Chapter Summaries

Colin subdued the Fallen Race on the island, organized the aftermath, and learned the cost of the battle. Shana brought him an ancient board that suppressed mysterious powers, and touching it began weakening his characteristics.

• Colin used Holy Light to convert most of the Fallen Race, sealed the surrounding waters, and ordered searches and infiltration missions.
• Colin felt drained after sustaining the light and reflected that stronger Extraordinary individuals were needed to counter Godchosen.
• Number One reported heavy injuries and casualties, and Colin ordered treatment and transferred command to Number Two.
• Colin spoke with the local Survivors before Shana showed him a strange ancient wooden board.
• Colin read that the board forced nearby things to obey physical laws, then touched it and felt his characteristics rapidly weaken.

Colin prepared to reclaim the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago, but Atu appeared with an offer to help him obtain a System component that granted immortality. She began explaining why that ability had not saved its previous users, leaving Colin wanting to know what had happened to them.

• Colin put the mystical item that suppressed the powers of anything it covered into his Inventory and prepared to capture the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago.
• Colin considered investigating the Hall of Light and the Floating Stone after the campaign, then noticed Atu’s clone appear.
• Atu said Colin had encountered one of her avatars, a mindless beast, and proposed that they work together to deal with it.
• Atu offered Colin a System component that granted true immortality and indestructibility, and Colin asked her to explain.
• Atu said the component came from a relatively complete System and that its users had suffered a miserable fate despite their immortality.

Colin considered Atu’s proposal to help retrieve a System component from a Great Old One, but postponed his decision until he could consult the System. Atu also warned him that the Book of Flesh could destroy the world if mishandled, and left after explaining the danger.

• Atu tried to persuade Colin to help defeat an avatar and retrieve a System component, claiming it could offer a chance to resurrect the survivors.
• Colin told Atu he would decide in two days after consulting the System, and she explained that the Great Old Ones were far stronger than beings such as the Enlightener.
• Atu said she had confidence in the plan and could find powerful allies, but warned that they would need helpers uninterested in System components.
• Atu warned Colin that the Book of Flesh was connected to a terrifying existence and could destroy the world if something went wrong.
• After Atu left, the time and space around Colin returned to normal.

Colin captured Third Ring Island, used a temple to rally the Fallen Races and Survivors, and organized the arriving warships into three fleets. He reached the Second Ring Island region, where Spirit Shaman forces blocked the way, and was asked how to begin the attack.

• Colin built a temple on Third Ring Island, where its sacred aura cleared the Gray Fog and thousands of Fallen Races proclaimed their devotion to him.
• Colin addressed the Survivors and Fallen Races, urging them to unite against the people who had tried to destroy peace on Red Leaf Island.
• Li Hang arrived with a fleet of dozens of warships, and Colin incorporated Lin Yilan's forces into his own.
• Colin divided the warships into three fleets led by Qin Shou, Li Hang and Number Two, and himself, while Third Ring Island became his military base.
• Colin reached the Second Ring Island region and found Spirit Shaman forces blocking the route; Lin Yilan's deputy asked how they should fight.

Colin led the three steel fleets to crush the Fallen Race forces and ordered the survivors driven together on the island so they could be converted rather than killed. With the battle won, he looked toward the island and the chance to enter the Hall of Light.

• Colin ordered the fleets to steamroll the Fallen Race, and their artillery broke through the enemy defenses under the Holy Light.
• Qin Shou watched the enemy rout and heard a coordinator explain that Colin's orders should be carried out without needless delay.
• Colin ordered the survivors who had fled onto the island to be gathered, and the coordinator said they needed to reach a consensus with more Fallen Race members.
• Qin Shou saw Fallen Race survivors worshipping Colin's flagship and bought a cigarette from the coordinator for one hundred Mist Points.
• Colin looked toward the island, where defeating the stationed forces could give him a chance to enter the Hall of Light.

Colin captured nearly fifty thousand Fallen Race members and began organizing them into servant armies and special units. The new believers formed a bridge to the Lightforged Temple, allowing Colin to enter its world with an illusory body and full senses.

