Recaps

Grisha wrote Gwen a letter about his new life in Castel and his grief for the friends he had lost, then explained that he was returning to the Northern Territory to avenge them. After preparing his dormitory and leaving the letter beneath his pillow, he set out toward Blood Port and the train.

• Grisha wrote to Gwen about settling into Castel, making friends, enjoying the sea, and receiving a new steel prosthetic leg.
• Grisha remembered his fallen companions and described how the White Crow people had lost their home and many of their friends.
• Grisha wrote that he and his companions planned to return to the Northern Territory and fight for their people.
• Grisha folded the letter, left it beneath his pillow, put his dormitory key on the table, and walked into the darkness toward Blood Port.

Gwen discussed the Expeditionary Force’s swift victories across the Northern Territory and Octavia’s escape with Hodge. She planned to help find Bazel and finish the final battle before visiting Castel.

• Hodge told Gwen that most people had been transported away, but some stayed to fight Bazel in the final battle.
• Gwen recalled that Dragonfang and his army had been wiped out, while Duke Alvaray surrendered before the Expeditionary Force reached his castle.
• Gwen explained that Octavia’s forces surrendered after a day of bombardment, while Octavia escaped with trusted retainers.
• Gwen reflected on Castel’s overwhelming power and told Hodge she wanted to see it after the final battle.
• Gwen and Hodge agreed to look for Bazel, who had recently been the subject of several leads.

At the Northern Territory camp, Gwen and Hodge discovered a cryptic warning and sounded the highest-level alarm. Soldiers rushed to assemble, but the warning gave no reason or destination.

• Hodge discussed the unused fortification and the search for Count Bazel with Gwen.
• Gwen sensed something was wrong, drew her sword, and rushed toward the camp wall as Hodge took cover.
• Gwen found the word “Run” written on the ground, and Hodge recognized it as a possible warning.
• Hodge ordered an emergency assembly, and soldiers poured from the barracks as whistles spread through the camp.

After a warning was found scrawled at the Canary forward camp, Hodge and Ash ordered the Expeditionary Force to evacuate despite seeing no enemies nearby. The troops abandoned most of their weapons and supplies, destroyed the camp, and marched south along the railway.

• Hodge sounded the emergency assembly bugle after Gwen discovered the warning, and he ordered the soldiers to search for threats and prepare to relocate.
• Ash arrived at the camp, and sentries reported that they had spotted no enemies in any direction.
• Hodge proposed evacuating immediately, and Ash agreed that the warning warranted an emergency relocation.
• Hodge ordered the troops to carry only light weapons, one standard ammunition load, and half a day's food, while Gwen and Ash took on heavy weapons and ammunition.
• The Expeditionary Force left the camp and detonated explosives to destroy the supplies they had abandoned.
• Hodge led the troops south along the railway tracks as an orange-red mushroom cloud rose behind them.

The White Calamity engulfed the military camp, and Ash, Hodge, and Gwen discovered that the fog was moving far faster than expected. They continued south in hopes of escaping by train, but Ash spotted a mass of writhing white bones following them through the fog.

• The explosion at the military camp vanished beneath a white fog, which Gwen identified as the White Calamity.
• Ash estimated that the fog was moving as fast as the Expeditionary Force, so Hodge ordered the soldiers to discard nonessential burdens and continue south.
• Hodge told Ash and Gwen that a train should arrive within a few hours and carry them away from the fog.
• Ash spotted something moving inside the fog, and Gwen described it as a dense mass of white things writhing like maggots.
• Ash said the mass looked like writhing white bones and realized the fog seemed to be following them.

Hodge and the Expeditionary Force fled the White Calamity as a mass of fast-moving white bones dragged the fog after them. Ash’s order to fire briefly stopped the pursuing skeletons, but they caught up again, leaving the force still on the run.

