Recaps

Lu Yuan, Bolen, and Leike discovered an ancient Eerie Inscription sealed deep beneath Bronze City, where the inscriptions suppressed Leike and distorted anyone who looked at their spiral symbols. Bolen prepared to investigate the wall’s hidden contents while Lu Yuan stood ready to intervene.

• Lu Yuan gathered his weapons and holy water before joining Bolen and Leike in the Pipe Network Layer.
• Bolen found that the inscription network ahead had been severed by human hands, and the three followed the blockage to a passage through it.
• They discovered a boundary covered in ancient Eerie Inscriptions, which Bolen identified as an inscription capable of sealing and extracting something.
• The trio crossed into a vast inscription-covered chamber, where the markings suppressed Leike and led them to a massive, unusually new Copper Wall.
• Lu Yuan avoided the wall’s spiral symbols after they triggered a powerful illusion, while Bolen copied nearby inscriptions and prepared to investigate what lay sealed beneath the wall.

Lu Yuan and Leike escaped the Pipe Network with Bolen after the inscriptions on a mysterious Copper Wall awakened and exposed an incomplete existence behind it. Lu Yuan reported the discovery and their injuries to Klaus, leaving the Branch to respond to a dangerous revelation beneath Bronze City.

• Bolen’s probing power awakened the Copper Wall’s inscriptions, and Lu Yuan knocked him unconscious before the wall’s influence could overtake him.
• Lu Yuan saw an incomplete existence behind the Copper Wall, suffered a vision and memory-altering pressure, and Leike dragged him and Bolen out despite being injured.
• As they fled, Leike explained that the Practical Faction sought power from Taboo existences even at the cost of abandoning humanity, while the Night Watchers defended limits on such power.
• Lu Yuan and Leike reached the surface and brought Bolen to the Branch’s medical room after discovering that his consciousness had been injured.
• Lu Yuan told Klaus about the Copper Wall, the awakened inscriptions, Bolen’s condition, Leike’s injuries, and the presence behind the wall.

Lu Yuan learned that the Ascension Society, the Grey Covenant, and the Church were all pursuing the Seed, while Agnes warned him that the Church might sacrifice her. A rupture then opened above Bronze City, and the Sea of Knowledge began spilling into the inner city as powerful figures rushed to respond.

• Klaus told Lu Yuan to keep the discovery beneath the Copper Wall secret and said he would arrange care for Bolen.
• The Worm of Knowledge emerged from Lu Yuan's eye and tried to communicate before retreating into his socket.
• Agnes warned Lu Yuan that the Ascension Society and the Church were targeting the Seed and said she might be used as cannon fodder if the Church obtained it.
• The ground shook, Bronze City's Inscription patterns blazed, and a rift opened above the inner city.
• The Sea of Knowledge poured through the rift, and Klaus, two unfamiliar figures, and the Guardian rushed toward the inner city while Lu Yuan watched from a rooftop.

As the River of Light fell over Bronze City, a void beneath it swallowed the falling knowledge fragments and kept the contamination from reaching the city. Unable to sleep, Lu Yuan engraved and linked three Ghoul Brain Cores to create a Ghoulification trinket, then fell asleep as events began in the Inner City.

• Lu Yuan watched a void open beneath the River of Light and swallow its fragments before they could reach Bronze City.
• Lu Yuan saw the Outer City's residents relight their Gas Lamps, then returned to his room and found the Worm of Knowledge curled up and still.
• Lu Yuan engraved two more Ghoul Brain Cores with the Worm of Knowledge's guidance, improving his technique and raising the final core's rating to ordinary.
• Lu Yuan connected the three Brain Core inscriptions, which joined in a circuit and transformed into a Ghoulification trinket.
• Lu Yuan examined the trinket, then fell asleep as the scene shifted to the Inner City.

Klaus and his companions confronted the Tower of Erudition over the forbidden experiment and entered after the Guardian agreed to Kame’s invitation. They met Arthur Heinz, the Empire Headquarters Inspector, who said it was time to discuss the experiment.

