Chapter Summaries

The audience watched Leon’s opening mission and learned that his blunt, efficient methods came from his mercenary work rather than professional assassination. They then saw Matilda’s miserable home life, where her father and sister abused her, while the film hinted that her family dealt in prohibited alchemical drugs.

• Audric and the audience debated Leon’s exposed, unconventional approach, and Leon spared the fat leader after completing his mission.
• The audience recognized Isabella beneath Matilda’s shabby appearance and reacted angrily when Matilda’s father abused her.
• Leon’s daily habits and visit to Rivendell’s mercenary office led Audric and the audience to conclude that Leon was a mercenary who took assassination jobs on the side.
• Matilda’s family ignored and mistreated her, and her sister dragged her away and beat her after Matilda interrupted her parents in the washroom.
• The audience learned that Matilda’s family sold prohibited alchemical drugs and complained that the camera concealed much of her parents’ behavior.

Josh’s Magic Cinema continued with Leon and Matilda’s story, moving from a bleak conversation about life to a brutal massacre that horrified the audience. The chapter ended as Matilda headed home, unaware that Stan had slaughtered her family.

• Natasha and Avila reproached Josh over a provocative scene, and Josh insisted Stephen and the others had filmed it.
• Matilda asked Leon whether life was always hard, and he answered honestly that it was.
• Stan took a forbidden drug and led an assault on Matilda’s home while she was away buying milk.
• Stan killed Matilda’s mother, father, and four-year-old brother, leaving the theater audience shocked and silent.
• The screen shifted from the massacre to Matilda heading home, and the viewers angrily anticipated what she would find.

The audience watched Matilda discover that the City Officials had murdered her family and beg her neighbor Leon for help. Leon opened his door to save her, but after she fell asleep, he raised his Hidden Blade over her, leaving his intentions uncertain.

• Matilda returned to her home carrying groceries, noticed something was wrong, and realized the City Officials were watching her.
• Matilda pretended not to know about her family's murder and pleaded with Leon to let her into his home.
• Leon struggled with whether to help Matilda, then opened the door as the City Officials approached.
• Leon tried to comfort Matilda after saving her, but later stood over her sleeping form with his Hidden Blade concealed in his right hand.
• The audience grew tense again as Leon's next move remained unclear.

The audience learned how Leon had been forced into assassination and came to understand his principles and growing bond with Matilda. Leon helped her escape the City Officials, but Danny shot him; Matilda survived and buried Leon’s potted plant, believing they were safe.

• Leon left Matilda’s room, and the audience later learned that poverty and desperation had driven him into working as an assassin in Rivendell.
• The audience learned that Leon refused to kill women, children, or innocent people, and that he lived quietly while helping others when he could.
• As the City Officials attacked, Leon sent Matilda through a ventilation duct with his potted plant and confessed that he loved her.
• Leon escaped the destroyed house disguised as a wounded law enforcement squad member, but Danny shot him near the gates.
• As he died, Leon passed Danny a gift from Matilda and revealed that his clothes were packed with activated scrolls, causing an explosion.
• Matilda buried Leon’s potted plant and said, “Now we're safe, Leon.”

After the film’s first ending, Black and Ilka recognized its warning about corrupt officials and resolved to take the problem more seriously. The audience then watched two alternate endings that left Leon and Matilda’s fate—and Stan Field’s public reputation—deeply unsettling.

• Black and Ilka discussed the film’s exposure of abuses by city officials, and Black decided to make the Augustus Empire’s nobles watch it.
• The audience watched Ending Two, in which Matilda used necromancy to restore Leon and embraced him after he regained consciousness.
• The audience watched Ending Three, One Month Later, as Josh praised Stan Field as a heroic city official who had defeated criminals.
• A bandaged Stan Field appeared onstage in the film and declared his honor at serving Josh, before the title This Killer Is Not Too Cold appeared.

