Recaps

Luther received a report about the Aurora Order and gained Archbishop Anthony’s approval to prepare a purge, while also agreeing to attend Earl Hall’s ball. Elsewhere, Dwayne Dantès honored a deceased teammate at a public cemetery.

• Xio gave a report about Mr. X and the Aurora Order to a Church of Evernight clergyman, and Fors passed the information to Luther.
• After receiving the report, Luther told Leonard to keep the Red Gloves on standby and went to seek Archbishop Anthony’s permission to purge the Aurora Order.
• Anthony approved the operation and authorized Luther to use resources and suitable Sealed Artifacts, but reminded him to cultivate the church’s influence and relationships.
• Luther accepted Anthony’s offer of an invitation to Earl Hall’s ball, hoping the event might yield clues about anti-Feysac sentiment and Deacon Silvestre’s activities.
• Dwayne Dantès placed the ashes of his deceased teammate in a Church of Storms cemetery compartment, inscribed the name and epitaph, and left.

Luther and Klein reunited in Backlund and compared their new identities after Klein recognized Luther at a cathedral. Luther explained that the Church would support a hunt for the Aurora Order, but he still needed Klein to help secure some of the spoils.

• Luther watched a mass at St. Samuel Cathedral, where Klein donated ten pounds before leaving.
• Luther emerged from Klein’s shadow in a plaza, thanked him for supporting the Church, and invited him to his residence.
• Klein was surprised by Luther’s luxurious house, and Luther said Miss Justice had lent it to him.
• Luna emerged from Luther’s shadow and greeted Klein, who recognized and stroked the cat.
• Luther and Klein introduced their identities as Ahab Ishmael and Dwayne Dantès, then laughed about their literary namesakes.
• Luther told Klein that the Church would support a hunt against the Aurora Order and said he still needed Klein to claim prey that escaped the Church.

The City of Silver welcomed Colin Iliad’s expedition back from Afternoon Town with captured Monsters, while Derrick asked Colin for access to confidential texts. In a dream, Luther found a message refusing to discuss a mysterious existence and warning Sherlock Moriarty to stop disturbing an unborn baby.

• Colin Iliad returned to the City of Silver with an expedition convoy escorting captured Monsters.
• Derrick followed Colin to the underground prison and asked for greater access to confidential documents, claiming he hoped to find a Warrior Sequence 3 formula.
• Colin gave Derrick a note granting him higher access to the texts, then remarked that Derrick could not lie properly.
• Luther dreamed he entered a tower but found no scaleless serpent, only tarot cards bearing a message that refused questions about an existence and told Sherlock Moriarty not to disturb an unborn baby again.

Luther and Klein abandoned their planned visit to Will Auceptin after he refused to meet them, then went to see Fors Wall in Hillston District. Luther suspected Klein was blessed by the Fool, and the chapter ended with Klein and Luther identifying themselves to Fors through their tarot cards.

• Luther dreamed of meeting the Snake of Mercury, but Will Auceptin refused to answer questions about the Primordial Moon and struck him with his tail.
• Luther told Klein that Will had asked them not to disturb him before he was born, so Klein redirected their carriage to Hillston District to visit Fors Wall.
• On the way, Luther considered Klein's connection to the Fool and suspected that Klein was a blessed of the Fool.
• Klein and Luther arrived at Fors's house, where Fors opened the door quickly and appeared to recognize them.
• Klein showed Fors the World tarot card, and Luther followed by presenting the Temperance card.

Fors welcomed Luther and Klein into her home to discuss plans against the Aurora Order. Luther set a deadline to deal with Lewis Wien, while Klein asked Fors to convey his offer of goodwill and assistance to the Abraham Family.

• Fors received a letter from Luther announcing that he and Klein would visit to discuss their plans against the Aurora Order.
• Fors hurriedly welcomed Luther and Klein into her home and tried to hide the messy room.
• Luther told Fors that he would deal with Lewis Wien within the week.
• Klein told Fors that he wanted to express goodwill toward the Abraham Family and asked her to pass along his message.
• Luther explained that Lewis Wien might be backed by hidden enemies and that Klein's help could bring the Abraham Family more spoils from the battle.

