Chapter Summaries

Professor A Kai’s miracle unleashed a growing scythe that destabilized the ship as strange feathers swarmed around it. Stos prepared to force an escape, but Fu Qian warned that help might be far less likely to arrive than they had hoped.

• Professor A Kai said his intended minor miracle had unexpectedly produced a destructive scythe that kept expanding its reach.
• White feathers emerged through gaps in the ship and attached themselves to the scythe, making the vessel tremble and grow unstable.
• Su Gao said she could sense no way out, while Stos concluded they needed to escape and might have to destroy the ship.
• Stos checked Fu Qian’s view before acting, and Fu Qian agreed that their condition was worsening and that they should seek an escape.
• Fu Qian objected to waiting three days, warning that less than twelve hours might have passed outside and Chief Yuan and the others might not yet be seeking help.

Fu Qian warned Stos that the Ark’s time flow might have been altered and advised waiting, suspecting someone had tampered with the vessel. As the Ark destabilized, Su Gao exposed Malka and Malfo, revealing that the Mal brothers’ concealment had weakened.

• Fu Qian explained that he could not trust the Ark’s time flow and urged Stos to wait rather than act on a potentially manipulated situation.
• Stos put away his lethal move and agreed to wait until someone could no longer endure the Ark’s violent spatial shaking.
• Su Gao struck Malka when he appeared out of thin air, and Fu Qian recognized him as one of the Mal brothers.
• Malfo shouted from inside Malka’s body, revealing that he had survived by parasitizing his brother.

The Mal Brothers confronted Stos and Su Gao aboard the unstable ship, where Professor Fu advised letting the younger fighters take the lead. After Su Gao wounded the brothers, they unleashed a wave of toxic tongues and exploded, leaving Stos to suspect they had lured the group into attacking the ship.

• Malka reappeared after Malfo parasitized him and refused to be burned to ash.
• Stos questioned the Mal Brothers and launched three projectiles, but they swelled and opened dozens of mouths across their bodies.
• Professor Fu stopped Stos from intervening and urged him to let the younger generation handle the fight.
• Stos sent Su Gao after the Mal Brothers, and she nearly severed their head with a single sword strike.
• The Mal Brothers attacked with toxic tongues and then exploded, while Stos's barrier protected the group.
• Stos asked Fu Qian whether the Mal Brothers had come to lure them into attacking the ship.

Fu Qian argued that the Mal Brothers had staged their attacks and manipulated the group’s sense of urgency to provoke conflict with the Ark. As the team reconsidered their suspicions, Su Demigod reported that the ship was moving and they still could not find a way out.

• Fu Qian explained that the Mal Brothers may have attacked the team to provoke the Ark and turn the investigators against it.
• Su Gao suspected the brighter light was an illusion designed to make the team feel more urgent and aggressive, and Fu Qian agreed.
• Lord Stos admitted Fu Qian’s theory made sense but questioned why the Mal Brothers had altered the perceived flow of time.
• Su Gao noticed the Mal Brothers’ remains, the scythe, and the feathers were merging into or being suppressed by the ship.
• Su Demigod said the group still had no way out and reported that the ship was moving.

Fu Qian and the others realized the ship had set sail again as the darkness returned, raising fears that their time aboard was limited. Stos hesitated over whether to destroy the ship, but before he could settle on a plan, Su Gao reported that they were sinking into an ocean-like hollow.

• Fu Qian sensed the ship begin moving, while Aiko noticed the Mal Brothers’ remains and weapons had disappeared into it.
• A Kai and Aiko observed the sky growing darker, and Fu Qian concluded that the earlier change in light had been an illusion.
• Stos asked Fu Qian for his judgment, and Fu Qian said they still seemed to have time to observe or attempt a last resort.
• Aiko urged caution, and Stos assigned A Kai to continue his tests while Su Gao monitored the ship.
• Su Gao reported that the ship was sinking as if falling into a hollow in the ocean.

