Chapter Summaries

Theus sent Erwin, Gaia, and Zoe on a diplomatic mission to Rhine, warning them to prioritize their safety and authorizing them to trade steam rifles for technology. At White Stone Fort, local guide Frey met the visiting women and was tempted by the money in their pouches.

• Theus warned Erwin, Gaia, and Zoe that their mission to Rhine could be dangerous and told them to put their safety first.
• Theus authorized the trio to negotiate freely with the Mechanical Cathedral and trade their steam rifles for technology.
• Theus arranged for them to leave Blood Port by train the following morning.
• Frey recalled how the Expeditionary Force had taken White Stone Fort, executed the Black Hand Boss, and sentenced him to detention.
• Frey began guiding the visitors and sized up Gaia and Zoe as wealthy targets, but Gaia noticed his scrutiny and questioned him about his origins.
• Gaia pulled several Leos from her pouch as Frey watched and swallowed.

Frey tried to steal Leo from Zoe, but when his attempt failed, he returned the coins and asked to join her group. Zoe invited him to travel with them to the Empire, and the chapter ended as she offered to show him how they would cross the Wall of Despair.

• Frey used the Black Hand technique to snatch Leo from Zoe, but she was too fast for him.
• Frey returned the coins and explained that he had stolen only a few so their absence would go unnoticed.
• Zoe invited Frey to travel with her group to Rhine, and he accepted so he could leave White Stone Fort and see the world beyond the Wall of Despair.
• Zoe introduced herself and her companions Gaia and Erwin, then explained that they needed someone who could blend in among Imperial locals.
• Frey asked how the group planned to cross the Wall of Despair, and Zoe and Gaia offered to show him.

Frey crossed the Wall of Despair aboard a Castel airship and glimpsed a world beyond White Stone Fort, stirring his curiosity about what he might become. As the group approached Rhine City, Erwin outlined their plan to infiltrate the city and contact the Gray Alliance.

• Zoe showed Frey the Unicorn Type 78 airship, and Gaia explained how Castel's factories and workers produced it.
• Frey boarded the airship and watched White Stone Fort shrink below him as he crossed the Wall of Despair.
• Frey asked Gaia whether airships had captains, and Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin reacted with amusement and interest.
• Erwin told the group they would approach Rhine City by airship, secretly send Frey and his men ahead to make contact with the Gray Alliance, and use Castel's technology to project strength.
• Erwin reassured Gaia that the Gray Alliance's intelligence network remained active despite Isaac's disappearance and prepared to explain Rhine City's situation.

Frey arrived at Rhine City and discovered that the Candlelight clergy controlled entry by forcing the poor to recite doctrine while whipping them. The chapter ended with a priest using a machine to whip kneeling believers without getting up.

• Frey reached Rhine City with soldiers under Erwin after traveling with Zoe and the others, then tried to enter under a false identity.
• Frey watched a priest whip a man who struggled to recite Candlelight doctrine at the city gate.
• The priest made another impoverished man kneel and recite while he rested in a shaded armchair.
• Soldiers brought over a machine, and the priest used its turning wheel to make his whip strike the believers.

Frey entered Rhine after refusing to kneel before a Candlelight Society priest who whipped believers at the city gate. Meanwhile, Erwin, Zoe, and Gaia arrived by airship and were shocked by the state of Rhine.

• Frey saw a priest use a crank-driven machine to whip believers while the crowd watched with fanatical devotion.
• When the priest demanded that Frey kneel, Frey said he was not a Candlelight Society believer and presented his signed pass.
• The priest recognized Frey's pass, let him enter, and resumed whipping the kneeling believers as Frey passed beneath Rhine's candle emblem.
• Erwin, Zoe, and Gaia discussed the Empire's lack of air defenses and the airships' strength, while Gaia warned that bombing Rhine would destroy valuable technology and invite unknown retaliation.
• Erwin, Zoe, and Gaia reached Rhine by airship, looked down at the city, and were shocked by what they saw.

Erwin, Gaia, Zoe, and the Castel delegation arrived by airship at Rhine, whose towering, layered, spotless city differed sharply from the industrial place they expected. After Candlelight Society soldiers guided them to a central platform, the delegation disembarked to meet their hosts, and an unknown figure appeared before them.

