Recaps

Qin Xin, An Mingyu, and Cheng Shi agreed to secure Morabik’s experiment before investigating the trial’s temporal discrepancies. Li Wufang’s arrival revealed that the Doctor might be a shard of 0221, and Cheng Shi seized on Li Wufang’s remark about Wu Cun.

• Qin Xin explained that the Fire Keeper needed Morabik’s experiment, and An Mingyu and Cheng Shi agreed to prioritize securing it.
• The three encountered Li Wufang, who had left the mine and said he trusted the Doctor to protect the experiment.
• Cheng Shi realized Li Wufang and Truth’s believer had changed, while the Blind Man warned that the Doctor might not remain trustworthy.
• The Blind Man revealed that Wang Weijin was a shard of 0221, and Qin Xin explained that the Doctor in his world had little interest in the experiment.
• Cheng Shi challenged Li Wufang’s judgment, then abruptly demanded to know what Li Wufang had just said about Wu Cun.

Cheng Shi explained his theory that the temporal discrepancies occurred when people were separated and the hour arrived, rather than because of the Abyssal Crystal. He left the group to verify his deduction against their experiences.

• Cheng Shi connected Li Wufang’s account of Wu Cun leaving his field of vision to the investigator’s question and realized that separation, not the Abyssal Crystal, might cause people to change.
• Cheng Shi offered his own experiences in exchange for the others’ accounts and described how the Doctor, Li Wufang, and Wu Cun had been replaced after periods apart.
• Cheng Shi recalled that Qin Xin changed during an investigation while The First did not, because their separation coincided with the hour and he had called out to The First then.
• Cheng Shi said Qin Xin changed again when he was rescued after the Ember Annihilator’s attack, just after the hour arrived.
• Cheng Shi asked everyone to check whether their encounters with temporal discrepancies followed separation and the arrival of the hour.

Cheng Shi and the other players deduced that being unseen by teammates at the hour’s stroke caused Cencha, and they returned to the mine to protect the doctor and verify the rule. Just before the hour, Cheng Shi deliberately triggered another Cencha with a smoke grenade, hoping to test whether he could recover teammates from other timelines.

• Cheng Shi concealed his involvement with Qin Xin and explained that players who vanished from their teammates’ sight at the hour’s stroke were displaced into other timelines.
• Li Wufang asked what Time was trying to express, while Cheng Shi privately reflected that unseen events and parallel worlds could still be real.
• Cheng Shi urged the group to return to the mine before the next hour so they could keep the doctor in sight and pursue the experiment’s divinity.
• The players reached the warehouse, watched the doctor, and prepared to keep one another in view as the hour approached.
• A smoke grenade engulfed the group just before the hour, and Cheng Shi used Dice to appear beside the doctor, deliberately causing another Cencha to test whether timelines could be exchanged.

After the smoke triggered another temporal shift, Cheng Shi and the others tried to identify which versions of themselves had gathered. Cheng Shi recognized Li Wufang as his own timeline’s investigator and accepted Qin Xin as an ally, leaving An Mingyu isolated among them.

• A burst of Order followed the smoke, and An Mingyu recognized that Cheng Shi’s trick had returned them to a shared timeline.
• Li Wufang pointed out that the prophecy said five players would survive, prompting Cheng Shi to realize that Li Wufang belonged to his timeline.
• Cheng Shi reasoned that the Li Wufang before him was The First, then confirmed his identity after Li Wufang claimed he could not lie.
• Qin Xin said that Mingyu was the only one who did not belong with the group, and Cheng Shi accepted Qin Xin without asking him to prove which timeline he came from.

Cheng Shi and the others debated which timeline they belonged to, while Wang Mou revealed that the Abyssal Rainbow Orchids’ changing colors had exposed repeated world shifts. The group realized the clue had been visible all along, but Cheng Shi remained trapped in the timeline mystery.

• Qin Xin comforted An Mingyu, and Cheng Shi reflected that he and the Blind Man seemed to follow different timeline rules from the others.
• The Blind Man suggested that the current world might be her own timeline, while Wang Mou urged the group to leave and investigate the Abyssal Rainbow Orchids.
• Cheng Shi threatened to disrupt the experiment with fabricated Filth and Decay artifacts, prompting Wang Mou to reveal that he had discovered the truth.
• Wang Mou explained that the Abyssal Rainbow Orchids changed color with temperature, and their rapid color shifts could not have come from the volcano’s normal cycle.
• Cheng Shi and the others realized the orchids’ changing colors marked changes in the world beneath them, and Cheng Shi recognized they had missed the clue.

