Chapter Summaries

Cyril was pulled bodily into the Painting World by Zoila Hernandez, who attacked him with a gun and a dangerous blade. He wounded her with his abilities but was shot twice, and his attempt to call Adam received no response.

• At Backlund University's History Department, Professor Fells drew Cyril into the Painting World with a picture frame, where Cyril could not open a passage back to reality.
• Professor Fells transformed into Zoila Hernandez, the Blood Axe Gang leader Cyril had been assigned to deal with, and she attacked him with a revolver and a blade.
• Cyril used Black Curtain and Escape Trick to evade Zoila, then tried to freeze her eyes, but she twisted aside and counterattacked with her blade.
• Cyril redirected the poisonous smoke from Zoila's blade back around her with Transfer Gas, causing her to cough, but the smoke blocked his view.
• Zoila fired through the smoke and shot Cyril in the shoulder and side, and Cyril called Adam's name without getting a response.

House prepared to advance at Saint Hillan Cathedral but was warned by a mysterious message to abandon his plan to steal a Sealed Artifact. His prayers reached Cyril in the Painting World, where Cyril gained control over the world and asked Adam for help resisting the High-Dimensional Overseer’s influence.

• House went underground at Saint Hillan Cathedral to advance to Melee Scholar and planned to offer a Sealed Artifact to the great being he worshipped.
• A message appeared on tea, warning House not to target the Steam Church’s headquarters or endanger the great being’s identity.
• House recognized the message’s Honorific Name as genuine and repented, asking the great being for forgiveness.
• Cyril heard House’s prayers in the Painting World and stopped them, then raised an earthen wall to block Zoila.
• Cyril left his body as a Spirit Body, perceived the dimensions and the High-Dimensional Overseer, and pushed the Painting World out of its gaze.
• Cyril asked Adam for help and offered information about the authority and symbolism of an Ancient One of the Cosmos; Adam agreed.

Cyril used Adam’s imagined Planeswalker characteristic to escape Zoila’s Painting World and destroy it, then discovered that Old Fells had been killed. He returned to his body at Backlund University, where Horamick Haydn arrived after Cyril exposed the scene.

• Adam gave Cyril a temporary Planeswalker characteristic and warned him not to let Bethel find him.
• Cyril entered the Painting World, burned the painted Zoila, recovered her weapons, and shattered the world.
• Cyril responded to House’s prayer, warned him not to repeat his reckless actions, and gave him knowledge of the Acting Method.
• Cyril found Old Fells’s corpse and vowed to avenge him, then caused a lightning disturbance to alert people nearby.
• Cyril released the Brilliant Spark, returned to his body, and collapsed as Horamick Haydn arrived at Backlund University.

After Cyril woke in the hospital, he learned that Archbishop Horamick had stopped the Beyonder attack at Backlund University and saved him. Carlson questioned him about the incident, and Cyril recounted a carefully edited version of what had happened in Professor Fells's office.

• A priestly old man found the badly wounded Cyril and soothed him before he lost consciousness.
• Cyril woke in the hospital with Beth, Owen, Little Thomas, and Carlson nearby, and Beth helped care for him.
• Carlson asked to speak with Cyril alone and told him that Horamick had driven off the attacker; one professor and one student had died.
• Cyril told Carlson that Professor Fells had died in front of him, then explained that he had been drawn into a painting where a woman pursued him.
• Cyril recounted how the painting shattered, Fells became a skeleton, a shadow engulfed him, and Horamick appeared before he passed out.

After surviving Zoila Hernandez’s attack, Cyril gave Carlson a portrait of her and asked Owen to seek healing medicine from Father Utravsky. In a dream, he met Adam and revealed what he had learned about the Lord of Dimensions, who could observe and alter events; Adam warned him against looking at that being again.

• Cyril drew Zoila Hernandez’s portrait for Carlson, who said the team would keep protecting him in secret.
• Beth and Owen visited Cyril in the hospital, and Cyril asked Owen to find Father Utravsky at Harvest Cathedral for healing medicine.
• Cyril fell asleep and dreamed of meeting Adam in an ancient church.
• Cyril told Adam the Lord of Dimensions’ honorific name and explained that its gaze could influence what it observed.
• Adam warned Cyril that the Lord of Dimensions had also seen him and that he should avoid meeting its gaze again, even through the Primordial’s barrier.

