Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian watched the Other Shore collapse as the Spinal Lock devoured its essence, then sensed the Dark Moon more clearly than before. The Witch descended through it to meet him, observed that he had grown stronger, and said she could not stay long.

• Fu Qian observed the Spinal Lock's tendrils consume the Other Shore, while Zhao Ran was torn apart and shattered.
• Fu Qian compared his connection to the Other Shore with Zhao Ran's and Old Man Feng Yunhong's, concluding that the House of Graffiti might explain Zhao Ran's deeper bond.
• Fu Qian caught the darkness emerging from the Spinal Lock and felt the Dark Moon's presence grow stronger.
• The Witch descended from the Dark Moon and greeted Fu Qian, explaining that she had come to guide him because she had earlier been unable to hear.
• The Witch told Fu Qian that he was stronger, then said she could not stay long and remarked on the special food he had found.

Fu Qian and the Witch examined the Other Shore and discussed the unusual conditions that allowed her to appear there. With only half an hour before the place collapsed, Fu Qian set aside his own unexplained condition and asked whether she could sense any living minds inside it.

• Fu Qian told the Witch that the Other Shore was an isolated place connected to reality and described its four-armed symbol and possible Honored Name.
• The Witch said she knew nothing of the names Fu Qian asked about and could sense only the Other Shore.
• The Witch explained that Fu Qian’s offering had reduced resistance to her arrival, but the place was collapsing and could sustain her for no more than half an hour.
• The Witch admitted she could not treat Fu Qian’s condition, and Fu Qian chose not to spend their limited time investigating it.
• Fu Qian asked the Witch whether she could sense any living minds inside the Other Shore.

Fu Qian discovered that the ruined Other Shore held the remains of a group that had fused with it long ago, then identified an ancient parchment as evidence of the Holy Grail Cult’s presence there. He explained that the cult’s members had vanished after encountering the true mysteries of the gods, though they could not recognize their own disappearance.

• The Witch manifested Zhao Ran from the blood pool and explained that he had recently fused with the Other Shore, while the other members of the group had been reduced to nearly lifeless remnants.
• Fu Qian asked the Witch to search the ruins for a parchment or a golden cup, and she retrieved an old, cracked roll covered in drawings.
• Fu Qian pointed out that the parchment depicted golden goblets marked with symbols that matched the designs they had seen in the ruins.
• Fu Qian identified the people behind the parchment as the Holy Grail Cult, an organization that made golden Grails to seal divinity for its own use.
• Fu Qian explained that the cult’s members gradually disappeared after confronting the mysteries of the gods, without realizing that they were vanishing.

Fu Qian and the Witch investigated the House of Graffiti and uncovered evidence that Zhao Ran had inherited the Holy Grail Cult’s legacy and merged with the Other Shore. They concluded that the Cult’s members had left markings as guidance, but had ultimately been consumed by the place without realizing it.

• Fu Qian examined the parchment, remains, and human-made Holy Grail designs, identifying them as evidence of the Blind Eye Academy’s Holy Grail Cult and Zhao Ran’s methods.
• Fu Qian and the Witch followed the carved names to the House of Graffiti, where the Witch confirmed that the illustrations had been infused with lingering obsessions.
• The Witch opened the hidden room behind the window and examined the cracked stone container with an eye peering through it.
• Fu Qian and the Witch concluded that the Cult’s members had repeatedly come to the place, lost hope, and been buried there while remaining unaware of their fate.

Fu Qian pieced together how generations of Holy Grail Cult members became trapped on the Other Shore and left discoveries for those who followed. After learning that freeing them could destabilize the corpse-like realm, he understood why the Warehouse’s mission required him to refine Old Man Feng and the others before leaving.

