Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian found no abnormality in Miss Wenlos's blood and warned her family that she would be beyond saving by sunrise. He rang the Eternal Clarity of Thought and briefly made Jian Wenlos's enormous eyes look normal, but the change quickly faded.

• Fu Qian used Insight on Miss Wenlos's blood sample and found her physically ordinary, concluding that an abstract influence was likely behind her condition.
• Fu Qian told the Wenloses that Miss Wenlos would be beyond saving by sunrise, and Jian asked what blood tasted like.
• Fu Qian explained that he was preparing another test, then rang the Eternal Clarity of Thought in front of Jian.
• Jian's oversized eyes briefly became more proportionate before the change vanished, and Fu Qian could not tell whether her flesh had changed.

Fu Qian discovered that Jian’s condition involved a high-ranking supernatural influence affecting her sense of self, and he used the examination to confirm that she was ill without revealing what he had learned. After Mr. Wenlos escorted him to a room, Fu Qian looked out at the night sky and planned to investigate what caused Jian’s condition and what might happen by sunrise.

• Fu Qian recognized that a supernatural filter had been applied to Jian’s concept of self and connected the discovery to his suspicions about the Edicts.
• Mrs. Wenlos asked Jian whether she felt any different, but Jian had not noticed the brief change in her eyes.
• Fu Qian told the Wenloses that he had an initial idea about Jian’s condition but needed further tests before reaching a firm conclusion.
• Mr. Wenlos ended the examination and escorted Fu Qian to a private room to rest.
• Fu Qian looked up at the clear night sky and considered investigating Jian’s condition before sunrise.

Fu Qian questioned Nightingale, Jian’s tutor, about the girl’s condition and the strange fog outside the city. Nightingale began explaining what she knew about the fog after Fu Qian pressed her for details.

• Fu Qian watched the stars, gave up trying to interpret them, and accepted food and wine from a young woman who introduced herself as Nightingale.
• Fu Qian identified Nightingale as a tutor rather than a maid and asked how Jian was doing; she said she had not seen the girl since their outing two days earlier.
• Nightingale said she was worried about rumors of nightmares, but Fu Qian judged that Jian’s symptoms did not match them.
• Nightingale revealed that she and Jian had encountered thick fog outside the city, and that the Order had since forbidden people from entering the area without permission.
• Fu Qian asked Nightingale to tell him everything she knew about the fog, cutting off her hesitation.

Fu Qian questioned Natalie about her motives and used Clear Dream to make her reveal what the Order had discovered in the dense fog. After Natalie hurried back to Wenlos, he rushed in, convinced the test had worked.

• Fu Qian confronted Lady Nightingale, and she revealed that her name was Natalie and that she wanted Wenlos to lose his daughter out of revenge.
• Natalie said the dense fog had appeared before the nightmare wave, cut Lairding off from the outside, and led the Order to restrict access after people showed signs of corruption.
• Natalie admitted she wanted Fu Qian to confirm whether Jian had been corrupted, then tried to offer him a personal reward.
• Fu Qian activated Clear Dream, and Natalie revealed that the Order had encountered nearly unobservable, aggressive beings in the fog called the Abandoned Children of the Stars.
• Fu Qian told Natalie the test results were in and sent her back to the other room; Wenlos then rushed in and said the test seemed to have worked.

Fu Qian returned to examine Jian after her eyes recovered, but discovered that her voice and body were reverting to a more primitive state. He found no immediate abnormality in his test, yet the Wenlos family asked him to examine her again, leaving the cause unresolved.

• Wenlos asked Fu Qian to return and check on Jian after her eyes appeared to improve.
• Fu Qian noticed Jian's eyes had returned to normal, then asked her to speak and realized her voice had become unnaturally clear.
• Fu Qian concluded that Jian's body was regressing toward a more primitive state, despite finding no swelling in her mouth.
• Mr. Wenlos asked whether the change was a side effect of the bell, but Fu Qian said the test results were not ready.
• After waiting half an hour, Fu Qian found everything normal, but the Wenlos family asked him to examine Jian again.

Fu Qian investigated Jian’s sudden physical changes and suspected that his use of Eternal Clarity of Thought had triggered a new influence from the edict. His hypnotic questioning revealed that a voice had told Jian to be alone, leaving him to wonder whether something had acted with humanlike intent.