Cheng Shi and Li Wufang discussed Destiny, Order, and why Li had chosen to become an Order believer. Li asked to join the organization he believed Cheng Shi belonged to, but Cheng Shi turned the request around and asked Li to take him along if he found it.

• Cheng Shi went down the mountain with Li Wufang to verify the trial's rules, and both quietly studied each other.
• Li Wufang concluded that Cheng Shi did not truly believe in Destiny because he avoided unknown paths and favored safety.
• Li Wufang explained that he believed the world followed interwoven fates and had chosen Order because it was the most trustworthy faith.
• Li Wufang said he wanted to follow Cheng Shi, whom he considered Destiny's favored child, and asked to join his organization.
• Cheng Shi asked Li to contact him if he found the organization and said he would go along if Li carried him through the trials.

Cheng Shi deduced that the world’s changes were linked to the players’ Cencha status and decided to eliminate uncertain factors to improve their chances of returning home. He then tried to recruit Li Wufang into a supposed organization of Destiny’s favorites, but Li Wufang’s knowledge and skepticism unsettled him.

• Cheng Shi found the Rainbow Orchid markers and pieced together how their colors tracked changes in the world alongside the players’ Cencha outbreaks.
• Cheng Shi concluded that the world could change even when players stayed in one another’s sight, and planned to push Blind Man toward changing while keeping others from interfering.
• Cheng Shi decided that killing uncertain factors would make returning home more likely, then turned his attention to Li Wufang.
• Li Wufang grew wary when Cheng Shi approached him, so Cheng Shi claimed to belong to an organization that worshipped Destiny and invited him to join.
• Li Wufang doubted that he was a favorite of Destiny but became tempted by Cheng Shi’s persuasion and asked what joining would cost.
• Li Wufang asked whether An the Chosen was in the organization, and Cheng Shi was stunned before dismissing her as unworthy.

Cheng Shi learned why Inspector Li Wufang believed so fervently in Destiny and discovered that Li had once been offered the Mask of Deception alongside the Codex of Order. Li explained that he used harmless lies to persuade people to trust in good fortune, leaving Cheng Shi stunned by his devotion.

• Cheng Shi asked Li Wufang why he believed in Destiny, and Li showed him a photograph of himself as a child.
• Li recounted how he begged for money to pay for his grandmother’s surgery, then found a valuable coin in a fountain after a stranger told him to trust in Destiny.
• Li said he had chosen Order at The Starting Point of Life Path because it had offered him the Codex of Order and the Mask of Deception, but no Dice of Destiny.
• Cheng Shi suspected Li was an accomplished liar and asked him to tell a lie; Li repeated that he was not very good at lying.
• Li admitted he lied to make people believe in Destiny, insisting he never profited from the deceptions, and Cheng Shi was left astonished by his use of Deception in Destiny’s service.

Cheng Shi persuaded Li Wufang to join the Fated by challenging his faith in Destiny, and Li Wufang proved his courage by killing himself. Cheng Shi returned with Li Wufang’s corpse as the hour arrived, while the Blind Man turned back toward the warehouse.

• Cheng Shi offered Li Wufang a place in the Fated and told him to stake his life to prove his courage and faith in Destiny.
• Li Wufang took Cheng Shi’s scalpel and slit his own throat, dying by suicide.
• Cheng Shi checked that no divine power was circulating through Li Wufang’s corpse, then carried it and the Abyssal Rainbow Orchids back to the mine’s top.
• Cheng Shi told Qin Xin and the Blind Man that they would leave the experiment to Allen Doyle and that the trial would end safely.
• The Blind Man left the warehouse, but when the hour arrived again, she turned around and pushed the door open.

Cheng Shi discovered that the Blind Man who returned was a different An Mingyu from the one he had traveled with, despite Qin Xin initially believing her to be the right person. As Qin Xin investigated the mismatch, Cheng Shi turned his attention to Wang Mou and decided to complete Xilolin’s commission while the Fire Keepers continued their discussion.

• An Mingyu told Qin Xin and Cheng Shi that she had met many versions of them and that every version of Cheng Shi had rejected her invitation.
• Cheng Shi asked Qin Xin and An Mingyu what color Small Ball Flower they had seen on the morning they first split up; Qin Xin answered red, while An Mingyu answered blue-violet.
• Qin Xin realized An Mingyu was not the one from his world line, and the doctor confirmed that the first Prophet who traveled with Cheng Shi had been warmer.
• Wang Mou admitted he knew he was a fragment but said he cared more about approaching Truth than about his identity.
• Cheng Shi decided to speak with the NPCs and complete Xilolin’s commission while the Fire Keepers continued comparing their findings.

