Chapter Summaries

Ian joined forces with Mikael and three Aether True Forms to defeat Axel’s rampage and carry him into a prison of light. After the battle, the precursor of the Light Calamity ended, while the Gale Dragon King remained near the comet cloud.

• Ian met Inaga II’s Echo, who agreed to lend him power and urged him to defeat Axel to prove his vision of the future.
• Ian gained Inaga II’s Eye of Inquiry and traced Axel’s power to the Imperial Capital, Terra, and the distant Light Calamity.
• Axel emerged as the Heavenly Blazing Godbird and attacked Ian and Mikael, while Ian summoned the Dragon of Light and the Void Spawn from other Paths.
• Ian, Mikael, and their three Aether True Forms overwhelmed Axel and warped him toward the Light Calamity’s origin, where Mikael destroyed the Frost Prison Calamity Ash and asked his father to remain with him in a prison of light.
• The Gale Dragon King’s barriers were struck by the warp-space bubble, which crashed into the comet cloud, and the precursor of the Light Calamity ended.

Eight-year-old Ian awakened to memories of his previous life after his abusive uncle struck him, then assessed his injuries and grim circumstances in Harrison Port. He realized his uncle’s dealings with the natives involved sacrificing young children, including Ian’s two-year-old brother.

• Ian woke in a badly injured, dehydrated body and recovered memories of his previous life as an aerospace engineer.
• Ian recalled his parents’ deaths, his abusive uncle, and the eight years of memories from his current life.
• Ian drank water, examined the coastal town, and discovered bruises and injuries covering his body.
• Ian recognized that his uncle was an addict and an informant controlled by local natives, and considered escape or reporting him.
• Ian remembered that his uncle’s dealings involved child sacrifices and reacted with anger as he looked toward his little brother’s room.

Ian realized the Nineteenth Legion intended to profit from the South Sea Grand Labyrinth and set out with Sha Sha to make its dangers clear. Meanwhile, Baron Ge Wen led the South Sea Fleet toward the labyrinth under orders to assess it and establish a garrison, but a Second Energy Level Magic Beast suddenly charged at the fleet.

• Ian concluded that the Nineteenth Legion wanted a share of the labyrinth and resolved to stop them from developing it through brute force.
• Ian called for Sha Sha and headed out to make the labyrinth's dangers known.
• Baron Ge Wen told his adjutant that the fleet was secretly assessing the labyrinth and might build a garrison at Harrison Port under Marquis Barton's orders.
• Baron Ge Wen dismissed the possibility of a powerful Magic Beast attack, but the fleet's alarm detected a Second Energy Level Magic Beast nearby.
• Baron Ge Wen saw a huge, blue, electrically charged oval object racing toward the South Sea Fleet.

Master Gose explained how a soul formed the Second Energy Level, and Ian connected souls, Origin Matter, and psionic fields to the origins of labyrinths. He realized Inaga II’s choice to become the Lord of the Labyrinth might threaten more than an ordinary labyrinth, but the chapter left the possibility unresolved.

• Master Gose explained that a soul was a condensed mode of thought that could eventually replace the brain and enable the Second Energy Level.
• Ian linked the soul to psionics and the Origin Seed to Origin Matter, then described how combining their systems began the Third Energy Level.
• Ian asked whether the world had a soul and concluded that labyrinths were artificial psionic fields, while Master Gose compared them with natural fields.
• Ian reasoned that artificial fields could let civilization fill a planet with psionics and perhaps give the planet, or even nonliving things, a soul.
• Ian questioned whether a planet dominated by artificial fields was nature or a labyrinth, and whether its soul was the world’s soul or a Lord of the Labyrinth.
• Ian suspected that Inaga II’s choice to become the Lord of the Labyrinth referred to something beyond the ordinary meaning of the title.

Ian stored the Marsh Crocodile Dragon’s Amber Crystal Core and Golden Blood Freeze in his second stomach, then followed faint sounds through the ruins. He discovered a well-equipped Blazing Flame Lands expedition and secretly shadowed them to learn why they had arrived.

• Ian swallowed the Amber Crystal Core and Golden Blood Freeze, letting the Ancient Dragon Core draw on the crystal while he preserved the Golden Blood Freeze for later use.
• Ian used Precognitive Vision and the Silver Chip to locate faint sounds and followed them through the cavern passages.
• Ian spotted a disciplined group of sailors, merchants, researchers, and armed personnel, then recognized their firearms as belonging to the Blazing Flame Lands.
• Ian activated the Silence Ring and secretly followed the group, using the Silver Chip to listen to their conversations.
• The Blazing Flame Lands captain reflected on his past battle against Shadowleaf Demonic Aliens and felt that something was watching him in the silent cavern.