• Fu Qian decided to stay and examine Jian further after her changes ruled out an ordinary illness.
• Jian told Fu Qian that she had been alone for about ten minutes before her mother returned and noticed her condition.
• Fu Qian suspected that Jian’s original edict influence had vanished and a new one had appeared after he used Eternal Clarity of Thought.
• Fu Qian used Clear Dream to question Jian about why she had wanted to be alone.
• Jian recalled that a voice had spoken by her ear and told her she needed time alone.

Fu Qian questioned Jian about the voice she heard and suggested that an art salon might have caused her distress. After Mr. Wenlos agreed to involve Jian’s tutor, Natalie arrived for questioning.

• Jian told Fu Qian that a voice had ordered her to make her mother leave, but she could not recall what it sounded like.
• Fu Qian reassured the Wenlos family that Jian’s symptoms likely came from emotional turmoil and pointed out a painting she liked.
• Fu Qian asked whether Jian had recently attended an art salon, and Mr. Wenlos confirmed that she had gone with her mother and tutor.
• Fu Qian asked to speak with Jian’s tutor, and Mr. Wenlos agreed to bring her over.
• Mr. Wenlos returned with Natalie, who entered Jian’s room and looked around.

Fu Qian questioned Natalie, Mrs. Wenlos, and Jian about the gathering, hoping to learn more about the entity influencing Jian. Their answers revealed that Jian’s vision had suddenly gone dark after she stared at a painting, and Fu Qian used Clear Dream to investigate.

• Fu Qian brought Natalie into Jian’s room and revealed that he knew her, startling Mr. Wenlos.
• Fu Qian asked Natalie, Mrs. Wenlos, and Jian whether they had noticed anything unusual at the gathering.
• Natalie recalled that Jian had spent a long time looking at a painting in the organizer’s collection.
• Natalie said Jian had later closed her eyes because her vision was bothering her, a detail she had kept from Mrs. Wenlos.
• Jian explained that her vision had suddenly gone dark, and Fu Qian activated Clear Dream to question her further.

Fu Qian helped Jian recall that she had seen every detail of the painting before closing her eyes, leading the Wenlos family to suspect that a voice had warned her about its influence. He framed the incident as the painting’s powerful artistic impact, but Mr. Wenlos realized it might have been anomalous and that Fu Qian had been subtly alerting him.

• Fu Qian questioned Jian about what she felt when her vision went black, and she recalled experiencing no discomfort and seeing the painting clearly before closing her eyes.
• Jian concluded that the phenomenon had already been present, and Fu Qian agreed that her recollection supported that possibility.
• Mr. Wenlos asked Fu Qian to treat the diagnosis as only a guess, and Fu Qian reassured the family that the painting’s artistic impact had overwhelmed Jian.
• Fu Qian praised Jian’s perceptiveness and said a painting could make people dream, prompting Mr. Wenlos to suspect it had supernatural influence.
• Mr. Wenlos realized the voice had told Jian to close her eyes to protect her from the painting, and that Fu Qian had been subtly warning him.

Mr. and Mrs. Wenlos suspected the fog had caused Jian’s strange voice and eyes, but they hesitated to take her to the Order because of how it treated people connected to the fog. Fu Qian left with Natalie, who challenged him about his motives and the state of Jian’s condition.

• Mr. Wenlos realized Fu Qian had guided Jian’s treatment, while Mrs. Wenlos sent Natalie to escort the doctor away.
• Mrs. Wenlos told Mr. Wenlos that Jian should be taken to the Order because the fog likely caused her condition, but he worried the Order would treat her harshly.
• Fu Qian overheard the Wenloses deciding to wait longer and trust Natalie to keep Jian’s condition secret.
• Natalie confronted Fu Qian about sending her away, and he said he had kept their agreement by letting her see Jian for herself.
• Natalie insisted Jian could not be fine, but Fu Qian claimed credit for her apparent recovery and went inside.

Fu Qian treated Jian’s corruption, then examined a new transformation after her voice returned and her legs became transparent with blood vessels spiraling into vortices. He concluded the force turning her toward a primordial state had vanished, but the Wenlos family faced a disturbing new change.