Cheng Shi questioned Xilolin and Alad, confirming that Alad was a Truth-made slice who had silently endured his sister’s hatred to protect her and the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire. Alad warned Cheng Shi about Folly before awaiting death, while Xilolin still demanded that Cheng Shi kill him.

• Cheng Shi confirmed that Xilolin’s memories and condition had not changed, then questioned Alad about his past and whether he knew he was a slice.
• Alad explained that he suspected the Tower of Reason had made him into a slice after noticing that his emotions had abruptly separated from his memories and logic.
• Alad admitted that he had concealed his renewed affection for Xilolin and endured her hostility to keep the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire safe from the Tower of Reason.
• After hearing Alad’s confession, Xilolin stopped crying and urged Cheng Shi to kill him, while Alad said there would be another version of him and advised Cheng Shi to disguise his death as an accident.
• Alad warned Cheng Shi to beware of Folly, prompting Cheng Shi to ask how Alad knew about it.

Cheng Shi questioned Alad and Xilolin about Folly, then reconsidered his theories about gods and the ages. He concluded that Xilolin might have come from the past in terms of the age, despite being from the future in terms of the era.

• Alad told Cheng Shi that Xilolin had sent him to investigate a scholar spreading Folly's name, though she did not know what the believers intended.
• Cheng Shi brought Alad to Xilolin and asked whether she knew Folly; she denied it, and Cheng Shi detected that she was lying.
• Cheng Shi reflected on why gods seemed to wait before influencing their ruling eras and theorized that they secretly spread their faith while staying hidden.
• Cheng Shi reconsidered Xilolin's origins and wondered whether she had crossed between ages as well as between eras, coming from the past in the larger timeline.

Cheng Shi realized Time had made the trial harder by turning his escape route back into a wall, but he resolved to keep pursuing victory. After reviving Gels and questioning him, Cheng Shi connected the Abyssal Volcano’s changing eruption direction to differences between ages.

• Cheng Shi realized that Time had obstructed his escape and resolved to win the trial despite her interference.
• Cheng Shi switched back to the Clown and revived Gels with a Healing Art before threatening him into answering questions.
• Gels said that the Abyssal Volcano had erupted in a different direction from what he remembered.
• Cheng Shi reasoned that players saw the volcano across different ages, while local people experienced only one age and therefore remembered a fixed eruption direction.
• Cheng Shi asked the people present which direction they remembered the Abyssal Volcano erupting.

Cheng Shi deduced that the Abyssal Volcano’s eruption direction differed between the Void and Civilization Eras, then returned to the warehouse to find Qin Xin dead. As the temporal discrepancy shifted again, he greeted the arriving Blind Man as An the Chosen, believing his insight was correct.

• Cheng Shi concluded that the present was the Civilization Era and that Gels belonged to the Void Era, then decided to consult his teammates before using his theory in the trial.
• Cheng Shi completed his commission by killing Alad and secured the room before returning to the warehouse.
• Cheng Shi found Qin Xin stabbed to death by An Mingyu and learned that Qin Xin had chosen death to reduce the Fire Keepers’ burden.
• The Blind Man told Cheng Shi to trust the Fire Keepers, asked him to pass a message to Zhen Xin, and left the warehouse.
• Cheng Shi guarded the Doctor as the hour arrived, then welcomed the smiling Blind Man who entered as An the Chosen.

Cheng Shi and the Blind Man waited while Allen Doyle continued the divinity extraction experiment. At dawn, Allen successfully extracted a strand of divinity from the Abyssal Crystal, revealing Folly as its owner.

• Cheng Shi tested the Blind Man’s identity with his Master of Deception Card, then shared his deductions about the Isle of Hope and refused to pass them to the Fire Keeper.
• The Blind Man asked whether Cheng Shi wanted to trigger Cencha again, but he chose to wait while the Doctor recorded the experiment and the two Sages processed the Abyssal Crystal.
• Cheng Shi and the Blind Man discussed An Mingyu’s message for Zhen Xin and worried about what might happen when memories were restored.
• Cheng Shi and the Blind Man kept watch through the night, and Allen Doyle extracted the first complete strand of divinity from the Abyssal Crystal using Zainjil’s finger.
• The extracted divinity expanded into familiar divine light clusters, and its owner was revealed to be Folly.