Fu Qian and the others traveled in the ark through a surreal realm, passing a green door into a beautiful shoreline beneath a strange starry sky. As they approached land, flowers formed a sun and the vegetation gathered into a giant cocoon, leaving Aiko unsettled.

• A Kai and Aiko heard faint humming aboard the ark as its endless descent continued.
• The ark stopped at a strange seafloor beneath a star-filled sky, where enormous, oddly shaped structures surrounded it.
• Fu Qian spotted a vibrant green door, and the ark accelerated through it into a springlike shoreline.
• Fu Qian saw that the vanished doorway had become an abyss filled with lightning and monstrous shapes.
• Flowers gathered in the sky to form a sun, and the shoreline's greenery assembled into a huge cocoon.
• Aiko asked what the place was as the transformation unsettled everyone.

Fu Qian and the others watched the ark pass through a reality-bending scene as Lord Stos identified it with the Long Night a thousand years ago and explained that the era had blurred the boundary between the real and unreal. When a towering spire appeared beyond the ship, Su Gao and Fu Qian went to investigate.

• Fu Qian suggested the ship might be a once-real vessel traveling through time and space in a transcendent state.
• Lord Stos identified the scene as connected to the Long Night a thousand years ago.
• Lord Stos explained that the Long Night had changed fundamental rules and blurred the boundary between reality and unreality.
• The ark passed through the giant cocoon, and the scene outside changed to a towering spire.
• Su Gao went to investigate the spire, and Fu Qian followed her.

Fu Qian and Su Gao explored the ark’s higher levels, concluding that the living ship’s nature was changing its passengers and that the outside world could not affect the vessel. They found little new on the top level and ended by examining the approaching, featureless spire.

• The Old Man stayed behind while Fu Qian and Su Gao entered the ark’s middle level, where Fu Qian confirmed that they could see the spire but not the levels below.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao concluded that the ship’s concepts were transforming its passengers and that the ark’s shielding kept the outside world from affecting them.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao finished exploring the middle level without finding anything beyond a clearer view, then went up to the top level.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao saw that the top level was much as before and examined the approaching spire, whose smooth white surface had few visible details.
• Su Gao slowed down and let Fu Qian take the lead as they continued their exploration.

Fu Qian and Su Gao searched the Ark for someone who might be aboard, and Fu Qian’s invitation led them to a tea room where Nepheli appeared. He suspected Nepheli had been secretly directing events, but remained unsure whether the woman before him was truly there or another deception.

• Fu Qian led Su Gao through the wheat fields to the door where they had first boarded the ship.
• The door opened by itself, revealing a tea room where Nepheli invited Fu Qian and Su Gao inside.
• Fu Qian identified Nepheli as a possible hidden force behind the Mal Brothers’ actions and greeted her using his alias.
• Nepheli asked when Fu Qian had realized she was aboard, and he explained that Marco’s behavior had aroused his suspicions.
• Fu Qian questioned whether Nepheli was truly present, then smelled and drank the tea she had prepared.

Fu Qian explained why he had revealed his and Su Gao’s identities to Nepheli, then suggested that she wanted to keep the ark’s journey going so she could witness the Long Night from a thousand years ago. Nepheli admitted she had no malice and asked them to stay aboard and watch longer.

• Nepheli acknowledged that she could project herself anywhere on the ship and confirmed that their conversation was private.
• Nepheli asked Fu Qian why he had revealed the secret and brought Su Gao to meet her.
• Su Gao promised that only the three of them would know what they discussed, while Fu Qian pointed out that Nepheli’s presence was significant too.
• Fu Qian suggested that Nepheli wanted to preserve the chance to witness the ark’s journey through the past.
• Nepheli agreed that the opportunity was rare, said she had tried to reduce the ship’s harmful effects, and asked Fu Qian and Su Gao to stay and watch longer.

Fu Qian questioned Nepheli about her manipulation of the Ark and learned that she had planned to use the team to purify and take control of it. Nepheli asked him to keep Stos calm during the ship’s final voyage, while Fu Qian hinted that Stos’s golden fire might matter.

