Chapter Summaries

The narrator reviewed an early Interastral Peace broadcast and used its statements to piece together the timeline of the First Prosperity and the Great Cosmic Plague. The broadcast also revealed early references to Penacony, the Strategic Investment Department, and Ms. Herta’s later alliance with the IPC.

• The narrator found a broadcast stating that the First Prosperity had occurred 990 Amber Eras earlier and concluded it lasted 210 Amber Eras before the Great Cosmic Plague.
• The broadcast reported that Penacony’s Family had invited several factions, including the IPC, and that Diamond would assess the move.
• The narrator inferred that this was probably the first in-game mention of the Strategic Investment Department.
• The broadcast announced that Ms. Herta agreed to a long-term alliance with the IPC at the beginning of Amber Era 2158, after Rillia and Elysia had joined forces with the company.

Heroic Spirit Chadwick used the Imaginary Collapse Pulse to destroy the Market Development Department fleet advancing on Penacony, while Guinaifen announced a ceasefire and Chadwick’s memorial arrangements. The IPC board returned Penacony’s handling to the Strategic Investment Department and compensated Oswald with a P46 position, leaving him furious over the loss of a major fleet.

• Heroic Spirit Chadwick locked onto the Market Development Department fleet and fired the Imaginary Collapse Pulse, destroying the fleet and turning its galaxy into a dangerous Imaginary Energy zone.
• Guinaifen livestreamed Chadwick’s passing, apologized for the Penacony Family’s treatment of him, and announced that Dan Lei would deliver his Memory Bubble to the Genius Club.
• Guinaifen announced that Chadwick had let go of his hatred and that Jade would come to Penacony to discuss the incident, while Aventurine and Jade’s feed confirmed the agreement and the end of hostilities.
• Scar-Eyed Madam told Oswald that the board had returned Penacony to the Strategic Investment Department and granted the Market Development Department one P46 position as compensation for its lost fleet.
• Oswald realized that the new position could not make up for losing one of his six major fleets, while Jade retained grounds to act if the Penacony Family disavowed Guinaifen’s announcement.

After Guinaifen negotiated with Jade over Chadwick and announced Penacony’s response, Dan Lei learned that Sam had escaped and prepared to deliver Chadwick’s Memory Bubble to Herta. The story then revealed Sunday confronting Gallagher over Guinaifen’s supposed murder, before Mianmian stabbed both men as Gallagher urged Sunday to face Penacony’s truth.

• Jade and Guinaifen kept leverage over each other after negotiating over Chadwick and the attack on the IPC fleet.
• Silver Wolf told Dan Lei that Sam had known about her cooperation with Chadwick only afterward, then ended their call.
• Artoria explained that she had let Sam escape while dealing with mechanical puppets, and Dan Lei set out to meet Herta with Chadwick’s Memory Bubble.
• Guinaifen told Dan Lei that she could not reach Sunday, while Sunday confronted Gallagher at Morning Dew Mansion and accused him of killing her.
• A staff member showed Sunday Guinaifen’s livestream, undermining the accusation, and Gallagher told Sunday to face Penacony’s truth.
• Mianmian appeared behind Sunday and Gallagher and stabbed them both.

After Metatron pursued the Assassin into Flowing Dream Reef, Dan Lei helped her enter without damaging the Memory Zone and found Sunday asleep and unharmed. Gallagher revealed that Flowing Dream Reef had purer Harmony and asked Dan Lei to gather the Astral Express crew; Dan Lei then delivered Chadwick's Memory Bubble to Herta while the others split up.

• Mianmian stabbed Sunday and Gallagher, escaped into the Memoria, and Metatron sent a frightened Oak Family employee to another plane before pursuing it.
• Dan Lei flew Guinaifen to Metatron and opened a passage into Flowing Dream Reef, where they found Sunday asleep and learned the Assassin had not taken him away.
• Gallagher explained that Flowing Dream Reef was a refuge for people unwelcome in the sweet dream, and Guinaifen and Dan Lei noted that Harmony felt purer there.
• Dan Lei arranged for Sunday and Guinaifen to explore Flowing Dream Reef while he brought Himeko and Welt to witness the handover of Chadwick's Memory Bubble.
• Himeko and Welt verified the Memory Bubble before Dan Lei handed it to Herta, who returned through a portal opened by the Fourth Mirror.

