Chapter Summaries

Cyrin Gray awoke in Backlund after transmigrating into the world of Lord of the Mysteries and was saved from a terrifying encounter with a Great Old One by Adam. Adam explained that Cyrin’s higher-dimensional essence made him a rival to the being that had noticed him, leaving Cyrin with the task of growing stronger before the barrier broke.

• Cyrin woke amid shattered mirrors, recovered memories of his life as a history student and occult enthusiast, and realized he had transmigrated into the world of Lord of the Mysteries.
• A Great Old One watched Cyrin through a bizarre starry sky, and Cyrin tried to suppress the threat by reciting divine Honorific Names.
• Cyrin called out to Adam, who appeared and ended the supernatural phenomena, then greeted him as both Cyrin and Li En.
• Cyrin told Adam that he regarded the world as real and hoped to find a way home while staying alive.
• Adam said Cyrin’s essence was close to or beyond that of a Great Old One and that his connection had created an opportunity for the being watching him.
• Adam warned Cyrin that only one High-Dimensional Overseer could exist in the universe and told him to become as strong as possible before the barrier broke.

Adam told Cyril he needed power to survive the High-Dimensional Overseer and guided him to divine what to do, leaving Cyril to suspect he had been hypnotized. Meanwhile, Klein noticed a clear prayer invoking his invented honorific name and wondered whether a hidden Fool had found him.

• Adam warned Cyril that he needed to gain power quickly and said his choices of Beyonder Pathways were limited by the nature of his soul.
• Adam instructed Cyril to divine for guidance, and Cyril drew The Magician, The Lovers, and the Wheel of Fortune.
• Adam interpreted the cards as advice to learn, build relationships, seek cooperation, and accumulate strength; Cyril concluded the Door Pathway suited him best.
• Adam disappeared from Cyril's memories, leaving him to wonder whether he had been hypnotized, as someone urgently knocked downstairs.
• Klein sensed a clear prayer using his invented honorific name and wondered whether a hidden Fool was contacting him through a believer.

Klein observed a bloody person’s prayer and saw a mysterious priest respond after the person invoked Adam. In Backlund, Machinery Hivemind members questioned Cyril about the World Truth Society and revealed that three of its founding members had died.

• Klein answered a crimson star’s prayer and saw a bloodied person invoke several gods before calling out to Adam.
• A gentle blond priest appeared and answered, then the prayer scene grew hazy and ended.
• Klein fixed the crimson star in place and decided to investigate the worshipper, then performed a divination for safety.
• Max Livermore and Carlson questioned Cyril at his home about the World Truth Society.
• Carlson told Cyril that three early members had died after performing evil rituals, and Cyril realized half of the society’s six founders were dead.

Cyril explained his connection to Welch Stams’s ritual and passed Max Livermore’s questioning, though Max learned that Cyril and his twin Haven sometimes impersonated each other. After Max and Carlson left, the coachman House used his Mystery Pryer’s Eyes on Cyril and saw a truth that turned him against the God of Steam and Machinery.

• Cyril told Max that Welch had shared the ritual with him and that he had planned to perform it that night, but illness had delayed him.
• Cyril guided Max and Carlson through the upstairs rooms and described Welch as the wealthy founder of the World Truth Society, who had claimed to find true mysticism.
• Cyril revealed that he and Haven Gray were twins who sometimes impersonated each other, and said Professor Horamick Haydn could verify that he had been helping Haven with a physics experiment.
• Max agreed to verify Cyril’s story with Horamick and left with Carlson, while promising not to interfere with the twins’ graduation.
• House looked at Cyril with his Eyes of Mystery Prying, then wiped away bloody tears and drank a potion as he became devoted to the true god he had glimpsed.

House became Cyril’s fanatical believer while Max and Carlson discussed Cyril’s possible connection to the Gnosis Society. The next day, Cyril and Owen Garcia secured leave from Professor Fells, revealing they were the only two survivors of the World Truth Society.

• House secretly resolved to prepare a valuable gift for Cyril, whom he believed was a Great Old One.
• Max and Carlson discussed Cyril’s knowledge of the mystical world and planned to verify his information with Archbishop Horamick.
• House claimed his Divination showed Cyril knew nothing about the incident and had been one of Welch’s targets.
• Cyril asked Professor Fells for leave, explaining that three society members had died and that he felt responsible for not spotting the ritual’s danger.
• Owen Garcia arrived with the same reason for requesting leave, and Cyril revealed they were both vice presidents of the World Truth Society.
• Fells approved both leave requests, and Cyril recognized Owen as the only other surviving member besides himself.

