Chapter Summaries

Theus planned to electrify South Continent factories while preparing for the possibility that divine enemies would disable electrical equipment, and he secured Jules's support for livestock and a coalition army. Isabella accepted Theus's warning about the gods and explained how she had returned from death, leaving them to consider the choices that shaped her past.

• Theus asked Chloe about establishing Castel-style industry in South Continent, and she said engineers could teach its literate Dreamwalkers to build factories and production lines.
• Theus told Chloe to coordinate equipment transport with Angelita and put Gaia in charge of construction.
• Jules readily agreed to provide another hundred thousand head of livestock and troops for a coalition army trained by Castel.
• Isabella initially suspected Theus's warning about the gods was a scheme, but believed him after he mentioned the Pirate King imprisoned in Stellar Furnace No. 2.
• Isabella explained that her ancestor's method made second-tier Transcendents immortal, while she had returned through resurrection aided by Bazel's sacrifice and Stellar Furnace No. 2.
• Isabella said she did not regret faking her death, despite believing she might have defeated Theus had she stayed and fought.

Bettis remembered how she had lost her old friends and found comfort in running her fish-and-chips shop with Nora and Grisha. When Grisha prepared to leave for the South Continent, Bettis tried to send him off with fried fish, and his quiet kindness moved her to tears.

• Bettis recalled how Yami and Little Gwen had left, and how she kept the shop running while saving money to post missions searching for Little Gwen.
• Bettis remembered meeting Nora and feeling less alone after she joined the shop, then teaching Nora and Grisha their tasks.
• Bettis learned that Grisha was leaving for the South Continent and began frying him a bag of fish to take along.
• Bettis burned the fish as she struggled to hold back her feelings, and Grisha stopped her from frying another batch.
• Grisha ate the scorched fish, and Bettis broke down in tears.

Bettis said goodbye to Grisha as he left to work on factory construction in the South Continent, and Theus revealed that the human continents had formed an alliance. Theus then used his control over Little Gwen to make her finally go to Bettis and face the friend she had avoided.

• Grisha reassured Bettis about the burnt fish and explained that he was leaving for the South Continent after passing his engineer exam.
• Theus told Bettis that Castel and the Empire had joined an alliance of all humanity, and that Grisha was going south to support the effort.
• Bettis said goodbye to Grisha, then hugged Nora as the shop grew quiet again.
• Theus brought Little Gwen fried fish and confronted her for avoiding Bettis after leaving for the Northern Territory.
• Theus controlled Little Gwen and made her walk toward Bettis's shop despite her protests.

Theus brought Little Gwen to Bettis's fried fish shop so the two friends could reunite, despite Little Gwen's fear. Bettis welcomed her without reproach, and Little Gwen began to realize she could trust their friendship as she watched Bettis fry fish.

• Theus controlled Little Gwen and took her to Bettis's shop, then released her outside the entrance.
• Little Gwen hesitated between fleeing and facing Bettis until Bettis noticed her and recognized her.
• Bettis rushed out, embraced Little Gwen, and cried while Little Gwen awkwardly comforted her.
• Little Gwen admitted she had been back for a while, but Bettis wiped her tears and brought her inside to fry fish.
• Bettis treated Little Gwen's revelation that she was a Named One as ordinary and chatted about the shop and their old acquaintances.
• As Bettis served her fried fish, Little Gwen reflected on their friendship and felt her fear and hesitation ease.

As war between humanity and the gods approached, Lynn and Father Benister witnessed the Empire and Castel reorganizing their churches, factories, schools, and armies for the coming conflict. Benister voiced his belief that people should seek the power to solve disasters rather than rely only on prayer, as mobilization spread across the region.

• Lynn told Benister that Lady Nini had suspended her current novels to write more serious works because war was about to begin.
• Lynn described people saying goodbye and heading south to support the war effort, while Benister explained that the Holy See was disbanding most churches and redirecting its members.
• Benister told Lynn that people should seek the power to solve disasters instead of merely praying, surprising her with his changed beliefs.
• Factories in Blood Port and Castel transferred workers and brought in apprentices for on-site instruction as production continued.
• The Faithguard Army broke up its existing ranks into junior officers and used them to form a much larger army with a narrower focus on military training.
• Castel and the Northern Territory expanded schools, assembled new units, armed the populace, and rapidly built factories in preparation for war.