Cheng Shi and the others completed their divinity-extraction experiments and tried to return home by reviving Li Wufang to trigger Cencha. The original world returned as soon as Li Wufang came back to life, leaving Cheng Shi and the Blind Man wary and Li Wufang praising Destiny twice.

• Morabik and Allen Doyle extracted divinity from an Abyssal Crystal, but Cheng Shi took it and urged them to keep practicing with more crystals.
• Wang Mou shared his experimental notebook, then conducted further divinity-extraction experiments while Cheng Shi supplied materials and Mental Arts.
• After five days of work, Cheng Shi decided to revive Li Wufang and have him use Cencha to find a way home.
• Cheng Shi revived Li Wufang with the Lush Antler Crown, and the Small Ball Flower turned red as the scorching original world returned.
• Cheng Shi and the Blind Man grew wary of the sudden change, while Li Wufang praised Destiny twice after waking.

Cheng Shi realized Blind Man’s prophecy had shown Qin Xin’s death and his own arrival, but he had come to revive Qin Xin. He submitted his revised explanation of the three Cenchas, cleared the Trial, and received his rewards.

• Li Wufang explained that his faith in Order made him trust his teammates and want to sacrifice himself.
• Cheng Shi noticed that the Trial’s events had reset into place and went to revive Qin Xin, prompting Blind Man to recognize her prophecy’s final scene.
• Cheng Shi welcomed Qin Xin home, and Blind Man greeted him as well.
• Cheng Shi identified Xilolin as from the past, Yadelik as the present, and Gels as from the distant future, then submitted his answer despite the Doctor’s objections.
• The Trial ended, and Cheng Shi earned an S rating, four masks, and increases to his Path to Godhood and Ladder of Audience scores.

After the trial, Xilolin returned to the shantytown and met Galiusha, a surface woman who planned to overthrow the Proxy Hand by destroying the Tower of Reason. When Aromani reported that Arad was alive and had killed Yadelik, Xilolin realized another Arad had taken control and asked Galiusha to help destroy the Tower.

• Xilolin escaped her bindings, tied up the two sages, and returned to the shantytown to reconnect with the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire.
• Aromani introduced Galiusha, who said she could restore the balance against the Proxy Hand and proposed destroying the Tower of Reason.
• Xilolin questioned Galiusha and sent Aromani to bring back important people from the mountain.
• Aromani returned with the two sages and reported that Arad was alive, inspecting the crystal pool, and had killed Yadelik.
• Xilolin realized the Tower of Reason had sent another Arad to take over the Door of Falling and asked Galiusha if she could overthrow the Tower.

Qin Xin learned that Hope's Flame had regained some strength and received flame crystals to help the Fire Keepers during trials. He then told Fang Shiqing that Mingyu would temporarily step down as Fire Seeker and revealed that Ji Yue would take her place as the new City Builder.

• Qin Xin found Hope's Flame had recovered some strength and could now offer limited help during trials.
• Hope's Flame gave Qin Xin flame-colored crystal diamonds that could attack obstacles or soothe injuries, and agreed to provide more for the Fire Keepers.
• Qin Xin summoned Fang Shiqing and told her that Mingyu would temporarily step down as Fire Seeker.
• Qin Xin sent Fang Shiqing next door to meet the new City Builder, whom she recognized as Ji Yue.

After Old Man escaped Qin Xin and the Blind Man’s ambush by using a burst of power from Cheng Shi and Qin Xin’s trial, Qin Xin returned to the Fire Keeper Hall to assess the danger. Hope’s Flame appeared calm, but Qin Xin still had to advance the God Creation Plan and wondered how Ming Yu’s conversation with Zhen Xin had gone.

• After the Fool's Society gathering, Qin Xin and the Blind Man attacked Old Man in the void, but all three entered the delayed trial before Qin Xin could kill him.
• When the trial ended, a burst of power entwined with war and Destiny disrupted Qin Xin’s strike, allowing Old Man to survive and attack the Blind Man.
• Qin Xin chose to protect the Blind Man instead of killing Old Man, and Old Man escaped into the spreading force.
• The Blind Man recognized the force as the power unleashed during Cheng Shi and Qin Xin’s trial and proposed seeking Zhen Xin’s help.
• Qin Xin returned to the Fire Keeper Hall and judged from Hope's Flame’s calm that the crisis remained under control.

