Chapter Summaries

Old Morgan and the Archbishop sealed the Anchor Point in the vault, causing the fissure and its dark projection to retreat. The threat ended, but Grim Port’s inner city was devastated, and Old Morgan faced the prospect of a costly recovery.

• Old Morgan found the throbbing Anchor Point and prepared to destroy it, but the Archbishop stopped him and warned that doing so could trigger a backlash.
• The Archbishop explained that he had tracked strange cargo brought into the inner city after the Viscount received a secret imperial letter.
• The Archbishop used a high-tier prayer to seal the Anchor Point, while Alice supported him as he nearly collapsed from the effort.
• Old Morgan returned to the square and saw the fissure close as the dark shadow and its tentacles were forced back.
• Valentin returned to human form, and Old Morgan surveyed the ruined square and considered the cost of rebuilding Grim Port.

The archbishop and Old Morgan questioned the viscount after the Deep Sea Church’s attack, and he admitted that greed for advancement had led him to use dangerous mediums supplied by a forged imperial envoy. Old Morgan suspected the attack was a diversion, and soldiers reported that Doctor Bulin had been missing for three days.

• The viscount confessed that he had used the advancement mediums despite knowing the imperial letter was forged, and accepted responsibility for the disaster.
• The archbishop placed the viscount under house arrest and transferred control of the Inner City’s defenses to the Church.
• Old Morgan told the archbishop that the Deep Sea Church’s apparent defeat seemed too complete and might have concealed another objective.
• Old Morgan ordered soldiers to find Doctor Bulin, but they reported that his clinic and residence were empty and he had not been seen for three days.

Lu Yuan learned that the Deep Sea Church had infiltrated Grim Port through its doctors, while the Inner City struggled with the aftermath of the sealed rift. Doctor Bulin revealed that the Church’s plan had succeeded despite the battle’s apparent defeat, and vanished with his followers.

• Hans told Lu Yuan that the rift had been sealed, the Viscount was under control, and nearly every Inner City doctor had disappeared, while the one who remained had been murdered.
• Lu Yuan warned Hans that the missing doctors might have tampered with medicines or patients, and Hans left to alert Old Morgan and investigate Outer City doctors.
• Hans explained that Old Morgan was staying in the Inner City to oversee a lockdown, replace destroyed lights, and dispose of contaminated bodies.
• Lu Yuan considered how deeply the Deep Sea Church had infiltrated Grim Port and noticed the city’s status had risen to 46/50.
• Doctor Bulin told his followers that they had succeeded, then showed them a common pale cyan potion before leaving Grim Port with them.

Lu Yuan dreamed of a warning about danger, then learned that nearly all of Grim Port’s Doctors had been killed and the Church had suffered heavy losses. He sent Mina, Brent, and Mo Shui to Night Watcher Headquarters for safety and training, and watched their carriage depart with Alice.

• Lu Yuan dreamed of a shifting mass of colors that warned him, “Danger!”, and woke with his Sanity increased by ten points.
• Hans told Lu Yuan and Old Morgan that all the Doctors in the Outer City had been killed and that the Church had suffered severe casualties.
• Old Morgan arranged for Mina to go to Night Watcher Headquarters with Brent and Mo Shui, escorted by Alice, and Lu Yuan agreed.
• Lu Yuan persuaded Mina to leave Grim Port so she could learn to control her talent, and told Brent his task was to take care of her.
• Mo Shui gave Lu Yuan her copy of the Knowledge Path Guide before leaving with Mina and Brent.
• Alice drove Mina, Brent, and Mo Shui away from the base, while Lu Yuan watched their carriage disappear down the street.

After dreaming of a warning of danger, Lu Yuan studied the Knowledge Path Guide and learned a meditation skill to improve his sanity recovery. Valentin left to seek advancement through his family, while Lu Yuan remained at the base, still uncertain about the dream’s meaning.

• Lu Yuan told Old Morgan about his Strange Dream, and Old Morgan said the Captain from the province would arrive the next day to investigate Grim Port.
• Lu Yuan went to the Library and studied the Knowledge Path Guide Mo Shui had given him, learning about a meditation skill called guard.
• Valentin visited Lu Yuan to say goodbye and explained that he was returning to his family to advance beyond Second Order.
• Lu Yuan worried that the dream’s warning might require him to flee with Hans, Mary, and Old Morgan if the colored mass appeared again.
• Lu Yuan practiced the guide’s meditation technique and learned the passive skill Guard, which slightly increased his sanity recovery speed.

