Recaps

Ikanser kept watch over Cyril while Klein, disguised as the World, asked him for help retrieving a suspicious bookmark from the Roselle Manuscript. Klein summoned Arrodes, which found the museum’s security too strong for an ordinary theft and offered a less reliable backup plan.

• Ikanser told Carlson that guarding Cyril was an Archbishop’s arrangement and that learning why the Demoness had come to Backlund mattered more than tracking her down.
• Above the Gray Fog, Klein asked Cyril how to retrieve the bookmark from the Roselle Manuscript without anyone noticing, and Cyril directed him to consult Arrodes.
• Cyril explained his Fantasy ability and how controlling a Uniqueness could alter the Beyonder abilities of an entire Pathway before returning to the Church of Steam.
• Klein divined that Cyril’s summoning symbol was safe, then used it on a mirror in a cheap inn to summon Arrodes.
• Arrodes showed Klein the Roselle Manuscript and bookmark, but warned that two Sealed Artifacts protected the museum and asked whether he wanted to hear a less reliable backup plan.

Klein enlisted Arrodes and Cyril to exploit a Sealed Artifact’s connection to Cyril and enter the heavily guarded Royal Museum. After Cyril created a convincing stand-in to maintain his disguise at Lever Church, he met Klein near the museum and opened a door into the Mirror World.

• Klein told Arrodes to find Cyril at the Church of Steam and help him reach the Royal Museum, while Arrodes apologized for accidentally letting Cyril glimpse his image.
• Arrodes contacted Cyril through a stained-glass window, and Cyril used a mirror drawn from a book and a portrait brought to life to leave a disguised stand-in at the church.
• Cyril traveled through the Mirror World to King's Road, where Klein appeared in a Clown-like Spirit Body and explained he had borrowed power from Mr. Fool.
• Cyril and Klein concealed themselves beneath a Black Curtain and approached the Royal Museum wall unseen by the patrolling guards.
• Cyril pressed his hand against the air, and a hazy blue door appeared in the wall.

Cyril helped Klein steal a bookmark from the Roselle Manuscript in a special Mirror World, but Bernadette appeared before they could escape. Klein returned above the Gray Fog, while Cyril stayed behind to answer Bernadette’s questions and revealed the Tarot Club’s connection to Mr. Fool.

• Cyril explained that they were inside a Mirror World created by a Sealed Artifact and opened a door to the display case while Klein went for the Roselle Manuscript.
• Klein took the bookmark and several manuscript pages as Machinery Hivemind members fired at his Spirit Body, and Cyril closed the door to block their attacks.
• A wail destabilized the Mirror World, and Cyril used Fairy-like wings to keep it from collapsing before Bernadette appeared and questioned Klein.
• Cyril told Klein his mission was complete, and Klein ended the summoning and returned above the Gray Fog.
• Cyril told Bernadette that the Tarot Club served Mr. Fool, that Klein was his Blessed, and that the bookmark was probably their target.

Cyril escaped the Royal Museum after bargaining with Bernadette for a Traveler Beyonder Characteristic, while Klein investigated the stolen bookmark and learned Cyril wanted cash instead of its secrets. The chapter ended with Klein worrying that Justice’s debt had left the Tarot Club short of money.

• Bernadette accepted Cyril’s offer to share information about a True Creator descent ritual and told him to meet her at a gathering in the Dock District the next night.
• Cyril escaped the collapsing Mirror World as Horamick arrived, while Klein discovered that gray fog could not touch the bookmark taken from the museum.
• Cyril returned safely to the Lever Church, where Arrodes reported that Ikanser had visited and left without suspecting anything.
• Horamick concluded that the thief might be connected to the Demigod Apprentice and wondered whether Roselle had concealed something about the bookmark.
• Klein heard Cyril’s prayer requesting cash and realized that Justice’s unpaid debt had become a financial problem for the Tarot Club.