Owen went to Harvest Cathedral seeking a healing potion for Cyrin and discovered that Cyrin’s attacker, a Vampire Apothecary, was imprisoned there. Meanwhile, the Church of Steam’s investigation identified the attacker and revealed that an unknown Angel may have intervened at Backlund University.

• Owen asked Father Utravsky for a potion to heal Cyrin, and Utravsky led him to the church’s imprisoned Apothecary.
• Owen learned that the Apothecary was a Vampire whom Cyrin had lured into the church after he became bloodthirsty, and that the Vampire blamed Cyrin for his confinement.
• The Vampire refused to prepare Cyrin’s potion unless Utravsky released him, so Owen asked Utravsky for an ordinary healing potion instead.
• Utravsky agreed to make an ordinary potion, but the Vampire interrupted and demanded that Owen find a way to get him released.
• At a meeting beneath Saint Hillan Cathedral, Carlson and the Church of Steam’s investigators identified Zoila Hernandez as the attacker and reported that an unknown Angel may have dealt with the evil god’s forces.

Cyril received a healing potion from Harvest Cathedral while Harven weighed the dangers of becoming a Beyonder, then rushed to pursue the mechanical Pathway after learning it could enhance his technical skills. As Cyril prepared to leave the hospital, he explained that Owen’s trip to Harvest Cathedral had helped present him as a safe, church-connected Beyonder to the people monitoring him.

• Harven took over caring for Cyril, and Owen returned with a healing potion prepared by Emlyn after agreeing to help free him from Harvest Cathedral’s basement.
• Harven offered to seek a potion through Mr. Portland and discussed his hesitation about becoming a Beyonder, while a mysterious traveler soothed Cyril’s emotions inside his Mind World.
• Cyril told Harven that the recommended Pathway could improve his mechanical talent, prompting Harven to hurry off to find Mr. Portland.
• Cyril drank half the potion and poured the rest over his wounds, which began healing rapidly, then fell asleep.
• Owen visited the next morning and learned Cyril was being discharged; Cyril explained that the Machinery Hivemind would likely monitor or recruit him rather than imprison him.
• Owen realized Cyril had sent him to Harvest Cathedral to demonstrate Cyril’s ties to an orthodox church to those secretly monitoring him.

After Cyril returned home from the hospital, Beth worried over him while Haven revealed his new role and prospects. Owen then told Cyril that a pirate ship near Backlund might hold potion ingredients, but his divination showed uncertain danger.

• Cyril left the hospital with Haven's help, returned home, and pretended to be ill while Beth questioned Haven and checked on him.
• Beth thanked the Harvest Cathedral for helping Cyril and said she would support him if he changed his faith, but Cyril said he had no plans to do so.
• Haven told Cyril he had become a Savant and might join the Royal Academy of Sciences while cooperating with the God of Steam and Machinery Church.
• Owen told Cyril that his Fate Crystal Ball had revealed a pirate ship near the estuary east of Backlund containing Clown potion ingredients and materials for an Astrologer.
• Owen divined again and found that the ship was dangerous, though nearby factors might reduce the risk.

Cyril and Owen traveled through the Mirror World in search of the revelation of Fate, but emerged into the middle of a battle. Cyril recognized the attackers as Azik Eggers and Qilingus as Qilingus began to rot in midair.

• Cyril opened a passage through the Mirror World and explained to Owen how his Apprentice ability let him connect its illusory paths.
• Cyril and Owen left the Mirror World and dodged wind blades launched by a tall man.
• Cyril escaped with Owen into the Mirror World as the wind blades struck, and watched the tall man face undead creatures outside.
• Brilliant light destroyed the undead, but a short figure in a silk top hat and black suit appeared and restrained the tall man.
• Cyril recognized the short figure as Azik Eggers and the tall man as Qilingus, whose body rapidly rotted.

Cyril met Azik in the Spirit World after Azik killed Qilingus, and told him what he knew about Azik’s past. Azik rewarded Cyril with Qilingus’s Beyonder Characteristic, and Cyril and Owen escaped the Mirror World as Ace Snake arrived too late to find Qilingus alive.

• Azik killed Qilingus, and Cyril watched Qilingus’s Wind-blessed Beyonder Characteristic separate from his remains.
• Azik brought Cyril into the Spirit World and asked what Cyril knew about his past.
• Cyril told Azik that he had been the Death Archon Azik Eggers, son of the God of Death, and that he disappeared after the God of Death fell.
• Azik thanked Cyril, gave him Qilingus’s Beyonder Characteristic, and warned him not to sell it soon.
• Cyril returned to the Mirror World, explained what happened to Owen, and opened a door so they could leave.
• Ace Snake arrived at the scene and found Qilingus’s remains and the mirror shards.