• Fu Qian traced the names and markings to Holy Grail Cult members who had entered the Other Shore, failed to escape, and left clues behind.
• Fu Qian asked the Witch whether the trapped dead could be released, and she explained that doing so was impossible and could collapse the Other Shore.
• The Witch reasoned that the realm’s power to erase outside information kept its corpse-like body stable, while marked beings leaving could create a paradox.
• Fu Qian realized that refining Old Man Feng and the others had given him enough fusion with the Other Shore to resolve the mission’s hidden danger.
• Fu Qian concluded that the Warehouse would remove him immediately upon mission completion, preventing his departure from destabilizing the realm.

Fu Qian and the Witch arranged for him to return to the art museum in her world by using the handprint as an anchor. After arriving, he found Nirgalia and chose a suit of armor for his ruined clothes.

• Fu Qian asked the Witch to make his bloody handprint visible so he could use Extreme Hunger Infection to reach it.
• The Witch warned Fu Qian that crossing over could cause him severe side effects, but he insisted and triggered the infection.
• Fu Qian emerged through an upper floor of the art museum, with fewer injuries than on his previous trip.
• Fu Qian went downstairs and found a decorative suit of full-body armor.
• Nirgalia appeared nearby and approved of Fu Qian's choice of armor.

Fu Qian met the Witch, who blessed his armor and invited him to her new church. As they climbed through the World Within the Painting, they discussed the Red Moon and noticed signs that something had detected their arrival.

• The Witch recolored Fu Qian's armor with Dark Moon magic and watched it transform with him as his body grew.
• The Witch asked whether Fu Qian wanted the armor to suit Herbert or Anke, and he chose Herbert.
• The Witch invited Fu Qian to visit her new church, and they ascended together toward the first layer of the World Within the Painting.
• Fu Qian told the Witch that the Red Moon had named itself Annalise, but the name caused no detectable reaction in the world.
• The Witch asked whether Fu Qian had sensed changes around them, and he noted the ominous weather as she wondered whether something had noticed their commotion.

Fu Qian and the Witch returned to Lairding, where they discussed dealing with a force left behind in the ruined world before visiting places tied to its past. In the former vampire gathering hall, the Witch revealed a mysterious way to ask a question, and an answer about Herbert appeared on the wall.

• The Witch told Fu Qian that Lairding's disturbance came from a force left behind in the world and agreed that they could kill it and turn it into a puppet after taking care of other business.
• The Witch led Fu Qian through the Dark Moon Church, where he recognized the bloodstained Pocket Watch that had once carried the Duchess's will.
• The Witch brought Fu Qian to the former vampire gathering place and discussed how the vampires had adapted after their old leader fell.
• The Witch said Bally had become the vampire with the most influence, then asked what the First Apostle Herbert looked like.
• The Witch's gesture caused words describing Herbert to appear on the wall, prompting Fu Qian to realize the Duchess might have gained a role in the laws of the Dark Moon.

Fu Qian explained the history of Annalise, the Dark Moon, and the Law to the Witch, suggesting that the two worlds shared the Law’s missing core and that the Star Law’s return signaled the Law’s collapse. The Witch agreed to help investigate Fu Qian’s condition and proposed a place they could visit together.

• The Witch demonstrated that the Duchess could answer prayers through the new laws governing Lairding, and Fu Qian praised the arrangement.
• Fu Qian told the Witch that Annalise had become the reincarnation of the first Moon God, gained the authority of a Higher Being, created vampires, and fallen before the Long Night.
• Fu Qian explained that a Dark Moon resembling the Witch’s power had appeared during the Long Night, before disappearing and giving way to the Red Moon.
• Fu Qian said the Law’s essential core had gone missing and ended up in the other world, and that the Star Law’s return indicated the Law had completely collapsed.
• Fu Qian shared his concerns about a surviving Higher Being’s hidden threat and asked the Witch to help find a way to address his situation.
• The Witch agreed to investigate with Fu Qian and said she already knew a place worth visiting together.

Fu Qian accompanied the Witch into a nightmare and discovered that many familiar nightmares had gathered into a vast collective. They left the hospital to explore the larger dream, whose effects could spread between its connected places.