• Klaus threatened to break through the sealed Bronze Gate, and Bronze City’s Suppression Formation activated against his group.
• Kame opened the gate and invited Klaus and his companions inside, saying the experiment had basically succeeded.
• Kame led Klaus, Leike, two hooded Night Watchers, and the Guardian through the emptied tower toward the Main Tower.
• Kame explained that the experiment had been authorized by Empire Headquarters and overseen by a specially appointed Inspector.
• Kame brought the group to Arthur Heinz, who identified himself as the Inspector and proposed discussing the experiment.

Imperial Inspector Arthur Heinz defended the Sea of Knowledge experiment to Klaus and the Night Watchers, claiming its channel was stable and would benefit Bronze City. Klaus remained suspicious, and Arthur ordered Kame to accelerate the plan after they left.

• Arthur Heinz told Klaus and the others that the experiment had opened a stable diversion channel to the Sea of Knowledge, though Klaus challenged its cost to Bronze City's Inscription reserves and the panic it caused.
• Arthur argued that the experiment served the Empire and promised that the Night Watchers would be informed before the channel was opened again; he also said the surviving students were safe and the Dean was participating in the final stage.
• Klaus asked whether the Sea of Knowledge could be guaranteed not to leak, and Arthur confidently said it could not.
• Klaus, Leike, the two Night Watchers, and the Guardian left the circular room after Klaus questioned how many more people would be sacrificed.
• Arthur's smile vanished, and he told Kame to accelerate the plan because Klaus had noticed something; Kame said they had managed to lure out the Night Watchers and Guardian.

Arthur ordered the Tower of Erudition’s experiment accelerated, while Klaus prepared the Night Watchers for a possible evacuation of Bronze City. The next morning, Klaus told Lu Yuan to transfer supplies to Dusk Town, implying Lu Yuan should leave before the city’s situation worsened.

• Arthur told Kame to complete the Dean’s final step within three days, while Calvin heard that the Guardian and Klaus were unlikely to act against the Tower of Erudition yet.
• Klaus ordered Leike to request support from Headquarters and told another Night Watcher to prevent the city’s nobles and officials from uniting behind the Tower of Erudition.
• Klaus asked the Guardian how long he could hold on, and the Guardian said he could last until the experiment ended.
• Klaus told Leike to prepare evacuation counts, move supplies, and make a list of Night Watchers to evacuate.
• Lu Yuan reported that the church, the Ascension Society, and the Grey Covenant were seeking the Seed, and Klaus said the Night Watchers would keep it in the Logistics Department.
• Klaus told Lu Yuan the Tower of Erudition’s experiment had succeeded and asked him to transfer supplies to Dusk Town, suggesting that Bronze City might not remain safe.

Lu Yuan tested his Eerie Inscription on Klaus, then used supplies from the Branch to inscribe and link Ghoul Brain Cores. Linking nine cores unlocked Great Ghoul Transformation, leaving Lu Yuan with a new creation and a path to continue exploring.

• Lu Yuan showed Klaus three linked Brain Cores, and Klaus transformed into an imitation Ghoul before the effect faded and one core shattered.
• Klaus approved five hundred Brain Cores, two hundred Ghoul bones, and two hundred Ghoul teeth for Lu Yuan, who collected the supplies from logistics.
• Lu Yuan spent the afternoon inscribing Brain Cores and linking them in groups of three, gaining Inscription Studies and Forbidden Studies experience while losing Sanity.
• After his Sanity recovered overnight, Lu Yuan arranged nine inscribed Brain Cores in a triangle and connected them with a symbol.
• The nine Brain Cores resonated and produced the Great Ghoul Transformation, which the Gray-White Text identified as reproducing a natural Eerie ability through human Inscription methods.

Lu Yuan learned that the Seed in District C had sprouted and was told to monitor it while the Night Watchers prepared to cooperate with the Tower of Erudition. He visited Bolen, who had awakened and advanced to the Third Order, and Bolen prepared to discuss something with him.

• Lu Yuan told Klaus that the Seed had sprouted, and Klaus confirmed it had no Eerie aura before warning that its growth would eventually draw attention.
• Lu Yuan returned home, cleaned off Ghoul Brain Core residue, and made plans to visit Bolen after learning he had awakened.
• Klaus told Lu Yuan that the Tower of Erudition had invited the Night Watcher to help with its knowledge Fishing Plan, and ordered Lu Yuan to monitor the Seed and make more Brain Cores.
• Lu Yuan found Bolen in the Medical District, where Bolen demonstrated that he had reached the Third Order and could draw inscriptions in the air.
• Kael thanked Lu Yuan and left the ward, after which Bolen began a private discussion with Lu Yuan.