After killing a Spirit Cognition Institute operative, Ian reflected on the institute’s experiments and checked that he could still distinguish love from pain. The psychic children revealed they had stopped the operative’s transmission, captured his escaping soul, and wanted to share a prophecy with Ian.

• Ian identified the dead Black Armor as a special operations agent of the Spirit Cognition Institute and connected the institute to the experiments in Layan Territory.
• Ian considered how psychic powers and extreme emotions might affect him, then recalled that he could still feel love alongside grief.
• Ila told Ian that the psychic children had stopped the agent’s transmission, while Linda revealed they had captured and were tearing apart his soul.
• Ian warned the children that their power made them dangerous and refused to grant the agent a painless death.
• The psychic children said they wanted to tell Ian a prophecy that involved him but did not include him.

Ian restored order in Layan Territory, restarted trade and production, and identified the lack of Element Crystals as a major obstacle to its development. Marquis Barton opened supply channels for Ian, while the arrival of Blue Lightning drew attention to a modified tower topped with a Magnetic Storm Coil.

• Ian welcomed the grain convoy, demonstrated that its food was genuine, and urged Layan City's residents to resume work and production.
• Ian surveyed Layan Territory's population and resources, planned to develop its mines, and recognized that its lack of Element Crystals limited its growth.
• Marquis Barton told Colonel Mayowa to open Element Crystal trade channels to Layan Territory and sell Ian needed supplies at cost.
• Blue Lightning arrived in Layan City with supplies and noticed a tower fitted with a large, crackling metal coil.
• A resident identified the tower's device to Blue Lightning as a Magnetic Storm Coil.

Master Gose realized Ian knew more about the South Sea ruin than he had revealed and that the group needed his help to escape. When Ethan and Isengard heard trained soldiers approaching from two directions, they discovered they were surrounded.

• Master Gose told Isengard that Ian’s excitement over the ruin suggested he knew it held something he sought.
• Ethan detected armed intruders carrying Blazing Flame Lands firearms and recognized their gunpowder formula.
• Isengard urged Master Gose to flee, but Master Gose refused to let his weakened condition slow his student down.
• Ethan left his teacher behind, while Isengard placed medicine beside the sedated patients before trying to escape.
• Isengard heard soldiers approaching through the other passage and realized they were surrounded.

Ian studied murals in Redwood Base and learned that the Redwood Natives descended from its Pre-Epoch survivors, who altered their descendants’ bloodlines and passed down knowledge to preserve technology. The murals left Ian wondering why those people had abandoned the base and become natives.

• Ian examined murals showing the moon’s destruction, worldwide disasters, and the collapse of coastal cities, including the High Tower.
• The surviving people inside Redwood Base fought over a glowing object before four leaders agreed to create keys for Energy, Maintenance, Cycle, and Future and seal dangerous areas.
• Redwood Base remained stable for generations, but its people gradually lost the skills needed to repair specialized equipment.
• Leaders representing Future and Maintenance chose genetic modification and inherited memory to preserve knowledge in later generations.
• Ian realized the Redwood Natives descended from Redwood Base’s workers, most of whom had been Gold Folk.
• Ian wondered why the base’s descendants had left its comfortable, resource-rich environment and turned to the later murals for answers.

An old knight watched a White Folk boy kill his abusive father and discovered that the child had awakened as a powerful psychic. After the boy cared for his younger brother and dragged the corpse away, the knight followed him into the night.

• The old knight saw the wounded boy waiting with a pitchfork and decided to intervene if the boy was in danger.
• The boy ambushed his returning father with sleeping powder, tied him up, and killed him after sharpening a knife.
• The old knight watched the boy cook and eat beside the corpse, then recognized the glow in his eyes as a sign of psychic power.
• The boy cleaned the house, fed his younger brother porridge, and promised to protect his family.
• The boy dragged the corpse out of the house, and the old knight silently followed him.

Ian rested while Isengard watched over him, and the youth privately longed for enough power to refuse a future forced upon him. When the Blazing Flame Lands assault team tracked them to the Giant Gold Fungus zone and tried to burn a path through it, Ian prepared to leave them to face the ruin’s creatures.

