Chapter Summaries

Cyril defeated Father Utravsky’s materialized negative personality inside the Candle of Inner Demons, then returned to Harvest Cathedral and told Father Utravsky what had happened. Father Utravsky said the two had become independent, and Cyril wondered whether his negative personality had been separated from part of his soul.

• Cyril’s gunfire and imagined monsters failed to stop the young Father Utravsky, who unleashed a devastating Storm of Light.
• Cyril evaded the storm, struck Father Utravsky with Mental Piercing, and used a Painting Scroll to drive him toward losing control.
• Cyril shot the weakened Father Utravsky, destroying the materialized negative personality, whose face briefly showed relief before he vanished.
• Cyril returned to the hall of Harvest Cathedral and placed the Candle of Inner Demons on the table before Father Utravsky.
• Father Utravsky said he had not been affected because the materialized personality had become independent, and Cyril asked whether part of his soul had been separated.

Cyril accepted Father Utravsky’s Blood Extractor as a reward for helping him overcome the bloodthirsty part of his soul, then sold the item to Emlyn for 3,000 pounds. He also received a message from Sherlock Moriarty about repaying a loan and set out to meet him.

• Father Utravsky explained that an Archbishop had put his violent instincts to sleep, and Cyril reassured him that his struggle had not been a failure.
• Cyril chose the Blood Extractor as his reward and arranged to buy future potions, formulas, and materials from Father Utravsky.
• Sherlock Moriarty prayed to Mr. Fool to tell Mr. Fate that he had gathered the money he borrowed, and Cyril said he would meet him shortly.
• Emlyn arrived at Cyril’s door and offered 3,000 pounds for the Blood Extractor, which Cyril accepted in exchange for the item.

Cyril returned to Klein’s home to collect the money he had lent, then encountered a mysterious Demoness in the Mirror World. After introducing herself as Clarice, she hinted at a relationship with Cyril and began to move their encounter to its next stage.

• Cyril watched a silver-haired, red-eyed young man transform into vampire bats, then returned to Klein’s home and collected the money he had lent him.
• In the Mirror World, Cyril sensed an oppressive gaze and spoke with an unseen woman who identified herself as Clarice, a Demoness.
• Clarice charmed Cyril, but he resisted her advances and remained wary of her.
• Clarice introduced herself as an Intis native in Backlund to retrieve an item, while Cyril told her his name, background, and ambition to become a High Sequence Beyonder.
• Clarice suggested Cyril seek the Abraham Family for Apprentice Pathway resources, then announced that their pleasant encounter was over and they should move to the next stage.

Cyril spent the day accompanying Clarice around Backlund, and she warned him that a Sanguine Demigod had placed a mild curse on him before removing it. Meanwhile, Klein learned that the commission he sought had already been completed, and the next morning Clarice visited Cyril at home.

• Cyril reluctantly accompanied Clarice around Hillston Borough, then escorted her back to her hotel.
• Clarice told Cyril that a Sanguine Demigod had marked him with a mild curse that could attract Spirit World Creatures on a bright Full Moon, and said she had removed it.
• Klein visited Father Utravsky at Harvest Cathedral to pursue a commission for an Apothecary Potion formula, but learned someone else had completed it the previous night.
• Klein asked how Father Utravsky recognized him, then left the cathedral and grumbled that Cyril brought bad luck to his wallet.
• The next morning, Haven told Cyril that Clarice was waiting downstairs, and Cyril hurried down to greet her.

Cyril spent several days showing Clarice around Backlund before attending the Tarot Club gathering, where Magician Fors joined as a new member. Fors sought Potion Formulas, and Cyril offered to sell her the Trickmaster Formula and help find the Apothecary Formula.

• Clarice invited Cyril to Intis, then asked him to tour Saint George District with her while Haven rushed off to meet Mr. Portland.
• Clarice visited Cyril daily for several days, but stayed away one Monday because an assignment from an elder in her family had made progress.
• Cyril attended the Tarot Club gathering, where Justice Audrey welcomed the newly arrived Magician Fors and introduced her to the members.
• World asked the members to look for ingredients for the Faceless Potions, and Alger, Audrey, Cyril, and Fors agreed to help.
• Fors asked for the Apothecary and Trickmaster Potion Formulas, and Cyril offered the Trickmaster Formula for four hundred and fifty pounds and help finding the Apothecary Formula for a fee.

Cyril gave Fors the Trickmaster potion formula and advice, while Audrey explained the Acting Method and Adjacent Pathways to her. The gathering moved on when Derrick asked the members about the seven deities and offered to answer one question each in exchange for information.