• Colin used bombardments and search teams to exhaust and capture nearly fifty thousand Fallen Race members on the island.
• Colin ordered Li Hang and the others to organize the captives into servant army legions, assigning those with special talents to other units.
• Colin told Li Hang to hold the island and instructed Shana and Doris to watch over his warship while he dealt with a matter.
• Colin meditated aboard his warship and followed a bridge of lights formed by the new believers into the Lightforged Temple's world.
• Colin manifested an illusory body with full senses and found that he could open his Inventory and leave whenever he wished.

Colin entered a radiant hall and encountered an enormous silver gate whose shifting patterns nearly overwhelmed his mind with a desire to open it. Warned by the prompt before he became lost, he examined the gate and headed toward a nearby stone seat.

• Colin tested the half-open door with a piece of wood, a stone, and his hand before stepping through it.
• Colin found a long corridor leading to a colossal silver gate covered in shifting geometric patterns.
• Colin became entranced by the gate and nearly walked close enough to open it, but the prompt warned him that he would be lost forever.
• Colin noticed grayish-white haze seeping from the gate and reflected on the strange speed and apparent breadth of his thoughts.
• Colin spotted a complete stone seat like the one at High Court and walked toward it.

After sitting on the Stone Throne, Colin connected himself to the Light Chasers and discovered that he could shield them from the Gray Fog and alter their abilities. He left the throne recognizing his growing control over the path of light and resolving to avoid abusing his access to others’ thoughts.

• Colin sat on the Stone Throne, causing light to ripple through the Temple and revealing Light Chasers’ silhouettes among the golden clouds.
• Colin used Chains of Light to stabilize the Light Chasers’ silhouettes and realized he could read their thoughts through the links.
• Colin checked the thoughts of several Light Chasers and Survivors, including Shana, then stopped when he noticed that prying into them felt addictive.
• Colin realized that his position on the path of light let him dominate lower-ranked practitioners and might let him protect Light Chasers from the Gray Fog.
• Colin discovered that he could grant Light Chasers commonly known basic skills, provided enough people had learned each ability.

Colin added combat abilities to the Light Chasers’ basic skills before a sudden connection spread his pale golden light to them all. The Temple briefly appeared above the world and vanished, leaving Colin shaken by a glimpse of the colossal Thorns of Suffering encircling the planet.

• Colin added Fast Draw Cannon and other abilities to the Light Chasers’ first-stage basic skills, then found he could not edit second-stage Light Chasers’ Chain of Light because their stats were too low.
• The Temple trembled as its connection completed, and the Gray Fog disappeared from the Light Chasers’ sight.
• Shana and the other Light Chasers felt pale golden light activate their Flawless Light, healing some injuries and revealing a temple linked to them by chains.
• The temple appeared to descend from the sky but vanished after several seconds; Li Hang watched in awe, while a gray-haired woman questioned the origins of the temple ruins.
• A silver-white figure at the Temple of Suffering murmured that gods could be killed.
• Colin saw the enormous black Thorns of Suffering wrapped around the planet and wondered if the vision had been real.

Colin considered the dangers surrounding the World of Suffering and resolved to grow stronger before the final Countdown. In the Witch’s Forest, Vanessa’s sacrifice finally reached Colin, and the gathered little witches were transformed into Dawn Witches.

• Colin suspected the Mother of Suffering and Thorns had wrapped the world in a gigantic Suffering Thorn and sensed that a disaster would strike when the final Countdown ended.
• Colin decided to strengthen his control over the world, gather Mist Points and system components, investigate Shana’s secret, and learn about the past.
• Vanessa led the witches of the Witch’s Forest in a sacrifice after they killed Crawlers and Fusioners, but their prayers initially received no answer.
• A beam of pale golden light descended, and Colin’s radiance healed Vanessa’s ailments and began purifying the witches.
• Thirty-four light cocoons transformed the little witches into Dawn Witches before the magnificent presence disappeared.

Colin empowered thirty-four children as Dawn Witches and prepared to return to the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago. There, the Spirit Shaman Clan leader rallied the Fallen Race lords by promising access to the ruins and planned to sacrifice the Sea-Kin to stall Colin’s forces.