• Ian worried that Axel’s plans for Isengard and the Empire were tied to Hilliard and Inyaga, but concluded he needed to grow stronger without rushing.
• Exhausted from their battles, Ian accepted Isengard’s offer to keep watch and fell asleep.
• As Ian slept, Isengard yearned for the power to reject a particular possibility rather than control others or pursue a clear ambition.
• After three hours, Ian woke as Isengard warned him that the Blazing Flame Lands assault team had followed them into the cavern.
• The assault team ignited blue-white flames to clear the Giant Gold Fungus, causing the cavern to glow; Ian carried Master Gose and prepared to leave, expecting the local creatures to deal with the attackers.

Ian prepared Sha Sha for his absence, encouraged Elan to join the Church of Light's Embrace, and watched tensions around the labyrinth continue in Harrison Port. When Isengard's promised equipment and fairy materials arrived, Ian discovered a rare Second Energy Level Frost Sea variant of Fairy's Radiance.

• Ian told Sha Sha to stay cautious, protect the deep-sea entrance, and gather corpses with pure Origin Matter attributes for the egg.
• Ian returned home and found Elan asleep with a troubled expression, then Elan agreed to try the Church of Light's Embrace the next morning.
• The South Sea Fleet withdrew to Nauman City, and a four-person team of professional labyrinth surveyors arrived in Harrison Port but delayed exploring.
• Ian received alchemy equipment, inscription tools, and an advanced Fairy Bloodline Magic Potion formula from Isengard.
• Ian examined the Second Energy Level Fairy's Radiance and learned it required careful storage away from heat and freezing.

Hilliard explained Harrison Port’s history and the danger posed by a forming labyrinth, then discovered that Ian had radically optimized his virtual Origin Seed. Impressed by Ian’s ability, Hilliard resolved to intensify his training and postpone Origin Seed condensation until Ian had learned more.

• Hilliard explained that Harrison Port had been abandoned after the Dark Moon Turmoil and that imperial support had only recently returned to establish a trade route.
• Hilliard told Ian that Pre-Epoch ruins could become labyrinths and warned that a forming labyrinth might draw beasts and Aliens toward Harrison Port.
• Hilliard noticed Ian’s virtual Origin Seed was active and learned that Ian had altered its structure after only three days of training.
• Hilliard examined Ian’s Origin Seed and found it operating flawlessly with an exceptionally efficient structure.
• Hilliard praised Ian as a Chosen One and decided to double his training, begin academic lessons, and delay condensation until Ian had learned more.

Ian recognized the Dragon-Worshiping Cult’s mysterious pendant as newly formed Ruststeel, revealing that a new Rust-Steel Dragon had appeared in Canaanmore. He concluded that the young dragon had grown up inside a giant labyrinth.

• Anfa and Elder Manyan brought Ian to the sacrificial platform and explained that the pendant had been recovered by cult members in Canaanmore before a traitor exposed their mission and Candlebearers pursued them.
• Ian identified the pendant as a newly formed piece of Ruststeel, astonishing Anfa, Sheo, and Elder Manyan.
• Ian realized the pendant’s significance: it indicated that a new Rust-Steel Dragon had appeared in Canaanmore and explained why the cult had brought it to the Southern Ridge for appraisal.
• Elder Manyan placed the pendant on the Ruststeel altar, which produced the image of a dragon, and asked where the dragon’s offspring had grown strong enough to affect its surroundings.
• Ian answered that the young Rust-Steel Dragon had grown up inside a giant labyrinth.

Ian returned home with a precious fragment from the Crocodile Dragon, while Viscount Grant chose not to pursue the retreating natives and considered how the conflict and an emerging labyrinth could benefit his plans. After surveying Harrison Port’s devastation, Grant organized repairs, rewards, and rescue efforts, then thanked Lamar for helping defend his estate.

• Ian suppressed his hunger for the violet flesh fragment, recognized its value, and carried it home after the battle ended.
• Viscount Grant stopped pursuing the Crocodile Dragon because his Aether Armor was damaged and his Element Crystal reserves were limited.
• Grant reasoned that the surviving native threat would help him retain control of Harrison Port and gain resources, while the labyrinth’s development could give him time to prepare.
• Grant surveyed the ruined port, worried about the destroyed fields and food supply, and returned to his estate.
• Grant praised the defenders, assigned repairs and rescue work, and promised rewards to those who had fought.
• Grant embraced Lamar and thanked her for directing the defense of his estate.

