Chapter Summaries

Thor opened the doors within his body and began absorbing Magic Power uncontrollably while his Consciousness Entity was separated from his body. Byron and the others tried to protect him with a Sealing Magic Array, but Black Tide Pollution slipped through and entered Thor.

• Thor realized that the doors inside his body were channels connecting his cells to the outside world.
• An and Agu saw Thor absorb Magic Power and impurities uncontrollably while he remained unresponsive.
• Byron ordered Agu to build a Sealing Magic Array around Thor and had An prepare potions and materials.
• The array sharply reduced Thor's Magic Power intake, but the suction within him intensified and threatened to overwhelm it.
• Agu saw Black Tide Pollution leak from a cabinet, pass through the array, and enter Thor's body.

Thor’s open inner doors drew Black Tide Pollution into his body while he lay unconscious, so Byron tried to freeze Thor and the Pollution until he could wake. Inside his Consciousness Space, Thor recognized the danger and decided he had to close the doors before leaving, while weighing the risk of delaying his Tier 3 advancement.

• Thor’s attraction drew Black Tide Pollution through the Isolation and Sealing Magic Arrays, alarming Agu and An.
• Byron entered the array, gave Thor potions, and explained that he planned to freeze Thor and the active Pollution using potions and Micro Witchcraft Arrays.
• Agu questioned Byron’s untested plan, but Byron argued that waiting could threaten Thor’s Tier 3 selection, and Agu ultimately let him proceed.
• Byron applied potions to Thor and began inscribing arrays on his wrists, ankles, and brow.
• Thor sensed Pollution affecting his Spirit Body and realized that the Stars had opened the doors inside him, leaving his body exposed to danger.
• Thor decided to close the doors inside his Consciousness Space before waking, while considering whether to risk taking control of them completely.

Thor expelled the Star Eyes from his Spirit Body and woke to find Byron freezing the Corruption he had absorbed. As Byron kept Thor pinned beneath icy needles, Thor realized Byron’s Inertia Experiment had shown promising initial results.

• Thor studied the Star Eyes, persuaded them to detach from his Spirit Body, and watched one turn into a stone sphere before disappearing into the Consciousness Space.
• Thor woke to find Byron treating him with Small Steel Needles and Ice Crystals after he had absorbed Black Tide Pollution from a cabinet.
• Thor gathered the Corruption in his body at a fingertip, severed it, and let Agu seal it in a test tube.
• Byron stuck another needle into Thor’s forehead and told him to stay still while he monitored his condition.
• An asked whether Thor was about to advance to Third Rank, and Thor explained that he had opened a door by accident.
• Thor recognized that Byron’s Inertia Experiment had succeeded in its initial stages, and Byron said the results still needed work.

Thor developed new ways to render Corruption inert and recorded his experience of opening the doors as he continued his studies. After Pearl returned to the Wizard Tower, she asked whether he had heard a voice from the sky, then heard the terrifying voice coming from Thor.

• Thor and Byron realized the Inertia Formula could use cooling to reduce Corruption's activity, and Thor proposed pressure, temperature, concentration, Radiation, and acidity or alkalinity as possible approaches.
• Thor decided to record his experience of opening the doors without attempting it again, while Byron continued the Inertia Experiment and Thor treated people with severe Black Tide Pollution.
• Thor learned that Star Eyes appeared on some patients he treated but not on Byron or Marsh, and he allowed Jiajiagu to keep bringing patients to him.
• Thor turned eighteen, and Pearl returned to the Wizard Tower at the end of April after six months away.
• Pearl asked Thor whether he had heard a voice from the sky, then heard the familiar terrifying voice coming from him.

Sol realized Pearl feared him after he mentioned the voice in the sky, then turned toward renewed tremors from Old Days Manor. Half an hour earlier, Luke had confronted Lucy there for the Ice Lock Array’s solution, and she attacked him with lightning before he spoke again.

• Pearl’s magic spiraled out of control, and she fled from Sol toward the Broken Cliff as tremors shook Lake Heart Island.
• Sol wondered whether the voice in the sky came from the Stars, then recognized the tremors as coming from Old Days Manor.
• Luke arrived at Old Days Manor with a new Tier 1 Wizard and asked Lucy for the solution to the Ice Lock Array.
• Lucy refused to help Luke and summoned Alik’s lightning to strike him, calling him unworthy of becoming a candidate.
• Luke spoke again after Lucy’s attack, taunting her about the Speaker’s memory-protection measures.