Josh read the overwhelming praise and furious audience reactions to This Killer Is Not Too Cold in the Rivendell Daily, while Hughes worried about the real-life backlash against Stan Field. The film’s popularity was poised to grow, and even Emperor Black had promised to address the problems it exposed.

• Hughes took a day off and told Josh that the film reviews had gone wild.
• Josh read Rivendell reviews that praised the film’s tragedy and described it as realistic, while audiences blamed Stan Field for its horrors.
• Josh read the Imperial Capital edition, where Black credited Josh’s film for making him notice problems in the country and pledged to act.
• Josh saw Freyro condemn the film’s endings and blame Josh, while reviews from General Audric and others showed how strongly viewers wanted to punish Stan Field.

Josh dealt with the fallout from This Killer Is Not Too Cold’s success, then met Isabella and Connis, who asked about future Magic Cinema productions and chose to remain in Rivendell. He headed to the military camp, where Garen and Kane were waiting to discuss his creation.

• Josh gave Hughes two months of leave because the film’s notoriety had made his reputation dangerously vile.
• Isabella and Connis visited Josh to ask when the next Magic Cinema production would be and whether they should prepare for it.
• Josh declined to promise them roles, explaining that the next production depended on the staff’s recovery and future casting.
• Isabella and Connis decided to stay in Rivendell and thanked Josh for their collaboration.
• Josh greeted Natasha and went to the military camp, where Garen and Kane were waiting for him.

Josh introduced twenty genetically modified pterosaurs with Hosdena’s dragon genes as dragon subspecies and assigned them to his army as mounts. When Black challenged his story about finding them, Josh claimed he had killed their near-Eighth-Tier parents and revealed that he had reached Seventh Tier with Seraph.

• Dr. Wu bred twenty pterosaurs with mixed creature traits and Hosdena’s genes, and Josh rewarded the researchers and Simon with at least fifty extra years of life.
• Josh brought the dragon subspecies to Rivendell and handed them to Kane and his soldiers to tame as mounts.
• Black, Ilka, General Audric, and Freyro questioned Josh about the dragons at the military camp, and Black argued that their parents would not have abandoned them.
• After consulting Akathosh mentally, Josh claimed the academy had sent him to kill two near-Eighth-Tier parents and leave their offspring behind.
• Black questioned how Josh could have defeated such powerful dragons, and Josh revealed that he had reached Seventh Tier and killed them with Seraph.

Josh convinced Black and Ilka that his rapid advancement to Seventh Tier came from an ancient gemstone and his mysterious mentor, while hiding his true strength. He agreed to share future dragon offspring with them after keeping the current batch for his own army.

• Josh explained that the gemstone Ilka awarded him had belonged to Sky Wing and that his mentor helped him draw out its power.
• Josh revealed his Seventh Tier aura and used Seraph to display peak Eighth Tier strength, astonishing Black, Ilka, and General Audric.
• Josh claimed his mentor had given him a magical item to conceal his strength and might soon leave the Muya Continent, leading Black to warn him to hide his power until he reached Eighth Tier.
• Black asked whether Josh had wiped out the dragons, and Josh said he did not know what they were called.
• Josh said the current dragons were for his army and offered to give Black some of their offspring once they had bred.

Josh distributed Rivendell Wyverns among trusted allies and asked Akathosh for help managing the dangerous energy produced by his rapid growth. After following Akathosh’s advice, Josh discovered that the power inside him had formed two planets and begun to resemble a universe, leaving him alarmed by what his body contained.

• Josh agreed to give Ilka a Rivendell Wyvern after Ilka used the rumors about Avila to press him.
• Josh assigned wyverns to Kasar, Oberon, Kane, and other trusted people, while telling List to wait until the wyverns bred.
• Akathosh mocked Josh for dwelling on the wyverns, then advised him to condense his dangerous energy into a sphere and place it in orbit around the existing one.
• Josh followed Akathosh’s instructions and found that the two spheres’ power was strengthening his heart and brain.
• Josh examined the spheres and realized they were planets within a universe-like structure inside his body, far beyond what he believed he could safely bear.

