Chapter Summaries

Ian and the Gale Dragon King examined Terminus and discovered how to forge Cradle Wall from vacuum and Aether, prompting Ian to reconsider the Star Gods’ origins and their conflict with Terminus. The chapter ended with Ian revealing his plan to turn Terra into the Eternal Ark, a planetary spaceship that could roam the universe without attracting Terminus.

• Ian proposed using a new Cradle to shelter Terra and explained that a supernova could charge it with enough light for billions of years.
• Ian took the Gale Dragon King to the Terra Cradle’s largest crack, described Terminus as an Abyssal Tree reaching toward sunlight, and asked the Dragon King to activate his Aether Furnace.
• Using the Aether Furnace, Ian combined light, void, and vacuum decay to create a square meter of Cradle Wall, though he said repairing the vast crack would require far more material and energy.
• Ian theorized that the Star Gods had created life-bearing universes by combining universes of light and the Void Sea, and identified their Heavenly Ladder as a path toward becoming Star Gods.
• Ian and the Gale Dragon King returned to Terra after Ian explained that he meant to build the Eternal Ark, or Wandering Terra, rather than merely enclose the planet and hide inside.

Ian drew the aether from Terra and began sealing its Fifth Energy Level beings, assigning many of them roles that would protect or reshape the planets and civilizations they cared about. As he prepared for his eventual battle with Terminus, he left the chapter arranging the future of Terra’s powerful beings while Gonta and Ga’er fought and Ian’s plans for competition among human powers remained unfinished.

• Ian siphoned Terra’s aether, revealed the Tower of Aether, and faced the assembled Fifth Energy Level beings as they began their attack.
• Ian defeated Mountain-Raiser and Abyss Star, sealed them within Terra, and restored their alien power structures so they could awaken to protect the planet in future crises.
• Ian sealed Everlasting Wind into the solar winds and sent Golitnil to transform Mars while assigning Furstie to build its future oceanic ecosystem.
• Ian reassured Bai Ji, Wilderness Lady, White Vortex, and Shadowmare about their peoples’ futures and set their sealing tasks across Ceres and the planetary system.
• Ian let Nathaniel, Split Solin, Azure Star, Chrysalis, and Lady Kanta choose their roles or endings, including returning Lady Kanta to Kola Lake.
• Ian defeated Gaioun and assigned him to restore Klos Star, then watched Gonta and Ga’er duel while discussing the Empire’s Fifth Energy Levels.

Ian and his companions discovered that nearly everyone involved in the train attack was an undercover agent, then pursued the fleeing leader. Patrol Knight Kelian'er defeated and captured Kate, leaving Ian to return to the train with the others.

• Imperial Capital Mirror Sea Guard agents and members of other departments exposed one another as undercover agents, while the mysterious organization's leader escaped from the locomotive.
• Ian, Hua An, and Frost Butterfly pursued the leader and the Patrol Knight who chased him.
• Kelian'er defeated Kate with a vector-transfer shield, broke his arms, and subdued him with alchemical medicine.
• Kelian'er revealed that he had never served Kate and thanked Ian and the Fairies for their help.
• Kelian'er carried the captured Kate back toward the train with Ian, Hua An, and Frost Butterfly.

Sixty years after arriving on the New Continent, Yulan Avaritia led Farshore Island’s elite army toward the Crystal Holy Land to activate the Heavenly Ladder and transform the land. As the beast kings attacked and Yulan wondered why their ally Nethersea had not arrived, Ian witnessed Nethersea battling a Fourth Energy Level powerhouse from Blazing Flame Lands.

• Yulan recalled how she had left Farshore Island after losing the Azure Star succession, spent sixty years developing Dawn Harbor, and came to see the New Continent as her final conquest.
• Yulan led the Calamity-Breaking Iron Army across the New Continent toward the Heavenly Ladder port, intending to use Terra Dragon’s authorization to restore the ecosystem.
• At the Crystal Plains, the Illusory Sun Void Mother attacked with simulated meteors and Voidsource Winged Beetles, while Yulan countered the ambush.
• The Great Abyss Lord confronted Yulan, and she prepared to open the Holy Land with the beast kings, relying on an alliance with Nethersea.
• Ian saw Nethersea fighting a Fourth Energy Level powerhouse from Blazing Flame Lands and wondered why that fighter had come to the New Continent.