Emlyn White won the Sanguine hunting competition by killing three Artificial Vampires, astonishing the assembled Sanguine. Meanwhile, Luther asked Fors to write stories promoting his Flagship, the Black Throne, and its association with the title King of Blood.

• Cosmi Odora announced that Emlyn White had won the hunting competition by killing three followers of the Primordial Moon.
• Rus Báthory challenged the result, but Cosmi explained that Emlyn was already a Baron and witnesses had confirmed he killed the Artificial Vampires alone.
• Emlyn reveled in the Sanguine's attention and declared that he aimed to become an Earl.
• Klein asked Fors about the Abraham Family's enemies, and Fors mentioned Botis, who had once led a rebellion and stolen valuables from the family.
• Luther asked Fors to publish stories about him that prominently featured the Black Throne and linked it to the title King of Blood.
• Luther offered Fors a favor as payment, while Klein realized Luther was spreading his Anchor through the Flagship's stories.

Luther and Fors planned to kill Lewis Wien, while Klein helped Luther prepare for an operation against the Aurora Order. The Church of Evernight launched the operation after Lewis announced a new gathering, and Luther noticed that his Black Knight Potion had digested further.

• Luther asked Fors whether she wanted Mr. X captured alive or killed, and Fors chose to kill him directly.
• Xio returned home early, prompting Luther and Klein to disappear before she saw them with Fors.
• Luther told Klein he would have the Red Gloves seal off the area when Lewis Wien held his gathering, and Klein planned to settle into a new home.
• A few days later, Lewis Wien announced a gathering, and the Church of Evernight sent Soest's and Daly's teams with Luther to begin the operation.
• Luther retrieved a Sealed Artifact and Beyonder materials, led the teams in a prayer to the Goddess, and sensed that his Black Knight Potion had digested further.

Luther prepared a ritual to block Spirit World travel before leading an operation against Mr. X, but sensed someone had escaped through the Spirit World. Meanwhile, Saint of Secrets Botis and Saint Tenebrous Kisma discussed their stalled trap, and a cracked crystal ball showed a young woman calling Botis “Teacher.”

• Luther considered how crusading against enemies in the Evernight Goddess's name could help digest his Black Knight Potion and thought about forming his own squad.
• Soest reported that Mr. X was at a house with a white roof and that Nighthawks from other districts were ready to assist with arrests.
• Luther prepared a ritual to seal the Spirit World around the area so the Traveler Mr. X could not escape through it.
• Luther sensed Spirituality fluctuations on the street and realized someone had just left through Spirit World Traversal.
• Saint Tenebrous Kisma confronted Botis about delaying their plan, and Botis's cracked crystal ball revealed a young woman calling him “Teacher.”

Luther chose to maintain the original plan after someone escaped, while secretly sending Antiya to track the fugitive. The Nighthawks raided the Aurora Order gathering, and Lewis Wien began fighting back as the Red Gloves attacked.

• Soest, Daly, and the other Nighthawks sensed a Spirituality fluctuation and asked Luther for instructions.
• Luther ordered the team to maintain the original plan and prepare to attack, then rapidly performed a ritual while sending Antiya to track the escaped person.
• Lewis Wien began the gathering as Kisma monitored it, and Botis’s departure left Lewis concerned about their security.
• Luther’s blockade sealed the area off from the Spirit World, and Lewis recognized the approaching attackers as Red Gloves.
• Aurora Order believers charged the Red Gloves as the Nighthawks stormed the gathering house.
• Lewis used a ring to turn the panicked attendees into flesh and blood, empowered himself, and used Invisible Hand to make a Red Glove shoot a companion.

Lewis Wien was caught in a dream battle before Leonard and Lady Daly attacked him in reality. Meanwhile, Dorian Gray warned Fors that divination had revealed she was in grave danger, and she suspected the Aurora Order was involved.

• Lewis Wien used Mr. X's Scribe ability to empower his cloak and blast the Red Gloves, but Saint Tenebrous's roar shattered the dream trapping him.
• Lewis Wien found Leonard and Lady Daly waiting in the room and joined the struggle against them while Kisma fought the Red Gloves outside.
• Fors met Dorian Gray at an inn near Backlund Train Station after he arrived unexpectedly.
• Dorian told Fors that his divination showed someone had targeted her and that she faced tremendous danger.
• Fors wondered whether the danger had something to do with the Aurora Order.