• Vanessa praised the Lord of Light and embraced a healed little witch as the children became Dawn Witches.
• Colin discovered that the Dawn Witches’ resistance and light-tentacle abilities were now his, then turned his attention to the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago.
• The Spirit Shaman Clan leader told the Fallen Race lords that a Godchosen High Priest was being summoned and argued that proper preparations could prevent another ambush.
• The Spirit Shaman Clan leader promised the other lords a share of access to the underwater ruins if they helped defend the archipelago.
• The Fallen Race lords agreed to delay the approaching attackers until reinforcements arrived, and they singled out the Sea-Kin as sacrifices.

After the Gray Fog stopped affecting activated Light Chasers, Colin ordered a full-scale offensive against the First Ring Island region and prepared to eliminate the Fallen Race leaders himself. He left the fleet to begin its assault and gave Roger more than one hundred Witch Traits to distribute among the Fallen Race they had taken in.

• Colin returned to his room and reassured Shana and the others that he was safe.
• Li Hang and the others reported that activating Holy Light let them see through the Gray Fog, and Colin said Light Chasers would no longer be affected by it while activated.
• Colin ordered a full-scale offensive against the First Ring Island region to seize the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago and its mineral resources; Li Hang estimated the campaign could take three or four days.
• Colin suggested killing the Fallen Race leaders to speed up the invasion, then told Li Hang to begin the operation while he went to attack the enemy himself.
• Colin asked Shana to organize a ritual group so he could teleport back if needed, then gave Roger more than one hundred Witch Traits to distribute among the Fallen Race they had taken in.

Colin considered how Witch traits could transform Fallen Races, then flew to the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago to assassinate their leader. He infiltrated a council meeting and slaughtered the Fallen Race members who attacked him.

• Colin discussed how Witch traits could make Fallen Races more humanlike and said Light Chaser traits would remain the main choice for Servants and Fallen Races.
• Colin flew toward the rear of the Fallen Races' territory, while the Fallen Races built defenses and dug tunnels to stall for time.
• The Spirit Shaman Clan lord heard reports of a streak of light and proposed sacrificing Outsiders to summon divinity for the council's protection.
• Colin appeared beside the council members, killed the one who had proposed the sacrifice, and pierced the incoming guards with spears of light.
• Colin used Chains of Light to dismember more Fallen Race attackers while he sat unharmed in the meeting hall.

Colin tortured captured Fallen Race leaders until one revealed the Sea-Kin’s history and a ruin in the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago. The Sea-Kin’s account ended with a mysterious spatial storm destroying the underwater city of Aster and making the sea a forbidden zone.

• Colin beat a captured Sea-Kin leader and forced him to reveal what he knew while keeping other captives quiet.
• The Sea-Kin told Colin that an entrance to an ancient ruin lay at the center of the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago, and that it might be connected to a powerful, vanished Sea-Kin civilization.
• The Sea-Kin explained that his ancestors changed after encountering underwater ruins during the Great Cataclysm, but he could not explain what caused the disaster.
• The Sea-Kin said the Fallen Races could not defeat the Suffering Church, despite their hatred of it, and hoped the deep-sea ruins might usher in the Deep Sea Age.
• The Sea-Kin revealed that a spatial storm erupted in the underwater city of Aster, after which the sea became a forbidden zone.

Colin learned that the Sea-Kin had made the sea a forbidden zone and uncovered clues linking an ancient ruin to the Old Days and the Great Cataclysm. After finding out the ruin could not be opened for at least two weeks, he released the captives and ordered the kobold to help reclaim the Fallen Races from corruption.

• Colin questioned the Sea-Kin lord and learned that the ruin was an ancient Sea-Kin site and that the Sea-Kin had deliberately made the sea forbidden to intelligent life.
• Colin connected the Great Cataclysm, the disappearance of the Survivors, and the return of the Great Old Ones to a break in recorded history.
• The Sea-Kin lord identified the Spirit Shaman Clan kobold as the one who knew how to open the ruin, and the kobold said the proper time would not come for at least two weeks.
• Colin learned that the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago held 370,000 Fallen Races, including more than 40,000 higher-level members.
• Colin released the survivors and ordered the kobold to help save his compatriots, planning to coordinate an attack from within and without with Li Hang and the others.

Colin took control of the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago's council and ordered the Fallen Race to disperse and move captured Survivors to First Ring Island. Lin Yilan's fleet then devastated a harbor with an artillery barrage, leaving a surviving Fallen Race leader to suspect the enemy had known exactly where they would be.