• Gaia and Erwin remarked on Rhine's immense stacked levels, its many spires, and the absence of the factories described in their records.
• Erwin ordered the airship to descend under the Faithguard Army's guidance and instructed its crew to hover above the platform after the delegation got off.
• The airship landed at Rhine's central platform, where Gaia noted that the city had an air harbor and discussed earlier Steam Engine airships.
• Erwin, Gaia, and Zoe left the airship and walked onto a crimson carpet between rows of Candlelight Society soldiers and clergy.
• The soldiers struck their halberds against the ground, and an unknown person appeared before the delegation.

Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin arrived in Rhine and were greeted by Hela, the Mechanical Cathedral’s Grand Mechanist. As Hela led them toward the Gear Sanctuary, they learned that Pope Ruo An was unwell and saw a city whose sacred splendor seemed at odds with its reputation as an industrial center.

• Hela introduced herself to Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin, and unexpectedly shook hands with Gaia and Zoe.
• Hela said Pope Ruo An was in poor health and could not receive them, while Gaia sent the Pope greetings from Count Theus.
• Hela praised Theus’s loyalty to the Empire and suggested that he deserved a reward, leaving Erwin suspicious about the Church’s role in state affairs.
• Hela led the visitors through Rhine’s ornate elevated corridor, where they saw churches and priests but no factories, chimneys, or other signs of industry.
• Hela reached the Gear Sanctuary and asked the group to wait while she went inside.

Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin examined the Mechanical Cathedral and discovered its machinery worked through a fragile series of improvised rituals and defects. After Hela showed them the Cathedral’s maintenance rites, they entered the Gear Sanctuary and found a mechanical lecturer teaching about medical effects of metal implants.

• Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin noticed that the Mechanical Cathedral’s mechanical structures were illogical and inefficient.
• Hela operated the machinery by following a ritual, striking a pipe with a specific wrench to make it dispense thick paste.
• Gaia realized the Cathedral’s equipment depended on linked defects and fixed procedures, and concluded that it was a dead corpse.
• Hela maintained herself with the paste and holy lubricating oil before the believers manually opened the Cathedral’s doors.
• The group entered the Gear Sanctuary and saw a mechanical lecturer discuss metal implants, rejection reactions, and related physical and mental effects.

Castel's group visited the Gear Sanctuary, where the Gear Sage's advanced lecture overwhelmed Gaia and triggered Castel Syndrome. Hela's censer eased Gaia's symptoms, while Zoe realized the Mechanical Cathedral's believers might have worshipped the Gear Sage for centuries without understanding its teachings.

• Hela introduced the Gear Sage as a holy relic that lectured endlessly, though its teachings were too obscure for most believers to understand.
• Gaia examined the Gear Sage's advanced mechanical design and suffered cognitive displacement when its lecture exceeded her understanding.
• Hela asked what was wrong, and Zoe explained that Gaia had Castel Syndrome; Hela said no one in the Gear Sanctuary had ever suffered from it.
• Erwin helped Zoe realize that the Cathedral's believers might avoid the syndrome because they could not comprehend the Gear Sage's knowledge.
• Hela lit a forge censer, and its smoke helped Gaia recover.

Erwin and his companions presented a steam rifle to the Mechanical Cathedral, where Hela accepted it and agreed to discuss Castel’s proposed technology exchange. At Rhine Cathedral, the confined Beatrice revisited her collection of Castel goods and hinted that a ritual would soon make her a [Named One], while Hela stood beside her with lifeless, machine-like eyes.

• Erwin showed the Mechanical Cathedral the steam rifle, and a priest angrily condemned Castel for firing a sacred relic.
• Hela subdued the priest and arranged for Erwin and his companions to rest, saying she could discuss the exchange while the Pope was unavailable.
• Beatrice wandered through a hall of Castel goods at Rhine Cathedral, where her house arrest had eased since she became Empress.
• Beatrice examined her saved soaps and chose a berry-scented bar, remembering her happy days in Castel.
• Beatrice said the ritual was nearly successful and looked toward Hela, whose eyes appeared hollow and lifeless.

Beatrice reestablished her connection with the others and discovered that an ancient, incomprehensible presence anchored her sanity. Feeling more open after her ritual approached success, she told them she was trying to become a [Named One] and began explaining what they were.