Bolen explained that contact with the Copper Wall’s inscriptions had advanced him to the Third Order, while Lu Yuan showed him nine linked Ghoul Brain Cores and heard his theory that a powerful being behind the wall sustained Bronze City. Lu Yuan failed to link more than nine cores, then learned that a mysterious person had watched the Logistics Department before evading the Branch Patrol.

• Bolen told Lu Yuan that he had seen worshippers bowing to a gigantic sun after probing the Copper Wall’s inscriptions, then awoke as a Third Order Transcendent and suspected he had worshipped something.
• Lu Yuan showed Bolen nine Ghoul Brain Cores whose altered inscriptions formed a circuit, and Bolen praised the design while warning that its released Eerie aura could cause contamination.
• Bolen theorized that an existence behind the Copper Wall powered Bronze City through the Copper Pillars and inscriptions, and he and Lu Yuan agreed to investigate again with preparations and possibly Klaus.
• A Night Watcher gave Lu Yuan a Copper Whistle and said transferred patrol members would temporarily replace the previous patrol.
• Lu Yuan tried combining two sets of nine linked Brain Cores, but one set exploded, so he continued carving until dusk.
• The Branch Patrol spotted an unidentified person watching the Logistics Department from an abandoned building, but the person escaped after a brief chase.

Lu Yuan broke through to Guard II, expanding his Sanity capacity and gaining inner vision that revealed the Worm of Knowledge, the Key to the Sea of Knowledge, and a dormant presence in his shadow. He was then summoned to an emergency meeting with the Night Watchers, where he met two transferred squad captains.

• Lu Yuan advanced to Guard II, raising his Sanity cap from 120 to 140 and gaining an active skill that traded cap for immediate Sanity recovery.
• Lu Yuan used his new inner vision to see the Worm of Knowledge and the Key to the Sea of Knowledge embedded in his left eye.
• Lu Yuan discovered a dormant Drowner in his shadow, a remnant of someone who had drowned in the Sea of Knowledge, and decided to monitor it.
• The Worm of Knowledge reacted comfortably to Lu Yuan's improved guard, but refused to taste it because it was still digesting knowledge aura.
• A Night Watcher summoned Lu Yuan to an emergency meeting called by Deputy Chief Klaus.
• Lu Yuan joined the meeting and met transferred squad captains Franz and Conrad.

The Night Watchers considered a Church proposal that revealed the Church knew about their Seed, while Hogger reported evidence tying inner-city figures to the Grey Covenant. The group voted to protect the Seed and keep its existence secret, then turned back to the inner-city investigation.

• The Church sent the Night Watchers a letter proposing cooperation on the Sea of Knowledge Fishing Project and offering to assess and safeguard ancient items, which Lu Yuan recognized as a demand concerning the Seed.
• Hogger reported that Baron Von Linde and two Merchants' Guild members had aided the Grey Covenant, and Klaus ordered them dealt with as Von Klein had been.
• Lu Yuan explained the Seed's history, its connection to Wish, and the danger and potential shown by the Seed that caused the Fungal Hyphae incident.
• Klaus argued that the Seed could not be destroyed by the Night Watchers, and Lu Yuan said its Wish likely came from Bronze City's residents longing for safety.
• The nine Night Watchers voted seven to protect the Seed, two to abstain, and none to abandon it; Klaus ordered everyone to keep it secret.
• Klaus declared the Seed matter settled and asked Hogger and Boer to report further on the inner city.

Klaus ordered simultaneous raids on three suspected Grey Covenant collaborators and reassigned Lu Yuan to search Baron Von Linde’s residence for traces others could not perceive. After preparing for the operation, Lu Yuan and Hogger’s team entered the Inner City at night, leaving the raid underway.