After a year on the Muya Continent, Josh defeated General Audric in a sparring match and endured the backlash from his popular but controversial Magic Cinema film. Once Black and the others left, Josh began planning to travel to other worlds, and Akathosh suggested a world where he might find political talent and someone who could train dragons.

• Black arranged for General Audric to spar with Josh, and Josh used Seraph to defeat him in less than ten minutes.
• This Killer Is Not Too Cold became popular, but its tragic alternate endings left ordinary people wary of Josh.
• After Black and the others departed, Ilka warned Josh not to bully Avila, and Josh cheekily pretended not to understand.
• Josh considered visiting worlds such as Assassin World, Middle-earth, and the Marvel Universe, but decided to travel elsewhere first.
• Akathosh suggested a world with political talent and a dragon trainer, and Josh realized he meant the world associated with Skyrim Province.

Josh decided to visit the world of A Song of Ice and Fire and use it as a new base of faith, while training Garen to command armies and unify it. The group prepared to go, with Tony joining and Howard staying behind, and Josh planned to send Alexios and his companions to a pirate world to fish.

• Josh decided to visit the new world, unify it, and establish another base of faith.
• Josh told Garen that he would train by leading armies in the new world, and Garen agreed to the plan.
• Natasha and Avila agreed to go with Josh and suggested bringing Wina, whom Josh said should see the world.
• Josh told Howard and Tony that only one of them could go because Rivendell's mental control network still needed oversight, so Howard stayed and Tony eagerly volunteered.
• Josh set the time ratio and said he would leave a Void Gate behind, then announced he would send Alexios and his companions to a pirate world to help him fish.

Josh brought Alexios and his family to the pirate world, then took his group to the world of Daenerys Targaryen to recruit allies for Garen and claim her dragon eggs. The group arrived in a weak world, and Josh’s plans were interrupted by teasing about his interest in raising young girls.

• Josh agreed to take Alexios and his family to the pirate world, then questioned Alexios about his past with Alcibiades before sending them through a portal.
• Josh brought his group to Daenerys Targaryen’s world, intending to find Illyrio Mopatis, gather a force for Garen, and take Daenerys’s three dragon eggs.
• Josh’s group sensed that the world’s power limit was low, and Avila demonstrated how easily her wind blade became a destructive hurricane there.
• Josh told Garen to restrain his strength and said they would head to Pentos to find Illyrio, while Garen and Tony reacted to Daenerys’s age.
• Akathosh teased Josh about raising girls, then Josh sent Tony to search for nearby people with reconnaissance drones.
• After Garen, Tony, and Akathosh left, Natasha confronted Josh about his feelings toward her, Hermione, Avila, Wina, and Daenerys.

Josh and his companions arrived in Pantoss thirteen years after the fall of the Targaryen Dynasty, just before Daenerys was married to Khal Drogo. Josh decided to find Daenerys and prevent the suffering that would drive her transformation.

• Natasha teased Josh about his interest in other women, and he reassured her that he cared about her feelings.
• Tony and Garen returned with news of a nearby village, and Josh used magic to take the group there.
• Garen questioned villagers and learned that they were in Pantoss, thirteen years after the Targaryen Dynasty fell.
• Josh recalled how Illyrio planned to marry Daenerys to Drogo and how Viserys's abuse and death shaped her into the Dragon Queen.
• Tony teased Josh about Daenerys, and Josh buried him headfirst in a mound of earth before asking Garen to lead the way.

Josh and his companions walked to Pantoss, where the city guards and residents stared at the women accompanying him. In the city, Avila learned about Wina’s contract with Josh and Wina warned her that Josh seemed interested in her.

• Josh warned Garen not to let honor and principles make him vulnerable to schemes, and Garen assured him he would act decisively.
• Josh and his companions walked more than ten kilometers to Pantoss and entered the city without being questioned by the guards.
• Josh frowned at the men staring at Natasha and the other women, while Natasha told him not to worry about them.
• Avila asked Wina about her contract with Josh, and Wina explained that it was a modified, relatively equal master-servant contract that bound her life to his.
• Wina told Avila to be careful around Josh because he seemed very interested in her.