• Fu Qian told Natalie that Jian had recovered and dismissed her, while hoping his provocation would lead her to reveal more.
• Mr. Wenlos returned to ask Fu Qian to examine Jian after she changed again.
• Jian revealed that transparent flesh and spiraling blood vessels had spread across both legs, while her voice had returned.
• Fu Qian recognized the blood-vessel pattern as incomplete on her left leg and asked whether the change had appeared after the family returned.
• Fu Qian realized the force driving Jian toward a primordial state had disappeared, then startled Mrs. Wenlos by guessing she had gone out.

Fu Qian realized that someone behind the Star-Abandoned was manipulating events whenever he was sent away from Jian. When the Order’s Olyntel arrived at the Wenlos home, Fu Qian left Jian with her mother and went to help Mr. Wenlos, who was confronted by an unfamiliar voice outside the door.

• Fu Qian concluded that the Wenloses’ repeated decisions to send him away pointed to a hidden mastermind acting whenever he was absent.
• After returning, Fu Qian told Mrs. Wenlos that Jian’s voice had recovered and predicted she would be well before daybreak, despite her transformed feet.
• A butler announced that His Excellency Olyntel of the Order had arrived to see Mr. Wenlos.
• Fu Qian asked Jian if she could stay alone, then sent Mrs. Wenlos to help her husband and left the room.
• Mr. Wenlos told the butler to take Olyntel to the drawing room, but an unfamiliar voice outside asked him to open the door.

Olyntel arrived at the Wenlos home, where Natalie accused Fu Qian of being a quack and risking Jian’s life. Olyntel agreed to examine Jian, but froze when he saw her lying in bed.

• Olyntel visited the Wenlos home, and Mr. Wenlos welcomed him while trying to stay calm.
• Olyntel noticed Fu Qian, and Mr. Wenlos asked whether he could help with Jian’s illness.
• Natalie entered and accused the Wenloses of trusting a quack with Jian’s life.
• Fu Qian identified himself as a quack, and Olyntel asked to examine Jian.
• Olyntel followed Mr. Wenlos to Jian’s room and froze when he saw her.

Olyntel examined Jian after her parents feared her condition was worsening and discovered that the patterns in her transparent feet were a natural star sigil, marking her as a genius blessed by the stars. He assured the Wenlos family that Jian was healthy, and they turned to Fu Qian, who had already told them so.

• Natalie confronted Mr. and Mrs. Wenlos as Olyntel hurried to Jian's bedside and asked when her change had begun.
• Jian showed Olyntel the vortex-like patterns in her feet and said she had been lying by the window looking at the sky.
• Olyntel recognized the patterns as a natural manifestation of a star sigil and declared that Jian was blessed by the stars.
• Olyntel explained that Jian was not contaminated and assured her parents that she was fine.
• Mr. and Mrs. Wenlos looked toward Fu Qian, who smiled and gestured that she had told them Jian was fine.

Fu Qian identified Jian’s episode at the art salon as a nightmare triggered by a dangerous painting, while Olyntel accepted his diagnosis and promised the Order would investigate. The Wenloses were reassured, but Olyntel still planned to bring Fu Qian under the Order’s guidance.

• Natalie challenged Fu Qian’s earlier behavior, prompting Mr. Wenlos to explain Jian’s unusual symptoms and her experience at the art salon.
• Jian described how her vision darkened after she stared at a street artist’s painting.
• Fu Qian said the painting had triggered a self-preservation mechanism and identified the danger as a nightmare.
• Olyntel agreed that Jian’s symptoms could stem from her resonance with the laws of the stars and said the Order would investigate the painting.
• Olyntel praised Fu Qian and suggested he receive guidance from the Order, and Fu Qian replied that he could only share humble opinions.

Fu Qian exposed that Olyntel had withheld details about the voice Jian heard, prompting Jian to describe how it warned her to close her eyes while looking at a painting. Olyntel tested whether her condition was an awakening or fog-related contamination, and Jian suddenly floated toward the ceiling as she followed his instructions.