Dan Lei returned to the Flowing Dream Reef, heard the Heroic Spirit Gramer Iron Cavalry’s wish, and stopped Artoria from fighting her before the Holy Grail War’s outcome was settled. At Gallagher’s briefing, Dan Lei argued that Penacony’s Stellaron had not been shown to threaten its people and refused to join the conflict between the Five Great Families and the Watchmaker.

• Dan Lei reunited with the others and learned that Liuying could be an ally, while March 7th remained wary of her.
• The Heroic Spirit Gramer Iron Cavalry said she wanted the Gramer Iron Cavalry’s final battle to end in victory and glory.
• Artoria prepared to fight the Heroic Spirit Gramer Iron Cavalry, but Dan Lei stopped her until the battle could no longer affect the wish granted by the Holy Grail.
• Gallagher and Sunday explained that Penacony’s dreamscape was built around a Stellaron, which Sunday said was the Grand Theater itself.
• Dan Lei questioned whether the Stellaron was harming Penacony, citing its long stability, low death toll, and lack of unusual mental exhaustion.
• Dan Lei rejected Gallagher’s claims about oppression as grounds for intervention and said Penacony’s people had to fight for their own future.

Dan Lei left Penacony’s internal conflict to Sunday, the Express Crew, and their allies, while Gallagher prepared to reveal the Watchmaker’s legacy. Black Swan delivered Aventurine’s requested recordings, but refused to investigate Dan Lei before Sparkle and Kurumi arrived and claimed his goal involved the Aeon of Permanence.

• Dan Lei left Flowing Dream Reef with Artoria and Kafka, and Sunday, Guinaifen, Welt, and the Express Crew agreed to confront the Dream Master and investigate the Stellaron.
• Gallagher asked Black Swan and Liuying to leave, then prepared to tell the Express Crew about the Watchmaker’s true legacy.
• Black Swan met Aventurine and gave him a chip containing recordings from Chadwick’s stronghold, but refused his request to investigate Dan Lei.
• Sparkle and Kurumi appeared in the alley, and Sparkle told Aventurine that Dan Lei’s ultimate goal in Penacony involved the Aeon of Permanence.

Sparkle planted suspicions about Dan Lei’s Holy Grail and Permanence plans in Aventurine and Black Swan, then arranged a Dream Bubble for the Stellar Train Crew that portrayed them as a good faction opposing Dan Lei. The crew recognized the attempt to sow discord but agreed not to let it affect their judgment as they returned to Gallagher.

• Sparkle told Aventurine and Black Swan that Dan Lei’s Holy Grail might be tied to the Aeon of Permanence, prompting them to consider investigating despite Aventurine’s warnings.
• Aventurine explained the Star Cup of Avalon Star to Black Swan, and Sparkle speculated that Dan Lei had staged the Holy Grail War to fulfill a hidden objective.
• Aventurine and Black Swan left without accepting Sparkle’s claims, while Sparkle concluded that she had planted enough suspicion for them to investigate.
• Sparkle anonymously donated a Dream Bubble depicting a Blood on the Clocktower game to Doctor Edward’s shop for the Stellar Train Crew.
• Star, March 7th, Lumine, and Paimon watched the Dream Bubble and recognized that its characters represented them as heroes and Dan Lei as the villain.
• Himeko took a copy of the Dream Bubble and told the crew to treat its contents as a coincidence and return to Gallagher.

Aventurine questioned Archer about the Holy Grail, learned Sparkle’s account was unreliable, and called Veritas Ratio for help investigating. Meanwhile, Welt challenged Sunday and Gefenwood’s story about the Harmony, prompting Gefenwood to order Sunday to incapacitate Welt and Guinaifen and have Asna subdued.

• Aventurine asked Archer about Dan Lei and the Holy Grail War, and Archer explained that the Grail he knew was a Magecraft artifact unrelated to Permanence.
• Aventurine decided to seek Lancer’s knowledge, but Archer warned that Aventurine was still wanted, so Aventurine called Veritas Ratio instead.
• Sparkle remained unaware of the Holy Grail’s true nature, while Dan Lei deliberately let flaws in her story persist and expected the Express Crew to discover them.
• Welt, Sunday, Guinaifen, Asna, and Metatron met Gefenwood at the Dreamweaver Hotel, where Sunday and Gefenwood staged an inquiry into Penacony’s troubles.
• Welt questioned whether the god behind the Family’s unity was truly ChiPe, and Gefenwood ordered Sunday to make Welt and Guinaifen rest and have Asna subdued.

