killed several mercenaries and continued fighting through the building and into the street.
• Cobb told Josh that the group would find the chemist Yusuf, and Josh said he would not accompany them but would take them back to France afterward.
• Josh left with Avila, then made the gunman shoot himself.

Josh learned the principles of Dreambuilding from Cobb, then used magic and spiritual power to bring Cobb and Avila into a dream without sedatives. His first attempt produced only an unstable void, so he considered exploring deeper dreams instead.

• Josh gathered the team in the French studio, where Cobb explained how Dreambuilding worked and Josh listened closely.
• Cobb offered to use sedatives to put Josh and Avila to sleep, but Josh said they could not use the drug and proposed entering a dream by magic instead.
• Josh assured Cobb he could keep Cobb’s body safe, and Cobb agreed to lie down before they began.
• Josh used magic and spiritual power to bring Cobb and Avila into a world of endless darkness.
• Josh admitted that his first Dreambuilding attempt had failed and decided he should investigate deeper dreams with them.

Josh and Avila studied Dreambuilding and discussed Josh’s plan for a powerful Illusionary Magic spell that could trap someone in an altered Dreamscape. With Cobb’s team assembled for the Fischer operation, Saito questioned why Josh and Avila were not involved in planning, and Cobb assured him they were formidable dream thieves.

• Avila recognized that Josh’s Dreamscape was unstable and agreed that Illusionary Magic could be useful in battle.
• Josh described a spell that would manipulate a victim’s strength and sense of time inside a Dreamscape, and Avila praised its potential benefits.
• Josh and Avila studied Dreambuilding with Imus, while Josh asked Cobb and the others about exploring deeper Dreamscapes.
• Saito arrived in France and asked to join Cobb’s operation, and the team accepted him.
• Ariane returned, and Cobb’s team began planning how to influence Fischer into dissolving his father’s company.
• Saito asked Cobb why Josh and Avila were not helping with the planning, and Cobb said they were the most formidable dream thieves.

Cobb agreed to let Josh enter his Dreamscape and help him confront the phantom of his wife before the Fischer operation. Josh gave Cobb a magical safeguard, then explored the dream city with Avila, who agreed to learn guiding magic under a contract.

• Cobb and Saito discussed the plan to implant an idea in young Fischer while acting aboard a plane.
• Cobb agreed to take Josh into his stable Dreamscape and deepest memories so Josh could help him face the phantom of his wife.
• Josh used magic to put Cobb to sleep, entered the Dreamscape with Avila, and gave Cobb a particle of energy to help him hold onto himself.
• Josh left Cobb alone to confront his nightmare while he and Avila explored the ruined city Cobb and Mel had built.
• Avila asked to learn how to create Dreamscapes, and she agreed to Josh’s contract restricting where he could share the guiding magic.

Josh taught Avila the fundamentals of Illusionary Magic while they explored Cobb’s Dreamscape, then agreed to deliver Cobb’s reward by taking him to another world to clone his wife’s body. The chapter ended with Dr. Wu beginning the work and Josh reminding Cobb to prepare clothes and arrange an identity for her.

• Josh taught Avila how Illusionary Magic used controlled magic and covert actions to create hallucinations.
• After receiving Cobb’s signal, Josh and Avila found him mourning the phantom of his wife in the Dreamscape.
• Cobb asked Josh not to lie about freeing his wife from death, and Josh decided to deliver the reward by preparing a body for her.
• Josh took Cobb and Avila through a silver gate to another world, where he introduced Dr. Wu as the person responsible for cloning Cobb’s wife.
• Cobb handed Dr. Wu his wife’s DNA materials, and Josh told him to prepare clothes and arrange an identity for her before returning.

Josh brought Cobb to another world to clone Mel, then returned with him and summoned her soul into the new body. Mel woke in Cobb’s arms, mistook his presence for a sign that he had died too, and asked if he had come to keep her company.

• Josh explained that Cobb was a Hollywood star in this world and warned him against seeking out his alternate self.
• Cobb refused Josh’s offer to accelerate time so he could watch Mel’s cloned body take shape.
• After more than a month, Dr. Wu finished the clone, and Josh brought Cobb and the others back to the Dream thief world.
• Josh opened the Hell Gate and summoned Mel’s soul, which merged with the body Cobb was supporting.
• Mel woke and asked Cobb if he had died and come to keep her company, and Cobb promised he was there for her.

After Josh resurrected Mel, the group gathered to celebrate and learned what she had experienced in the Underworld River. Josh explained his interest in Dreamscapes and his ability to travel between universes, then said they would check Dom’s progress on getting them home before he left.

• Mel told Miles and the others about her death, her time in the Underworld River, and Josh bringing her back.
• Cobb explained that he had agreed to teach Josh dream construction in exchange for Mel’s resurrection.
• Josh told Saito he could resurrect people but had no reason to accept anything from him in return.
• Josh explained to Ariane that he could travel between universes and that his power came from magic and personal growth.
• Josh told Miles that he had come to learn about Dreamscapes from Dom and proposed checking Dom’s progress on getting them home before he left.

Josh and Avila joined Cobb’s team as they began their mission to enter Robert Fischer’s dreams and influence him. After the team entered the Dreamscape, Josh and Avila followed and found Saito badly wounded.

• Josh and Avila left the party, toured the French countryside, and returned to find Cobb’s team preparing to act after Maurice Fischer’s death.
• Josh arranged for Avila to join the mission, and Saito provided tickets and travel documents for the group.
• Josh, Avila, Cobb, and the others flew on the same plane as Robert Fischer, whom Cobb’s team drugged and pulled into Ariane’s Dreamscape.
• Josh and Avila entered the Dreamscape using Josh’s magic and located Cobb’s team in a warehouse.
• Josh and Avila found Saito seriously injured after he stopped Imus from shooting him.