Fors told Dorian that she had reported Lewis Wien to the Church of Evernight, but Dorian realized the danger he had sensed still remained. He fled with Fors through the spirit world, only to be intercepted at the Tussock River by Botis, a Saint of the Aurora Order.

• Fors told Dorian she had reported Lewis Wien to the Church of Evernight through Xio, and claimed the Church would soon kill him.
• Dorian warned that Lewis still posed a danger because he had divined that Fors was in peril, and Fors feared something had happened to Mr. Temperance.
• Dorian saw his pendant flare with malice, took out a brass key, and pulled Fors into a rapid journey through the spirit world.
• A strange light shaped like a series of illusory doors caught up with Dorian and Fors, forcing them back into reality on the Tussock River bank.
• Botis appeared across the river, and Dorian shielded Fors as the Saint of Secrets greeted him with, “Long time no see.”

In Cherwood Borough, Luther and the Red Gloves fought Saint Tenebrous Kisma and the Aurora Order while a Sealed Artifact transformed the battlefield. Luther shattered Kisma’s shadow attack with golden light and left him badly burned, but Kisma summoned a Demigod-level Lamb soul as the battle continued.

• Kisma spread Degeneration across Cherwood Borough, but the world turned pale and its residents became hollow illusions, preventing his plan from working.
• Luther used his pocket watch and the Sealed Artifact’s effect to block Kisma’s attacks, while Soest led the Red Gloves to capture the remaining Aurora Order believers.
• Kisma swallowed Luther in a sphere of shadows, but beams of golden light burst through and destroyed it.
• Luther hurled a golden spear at Kisma, severely burning him despite his armor, and Kisma continued praising the True Creator through the pain.
• Luther mocked Kisma’s belief that the True Creator could hear him, prompting Kisma to emerge from the shadows alongside a Demigod-level Lamb soul.

Botis confronted Dorian Gray and Fors by the Tussock River, forcing Dorian to give Fors a key and urge her to flee. Botis’s lightning attack vanished harmlessly before reaching them, leaving both men bewildered.

• Botis recognized Dorian Gray and taunted him about the Abraham Family’s curse and Botis’s betrayal of the family.
• Botis noticed Fors’s Leymano's Travels and threatened to summon Dorian’s former student, Lewis Wien.
• Dorian gave Fors a brass key to a safe containing another person’s contact address and told her to escape and seek that person’s guidance.
• Dorian provoked Botis into attacking, then prepared to use a silver sword charm to shield Fors at the cost of his life.
• Botis’s lightning storm dwindled into a tiny electric serpent that burrowed harmlessly into the ground, astonishing Dorian and Botis.

The Red Gloves used enchanted Shriek talismans to defeat the Aurora Order forces in the pale world and withdrew so Deacon Ishmael could fight the enemy saint without hindrance. Saint Tenebrous Kisma summoned a Grazed Shaman King to trap Luther and attack him, but Luther began summoning a Lamb of his own.

• Soest refused a Red Glove’s request to use his dream abilities against the Aurora Order and ordered Group Two to deploy Shriek talismans.
• Group Two’s talismans incapacitated the Aurora Order believers, allowing Group Three to finish off the remaining fighters.
• Soest led the Red Gloves away from the pale world so Deacon Ishmael could fight the Aurora Order saint without worrying about them.
• Luther watched the Red Gloves leave, then saw Saint Tenebrous Kisma summon a Grazed Shaman King from the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• The Shaman King trapped Luther in darkness as Kisma charged with the Blade of Flesh and Spirit.
• Luther remained calm as a vast shadow spread beneath him and something enormous began to rise.

Botis’s attacks were mysteriously redirected against himself, and his attempt to escape by Traveling brought him back to Dorian Gray and Fors. A hidden female voice forbade him from leaving and told him to wait for someone to kill him.

