Chapter Summaries

Theus and the Faithguard Army waited anxiously as Kyle’s team tried to stop the Pollution leak at Castel’s Stellar Furnace. After the leak stopped, Theus discovered that a corrupted Tech Priest had shut the valve by hand, and Ash’s team had yet to identify him.

• Theus ordered his forces to wait for news from Kyle’s team rather than attack Castel, while the Stellar Furnace leak continued.
• Theus sensed the Stellar Furnace’s Machine Soul wail, then learned that the Pollution leak had stopped and ordered Ash to prepare for landing.
• Ash led fifty Banshees in clearing the Sea Urchin Monsters from Castel with help from ironclads and airships.
• The Banshees stormed Castel Cathedral, defeated the Fishmen, and secured the underground level containing the Stellar Furnace.
• Theus arrived at the leak site and saw a corrupted Tech Priest repeatedly turning a valve that he had manually shut to stop the Pollution.

Theus and the engineers stabilized Castel's Stellar Furnace after Kyle's Faithguard Army sacrificed itself to save the island. The furnace's output had increased dramatically, prompting Theus to order more built while the revived gods continued to threaten the Alliance.

• Theus saluted the monster who had completed the task of shutting off the Stellar Furnace's main Pollution pipeline, and Castel was secured under Banshee protection.
• Engineers and Banshees worked for three days to stabilize the Stellar Furnace while the revived Sea God struggled inside it.
• Theus learned that the South Continent had built two Stellar Furnaces and an extra backup, while Castel's repaired furnace had gained more than tenfold performance.
• Tata reported that Castel's output could rise at least twentyfold once the Pollution co-production system was completed, and Theus ordered Stellar Furnaces built wherever there was surplus capacity.
• Theus heard that the Empire had barely contained its god, Little Gwen was tracking the Bone White Crow, and Jules had nearly assembled the livestock needed for another ritual.

Theus’s second ritual failed to make him unconscious, but revealed that he needed far more Transcendence power, specifically the kind associated with Pollution. He canceled further rituals and prioritized building Stellar Furnaces to seal the gods, while the Empire prepared to expand its Pollution supply.

• Lina guided Transcendence power toward Theus in a second ritual, but he remained conscious and sensed that the power was insufficient.
• Theus said he needed at least ten times as much power and recognized that the missing element corresponded to Pollution, not more souls.
• Lina proposed sacrificing a hundred thousand people, but Theus rejected the idea and explained what he had learned from the earlier experiment in Castel.
• Theus said Castel could supply enough Pollution, though repairing and expanding the Stellar Furnace pipeline would take time.
• Theus ended the ritual and told the others to prioritize building new Stellar Furnaces, which would be designed with enough capacity to contain intact gods.
• Over the next month, construction of larger Stellar Furnaces began across both continents.

Theus approved Tata’s Second Castel Plan to turn a Steel Ark into a mobile fortress with a Stellar Furnace, factories, housing, and defenses. After months of construction and preparations, the alliance completed twelve Stellar Furnaces and prepared to begin the God Capture Plan.

• Tata proposed installing a Stellar Furnace and supporting facilities on a Steel Ark, creating a mobile refuge beyond the gods’ reach, and Theus approved a special budget for the Second Castel Plan.
• Castel approved twelve new Stellar Furnaces, while engineers from Castel and Tis mobilized across the world to build them and allied forces pinned the gods down with heavy firepower.
• Over several months, Theus used Little Gwen’s help to establish instant connections with Jules and other allied leaders.
• Theus met with Angelita and the allied leaders in Blood Port and announced that the God Capture Plan was about to begin.
• The leaders saw that twelve Stellar Furnaces had been built across the two continents, and Theus said the South Continent furnace had completed testing and was ready to operate.

Theus led the alliance’s plan to kill the Enemy of Humanity, lift it into the Stellar Furnace, and ignite the furnace. The god was loaded inside and the furnace was sealed, leaving Theus to begin the ignition test.

• Theus explained why the alliance would target the Enemy of Humanity first and use airships to carry its corpse into the Stellar Furnace.
• The allied forces bombarded the Enemy of Humanity for a day until it was dead.
• The lifting teams threaded steel cables through the god’s limbs and transported it into the Stellar Furnace without casualties.
• Theus told Angelita that the furnace still needed to be fully sealed before it could be lit, and said he would handle the Machine Soul and ignition test.
• The engineers completed the furnace seal, and Theus joined them as they entered the ignition test phase.