Theus reviewed the Fourfold Alliance’s military, industrial, and energy preparations as its leaders reported conditions across their regions. The alliance found a possible supply route to the Empire and prepared to begin the ritual that would formally start its war with the gods.

• Theus opened the alliance’s first conference and asked Angelita, Isabella, and Jules to report on their regions.
• Angelita reported that the South Continent had mobilized for war, while Isabella and Jules described their armies and factories’ shortages of skilled workers.
• Jules reported the Empire’s energy shortage, and Theus ruled out shipping coal from the South Continent as too costly.
• Isabella recalled an underground river from Castel to Rhine, and Theus realized banshees could use it to help transport supplies.
• When asked about the ritual for the one hundred thousand head of livestock, Theus said it would begin very soon.

Theus and the allied factions prepared for an early ritual, hoping to learn how to fight the gods before their resurrection advanced further. As Lina began the ritual, Theus’s other selves reported repeated failures to find weapons effective against gods but reaffirmed their determination to defeat them.

• Theus rejected Angelita’s suggestion to postpone the ritual, explaining that each ritual accelerated the gods’ resurrection but could reveal their weaknesses and buy humanity time to develop countermeasures.
• Theus shared a plan for a guerrilla war, and the factions arranged daily meetings to finalize troop deployments, evacuation routes, and other preparations.
• After Jules completed the ritual site, Theus and Lina prepared under heavy guard, with Nora driving Theus’s self-propelled artillery vehicle and the troops placed on standby.
• Galahad reported that the frontline forces and reconnaissance airships were ready, and Theus ordered Lina to begin the ritual.
• At the Throne Hall, Ximen Qing reported that his Blazing Sun project had failed to harm the gods, and the gathered Theuses vowed to keep trying until they defeated them.

Theus succeeded in Descending and discovered that the Sea God's underwater followers were mining Blackstone, a mineral that could harm gods. He returned to report the discovery while Elsa and the others remained at Gem Bay.

• Theus announced his successful Descent, and the recorder identified him as a newly created avatar with no project assignment.
• Theus met Elsa, a Named One who had been sent to kill his vessel because it belonged to an evil god worshipper, and convinced her to let him assist her mission.
• Theus explained that he had entered the sea and found the Sea God's half-human, half-fish followers mining a mineral called Blackstone.
• Theus said Elsa had used Blackstone in weapons and successfully injured a god, then the recorder identified her group as Project Deep Sea at Gem Bay.

Theus recovered memories showing that Blackstone could help mortals fight the gods, and that he had created the Gear Sage and the Makers to support civilization. He prepared to investigate the South Continent, but the white-robed priest on the Golden Throne left him sensing that a mystery remained.

• The clones in the Throne Hall found that their plan depended on Blackstone mined underwater, leaving them reliant on the Fishmen.
• Theus urged the groups to try every solution, and Group A reported building the Gear Sage while Group C created the Makers through selective breeding.
• Theus awoke from the memory and realized he had created both the Gear Sage and the Makers, whose manufacturing abilities could equip mortal civilizations against gods.
• Theus told Nora that Blackstone was the key to dealing with the gods and learned that the Empire, the Northern Territory, and Castel were safe while the South Continent remained uncertain.
• Theus returned his consciousness to the Golden Throne and noticed the white-robed priest still seated there, leaving him convinced that something was missing.

Theus woke in the Temple of the Sons of Insomnia and learned from Angelita that the gods had revived and the dream system had become real. Dream skills could harm the gods, and Angelita claimed her authority as Pope made her invincible.

• Theus wondered whether his companions had fallen in the final battle and went to the South Continent to find out what was happening.
• Theus awoke beside Angelita in the Temple of the Sons of Insomnia and discovered she had become a physical girl.
• Angelita told Theus that the gods had revived but were being suppressed, since dream weapons and skills could harm them while ordinary weapons could not.
• Angelita explained that dreamwalkers and their abilities had become real as part of the Enemy of Humanity's dream.
• Angelita revealed that, as Pope, she had the dream system's highest authority and was invincible according to her settings.