Ian analyzed how Wave-Singer True Forms and bloodlines could be converted into one another, and planned to use the Silver Chip to contain the potion’s power while preserving a path toward a stronger Fairy inheritance. After checking on Elan, he drank the Wave-Singer potion and began guiding its power into the Silver Chip.

• Ian reviewed the Wave-Singer potion’s ingredients and concluded that its materials could support a future change from a True Form into a bloodline.
• Ian reasoned that the Silver Chip could hold the Wave-Singer power and help him avoid the worst effects of converting it into a bloodline later.
• Ian returned home and found Elan practicing writing, then encouraged him to keep studying and offered to help with math.
• Ian saw a purple mist in his Precognitive Vision and took it as a favorable omen for the Wave-Singer path.
• After confirming his nerve damage had healed, Ian drank the Wave-Singer potion and guided the Silver Chip toward it.

Ian observed the Empire’s floating-city preparations and the upheaval across Terra’s major powers, then concluded that Axel’s plan was already nearing completion. He connected the growing schisms among powerful nations to Mikael’s future rebellion and the Great Schism Era.

• Anfa Ember Lamp’s delegation left Silverpeak Domain, and the Mountain King agreed to accompany them to Canaanmore after Lady Skalai’s demands unsettled him.
• Ian learned that the Seven Cities Alliance had descended into public infighting and that the Empire was supplying floating-city projects without obstruction.
• Ian asked Light's Embrace about Axel’s intentions and requested an introduction to Golitnil, hoping to secure a guarantee related to the Thousand-Stars Beast.
• The Azure Heaven Royal Court withdrew its troops after Ankatoximor fell gravely ill, and Ian realized that no major power could readily stop the Empire from acting.
• Ian mapped the conflicts and divisions across Terra, while Isengard argued that Axel’s plan was already underway and nearly impossible to prevent.
• Ian recalled Mikael’s future rebellion and wondered whether the schisms among powers with multiple Fifth Energy Level figures were a prelude to, or a consequence of, the Great Schism.

Ian discussed improving the Chehalorvo Family’s Silverpeak Envoy lineage and then turned to the Primordial Fairies and their nest in the South Sea Grand Labyrinth. Sha Sha received an invitation to Frost Butterfly’s grand banquet and eagerly swam through Redwood Base’s waterways to attend.

• Ian proposed upgrading the Silverpeak Envoy lineage with electromagnetic adaptations and Steelwing Dragon materials to support high-speed flight.
• Elder Pude entrusted the lineage changes to Ian but warned that the new materials would make the lineage more expensive to inherit.
• Ian argued that aerial warfare would become increasingly important and planned to use the lineage improvements to support his future bloodline plans.
• Ian shifted his attention to the Primordial Fairies and the Fairy nest within the South Sea Grand Labyrinth.
• Sha Sha accepted Frost Butterfly’s invitation to the fairies’ grand banquet and happily swam through Redwood Base’s waterways.

Ian analyzed the phantom woman’s unusual, persistent soul and concluded that someone had deliberately caused the Azure City disaster. He told Hua An that hidden academy members were likely underground, then asked Mikael to explain his plans.

• Ian reflected on the deaths in Azure City and said people should not die this way, though he believed anger alone could not change reality.
• Ian examined the phantom’s memories and theorized that the Phantom Army technology created temporary souls whose madness had been amplified by the Silent Abyss and the Void Realm mutation.
• Ian noticed that the phantom woman’s temporary soul had not faded and suspected her body or a special environment explained its persistence; he resolved to search for her corpse near the southeastern exit.
• Ian told Hua An that his psychic ability had traced the hidden academy members to the underground waterways, where a biological laboratory might be located.
• Mikael considered that the Phantom Army technology might have been intended as a protection plan rather than a weapon, and Ian asked him what he planned to do in Awak Domain.