Theus attempted to ignite the Stellar Furnace, but the Enemy of Humanity awakened and seized control before the Machine Soul could take root. Angelita hurled the furnace away before it exploded, leaving her fate unknown as the Enemy of Humanity regenerated nearby and Theus took command.

• Theus began the ignition ritual, but the Enemy of Humanity convulsed and broke the Machine Soul before it could awaken.
• Theus ordered Angelita to attack the Stellar Furnace before the Enemy of Humanity could take control and trigger a catastrophic explosion.
• Angelita rammed the furnace repeatedly, tore it free, and pushed it away from the site before it exploded.
• Theus survived the blast and found the Enemy of Humanity gone, while Angelita lay collapsed and unresponsive.
• A liaison officer reported that the Enemy of Humanity had regenerated three kilometers away and that the 19th Legion had engaged it.
• Theus began issuing orders as he waited for news of Angelita and prepared for the Enemy of Humanity to return.

Theus discovered that the Machine Soul had caused the Enemy of Humanity to revive instantly, stalling the Stellar Furnace Project. Realizing he could suppress a god by letting it kill him, he overcame his hesitation and prepared to sacrifice himself.

• Theus ordered the allied forces to kill the Enemy of Humanity, but it immediately revived after each death.
• Theus traced the god’s instant revival to its contact with the Machine Soul inside the Stellar Furnace.
• Theus asked Jules to kill the Undying Bright Candle, which stayed dead and confirmed that the Enemy of Humanity’s revival was unusual.
• Theus concluded that the Stellar Furnace could not work unless someone suppressed the god and remembered that a god’s killer could hold it down for centuries.
• Theus recalled the sacrifices made by mortals in Castel, overcame his hesitation, and declared that it was his turn.

Theus arranged for Castel’s leaders to take over its institutions after the Stellar Furnace failed, then revealed that he was a transmigrator from Blue Star and planned to suppress the gods with his death. As his companions absorbed the truth, Monica offered to share an idea.

• Theus convened Castel’s leaders, and Erwin reported that Angelita had died but could be resurrected because she was a Dream Walker.
• Theus assigned Chloe to manage the Tribunal, Erwin to command the war priests and allied forces, and Ken and Gaia to oversee the military factories.
• Nini realized Theus was preparing to die, and Chloe pressed him to explain what was happening.
• Theus told his companions about his transmigration, Blue Star, and the Throne Hall, then said he intended to suppress the gods by dying.
• Monica said she had an idea.

Theus attempted a ritual with more than ten times the usual Pollution, but the priest in white revealed himself as Theus’s original and sacrificed his own soul to suppress all four gods. Theus awoke among his companions, who had taken over the work of transporting the gods and promised to protect Castel together.

• Theus agreed to try the ritual, and Lina activated it using a vast pit of Pollution while he sat inside Nora’s self-propelled artillery.
• The priest in white awoke in the Throne Hall, revealed that he was Theus’s original, and explained that Theus could not suppress all four gods alone.
• The priest in white suppressed the gods with his own soul, leaving Theus trapped on the Golden Throne as memories of his companions flooded into him.
• Theus awoke surrounded by Nora, Chloe, and his other companions, who told him that the gods had been suppressed.
• Chloe said the group had taken over command and would protect Castel, and Theus agreed to trust them.

Six months after the war against the gods ended, Theus described the Human Federation’s recovery and unveiled a memorial to those who died. As Chloe asked about his name before crossing over, he remembered it was Gu Yuan Gui.

• Connor told Theus that the Stellar Furnaces were operating, Jules had disappeared, and Isabella was arguing with him over ownership of one furnace.
• Theus and Zoe traveled to the memorial ceremony as he discussed the alliance’s future and humanity’s growing industry.
• At Castel Cathedral, Theus introduced himself as Prometheus, the Human Federation Council’s Speaker, and unveiled a monument bearing the names of the fallen and a blank space for the unknown dead.
• Chloe asked Theus what his name had been before he crossed over, and he answered, "Gu Yuan Gui."