An Mingyu returned to Zhen Xin with news of the Fire Keeper’s crisis and a perfect divination roll, but Zhen Xin urged her to wait for Hope’s Flame to act. Back in her resting area, An Mingyu rolled seventeen ones and questioned why Destiny had brought her to this world.

• The Blind Man arrived at Zhen Xin’s museum, where Zhen Xin revealed that she was helping Zhen Yi finish assembling a collectible.
• An Mingyu told Zhen Xin about the trial, the Fire Keeper’s danger, and Destiny’s perfect roll, then asked whether Zhen Xin had recently been summoned by Her.
• Zhen Xin said Birth had summoned her after she helped Eternal Day find Lucia, and advised waiting for Hope’s Flame rather than involving Deception.
• Zhen Xin offered An Mingyu dried tangerine peel despite knowing she was allergic, prompting An Mingyu to recognize that Zhen Yi was posing as her older sister and flee.
• An Mingyu found her resting area unchanged, rolled seventeen ones, and asked Destiny why She had brought her to this world.

An Mingyu realized that Zhen Xin knew she was not the original An Mingyu, and she uncovered how the Doctor may have crossed into another world during the time trial. She wondered whether Cheng Shi would still trust her, while Zhen Xin mourned the distance between them.

• An Mingyu realized Zhen Xin had recognized her identity and had pretended to be Zhen Yi to preserve their friendship.
• An Mingyu recalled seeing the Doctor at the trial’s first hour mark and deduced that both she and the Doctor might already have undergone the Cencha.
• An Mingyu suspected the Doctor had used the trial to escape his original world because he was a fragment of 0221, and she credited Cheng Shi’s constant attention with keeping her anchored.
• An Mingyu reconsidered using Remembrance Mourning and wondered whether Cheng Shi would still trust her if he knew who she was.
• After An Mingyu left, Zhen Xin cried, cleaned her blood from the museum floor, and spoke to her reflection about how warm and wonderful An Mingyu was.

A young man in a leather jacket and his companion discussed Jiang Chi, the trials, and their next destination before setting out to investigate a rumor about the Gaze of Mockery. In the present world, Li Wufang woke after his trial with three Dice, including one bestowed by Destiny, and panicked when the god did not respond to his praise.

• The young man in the leather jacket and his companion discussed Jiang Chi’s encounter with another version of the young man and Destiny’s punishment for him.
• The young man said the trials’ message about gods being fragments still seemed wrong, and he and his companion decided to investigate near Civilization Isolation Tower No. 413 in Redicor.
• The young man revealed that he had overheard Wei Mu’s secret and believed the Gaze of Mockery might be in Redicor.
• Li Wufang woke after the trial holding three Dice and recalled paying homage to Destiny, who had bestowed another Dice upon him.
• Li Wufang tried to praise the Dice, but it did not respond, leaving him anxious that Destiny had rejected him.

Wang Weijin returned from a Truth trial and discussed conscious slices with his neighbor, while concealing that Deception had summoned him and given him a Mask. After discovering that the strange man next door had marked him for observation and held the corpse of a bespectacled doctor, Wang Weijin wondered whether Deception knew the real Truth.

• Wang Weijin completed his post-trial routine and exchanged views with his neighbor about whether conscious slices could still be considered slices.
• Wang Weijin told his neighbor that some slices might develop independent wills without disrupting the main body or its experiments.
• The strange man next door watched Wang Weijin, decided to keep observing him, and left a half check mark beside his name in the experimental records.
• Wang Weijin pulled a Mask of Deception from his scarred chest, which he had concealed during the conversation with his neighbor.
• Wang Weijin recalled how Deception summoned him after the trial and forced the Mask on him, claiming it could bring him closer to the real Truth.
• Wang Weijin stored the Mask and questioned whether Deception might have been telling the truth about Truth.

Destiny confronted Time for hiding a trial from its gaze, while Deception intervened and provoked the two gods. Time unexpectedly helped Destiny restrain Deception, and Destiny ended by attacking both of them.

• Destiny accused Time of blocking its view of a trial and insisted its believers could still cross the barrier to the other shore.
• Deception appeared and tried to mediate, revealing that it had interfered with Destiny's gaze during the trial.
• Destiny became furious and froze Deception in an ice sculpture as the void came under pressure.
• Time joined Destiny, transforming the void into existence to restrain Deception.
• Deception mocked Destiny for allying with Time, and Destiny shattered the transformed void and sent fragments of reality toward both Deception and Time.