Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian investigated the Witch’s traces, wore the head cage to confirm that the world around him was real, and planted evidence to mislead the cult and vampires into searching for another painting. He returned to Anke’s rented house and surprised Amira by coming home from his night shift.

• Fu Qian kept wearing the head cage, collected the Blasphemous Embrace, and left the art gallery after finishing his shift.
• He used Blood Conquest to appear before Reginald’s search squad, then vanished and left blood traces for them to find.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the Witch had left something hidden in the World Within the Painting and that she might be dead or in an abnormal condition.
• He returned to the house Anke had rented, removed the head cage after more than an hour, and confirmed that the surroundings still looked real.
• Fu Qian quietly entered the house, passed the sleeping Mrs. Harper, and surprised Amira in his room.

Fu Qian returned to Mrs. Harper’s home injured after visiting the art gallery and found Amira waiting in his room. He questioned her motives and nudged her to reflect on her experiences with nightmares before she left, then discovered a red-wax-sealed envelope outside the door.

• Fu Qian put on a coat and ate leftover dessert while Amira questioned him about his injuries and escape.
• Fu Qian challenged Amira about sneaking into his room, and she admitted she did not know why she had come.
• Fu Qian told Amira the people at the art gallery were fine and asked whether she had ever felt the same way in her nightmares.
• Amira asked to leave, and Fu Qian let her go after reminding her not to wake Mrs. Harper.
• Fu Qian cleared away the dishes, opened the door, and found an envelope sealed with red wax outside.

Fu Qian received another Warehouse containment task and entered its scene despite his worsening wounds and dwindling time to save the Witch. He arrived shackled in a guarded facility with no task description or containment conditions, and considered whether to proceed.

• Fu Qian found the carefully preserved letter Mrs. Harper had left for him and read the updated Warehouse task.
• Fu Qian reflected on the Pope, the stars, and his limited time to find and rescue the Witch before heading to the task.
• Fu Qian followed the rearranged traversal sequence and entered Containment Scene 1-119 with his abilities and items intact.
• Fu Qian found himself shackled to a bed in a guarded cell and saw ordinary prisoners in the corridor.
• Fu Qian assessed his situation and wondered whether to continue the task.

Fu Qian watched visitors arrive at the prison, only to discover they were seeking his neighbor, Esther. Mariana revealed that she and her companion had come to rescue Esther, and the inmate finally responded as the chapter ended.

• Fu Qian watched three visitors approach the end of the corridor, then realized they had stopped at Esther's cell instead of his.
• Dean Glen explained that Esther believed she was a nine-year-old girl and had massacred at least four families.
• Mariana threatened Dean Glen with Murderous Weapon and forced him to unlock Esther's cell.
• Mariana introduced herself and told Esther that she knew she really was nine years and five months old.
• Esther raised her head and looked at the moving patterns on Mariana's hand, while Fu Qian reconsidered the value of his mission.

Fu Qian watched Mariana confront Esther with a strange, vine-like power and insist that Esther had lived in another world as a nine-year-old girl. Esther continued to deny it, while Mariana’s display silenced Dean Glen and left her pressing Esther to remember.

• Mariana revealed a physical, vine-like technique and stabbed Dean Glen, catching Fu Qian’s interest.
• Mariana told Esther that she had seen the technique before in the world she inhabited at age nine.
• Esther insisted she was thirty-three, had always lived in Lairding, and had never been to another world.
• Mariana said she saw a confused, hurt nine-year-old girl in Esther and questioned her about forgotten dreams.
• Glen tried to stop Mariana from worsening Esther’s symptoms, but Mariana silenced him with her bloodstained vines and asked Esther whether she remembered.

Mariana convinced Esther that her life in the orphanage beneath the stars was real and that her current world was a nightmare, then told her to wait for a gift before leaving. Fu Qian realized the mission involved people trapped in a nightmare, while Mariana’s team knocked out Glen and prepared to erase the listeners’ memories.