Angelita revealed that the church was a weapon built to fight the gods and transformed it into a towering war machine. She led the Sons of Insomnia into battle as the system issued its first real-world mission, and Theus watched the South Continent’s dreamwalkers rally to fight the Enemy of Humanity.

• Angelita told Theus that she had been designed as a powerful support node and could not leave the church, but intended to face the gods with him.
• Angelita activated the church’s hidden machinery, causing the vast structure and its surrounding plaza to rise and walk as a steel giant.
• Angelita addressed the Sons of Insomnia, and the system issued the world mission to defy the gods in reality, with no reward or failure penalty.
• Dreamwalkers emerged from vehicles and machines across the South Continent, accepted the mission, and followed the moving church toward battle.
• Angelita told Theus that the church was near the Sea of No Light so she could reach the battlefield quickly, and said the people would not flee or surrender.

Theus and Angelita arrived at the South Continent front, where allied forces tested their weapons against monsters emerging from the Sea of No Light. Angelita warned that the Enemy of Humanity was coming, and a colossal hair-like monster rose from the sea and sent a devastating tsunami toward the defenses.

• Angelita contacted the frontline forces while Theus checked in with Chloe, who reported five battle groups fighting and seven on standby.
• Chloe said South Continent troops and Castel's Faithguard Army were suppressing the monsters, which could be harmed by bullets, explosions, and fire.
• Angelita contacted the Skinwearers, then warned the battlefield that the Enemy of Humanity was coming.
• The sea collapsed inward as an enormous mass of writhing black strands emerged, its howls injuring soldiers and raising a towering tsunami.
• Angelita's Titan braced at the shore, and the Night Watchers raised their lamps to slow the oncoming wave.

Grisha and the allied forces faced the Enemy of Humanity, whose waves and ironworm-like filaments overwhelmed ordinary weapons. Dream Walkers damaged it with their skills, and as Angelita took command of the battlefield, Theus returned to his journey toward Blood Port.

• Grisha fired repeatedly at the Enemy of Humanity as a wall of water crashed toward the front line, until Veronica and other Dream Walkers raised barriers to stop it.
• Theus ordered incendiary bombs, but the Enemy of Humanity pierced the allied airships with its black filaments and sent a burning wreck crashing down.
• Angelita's war machine blasted a hole through the Enemy of Humanity, and the Dream Walkers followed with a barrage that severed and stripped away many of its threads.
• Theus told Angelita to withdraw the mortal soldiers, and the allied forces retreated while the Dream Walkers took over the attack under her command.
• Theus returned to his body aboard a train bound for Blood Port, where Nora offered to relay a message to Castel or the Empire.

Theus discovered that Blackstone could let weapons harm gods and mobilized Castel and its allies to develop and deploy it. Angelita reported that the Enemy of Humanity had feigned stupidity before exploiting the Dream Walkers’ lowered guard and inflicting devastating losses.

• Theus ordered Nini and the Banshees to search for Blackstone and arranged for Castel and the Frontier Testing Ground to produce weapons.
• Nini and Ash found Blackstone underwater, and samples from the seabed and mines near Castel were sent for testing.
• At a meeting in Castel, Theus ordered Blackstone weapons sent to the South Continent and the ore distributed to Alliance factions for research.
• Theus learned that weapons infused with Blackstone could harm gods and rejoiced that they could now be wounded.
• Angelita told Theus that the Enemy of Humanity had pretended to be foolish, then attacked when the Dream Walkers lowered their guard, causing heavy casualties and supply losses.

Theus and Angelita coordinated the united forces as Blackstone Weapons proved capable of harming the Enemy of Humanity. After weeks of rearmament and preparation, the allied army destroyed the god in a valley ambush, leaving Theus surprised by how quickly the battle had ended.