Cyril and Owen infiltrated Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos's ship to steal potion ingredients, but escaped before taking the safe after the crew discovered them. Back in Backlund, Haven confronted Cyril and demanded to know where he had gone.

• Cyril and Owen entered the ship through the Mirror World, and Owen prepared to divine the ingredients' locations while Cyril created a distraction below deck.
• Cyril triggered a series of explosions that drew the pirates away from the captain's cabin, allowing him and Owen to enter the room behind it.
• Cyril used tricks to delay the pirates and sent several metal boxes through a Mirror World door, but left Qilangos's safe behind when the crew arrived.
• The man in the brown leather jacket ordered the crew to abandon the dock, suspecting their captain had already run into trouble.
• Cyril and Owen returned to Backlund, where Cyril warned Owen that the leather-jacketed man had corrupted his mind.
• Haven entered Cyril's room and demanded an explanation for his secret trip, questioning whether Cyril's earlier gunshot wound had been revenge.

Cyril read that Qilangos had been killed, then visited Harvest Cathedral to fulfill his promise and persuade Father Utravsky to release the Vampire. He proposed letting the Vampire participate in the cathedral’s daily life so he could learn about Mother Earth’s teachings.

• Cyril read the news that Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos had been shot dead in Backlund.
• Owen visited Cyril, selected Beyonder materials for his Clown potion, and learned that Mother Earth had witnessed his promise to fulfill his debt at Harvest Cathedral.
• Cyril told Harven he was going to the cathedral and traveled to Daffodil Street that night.
• Cyril told Father Utravsky he had come to fulfill his promise and asked him to release the Vampire.
• Cyril suggested that Father Utravsky let the Vampire join the cathedral’s daily life so he could experience Mother Earth’s teachings.

Cyril persuaded Father Utravsky to release the vampire in the church basement, then tricked him into agreeing to follow the Earth Mother Goddess’s teachings. The vampire, Emlyn White, was forced by a psychological suggestion to clean the church while Cyril left.

• Cyril declined Father Utravsky’s invitation to visit the church daily and asked him to release the vampire from the basement.
• Father Utravsky opened the basement door, and a vampire lunged out before a silver-white dawn greatsword pinned him down.
• Cyril convinced the vampire to pretend to follow the Earth Mother Goddess’s teachings so he could leave the church.
• Father Utravsky’s Mental Terror Candle implanted a psychological suggestion in the vampire when he agreed.
• The vampire’s urge to clean took control of his body, and he told Cyril his name was Emlyn White and where his family lived.
• Cyril refused to notify the other Sanguine and left Emlyn cleaning the church.

Cyril Glay digested his Trickmaster potion and spotted the newly arrived Ince Zangwill, recognizing him despite his disguise. After Cyril threatened 0-08, the Quill arranged for Beyonder material to land in his hands, leaving Ince furious at its actions.

• Cyril performed a street magic act outside Backlund Steam Train Station and completely digested his Trickmaster potion.
• Cyril read news of the explosion in Tingen City and saw Ince Zangwill emerge from the station, recognizing his true appearance.
• Ince used 0-08 to write that Cyril had recognized him, but the Quill crossed out Cyril's name and passage when Cyril invoked it and hinted at exposing Ince to Adam.
• 0-08 wrote that a messenger would accidentally drop Beyonder material into Cyril Glay's hands, then left Ince staring angrily at the words on the wall.

Cyril picked up a mysterious metal box after sensing Spirit World creatures passing overhead. Ince Zangwill’s Quill rewrote his plans, and Panatia approached him with the Demoness Sect’s offer to cooperate with the Loen Royal Family.

• Cyril sensed powerful Spirit World creatures above the carriage stand and saw a half-bodied mummy pursued by tentacles covered in eyes.
• A metal box fell through Cyril’s newspaper, and he took it to bring to Owen rather than risk opening it.
• The Quill of Alzuhod forced Ince Zangwill to write conflicting stories about whether he should flee Backlund, then fell into a brief slumber.
• Panatia appeared before Ince Zangwill, identified his crimes, and tried to seduce him.
• Panatia offered Ince Zangwill protection in Backlund in exchange for cooperating with the Demoness Sect and the Loen Royal Family.