Lucy and Kismet fought Luke in the Old Days Manor, where Luke's death magic and Kismet's harp drove them into a dangerous standoff. The manor twisted around a central point, distorting Luke into a smear as Lucy and Kismet watched.

• Lucy survived Luke's rotted-arm attack, but Luke seized her and threatened her until she called for Kismet.
• Kismet caught Lucy, dispelled the death energy from her body, and chased Luke into the Old Days Manor.
• A violent upheaval threw Lucy out of the manor as Kismet and Luke rushed through the doorway.
• Kismet used his silver Harp to block Luke's escape, but retreated when the manor began to twist and warp.
• The Old Days Manor distorted around its center, stretching Luke's body into an indistinct smear.

The Wind Eye appeared at Old Days Manor, twisting the manor and corrupting Lucy before Thor arrived and drew some Corruption from her. With the exam forced to begin early, Keri proposed sealing the Wind Eye with her Magic Array, despite only having a fifty percent chance of success.

• The distortion from Old Days Manor twisted a Tier 1 Wizard and Lucy, while Kismet pulled Lucy away from the manor and identified the black hole at the distortion's center as the Wind Eye.
• An hour later, Thor arrived on Diu Diu and found the manor gone, Lucy corrupted, and Kismet watching nearby.
• Thor drew black matter from Lucy's skull, helping her regain consciousness, though her twisted face remained changed.
• Herbert arrived and said the Wind Eye had to be sealed at once, so the candidates could no longer study the Magic Array.
• Keri emerged from the Pumpkin Carriage and offered to seal the Wind Eye with her own Magic Array, despite estimating only a fifty percent chance of success.

Keri prepared to use her Ice Lock Array to seal the Wind Eye, while Thor watched the others and the unstable distortion. As Keri announced she was ready, Herbert said that success would make her the Land of No Owner's next Tier 3 Wizard.

• Keri revealed she had completed the Ice Seal Array, and Lucy confirmed that Luke had died inside the distortion at Old Days Manor.
• Keri began setting up her array while Herbert prepared to intervene if she failed, and Thor sent Diu Diu to alert the Wizard Tower.
• The Wind Eye erupted again, and Keri used her precise emotional control to calm the frightened Wizards assisting her.
• Pearl arrived and stood with the group, while Thor kept watch over her and Lucy and held the Pollution Source he had drawn from Lucy.
• Keri announced that she was ready to begin sealing the Wind Eye, and Herbert said success would make her the Land of No Owner's next Tier 3 Wizard.

Thor joined Keri’s team in operating the Ice Lock Array to seal the Wind Eye at Old Days Manor. The array began freezing the Black Hole’s distortions, but the chapter ended with an ominous hint that the operation would not go smoothly.

• Herbert warned Pearl that someone might interfere with the sealing, and Pearl urged him to focus on the operation.
• Herbert invited Thor to help with the array, while Kismet refused to take part.
• Keri asked Thor to work with her to control the Ice Lock Array’s Magic Power, and he agreed.
• Keri and Thor activated the array as Herbert and Pearl supplied it with Magic Power.
• The array projected heavy snowfall onto the Black Hole, freezing its distortions and making the Wind Eye’s movements visible.
• Thor estimated the array could seal the Wind Eye by noon on the third day, but the chapter ended by foreshadowing trouble.

With the mirror sustaining the seal on the Wind Eye cracking, Thor proposed focusing the Magic Array on the Black Hole and moving the mirror closer to it. He needed someone to carry out the dangerous task, and he turned to Kismet.

• After a loud crack rang out, Thor and Keri rushed to the mirror and found that it was damaged and continuing to split.
• Herbert ordered the Wind Eye sent underground, but Keri warned that channeling more Magic Power into the mirror could shatter it and collapse the seal.
• Herbert demanded that they repair the array and threatened to sacrifice Keri, while Pearl rejected the plan to use the original life-sacrificing method.
• Thor remembered his durable Baiseke Magic Mirror but saw Pearl silently signal that she did not want him to use it.
• Thor proposed concentrating the Magic Array on the Black Hole and moving the mirror closer to the Wind Eye to strengthen the seal with less Magic Power.
• When Keri volunteered to carry the mirror, Thor pointed out that she was not adapted to the Corruption and then called on Kismet to help.