Ian obtained a Steel-Patterned Starfish’s Molten-Iron Stomach Sac, which suited his need for an organ that could improve energy decomposition, and left the Avude Tribe. Sheo worried about him traveling alone, but Anfa persuaded her to stay behind, and Ian reached Twin Tree Town that afternoon.

• Elder Manyan showed Ian several earth-attributed Magic Beast digestive organs in the Avude Tribe’s storage room.
• Ian chose the Steel-Patterned Starfish’s Molten-Iron Stomach Sac because its digestive and decomposing properties matched his needs.
• Elder Manyan gave Ian the stomach sac, and Ian thanked the Avude Tribe before setting off for Twin Tree Town.
• Sheo worried that the mysterious black shadow might attack Ian again and offered to go after him.
• Anfa convinced Sheo to remain in the tribe, and Ian arrived in Twin Tree Town later that afternoon.

Ian followed the Ironclad Shark after sensing a deadly threat nearby and discovered a Living Fishing Net beneath the sea. His Precognitive Vision revealed an entire Elf fleet above, leaving him stunned by its presence.

• Ian decided to follow the Ironclad Shark and investigate the danger threatening it.
• The Ironclad Shark swam toward its lair, imagining its future growth and plans to claim Odell Reef.
• Ian seized the Ironclad Shark's tail and stopped it before it reached the nearby threat.
• Ian detected rootlets forming an Elf Living Fishing Net that ensnared fish in the surrounding waters.
• Ian used Precognitive Vision to look above the water and discovered an entire Elf fleet.

Ian reviewed the recommended materials for advancing into the Rockforged Knight and concluded that the Infernal Ice Wolf crystal core would be the hardest to obtain. He examined the growing effects of his Fairy Bloodline and newly completed Sand Armor Apprentice Extreme Domain, then packed up his laboratory to test his advanced Molten-Iron Stomach Sac.

• Ian studied Hilliard's material recommendations and identified the Flying-Flame Giant Locust muscles, Silver Halberd Falcon feathers, and Infernal Ice Wolf crystal core as the Rockforged Knight's ideal ingredients.
• Ian reasoned that he could obtain the locust muscles and ask Isengard or Lady Ellen for help with the falcon feathers, but would need to order a dangerous, expensive hunt for an Infernal Ice Wolf.
• Ian considered how the Infernal Ice Wolf's earth-element Origin Matter abilities could support his interest in using artillery-like attacks as a knight's charge.
• Ian sensed that his Fairy Bloodline had strengthened his soul, psionic power, Precognitive Vision, and perception, while the effects of his Sand Armor Apprentice Extreme Domain remained unclear.
• Ian recorded his bodily changes in the Silver Chip, packed his laboratory equipment, and prepared to feast after completing the advancement of his Molten-Iron Stomach Sac.

Ian studied the Warp Engine and Fireseed designs, realizing that Terra’s Apocalypse Armaments were close to enabling faster-than-light travel. He then examined a star map from sixteen hundred years ago and discovered that stars had been vanishing in sequence, leaving a vast darkness that might eventually reach Terra.

• Ian compared the Fireseed Furnace Core with the True Aether Furnace and recognized that its aether bubble enabled Warp Travel without subspace or hyperspace channels.
• Ian realized that a nation able to manufacture a new Apocalypse Armament would be close to developing faster-than-light travel, though Terra’s wars and reliance on relics hindered progress.
• Ian opened the Primordial Star Map and found a Great Hollow where stars had already vanished.
• Ian confirmed that stars had disappeared one by one according to their distance, at the speed of light, and found that records of the phenomenon had been deliberately deleted.
• Ian considered whether Terra itself might have been obscured and concluded that if the surrounding stars kept going dark, Terra could be next.