After returning home, Cyril met with Klein and the World above the Gray Fog to discuss payment and briefly viewed the Black Emperor card. That evening, he used Bernadette’s seed to reach a secret gathering and entered through the perspective of a doctor statue.

• Ikanser told Cyril the serial killer had been caught and that he could return home, with the church still available as shelter.
• Cyril returned to his South Bridge District home, then accepted Klein’s invitation to meet above the Gray Fog.
• The World agreed to pay Cyril 3,000 pounds later, and Cyril paid 500 pounds to glimpse the bookmark’s true form: a Black Emperor card depicting Roselle.
• Cyril traveled to the Tussock River and used Bernadette’s seed to grow vines that carried a pumpkin carriage to the gathering.
• An Invisible Servant led Cyril to a vine-built room, where his viewpoint merged with that of a doctor statue outside.

Cyril attended a gathering of Beyonders, bought two Dragon Breath potions, and discussed Roselle’s diary with Bernadette afterward. Bernadette agreed to seek a Traveler characteristic or Mystical Item and arranged daily language lessons with Cyril until the True Creator’s divine descent ritual began.

• Cyril watched the gathering’s statues communicate through hallucinations and bought two Dragon Breath potions from the knight for 200 pounds.
• The knight sold the rest of his potions and received requests from Miss Werewolf and Mr. Hunter.
• After the gathering ended, Bernadette asked Cyril whether he needed a Traveler characteristic or a Mystical Item containing one.
• Bernadette questioned Cyril about Roselle’s bookmark and used the Scales of Punishment to test his answers.
• Cyril said Roselle’s diary described a Card of Blasphemy hidden in a valuable book and offered to teach Bernadette the ancient language for a fee.
• Bernadette agreed to search for a Traveler characteristic or Mystical Item and asked Cyril to teach her the language for an hour each day until the True Creator’s divine descent ritual began.

Cyril taught Bernadette to read names and dates in Roselle's Diary, revealing Roselle's predictions about his children and upsetting her with the many women's names. After returning home and finding another diary bundle hidden behind his mirror, Cyril answered Sherlock Moriarty's prayer and arrived above the Gray Fog.

• Cyril taught Bernadette dates and names in Roselle's Diary, including her own and those of Charles and Bornova.
• Cyril told Bernadette that Zaratul had predicted her future hatred of Roselle, Charles's death, and Bornova becoming an Angel, then suggested the prophecy showed only one possible future.
• Bernadette questioned Cyril about the diary's many noblewomen, but accepted his refusal to explain its private contents.
• Cyril returned to his room, found another bundle of Roselle's Diary behind a mirror, and divined that Clarice had left it there.
• Cyril complained that the Machinery Hivemind had failed to notice his visitors, then answered Sherlock Moriarty's prayer and arrived above the Gray Fog.

Klein consulted Cyril about the Rose School of Thought, learning that his connection to the Gray Fog was conspicuous to many powerful beings. After sending Cyril away, Klein discovered he could teleport above the Gray Fog, while Cyril encountered Clarice in his mirror.

• Cyril warned Klein that the Rose School of Thought's Indulgence Faction was dangerous and advised him on fighting Werewolves, Zombies, and Wraiths.
• Cyril explained that the Temperance Faction was likely being pursued by the Indulgence Faction and warned Klein that his Gray Fog could be detected by Angels, Fate-related beings, and special Mystical Items.
• Klein asked to borrow Cyril's Peacemaker and Interrogator Ring and requested help interfering with Divination and tracking, offering to share a Book of Secrets in return.
• Klein sent Cyril away from above the Gray Fog, then teleported to the Fool's seat and materialized his Citrine Pendant.
• Cyril noticed a tapping coming from his full-length mirror, approached it, and saw Clarice's face appear in its dark surface.

Clarice contacted Cyril through a mirror and asked him to investigate how the Church of Steam was searching Backlund and how she could evade it. After agreeing to help in exchange for the Traveler Potion formula, Cyril entered the Mirror World to look for the arrangement Clarice had used to pinpoint him.