• Cyril gave Fors the Trickmaster formula and advised her to focus on performance and fooling when acting.
• Fors agreed to pay Audrey 200 pounds to learn the Acting Method, and Audrey explained its benefits and secrecy condition.
• Audrey told Fors that general information about Adjacent Pathways was free, then explained the concept to her.
• Cyril identified Swindler as Sequence 8 of the Marauder Pathway and Magician as Sequence 7 of the Seer Pathway, and warned Fors against choosing the Marauder Pathway.
• Derrick asked the members to identify the seven deities and offered to answer one question from each in exchange for information.

Cyril arranged a future favor with Sun Derrick in exchange for information about the City of Silver, then discussed the dangers and limits of several Beyonder Pathways with the Tarot Club. He warned the members about a Demigod-level Demoness roaming Backlund, leaving Klein to wonder what Cyril had experienced with her.

• Cyril asked Sun Derrick to help him try to pinpoint the Forsaken Land of the Gods after Cyril became a Traveler, and Derrick eagerly agreed.
• Cyril told Magician Fors how he deduced her Apprentice Pathway and explained that its Beyonders often became Mystical Items because they lacked High Sequence protection.
• Cyril said the Seer Pathway's past danger had been dealt with and explained that the Abraham Family's bloodline curse kept its members from advancing beyond Sequence 7.
• Cyril warned the Tarot Club that a Demigod-level Demoness called Black Demoness was wandering around Backlund and advised them to avoid her.
• Cyril said he had encountered the Demoness and refused more information about her pathway, joking that he was not like Roselle and would not try anything.

Cyril attended the Tarot Club, arranged a visit with Clarice, and learned from Adam why the Demoness had sought him out. He then went to Harvest Cathedral to buy the Apothecary potion formula from Father Utravsky.

• At the Tarot Club, Cyril described the charms and abilities of a Demoness of Unaging, and the members shared recent news before the meeting ended.
• Cyril received Miss Magician’s cash and passed Derrick’s message about the Mist Treant ingredients to Mr. Fool, who relayed Cyril’s reply.
• Clarice appeared in Cyril’s mirror and persuaded him to accompany her to the Roselle Memorial Exhibition the next day.
• Cyril asked Adam about Clarice, learning that she had deliberately sought him out and that passionate love helped her maintain her role; Adam warned him not to become infatuated.
• At Harvest Cathedral, Cyril found Emlyn praying beside Father Utravsky and agreed to pay two hundred pounds for the Apothecary potion formula.

Cyril visited the Roselle Memorial Exhibition with Clarice, where he suspected Bernadette was watching them before she disappeared. Clarice offered to send him Roselle’s coded notes, but she vanished when Archbishop Horamick arrived and hinted that Cyril could seek help at church.

• Cyril and Clarice used his Beyonder Ability to bypass the queue and entered the exhibition, where he recognized a veiled woman as a likely Bernadette.
• Cyril studied Roselle’s diary and asked Clarice for coded notes; she promised to have them delivered and teased him about repayment.
• Clarice’s charm captivated the nearby visitors, so Cyril led her into another hall and warned her about attracting the attention of Church of Steam Beyonders.
• Clarice sensed someone approaching and vanished as Carlson, disguised as a security guard, came to meet Cyril.
• Archbishop Horamick greeted Cyril, reminded him to visit church if he faced difficulties, and Cyril understood the offer of help.

Cyril visited the Roselle exhibition, where he recognized the Black Emperor Card hidden in a manuscript bookmark and learned that the Church of Steam had placed him under protection after a high-ranking Demoness followed him. Unable to help Klein retrieve the card himself, Cyril’s prayer reached Klein and Audrey, while deacon Ikanser began investigating the Demoness’s appearance.

• After Horamick left the exhibition, Cyril noticed increased security and recognized a bookmark in Roselle’s manuscripts as the Black Emperor Card.
• Bernadette questioned Cyril about the manuscripts, warned him to avoid mirrors and stay near a church, and acknowledged that she had reported the Demoness.
• Cyril avoided greeting Klein at the exhibition, and Klein spotted the bookmark in the manuscripts.
• Carlson escorted Cyril to Lever Church, where Cyril prayed and told the Fool he could not assist with retrieving the bookmark because he was under protection.
• Klein heard Cyril’s prayer and turned to Audrey for help, while Ikanser introduced himself as Cyril’s protector and asked what the Demoness wanted; Cyril said she had wanted to date him.

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.