Thor recruited Kismet to carry the Baiseke Magic Mirror into Old Days Manor so it could strengthen the Ice Lock seal, and Lucy volunteered to accompany him. After they reached the designated spot, Lucy suddenly struck the mirror with a lightning-wreathed fist.

• Thor explained his plan to improve the Ice Lock seal, and Kismet agreed to take the dangerous mirror into Old Days Manor.
• Lucy volunteered to escort Kismet, while Thor assigned Keri to oversee the Magic Array and prepared a third contingency with a longbow.
• Kismet and Lucy carried the mirror toward the designated Mapping Point under Pearl and Herbert's protection.
• The Wind Eye twisted Kismet's feet backward, but he adapted and continued with Lucy, who showed no signs of being affected.
• As Kismet prepared to turn back after reaching the spot, Lucy punched the mirror with her lightning-wreathed fist.

Lucy broke the mirror and opened the Wind Eye’s seal, drawing herself and Kismet toward the Black Hole. Kismet helped Thor and Keri complete the seal, but he was frozen inside the resulting ice sculpture.

• Lucy punched through the mirror, and the broken seal unleashed the Black Hole’s pull, sweeping her and Kismet toward it.
• Kismet planted his Harp in the ground to slow their descent, while Lucy revealed that she hated him for killing her twice and ruining her great-grandfather’s plan.
• Lucy shattered Kismet’s Harp and sent them toward the Black Hole, where its suction crushed her body as Kismet grabbed the mirror.
• Kismet called out to Thor, who gave Keri the final angle and magnification for the Ice Lock Array.
• The Array’s reflected Magic Power drove Lucy into the Black Hole, and Thor’s arrow entered the gap and stopped the suction.
• The seal closed, but the Ice Lock’s power froze Kismet and the Black Hole together in a complete ice sculpture.

Thor rescued Kismet from the Ice Lock Array and helped seal the Wind Eye, though Kismet’s connection to the Diary remained unclear. After Keri conceded that Thor had surpassed her in the Third Rank selection task, the group stayed on guard against further changes.

• Thor used Dawn Traction to pull Kismet out of the ice without disturbing the Wind Eye’s Black Hole.
• Keri restarted the Ice Lock Array, and Herbert and Pearl helped press the frozen Wind Eye underground.
• Kismet laughed about surviving and suggested he had expected the Diary or another force to save him.
• Pearl arranged for Wizards and Apprentices to watch the Wind Eye while the others rested, and Kismet slipped away.
• Keri said she would report Lucy’s betrayal and asked Thor how he had calculated the array’s angles and multipliers.
• Thor described a universal formula, and Keri conceded that Thor had won the Third Rank selection task.

Thor won the challenge to become the reserve Tier 3 Wizard and returned to the Purification Wizard Tower, where he discussed his plans with his companions and rested. That night, a firefly infiltrated the sealed Old Days Manor to reach the Anchor Point, but Kismet confronted it and claimed he could lead it to the real Wind Eye.

• Keri withdrew from the challenge after Thor outperformed her, and Pearl and Herbert named Thor the reserve Tier 3 Wizard.
• Thor returned to the Purification Wizard Tower, told Byron the Wind Eye had been sealed, and discussed reinforcing the Consciousness Entities' Soul Armaments.
• Morton refused Thor's offer to leave the Diary, while Hope noticed Thor's fatigue and urged him to rest.
• A disguised firefly slipped past the guards at Old Days Manor and began melting through the ice above the Anchor Point.
• Kismet confronted the firefly, identified its goal, and warned that killing him would leave it unable to find the real Wind Eye.

After gaining the support of the Star Gate Council and Herbert, Thor gathered followers and prepared to advance to Tier 3. He visited Noah in the Chaos Domain and discovered that Scorpion had talent for Mental Power, though Scorpion mistook him for a terrifying god.

• The Star Gate Council recognized Thor as a Tier 3 candidate, and Herbert and others provided resources and advice for his advancement.
• Thor recruited Jiajiagu, Brando, and others, then made agreements with nearby factions to receive Witchcraft resources in exchange for protection.
• Thor visited Noah in the Chaos Domain and told him he might be away for three to six months while he prepared to advance to Tier 3.
• Thor found Scorpion carving a Witchcraft Rune and sensed that he had a talent for Mental Power.
• Scorpion noticed Thor and prostrated himself, calling him the Death Arbiter and offering him everything he had.