• Hogger and Boer identified Baron Von Linde and two Merchants' Guild members as suspected collaborators, and Klaus ordered all three locations raided simultaneously.
• Klaus assigned Lu Yuan to search Von Linde’s residence for Grey Covenant traces and warned him that someone might be watching him.
• Hogger briefed Lu Yuan, Franz, and Conrad on the residence, their entry routes, and their roles in the raid.
• Lu Yuan returned to his lodgings to prepare, then followed Hogger’s team through the North Gate after Glock’s signal activated.

Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers raided Baron Von Linde’s estate, where Lu Yuan found Glazed Water residue and a hidden plant-fiber fragment in the cellar. When the mutating Baron attacked the team, Lu Yuan’s fire weakened him and Hogger beheaded him, though the Baron’s head was still moving and repeating his desire for power.

• Hogger led Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers into Von Linde’s estate and sent Franz and Conrad to secure the sides.
• Lu Yuan searched the cellar, found crates with Glazed Water residue, detected an unfamiliar concealed presence, and recovered a wooden fragment identified as dead plant fiber.
• Lu Yuan rushed upstairs after a Night Watcher was injured and found Baron Von Linde transforming and fighting Hogger.
• The Baron’s mutation spread as he fought Hogger, and Franz’s musket shot failed to penetrate his wooden armor.
• Lu Yuan struck the Baron with an incendiary round, allowing Hogger to cut off his head, but the severed head continued moving and repeating that he wanted power.

After Baron Von Linde transformed into a rampaging tree-like Aberrant, Lu Yuan secretly sent the Worm of Knowledge to devour its core, causing the creature to wither. The Night Watchers suspected an unseen powerful killer, while Lu Yuan kept his role hidden as they began searching the ruined study for evidence of the Grey Covenant and the Tree.

• Von Linde's headless body erupted into branches and roots, destroying the study as Hogger, Franz, Lu Yuan, and the injured Night Watcher retreated.
• Conrad arrived from the backyard and reported that the private soldiers had been subdued while the group prepared to confront the Aberrant.
• Lu Yuan sensed the Worm of Knowledge's hunger, located the core in Von Linde's chest, and sent the Worm to devour it.
• Von Linde and the spreading branches withered, and the Worm returned to Lu Yuan after consuming the core and gaining knowledge.
• Hogger and Franz suspected that an unseen powerful figure had killed the Baron, but said nothing as Hogger confirmed the remains were dead.
• Hogger ordered Franz and Lu Yuan to search the wrecked study for evidence connected to the Grey Covenant or the Tree.

Hogger interrogated the Baron's household and executed the three people Eric identified as direct participants in the Grey Covenant's operations. The Night Watchers secured evidence of the Baron’s dealings and mutation, but left the mutation’s source unresolved as they reported back to Klaus.

• Lu Yuan and the others searched the manor, finding alias-based transaction receipts and plant fragments but little direct evidence of the Grey Covenant.
• Eric confessed to helping the Baron smuggle ore and manage Grey Covenant funds, and described monthly payments, a sealed box of dark-green liquid, and the Baron's claim about a tree awakening.
• Ludwig and Yorn confirmed their roles in the Baron's dealings, so Hogger executed Eric, Ludwig, and Yorn while ordering the other captives taken to the Branch for Klaus to judge.
• Hogger and his team arranged the manor to appear as though the Baron's mutation had killed its occupants, then sealed the remains and other evidence.
• Lu Yuan reported finding Glazed Water residue, wooden crates, and a dead plant fragment in the basement; Hogger concluded the Grey Covenant connection was proven but the group had not caused the Baron's mutation.

Lu Yuan and the others joined a meeting where the Earl confronted Bronze City's factions over noble crimes, the Tower of Erudition, and the Ascension Society and Church. After hearing evidence against the nobles, the Earl turned to question the Tower about an Imperial envoy.

• Lu Yuan, Hogger, and Conrad arrived at the Branch and found Klaus meeting with representatives of the Ascension Society, the Tower of Erudition, and the Earl.
• Klaus invited the returning Night Watchers to join, and Hogger presented the Notebook and evidence from the operation against Baron Von Linde.
• Klaus showed the Earl evidence of noble wrongdoing and Von Linde's uncontrolled mutation, and Hogger confirmed the evidence was conclusive.
• The Earl praised the Night Watchers' actions and quietly sent his attendant out with a Communication Crystal.
• The Earl asked Calvin and the female Mentor whether the Tower of Erudition had received an Imperial envoy, noting that the envoy's arrival had not followed local notification procedures.