• Clarice told Cyril she had left Backlund to escape the Church of Steam's search and asked him to find out how it worked.
• Cyril resisted Clarice's charms and agreed to investigate in exchange for the Traveler Potion formula.
• Clarice revealed the Traveler advancement ritual and said it required special coordinates in four distant places deep in the Spirit World.
• After Clarice's image vanished, Cyril wondered how she had located him and suspected she had left an arrangement in the Mirror World.
• Cyril entered the Mirror World to search for Clarice's arrangement and considered asking Miss Sharron or Klein for help.

Klein and Cyril entered the Mirror World to destroy an altar that the Primordial Demoness was using to pinpoint a location. Klein escaped to Above the Gray Fog, where he removed the Primordial Demoness’s lingering aura, while Cyril returned to reality through a neighbor’s kitchen.

• Klein questioned Cyril about the danger of destroying the Primordial Demoness’s altar, and Cyril explained that he had weakened the risks and agreed to pay Klein 1,000 pounds for the job.
• Cyril created an opening to the Mirror World, and Klein entered after Cyril’s silver-white light temporarily purified the serpentine shadows.
• Klein was overwhelmed by desire when he saw the Primordial Demoness’s statue, but Cyril jolted him back to his senses with an electric shock.
• Klein fired the Peacemaker and destroyed the altar, then returned to Above the Gray Fog as the Primordial Demoness’s power spread through the Mirror World.
• Klein used the Gray Fog to strip away the Primordial Demoness’s aura, while Cyril escaped from a neighbor’s kitchen through its window.

After Adam altered the mirror in Cyril’s attic and told him to meet a member of the Life School of Thought, Cyril went to a circus and encountered Darkwill and his young-looking teacher. The performance descended into chaos, leaving Cyril to suspect Darkwill had somehow jinxed the Beast Tamer.

• Cyril returned home, found the mirror changed, and learned from Adam that it could help him explore the Mirror World while increasing the risk of Cheek noticing him.
• Adam told Cyril that a member of the Life School of Thought would soon arrive in Backlund and suggested they might meet.
• Cyril spotted Darkwill and a refined young man outside a circus, then followed them inside and sat beside them.
• Cyril recognized Darkwill and learned that the young man was his teacher, while the pair appeared to be Beyonders connected to Beast Taming.
• Darkwill warned the Beast Tamer that a brown bear would sit on him and a gorilla would attack; moments later, the animals ran amok and the bear pinned the performer.

Cyril followed Darkwill and his young teacher, but the teacher attacked him with phantom blood bats and black flames before escaping. Cyril tracked them to Backlund, where he met the Life School of Thought's President, who disrupted the city's Fate and warned that meeting Cyril would cost him something important.

• After the circus animals turned on the Beast Tamer, Cyril escaped the hungry tiger and later dodged a runaway horse near Darkwill and his teacher.
• Cyril followed Darkwill and his teacher to the Tussock River and offered to protect them from local Sanguine and official Beyonders.
• Darkwill's teacher attacked Cyril with phantom blood bats and black flames, but Cyril turned illusory and escaped by throwing a twig into the air.
• Cyril reappeared in Empress Borough and startled Darkwill, who shouted for help until Cyril vanished in pale blue light.
• At Green Cemetery, the young teacher spoke with the Life School of Thought's President, a pale boy in a wheelchair, who told him to leave Loen and disrupted Backlund's Fate to draw Ouroboros away.
• Cyril arrived at the cemetery, and the President told him that Fate disliked him and predicted their meeting would cost him something important.

Will Auceptin blamed Cyril for disrupting Fate and asked him to help escape Ouroboros before restarting. Cyril got him through the Mirror World to his chosen home, where Will began his restart and left Cyril to deal with his body.