• Natalie challenged Olyntel by revealing that the voice had told Jian to close her eyes, making Mr. Wenlos suspect Fu Qian had already recognized her ulterior motives.
• At her father's prompting, Jian explained that a hard-to-notice voice sometimes urged her to be alone and had warned her to stop looking at a painting.
• Olyntel said he could not determine whether the voice was connected to the thick fog and instructed Jian to try awakening by focusing on the starry sky and patterns on her legs.
• As Jian followed Olyntel's instructions, she began to float upside down toward the ceiling.

Jian remained pinned to the ceiling as strange patterns spread across her body, and Olyntel’s attempt to cleanse the room failed to affect her. Concluding that she was immune to the edict and might be one of the abandoned, Olyntel attacked her with lead flame, leaving her badly mutilated as she struggled on the ceiling.

• Jian tried to follow Olyntel’s instructions to sever her connection to the ceiling, but the patterns spread up her arm.
• Olyntel used a cleansing halo, but it failed to affect Jian or remove the abnormality.
• After Natalie suggested Jian might be immune to the edict, Olyntel ordered the Wenloses aside and summoned lead flame.
• Mr. Wenlos warned Jian, and she ran across the ceiling toward a window as Olyntel’s lead-flame serpent pursued her.
• Olyntel’s attack destroyed Jian’s legs below the knees, and she fell onto the ceiling while still struggling to rise.

Fu Qian challenged Olyntel’s diagnosis and was accused by Natalie of being connected to the fog, prompting Olyntel to attack him. Fu Qian evaded the attack and revealed that the room had been moving in slow motion and time was partially reversing, as the ashes began returning to Jian’s severed limb.

• Fu Qian questioned whether the danger inside Jian had truly dissipated, and Olyntel turned hostile when Fu Qian suggested the things in the fog might not be unusual.
• Natalie claimed she had met Fu Qian before and suggested he knew more about Jian and the fog, leading Olyntel to suspect Fu Qian had treated Jian while she was contaminated.
• Olyntel attacked Fu Qian with a metallic-flamed serpent, but Fu Qian dodged it as it moved at the same slowed pace as everything else in the room.
• Fu Qian explained that the room’s movement had been limited to a very low speed since Jian lost the ability to walk, and that time was partly reversing.
• The ashes on the ceiling began moving back toward Jian’s severed limb as Fu Qian pointed out that they had never fallen.

Fu Qian challenged Olyntel’s attempt to treat Jian by declaring her injuries healed, then exposed Natalie’s pregnancy and the butler as the likely father. Olyntel turned on Natalie and the butler, while Fu Qian anticipated that the revelation would intensify the scene and draw in the unseen observers.

• Fu Qian tested the decree’s effects and concluded that Olyntel’s treatment had not worked, while Jian’s legs continued to regrow.
• Olyntel summoned two lead-flame serpents and threatened Fu Qian, insisting he would keep Jian alive long enough to witness the culprit’s fate.
• Fu Qian maintained that Jian was recovering, prompting Natalie to accuse him of making her suffer and oppose his diagnosis.
• Fu Qian revealed that Natalie was pregnant and told her to find the child’s father.
• Natalie instinctively looked toward the butler, and Fu Qian told Olyntel that this confirmed he was not the father.
• Olyntel’s serpents exploded and wounded his hands as he stared at Natalie and the butler, while Fu Qian expected the revelation to draw in the hidden observers.

Fu Qian exposed Natalie’s pregnancy and helped provoke a confrontation between her, Olyntel, and Mr. Wenlos. As Olyntel used a costly star-patterned power against Jian and Fu Qian, Fu Qian waited for hidden watchers to intervene, then activated Clear Dream when the others began fighting and fleeing.

• Fu Qian revealed that Natalie was pregnant, and Natalie challenged his medical judgment while Mr. Wenlos confirmed she had behaved unusually toward him.
• Mr. Wenlos accused Natalie of causing him to lose the person he loved, and Natalie admitted she had stayed to enjoy the ensuing turmoil.
• Natalie reminded Olyntel of his duty to confront the evil threatening Jian, and Olyntel activated a star-patterned power that withered him and damaged Jian’s blood-red markings.
• Mr. Wenlos punched the butler and chased him toward the exit, while Natalie and Mrs. Wenlos fought their way out after them.
• Fu Qian waited for the hidden watchers to respond, then activated Clear Dream.