Gefenwood and Sunday captured Welt and Guinaifen, while Metatron killed Asna after she refused to cooperate and left behind a Dream Bubble exposing the Oak Family’s betrayal. As the Express Crew prepared to enter the Penacony Grand Theater and rescue Welt, Artoria agreed to escort Himeko’s group inside.

• Gefenwood revealed that he intended to let Penacony choose between Harmony and Order, then asked Asna to help conceal Guinaifen’s agreement with the Family; Asna refused and tried to activate her Noble Phantasm, but Metatron destroyed her Spirit Core.
• Gefenwood ordered Sunday to take the unconscious Welt and Guinaifen to the Grand Theater’s VIP room, where they could witness the Harmonic Codex in their dreams.
• The Express Crew reunited with Liuying and learned from Himeko that Welt was being held at the Grand Theater; Himeko split the crew into groups to find allies and investigate.
• Star, Lumine, Paimon, and Liuying found Asna’s concealed Dream Bubble, which recorded her death and exposed the Oak Family’s betrayal; Sparkle then offered Star two mutual-destruction buttons.
• Himeko asked Dan Lei for help entering the Grand Theater, and he sent Artoria to escort her group while warning that the Family would have to face others’ doubts about their dreams.

Dan Lei sent Kafka to help the Stellar Train Crew, while Sunday confronted them at the Grand Theater and defended his plan to resurrect Order and place Penacony in an eternal dream. After debating their ideals in his inner world, Star rejected Sunday's vision on behalf of the Crew, and Xipe's gaze fell upon her.

• Artoria delivered Dan Lei's message that Sunday had to face other people's doubts, then left the Grand Theater as the Stellar Train Crew and Sunday prepared to debate.
• Sunday explained his plan to restore Order, admitted Dan Lei had agreed to help him for data on resurrecting an Aeon, and brought the Crew into his inner world.
• Sunday presented three moral dilemmas and argued that he would sacrifice himself to give everyone an eternal dream of peace and idleness.
• Liuying challenged Sunday's plan, arguing that people had the right to choose and that no one else should decide who was weak.
• Star put on the Watchmaker's hat and declared that Penacony belonged to the Trailblaze, not Order, after which Xipe's gaze fell upon her.
• Dan Lei allowed Kafka to leave and help the Stellar Train Crew, warning her not to cut him down because he was not controlled by Order.

Sunday brought the Stellar Train Crew and Liuying before Metatron’s Court of Justice, where he accused them of interfering in Penacony’s affairs and conspiring against its government. After their defense successfully challenged the conspiracy accusation, the trial turned to the harder-to-answer charge of interference, leaving the Crew facing a choice between admitting guilt and risking imprisonment or abandoning their effort to change Penacony.

• Metatron summoned a Court of Justice, suppressed the Crew and Liuying, and ordered their weapons and transformation devices confiscated.
• Sunday accused the Crew of interfering in Penacony’s internal affairs and plotting to overthrow the government, and accused Sam of illegal entry and kidnapping.
• Himeko requested Guinaifen as defense counsel, and Metatron woke Guinaifen and brought her to the defense table.
• Metatron refused to appoint a jury and began the trial, while Sunday presented his memories as evidence of the Crew’s alleged plans.
• Guinaifen objected that the Watchmaker had never been officially designated an anti-government force, and Metatron dismissed the conspiracy accusation for lack of evidence.
• Metatron asked whether the Crew would admit to interfering in Penacony’s internal affairs, leaving them confronting the consequences of either answer.

Guinaifen argued that the Stellar Train Crew could legally intervene in Penacony, but Metatron rejected her defense and expelled them from Penacony. She then sentenced Liuying to immediate death, prompting Star to threaten Penacony with Sparkle’s bomb button before Liuying pressed an identical one and a portal opened.

• Guinaifen argued that Star’s recognition by Harmony [Xipe] gave the Stellar Train Crew the right to intervene in Penacony, but Metatron ruled that their earlier actions had already violated Penacony’s laws.
• Metatron sentenced the Stellar Train Crew to be blacklisted and permanently expelled from Penacony, then sentenced Liuying to death for kidnapping Guinaifen and the Stellaron Hunters’ crimes.
• Guinaifen objected to Liuying’s sentence, while the Stellar Train Crew surrounded Liuying to protect her.
• Star threatened to destroy Penacony’s dreamscape with Sparkle’s bomb button, but Metatron took the button from her and accused her of terrorism.
• Liuying took Paimon’s identical button and pressed it, opening a portal from which a male voice shouted, “Pierce with Gae Bolg!!”