• Hodge, Gwen, and Ash realized the white bones were moving faster than the fog and pursuing the Expeditionary Force.
• Hodge saw that the bones had passed their marker and concluded the force would have to confront them before reaching the train.
• The soldiers recognized the White Calamity behind them and obeyed orders to raise their rifle sights while marching.
• Ash ordered the soldiers to turn and fire five rounds into the fog, then resume marching.
• Ash reported that the bullets had stopped the leading bones and slowed the fog, so he put away his heavy machine gun.
• Ash warned Hodge that the skeletons had caught up again, and Hodge reasoned that the force could keep firing because their numbers were only slightly greater than the soldiers’.

The Expeditionary Force learned that the white bones could revive in the white mist, forcing Ash to hold them off while the exhausted soldiers rested and advanced. Hodge then discovered another group of skeletons approaching from the left, and Gwen’s limited ability to operate a Gatling Gun left their defense uncertain.

• Hodge ordered repeated volleys of gunfire as the white bones caught up again, and Ash discovered that the mist revived shattered skeletons and drove them forward.
• Hodge asked Ash to delay the skeletons, and she headed toward the white mist while the Expeditionary Force slowed down to eat and drink without stopping.
• Hodge and Gwen heard the gunfire behind them grow more frequent as the skeletons revived faster, while they waited for the train to arrive.
• A scout reported white mist approaching from the left, and Gwen confirmed that it contained more skeletons than the group behind them.
• Hodge taught Gwen the basics of operating a Gatling Gun, then realized she could wield only one weapon and might not have enough firepower to hold off the left-side skeletons.

The Expeditionary Force escaped the pursuing bones when an armored train arrived, and Hodge took command of it and ordered a retreat. After the soldiers reached safety aboard, Hodge asked Gwen how she had fired the Gatling Gun so continuously, and she revealed she had not realized it needed reloading.

• Gwen used the Gatling Gun to mow down the pursuing skeletons, increasing her firing speed by cranking it faster.
• Hodge prepared the exhausted Expeditionary Force to keep marching, but a whistle announced the train had arrived.
• Hodge signaled the train to stop and prepare for battle, and the train's crew opened fire as the soldiers boarded.
• Hodge took command of the train and ordered it to turn around and head for the military camp to the south.
• The train's weapons held the bones back as it pulled away, and the exhausted soldiers collapsed in relief.
• Hodge asked Gwen how she had kept firing without reloading, and Gwen asked whether the gun needed reloading.

Gwen effortlessly awakened a Machine Soul in a heavy machine gun, astonishing the Expeditionary Force. As White Calamity’s bones and fog approached the armored train, Hodge used livestock to draw the pursuing bones away, and the train’s crew watched the bones dismantle the animals.

• Gwen fired the heavy machine gun with ease, but Hodge could not turn its crank until Gwen operated it again.
• Hodge learned that Gwen had befriended the gun by talking to it, and he gave it to her to keep.
• A sentry spotted white fog and writhing bones near the train, so Hodge asked the conductor about the train’s supplies.
• Hodge ordered livestock driven from a carriage, and the bones abandoned their pursuit of the train to rush toward the animals.
• Hodge and the others watched as the bones covered the livestock and appeared to dismantle them rather than eat them.

Ash discovered that the white bones could distort perception as they dismantled livestock and reassembled them into skeletal creatures. Hodge ordered the train to race south toward Castel and the Northern Territory camp for help, but bone hordes surrounded the train and one appeared directly on the tracks.

• Ash warned the Expeditionary Force that staring at the white bones could warp their perception, after he briefly saw his companions as ugly and wanted them dismantled.
• Gwen spotted the bones reassembling the livestock into a skeletal cow, which recovered in the mist after the soldiers shot it apart.
• Hodge realized the White Calamity could spread toward Castel, so he ordered the train to race at full speed and get word to Lord Alexei in the Northern Territory.
• Hodge found bone hordes gathering around the train as a towering wall of mist pursued it from the north, and he ordered the machine-gun crews to prepare to fire.
• A sentry reported that a bone horde had appeared directly ahead on the tracks.