• Mariana prompted Esther to recall the orphanage, the stars, and Lady Raven, leading Esther to accept that her current reality was a nightmare.
• Esther asked whether she could become like Mariana, and Mariana said Esther would receive a gift if she stopped resisting awakening.
• Mariana told Esther to remain in the prison and wait for the gift, warning that the nightmare would react violently if they took her away by force.
• Esther worried Glen would reveal what he had heard, so Mariana’s teammate knocked him unconscious with a green mist and said he would forget the conversation.
• Mariana said the person eavesdropping next door would forget even more thoroughly, while Fu Qian recognized the similarities to the nightmare victims he had encountered.

Fu Qian met Ben, one of the Nightmare Awakened Ones, and studied the strange memory-erasing power he had used on Dean Glen. Mariana interrupted Ben before he could enter Fu Qian’s cell, then challenged Fu Qian’s claim that he had opened his eyes after learning his identity as Gorimshaw.

• Fu Qian greeted Ben calmly after overhearing him deal with Dean Glen, and admitted he had deliberately eavesdropped.
• Fu Qian considered how the Awakened Ones’ gifts differed from the Laws wielded by cultists and linked their powers to the changes caused by the mist.
• Ben unlocked Fu Qian’s cell after Fu Qian said half a year would be enough to open his eyes.
• Mariana stopped Ben and questioned Fu Qian’s claim, then described Gorimshaw as a doctor and painter imprisoned for murdering and eating his critics.
• Fu Qian confirmed the identity and said he had ended up imprisoned because he had eaten the wrong things.

Fu Qian used the stars and his own transformation to challenge Mariana’s understanding of the nightmare and reveal the vampires’ connection to the Dark Moon. The chapter ended with Esther standing outside her cell in a daze as Fu Qian declared that vampires would carry out the Dark Moon’s will.

• Mariana questioned Fu Qian about his murders and asked what he had seen when he opened his eyes.
• Fu Qian asked Mariana to open the sealed skylight, then confirmed that the stars belonged to a different sky than the one he had seen before.
• Fu Qian told Mariana that her perception of the truth was incomplete, and she delayed leaving so she could hear his explanation.
• Fu Qian revealed his vampire eyes and fangs, then explained that vampires served the Dark Moon.
• A flash of moonlight enveloped Fu Qian and withdrew into Gorimshaw, while Esther emerged from her cell, dazed.
• Fu Qian declared that the vampires would carry out the Dark Moon’s will everywhere.

Fu Qian decided to use the nightmare and the Awakened Ones to gather information, presenting himself as a vampire and apostle of the Dark Moon. When Mariana offered to help him leave the cell and meet others, he instead unleashed a vast Clear Dream.

• Fu Qian concluded that the nightmare might be watched over by a consciousness and decided to make a major impact to learn more.
• Fu Qian denied that he had come to save the Awakened Ones and told them to continue their own efforts.
• Fu Qian examined Esther, the special subject of the Enlightenment Project, and noticed that her appearance seemed unlike that of a nine-year-old.
• Ben warned Mariana that Fu Qian was insane, but Mariana chose to trust what she had witnessed and proposed taking him and Esther out of their cells.
• Fu Qian rejected Mariana’s plan and enveloped the area in an astonishingly large Clear Dream.

Fu Qian used Clear Dream to tear open the prison corridor and reveal a dark moon, then produced a shadowy arrow as evidence for Mariana. The nightmare’s composure finally broke, and Fu Qian received a containment condition requiring him to eliminate its proxy.

• Fu Qian spread Clear Dream through the corridor and dismissed Mariana’s concerns about time and escape.
• Fu Qian tore open the ceiling and walls, exposing the night sky and frightening the prisoners.
• A dark moon appeared, and Fu Qian told Mariana to look beyond what deceived her.
• Fu Qian caught Ben attempting to attack him and released him after Mariana challenged his plan.
• Fu Qian restored the corridor, ended Clear Dream, and produced a dark arrow as evidence.
• Fu Qian received a containment condition to eliminate the nightmare’s proxy and make the nightmare fall into reality.