At a meeting in Bronze City, The Earl confronted the Tower of Erudition over missing noble descendants while Klaus challenged the Ascension Society’s demands and heard the Church’s proposal. After The Earl left with the Ascension Society, Calvin outlined the revised Fishing Plan, scheduled for tomorrow night with all participants below Third Order.

• Calvin explained that the Tower of Erudition had followed orders from The Center and said the task was complete; The Earl demanded a full report on the missing noble descendants and accepted that willing participants would bear the consequences.
• The Ascension Society demanded an item Klaus possessed, while Agnes asked the Night Watchers to share what they had in exchange for compensation.
• Klaus rejected the Ascension Society’s demand for lack of evidence and told Agnes he would consider the Church’s proposal if its Bishop attended; The Earl adjourned the meeting and ordered the Ascension Society to follow him.
• After The Earl and the Ascension Society left, Klaus asked Calvin about the Fishing Plan, and Calvin distributed its blueprints to Klaus and Agnes.
• Calvin said the operation would take place tomorrow night and that participants had to be below Third Order, warning that stronger mental fluctuations could destabilize the passage to the Sea of Knowledge and attract things from its depths.

After the meeting, Klaus assigned Lu Yuan to lead a Night Watcher team guarding the entrance to the Sea of Knowledge retrieval operation at the Tower of Erudition. The next morning, Lu Yuan set out to check on the Seed and found that the lock on Room 7 had been replaced.

• Hogger reported that the Baron’s mutation had ended with his torso erupting into branches that withered, and Lu Yuan added that the Baron had received a dark green liquid from an unidentified person and spoken of “that Tree.”
• Klaus took the plant fiber fragment to investigate the Tree and ordered Lu Yuan to lead a team to the Tower of Erudition, where the Night Watchers would build a Sanity Barrier at the entrance.
• Agnes waited for Lu Yuan in the corridor and told him, “See you tomorrow night,” before he returned home and considered the factions’ shifting attitudes toward the Seed.
• Lu Yuan woke, cultivated Guard, and went to check on the Seed in Room 7.
• A Night Watcher told Lu Yuan that Klaus had authorized him to enter Room 7 and handed him a new key after he found the lock had been replaced.

Lu Yuan inspected the Seed, then discovered that repeated work on Ghoul Brain Cores had apparently made him resistant to their backlash. Klaus assigned him to lead a mission to the Tower of Erudition, where Calvin Morton and Selina Winter were waiting.

• Lu Yuan found the Seed transformed into a golden, warm presence, and the Worm of Knowledge rested in its aura before Gray-White Text identified it as Hope.
• Lu Yuan inscribed twelve Ghoul Brain Cores without losing sanity and suspected that he had developed resistance to the low-level material.
• Klaus briefed ten Night Watchers on the dangerous Tower of Erudition mission, distributed Sanity Rings, and named Lu Yuan their captain.
• Lu Yuan traveled with the Night Watchers to the Tower of Erudition while reviewing Klaus's positioning diagram and avoiding the River of Light overhead.
• Calvin Morton and Selina Winter met Lu Yuan's group at the tower entrance, and Calvin invited Lu Yuan to follow him.

Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers entered the underground hall beneath the Tower of Erudition to prepare a sanity barrier for the Sea of Knowledge harvesting operation. Lu Yuan discovered that the Tower planned to use living brains in insect-filled bodies as containers, then felt the Tower’s watching presence target him again as he wondered whether everyone else was already under its judgment.

• Calvin led Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers down a hidden passage and explained the three zones of the harvesting operation; Selina confirmed that anyone inside would be sealed in if the barrier failed.
• Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers reached the underground hall, where Calvin ordered them to take their positions and warned them not to enter the Sea of Knowledge or look inside during harvesting.
• Lu Yuan saw more than twenty Tower of Erudition students restrained beyond the inner barrier and used his Seeker senses to discover that insects had replaced their bodies while keeping their brains alive.
• A presence from the Tower of Erudition’s Main Tower noticed Lu Yuan, but Gray-White Text’s sanity assessment showed he was unaffected.
• Lu Yuan’s sanity fell to 63/140 as the oppressive presence persisted, and he wondered whether it had already judged everyone in the Tower of Erudition.