Metatron sealed the Court of Justice and overwhelmed the gathered fighters with her authority, forcing Sparkle's allies to fight their way out. Star empowered Lumine with a Command Spell, and Lumine's Radiant Mode cut a path toward Metatron and Sunday as Archer prepared to use his Noble Phantasm.

• Lancer, Boothill, and Archer with Aventurine joined the Stellar Train Crew in fighting Metatron's angelic familiars, while Metatron closed the portal and exposed Sparkle and Kurumi's Berserker team.
• Sunday ordered Metatron to incapacitate the crew and kill the Heroic Spirits, and Sparkle admitted that Black Swan could not open an exit through Metatron's spatial seal.
• Boothill agreed to charge Metatron while Himeko and the others cleared a path, and Star used a Command Spell to activate Lumine's Radiant Mode.
• Lumine destroyed angelic familiars and carved a path toward Metatron and Sunday, while Lancer and Archer charged under Kurumi's speed boost.
• Metatron's suppression slowed the attackers, so Archer called to Aventurine, who used a Command Spell to activate Unlimited Blade Works.

Aventurine’s attempt to remove Metatron from the battle failed, and she returned to overwhelm the fighters in the Court of Justice. Kurumi used her Spacequake to try to break the realm and send everyone into the Sea of Memories, but Metatron focused her attack on Kurumi as the chapter ended.

• Aventurine used a Command Spell to send Archer and Metatron into Archer’s Reality Marble, while the others attacked Sunday and Guinaifen boosted them with Harmony’s [Concerto].
• Metatron defeated Archer with her Noble Phantasms, returned to the Court of Justice, shattered Lancer’s Spirit Core, and used Gae Bolg against Liuying before the Heroic Spirit Gramer Iron Cavalry intercepted it.
• Metatron targeted Liuying with a laser, but Kurumi’s clone rescued her; Star then protected Liuying, prompting Sparkle to propose sending everyone into the Sea of Memories.
• Kurumi activated her Noble Phantasm [Spacequake] and cracked the Court of Justice, but Metatron repaired the realm and turned her full attention on Kurumi.
• Metatron unleashed [The Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord] at Kurumi, who told Sparkle that her journey might be over.

Himeko used [Final Lesson] to challenge Metatron, but Sunday empowered Metatron enough to defeat the heroes and Himeko died. Star then broke a hole in the Court of Justice, allowing Kafka to enter, and she and Metatron faced off without attacking to avoid destroying Penacony.

• Sparkle summoned doppelgängers to distract Metatron while Liuying and the others tried to break the Court of Justice, but Metatron stopped their attacks.
• Himeko activated [Final Lesson], saved Liuying, and attacked Metatron while Aventurine and Liuying joined the assault.
• Sunday used both Command Spells to strengthen Metatron, who unleashed a barrage that defeated the heroes and killed Himeko.
• Himeko's final lesson strengthened Star's mind, allowing her to control the Stellaron's power and smash a small hole in the wall before collapsing.
• Black Swan warned everyone to flee, and Kafka widened the breach to enter the Court of Justice.
• Kafka and Metatron recognized each other's strength and held back from fighting because their battle could destroy Penacony.

Acheron withdrew from the fight, and Dan Lei joined Sunday as the Oak Family prepared to revive Order while the Stellar Train Crew debated his hidden motives. Himeko returned alive, and the crew summoned the Luofu fleet to destroy the Oak Family before Order could be born, forcing Dan Lei to abandon his plan and apologize.

• Black Swan helped the others escape Acheron and Metatron's battle, while Dan Lei waited for Sunday in the Penacony Grand Theater lobby and agreed to watch the Harmonic Codex ceremony.
• Acheron told the Stellar Train Crew that Dan Lei had not yet made his real move, and Aventurine guessed that he intended to kill a god.
• Dan Heng stopped the dazed March 7th from going after Dan Lei and urged the crew to consider leaving Penacony, but Himeko appeared alive and explained that Dan Lei had never said she would die.
• Dan Heng argued that the crew should use the Jade Abacus of Alliance before Order was born, and Himeko agreed to summon the Luofu fleet.
• The Luofu fleet wiped out the Oak Family before Order could revive, so Dan Lei abandoned his plan and apologized as Penacony received support from the Xianzhou Alliance, the IPC, and the Genius Club.