• Fu Qian accused Nepheli of undermining Professor A Kai and confirmed that she had secretly influenced the Ark’s time and agitation.
• Nepheli admitted that she had sabotaged Professor A Kai’s miracle and reflected that extraordinary paths could leave later researchers with no room to advance.
• Fu Qian inferred that Nepheli had once received answers that were already surpassed, and she acknowledged his insight without explaining further.
• Nepheli revealed that she had hoped the team would purify the chaotic ship so she could contain and control it.
• Nepheli said the Ark would take one final voyage and asked Fu Qian to keep Stos calm, warning that destroying it could endanger everyone aboard.
• Fu Qian replied that Stos had come because of the golden fire and suggested Nepheli might be connected to it.

Fu Qian questioned Nepheli about the golden flames and learned that they appeared during a healing miracle called Tyrant's Gift. Nepheli confirmed that the miracle’s pioneer had named it, leaving Fu Qian to consider what the name might imply.

• Fu Qian linked Nepheli’s knowledge of the golden flames to Ariel and suggested that Su Gao could be trusted with the conversation.
• Fu Qian’s remarks led Nepheli to suspect that the Night Watchers might know about the Warehouse and its affairs.
• Nepheli admitted that she possessed a healing miracle that calmed the agitated and produced golden flames, though she did not know what they meant.
• Fu Qian agreed to keep the discussion brief and said they would leave after finishing their tea.
• Nepheli named the miracle Tyrant’s Gift, and she confirmed that its pioneer had chosen the name.

Fu Qian and Su Gao returned from Nepheli’s peculiar chamber and persuaded Stos to wait rather than risk forcing the ark through the darkness. Their discussion was interrupted when a new passage appeared on the ark’s lowest level.

• Nepheli made the chamber and spire disappear as the ark entered a darkness without stars, then reflected that reality and symbols had become indistinguishable.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao returned to Stos, Aiko, Old Man, and Professor A Kai and reported that the ark seemed stable and its interior changes appeared to originate from the ship.
• When Stos asked whether they should resort to their last measure, Fu Qian said they had no evidence that either waiting or forcing their way through was safer.
• Su Gao backed Fu Qian, and Stos decided they would wait for evidence before acting.
• Professor A Kai suddenly stood up, and a new passage leading downward appeared on the lowest level.

A Kai’s miracle opened a new passage from the Ark into a lightless void, and Su Gao led an expedition down it with Fu Qian and Stos. The three began descending while the passage seemed stable, but the darkness below impaired their sight.

• A Kai explained that his attempt to connect with reality through a gentle miracle had caused a disturbance and apparently opened a new passage.
• Su Gao volunteered to investigate the passage, and Aiko offered to take her turn after Su Gao had already ventured out once.
• Fu Qian joined Su Gao, and Stos insisted on accompanying them as the group’s only Second Order.
• Stos warned A Kai and Aiko to stay put and avoid using miracles while the three explorers descended the wooden ladder.
• Su Gao led the way into the darkness, where Fu Qian reported that they could not see and that the darkness seemed to be suppressing their sight.

Fu Qian, Su Gao, and Sir Stos explored a lightless wooden passage beneath the ship, but it stretched on without an end. When they heard Aiko’s signal that something was happening aboard the ship, Sir Stos returned to investigate while Fu Qian stayed with Su Gao to continue exploring.

• Fu Qian entered the darkness with Su Gao and Sir Stos and found that sight and supernatural perception were suppressed, though sound still worked.
• Su Gao led the group down a wooden ladder into a narrow passage with wooden walls and a regular floor.
• The three Transcendents traveled far along the straight passage, but it showed no sign of ending, so Sir Stos proposed turning back and breaking through.
• A strange signal sounded, and Sir Stos recognized it as Aiko’s message that something was happening on the ship.
• Su Gao ordered Sir Stos to return to the ship while she continued investigating with Fu Qian, and Sir Stos left after Fu Qian supported her decision.