• Will Auceptin said a new tributary in the river of Fate had activated the Key of Light and corrupted the Die of Probability, and blamed Cyril for the resulting calamities.
• When Will Auceptin sensed Ouroboros approaching, Cyril pushed his wheelchair out of the cemetery and used a rainwater pond to enter the Mirror World.
• Cyril and Will Auceptin encountered a Wraith from the Rose School of Thought, but it vanished after Cyril fired his Peacemaker.
• Cyril brought Will Auceptin to the home he had chosen, where Will asked him to keep the restart secret and decide what to do with his body.
• Will Auceptin slumped in his wheelchair as a silver Snake of Mercury formed a wheel, turned counterclockwise, and disappeared.

Cyril moved Will Auceptin’s corpse out of the Mirror World and asked Mr. Fool to store it, while Adam explained the Key of Light’s connection to Fate and chaos. During the Full Moon, Cyril shielded Owen from the whispers, and Klein summoned Fors to the gray fog and asked her how she became an Apprentice.

• Cyril removed Will Auceptin’s corpse from the Mirror World, discussed the Key of Light with Adam, and sent the corpse to Klein for safekeeping.
• Cyril used a Black Curtain to shield Owen from the Full Moon’s whispers as Owen considered asking Cyril for help with an Abraham Family box.
• Klein summoned Fors above the gray fog and asked her to explain how she became an Apprentice.

At the Tarot Club meeting, Cyril offered Roselle's Diaries in exchange for storing a Snake of Mercury's corpse, while he and Klein considered whether Roselle might return from the dead. The meeting ended with Audrey asking Mr. Fool which Beyonder Pathway was recorded on the Card of Blasphemy.

• Cyril offered Roselle's Diaries as payment for storing the Snake of Mercury's corpse and asked to put any surplus toward future contributions.
• Cyril manifested a stack of memorized diaries and declined Audrey's request to teach her Roselle's writing without the person's permission.
• Cyril suggested that Roselle might have survived through the Black Emperor Pathway's resurrection ability, prompting Klein to consider whether Roselle's resurrection had gone wrong.
• Klein read Cyril's diaries, found mostly accounts of Roselle's romantic pursuits, and suspected Cyril had chosen them to reduce the storage fee.
• Audrey offered two diary pages, but Klein recognized them as pages he had already seen and asked how she wanted her payment deducted.
• Audrey asked Mr. Fool which Beyonder Pathway was contained in the Card of Blasphemy.

At the Tarot Club, Audrey privately learned that the card was the Black Emperor Card, while the members discussed her possible contact with the Psychology Alchemists and several requests for items and ingredients. Derrick offered to hunt a Spirit Eater in the darkness outside the City of Silver for Fors.

• Klein showed Audrey the Black Emperor Card and told her that its corresponding Sequence 9 was Lawyer.
• Fors promised to seek Roselle's Diary in exchange for the help she received from the Fool each month.
• Audrey asked for advice about joining the Psychology Alchemists, and Cyril, Klein, and Alger warned her about psychological suggestions and informants.
• World requested a Sun Domain Mystical Item or powerful Beyonder weapon, and Audrey, Alger, and Fors agreed to look for one.
• Fors asked the club for Trickmaster ingredients, and Derrick said he could hire helpers to hunt a Spirit Eater outside the City of Silver.

The Tarot Club discussed disappearances in the Southern Continent and Derrick’s upcoming expedition to a temple of the True Creator. Cyril warned that the expedition could draw the True Creator’s attention and explained that the Club’s members could be detected through their connection to the Fool, though Concealment offered protection.

• Cyril arranged to provide Fors with the Solar High Priest formula while buying a Spirit Eater’s Stomach from Derrick and trading Derrick two for the formula.
• Alger asked the Club about missing indigenous people and slaves, and Cyril suggested investigating where the displaced people were being taken and whether pirates were involved.
• Derrick asked for advice about exploring a semi-destroyed True Creator temple with Elder Lovia, and Cyril warned him to stay away because everyone else there could die.
• Cyril explained that Derrick and Lovia could attract the True Creator’s attention because of their status and Derrick’s mark from the Fool.
• Cyril told the Club that their connection to the Fool could make their auras conspicuous to beings able to touch Fate, but that Concealment could protect them.