Dan Lei watched Sunday complete the Holy Grail ritual and create the Philosophical Embryo of Order, then entered the dreams under Taiyi’s Dream to gather data. He found Guinaifen resisting her idealized dream and teased her about a prince’s kiss, prompting her to grab him and kiss him.

• Himeko returned to the dream and hurried toward Flowing Dream Reef after concluding the others would go there.
• Sunday refused Gefenwood’s plan to sacrifice Guinaifen, claimed the role for himself, and accepted responsibility for the Oak Family’s retribution.
• Gefenwood released the 107,336 souls of the Oak Family into the Holy Grail, completing its ritual and separating the power of Order into the Philosophical Embryo of Order.
• Sunday spread Taiyi’s Dream across Penacony, trapping nearly everyone in realistic dreams while granting Dan Lei access to observe them.
• Dan Lei entered Guinaifen’s dream and saw her trying to wake herself by disrupting her own power with Tuning.
• Dan Lei joked that a sleeping princess needed a prince’s kiss, and Guinaifen grabbed him and kissed him forcefully.

Dan Lei explained to Guinaifen that he was pursuing Order to study the Aeons, then offered to help her give Penacony’s people a choice between dreams and reality. After Guinaifen questioned his allegiance, he insisted he was on his own side.

• Guinaifen kissed Dan Lei in her dream, and he pulled her out into the Dream Pool in her room.
• Guinaifen stopped Dan Lei from leaving and demanded to know why he had come to Penacony; he said he wanted to investigate the Aeons and support the Chorus from Beyond’s plan to revive Order.
• Dan Lei challenged Guinaifen to let Penacony’s people choose whether to remain in their dreams, offering to take her to Sunday and oppose him if he refused.
• Dan Lei told Guinaifen that Harmony alone could not resolve the conflict and suggested she seek help from an outside faction.
• Guinaifen warned that force could destroy Penacony, but Dan Lei refused to devise a solution for her and dismissed her attempt to pressure him with rumors.
• Guinaifen asked whether Dan Lei was truly on Order’s side, and he answered that he was only on his own side.

Dan Lei brought Liuying out of her sweet dream, and the awakened group gathered to plan how to break Taiyi's Dream. Guinaifen proposed disrupting Order with strong-willed people, while Acheron explained how she could cleave the dream open once Order weakened.

• Dan Lei found Liuying enjoying a dream of ordinary school life with Star and the Stellaron Hunters, then encouraged her to accept her weakness and return to reality.
• Dan Lei brought Liuying out of the dream, and a Memokeeper led them to the Dreamweaver Grand Hotel, where the others had assembled.
• Sparkle criticized Dan Lei as a meddler in Equilibrium and Joy, while Guinaifen explained that he was gathering information about Order's resurrection.
• Guinaifen revealed that Sunday had summoned Dominus of the Many Wishes and that Penacony's shared desire to dream was sustaining Taiyi's Dream.
• Acheron and Star reasoned that weakening Order would reduce Sunday and Metatron's power, but the group realized they first needed to break the dream.
• Guinaifen proposed bringing in people with firm wills to create dissonance, and Acheron said she could then split the dream open and awaken people through fear.

The group devised a way to break Taiyi's Dream by summoning the Sea Navigating Rangers, while preparing to oppose Sunday and Metatron with the power of other Paths. Sparkle proposed fusing with Lumine and using her as a vessel to combine their allies' powers against Metatron.

• Dan Heng proposed using the alliance Jade Abacus to call in help, but Dan Lei struck him with Tiernan's relic to prevent the plan.
• Acheron and Boothill explained that the relic could summon the Sea Navigating Rangers, and Boothill used it to begin calling them to Penacony.
• Guinaifen explained that Order's power would weaken by only twenty or thirty percent and that she could oppose it by weaving in power from other Paths.
• Himeko assigned the Stellar Train Crew to fight Sunday and said they would honor Mikhail's will.
• Sparkle asked Guinaifen to synchronize her with Lumine so she could use Lumine as a vessel and combine their powers to defeat Metatron.