Chapter Summaries

Ian and Patrick fought to a standstill, with Ian using divination and earth-element defenses to withstand Patrick’s attacks. Their duel was interrupted when a pirate riding Sha Sha raced into the Sacrificial Grounds with the Surging Tide Giant Eel in pursuit.

• Ian used earth-element Origin Matter and Isengard’s blood to fend off Patrick’s attacks, while Patrick’s Light-Eater Dragon bloodline healed his shattered shoulder.
• Patrick launched a series of quicksword strikes, but Ian’s divination-assisted swordsmanship blocked and countered them.
• Ian drew on the Ancient Dragon Core to strengthen his defenses, while Patrick prepared for another clash.
• The artificial river began churning, and a dark-green-haired pirate raced toward the Sacrificial Grounds atop Sha Sha.
• Ian and Patrick recognized the pursuing Surging Tide Giant Eel as the natives’ totem lord as it barreled down the river.

Ian returned to Canaanmore, prepared to reshape his body into a Fairy, and discussed familiarization research with Master Gravi. As the Fairy mentors arrived to examine him, Ian also considered how to recruit Gravi and avoid political turmoil in the Empire.

• Ian returned to the World Tree Capital with the Imperial delegation and planned to use a True Dragon's Spark to modify the Dark Gold Dragon body.
• War preparations intensified across Terra, while Canaanmore purged the Pillar Party and Xiahui Territory attracted investors after word spread of Ian's identity and achievements.
• Naimo learned that Ian was a prophet and took grim satisfaction in the Blazing Flame Lands' new infiltration efforts, while Sheo watched their hidden base and left it intact at Ian's request.
• Afrina Ellen learned Ian was a prophet and tripled the support she had given him, while Isengard waited at the embassy and worried about Ian's surgery.
• Ian asked Mercury Spring and Silver Salt's Fairy community to create a Fairy Body for him, then met Master Gravi and invited him to continue researching familiarization in Xiahui Territory.
• Ian sensed two Fairy mentors approaching and went out to greet Gan Song Frozen Fish and Frozen Fish Silent Frost.

Ian, Frost Butterfly, and Hua An boarded an alchemical train from Bart Grand Station bound for the Imperial Capital. As the train departed, Frost Butterfly delighted in its machinery and the three companions enjoyed the journey together.

• Ian bought discounted tickets for himself, Frost Butterfly, and Hua An, then arranged for the station staff to care for his camel-beast.
• Ian boarded the train with the two Fairies after it arrived at Bart Grand Station and noticed passengers including members of the Machina Church.
• The train staff offered the Fairies cushions and seats suited to their needs before Ian and his companions settled into their carriage.
• Frost Butterfly said she was happy to ride the enormous train, and Ian teased that her love of machinery came from his aesthetic sense.
• Ian, Frost Butterfly, and Hua An watched the scenery from the windows and enjoyed traveling by train.

The Fairy Queen arrived in Silverpeak Domain to support Ian after he revealed Star God's Gift, and she revealed that she had known the Pioneer Surald in the Pre-Epoch Civilization. She told Ian that his plans to reshape the Void Realm made him a great change in the world, and said she had come to understand his true intentions.

• A powerful Void Realm Mech-God appeared before Ian, carrying the Fairy Queen on its shoulder.
• Ian and Adalbert were overwhelmed by the Fairy Queen's charm, but Ian steadied himself and welcomed her.
• The Fairy Queen said she had come to back Ian up and asked to see Star God's Gift because she had known Surald.
• The Fairy Queen revealed that she had once been a Federation senator and Speaker, and that Fairies retained memories through repeated deaths.
• The Fairy Queen told Ian that his recent victories, Star God's Gift, inheritance of the Light Realm, and plan to reshape the Void Realm made him a great miracle.
• The Fairy Queen said she would support Ian and understand his true intentions.

From Terra Year 783 to 784, Silverpeak Domain rebuilt the space elevator, expanded into orbit, and watched other powers pursue their own paths to immortality. As Ian explored the Aether Sea’s depths, he finally contacted Elan and announced that he would return the past to the present, experiment on Terminus, and silence all of Terra Civilization except for his own voice.

• Silverpeak Domain and the Empire stabilized under Director Scott and Emperor Aina Sertal, while Silverpeak Domain restored the space elevator with help from Sheo and the Mountain King.
• Roland oversaw the space elevator’s completion, and a Dwarf engineer called Ian a sage as the first elevator car launched into the sky.
• Silverpeak Domain completed Terra’s first space station and began sending constructs to New Moon, where the Grand Duke of Ridgehold’s people had established mining outposts.
• Terra’s powerhouses pursued paths toward immortality, while Ian’s Arcane Path spread among humans and Magic Beasts and the Spirit-Veneration Church grew across the Empire.
• Elan used Terra’s Heart to reach Ian and learned that he was exploring a peaceful, empty region of the Aether Sea’s tributary of time.
• Ian told Elan that the time had come to bring the past into the present, investigate Terminus, and make Terra Civilization quiet so that only his voice remained.