Lu Yuan and Old Morgan met with an Ascension Society representative, who inspected Marcus and the Judge and negotiated cooperation with the Night Watchers. After the representative took them and the item away, Old Morgan told Lu Yuan that the Night Watchers would search for missing moles and screen Grim Port residents the next day.

• Old Morgan brought Lu Yuan to meet an Ascension Society representative, who examined the badly injured Marcus and Judge.
• The Ascension Society representative gave Old Morgan intelligence about the island and seal, revealed that the Night Watchers had supplied the information, and proposed cooperation.
• Old Morgan agreed to cooperate after demanding an assessment of the Ascension Society's project, and the representative left with Marcus, the Judge, and the item.
• Old Morgan told Lu Yuan that two suspected moles had disappeared and one had died, and that reinforcements would help search for them.
• Old Morgan asked Lu Yuan to help screen Grim Port residents the next day for dangers left by Doctor Bulin and the Deep Sea Church, and Lu Yuan agreed.

Lu Yuan accepted a transfer to Bronze City after Old Morgan and Hans explained that it would protect his mysterious background and allow him to reach Headquarters later. A high-level Transcendent arrived with reinforcements and confronted Old Morgan over the catastrophic losses in Grim Port.

• Lu Yuan studied the Knowledge Path Guide, gained a small amount of Guard experience, and recovered more sanity than expected after sleeping.
• Old Morgan offered to send Lu Yuan to Bronze City and gave him a Night Watcher badge; Hans confirmed the transfer had been agreed upon internally, and Lu Yuan accepted.
• Lu Yuan, Old Morgan, and Hans waited in the rain for the reinforcements while Mary continued recovering.
• A high-level Transcendent arrived and told Old Morgan that Grim Port's severe losses had angered the Pathfinders and that Old Morgan would be punished.

Lu Yuan detected a disturbing pattern among Grim Port residents during the screening: many had become Believer Transcendents after being treated by missing inner-city doctors. He reported the discovery to Old Morgan, who realized the doctors’ disappearances might be tied to a wider threat.

• Alan Klaus arrived to investigate the Deep Sea Church, assess Grim Port, and take the subdued Viscount away, while warning Old Morgan to conceal the Viscount’s actions.
• Old Morgan sent Lu Yuan to help screen inner-city residents for contamination and hidden Transcendents.
• Lu Yuan discovered that increasing numbers of residents had become Believer Transcendents despite passing the screening sphere.
• Lu Yuan questioned the affected residents and learned that all had been treated by doctors who had disappeared from the inner city.
• Lu Yuan suspended the screening and told Old Morgan that at least half of the fewer than fifty people checked had Transcendent fluctuations.

Lu Yuan and Old Morgan discovered that Grim Port faced a threat beyond the Angel’s power, while a Great Ascendant revealed that blood had marked the city as a target for something in the Deep Sea. As pollution spread through the rain and the port was sealed off, Alan Klaus urged an immediate evacuation.

• Old Morgan confirmed that the detained residents had unfamiliar Transcendence fluctuations and ordered Hans to blockade the inner city.
• Andrew told Old Morgan and Lu Yuan that the Archbishop had urgently summoned them, and the Archbishop revealed that the Angel’s gaze had turned away from Grim.
• Hans reported that Grim Port was covered and no one could get out, while the Great Ascendant said blood had exposed the city’s coordinates to something in the Deep Sea that might arrive as soon as that night.
• Lu Yuan realized that the blood he and Marcus had brought back had guided the creature that escorted their ship to Grim Port.
• Alan Klaus reported that pollution was rising in the rain and urged everyone to organize an evacuation.

A mass mutation driven by Fecundity engulfed Grim Port, turning residents into living Flesh Trees and spreading across the city. Allen ordered everyone to retreat to the Inner City’s rear gate, leaving their chances of escape uncertain.

• A Holy Armor Army messenger reported that people held at the screening point were mutating and that Xi Wading and Hans needed reinforcements.
• Lu Yuan, Allen, Old Morgan, and the others reached the screening point, where Xi Wading and Hans fought the Flesh Trees while soldiers evacuated unmutated residents.
• Allen identified the outbreak as Fecundity and ordered the forces to kill every infected person before the mutation rapidly spread among the residents.
• Flesh Trees erupted across Grim Port, and Lu Yuan’s warning text identified the irreversible mutation as Believer Transcendent (Fecundity).
• Allen declared Grim Port indefensible and ordered everyone to gather at the Inner City’s rear gate within an hour.
• Allen cut through a Flesh Tree to clear a path, and Lu Yuan followed Old Morgan toward the base as the growth spread behind them.

