Chapter Summaries

Old Vance and Rebecca returned to their Northern Territory hometown after settling in Blood Port, only to find the town filthy and largely unchanged. At their old carpentry shop, Karl welcomed them after seeing Rebecca’s wolfskin coat, though his earlier suspicion suggested he had feared they had come to reclaim the shop.

• Old Vance urged Rebecca to walk in front so their former neighbors would see her new wolfskin coat.
• The Vance family found their hometown much filthier than they remembered and noticed that the new railway had brought little visible change.
• Old Vance led his family to his old carpentry shop, where the deteriorating house stirred memories of their former life.
• Karl opened the door warily and accused Old Vance of returning to take the shop back.
• Karl spotted Rebecca’s coat, changed his attitude, and eagerly ushered the Vance family inside.

Rebecca and her family visited Karl and Bill in their impoverished Northern Territory home, where the contrast with life in Blood Port and Castel Island unsettled them. Rebecca learned that the locals feared the railway and believed everyone who traveled to Blood Port had been eaten by the train.

• Old Vance looked over Karl’s worn carpentry tools and reflected on how little his old life had offered compared with their home in Blood Port.
• Rebecca hesitated to drink the water, so Vance shared Castel Island Sweet Fruit Wine with the family, easing the awkward mood.
• Rebecca asked her aunt why so few people used the railway, and her aunt said locals feared the moving iron carriage because they thought it ate people.
• Rebecca pointed out that she and many others had ridden the train safely, but her aunt whispered that people believed everyone who went to Blood Port had been eaten.

Rebecca learned that Karl and his wife feared the Northern Territory would never improve, then grew alarmed when she discovered they worshipped something outside the established Churches. She found that they were followers of Nini’s comics, whose picture stories had spread even among people who could not read.

• Karl told Vance that the Northern Territory had lost many young people and that he and his wife would not live to see it prosper.
• Rebecca tried to reassure Karl and his wife by describing Governor Alexei’s plans to develop the region, but they remained doubtful.
• Rebecca realized Auntie worshipped gods and warned Karl that cults could exploit lonely, desperate people.
• Karl grew suspicious of Empire Truth after Rebecca described its unusual beliefs and practices, but softened when he learned its followers read Nini’s unofficial history.
• Karl showed Rebecca picture-based comics that neighbors could enjoy without reading, including a Monica Transmigration story about Monica hiding from Ash in a ruined church.

Rebecca investigated the faith that Old Karl and her aunt had adopted, hoping to identify its god before reporting the cult to the Expeditionary Force. She recognized the name of the god as Theus, but the chapter ended before she could leave and report what she had found.

• Rebecca learned that Old Karl had learned to read by listening to the god his aunt worshipped, and he insisted the knowledge was safe.
• Old Vance signaled Rebecca to escape, but she went to speak with her aunt instead.
• Rebecca's aunt explained that caravans had brought affordable goods to town before introducing the residents to the faith.
• Rebecca's aunt led her inside to see the god's statue, and Rebecca recognized the name as Theus.

Old Vance tried to report the powerful presence inside Rebecca to the Expeditionary Force, but Chloe arrived with Tribunal soldiers after Rebecca’s mother reported a suspected cult. Rebecca struggled to explain that the group worshipped Theus, leaving Chloe to investigate whether it counted as an evil cult.

• Rebecca emerged from the house in a daze, and Old Vance learned that the presence inside had denied being a god.
• Old Vance decided to report the situation to the Expeditionary Force, but found Chloe arriving outside in her electric coffin with armed soldiers.
• Rebecca’s mother told Chloe that Rebecca might have been bewitched by cultists, and Chloe vowed to deal with them.
• Rebecca recognized Chloe as the leader of Moth Chasing Flame and wondered why an evil cult leader was arresting cultists.
• Rebecca explained that the group worshipped Theus and said it might be an evil cult, though she did not consider Theus a wicked god.

Chloe investigated a suspected evil god cult and discovered its followers worshipped Theus. She brought the bewildered Rebecca and the cult’s records back to Castel, where Theus decided to crack down on the group.

• Chloe mistook Rebecca’s confusion for signs of corruption by an evil god and ordered the soldiers to guard her and record their cult-fighting procedures.
• Chloe entered the cult’s meeting room, discovered its members worshipped Theus, and became stuck against his statue in the cramped space.
• Chloe called Rebecca in to help free her, then reported the strange cult to Theus and collected the soldiers’ notebooks to prevent leaks.
• Theus saw his statue perched atop Chloe’s coffin, denied being a god, and decided to crack down on the cult because it worshipped him.

Theus reconsidered his plans to suppress cults after Chloe argued that faith offered comfort to people left behind by industrial change. He decided to counter cults by spreading Nini’s illustrated newspapers instead, while Chloe realized that cultural influence was becoming a new kind of weapon.