• The Witch invited Fu Qian to explore several nightmares and used an improved Brain Fork to share her nightmare with him.
• Fu Qian lowered his rank so the nightmare could withstand his entry, and they were transported from the church rooftop to the hospital where he had once taken night watch with Reginald and others.
• The Witch revealed that almost all the known nightmares had gathered into one larger collective after the star laws disappeared.
• The Witch proposed exploring outside the hospital, and Fu Qian realized the connected nightmares could let anything special spread more easily.

Fu Qian joined the Witch to explore the fused nightmares, which had become easier to investigate but still required finding their proper paths. As they traveled by carriage, Fu Qian explained how he gained his current form and how the Dark Moon had been involved in the King of Prison Break’s fall.

• Fu Qian agreed to explore the fused nightmares with the Witch, who led him deeper into the courtyard instead of toward an exit.
• The Witch explained that the nightmares were not simply stitched maps and that forcing a path could destabilize the dream.
• Fu Qian recognized the burn marks on three dogs as signs of Boiling Blood Syndrome, and the Witch said the plague’s sufferers sustained the nightmare.
• The Witch and Fu Qian boarded her frost-covered carriage, which found a proper route through the fog toward other nightmares.
• Fu Qian told the Witch that his Honored Name was King of Prison Break and explained how he had completed the divine skin after reliving the Long Night, when the Dark Moon and other beings attacked the King.

Fu Qian and the Witch discussed his transformation into the King of Prison Break and arrived at Nightmare Lairding, where they encountered Esther. The chapter ended as Fu Qian recognized the newcomer from the awakened group approaching them.

• The Witch assessed Fu Qian's divine skin as a nearly perfect replica and said his power was genuine, though she could not explain why his Supernatural Perception had disappeared.
• Fu Qian told the Witch that Dark Moon had concealed their presence during the king-slaying battle, and she demonstrated a similar ability.
• The Witch said her abilities and the fact that she had a mother had come naturally with her will, and Fu Qian suggested they might help him fix his family tree.
• Fu Qian and the Witch arrived at Nightmare Lairding, where the traces of starry-sky beliefs had been erased and the Western District church site was a lake.
• Fu Qian recognized Esther, a newcomer from the awakened group who had been locked in the cell next to his, approaching them.

Fu Qian and the Witch watched Esther, whose unusual identities and bodies made her a possible factor in Lairding’s upheaval. Esther broke into a tavern built on the site of an old art gallery, and the chapter ended as her former attending physician, Dean Glen, approached.

• Fu Qian explained to the Witch that Esther had awakened in Lairding and had mismatched identities and bodies between the two worlds.
• Fu Qian and the Witch noticed Esther searching the street and suspected she wanted to enter a building.
• Esther smashed the window of a tavern built on the site of the former art gallery.
• The Witch sensed that the tavern held nothing special, but Fu Qian stayed to watch Esther for signs of what might happen.
• Dean Glen, Esther’s former attending physician, approached them from the direction Esther had come.

Fu Qian and the Witch reasoned that the Fallen Star race had sent Dean Glen to investigate the nightmare channels Esther might find. They helped reveal an anomaly in the tavern, but the Fallen Star race’s attempt to descend went astray and sent them into a new nightmare.

• Fu Qian explained that the Fallen Star race likely believed nightmares were invading and had sent Glen to follow Esther and locate their channels.
• Fu Qian and the Witch decided to make the Fallen Star race find something so they could observe its response.
• The Witch revealed a living, door-like anomaly in the tavern wall behind Esther, and Glen noticed it.
• The Fallen Star race tried to descend through Glen but failed, and the Witch said they had ended up in a new nightmare.
• The Witch touched Fu Qian, and the scene before him dissolved into a rushing current.

The Witch led Fu Qian into a nightmare that swallowed the Fallen Stars after their descent went wrong. They found Xia and a hulking companion struggling beneath tombstones in the strange underground cemetery.

• The Witch created a disturbance for Glen to notice, prompting the Fallen Stars to hurry their descent into Lairding.
• Fu Qian and the Witch fell into a new nightmare filled with identical, nameless tombstones facing a staircase.
• Fu Qian deduced that the Fallen Stars' descent had gone wrong because they had crossed too much space.
• Fu Qian and the Witch found Xia and a huge figure carrying tombstones on their backs.