Fu Qian drew the nightmare's attention by revealing the Dark Moon, and three armored agents attacked him in the corridor. He swiftly defeated them, leaving Mariana and the others to realize the nightmare had known about their actions all along.

• Fu Qian inferred that the nightmare's agent was responding to his provocations and crushed the black arrows to expose their supernatural nature.
• Mariana spotted three armored figures approaching and realized their crossbows had fired the arrows aimed at Fu Qian.
• The first attacker lunged at Fu Qian, who turned him into mud, struck down the crossbowman with a crystal spear, and sent the third flying with an icy blade.
• Fu Qian told Mariana that the nightmare had classified their actions as irrelevant, and she confronted how mistaken their attempts at secrecy had been.
• Esther noticed that the three figures' armor vanished to reveal human bodies wearing identical uniforms.

Mariana, Ben, Esther, and Fu Qian left the cell after deciding to continue their journey, but Glen woke and complicated their escape. As Fu Qian exposed and swallowed a subtle attack from the nightmare, Mariana realized it had targeted him with a dangerous sneak strike.

• Esther concluded that the three people were still alive and had been replaced rather than possessed, and Mariana decided the group would leave with Fu Qian.
• Glen woke and recognized the group, so Mariana had Ben help restrain him instead of making him forget again.
• Mariana tied Glen to the bed, gagged him, and led the group out of the cell.
• Fu Qian caught a faint clump of darkness that had attacked him from behind and identified Glen as its source.
• Mariana sensed the danger of the attack, and Fu Qian smiled before putting the darkness into his mouth.

Fu Qian swallowed a dangerous attack, gaining the Turbulence insight, which let his will infect nearby creatures and risked corrupting his own sense of self. He rejected Mariana’s plan to sneak out disguised and began a direct escape by kicking her out of the fortress cell window.

• Fu Qian swallowed a concealed attack and gained the Turbulence insight, which could spread his will to nearby life and contaminate their minds.
• Fu Qian told Mariana the object had been too dangerous to leave behind, concealing that he had also made himself easier to track.
• Mariana proposed disguising themselves in the attackers’ clothes and asked Fu Qian to follow her plan.
• Fu Qian rejected the plan, broke through the outer wall of the cell, and prepared to escape by jumping from the fortress.
• Fu Qian asked Mariana whether she feared heights, then kicked her out of the window.

Fu Qian escaped the institution with Mariana, Esther, and Ben, then followed Mariana to a supposed safe house while negotiating for a meeting with Lady Raven. Mariana secretly took Esther away, leaving Fu Qian behind, and a poised middle-aged woman arrived to meet him.

• Fu Qian kicked Mariana, Esther, and Ben through the wall and carried them out of the institution.
• Mariana calmed down, led the group toward the city, and arranged a carriage driven by Ben.
• Mariana asked Fu Qian to avoid dangerous actions and promised to pass his message to Lady Raven; Fu Qian accepted and asked why she feared dying.
• Mariana brought Fu Qian and Esther to a luxurious courtyard, then secretly left with Esther while Fu Qian waited.
• A poised middle-aged woman entered the room and greeted Fu Qian.

Fu Qian met Lady Raven to discuss the Dark Moon, their beliefs, and how people traveled between the nightmare world and reality. Lady Raven explained the limits of her knowledge and revealed that she had first awakened a month earlier.

• Lady Raven met Fu Qian and thanked him for treating Mariana and the others kindly, then proposed an honest exchange.
• Lady Raven admitted she had a connection with every Awakened One and sometimes guided potential members by encouraging them to trust themselves.
• Fu Qian said he first heard about the Dark Moon in the World Within the Painting, surprising Lady Raven, who had investigated that world but found no mention of it.
• Lady Raven explained that visits to the other world happened unpredictably, lasted only a minute there, and could not be controlled, while returning required sleep.
• Fu Qian asked when Lady Raven had first awakened, and she said it had been a month earlier.