Gwen used her heavy machine gun to destroy the white bones blocking the tracks, slowing the approaching mist and saving the Expeditionary Force from an immediate collision. The train then made an emergency stop, revealing that vast skeletal hordes and white fog had surrounded it on every side.

• Hodge spotted white bones on the tracks and ordered the machine gunners to fire, but their bullets could not reach them.
• Gwen rushed back with her heavy machine gun and blasted the white bones apart, slowing the white mist.
• The soldiers cheered Gwen, and Hodge promised to recommend her for a medal.
• The train abruptly emergency-braked, throwing the soldiers around the carriages.
• Hodge saw that the destroyed bones had concealed an immense skeletal horde ahead, while more hordes and white fog had closed in from both sides.

Gwen’s defiant attack inspired Hodge and the Expeditionary Force to unleash the armored train’s full firepower against the skeleton horde as the White Calamity closed in. Trapped with no hope of escape, Hodge sent a warning to friendly forces and planned to enter the white mist to report what he saw.

• Gwen climbed onto the train and fired her Gatling Gun at the approaching skeletons, inspiring the Expeditionary Force to fight.
• Hodge ordered the soldiers to defend the train, and they used its guns and Dragon Breath Cannons to drive back the skeleton horde.
• Hodge learned that sealing the carriages would not protect them from the White Calamity, so the conductor used the whistle to send a warning outside.
• Friendly forces replied and asked about their situation, but Hodge told them the train could not return and urged them to leave.
• Hodge said he would enter the white mist and call out everything he saw so the conductor could relay the information.

Hodge led a squad toward the White Calamity to gather information, but a whistle warned them that reinforcements were coming. Three Castel airships arrived and began evacuating the Expeditionary Force, while Gwen stayed behind to hold off the skeletal horde.

• Hodge organized a squad to enter the white fog and report what they saw, with Ash assigned to cover them.
• A whistle signal told Hodge not to enter the fog because reinforcements were arriving soon.
• Castel's three airships appeared above the fog, bombed the skeletal monsters, and lowered rope ladders to evacuate the soldiers.
• Ash covered Hodge and his squad as they fought their way back toward the train, while the skeletal horde launched a stronger attack.
• Gwen refused to leave her machine gun post, and Hodge proposed detonating explosives around the train to create a chance to board the airship.

Ash, Hodge, Gwen, and the surviving soldiers escaped the skeletal horde aboard an airship, but a giant skeleton and the closing white mist threatened to overwhelm them. A falling white-haired girl destroyed the skeleton and saved the group, leaving Gwen alive and weeping as she wondered who the girl was.

• Ash used the recoil of six Dragon Breath Cannons to catch up with the rising airship and seize a rope ladder.
• A gigantic skeleton assembled from countless bones and reached for the airship as the white mist rapidly closed in.
• Ash feared she had failed to protect her lord, while Gwen continued fighting and resolved to face death beside her friend.
• A white-haired little girl fell past Gwen and plunged into the giant skeleton's hand.
• The skeleton shattered into dust, and a gust lifted the airship and its passengers above the encroaching mist.
• Gwen survived but cried as she wondered who the girl was and how she had wielded such power.

Gwen realized the airship crew had forgotten the little girl who defeated the giant skeleton, and she connected the Silent Temple to its former name, the Forgotten Temple. The chapter then shifted to Hunter sharing a meal with Grisha, who recalled Sister Gwen and discussed life after the war.

• Gwen asked the airship crew about the white-haired girl and the giant skeleton, but they remembered neither.
• Hodge tried to calm Gwen and suggested that her account could not have happened as she described it.
• Gwen read an inscription about the temple and remembered that the Silent Temple had once been called the Forgotten Temple.
• Hunter shared food with Grisha, who recalled surviving in the forest and eating Sister Gwen's roasted potatoes.
• Hunter told Grisha that he had helped Alexei capture his former family's fortress and had received its fine belongings.

