Chapter Summaries

Feng En decided to lead his people up the mountain after everyone outside his territory vanished, while Chen Xu’s force set out to join Colin’s troops. Feng En then warned Chen Xu that Shen Ya was at his gates, even though Chen Xu believed Shen Ya was traveling with him.

• Feng En found that the people outside his gates had disappeared and, suspecting the situation was worsening, chose to climb the mountain with his group.
• Feng En ordered everyone to leave within five minutes, then set out with his younger brother Feng Ke and the others.
• Chen Xu organized his force into four teams and ordered them to march toward Feng En’s territory with only one baked potato per person for the next day or two.
• Chen Xu messaged Feng En to report that he, Tang Songming, Lu Bai, and Shen Ya were on their way, but Feng En asked whether Chen Xu had seen Shen Ya.
• Feng En told Chen Xu that Shen Ya was standing outside his territory’s gates, leaving Chen Xu horrified.

Chen Xu restrained Shen Ya after Feng En reported seeing him outside his gate, then sent Lu Bai to investigate. Lu Bai reached Feng En’s territory and found no one outside the gate.

• Chen Xu asked Shen Ya to confirm Feng En’s report, then had him chained up while they checked whether he was really himself.
• Shen Ya contacted Feng En through the Parchment, and they agreed to meet and stay alert.
• Chen Xu decided to hurry toward Feng En’s territory and sent Lu Bai with half his men to scout ahead.
• Lu Bai arrived at the brightly lit territory and saw no one outside the gate.

Lu Bai’s group approached Feng En’s territory, but strange lapses in memory and the unexplained disappearance of most of his people made him retreat. After Lu Bai left, Feng En’s force headed for the summit, and Chen Xu arrived to find the territory empty.

• Lu Bai briefly forgot what he had meant to do, then messaged Feng En to announce his arrival.
• Feng En’s people refused to open the gate and stalled Lu Bai with questions about whether anything felt wrong and whether Chen Xu was coming.
• Lu Bai discovered that more than half his people and two War Chariots had vanished, so he led the survivors away to meet the others.
• Less than ten minutes after Lu Bai left, Feng En’s gates opened and his force rushed toward the mountaintop.
• Chen Xu arrived at the empty territory, checked his map, and wondered whether he had come to the wrong place.

Chen Xu's convoy became trapped in a spacetime distortion on the snowy mountain, unable to trust messages or reach the summit, until a red Parchment message claimed that reciting Colin's honored name could bring safety. Chen Xu tried it, and Colin sensed his prayer from the distant Floating Island and began sending him power.

• Chen Xu found Feng En's territory abandoned despite Feng En's messages claiming he was there, then led his convoy away when Feng En stopped responding.
• Chen Xu's convoy repeatedly looped back to the mountain's foot or emerged in other places, while the Regional Channel filled with warnings about the distortion and reports that no one could reach the summit.
• A blood-red message said that reciting Colin's honored name could let people escape the chaos, and survivors reported that the name worked near the mountaintop Grand Church.
• Chen Xu prepared for the possibility that reciting the name would be dangerous and then prayed to Colin while his people aimed weapons at him.
• Colin sensed Chen Xu's prayer from the Floating Island, opened a connection, and sent a portion of his power through it.

Chen Xu used Colin’s Flawless Light to drive the chaos from his team’s minds, recover their memory of Lu Bai, and guide them onto the safe path up the mountain. Colin explained how the chaos distorted reality and continued aiding survivors as the Floating Island climbed above thirteen thousand meters.

• Chen Xu channeled his power to grant a Blessing, and Colin’s Flawless Light enveloped him and dispelled the chaos.
• Chen Xu called out a number to reassure the team, then asked where Lu Bai was; the light helped everyone recover their memories and recognize their confusion.
• Chen Xu followed a whisper’s instruction to go up the mountain and led the team along the road illuminated by sacred radiance, where distortions disappeared.
• Colin explained how chaos progressed from minor anomalies to altered identities, memories, and closed loops, and noted that he had learned about it from a Descender.
• Colin continued answering prayers from Independent Squads and wished for an avatar that could respond automatically as the Floating Island rose above thirteen thousand meters.