Josh helped Cobb's team overcome Fischer's defenses and complete the idea implantation, then prepared to leave the dream world with Avila. The chapter left Cobb's team finishing the mission while Josh and Avila returned to attend to their contract and Avila's letter to her father.

• Josh found that Saito refused to wake despite being shot, and Cobb planned to use Mr. Charles's method to reach Fischer in another dream level.
• Josh promised to handle Fischer's projections, then erased every subconscious projection from the Dreamscape with his magic power.
• Cobb's team gained Fischer's trust and entered the third dream level to implant the idea that his father wanted him to choose his own path.
• Fischer took the pinwheel from his father's safe, and the implanted idea convinced him to dissolve the company and live for himself.
• Josh and Avila agreed to leave the world, sign a contract, and have Avila write a letter to her father before saying goodbye to Cobb's team.

Josh decided to stay on Muya Continent and master his existing abilities, but a contract made in Kamacia’s name connected him to the world’s shattered consciousness. After Akathosh explained that the connection could help Josh learn the world’s essence and rules, Josh eagerly thanked him.

• Josh reviewed his many forms of magic and agreed with Akathosh that he should consolidate his strength instead of seeking more powers or adventures.
• Josh told Avila he planned to remain on Muya Continent for a while, then formed a contract with her using Kamacia’s forgotten name.
• Josh sensed a faint connection to the world’s consciousness and feared it would notice if he used magic foreign to Muya Continent.
• Akathosh explained that Kamacia and its consciousness had shattered, and that he had hoped to use the contract to extract knowledge of the world’s essence and rules.
• Josh realized the information could help him advance toward godhood and shamelessly thanked Akathosh.

Josh trained while bringing key allies from the Marvel Universe to Rivendell, where they took up roles in research, education, and study. He synchronized time between the Marvel Universe and the Muya Continent, then spent a peaceful year as Rivendell rapidly advanced and spread civilization across the continent.

• Josh brought Tony and Howard to Rivendell, where Tony identified improvements needed and built computers based on Howard's designs.
• Josh brought Dumbledore, Master Gu Yi, Professor Charles, Aiden, and Yinsen's family to the Muya Continent.
• Josh assigned Charles, Aiden, and Yinsen to the research institute, placed Yinsen's family in the school district, and arranged for Dumbledore to join the academy.
• Josh invited Dumbledore to become the future headmaster of the linked academies if he grew stronger and found a successor.
• Josh arranged for Master Gu Yi to study in his library and synchronized time between the Marvel Universe and the Muya Continent.
• Josh spent a peaceful year on the Muya Continent as Rivendell developed rapidly and brought civilization across the continent.

Over the course of a year, Rivendell grew into a thriving city as nobles, performers, and mercenaries were drawn by its arts, magical conveniences, and Magic Cinema. Josh’s preparations culminated in a premiere for a new Magic Cinema, where Natasha and Avila were getting ready as important guests waited.

• Nobles arrived in Rivendell and were captivated by its architecture, performances, Magic Cinema, and magically equipped inns.
• Frank refused nobles’ requests to buy magical products in bulk, promising future auctions for distribution rights instead.
• Mercenaries came to Rivendell, and Josh had Alexios and Frank establish a guild with rules and a mission reward system to organize them.
• Rivendell’s population and business grew as more nobles and mercenaries arrived, while Josh worried about finding enough managers for Shire.
• Josh urged Natasha and Avila to get ready for the new Magic Cinema’s premiere so Stephen and the other guests would not have to wait.

Josh’s second film was completed after extensive post-production and promotion, drawing crowds of eager viewers to Rivendell. As Josh set out with Natasha, Avila, and Wina for the screening, he kept the film’s plot secret and joked with Natasha about its romance.

• Tony helped Stephen and the others improve the film’s visuals during six months of post-production.
• Josh enlisted his brothers, Avila, Black, and Dennis to help promote the film, and viewers flocked to Rivendell before its release.
• Josh waited for Natasha, Avila, and Wina to finish getting ready, reflecting on Wina’s Void aura and their binding oath.
• Josh and the three women boarded a carriage and headed to the film screening.
• Natasha asked Josh what the film was about, and he described it as a love story between a middle-aged man and a little girl before she teased him about his real age and desires.

Josh arrived late at Rivendell Grand Theater for a Magic Cinema screening, where he greeted guests and dealt with Ilka’s suspicions about Avila staying in Rivendell. As the audience settled in, Ian teased Josh about his sister, and Josh said the new film was about human nature.

• Josh arrived at Rivendell Grand Theater with Natasha and found Oberon directing the crowd.
• Oberon told Josh that he was the last distinguished guest to arrive and that Kane and List were receiving the others.
• Josh entered the main venue, where Black and Ilka questioned him about Avila and Black invited her to stay in Rivendell.
• Avila said Josh and Natasha treated her well, angering Ilka as the audience gathered.
• Ian teased Josh about getting together with Avila, and Josh denied it before describing the new Magic Cinema story as being about human nature.

Josh’s latest Magic Cinema premiere showed Leon carrying out a deadly deal involving forbidden Scarlet Nian Root and launching an assassination at an inn. The audience debated the film’s realistic violence and Leon’s strange weapon as he charged into a room full of targets.

• The theater filled with nobles, and Frank introduced the premiere before the lights went out and the film began.
• The film showed Leon meeting a mercenary named Kasar and arranging a deal involving Scarlet Nian Root, a banned alchemical substance.
• Leon entered an inn to kill Die Poor and his subordinates, silently killing guards along the way.
• Leon used a glowing silver dagger to kill a guard, startling the audience, who wondered about the weapon and his abilities.
• After his presence was exposed, Leon calmly charged into the room, where screams erupted.