Noah returned to the Black Desert equipped with combat Witchcraft Items and prepared to bring Scorpion’s tribe under the Death Inquisitor’s influence. Thor prepared to push open the door within himself, sent letters to Pearl and the Star Gate Council, and encouraged Agu to explore once the Consciousness Entities were strong enough.

• Noah returned to the Black Desert with a protective robe and Jiajiagu’s python bracelet, then told Scorpion that the Death Inquisitor had granted his request.
• Noah offered to accompany Scorpion to his tribe and give them a chance to be reborn if they became the Death Inquisitor’s servants.
• Thor prepared to absorb the Corruption sealed inside himself while opening the door, then sent Diu Diu to deliver letters to Pearl and the Star Gate Council.
• Thor told Agu to have Herman and An keep refining their Soul Armament designs rather than rush dangerous modifications.
• Thor told Agu that he would eventually let the Consciousness Entities leave on their own and could pull them back through the Diary if they encountered danger.

Thor prepared to advance to Tier 3 as the Star Gate Council and his allies built an enormous Ascension Array outside Rhine City. After inspecting it and receiving the instructions, he stood at its center as the ceremony began.

• Thor discussed the upcoming advancement with Penny and learned that Byron could perform large-scale inerting with a one-time method, though he still sought a lasting energy source.
• Keri oversaw the Ascension Array’s construction, while Pearl came to inspect it and maintained her distance from Thor.
• Five days later, Herbert returned, and Thor completed three inspections of the array before the ceremony.
• Thor flew to the center of the hundred-meter array as his friends, helpers, and the Consciousness Entities gathered to watch.
• Keri explained that the Energy Towers would channel power into Thor, and she gave the order to begin.

Thor used the advancement ritual to open the door within his body and began experimenting with the dark Witchcraft Fear Backlash. A Wind Eye appeared around him, and Byron rushed into the danger as the crowd panicked.

• Thor channeled the Magic Array’s power and opened the door within his body again.
• Thor formed the Witchcraft Fear Backlash, puzzling Herbert, Brando, Jiajiagu, Pearl, and Byron.
• Byron noticed dark spots on Thor’s skin and suspected his experiment involved Black Tide Pollution.
• Black smoke rose from Thor, and Herbert recognized a Wind Eye forming in the Magic Array.
• The crowd panicked, and Byron charged toward Thor while Pearl feared for his survival.

Thor’s Magic Power spiraled out of control and carried Black Tide Pollution into his mind, causing the Wind Eye to reappear around him. As his allies prepared a rescue and Keri organized a new seal, a colossal Black Tide erupted from the Wind Eye.

• Thor tried to transform Fear Backlash into a Tier 5 spell, but Magic Power flowed toward his head and carried Black Tide Pollution into his brain.
• Thor’s body began pouring out fluid and black smoke as the Wind Eye appeared around him, shocking the Wizards watching.
• Keri rallied the Wizards to prepare the Ice Lock Array, while Brando refused to abandon Thor and joined Jiajiagu, Pearl, and Ed in planning a rescue.
• Pearl said Byron had entered the Wind Eye and proposed using the wind to send in a rope made from Ed’s Parasites and Modi’s Lead Metal, with Brando’s spare body ready to retrieve Thor and Byron.
• A colossal black wave burst from the Wind Eye and halted the sealing and rescue efforts.

Thor experienced a vision of the Black Tide consuming the Land of No Owner, transforming or killing everyone and ending with Xiao Zao attacking him. He awoke beside the Golden Page just as the Wizards prepared to begin the Magic Array, and kept quiet about the Wind Eye inside him because he feared they would seal him with it.

• The Black Tide and Corruption overwhelmed the people, causing Ed, Jiajiagu, and others to suffer horrific transformations.
• Pearl tried to flee the Land of No Owner, but the Black Tide took control of her power and drew her toward the voices in the sky.
• Thor surfaced as a skeleton in a ruined world, saw the mutated Xiao Zao, and was torn apart by its tentacles.
• Thor awoke from the Golden Page vision as Keri prepared to begin the Magic Array.
• Thor stopped himself from warning the Wizards that the Wind Eye was inside him, fearing they would seal him along with it.