Ian experienced unpredictable visions that Hilliard suspected were signs of his psionics advancing, while Harrison Port began rebuilding after the invasion. As Ian trained, he wondered whether his desire to understand Terra Continent and its knowledge had triggered his visions.

• Harrison Port resumed normal operations as relief supplies arrived, and Viscount Grant planned new districts, workshops, and defenses using compensation from defeated native tribes.
• Ian continued suffering unpredictable visions, including one of a harvest ritual in the distant nation of Frontier Reach.
• Hilliard examined Ian and suspected that his psionics were advancing because he had fulfilled a desire, overwhelming his brain with strange visions.
• Ian missed Viscount Grant's commendation ceremony, while the public credited city guards for repelling the Mountain Tide Spirit and kept Ian's role quiet for his protection.
• Ian received the Grant family's Azure Ripple Inscription tome and began studying its Aether Armor techniques.
• While exercising, Ian considered that his desire to understand Terra Continent and its new knowledge might have caused his psionics to develop.

Ian led Isengard and Master Gose away from the pursuing beasts and into a vast, frozen rift valley beneath the ruins. There, Ian and Isengard heard a distant dragon’s furious roar.

• Ian realized their escape was attracting more monsters, so he led the group deeper into the cold caverns to escape the Brain-Eating Worms and other pursuers.
• Ian found a sheet of ice and broke through it, dropping with Isengard and Master Gose into a frigid opening as several intelligent parasitic beasts stopped at its edge.
• Ian and Isengard landed in a vast, snow-covered rift valley illuminated by distant lights.
• Ian urged Isengard to listen, and they heard a furious dragon roar from far across the valley.

Ian’s attempt to defeat Weges with lightning and improvised bombs left the blinded Ascendant alive, and the two fought on Sighing Cliff. Weges’s unusual senses and superior sword skill kept him pressing Ian back.

• Lightning struck Weges, destroying his senses and damaging his body, but his white exoskeleton protected him from death.
• Weges realized Ian had used misleading information to hurry and manipulate him, then formed a bone blade from his left hand.
• Ian threw explosive jars charged by Sighing Cliff’s psychic field, temporarily disrupting Weges and giving himself time to seize Hilliard’s Deep Abyss Iron Sword.
• Weges detected Ian despite his lost senses, knocked the greatsword aside, and attacked with his Turbulent Threefold Slash.
• Ian predicted and blocked Weges’s successive strikes, recognizing that the knight sensed vibrations through layered bones around his ears.

Ian, Master Gose, and Isengard watched the Brain-Eating Insect Queen prepare to parasitize the Surging Tide Giant Eel, but its defenses made a surprise attack too risky. Ian discovered that the parasitic beasts had also stolen Crystal Dragon eggs and realized the theft could create an opening against the queen.

• The parasitic beasts dragged the unconscious Surging Tide Giant Eel toward the rift while the Brain-Eating Insect Queen emerged from its nest.
• Ian, Master Gose, and Isengard prepared to bombard the queen, but Master Gose warned that its electromagnetic barrier could deflect their shells.
• Ian decided they had to wait for the queen to reveal a weakness as it parasitized the giant eel.
• Ian used Ethan's telescope and discovered parasitic beasts transporting Crystal Dragon eggs, confirming that they had stolen the Deepsea Crystal Dragon's eggs.
• Ian stopped Master Gose and Isengard from loading their weapons, saying the stolen eggs would soon give them an opportunity.

Ian recognized the auroras as an artificial omen of the Light Calamity and suspected the Sun God Birds, Axel, and Mikael were connected to it. After ordering the Magic Beasts to seek shelter, Ian contacted Mikael, who revealed he had already identified Ian and arrived on the New Continent.

• Ian determined that the light reaching Terra was a deliberately induced disaster, likely connected to the Sun God Birds and the planned awakening of the Thousand-Stars Beast.
• Ian concluded that Mikael’s delayed rebellion against Axel might explain why the artificial Light Calamity had begun earlier in this timeline.
• Ian ordered the Magic Beasts to return to their clans and gather at the Heavenly Ladder Tree’s protected nodes.
• Ian contacted Mikael through the Void Realm, intending to reveal his identity and discuss the Light Calamity.
• Mikael said he had already recognized Ian and arrived on the New Continent ten seconds later.