Lu Yuan and ten Night Watchers opened a Sanity Barrier before a Branch of the Sea of Knowledge while church personnel protected them with an Angel's Blessing. Twenty-three worm-transformed students entered the river and regained human form, leaving Lu Yuan to guard the gate with the Night Watchers.

• Lu Yuan realized that the twenty-three students had been turned into worm-filled vessels with the Empire's authorization, and his Worm of Knowledge recoiled from them.
• Lu Yuan and ten Night Watchers activated the array, pooled their sanity, and formed a barrier between reality and the Branch of the Sea of Knowledge.
• Church personnel activated their blessings, reducing the strain as the Sea of Knowledge surged and the Bronze City vanished from Lu Yuan's sight.
• More than twenty worm-covered figures approached the barrier, and Lu Yuan opened a gap so they could enter the Branch of the Sea of Knowledge.
• The students regained human form as they entered the river, and the final girl told Lu Yuan she did not regret contributing to the Empire before joining the others.
• Lu Yuan remained at the barrier with the ten Night Watchers, watching the students disappear into the Sea of Knowledge.

Calvin and Selina activated the Tower of Erudition’s harvest, sending the students’ gathered knowledge back through the River of Light. As Lu Yuan and the Night Watchers maintained a barrier against the returning fragments, one Night Watcher was contaminated, and the Worm of Knowledge awakened in Lu Yuan’s eye.

• Calvin and Selina used the Sarcophagus to activate the inscriptions and begin the harvest, while Kame watched the River of Light flow backward and hoped the process would succeed.
• Lu Yuan and the ten Night Watchers held the barrier as knowledge fragments streamed from the river, and Lu Yuan passively sensed several fragments.
• A dense fragment struck the square-faced Night Watcher and made him mutter in an unfamiliar language as the knowledge began eroding his consciousness.
• Lu Yuan isolated the Night Watcher’s node and used the Seeker to strip away the implanted fragments, losing sanity as he glimpsed a person growing an eleventh finger.
• The square-faced Night Watcher recovered and thanked Lu Yuan, who warned him to keep dodging fragments.
• As the returning fragments multiplied, the Symbiotic Link pulsed with excitement and the Worm of Knowledge awakened, drawn by the Sea of Knowledge’s source aura.

Lu Yuan sent the Worm of Knowledge into the Sea of Knowledge and discovered that the students were walking through the corpse of an immense entity while believing they were in a beautiful sea. He used the worm to divert them from dangerous areas, but several students were already deeply polluted as they approached the corpse’s core.

• Lu Yuan sent the Worm of Knowledge through a barrier into the river, maintaining their Symbiotic Link so he could see through its perspective.
• The Worm of Knowledge revealed that the students’ colorful sea was a vast pool of blood inside a corpse, with bones and pollution appearing as pillars and an aurora to them.
• As Sister Lin led the students toward a massive vertebra, their legs began showing pollution, and one student became dazed after touching rotten flesh on a bone.
• Lu Yuan ordered the Worm of Knowledge to steer students away from dark gaps between the bones, and it altered their Guidance Marks with knowledge aura.
• Most students turned toward safer areas, but several were too deeply polluted for their marks to respond and remained near the dangerous bone gaps.

Lu Yuan watched the students reach the corpse’s core and learned that the Tower of Erudition had led them there through a deadly screening process. Sister Lin sacrificed herself to open a path through the vortex, leaving the survivors to continue toward their goal.

• The Worm of Knowledge showed Lu Yuan that five students who left the group were consumed by the corpse, while the eighteen who stayed together suffered slower contamination.
• Sister Lin led the remaining students to the corpse’s core, where she warned them to resist other knowledge and transferred her Guidance Mark to a boy.
• Sister Lin stepped into the vortex and used her Knowledge-Derived Worms, supported by the students’ rune energy, to carve a path through the black-red blood aura.
• Sister Lin’s body and then her brain were destroyed, and the Worm of Knowledge absorbed much of the knowledge she left behind.
• The small girl hesitated after Sister Lin’s death, noticed that part of something inside her had been drawn away, and then caught up with the group.