Cyril and Owen were cornered and robbed by three Highlanders, but Cyril fought back before Owen used a talisman to paralyze the gangsters and help them escape. At Owen's home, they treated Cyril's injury and worried briefly about retaliation before falling into an awkward silence.

• Three Highlanders cornered Cyril and Owen in an alley and demanded money, and Cyril handed over two pence while noticing their weak Spirituality and recent injuries.
• When a Highlander reached for his pocket, Cyril stabbed him with a dagger, then was punched into a wall by another gang member.
• Owen used a talisman and the incantation "Paralysis" to freeze the three Highlanders, and Cyril grabbed him and fled the alley.
• At Owen Garcia's home, Owen applied Beyonder-potion ointment to Cyril's injured shoulder, and Cyril explained that they had fled to avoid being arrested or suspected of being Beyonders.
• Owen worried that the gangsters would seek revenge, but Cyril reasoned that they would need to leave the university to earn money, and the two ended their conversation in an uneasy silence.

Cyril met Owen, who planned to consume the Apprentice potion during the Full Moon, and tried to bluff him into changing his plans in exchange for money and the potion formula. Their conversation ended with Owen suspecting that Cyril was descended from the Antigonus Family of the Nation of the Evernight.

• Cyril told Owen that he had encountered the mystical world but had not become a Beyonder, and Owen revealed he was preparing an Apprentice potion.
• Owen explained that he had inherited the potion formula and materials from his father and planned to advance during the next Full Moon.
• Cyril recognized the danger in Owen’s plan and decided to bluff him into changing Pathways or postponing the potion, hoping to obtain the formula and money.
• Cyril questioned Owen’s claim of ancestral ties to the Abraham Family, and Owen admitted his family name was Garcia and that his father had come to Backlund from elsewhere.
• Cyril mentioned the Antigonus Family and said his name meant a tranquil night, prompting Owen to ask whether Cyril was a descendant of the Antigonus Family from the Nation of the Evernight.

Cyril persuaded Owen to join him in rebuilding the World Truth Society and exchange Beyonder Pathway formulas. Owen agreed to avoid the Apprentice Pathway and received Seer formulas, while Cyril obtained Owen’s Apprentice formulas and learned how Owen could access more later.

• Cyril told Owen that their families were fellow sufferers and proposed rebuilding the World Truth Society, which Owen eagerly accepted.
• Cyril argued that the Abraham bloodline curse would be weakened if Owen avoided the Full Moon and the Apprentice Pathway.
• Cyril offered Owen the Seer Pathway formulas in exchange for a complete set of Apprentice formulas, and Owen agreed despite having only formulas for Sequences 9 through 7.
• Cyril wrote down the Seer Pathway formulas for Sequences 9 through 5, and Owen gave him his copied Apprentice formulas.
• Owen explained that he could contact the Council of Elders for later formulas after reaching Sequence 7 and that ancestral admonitions accompanied the formulas.

Cyril gave Owen the Seer potion formula and Acting Method, and Owen verified them with his Fate Crystal Ball before handing over the Apprentice ingredients. Cyril drank the potion and became a Beyonder, but the High-Dimensional Overseer noticed his new control over dimensions, and Adam appeared before him.

• Owen explained that the Fate Crystal Ball could provide revelations through divination, but its revelations brought hidden dangers.
• Owen used the Crystal Ball to confirm that Cyril’s potion formulas were genuine, then fetched the ingredients for the Seer potion.
• Cyril prepared and drank the Seer potion, experiencing an overwhelming taste and a sudden rise in spirit.
• The High-Dimensional Overseer called Cyril a thief but remained separated from him by an invisible barrier as Cyril gained control over dimensions.
• The Overseer warned that the Primordial’s barrier would not protect Cyril for long, and Adam appeared before him.

After becoming an Apprentice, Cyril met Adam, who invited him to the Twilight Hermit Order and gave him Tarot Cards to temper his dangerous attraction to Fate. Cyril returned to Owen and demonstrated his Door Opening ability.