Echo explained that the Demon of Terminus was consuming galaxies and that Terra’s Star-Prison was a protective Cradle whose breach left the planet exposed. Ian rejected Echo’s plan to flee with the Sparks, choosing instead to confront the cosmic threats, and his approaching friends arrived as Echo tried to assimilate him.

• Echo described how the Demon of Terminus emerged from black holes and turned the stars of entire galaxies into black holes, while the Star Gods failed to stop it.
• Ian realized that Star-Prison was actually Tranquil Cradle, a protective barrier preserving Sparks, and that Echo planned to escape to a starless Great Hollow.
• Echo revealed that a sealed fragment of the Demon of Terminus had damaged a Star Gods transport vessel, causing the second Calamity of Falling Skies, and warned that Terra would eventually be destroyed.
• Echo showed Ian memories of past disasters and explained its plan to record Terra’s civilization as a Spark and flee, then its forces overwhelmed Ian’s summoned troops and it began assimilating him.
• Ian refused to flee, insisting that he would face the Star Gods or the Demon of Terminus, and he declared that acting despite certain failure was courage.
• Ian revealed that the Silver Chip had warned him that his friends were approaching, and Sheo and another companion arrived while Echo still held him down.

The Second Prince and Marquis Barton discussed the Empire’s fragile stability and plans to bind Ian to the Southern Ridge with a knightly fief. Ian sensed the Second Prince’s Soul Light Body watching him, identified Mikael Sertal, and chose a suit of armor.

• The Second Prince reflected on how Landkeeper Axel had inherited an Empire weakened by the Dark Moon Turmoil but gained power over its cleared-out capital.
• The Second Prince and Marquis Barton discussed Layan Territory, the Mountain Folk, and plans to divide its lands and investigate the Canaanmore Labyrinth.
• The Second Prince proposed granting Ian a knightly fief to keep him tied to the Southern Ridge, and Marquis Barton worried Ian was too young and would attract attention.
• Ian sensed a Fourth Energy Level Soul Light Body near Marquis Barton and deduced that the Second Prince, Mikael Sertal, was watching him.
• Ian pointed to a suit of armor and said it was just what he wanted.

Ian used the Ash Path’s vision to infer that aether’s disappearance had stranded Terminus outside the Cradle and that the Cradles were meant to nurture reinforcements for the Star Gods. After defeating the King of Embers, Ian accepted the man’s place in his many possible pasts and futures, then vowed to remember everything as he walked toward the farthest horizon.

• Ian reasoned that Terminus might be unable to move through aetherless space and that the Star Gods may have withdrawn aether to prepare for another war.
• The King of Embers explained that time inside the Cradle could be accelerated so its civilizations might grow strong enough to join the Star Gods against Terminus.
• The King of Embers surrendered two portions of the Blood of the Apex Seat and accepted his defeat by Ian.
• Ian told the dying King of Embers that he recognized their bond across parallel possibilities but would still kill him in this one.
• Ian gathered the King of Embers’s flames and vowed to remember every possibility as he continued toward the future.

Ian secretly listened as the Magnetic Light Knight tried to recruit the Purple Maple Knight to capture him, then heard the knight claim Ian was central to the Dragon-Worshiping Cult’s plan. Ian was left stunned by the accusation.

• Ian used Precognitive Vision to eavesdrop on the Magnetic Light Knight and Purple Maple Knight from a nearby restaurant.
• Ian learned that the Purple Maple Knight was a Canaanmore spy inside the Dragon-Worshiping Cult and that her operation to seize the important item had failed.
• Ian pieced together how Anfa had drawn Sister Reflected Light’s suspicion toward Baron Layan and how Oak Master later encountered Ian after the cultists escaped prison.
• The Magnetic Light Knight tried to persuade the Purple Maple Knight to help capture Ian, arguing that Ian knew crucial intelligence.
• The Magnetic Light Knight claimed Ian had carried dragonkin materials for the Dragon-Worshiping Cult, met Anfa in Layan Territory, and was the core of the entire plan.