Fu Qian and the Witch encountered Xia chained to a giant who was carrying a stone tablet. After Fu Qian destroyed the giant’s weapons, the giant crumbled into dust, and the knight greeted Xia by name.

• Xia followed the giant, who carried her along with a stone tablet, while Fu Qian recognized her predicament.
• The giant turned on Fu Qian and the Witch, roaring and swinging the tablet at them.
• Fu Qian stepped in front of the Witch and shattered the tablet with a single blow, shielding her from the fragments.
• The giant seized another tablet, but it turned to sand, and the giant crumbled as golden light rose from his remains.
• The knight greeted Xia by name as she stared in shock.

Fu Qian and the Witch questioned Xia about how she had arrived in the strange place and learned about the nightmare’s encroachment in Lairding. After sending her back, they discussed the situation and continued toward the place the people of Lairding longed for, as the Witch sensed something accumulating.

• Fu Qian questioned Xia, who explained that she had found a strange door while trying to descend into someone else and had been transported there in chains with a stone tablet.
• Xia told Fu Qian that nightmares and reality were blurring in Lairding and that the Fallen Star race was struggling to resist what emerged.
• The Witch approved Fu Qian’s decision to send Xia home, and he returned her to Lairding while telling her to give his regards to Dean Glen.
• The Witch assessed Xia and Lairding as unremarkable for now, and Fu Qian said the situation seemed stable enough to watch.
• The Witch ordered Fu Qian to scout ahead toward the place they sought and said that something was accumulating.

Fu Qian and Witch explored the winding passage while discussing the nightmare’s growing strain and the danger of its effects. After a ghostly creature swallowed Fu Qian, he destroyed it with the golden power of the King of Prison Break and demonstrated how that power had changed.

• Fu Qian and Witch discussed the Nightmare Corridor index, the nightmare’s effects, and the possibility that the nightmare might collapse under the strain of targeting them.
• Fu Qian and Witch examined stone tablets in the passage and considered whether its active inhabitants had been part of the nightmare from the start.
• A huge, sand-covered creature lunged at Fu Qian and swallowed his upper body, but his ghostly state left it unable to bite him.
• Fu Qian released golden spikes that annihilated the creature’s essence, scattering its red sand.
• Witch asked about Fu Qian’s unusual fire, and he explained that it came from the King of Prison Break and now appeared as a solidified flame of shifting golden spikes.

Fu Qian tested his Madness Fire on a stone tablet and learned that the nightmare was tied to minds and the self. As he and the Witch discussed whether this world had a sea connecting minds, the giant's face appeared above them and asked if Fu Qian was searching for it.

• Fu Qian burned a stone tablet with the golden flame, making it vanish without harming the hall around it.
• The Witch said the flame affected the whole nightmare and might be able to make the dream collapse.
• Fu Qian asked whether the depths of dreams held a black sea that connected minds, but the Witch said she had never found one.
• Fu Qian told the Witch he had encountered such a sea in another world and described his experiences with it.
• The giant's face appeared above Fu Qian and the Witch and asked whether Fu Qian was looking for the sea.

Fu Qian and Witch discussed whether the Mind World had been damaged or transformed during the apocalypse, then continued exploring the Red Sand passage. Gentleman on the Beam revealed that the sea lay ahead but blocked their way, leaving Fu Qian to question his motives.

• Fu Qian ignored Gentleman on the Beam and explained to Witch that the Mind World might have been altered by a Higher Being during the apocalypse.
• Witch considered Fu Qian’s theory and ordered her knight to continue exploring upward.
• Fu Qian crossed the Red Sand and found a steep passage covered by a moving mass of insects.
• Gentleman on the Beam stopped Fu Qian and, after getting no response from him and Witch, said the sea was beyond the insect-filled passage.
• Fu Qian thanked Gentleman on the Beam insincerely and asked why he was stopping them.