• Cyril questioned Adam about his becoming a Beyonder, and Adam said he had not arranged it, though he had imagined a Swindler's charm for him.
• Adam invited Cyril to join his Beyonder organization and attend its gathering that night, explaining that Cyril's status made encounters with certain Pathways inevitable.
• Adam gave Cyril Tarot Cards to weaken his attraction to Fate and asked him to join the Fool's Tarot Club when the time was right.
• Cyril returned to Owen, confirmed that he had become an Apprentice, and demonstrated how he could pass through a wall using Door Opening.

Cyril entered the Twilight Hermit Order’s gathering in Adam’s Corpse Cathedral, where the members discovered he was an unusually young Sequence 9. He recognized the old man beside him as Hermes, who wondered whether Cyril was connected to Roselle.

• Cyril fell asleep and drifted through a dark sea of consciousness before arriving at Adam’s Corpse Cathedral.
• Adam gave Cyril the seat closest to him, shifting the other members’ seats and drawing their scrutiny.
• The grayish-white-robed old man explained that the cathedral prevented members from recalling one another’s appearances.
• The old man said Cyril was the first recent Sequence 9 to attend, comparing him with Roselle’s first visit.
• Cyril recognized the old man as Hermes, who asked whether he was Roselle’s descendant or successor.

Cyril attended his first Twilight Hermit Order gathering, where he briefly studied the Blasphemy Slate and learned how members advanced and traded. The Order approved an operation to assassinate Duke Negan, and Cyril ended the meeting by requesting several Beyonder materials.

• Adam gave Cyril a brief chance to view the Blasphemy Slate, and Cyril memorized the Door Pathway formulas for Scribe and Traveler before it vanished.
• A middle-aged woman explained that even low-Sequence members could contribute to the Twilight Hermit Order’s work, then reported that Feynapotter remained unlikely to enter a war unless Feysac did.
• A high-ranking member proposed assassinating Pallas Negan to weaken Loen’s conservative faction, and the members approved Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos as the executor.
• The gathering discussed legislative reforms before moving to trading, and Cyril requested a Spirit Eater’s stomach pouch, Deep Sea Spearfish blood, Lava Octopus blood, and Star Crystal.

Cyril secured a heavily discounted offer for the Beyonder materials he needed, but struggled to find the money to pay for them. He and Owen decided to rob a Highlander gang after Owen used his Fate Crystal Ball to locate its stronghold, and they began preparing for a dangerous operation.

• A Psychology Alchemists member offered to collect Cyril’s four requested Beyonder materials for 1,000 pounds and send word through the Twilight Hermit Order.
• Cyril told Owen he might soon have the materials for the Seer and Trickmaster potions, but neither of them could afford the full cost.
• Cyril proposed robbing a Highlander gang to raise the money, and Owen agreed after considering their abilities and risks.
• Owen divined the gang’s approximate stronghold and learned that the operation would involve danger, though it would not be fatal.
• Owen revealed that he had a pistol, 50 ordinary bullets, and 10 special bullets, surprising Cyril.

Cyril returned home, learned Haven and their elder sister would soon be watching over him, and went to Bravehearts Bar seeking unconventional goods. He paid a Grey-robed Man ten pounds for access to a gathering taking place at noon.

• Cyril met Haven at home, and Haven told him their elder sister would return to keep an eye on them while their parents were away.
• Cyril asked Haven to lend him a hundred pounds, but Haven refused and left.
• Cyril disguised himself, took his savings, and went to Bravehearts Bar to seek a channel for unconventional items.
• The bartender denied that the bar dealt in such goods, but a Grey-robed Man offered to lead Cyril to the right place for ten pounds.
• The Grey-robed Man took Cyril's money and told him a gathering was scheduled for noon that day.

Cyril followed the Grey-robed Man to a masked Beyonder gathering, where he observed the organizer’s display of authority and found it had little effect on him. The gathering began, and a loud newcomer immediately asked for rare ingredients.

• The Grey-robed Man led Cyril through a concealed entrance and advised him to adapt to his newly consumed potion rather than seek out other Beyonders.
• Cyril entered the gathering, where Eye of Wisdom introduced himself as its organizer and invited the attendees to choose seats and codenames.
• Eye of Wisdom began the gathering, but a chubby newcomer interrupted with complaints about the dark room.
• Eye of Wisdom’s imposing aura forced most attendees, including the chubby newcomer, to their knees, while Cyril felt only an accelerated heartbeat.
• The chubby newcomer sat beside Cyril and asked who could provide Marrow Crystals of the Elf Spring and an Alicorn’s heart.