• Beatrice felt the connection return and found that the vast presence it led her toward anchored her sanity as her soul reached the others.
• French Fries, Captain, and Writer welcomed Scepter back, and Beatrice explained that her earlier strange whispers had been commands during a ritual.
• Zoe asked about the ritual, and Beatrice revealed that she was trying to advance into a [Named One].
• French Fries asked what a [Named One] was, and Beatrice explained that the title described fighters far stronger than ordinary Transcendents, with special authorities.
• Zoe eagerly waited as Beatrice hinted there were further reasons the others had never heard of [Named Ones].

Scepter explained that Named Ones had caused disasters throughout history and revealed that Bruno the Great Sage was one of them, executed by the Churches for founding the Mechanical Society. Zoe suspected Bruno had hidden the means to become a Named One within the Mechanical Cathedral, while the chapter ended with Theus reacting to news that Beatrice wanted to become one.

• Scepter told Captain and the others that Named Ones had repeatedly brought destruction and that the Holy See concealed their existence from the public.
• French Fries asked whether Beatrice would bring destruction if she became a Named One, leaving Beatrice worried about what might happen to her.
• Scepter revealed that Bruno the Great Sage was a Named One who founded the Mechanical Society, which later became the Mechanical Cathedral.
• Scepter said the Churches had secretly joined the Candlelight Society in burning Bruno to death, after which Named Ones stopped revealing themselves openly.
• Zoe realized Bruno's legacy might contain the secret of becoming a Named One, and the group discussed Gwen's absence before leaving the connection.
• Theus reacted with shock after learning that Beatrice wanted to become a Named One.

Theus learned that Gwen was a [Named One] and that she had secretly relayed his connections through the white mist. Gwen revealed Lina’s warning that [Named Ones] could not advance through rituals, putting Beatrice’s imminent ritual in doubt.

• Theus connected with Beatrice and planned to investigate her claims about becoming a [Named One] and Bruno through the Silent Temple.
• Gwen told Theus that Lina had found her in the Northern Territory and knew she was a [Named One].
• Theus reassured Gwen that he did not blame her for any calamity and asked how she knew what Beatrice had said.
• Gwen revealed that she controlled the white mist near Theus and served as a relay for his connections, which let her hear them.
• Gwen explained that Lina had blamed her for failing to save Bruno, who had died centuries before Gwen was born.
• Gwen said she might soon gain access to the Temple of the Forgotten’s knowledge, then warned that Lina had said [Named Ones] could not advance through rituals and Beatrice’s ritual might have a serious problem.

Frey lived in Lower Rhine under an identity arranged by the Ashen Alliance and investigated the impoverished Untouchables who inhabited the layer beneath it. He gave Little Bu a bag of cloth, and she eagerly clutched the precious material.

• Frey moved through Lower Rhine, reflecting on the divide between its grimy streets and the privileged Upper Rhine above.
• He returned to an underground settlement where the Untouchables asked about the Church’s meal distributions.
• Little Bu told Frey she had checked the passages he had asked her to investigate and asked for her promised reward.
• Frey offered the Untouchables a bag of cloth and urged them not to fear the curse associated with touching him.
• Little Bu waited until Frey stepped away, then took the cloth and held it to her chest.

Frey led the Untouchables through their underground settlement and challenged their belief that they were cursed and could only hope to live in the Rhine. He began telling them about the surface, recalling how he entered the city and saw believers being whipped without envy.

• Little Bu showed Frey the scrap metal she treasured and explained how she had been attacked after leaving the bottom level to retrieve a broken mechanical doll.
• Frey followed the Untouchables to their settlement, where they moved Big Guy away from him out of fear it would bring him a curse.
• Frey asked why the Untouchables stayed underground despite having powerful machinery, and Little Bu wondered whether they could go to the surface.
• Frey challenged the crowd's belief that they were cursed and asked why they needed to become believers of the Holy See.
• Frey began describing the world above and recalled entering the Rhine, where he saw believers being whipped while the priest tried to hide the machine from him.

Frey described the Candlelight Society’s relief efforts in Lower Rhine, where starving believers prayed with fanatical devotion even as they suffered and died. After warning the Untouchables, he urged Little Bu to take Big Guy to the surface and stand up to those who had hurt her.