Lu Yuan learned that Grim Port had been used to breed Fecundity’s followers for sacrifice, while he and the Night Watchers retreated toward their base. As the Flesh Trees closed in, the group prepared to abandon the base, and Lu Yuan realized the blood vessel he alone could see led to his clinic.

• Allen told Lu Yuan and Old Morgan that Fecundity’s followers were raised as sacrifices, and warned that the Empire could not withstand Fecundity’s retaliation.
• Lu Yuan noticed a blood vessel descending from the sky, though Allen and Old Morgan showed no sign of seeing it.
• At the Night Watcher Base, Mary and the defenders fought Flesh Trees, but their wounds healed quickly and Mithril flames failed to ignite them.
• Old Morgan ordered the Night Watchers and any willing civilians to retreat, while those who stayed were told to hide deep inside the base.
• As the group prepared to leave, Lu Yuan saw that the blood vessel appeared to connect to his clinic.

Lu Yuan retrieved the parchment scroll from the clinic and joined the group heading for the Inner City’s rear gate as the Flesh Tree spread through the Outer City. There, Allen and the assembled forces found an impassable spatial barrier blocking their escape.

• Lu Yuan took the parchment scroll and the Gold Shields Lausen had sent from the clinic, and the red blood vessel vanished as he removed the scroll.
• Hans reported that the Inner City was spreading into the Outer City and that Xi Wading and the Holy Armor Army were assembling at the rear gate.
• Allen led the group through the Outer City, cutting a path through the Flesh Trees as devoured corpses revived and spread the Deep Sea Church believers’ devotion to Mother.
• Lu Yuan arrived at the rear gate and saw Xi Wading, Coleman, the Great Ascendant, the Viscount, and others attacking an invisible barrier that blocked the way out.
• Allen struck the barrier with his golden longsword, but the barrier remained unmoved.

With Grim Port sealed and flesh trees closing in, the Church summoned an Angel through an Angel Vessel to break the barrier. The Angel briefly opened a crack, but black pus corroded its phantom, leaving the Archbishop's last gamble failing.

• Allen ordered the Holy Armor Army and Night Watchers to form a defensive line against the advancing flesh trees and Aberrants.
• The Church convoy arrived, and the Archbishop brought out an Angel Vessel containing a statue that could bear an Angel's will.
• The Archbishop and the Priests performed a ritual that awakened the statue and summoned an Angel phantom.
• The Angel pressed its hands against Grim Port's barrier and began tearing open a crack, raising hopes that the people could escape.
• Black pus surged through the crack, corroded the Angel phantom, and overwhelmed the Archbishop's attempt to strengthen it.

After the failed ritual, Lu Yuan and the defenders faced an advancing horde of Flesh Trees and the sanity-destroying presence rising from the sea. The parchment scroll awakened and sent red threads into Lu Yuan, restoring his clarity as they consumed the Angel Statue, while the Archbishop collapsed.

• The ritual failed, and Lu Yuan opened the parchment scroll, but its writing only twisted without producing an effect.
• The Flesh Trees advanced through the defenders’ collapsing line, dragging soldiers away as Allen prepared to fight back.
• An immense presence rose from the sea, driving those who saw it mad and reducing Lu Yuan’s sanity to 1.
• The contamination overwhelmed the Archbishop, the Holy Armor Army, and the others, while Lu Yuan struggled to remain conscious.
• A red blood vessel landed on the parchment, and its runes became threads that entered Lu Yuan and restored his clarity.
• The threads wrapped around and consumed the Angel Statue, and the Archbishop collapsed and stopped moving.

Lu Yuan escaped Grim Port as the city sank beneath the sea, carrying memories of its destruction that the world would forget. He left the coast and walked east into the rain, with no knowledge of what awaited him.

• Lu Yuan watched Old Morgan, Hans, Mary, Allen, and Xi Wading transform into servants of the Deep Sea as he was forced out of Grim Port.
• The sea and tentacles dragged Grim Port into the water, and Lu Yuan received the Hidden Witness skill and advanced in Sanity.
• In Golden City, a piece of the Imperial Map fell away, but a white-haired old man could not remember what the missing territory represented.
• Lu Yuan remembered the people lost in Grim Port, found that he could not speak its name, and turned east to keep moving.