Fu Qian and Su Gao continued exploring the strange passage after suspecting Nepheli had prompted the earlier warning to keep them from endangering the Ark. Su Gao perceived the passage as an endlessly long coffin, and they pressed on until a woman’s voice spoke in their minds to a child.

• Fu Qian and Su Gao continued into the unknown passage, reasoning that Nepheli might have caused the disturbance to discourage their exploration.
• Fu Qian concluded the passage was likely a symbolic manifestation rather than part of reality, and Su Gao revealed that she could see it as an endlessly long coffin.
• Su Gao said the coffin-like passage seemed to have an end, so Fu Qian urged them to keep going and see what lay ahead.
• Su Gao stopped when a woman’s voice spoke in their minds, gently telling a child to lie still and assuring them they would win.

Fu Qian and Su Gao crossed the drawn door and discovered that their journey had unfolded inside a child’s dream in the Long Night a thousand years in the past. As they sensed an all-encompassing tide, Su Gao’s body began turning to porcelain and cracking.

• Fu Qian and Su Gao decided to pass through the drawn door, believing they had reached the limit of the child’s dream.
• Fu Qian regained his sight and found a family home with a coffin hidden beneath a bed.
• Fu Qian sensed that the child alone lay in the coffin, humming and patting himself while imagining his mother’s presence.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao looked outside and confirmed that the home stood beneath a sunless and moonless sky in the ancient Long Night.
• Su Gao sensed a tide washing over everything, and her body began turning to white porcelain as cracks spread across her palm.

Fu Qian observed Su Gao experiencing the Long Night’s destructive tides in the Gods' Burial Ground and used the White Ring to help anchor her sense of self. As Su Gao continued to suffer and asked whether Fu Qian could still hear her, he summoned Sword Three Missing One.

• Fu Qian observed the chaotic stars and the cracks spreading across Su Gao’s porcelain body as she sensed the Long Night’s tides.
• Su Gao described a storm tide filling all places and said that every will struggled against the apocalypse as the Long Night passed.
• Fu Qian placed the White Ring on Su Gao’s thumb, and it helped her porcelain fragments resist the chaos.
• Fu Qian noted that Su Gao’s fragments did not turn into the tiny bodies he had seen forming another doll, distinguishing the two creations.
• Fu Qian activated False God Incarnation and summoned Sword Three Missing One as Su Gao asked whether he could still hear her.

Fu Qian used Sword Three Missing One to let Su Gao strike him and restore her shattered body amid the chaos. They returned to the Coffin Path, where Su Gao found her sight and resistance to the darkness had improved, and Fu Qian urged her to tell the organization what had happened.

• Fu Qian gave Su Gao Sword Three Missing One and told her to attack him until he said to stop.
• Su Gao repeatedly wounded Fu Qian, and the sword's effects restored order to her shattered body without repairing its original cracks.
• Fu Qian stopped Su Gao, then had her open a way back to the Coffin Path with the sword.
• Fu Qian used False God Incarnation to see the coffin-like passage, while Su Gao confirmed that her vision and resistance to the darkness had improved.
• Su Gao asked whether to keep the experience secret, and Fu Qian told her to report it to the organization and say he had acted as her bodyguard.

Fu Qian and Su Gao returned from a passage tied to a child's Mind World and explained what they had experienced. After hearing that the ship's amber bodies had begun releasing feathers, they decided to keep waiting aboard the ark, where the passage then folded away.

• Aiko called Fu Qian and Su Gao back after amber bodies on the ship began moving and releasing feathers.
• Su Gao told Stos that the passage and what lay beyond it belonged to a child's Mind World, and described the scene and conversation they had found there.
• Fu Qian admitted that Su Gao had cut him after he briefly lost control under the Mind World's influence.
• Su Gao proposed waiting aboard the ship, and Fu Qian agreed, believing Nepheli had caused the disturbance to draw them back.
• The downward passage folded away as Stos frowned in thought.