Cyril examined a mysterious silver handgun and learned from its accompanying letter that it was a powerful mystical weapon with dangerous side effects. He named it Peacemaker and burned the letter, while Ince Zangwill accepted Panatia's invitation to cooperate with the Demoness Sect.

• Ince Zangwill accepted Panatia's invitation and went with her to a nearby inn, while a blond priest observed that Ince had begun understanding his traits and had found an anchor in the world.
• Cyril took a metal box to Owen for a divination, confirmed it was safe, and opened it to find an ornate silver handgun and a parchment letter.
• Cyril read Ethan Love's letter, which explained the gun's Holy Silver Bullets, combat abilities, and effects that filled its holder with courage and drew it toward conflict.
• Cyril decided to name the gun Peacemaker, and Owen reacted skeptically to his explanation of the name.
• Cyril returned the parchment to Owen, then burned it to ashes.

Cyril went to Backlund's steam train station hoping to meet Klein and unexpectedly recognized him through the Gray Fog. He then visited Harvest Cathedral to seek help finding Meteorite Crystal, and Father Utravsky invited him to a Beyonder gathering.

• Cyril detoured to the steam train station, where he spotted Klein surrounded by Gray Fog and briefly exchanged nods with him.
• Klein recognized Cyril from Justice's investigation and considered whether to summon him above the Gray Fog before deciding to focus on finding lodging and work.
• Cyril went to Harvest Cathedral and failed to improve his relationship with Emlyn, who complained about his cleaning duties.
• Cyril asked Father Utravsky for advice about potion ingredients, and Utravsky revealed he organized a Beyonder gathering.
• Father Utravsky told Cyril to attend the gathering at the third floor of Maple Bar on Tuck Street in Backlund Bridge the day after tomorrow.

Cyril questioned Arrodes about Meteorite Crystals, mystical-item risks, and ingredients for future Potions before a mysterious force pulled him above the Gray Fog. He survived the palace’s rejection and faced Klein, who asked whether Cyril had spoken a language from another world.

• Cyril asked Arrodes where to find a Meteorite Crystal, and it revealed that House could redeem one from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
• Arrodes warned Cyril about the mystical item’s danger of escalating conflict and identified sources of an Asman brain and a cursed item from an Ancient Wraith.
• Cyril told Arrodes that the person it wanted to follow had already arrived in Backlund, then forgot to ask it to contact House.
• A force from the gray fog pulled Cyril’s spirit into the ancient palace above the Gray Fog, where the palace initially rejected and weakened him.
• The rejection subsided, and Klein watched Cyril from the head of the long table and asked whether he had spoken a language from another world.

Cyrin met Klein Above the Gray Fog, where Klein questioned him about his language, Roselle, and the hidden being who had revealed the Fool’s Honorific Name. Klein invited Cyrin to join the Tarot gathering as the Wheel of Fortune, then divined whether Cyrin posed a danger to him.

• Klein asked Cyrin where he had learned Chinese and whether he knew Roselle, and Cyrin gave cautious answers.
• Klein questioned Cyrin about the being who had revealed his Honorific Name, and Cyrin described it as the Sublime from the Unknown, the Door Above the Dimensions, and the Incarnation of Art and Fantasy.
• Klein recognized that Cyrin was withholding some information but accepted that he could not speak directly about the other great beings.
• Klein invited Cyrin to join the regular Beyonder gathering, and Cyrin accepted using the name Cyrin Glay.
• Klein secretly guided Cyrin to choose the Wheel of Fortune as his Tarot codename and told him the gathering met every Monday at two in the afternoon, Backlund time.
• After Cyrin left, Klein sensed that Cyrin held major secrets and began a divination to see whether he was dangerous.

Cyril tried to secure help from Emlyn and House, but both prospects failed, leaving him to seek another way to obtain a Meteorite Crystal. At the Tarot Club gathering, he watched Hanged Man Alger present Roselle’s Diary and realized the others had ignored him.

• Cyril visited Harvest Cathedral, used a Gust to clear dust, and failed to persuade Emlyn to help him access Sanguine connections or find spiritually rich blood.
• Cyril asked Arrodes to prompt House to pray to him, but learned that House was being treated by the Machinery Hivemind for disturbing artistic behavior.
• Cyril waited for the Tarot Club gathering and arrived above the Gray Fog, where Fool Klein briefly scrutinized him.
• Hanged Man Alger offered nineteen pages of Roselle’s Diary as payment for help against Qilingus and presented the six pages he had memorized.
• Cyril noticed that everyone at the gathering seemed to have ignored him.