• Angelita shifted her support fully to the allied forces after they held the line, and Theus learned that Blackstone Weapons could damage the Enemy of Humanity.
• Theus and Angelita assessed the god's speed and agreed to hold the line until Blackstone Weapons could be mass-produced and deployed.
• The allied forces rearmed while the Banshees found Blackstone Ore near Gem Bay and the Makers built equipment to mine it.
• The allied forces lured the Enemy of Humanity into a valley and overwhelmed it with artillery, bombs, and explosives.
• Angelita organized a celebration after the god was killed, while Theus wondered why there were suddenly no battles left to fight.

Theus began another ritual in the South Continent after the allied forces prepared Blackstone Weapons and evacuated Castel Island. He witnessed a memory revealing that the gods kept reviving despite repeated killings, especially the Sea God, leaving the allies searching for a way to contain them.

• Theus arranged for Angelita to gather livestock for another ritual and ordered Jules to prepare more as well.
• A month and a half later, Nora confirmed the South Continent ritual site and the allied forces were ready, and Theus ordered the ritual to begin.
• Theus awoke in a clearer memory of the Throne Room and learned that the Bone White Crow had been killed again.
• Theus heard that the Bone White Crow had revived three times, the Bright Candle twice, and the Sea God 135 times, sometimes reviving almost immediately.
• Theus listened as his companions debated trapping the gods or fixing their revival locations, but neither plan seemed workable.

The Theus clones concluded that they could defeat the gods only by truly dying at their hands, and Sisyphus sacrificed himself to prove the idea worked. The clones and the original Theus descended to carry out their plan, leaving Prometheus on the Golden Throne as the new one to face what came next.

• A clone proposed that a Theus killed directly by a god might delay that god’s revival, allowing them to perish together.
• Sisyphus volunteered to test the theory, and the clones later confirmed that he had truly died while the Sea God had not revived for nearly a month.
• The clones resolved to prove they were not gods and chose to descend into the real world to confront the remaining gods.
• The white-robed priest refused to stay behind and joined the others, so they chose Prometheus to remain in the Throne Hall.
• The white-robed priest placed Prometheus on the Golden Throne, then descended himself and never woke again.

Theus recovered his memories of the age of gods and learned that his companions had sacrificed themselves to suppress the gods for a thousand years. As the gods revived across the continents, he coordinated efforts to contain them and learned that Castel had lost contact.

• Theus remembered that he was an avatar and that his companions had sacrificed themselves to seal the gods away a thousand years earlier.
• Theus descended to his companions, told them the gods could not truly be killed, and ordered them to keep Enemy of Humanity occupied rather than attack it.
• Theus descended into the noble Theus’s body on the North Continent and learned that gods had revived simultaneously across the world.
• Ash reported that Jules’s forces had suppressed two gods in the Empire and one in Rhine, while the Northern Territory’s revived god remained unlocated.
• Theus sent Little Gwen to assist the search and asked about Castel, then learned that Castel had lost contact.

Kyle and seven Faithguard Army soldiers chose to risk descending through the church to reach the Stellar Furnace and stop its Pollution leak instead of escaping Castel. They began rappelling down through an atrium packed with Fishmen, with their fate uncertain.

• Kyle explained that shutting off the Stellar Furnace's Pollution output might stop the monsters, though the mission had almost no chance of success.
• Kyle asked the soldiers to vote between fleeing and attempting to reach the Stellar Furnace, and the squad chose to follow him.
• The political commissar stayed with the squad, and the soldiers joked as they prepared to descend.
• The soldiers saw the atrium floors crowded with Fishmen and tied ropes to the railings to descend directly toward the Stellar Furnace.

Kyle led the Faithguard Army squad through the Fishmen and into the Pollution-filled Stellar Furnace pipelines, sacrificing himself to get a tech-priest across. The tech-priest reached the valve but found its steam assist broken, so he began turning it by hand as the Pollution corrupted him.

• Kyle led the soldiers down through the Fishmen, but Ian and several others were killed or lost along the way.
• Kyle and the tech-priest reached the leaking Pollution pipeline, where Fishmen cut off their retreat.
• Kyle carried the tech-priest through the Pollution and hurled him ahead before collapsing and dying.
• The tech-priest reached the Pollution valve and tried to close it, but the steam assist failed.
• The corrupted tech-priest began turning the enormous valve by hand, determined to shut the pipeline.