After helping Survivors from high above the island, Colin began his planned fall toward the Charred-Faced Holy Mother. At the monastery, the gathered Survivors prayed for him as the Holy Mother awakened, and a holy figure appeared to confront it.

• Colin rose above fifty thousand meters, cut off the Survivors' prayers, and sensed that the Charred-Faced Holy Mother was close to awakening.
• Colin leaped from the Floating Island and erupted with blinding light as the system began the Falling procedure.
• Chen Xu reunited with Feng En and Lu Bai outside the monastery as a terrifying mental pressure erupted from within.
• Aberrations emerged from the snow, but artillery fire destroyed the first wave before it could attack the Survivors.
• Survivors began chanting Colin's honorific name, and Chen Xu and his companions joined them despite the Holy Mother's growing pressure.
• A tiny point of light became a holy figure that faced the monastery and declared, “Let there be light!”

Colin used a Great Miracle to suppress the Charred-Faced Holy Mother long enough to evacuate the Survivors, with Number Two and the Wrath-Bearers holding back the Aberrations. After everyone withdrew, Colin entered the monastery to inflict a Heavy Wound on the Holy Mother, but a massive chained hand attacked him from the darkness.

• Colin used the Great Miracle to silence the Charred-Faced Holy Mother and cover the area in controllable White Mist for the evacuation.
• Number Two and his Lamp Bearers defended the retreat until dozens of Wrath-Bearer exoskeletons emerged from the mist and took over the battlefield.
• The Light Chasers guided the Survivors through the White Mist, and Colin ordered the Wrath-Bearers to retreat once the last group had escaped.
• Colin dispersed the White Mist and entered the monastery to inflict a Heavy Wound on the Charred-Faced Holy Mother.
• A huge pus-stained hand wrapped in black chains lunged at Colin from the darkness as a rotting head appeared behind it.

Colin confronted the Great Miracle Charred-Faced Holy Mother inside the monastery, enduring her attacks and discovering that his Mind Pierce could not harm her. As she unleashed a barrage of decaying light, two missions appeared, and Colin prepared to find a way to defeat her in a single strike.

• Colin dodged the giant hand's blows and evaded its decaying beam, realizing that destroying the hand would only waste his strength.
• Colin intensified his Holy Light and revealed the grotesque Charred-Faced Holy Mother beneath its shadowy veil.
• Charred-Faced Holy Mother unleashed a mental shock, while Colin noticed the yellow pus and saw a beautiful woman's engraving among the chains around the hand.
• Colin resisted the engraving's alluring influence, but his Mind Pierce failed and Charred-Faced Holy Mother struck back at his mind.
• Colin received the missions "Defeat Charred-Faced Holy Mother" and "Suppress the Chaos" as Charred-Faced Holy Mother attacked with thousands of decaying light spheres.

Colin used Solar Flare to severely damage Charred-Faced Holy Mother, then bound it with Chains of Light as the surroundings began to tremble. He left it restrained and hinted that something was about to arrive.

• Colin learned that the yellowish pus could solidify into metal and seal people like Kimino, so he stayed alert while evading Charred-Faced Holy Mother’s attacks.
• Colin discovered that Charred-Faced Holy Mother could retreat into darkness and become nearly immune to damage, then rushed close to prevent it from escaping.
• Colin unleashed Solar Flare, vaporizing part of Charred-Faced Holy Mother’s body but learning that it had suffered only a minor injury.
• Colin summoned Chains of Light that pierced and restrained Charred-Faced Holy Mother, while the ground, buildings, and air began to tremble.

Colin used the Level 3 Floating Island’s Fall function to strike the Charred-Faced Holy Mother with an impact comparable to a nuclear bomb. The attack devastated the region but left her barely alive, giving Colin only a few minutes to finish her before she began recovering.

• Colin learned that the Floating Island’s Fall function could unleash an impact almost as powerful as the Tsar Bomba, though using it would destroy the island.
• The Charred-Faced Holy Mother failed to evade the falling island as Colin watched from his avatar.
• The Level 3 Floating Island struck the Charred-Faced Holy Mother’s skull, flattening the monastery and devastating the surrounding land with its blast and shockwave.
• Colin’s avatar was erased and his main body was injured, while the Prompt revealed that the Charred-Faced Holy Mother was near death but still alive.
• Colin sensed the Charred-Faced Holy Mother’s warning about facing “Him” and realized he had only three minutes to kill her before she began recovering.