Fu Qian challenged Lady Raven’s belief that her life under the stars was real, then offered to let her experience the Dark Moon firsthand. He realized she had called others to the meeting, suspecting she intended to expose him or silence him.

• Fu Qian questioned whether Lady Raven’s comfortable life under the stars could be a dream, and she struggled to justify why she believed it was real.
• Lady Raven asked Fu Qian to convince her that the stars were an illusion and the Dark Moon granted blessings, but he said words could not convey the experience and promised to show her directly.
• Lady Raven revealed that her organization had never encountered the nightmare’s watching entities before, and Fu Qian asked why Esther was special.
• Lady Raven explained that Esther had awakened in a body unlike her appearance in the nightmare and seemed important to it.
• Fu Qian noticed signs of hidden spectators and accused Lady Raven of bringing others to expose his lies or prevent him from speaking again.

Fu Qian revealed his monstrous form and challenged Lady Raven’s beliefs about the nightmare and death. Lady Raven gathered the resistance members into an arena, where Fu Qian began his attack with Meditative Hesitation and False God Incarnation.

• Fu Qian transformed into Herbert with sinister wings, and Lady Raven recognized him as a vampire.
• Fu Qian claimed to be an apostle of the Dark Moon and admitted he had deliberately gathered the Awakened Ones to prevent one of their goals.
• Fu Qian deduced that none of the Awakened Ones had died in the nightmare, then suggested that he himself might have died.
• Lady Raven expanded the meeting room into an open-air arena as hostile resistance members appeared around Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian used Meditative Hesitation and False God Incarnation to begin the confrontation.

Fu Qian fought off the Awakened Ones’ ambush at Lady Raven’s gathering, using moonlight powers to reveal hidden attackers and overpower the group. He aimed to make the “nightmare” notice the spectacle, setting up a confrontation beyond the gathering.

• Fu Qian watched Lady Raven’s followers prepare to attack and recognized their distorted gifts as evidence that the stars’ blessings had changed after the Mist descended.
• Lady Raven’s order prompted the Awakened Ones to attack, but Fu Qian’s Moonlight Railguns struck two men and left them slowed by scattered light.
• Fu Qian resisted an unusual influence, then addressed the group as a supposed Divine Son while moonlight enveloped him.
• When Lady Raven challenged Fu Qian’s story, two more beams exposed a concealed Awakened One who had been creeping toward him for a fatal strike.
• Fu Qian concluded that the attackers’ failed ambush had created the spectacle he wanted the “nightmare” to witness, and expected it to be drawn to him.

Fu Qian used his sermon and attacks to keep Lady Raven and the Awakened Ones alert, then helped them survive an ambush by the Nightmare’s forces. He revealed the attackers overhead and invited the seemingly stable black-armored figures to join the gathering.

• Lady Raven ordered the Awakened Ones to keep their distance and contain Fu Qian, while he struck at her and quoted the Book of the Gospel.
• Fu Qian pointed out a concealed assassin, and a black arrow from an unseen attacker pierced the assassin.
• Lady Raven warned that another enemy was attacking, and black arrows rained down on the group, wounding several Awakened Ones.
• Fu Qian intercepted the arrows with moonlight, then stopped using Meditative Hesitation and deactivated the Law Remnants.
• Fu Qian threw three black arrows into the sky, revealing a circle of stable black-armored figures, and invited them to sit.

Fu Qian faced a coordinated attack from Nightmare guards while the Awakened Ones watched and reconsidered their assumptions about him. After repelling the guards’ assault, he stopped their commander from escaping and prepared to continue the confrontation.

• Lady Raven urged the Awakened Ones to retreat, while several wounded people transformed into mud and Fu Qian calmly blocked the guards’ arrows.
• The guards attacked Fu Qian again, but their black arrows had no effect on him, and he knocked their commander backward with concealed Air Bullets.
• The commander shouted for a retreat and threw his spike at Fu Qian before trying to escape.
• Fu Qian pulled the fleeing commander back with an invisible force as a huge, crystal-covered spiked arm emerged from him.