• Botis tested his powers, then surrounded Dorian Gray and Fors with illusory afterimages and launched a barrage of attacks.
• An unseen force redirected Botis’s attacks against him, leaving Dorian and Fors unharmed and Botis badly wounded.
• Botis searched for the hidden presence, then tried to flee through an illusory door.
• Botis reappeared at the same spot after his destination was altered, and he begged the hidden presence to let him leave.
• A faint female voice ordered Botis to stay and wait for someone to come kill him.

Luther revealed himself to Kisma and used the Death Announcer to kill the Saint Tenebrous in the Pale Strange World. Kisma failed to send his Fallen Shadow away with news of Luther’s plot, leaving Luther in control of the battlefield.

• The Death Announcer emerged as a monstrous ship fused from Devils and its former crew, and Luther guided it toward Kisma.
• Kisma recognized Luther as the Blood Bishop and tried to pray to the True Creator and summon Ouroboros, but the sealed Spirit World blocked him.
• The Death Announcer’s blasphemous laughter tormented Kisma, who blew apart his own head to regain clarity and sent his Fallen Shadow fleeing with a message.
• Kisma used Shaman King Lamb to block Luther while the Fallen Shadow escaped, but Luther took full control of the Death Announcer.
• The Death Announcer rammed Kisma into powder, and its cannons burned the Fallen Shadow to nothing.

Botis failed to escape Antiya’s control and, in desperation, brought out the Abraham Family’s Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, the Box of the Old One. He opened its first layer toward Antiya, whose attempt to distort his actions failed, leaving the box’s threat unresolved.

• Botis tried to flee through illusory doors, but Antiya distorted them and forced him back to the riverbank.
• Fors recognized Antiya as Mr. [Temperance]’s messenger and relaxed, while Dorian watched Botis suffer.
• Botis’s despair turned to madness, and he pulled the Box of the Old One from his robe.
• Dorian warned Antiya that the box was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact stolen from the Abraham Family.
• Botis opened the first layer of the box toward Antiya, and its strange aura blocked her attempt to distort his actions.

Luther defeated Kisma, the Saint Tenebrous, and Grazed his Shaman King Lamb before the story returned to the Red Gloves’ pursuit of Mr. X. Lewis Wien escaped into the Spirit World, only to be intercepted by Gehrman Sparrow in a Backlund alley.

• Luther took the Shaman King Lamb from Kisma’s remains, released his Pyromaniac Lamb, and chose Dark Gaze, Bat Transformation, and Potion Compounding.
• Soest learned that Leonard and Ms. Daly were still fighting Mr. X and realized the ritual blocking the Spirit World had ended.
• Lewis Wien healed his wounds with his ring and entered the Spirit World to escape the Red Gloves.
• A chill disrupted Lewis Wien’s control of the Spirit World and forced him back into reality in a dark Backlund alley.
• Gehrman Sparrow appeared before Lewis Wien and raised a revolver at him.

Klein killed Lewis Wien and gained the Travel ability, then heard prayers to the Fool. At the Tussock River, Botis revealed the Box of the Old One’s power, exposed Antiya, and reached for its forbidden third layer.

• Klein used Senor’s possession and Marionettization to immobilize Lewis Wien, then shot him and used Creeping Hunger to draw out his soul and characteristics.
• Klein discovered that Creeping Hunger had granted him the Travel ability and heard layered prayers to the Fool.
• Botis opened the Box of the Old One’s first layer, removing much of the riverbank and forcing Antiya to reveal herself.
• Antiya struggled against the artifact’s effects and prepared to seize Botis and the box.
• Botis, despairing and mad, reached for the box’s third layer to take everyone down with him.

Botis died after failing to open the third layer of the Box of the Old One, but Dorian began suffering the dangerous side effect of the Traveler's Key. Fors prayed to The Fool and urged her teacher to join her, ending the chapter as she tried to save him.

• Botis failed to open the third layer of the Box of the Old One and died as his body collapsed into strange starlight insects.
• Fors realized Botis was dead, then saw Dorian Gray convulsing in agony from the Traveler's Key's side effect.
• Fors gave Dorian a potion, but Antiya said the influence was acting directly on his soul and she could not help him.
• Dorian asked Fors to kill him before he lost control, but she prayed and told him she had a way to save him.
• Fors guided Dorian to pray with her, and he began reciting, "The Fool... who does not belong... to this era..."