As Colin prepared to return from the Graveyard of Peaks, strange music triggered prayers and manifestations of powerful beings across the battlefield. Shana’s ritual to bring him home failed when his forming figure of light suddenly burst apart.

• Colin resisted the strange music with Holy Light and waited for the chance to return to his territory.
• Waterlogged creatures on a wrecked sailboat prayed to the Lord of storms and thunder, summoning a disaster-level typhoon and lightning.
• A moss-covered figure prompted the corpses in a forest to pray to the Source of all life, and they fused into a bare black tree.
• Other forces awakened across the Graveyard of Peaks, including an orange-yellow radiance, praying rat swarms, and the immense figure of the Enlightener.
• Shana led tens of thousands of believers in a ritual to bring Colin back, but his forming figure of light burst apart and the return failed.

Colin was trapped in a chaotic space by a terrifying being sealed within the Charred-Faced Holy Mother, whose attacks could alter past events. The creature froze time and threatened to torture him, while Colin searched for a way to escape and tried to understand the danger.

• Colin's teleportation was interrupted as the being's laughter dragged him into a chaotic space and sealed off his retreat.
• A black tentacle struck Colin through his light shield by changing events so that he had not yet raised it.
• Colin realized the being's power affected him when his thoughts and emotions became chaotic, and he defended himself against more tentacle attacks.
• A towering black creature emerged from mist, freezing Colin and revealing a transcendent presence comparable to Black Night.
• The creature told Colin that it had frozen time and threatened to torture him, while Colin continued calling for the System and used Hint only on himself.

Colin rejected a higher being’s offer to enlighten humanity and fought it, but his attack shattered the chaotic space and let the creature enter reality. As the creature tried to take the Source of Light from him, Black Night intervened, giving Colin time to heal and flee.

• The higher being offered Colin and humanity enlightenment in exchange for a small price, but Colin recognized the offer’s bewitching power and refused.
• Colin attacked the higher being with Solar Flare, and their clash shattered the chaotic space.
• The higher being revealed that it had used Colin’s uniqueness to break its restraints and enter reality, then overwhelmed him and reached for the Source of Light.
• Black Night’s darkness struck the higher being and interrupted its attack on Colin.
• Colin used a Recovery Card to heal and fled, then sensed something and looked toward the sky.

Colin watched the Deep Howler battle Black Night as the Sanction System and several other powerful beings intervened, while the Gray Fog sealed the area around them. As the conflict escalated toward an event even the gods feared, Colin realized the Deep Howler might be trying to use the Source of Light to escape.

• The Deep Howler fought Black Night as lightning struck and the Sanction System weakened the Deep Howler, but it emerged in a more complete and terrifying form.
• A powerful Hound attacked the Deep Howler, while Colin ignored cries for help that he recognized as illusions.
• An elderly voice invoked “Fairness,” transferring strength from the Deep Howler to Black Night and restoring their battle to an even state.
• A surge of life and several new presences joined the attack on the Deep Howler as the Gray Fog sealed the area and Colin moved away from the battle.
• Colin realized the Deep Howler might use the Source of Light to escape, then received a warning that the escalating conflict could trigger an event even the gods feared.

As the gods battled the Deep Howler, it appeared beside Colin and trapped him by twisting time and space. The Enlightener intervened, but its attacks failed, and the Deep Howler's chaotic hand stopped just short of Colin.

• The battle's destructive effects struck Colin even hundreds of kilometers from the battlefield, forcing him to dispel bodily distortions and use a Recovery Card.
• A silver-haired woman appeared before Colin and revealed herself as the Deep Howler, then rewound time to undo his spear attack.
• The Deep Howler froze time and space, discarded the woman's body, and advanced on Colin while the distant gods struggled to reach him.
• The Enlightener appeared and used an ancient book to copy Colin's abilities, attack the Deep Howler, and shield him.
• The Deep Howler dismissed the Enlightener's attacks and swept a hand of chaos toward Colin, but it stopped one meter from his head.