• Colin ordered the Fallen Race to redeploy its warriors, transport captured Survivors to First Ring Island, and spread out across other regions.
• A Fallen Race leader doubted the council's new strategy, while another warrior reassured him that their numbers far exceeded the enemy's.
• The Fallen Race spotted Lin Yilan's fleet and prepared to use the Sea-Kin's Weather Divine Arts to stop the ships and their puppets from approaching.
• The fleet bombarded the harbor, destroying it and killing many Remnants, including a leader who failed to escape the initial blasts.
• The surviving Fallen Race leader realized the barrage had struck as the troops were switching positions and wondered why his area had been hit so heavily.

Colin’s artillery killed the Fallen Race leader and broke the defenders’ resistance, allowing Qin Shou’s forces to launch a heavily armed landing and capture the island. The fleet’s troops advanced under naval support, accepting surrenders and destroying those who resisted while collecting feedback on their equipment.

• Colin directed Qin Shou to adjust the naval guns, and their concentrated barrage killed the Fallen Race leader and scattered the defenders.
• Qin Shou ordered the fleet to land and capture the island, while the ships continued firing to intimidate the surviving Fallen Race members.
• More than twenty modified Level 1 Warships carried around seven hundred landing personnel to the beach, where Survivors converted the ships into War Chariots and distributed powered exoskeletons.
• Qin Shou’s forces advanced with armored units and loudspeakers calling for surrender, while naval guns destroyed those who resisted.
• A support worker reminded the troops to record feedback and report problems with the weapons they used.

Qin Shou and the observers discussed the need to gather battlefield feedback as Colin and the Empire tested new military equipment and tactics. On the front, Survivors documented the aftermath and collected Fallen Race specimens, while special units began testing combinations of mysterious items and conventional equipment.

• Qin Shou acknowledged that equipment needed real battlefield feedback to expose flaws and guide future upgrades.
• A Survivor complained about drawing records by hand, while other observers discussed cameras, merit, and the possible profits from selling comics.
• The observers documented battlefield damage and equipment details, and a biologist ordered a leader-class Fallen Race corpse preserved for dissection.
• Special units under the Anomaly Investigation Department tested mysterious items alongside conventional equipment, using mostly higher-ranking Fallen Race members to reduce the risk to ordinary troops.

The Empire’s fleet swiftly defeated the Fallen Race across the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago, rescuing most of the captured Survivors and beginning to convert the prisoners into loyal believers. As Colin prepared for a coming attack led by a Spirit Shaman Clan Godchosen, he received word that the seed bathed in the water of life had sprouted.

• The Empire’s warships attacked the Fallen Race from three directions, and the fleet’s advanced equipment and coordinated intelligence quickly broke the enemy’s resistance.
• The Empire captured islands, destroyed religious sites and ships, and used Blessed Light Preachers to purify prisoners, though many aberrant beings went mad.
• Colin remained at the Grand Sacrificial Ground and helped rescue more than a thousand secretly captured Survivors, most of whom survived.
• Colin anticipated the arrival in roughly two days of a Spirit Shaman Clan Godchosen and supporting forces, and worried they might bring another underworld monstrosity.
• Colin received a notification that the seed bathed in the water of life had sprouted.

Colin discovered that the Ancient Tree of Life Seed had germinated in Water of Life and considered how to make use of its unusual powers before disaster struck. He decided to plant it in the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago, where its rapid growth and healing abilities could strengthen his territory.

• Colin found the Ancient Tree of Life Seed swollen and cracked after it absorbed all the Water of Life, and he suspected it contained a trait related to life.
• The system warned Colin that eating the seed would not grant him its trait and revealed that the seed could sense malice and might possess intelligence.
• Colin learned that careful cultivation could take a hundred years, but growing the seed in his territory's farmland with Mist Points could greatly accelerate it.
• Colin recalled that the tree could continuously heal people within its range and decided to plant it rather than immediately extract its trait.
• Colin chose the Red Leaf Forest Archipelago as the planting site, hoping the enormous tree's roots could connect islands and provide strategic defenses against threats such as the All-Knowing Eye.