Ian met Sheo and Lubek, who were headed to the Western Plains to locate a Blazing Flame Lands special forces camp threatening the Bison Mountains. After discovering that Sheo was an Aberrant Dragon whose body caused him constant pain, Ian continued onward and realized other factions were following his route.

• Sheo told Ian that Anfa planned to catch up in three days and take responsibility for the Purple Maple Knight.
• Sheo explained that the Blazing Flame Lands had sent forces into the Bison Mountains to provoke its beast kings, and that he and Lubek were scouting the camp for the Mountain King.
• Ian gave Sheo and Lubek alchemical supplies for their mission, and Sheo gave Ian a black dragon-scale amulet that resisted mental interference.
• Ian examined the amulet and realized Sheo was a deformed Aberrant Dragon who likely used a human body to experience the world without pain.
• Ian continued onward and sensed that other factions, including Anfa, Magnetic Light, and the Purple Maple Knight, were close behind.

Ian welcomed the Final Defense into Silverpeak Domain and learned how the Light Realm could accelerate the creation of Void Realm Mech-Gods and Fairies. After the Fairy Queen returned to Falling Star City, Ian summoned Split Solin and asked the Undead Monarch to help him build what Solin called a dollhouse rather than heaven.

• Ian agreed to let the Final Defense guard Silverpeak Domain, and it deployed Void Realm Mech-Gods throughout the territory.
• The Fairy Queen explained that Void Realm Mech-Gods were artificial guardians, described how the Light Realm accelerated their creation, and revealed that Fairies could choose not to be born again into an unhappy world.
• Ian watched a Void Realm Mech-God take shape in the Light Realm and learned that peace and happiness could cause the Fairy population to flourish.
• The Fairy Queen returned to Falling Star City with the Final Defense, while Ian apologized to Adalbert for using power that could not be abandoned.
• Ian summoned Split Solin and asked him to help build heaven; Split Solin appeared and called Ian's intended creation a dollhouse, while suggesting many people might willingly become his toys.

Dastiel Abasalom, the King of Embers, recalled how a lifetime of destruction had left him searching for a reason to live, until Ian Silverpeak’s upheaval of the world gave him someone worth facing as an enemy. Their battle escalated as both drew on the Void Realm, and Ian glimpsed the Blazing Flame Lands’ true goal: reincarnation.

• As a child, Dastiel Abasalom burned the Bussot Plain’s weeds and beasts, but questioned why humans deserved to live more than the lives they destroyed.
• After Dastiel’s father died in battle, Dastiel became a warrior, then heir apparent and king, yet remained dissatisfied with the cycle of lives that ended in ashes.
• During the war with the Empire, Dastiel saw ordinary people find meaning in brief moments of sacrifice, love, and achievement, but he could not find that feeling for himself.
• Ian Silverpeak’s challenge awakened Dastiel’s desire to break the world’s unchanging fates, and the King of Embers attacked Ian with a colossal flaming fist.
• Ian struck back and drove the King of Embers into the Void Realm, where they exchanged increasingly powerful attacks as Chrysalis contained the damage to the Blazing Flame Lands.
• The King of Embers revealed that he could burn the Void Realm’s essence to sustain his power, and Ian’s clash with him exposed the goal of reincarnation: the Flame Reincarnation of the heart alone.

Ian explored the Imperial Capital’s fifth layer, met Hua An and Frost Butterfly at a café, and tried Amberfruit Juice. He left after finding the juice refreshing and considering how it might taste chilled.

• Ian contacted Isengard and arranged to meet later at the Seventh Layer Park District.
• Ian toured the fifth layer’s food street and heard residents discussing war, politics, tutoring, and workplace disputes.
• Ian met Hua An and Frost Butterfly, who had coffee staining her ice wings, and learned about fairies who enjoyed the aromas of coffee and alcohol.
• Hua An suggested she had figured out where Frost Butterfly’s verbal tic came from.
• Ian ordered Amberfruit Juice, sampled its refreshing sweetness, and said he thought it might taste better chilled.