Aldo Silverpeak awoke on the Moon and received a vision of humanity’s future civil war, resolving to change it. At the same time, the Silverpeak Sage and Pioneer Space confronted threats across countless universes and offered survivors a path forward.

• Aldo Silverpeak woke from his hibernation pod in New Silverpeak City and learned about the Federation’s growing conservatism and retreat from exploration.
• Aldo looked toward the Guiding Star and received the Silverpeak Sage’s holy spirit, which urged him to become a Prophet.
• Aldo saw a future of factional conflict, civil war, and humanity’s departure from Terra, then vowed to change that future.
• The Sun God Bird and Elan Silverpeak also saw the approaching future and began acting to alter it.
• Across countless universes, the Silverpeak Sage faced apocalyptic threats while Pioneer Space offered survivors a chance to move forward.

News reports described Ace Nemasus defeating Carlo Nemasus and returning to the Radiant Land as a missionary, while a livestreamer captured Ian Silverpeak confronting the King of Embers and the Chrysalis near Thema City. Ian and the two kings rebuilt the devastated region, then the Chrysalis withdrew as the King of Embers prepared to fight Ian over the Perpetual Motion Machine.

• News reports said Ace Nemasus defeated his descendant Carlo Nemasus in a duel using Second Energy Level power and returned as a missionary for the Spirit-Veneration Church.
• Balo Tenglang livestreamed the confrontation between Ian Silverpeak and the two kings of the Blazing Flame Lands near Mount Xiunai.
• Ian argued that Fifth Energy Level bloodlines could be safely spread and restored Thema City and its surroundings with water and earth.
• The King of Embers rebuilt Thema City’s foundations and underground water system, while the Chrysalis revived the land and helped raise a vast new city.
• The King of Embers admitted he had neglected ordinary people and said he had improved because of the Perpetual Motion Machine, then explained he could no longer afford to lose and challenged Ian to fight.

Ian entered the underground Redwood Ruins Cluster and discovered a vast artificial cavern containing a monument commemorating the Gazers. As he investigated signs of animal fights near an ornamental river, several Azure-Armored Lizards emerged, and he hid to observe them.

• Ian passed through a light-filled tunnel into a gigantic underground cavern illuminated by an electrically charged cloud of mist.
• Ian found a cracked black stele bearing the words “Redwood Base” and an inscription commemorating the Gazers over 3,400 years.
• Ian examined the artificial river and arch bridge, noticing old and fresh claw marks and tooth gouges around the collapsed railings.
• Ian heard animal footsteps, hid behind a stone pillar, and watched several cautious Azure-Armored Lizards emerge from a cavern.

Isengard rejected the Ellen Family inheritance and learned from Marquis Wilde that the City of Knowledge had invited him because his bloodline might connect him to Inaga II and the Empire’s portion of the Thousand-Stars Beast. After Marquis Wilde urged him not to go, Isengard hurried to tell Ian and the others what he had learned.

• Isengard thanked Marquis Wilde for seeking the truth about the Thousand-Stars Beast and Sun God Bird, then said he would give up competing to lead the Ellen Family and would not return to the Northlands.
• Isengard told Marquis Wilde he trusted Ian and planned to build his future through Silverpeak Domain, which he believed would prosper as the Empire’s southern rear area.
• Marquis Wilde warned Isengard that the City of Knowledge’s Silver Sky Gate had become easier to operate with an Apocalypse-grade antimatter reactor and questioned why it had invited him despite his not being a psychic user.
• Marquis Wilde revealed that Isengard’s Sun God Bird bloodline was a specially made key tied to the Empire’s share of the Thousand-Stars Beast and suggested that Isengard’s power came from Inaga II.
• Marquis Wilde said Isengard resembled Inaga II and advised him not to go to the City of Knowledge before ending the communication.
• Isengard hurried to the Fairy liaison office in the Imperial Capital to tell Ian and the others what Marquis Wilde had revealed.

Sha Sha ambushed Baron Ge Wen’s South Sea Fleet as a newly advanced Steel-Armored Shark with unusual lightning abilities, then withdrew when warned that Ge Wen was too strong to fight. Viscount Grant observed the clash and postponed exploring the Maze again, while Ian was secretly leaving with Sha Sha.

• Baron Ge Wen ordered the fleet to attack a glowing sea creature, but it evaded the weapons and rammed an escort ship.
• A naval officer identified the attacker as a Steel-Armored Shark, and Sha Sha broke through the fleet’s interception net with a sword strike from inside its jaws.
• Baron Ge Wen confronted Sha Sha and covered his fleet’s retreat with whirlpools, while the voice inside Sha Sha’s mouth advised it not to pursue him.
• Sha Sha withdrew, and Baron Ge Wen worried that stronger Magic Beasts might emerge from the Maze.
• Viscount Grant watched the battle from his manor and postponed Maze exploration, unaware that Ian was leaving with Sha Sha.