Colin escaped the Deep Howler’s grasp as a bloodstained spear impaled the deity and began draining its strength. He discovered that the attacker was the gray-haired woman whose body the Deep Howler had discarded, while Black Night and other gods remained nearby as the Deep Howler faced death.

• Colin felt the Deep Howler’s aura collapse, escaped its loosening restraint, and moved closer to the gods for safety.
• He saw a blood-red spear protruding from the Deep Howler’s chest and realized its ancient blood carried the aura of a terrifying being he knew.
• The Deep Howler turned and saw the gray-haired, gray-eyed woman whose corpse it had discarded, now standing behind it and smiling at Colin.
• The Deep Howler recognized the woman had betrayed it, but the spear prevented it from transferring its wounds or escaping.
• The Deep Howler’s battlefield clone vanished after its main body was pinned, and some attacking deities disappeared while others stayed; Black Night reacted most fiercely.

The Descender killed the Deep Howler, but Colin was swept into the collapsing space and attacked with Sin Blade before losing consciousness. He woke after a disturbing dream to hear someone address him as “Big brother.”

• The Descender revealed that she had betrayed the Deep Howler and helped bring about His death.
• The Deep Howler petrified and shattered, and the Descender caught His black heart and placed it inside herself.
• The Descender warned Colin that the isolated space was collapsing, and Colin was dragged into a spatial storm while shielding himself with Holy Light.
• A bizarre aura emerged from the storm, but before Colin could escape its influence, Sin Blade pierced his abdomen and a writhing shadow engulfed him.
• Colin woke from a Nightmare in which the Little Girl ate flesh from her shoulder, then heard someone ask whether he had finally woken up.

Colin woke in a small boat at sea and found the Little Girl, who said she had saved him and was following him. After learning he had been unconscious for about a day, Colin asked her name.

• Colin woke in a battered boat and found the Little Girl floating nearby, apparently alive despite saying she had died long ago.
• Colin realized the Little Girl remained impossible for the Prompt to identify and that she had followed him without his noticing.
• The Little Girl said she had saved Colin and produced the Blade of Sin, explaining that she could touch it again after he had killed her once.
• The Little Girl told Colin that Survivors had rescued him from the sea and left him in the small boat with food and water.
• Colin learned he had been unconscious for approximately a day and asked the Little Girl what her name was.

Colin told Vigus that her body had been reduced to ashes, and she reacted with a surge of spiritual pressure before calming down. She then made misleading remarks about Colin in front of newly arrived Survivors, leaving him socially mortified as he promised to find her a better body.

• Vigus asked Colin to return her body and the little house she had hidden in the church.
• Colin gave Vigus the wooden box containing her ashes, and she opened it to find that her body had been burned to powder.
• Vigus briefly radiated intense spiritual pressure and made Colin fear she would lose control, but the pressure soon vanished.
• Vigus called Colin a good person while listing how he had killed her and her friends, and Colin noticed Survivors watching from a nearby warship.
• Colin covered Vigus's mouth before she could say more and promised to give her a better body later.

Colin met the Survivors who had rescued him and learned about their home in the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago. After they invited him to travel with them to a trading fair organized by the Fallen Race, Colin agreed to follow behind their warship.

• A female Survivor accused Colin of mistreating the Little Girl, so Colin used the Source of Light to purify the group’s short-term memories and steer the conversation back on track.
• Colin learned that his rescuers came from the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago, where Survivors had survived Black Night by fleeing to sea and later returned after receiving Blessings.
• Ilyich asked how Colin had ended up in the sea, and Colin said he had been randomly teleported there after running into trouble.
• Colin asked whether the Survivors were exchange students, and Ilyich explained that most of them were ethnic Russians.
• Ilyich invited Colin aboard, but his companions hesitated, so Colin offered to follow their Level 1 warship to the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago trading fair.
• Colin learned that the Fallen Race organized the trading fair, where mysterious items, relic clues, and historical information were exchanged, and Ilyich hinted that a big shot had made it possible for Survivors to attend.