Hunter and Grisha planned to sneak onto a train bound for the front lines, while Zoe finally went to Theus to confess that she had gained supernatural powers. The chapter ended as Zoe revealed she could connect with other people, and Theus reacted with surprise.

• Grisha told Hunter that he had come to help Gwen and described how oceanic ship souls had helped him sneak onto the train.
• Hunter asked Grisha to take him to the front lines so he could see the Dragon Breath Cannon fire, and Grisha agreed to try.
• Nini and Monica watched Zoe hesitate outside Theus's office and discussed the Expeditionary Force's search for Count Bazel and Duke Alvaray's surrender.
• Zoe entered Theus's office, locked the door, and said she had come to turn herself in for something serious.
• Zoe told Theus that she seemed to have gained supernatural powers and could connect with other people.

Theus listened as Zoe revealed her strange mind link and her ability to bite through metal, leaving him baffled about how she had gained Transcendent powers. Gaia then privately told him that she, too, had become a Transcendent without undergoing an advancement ritual.

• Zoe told Theus about her link with strangers and asked to keep their identities private, and he promised to protect the information.
• Zoe admitted she could bite through a silver plate, prompting Theus to wonder how she had gained Transcendent abilities.
• Gaia arrived to report something privately, but Theus told her Zoe was trustworthy.
• Gaia told Theus she had somehow become a Transcendent without an advancement ritual.

Theus learned that Gaia and Zoe had become transcendent without rituals and ordered Richard to investigate them and search the island discreetly. Meanwhile, Hunter, Grisha, and Nora escaped the military camp and rode north toward the Canary Mountains to witness the Northern Territory’s final battle.

• Theus told Richard that Gaia and Zoe had become transcendent without rituals, and Richard began investigating them and the island with the Banshee’s help.
• Theus received an urgent report about white mist and a white-haired girl in the Northern Territory.
• Hunter persuaded Nora to join him and Grisha in escaping the military camp to see the front lines.
• Grisha explained how he rode a horse with prosthetic legs by letting the horse adjust to his balance.
• Hunter said the trio was heading to the Canary Mountains to witness the Northern Territory’s final battle.

Nora, Hunter, and Grisha tried to flee north after spotting a cavalry group that appeared to follow them. As the pursuers caught up, Nora recognized a holy emblem associated with the Silent Temple.

• Nora spotted at least fifty cavalry riders to the south, and Hunter considered whether they belonged to Duke Alvaray, bandits, or Bazel's Winter Wolves.
• Nora and Hunter speculated that Duke Alvaray might have secretly joined forces with Bazel, but Hunter doubted Bazel could ambush the Expeditionary Force's fortified camp successfully.
• Hunter and Grisha rode north, then changed direction twice after Nora noticed the cavalry following them.
• The exhausted travelers slowed and prepared to confront their pursuers as Nora saw that the group had carriages and possibly heavy equipment.
• Nora recognized a holy emblem among the approaching group and wondered if they belonged to the Silent Temple.

Nora encountered nearly a hundred Buriers from the Silent Temple, including her former companion Ignati, who arrived with glacial heavy armor. After confronting him, Nora ordered Grisha and Hunter to escort the Temple delegation to the Resistance Army's camp, leaving Hunter uneasy about betraying Castel.

• Nora recognized the Burier insignias and realized the Silent Temple had deployed nearly all its Transcendents.
• Ignati recognized Nora and asked to be taken to the Expeditionary Force's camp, but Nora challenged him over the armor and his apparent preparations for war.
• Ignati threatened the group with his flail, and Nora's head leaped into his frost mist before returning to Hunter's backpack.
• Nora ordered Hunter and Grisha to take the Silent Temple delegation to the Resistance Army's camp.
• Hunter questioned whether they should endanger Castel, while Grisha said he trusted Nora's judgment and would follow her orders.

Gwen marveled at the Expeditionary Force’s fortress and began to believe Castel might be able to resist the White Calamity. At the train platform, a host of armored Banshees arrived with Theus, revealing that Castel had sent its leader to the Northern Territory.