Ian reached the core of the Light Realm, uncovered how it created the Pearl of the Light Realm and found a sealed gravity weapon, then used the Silver Chip and Terra's Heart to claim the Light Realm's power. The Light Realm revived decades ahead of schedule, and Ian revealed Inaga II's legacy to the world's watching powers.

• Ian used the Star God's Gift to pass through the Light Realm's defenses and saw future visions revealing the Pearl's powers and possible conflicts over it.
• Ian scanned the Light Realm's inscription array and learned how it created the Pearl and flawless Aether True Forms.
• Ian discovered a miniature Heavenly Prison concealing a gravity weapon that he suspected could turn a star into a black hole, and resolved to investigate how to open it.
• Ian began absorbing the Light Realm's power through Terra's Heart and the Star God's Gift, triggering the Light Realm's revival and forcing Pioneer Space users offline.
• Ian revealed the Silver Chip as Inaga II's legacy and declared it the key to his success before the world's powerful beings.

Ian’s attempt to use Supor Sleeping Powder as bait was interrupted when Elder Pude arrived and stopped the herb gatherer from stealing it. After hearing the witnesses’ accounts, Pude believed the natives had attacked them and praised Ian and “Osena” for their actions.

• The herb gatherer reached for Ian’s Supor Sleeping Powder, but Sainan moved to punch him for trying to rob the boy.
• Elder Pude arrived, slapped the herb gatherer down, and drove him away from Ian.
• Elder Pude questioned the crowd and Ian, then concluded that the natives had attacked them because of Pure Sacrifice.
• Elder Pude examined the sleeping Elan and identified Supor flower sleeping powder, confirming Ian’s account.
• Elder Pude praised Ian and reassessed “Osena” after learning he had killed four natives, then noticed that Ian seemed sturdier.

Hilliard brought Ian to Sighing Cliff, a powerful natural psionic field, to safely take a Magic Potion. Ian identified the field’s calm core, and Hilliard revealed the Marsh Crocodile Dragon’s Origin Matter essence, leaving Ian to understand how the potion could transform his body.

• Hilliard carried Ian to Sighing Cliff after Elan and the neighbors had fallen asleep.
• Ian discovered that friction at the cliff produced visible electric arcs and recognized the site as a strong lightning-aligned psionic field.
• Hilliard explained that the field could suppress Ian’s innate psionics and help keep the potion-taking safe.
• Ian used Precognitive Vision to point out the field’s calm core, and Hilliard confirmed it was the right place.
• Hilliard showed Ian the Marsh Crocodile Dragon’s pale golden Origin Matter essence, and Ian realized it contained the pattern for an ascended thymus organ.

After Ian survived the battle, Hilliard revealed that he had given Ian his heart core to purge the toxins and that Frost Prison Calamity Ash was turning him to stone. Hilliard died after entrusting Ian with Inaga's Legacy, and Ian carried his teacher's remains toward the shore as dawn rose.

• Ian woke on Sighing Cliff, and Hilliard warned him that the lightning and Soma Wine toxins had caused lasting damage to his senses.
• Ian discovered that Hilliard was wounded and turning to stone; Hilliard explained that he had given Ian his heart core and used his remaining Origin Matter to save him.
• Hilliard told Ian that Frost Prison Calamity Ash made his death inevitable and asked Ian to send his body into the South Sea.
• Hilliard confessed his identity and warned Ian that inheriting His Majesty's legacy would bring powerful enemies, but Ian said he had come to destroy them.
• Hilliard gave Ian Inaga's Legacy, the silver chip that could open the Eternal Labyrinth, and died as Ian accepted it.
• After a long vigil, Ian carried Hilliard's remains down from the cliff and looked toward the High Heavens at dawn.

Ian cooked a lavish dinner of fried egg prawns and honey-roasted beef ribs for his hungry younger brother, Elan. The brothers shared the meal warmly, while Ian remembered his damaged nerves and promised to ask Elder Pude for milk the next day; time then passed from summer into autumn.

• Ian used the Silver Chip to select prawns, eggs, and premium beef ribs, then prepared fried egg prawns and began roasting the ribs.
• Elan, hungry after a day without food, followed the enticing aroma into the kitchen and washed up for dinner.
• Elan praised the prawns but found them too salty, and Ian realized his damaged nerves had impaired his taste.
• Ian offered Elan honey water and promised to ask Elder Pude for milk, then fed him pieces of the tender, crisp beef ribs.
• The brothers ate together, and days and nights passed until summer gave way to autumn.