Josh and his companions visited Illyrio Mopatis in Pantoss to learn where Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen were. After freezing Illyrio’s estate and guards to intimidate him, Josh forced Illyrio to agree to lead them to the siblings, warning that Daenerys was about to marry the Dothraki leader.

• Wina whispered to Avila about Josh’s interest in her, making Avila blush before she changed the subject.
• Josh and his companions hired a child guide and arrived at Illyrio Mopatis’s residence.
• Illyrio greeted the visitors, but Josh froze the manor and turned the approaching soldiers into ice sculptures to show his power.
• Josh demanded to know where the Targaryen siblings were, and Illyrio admitted that Daenerys was about to marry the Dothraki leader.
• Josh warned Illyrio not to scheme, and Illyrio agreed to take the group to Daenerys and Viserys at once.

Daenerys and Viserys waited anxiously for Illyrio at Daenerys’s wedding feast while Josh used Illyrio’s memories to find them. Josh and Illyrio arrived through a silver portal in the arena, interrupting the Dothraki contest.

• Daenerys sat in her wedding dress, afraid of the Dothraki and distressed that Illyrio had not arrived.
• Josh threatened Illyrio, then searched his memories to learn where the Targaryen siblings were.
• Josh formed a Warping Leap, and Illyrio hurried into the silver circle to follow him.
• Viserys reassured Drogo that Illyrio was probably delayed, while concealing his own worry.
• A silver circle covered in strange runes appeared in the center of the arena.

Josh and his companions appeared in the middle of Daenerys and Drogo’s wedding, terrifying the assembled Dothraki and Targaryens. After deciding to take the frightened young Daenerys away and teach her, Josh demonstrated his power by freezing and shattering Drogo’s warriors.

• A silver glow brought Josh and his companions into the wedding, where their presence left Drogo, Daenerys, and Viserys on edge.
• Josh recognized Daenerys and considered taking her away to teach her, though he regretted that she might never become the queen he remembered.
• Natasha asked whether Josh was interested in Daenerys, and Wina revealed his thoughts about taking her away and training her.
• Drogo demanded to know who Josh and his companions were, and Josh lifted him into the air with an unseen force.
• Josh froze the Dothraki warriors who rushed to rescue Drogo, then shattered them, filling the wedding guests with fear.

Josh confronted Drogo and demanded that he submit his Dothraki army to someone Josh had chosen. After Drogo refused, Josh took him into the sky and revealed a massive blazing sphere above the tribe, leaving the wedding guests terrified.

• Josh offered Drogo the choice to submit his army or face destruction, but Drogo rejected him.
• Josh vanished with Drogo and reappeared high above the Dothraki tribe, telling Drogo to watch what he would do.
• Viserys followed Josh's group outside and asked Illyrio who they were, but Illyrio warned him that learning more would make him die sooner.
• Josh formed a pale golden rune and pointed upward, revealing an enormous blazing sphere in the sky.
• The wedding guests panicked at the sight, and Garen told them it was magic.

Josh forced Drogo and his tribe to submit by threatening them with a meteor, explaining that he needed their faith to support a plan to conquer the world. He appointed a new leader for the tribe and took Lady Targaryen away, while Viserys watched his hopes of gaining divine support collapse.

• Josh slowed the enormous meteor above Drogo’s tribe and said he needed their faith to establish a new religion.
• Josh explained that Drogo’s tribe would submit to his chosen leader, who would unite the world and help spread the new faith.
• Drogo agreed to submit after Josh revealed that he had dealt with the Seven Gods.
• Josh made the meteor vanish, leaving Viserys bitter that the agreement had nothing to do with him.
• Josh told Drogo that his wedding to Lady Targaryen was over and that she was coming with him.