• Theus resolved to deal with cults, but Chloe argued that faith could help people who could not keep up with the changing Northern Territory.
• Chloe expected Theus to assign the work to her, but he said Nini would handle it.
• Rebecca explained that Nini’s illustrated unofficial histories had reached her illiterate relatives and helped them learn to read.
• Theus proposed using Nini’s newspapers to fill the emotional void cults might otherwise exploit and to expand her influence into the Empire.
• Chloe reflected that future conflicts might be fought through words and cognition, and Theus called it a cultural victory.

Nini opened Blood Port’s post office and managed its overwhelming civilian demand with ease, while the postal network began connecting the Northern Territory’s cities and villages. The chapter ended with the revelation that some mail carriers could also deliver letters into the Empire.

• Nini became the first Banshee to manage a non-combat department when she took charge of Castel’s post office.
• Crowds of Northern Territory refugees overwhelmed the post office on its first day, but Nini processed the work effortlessly with her six hands.
• The post office barred Duke Alvaray’s merchant caravans from spreading any faith and fined him for doing so.
• Mail carriers began delivering letters, packages, newspapers, comics, and novels throughout the Northern Territory, creating jobs and helping Alexei deliver government orders.
• Some mail carriers were able to carry letters into the Empire.

Little Gwen gained control of the White Calamity, restored her imaginary friends, and reunited with the armored girl she called Little Gwen. She then told Theus that the white mist was gone, leaving him excited at the prospect of her return.

• Little Gwen tested her newfound power and discovered she could crush a boulder with a skeletal claw.
• Little Gwen summoned her friends, who appeared solid and gathered to celebrate her.
• Little Gwen reunited with the armored girl, and they affirmed that they would always be friends despite their uncertain identities and pasts.
• Worker Theus noticed the white mist had vanished, and Little Gwen told him she had brought the White Calamity under control.
• Theus grew excited, hoping Little Gwen would finally return.

Little Gwen left the mist with Worker Theus and prepared to face Big Gwen, while Theus returned to Blood Port and tried to contact Alexei. The chapter ended with Alexei answering Theus’s call from the Northern Territory.

• Worker Theus told Little Gwen they would head south by train, then returned to his body and left her holding him in the mist.
• Little Gwen’s armored imaginary friend gave her a longsword, and Little Gwen confronted “[Named One] Lina” as the air distorted.
• In Blood Port, Theus learned Little Gwen had returned and decided to call Big Gwen over.
• Theus used Blood Port’s shielded telephone network and had Monica connect him to the Northern Territory.
• Theus explained that radio devices spread dangerous pollution, leaving wired telephones as the practical means of communication.
• Alexei answered Theus’s call and asked what he needed.

Theus sent Gwen to pick someone up, but the convoy found no one at the coordinates. When he investigated, he discovered that his Worker Theus body had been trapped and that Gwen had met an unidentified man who suddenly appeared beside her.

• Theus assigned Gwen to travel with soldiers to a location and pick someone up.
• After the convoy reported that no one was there, Theus checked the coordinates and found that his Worker Theus body was confined in darkness and unable to communicate.
• Theus went to the site with Beatrice, who used her Investigator abilities to examine the footprints and memories of the place.
• Beatrice saw Gwen with an unidentified man, who fell when Theus returned, and then another person suddenly appeared beside them and spoke with Gwen.

Theus learned that Lina had taken Little Gwen toward the Empire, where all traces of them vanished, and feared that Gwen had defected. Back at Blood Port, Zoe reported that Jules had become Emperor and Isaac had publicly become Pope, confirming Isaac’s betrayal of Castel.

• Beatrice said an unidentified red-haired woman whose past had been erased from the world's memory had taken Little Gwen away willingly.
• Theus recognized the woman as Lina and learned that she and Little Gwen had headed toward the Empire before their trail vanished.
• Theus ordered Beatrice and Alexei to continue investigating, then returned to Blood Port with the banshees.
• Zoe told Theus that Jules had become Emperor of the Empire as heir of the Joan Family.
• Zoe reported that Isaac had publicly taken office as Pope and betrayed Castel.

Theus learned that Isaac had become Pope and launched sweeping reforms to secularize the Mechanical Cathedral and industrialize the Holy See. Isaac rejected Castel’s attempts to contact him and formally declared war on it, leaving Theus worried that the Holy See could match Castel’s industrial strength.

• Zoe told Theus that Isaac had been captured by the Holy See and had now become Pope.
• Zoe reported that the Candlelight Society and the Mechanical Cathedral had officially merged, leaving three great Churches.
• Zoe described Isaac’s decrees, which reorganized the Mechanical Cathedral around technical research, expanded mechanical augmentation and education, and encouraged industrial growth.
• Theus recognized that Isaac’s reforms drew on policies used by Castel and the Empire, and wondered whether Isaac wanted to cooperate with Castel.
• Zoe said Isaac had rejected Castel’s attempts to contact him, severed his ties with Castel, and formally declared war on it.

Theus explained to Zoe why the Empire’s vast population could threaten Castel if it industrialized, but argued that adopting Castel’s system would undermine the Holy See’s religious order. He then questioned why Isaac and Jules supported reform and began writing Jules a letter to ask directly.