• Frey investigated Lower Rhine and found no gangs, only orderly crowds of starving people devoted to the Candlelight Society.
• Frey joined a relief line and watched believers pause after every few bites to pray, sometimes injuring themselves or dying while they worshipped.
• Frey finished recounting what he had seen to the Untouchables, then ate roasted rats rather than accept the Church’s relief.
• The Untouchables argued over whether Frey’s account of the Church was true, while Little Bu asked him if the outside was really as he described.
• Frey suggested that Little Bu could take Big Guy to the surface, protect herself, and use it to make the people of Upper Rhine suffer.

Frey urged the Untouchables to fight back against those who oppressed them and promised that Big Guy could protect them. After seeing its explosive weapon and learning more Big Guys could be built from junk, he inspired the people to start making more.

• Frey told the gathered Untouchables to stop accepting oppression and fight the people of the surface.
• Little Bu asked whether Big Guy could keep her from being bullied, and Frey said no armed force in the Lower Rhine could stand against it.
• Little Bu explained that Big Guy could be repaired and rebuilt from trash, and Frey asked about its weapons.
• Little Bu demonstrated Big Guy's explosive attack, which blasted the cavern wall and drew the Untouchables to inspect and repair the machine.
• Frey said several Big Guys could stand against Castel's Expeditionary Force, and Little Bu rallied the Untouchables to gather junk and build more.

Gaia suspected the Mechanical Cathedral was delaying negotiations while preparations for Beatrice to receive the visitors continued. Beatrice revealed that she was using Hela as a controlled [Shell] and believed an upcoming ritual would make her a [Named One].

• Gaia told Zoe that the Mechanical Cathedral had agreed to trade technology but kept dragging negotiations out with arguments over minor details.
• Gaia and Zoe considered whether the Cathedral was stalling, and Zoe said Erwin had gathered information linking the preparations to Beatrice.
• Zoe mentioned a newspaper rumor that Beatrice had a secret crush on their lord, and Gaia dismissed it before deciding to tolerate the slow negotiations.
• Zoe went to the Gear Sage's lecture while Gaia stayed behind and wondered if the rumor about Beatrice might be true.
• Beatrice struggled with dizziness from controlling other [Shells], then said the banquet preparations would soon lead to a ritual that could make her a [Named One].
• Beatrice patted Hela's cheek and said controlling her had expanded the area of the church where she could move.

Zoe and Gaia concluded that the Mechanical Cathedral's banquet was likely connected to tensions with the Candlelight Society, while Erwin reported that Isaac's disappearance might be tied to new events in Dream City. The chapter left them realizing that Isaac and Jules were the only Transcendents known to have survived the anomaly decades earlier.

• Zoe told Gaia that the Mechanical Cathedral had not pressed them to unload their holy relics, suggesting the banquet was not a trap but might involve a conflict between the churches.
• Zoe and Gaia reasoned that the Mechanical Cathedral and Candlelight Society were likely divided, and that the banquet would reveal who controlled the Rhine.
• Erwin returned and said he had found no trace of Frey, though his restricted movements meant Frey might still be safe.
• Erwin told Zoe and Gaia that something had happened again in Samora Sem, also known as Dream City, which might explain Isaac's disappearance.
• Zoe and Gaia recalled Dream City's catastrophic history and learned that Isaac and Jules were the only Transcendents who had survived it.

Gaia, Zoe, and Erwin realized the Mechanical Cathedral might use the banquet to strike the Candlelight Society while its [Investigators] were away. Castel’s delegation decided to wait and see, but Erwin quietly prepared the airship to escape as the banquet began.

• Gaia connected the [Investigators'] rotation and the banquet’s timing, and the three feared the Mechanical Cathedral planned a coup against the Candlelight Society.
• Erwin said the Ashen Alliance had learned of the rotation through its undercover agent, and he argued that a Mechanical Cathedral takeover could plunge the Empire into war.
• Gaia and Zoe agreed to conceal their knowledge and attend the banquet, while Erwin prepared to avoid the danger as an ordinary person.
• Castel’s delegation accepted the invitation and offered lavish gifts, which Erwin directed the Faithguard Army to unload throughout the day.
• Erwin ordered the stokers to keep the airship ready for immediate takeoff and prepared to dump cargo for a quick ascent as the banquet began.