Luther returned after killing Kisma and met Klein, who had killed Mr. X but was temporarily afraid of men because of the Death Knell revolver. After Luther treated the effect, they confirmed that most of the Aurora Order had been captured and prepared to pursue the remaining fugitive.

• Luther returned to reality with Kisma's corpse and ordered the Red Gloves to take it and its Beyonder Characteristics for processing.
• Soest told Luther that Mr. X had fled using Travel but was later found dead, and Daly and Leonard reported signs of anti-Divination and a missing soul.
• Luther left to meet Klein, who hid from him because the Death Knell revolver had made him fear men for six hours.
• Luther used Tide's Spectator abilities to ease Klein's fear, and they exchanged information about the Aurora Order's remaining fugitive.
• Luther said his messenger was following the fugitive, and Klein offered to use Travel to take them to her location.

Klein protected Dorian Gray from the curse’s influence after Fors prayed to the Fool, while Luther and his companions dealt with Botis. After the group reunited by the Tussock River, Antiya ordered Fors to write a novel about Luther’s flagship, and Dorian realized Fors and the newcomers served the Fool.

• Klein answered Fors’s prayer, shielded Dorian Gray with the authority of the Gray Fog, and saw that Luther’s messenger had cleared the battlefield.
• Dorian woke free of the curse’s pain and realized Fors could contact the deity known as the Fool.
• Fors told Dorian that an organization had helped her pursue Lewis Wien, then asked Antiya what they should do next.
• Antiya told Fors to write a novel about Luther and warned her to portray his flagship as noble and elegant.
• Luther arrived with Gehrman Sparrow and Alexander Gascoigne, and Dorian recognized them as the Blood Bishop and the Crazy Adventurer.
• Antiya pointed out Botis’s corpse and the glowing jewelry box, explaining that Botis had died on his own.

Luther accepted the Box of the Old One from Dorian as payment for Antiya’s protection and learned how to seal it. After securing the dangerous artifact, he collected the remains and characteristics from the ground.

• Fors explained that Botis had tried to open the box’s third layer, seen something terrifying, and died when his body collapsed.
• Dorian thanked Luther and Klein for killing Lewis Wien and recognized the help they had given him and Fors.
• Dorian offered Luther the Box of the Old One’s information and ownership as payment for Antiya’s protection, and Luther accepted.
• Luther read the box’s history, side effects, and sealing method, then placed it in a hidden pocket and poured in ordinary water.
• Luther gathered the insects and characteristics left on the ground.

After the battle in Backlund, Dorian and Fors parted while each turned to urgent responsibilities. In the City of Silver archives, Derrick investigated Lovia’s past and discovered that she had changed Pathways after an expedition that included her husband.

• Dorian told Fors he would cut off contact until he had considered the Abraham Family’s situation, while Fors hurried to finish her commissioned manuscript.
• Derrick used his Solar High Priest ability to light the archives room and read Lovia’s file.
• Derrick learned that Lovia was suspected of being hostile to the existence behind him and had a living younger sister who could kill her to end the family curse.
• Derrick discovered that Lovia had once been a Sequence 6 Polymath on the Reader Pathway before becoming a Sequence 5 Shepherd.
• Derrick searched records from the year Lovia changed Pathways and found an expedition roster that also listed her husband.

Derrick read an old expedition record describing how Lovia survived a temple collapse, advanced to Sequence 5, and emerged with her husband missing. Colin summoned Derrick to ask whether Lovia’s hastily prepared Sequence 4 advancement ritual could succeed or be improved.

• Derrick read the expedition record and learned that Lovia was the only survivor of a temple collapse, advanced by consuming a Sequence 5 Beyonder Characteristic, and never explained her husband’s disappearance.
• A guard summoned Derrick to Colin Iliad’s room, where he found Lovia waiting with the Chief.
• Colin told Derrick that Lovia was preparing to advance to Sequence 4 with fewer than four thousand monsters because City of Silver lacked the space and supplies to gather more.
• Colin asked Derrick whether the ritual could succeed or be improved, hinting that Derrick should consult the person behind him.