• Gwen inspected the massive star fort and learned from Hodge that Castel’s fortresses were even larger and that this one had no name.
• Gwen reflected on her lifelong belief that the White Calamity could only be fled, but wondered whether Castel could bring hope to the Northern Territory.
• A messenger summoned Hodge and Gwen to the train platform at Alexei’s request.
• Dozens of armored Banshees disembarked, and Hodge realized they could remain away from Theus without losing their vitality only if he had come with them.
• Theus stepped from the train, and everyone at the station bowed to him.

Theus arrived at the Northern Territory fortress with over a hundred Banshees to reinforce the Expeditionary Force against the White Calamity. He learned that supplies were plentiful and the White Calamity was expected to reach the designated battlefield within half a day.

• Theus arrived at the fortress with the Banshees, surprising Hodge and Gwen.
• Theus greeted Gwen, then shook hands with Hodge and the other soldiers before heading into the fortress with Alexei.
• Gwen wondered why the Banshees seemed to be watching her and noticed the warmth left by her handshake with Theus.
• Theus told Alexei that the Banshees could now fight at full strength and would not prevent an evacuation by train if needed.
• Alexei reported that supplies were sufficient and the White Calamity was less than a hundred kilometers away, expected to reach the designated battlefield within half a day.

Theus and Alexei prepared the fortress for the approaching White Calamity after discovering that only the pollution-based Dragon Breath Cannon could harm it. Theus returned to his secured room to consult information, leaving Alexei in command and Ash to follow the contingency plan.

• Theus learned that bones within the White Calamity had pursued the train and seemed to be targeting the Expeditionary Force.
• Alexei recounted Gwen’s past, and Theus questioned why the Silent Temple had abandoned its refugees and settled in the Northern Territory.
• Theus and Alexei prepared the fortress, assigned the Banshees, and positioned an airship to observe the approaching fog.
• A Banshee reported that bombs and machine-gun fire damaged the bones but not the fog, while the Dragon Breath Cannon affected both.
• Theus ordered solid pollution brought in for testing, then left Alexei directing the defense and returned to his secured room.
• Theus told Ash to follow the contingency plan if trouble arose, lay on the bed, and selected [Return].

Theus discovered that he could connect to Gwen inside the White Calamity while she and the Expeditionary Force fought the advancing bone swarm. As Alexei prepared to withdraw from the fortress, an unseen speaker ordered the troops to hold their position.

• Theus entered the White Calamity and successfully established a connection with Gwen after the other threads remained unresponsive.
• Gwen prayed to herself and her new friend, then fired a heavy machine gun with extraordinary force as the bone swarm approached the fortress.
• A soldier imitated Gwen’s prayer and claimed he could feel the Machine Soul, prompting other soldiers to add gestures to their fighting.
• Nini reported that the defenses were stopping the bone swarm and slowing the mist, but the mist continued advancing and remained unaffected by bullets.
• Alexei ordered the reserves prepared and explained that the Expeditionary Force would have to retreat, but a voice behind him declared that they would hold the fortress and forbid retreat.

Ash used his appointment as supreme commander to overrule evacuation and ordered the Expeditionary Force to defend the fortress as the White Calamity approached. The Dragon Breath Cannons slowed the mist, while Theus and little Gwen worked through the threads to weaken Bazel’s will and seize control from him.

• Ash showed Alexei the appointment letter and ordered the army to hold the fortress, while leaving Alexei in charge of deployments.
• The white mist advanced as the bones recovered inside it, and Banshees arrived to reinforce the soldiers.
• Hodge ordered the Dragon Breath Cannons to fire when the mist entered range, staining the mist red and slowing its advance.
• Theus contacted Ash through the Mind Link and ordered the fortress to keep firing at the mist and skeletons.
• Theus switched to Worker Theus’s shell and learned from little Gwen that she was close to weakening Bazel’s will enough to take control.