Cyril sold two potion formulas at a gathering and learned that the fat, foul-mouthed newcomer was likely an Apothecary. Later, he met Owen to investigate the Blood Axe Gang, and they reached East District with Cyril preparing to use Owen’s Fate Crystal Ball.

• Cyril sold the Seer formula to old Mr. Eye of Wisdom and the Bard formula to another attendee for 200 pounds each.
• Cyril discussed potion formulas and the Polymath Pathway with old Mr. Eye of Wisdom, while the fat newcomer asked about trading for potion ingredients.
• Cyril used Door Opening to meet Owen at night and told him to remove his conspicuous black outfit before they traveled to East District.
• Cyril and Owen arrived near Old Elm Street, where hostile locals watched them, and Cyril asked to use Owen’s Fate Crystal Ball after noticing darkness in Owen’s spirituality.

Cyril and Owen infiltrated a Blood Axe Gang house to loot its storeroom, using wall-traveling and a Slumber Charm to avoid detection. They found a tempting but unreal feast in the dining room, and Cyril stopped Owen from eating it.

• Cyril and Owen traveled through the crowded East District by passing through walls, reaching Blood Axe Gang territory exhausted.
• Cyril warned Owen to avoid fighting the gangsters, then brought them through a wall into a filthy kitchen.
• Owen showed Cyril a Slumber Charm, and they prepared to move through the house while its residents were still awake.
• Owen found an abundant dinner on the dining-room table and felt an unnatural hunger as Cyril sensed something watching him.
• Cyril recognized that the dinner was fake and knocked the chicken leg from Owen's hand before he could eat it.

Cyril escaped a Painting World created by a dangerous tablecloth and realized that a power from beyond the planet had drawn him into a trap. Outside, Adam discussed the growing reach of the Outer Deities and asked Concealment to help kill Aucuses and Cheek.

• Owen led Cyril past the second floor’s strange rooms and toward the third floor.
• Cyril sensed a boundary, opened a door into mirror space, and escaped the Painting World.
• Cyril discovered the grotesque painting on the tablecloth and concluded that the High-Dimensional Overseer’s power had lured him into a trap.
• Cyril considered investigating the tablecloth rather than leaving and reporting it to the Church.
• Adam told a young black-haired woman that Outer Deities could send low-Sequence powers past the barrier and might soon send mid-Sequence powers.
• Adam said he hoped to become a god or establish a new Sequence 0 within two years, then asked Concealment to help kill Aucuses and Cheek.

Cyril sealed the dangerous Painting World in the tablecloth and helped Owen recover before searching the Blood Axe Gang hideout. He found inhabited dormitories below and a third floor mysteriously rotted by an unknown power, then left without exploring further.

• Cyril cut his palm and used his blood to seal the painting on the tablecloth, though he could not extract the High-Dimensional Overseer's power from it.
• Owen collapsed after the Painting World was sealed, and Cyril gave him a healing Potion before taking Owen's gun and checking the first floor.
• Cyril used Door Opening to inspect a foul-smelling room, then found that the other second-floor rooms were communal dormitories with signs of many residents but no people.
• Cyril went to the cleaner third floor, where the floorboards and walls crumbled under his touch, revealing that the entire floor had been tainted by an unknown power.
• Cyril inspected one room briefly and left the unstable third floor, deciding that further exploration was too dangerous.

Cyril and Owen left the abandoned Blood Axe Gang house and Cyril arranged to report the incident to the Church of Evernight while avoiding being identified. Archbishop Anthony Stevenson received Cyril’s paper airplane but could not detect him in time, and suspected he was a powerful Apprentice.

• Cyril told Owen that the vanished gang members’ fate remained unexplained, and the two left the dangerous house.
• Cyril sensed someone watching him, while the black-haired woman and Adam discussed the Door’s authority and their plans concerning a corrupted True Deity.
• Cyril brought Owen to Saint Samuel Cathedral, explaining that he wanted the Church to investigate the Blood Axe Gang incident.
• Cyril sent a paper airplane through a door he formed in the cathedral wall, then escaped through nearby houses and slipped into a passing carriage.
• Anthony Stevenson received the paper airplane, chose not to pursue Cyril, and concluded that he could counter Divination and interfere with Spirituality’s perception.