Derrick decided to avoid the dangerous exploration mission by feigning a condition that would disqualify him, while Cyril explained ways to remove mental pollution from a Beyonder Characteristic. Klein learned that the available methods were beyond his reach for now, but the Fool offered to help the World after he had accumulated contributions.

• Alger advised Derrick to injure himself or deplete his Spirituality so he could avoid joining the exploration mission, and Cyril urged him to protect himself with a necessary lie.
• Derrick accepted the advice and thanked Cyril, Alger, the World, and the Magician.
• The World asked how to remove the True Creator's mental pollution from Rosago's All-Black Eye, and Derrick said the City of Silver's method was restricted to high-ranking Beyonders.
• Cyril described three methods for removing mental pollution: shattering the characteristic with an Angel's power, purifying it with a Sun pathway Demigod's ability, or transferring the pollution through abilities such as stealing.
• Klein realized he could not use any of the methods yet, while Alger and Audrey interpreted the exchange as evidence that the Fool could not currently reveal Angel-level power.
• The Fool told the World to accumulate contributions and promised to help remove the pollution after some time.

At the Tarot Club, Cyril warned that Ouroboros might be in Backlund and explained the significance of Uniqueness to Audrey, who agreed to pay him in installments. After the meeting, Owen told Cyril he wanted to contact the Abraham Family’s Council of Elders with a plan to protect the family from the Full Moon’s whispers, and Cyril prepared to open the box.

• Cyril told the Tarot Club that Ouroboros, a King of Angel, might already be in Backlund while pursuing an anomaly in Fate.
• Cyril explained to Audrey that Uniqueness represented a deity’s authority, and she agreed to pay him three thousand pounds in installments.
• Alger shared stories about the sea until Klein ended the Tarot Club when his Spirituality ran low.
• Klein wondered whether the space above the gray fog was a Uniqueness, then divined that it was not.
• Owen told Cyril he believed he could shield the Abraham Family from the Full Moon’s whispers and wanted to contact the Council of Elders.
• Cyril agreed to try opening Owen’s box and asked for a drop of blood, which Owen had ready.

Cyril helped Owen open an Abraham family box, and Owen summoned a messenger to contact the Council of Elders about a way to resist the family’s bloodline curse. A Council member decided to investigate Owen in person, while Amon sensed a disturbance in Fate and considered stealing from the great serpent.

• Cyril opened the metal box, and Owen read a letter warning that Abraham Beyonders could not safely advance beyond Sequence 7 because of the Full Moon’s whispers.
• Owen wrote to the Council of Elders and summoned his messenger, which delivered the letter to a professor-like Abraham in Constant City.
• The Council member checked the letter with a Crystal Ball, decided not to alert the others, and set out for Backlund to meet Owen.
• Amon sensed a vague future and a disturbance in Fate, then considered stealing something from the great serpent.

Cyril learned from Adam how powerful beings could permanently alter a person's Light of the Soul, leaving him questioning the cost of his knowledge. Meanwhile, Verdu Garcia met Owen to discuss the Abraham Family's troubles, which Verdu said were worse than Owen imagined.

• Cyril answered House's prayer and advised him to observe his surroundings in combat to digest the Melee Scholar Potion faster.
• Cyril wondered whether House's fervent faith and Father Utravsky's changed personality came from pollution, then asked Adam about the Light of the Soul.
• Adam explained that higher-status beings could permanently change the underlying hue of someone's Light of the Soul, and said Cyril had already paid the price for his knowledge.
• Verdu Garcia arrived at Owen's home, and Owen invited him inside after recognizing him as an Abraham Family elder.
• Owen asked whether all Council of Elders members were as young as Verdu, and Verdu replied that the family's situation was far worse than Owen imagined.