Lu Yuan woke at Sandstone Station after Herman rescued him from the roadside, and agreed to travel with him to Sandworm Town while his burns healed and his Sanity recovered. Before falling asleep, Lu Yuan checked his belongings and found that the parchment scroll’s formation had vanished.

• Lu Yuan woke with severe burns on his left hand and learned from Herman that he was at Sandstone Station, near Sandworm Town.
• Herman introduced himself and his grandson Karl, and Lu Yuan told him that his presence on the road was an internal matter.
• Lu Yuan ate the porridge Karl brought, and Herman warned that he could not guarantee Lu Yuan’s badly burned hand would recover.
• Herman offered to take Lu Yuan to Sandworm Town to recuperate, and Lu Yuan accepted so he could recover his strength and Sanity before deciding what to do next.
• Lu Yuan checked his letter, pocket watch, revolver, money, and book, then saw that the formation on his parchment scroll had disappeared before falling asleep.

Lu Yuan arrived in Sandworm Town with Herman and learned about the town’s Sandworm Oil and lure stake. As the townspeople summoned a Sandworm, Lu Yuan’s text identified the creature’s traits and weakness, leaving him on guard as it approached.

• Herman told Lu Yuan that their journey had gone strangely, including an unexplained urge to take a road toward a cliff above the sea.
• Herman explained that Sandworm Oil lit the town’s lamps and drove away things in the dark.
• Lu Yuan arrived in Sandworm Town, where Herman’s daughter welcomed him and noticed his Night Watcher badge.
• Herman took Lu Yuan to watch townspeople use a Sandworm Lure Stake to summon a Sandworm.
• The ground shook as a Sandworm approached, and Lu Yuan’s text revealed that light was its weakness.

Lu Yuan watched the Sandworm draw water for Sandworm Town and noticed the mayor react to his Night Watcher badge. After Herman brought him back to the adobe house, Lu Yuan sensed a weak Source of Pollution outside before dawn and decided the town was still safer than Grim Port.

• A Sandworm burst from the ground, swallowed the worm-luring stake, and left a crater that seeped water for the townspeople.
• The mayor soothed the Sandworm with a Bone Flute, and Lu Yuan gained Forbidden Studies—Seeker progress from hearing the music.
• The mayor briefly reacted to Lu Yuan’s Night Watcher badge, while Herman positioned Lu Yuan where the mayor would see it.
• Lu Yuan questioned Herman about the badge, and Herman said he would take Lu Yuan away once his injuries healed and warned him not to go outside alone.
• Before dawn, Lu Yuan heard Ancient Music Theory and received a warning that a weak Source of Pollution was nearby; the sound faded, and he returned to bed.

Lu Yuan learned how Sandworm Town hunted sandworms and asked Karl about the mayor and Song of the Sandworm. After telling Karl he was a Doctor among the Night Watchers and warning that others might come looking for him, Lu Yuan changed his rapidly healing wound and waited for Karl to return with the instrument.

• Lu Yuan woke and checked that his sanity was recovering, then let Karl bring him medicine and porridge.
• Lu Yuan asked Karl how the town hunted sandworms, how someone became mayor, and what the mayor's instrument was called.
• Karl explained that hunters lured sandworms onto stone, calmed them with Song of the Sandworm, then trapped them with fire until they exhausted themselves.
• At Karl's request, Lu Yuan described his Night Watcher role and claimed his Captain might send someone to find him if he failed to check in.
• Lu Yuan changed his bandages and noticed his wound had healed unusually quickly after using Herman's ointment.
• Karl ran off to fetch the instrument so he could teach Lu Yuan Song of the Sandworm.

Lu Yuan learned to play the Sandworm Fang Flute and followed Karl to watch the sandworm hunt. A sickly, unusually small sandworm emerged at the Quarry, and the hunt’s next move remained unclear.

• Karl secretly brought Lu Yuan two Sandworm Fang Flutes and demonstrated the Song of the Sandworm.
• Lu Yuan learned to play the flute by imagining sand flowing underground, unlocking Ancient Music Theory.
• Karl told Lu Yuan that the sandworm hunt was starting, and they went to the Quarry.
• The mayor ordered townspeople to place poisoned bait in the sand and operate the worm-luring device.
• A smaller-than-usual, blackish-brown sandworm covered in pus erupted from the sand.