The Nearlight sailed into the storm to search for Magic Beasts while Master Gose warned Ian that Patrick's assassins might attack Isengard at sea. Gose gave Ian a Silent Sound Ring and instructed him to escape with Isengard to Aels if the vessel was ambushed, promising that Isengard's mother might reward him with a new high-level lineage and Trace-Origin Dew.

• The Nearlight set out into the storm with Master Gose using his Cloudshaper abilities to control the winds.
• Master Gose told Ian that Patrick's assassins might target Isengard during the voyage and that the mission would continue despite the danger.
• Gose gave Ian a Silent Sound Ring and told him to take Isengard to shore and seek Aels if the enemy attacked.
• Gose explained that Aels vouched for Ian and revealed that he suspected Ian possessed a hidden lineage and greater combat ability than a Wave-Singer.
• Gose said Isengard's mother might reward Ian with a new high-level lineage and Trace-Origin Dew if he protected the young master.

Ian encountered the Silent True Demon and learned that it carried the grief of Terrans who died when orbital cities fell, as well as the Star God's regret over failing to protect civilization. After it entrusted its remains to Ian and withdrew its influence, Ian connected its recorded periods of activity to adjustments of the Dragon Island core seal's black hole, suggesting a link to the End Fragment.

• Ian heard the Silent True Demon's memories of Terrans dying as orbital cities fell and understood that their deaths had left its resentment and grief.
• Ian showed the Silent True Demon how he was gathering Sparks and rebuilding civilization, and it entrusted its remains to him before closing its eyes.
• Ian reasoned that the Silent True Demon had suppressed sound and interaction in the Light Realm, while the Mech-Gods monitored it and could attack if it became destructive.
• Chrysalis entered the Light Realm, discovered that speech had become possible again, and told Ian that the Silent True Demon had become active five times in recorded history.
• Ian recognized that the Silent True Demon's activity dates matched adjustments to the Dragon Island core seal's black hole and suspected a connection to the End Fragment.

Ian explained that gaining a soul required more than literacy: knowledge had to shape a person’s thinking, which helped explain why nobles guarded education and why Inaga II had pursued universal education. After Bishop White Mist recognized Ian’s ambition to reach the Fifth Energy Level, he warned that Ian did not understand what that level represented.

• Ian told Scott and Azure Tide that wisdom and deeply understood knowledge could help produce souls, and Azure Tide decided to study.
• Ian explained that nobles monopolized knowledge to control the path to the Second Energy Level, and that Inaga II’s universal education sought to open that path to everyone.
• Ian arranged for Scott to help Azure Tide study while Azure Tide trained Scott, then reminded them to monitor the labyrinth exploration.
• Bishop White Mist told Ian that he would witness Ian’s choices and growth, and identified Ian’s ambition to reach the Fifth Energy Level.
• Ian questioned why the Fifth Energy Level warranted such attention, and Bishop White Mist said Ian did not understand what it represented.

After exploring a prophetic dream of a future as a Brain-Eating Worm Brood, Ian understood why the Church of Light's Embrace guarded Terra against widespread disasters and saw how much potential he would have lost by following the Swarm Path. He recorded the dream's revelations and went back to sleep, determined to pursue a better future in his own timeline.

• Ian concluded that Terra faced many world-ending threats and that the Church of Light's Embrace and powerful Ascendants helped keep civilization alive.
• Ian realized the Church had not aided Inaga II because his final choice could have caused an Apocalypse Calamity, and the Brain-Eating Worm Brood was too weak to merit much attention.
• Ian recognized that becoming the Brood's ruler had limited his potential, while the prophetic dream revealed useful possibilities and future intelligence, including Viscount Grant's rise.
• Ian considered using his Church of Light's Embrace credit to seek help for Elder Pude's stomach cancer and resolved to develop Elan's potential along a different path.
• Ian recorded his memories of the dream, then fell asleep determined to make a perfect ending in his present timeline.

Isengard found Ian after Ian had fought off an armed attack near the Mist Forest, and invited him to discuss a commission. Ian accepted, hoping to use the Ellen Family’s mission to earn merit and advance his own goals.

• Isengard and his guards followed reports of gunfire to the Mist Forest, where they found Ian standing among the attackers’ corpses after killing them.
• Ian’s control over Origin Matter alarmed Isengard’s guards, while Isengard openly praised Ian’s skill and checked that he was unharmed.
• Ian considered using Isengard to gain merit through the Ellen Family’s mission, then asked what payment Isengard would offer for his analysis.
• Isengard invited Ian to discuss the commission at a private place, promising the Ellen Family’s financial resources and reputation.
• Ian agreed, and after collecting the attackers’ firearms as spoils and evidence, he returned to Harrison Port with Isengard and the guards, heading to the Long Gull Tavern.