Cyril explained to Verdu Garcia how Owen had survived the Full Moon ravings and watched Verdu assess the danger. After Verdu visited the Abraham family graves and Teleported away, Cyril followed him and emerged from the darkness nearby.

• Verdu Garcia questioned Owen for contacting the Council of Elders before Sequence 7, and Cyril explained that Owen had sought help surviving the Full Moon ravings.
• Owen told Verdu that Cyril had given him a great being’s Honorific Name, which had helped him endure three Full Moons; Verdu performed an astrology reading.
• Cyril relayed Sherlock Moriarty’s request to borrow two Mystical Items to Mr. Fool, and Klein sent the Peacemaker and Interrogator Ring through the Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal.
• Cyril followed Verdu to Green Cemetery, where Verdu visited deceased members of the Abraham Family.
• Verdu used the Illusory Door in his robe to Teleport away beside the Tussock River, and Cyril emerged from a Black Curtain nearby.

Cyril saved Verdu when he stumbled into the battle between the Rose School of Thought’s factions, then helped expose and seize the Scarlet Lunar Corona. The Full Moon appeared, and Wraith Steve possessed Cyril but became trapped inside him, while Jason escaped Klein’s gunfire with the artifact.

• Verdu appeared in the warehouse district, where Cyril protected him from attacks by Maric and Jason and persuaded him to stay and watch.
• Jason attacked Cyril and Verdu, but his illusory skull passed through them; a Werewolf then ambushed Maric, and Sharron possessed the attacker.
• Sharron retrieved the Scarlet Lunar Corona from Tail, but Cyril used Object Manipulation to pull it away as Maric and Jason tried to intercept it.
• Wraith Steve appeared, caught the Scarlet Lunar Corona, and triggered the Full Moon, weakening Sharron and causing Verdu to writhe in pain.
• Steve possessed Cyril, but Cyril trapped him inside his body and rose into the air as a sacred light passed through them.
• Klein fired at Jason, but Jason dodged the bullets, took the Scarlet Lunar Corona, and escaped with illusory bat wings.

Cyril used his Wraith powers to trap Jason and restrain Steve, but Steve stole the Scarlet Lunar Corona and tried to attack again. Cyril unveiled his living Painting Scrolls, whose supernatural creatures overwhelmed the fighters and left everyone facing the shadow of death.

• Jason wounded Maric, then charged Cyril, who dragged him into the Muddy Abyss with Wraith Shadows.
• Steve broke free of Cyril's Cage, pleaded for help, and was pulled back inside; Cyril froze nearby attackers and struck Jason with Wraith Scream.
• Steve escaped again, used Mirror Flash to take the Scarlet Lunar Corona from Jason, and attacked Cyril with black chains.
• Cyril dispersed Steve's chains and summoned living creatures from his Painting Scrolls, whose Feathered Serpent terrified the Wraiths and Jason.
• Cyril confronted Steve, Jason, and Tail with more Painting Scrolls, leaving them immobilized and overwhelmed by visions of death.

Cyril collected the spoils after a lightning strike destroyed Jason and left the others incapacitated, while Klein and Sharron dealt with the surviving Werewolf Tail. Cyril and Verdu teleported away, and Klein learned the Door item could send its wearer into dangerous places.

• A silver lightning bolt struck the Dock District, destroying Jason and leaving Steve, Tail, and Maric paralyzed while Cyril survived.
• Cyril turned Steve into a living Painting Scroll, took the Scarlet Lunar Corona, and recovered a gray-white orb from the crater.
• Sharron revealed that Klein had killed the Werewolf Tail and accepted Cyril's offer to buy the Scarlet Lunar Corona if she needed it.
• Cyril collected his remaining spoils, burned the destroyed Painting Scrolls, and asked Verdu to teleport him away.
• Verdu teleported himself and Cyril away, and Sharron warned Klein that the item's negative effects could send its wearer into danger and squeeze them to death.