• The chapter compared the populations of Castel, Blood Port, the Duchy of Tis, and the Empire, emphasizing the Empire’s overwhelming numerical advantage.
• Zoe worried that the Empire would become impossible to defeat if it acquired Castel’s technology.
• Theus argued that industrializing would force the Empire to prioritize technology and truth over faith, destroying the Candlelight Society’s existing system.
• Theus wondered why Isaac and Jules were pursuing reforms and how Lina had ended up leaving with Little Gwen.
• Theus began writing a letter to Jules, addressing him as Mr. Jules and preparing to ask his questions directly.

Sister Lynn secretly left the church through a hidden passage to buy forbidden books, then became so absorbed in reading that people recognized her. The chapter ended with a masked man pulling her hood back over her face as the room fell silent.

• Lynn changed into dark clothes and used a hidden passage beneath the Confessional to leave the church.
• She visited a clandestine book seller and bought a batch of contraband books.
• Lynn began reading a book about Monica and remained engrossed for four hours.
• People gathered around Lynn and recognized her as kind-hearted Sister Lynn after her hood slipped back.
• A masked man stepped forward and pulled Lynn’s hood over her face.

Lynn panicked after being caught reading unofficial histories, and Father Jen revealed that he had been reading them too. Their nighttime meeting was interrupted by Benitez’s patrol, and the chapter ended when Lynn found a contraband story in Benitez’s robe.

• Lynn fled the building and broke down in an alley, fearing she would be reported for heresy.
• Father Jen found Lynn, disabled her hand cannon, and confessed that he had been reading Nini’s reports.
• Father Jen tried to take Lynn back, but Benitez and the nighttime patrol confronted them during curfew.
• Benitez revealed that he had overheard them discussing unofficial histories and threatened them.
• Lynn grabbed Benitez’s robe and found a book called The Story Theus and the Old Butler Had to Tell, while the patrol claimed it was confiscated contraband.

Sister Lynn discovered that the priests and guards were secretly reading Lady Nini's unofficial histories, and she reassured herself that her own reading made her relatively loyal to the Church. Beniste then invited her to join the priests in sharing their books under the guise of praying together.

• Sister Lynn confronted Benitez and the priests about reading Lady Nini's books, while they defended their reading and argued over who read the most outrageous histories.
• Lynn hid Benitez's book beneath her robe and reasoned that, compared with the others, her own reading made her loyal to the Church.
• Lynn realized the priests had not been assigned to night patrol and had secretly left the Church, but Beniste said they could claim overtime for volunteering.
• The Church guards let the suspicious group back inside and signaled to them, leaving Lynn shocked at how openly the priests pursued their books.
• Beniste stopped Lynn as she headed to the confessional and suggested that the priests pray together so they could share more Holy Scriptures.

Lynn considered joining Benister’s group prayers in exchange for sharing her books, while Chloe dealt with the spread of unofficial histories across Castel. The chapter ended with Little Bu telling Chloe she had found something more interesting to study.

• Benister persuaded Lynn that exchanging unofficial histories at group prayers would let her read more exciting stories, and he gave her the address Castel.
• Chloe became angry after unofficial histories portrayed her and Nora as lovers, so she complained to Theus and helped crack down on cults.
• Nini went underground and founded the Deep Sea Alliance, an organization for writing unofficial histories.
• Chloe finished teaching the Machine Soul and worried she had no new books for Little Bu.
• Little Bu reassured Chloe that she had found something more interesting.

Chloe discovered that Little Bu had read all of Nini’s books and written a novel of her own, despite the Untouchables’ supposed inability to create. Theus examined Little Bu’s story and learned she had written its hundred-thousand-word manuscript in about two hours.

• Chloe saw Little Bu reading a love story and worried it was one of Nini’s dangerous books.
• Little Bu revealed that she had written the book herself and proudly admitted she was a fan of Nini who had read all her books.
• Chloe realized Little Bu’s reading habit had led her to finish Nini’s entire collection, sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose.
• Chloe brought Little Bu’s handwritten novel to Theus, who questioned how the Untouchables could innovate in literature when they could not innovate in science.
• Little Bu explained the story’s ending, in which a Machine Soul burned its lover in a combustion chamber and made them one, then said she had written the hundred-thousand-word book in about two hours.

Theus discovered that Little Bu and many other Untouchables could write books at extraordinary speed, and learned that their novels were spreading through Castel and the Empire. He summoned Nini after discovering her books had become popular even within the Candlelight Society, and she arrived disguised beyond recognition.

• Theus tested Little Bu's writing talent and directed her to create an unofficial history starring Nini.
• Chloe and Gaia investigated the Untouchables' reading habits and found that many had begun writing books of their own.
• Chloe obtained information from Nini's post office and learned that Untouchables' novels were being sold to the Empire and praised by the Candlelight Society.
• Theus told Chloe to monitor the Untouchables, then discovered through statistics that Nini's books had spread widely in the Empire.
• Theus summoned Nini to his office, where he laughed at her elaborate disguise.