Recaps

Inquisitor Vickfield was ordered to abandon his investigation of Para Lov Toman and prioritize capturing Feathered Serpent as violence spread through Plymouth. Aaron recognized the attacks as signs that war was beginning, while Sanu arrived at the Imperial Railway Station intent on igniting the conflict.

• Vickfield investigated Para Lov Toman’s connection to Lord Farnier, the Hymn Restaurant, and the Suppression Bureau, but Adelbert ordered him to focus on capturing Feathered Serpent.
• Aaron’s carriage was caught in a bombing, and he watched an armored figure crush a Crimson Extraordinary who had attacked the street.
• Aaron returned to the Green George District, reassured the Remingtons, and realized he had finished digesting the Alchemist and could advance to the Sixth Origin Quality.
• Aaron resolved not to act until the Spirit Realm moved, unless its forces had already fought Dawnbreak.
• Sanu arrived at the Imperial Railway Station carrying a white Persian cat and vowed to ignite the conflict.

Triss encountered Dairis during a deadly winter, while Dairis recognized the God of the End’s ritual threatening Plymouth and was confronted by Eusain and the Suppression Bureau. Meanwhile, Inquisitor Vickfield continued investigating Aaron and watched him travel to the Twin Clock Towers.

• Triss bumped into Dairis in the snow, and Dairis gave her money to buy coal and warned her to open the windows.
• Triss learned that Little Jack’s family had died after his father froze outside and the others likely suffocated while burning coal indoors.
• Dairis identified the cold and deaths as part of the God of the End’s “Gift of the End” ritual and reflected that the coming conflict would bring suffering whichever Age Controller prevailed.
• Eusain emerged from a doorway with implant-armored people and ordered them to capture Dairis, who surrendered to madness as battle loomed.
• Vickfield reviewed the information on Para and continued watching Aaron, who left by carriage for the Twin Clock Towers in Queen District.

As Dawnbreak attacked the Underworld Lord in the Spirit Realm, the battle unleashed undead across Plymouth. Sanu struck the Empire’s Parliament Building with crimson sorcery, and Vickfield confronted Aaron, who told him the show was only beginning.

• Aaron identified Dawnbreak’s attack on the Underworld Lord as the opening of the great battle in the Spirit Realm.
• The battle churned the River of Death and sent undead rising from cemeteries throughout Plymouth.
• Sanu approached the Parliament Building and used crimson sorcery to dissolve guards and bystanders, then blasted half the building.
• Vickfield realized Aaron had foreseen the attack and accused him of being one of its masterminds.
• Aaron gestured for Vickfield to be quiet and said the show had only just begun.

Sanu and South Innis’s demigods launched a surprise assault across Plymouth, forcing the Empire’s powerful figures to fight on multiple fronts. Sanu survived Adelbert’s fatal blow and killed the Chief Inquisitor, while the Spirit Realm faced the arrival of the Age Controller, the Lady of the Woods.

• Vickfield froze before Sanu, but the Bell of Mitra Palace isolated the attacked street and summoned powerful defenders, including Adelbert, Count Rook, and General Augustine.
• Sanu transformed into a giant and fought Adelbert, while a South Innis demigod and other native powerhouses attacked Plymouth’s financial center and critical facilities.
• Adelbert pierced Sanu’s chest, but Sanu recovered, drained Adelbert’s life, and prompted Count Rook to warn that Sanu could not die.
• In the Spirit Realm, the River of Death had mostly dried up, and the Lady of the Woods appeared as the Age Controller.

At Mitra Palace, Yao, the Child of Dawnbreak, defeated Sanu repeatedly while revealing his Law of Creation and his ability to revive the dead and create copies of himself across multiple Paths. The chapter left Yao’s other Longevity Beings spreading out to fight across Plymouth, while the Shadow incarnation attacked the indigenous demigod at the financial center.

• Yao appeared inside the Parliament Building, killed Sanu, and faced him again when False Immortality restored him.
• Sanu repeatedly returned from death and sealing, but failed to harm Yao as Yao toyed with him.
• Yao revealed his Law of Creation and restored Adelbert, Count Rook, and General Augustine to powerful bodies.
• Yao created Longevity Being counterparts for seven other Paths, bringing the number of present-world Longevity Beings to eight.
• Yao’s incarnations dispersed across Plymouth, and the Shadow incarnation attacked the black eagle and the indigenous demigod at the financial center.

Princess Sophia learned that Arthur IX had postponed the plan to kill the Child of Dawnbreak, so she prepared to act herself using experimental bio-armor. Meanwhile, Aaron Sothoth reasoned through the Child of Dawnbreak’s powers and revealed his identity as Feathered Serpent to Vickfield, who realized the investigation led back to Aaron.

• Arthur IX recognized that the Child of Dawnbreak could create seven avatars and hesitated to proceed with the plan to kill Him.
• Princess Sophia saw Christina’s abused corpse, received Arthur IX’s coded message postponing the plan, and resolved to act anyway.
• Sophia donned the dangerous Imperial Dragon-Type: Prototype bio-armor, which pierced her skin and caused her to cry out in agony.
• Aaron considered the limits of the Child of Dawnbreak’s creation power and concluded that He would need to be killed eight times to be eradicated.
• Aaron told Vickfield he would act only if the Child of Dawnbreak violated the contract and the Keeper of Secrets entered the battle, then revealed that he was Feathered Serpent.
• Vickfield realized his investigation into Feathered Serpent had led directly to Aaron and suspected a larger conspiracy involving the royal family.

The Child of Dawnbreak’s Crimson incarnation massacred allies and enemies in Jeston District, killed Princess Sophia, and triggered a stronger-than-expected backlash for breaking their agreement. As Dawnbreak prepared for the coming consequences, Aaron’s intervention brought the Mist of History into the Spirit Realm and began rewinding the battle against the Lady of the Woods and the River of Death.

• The Child of Dawnbreak’s Crimson incarnation cut through the native demigod, cultists, Church clerics, and military Your Majesties with blood-red threads.
• Sophia ambushed the incarnation in her implant armor, but He severed her at the waist and killed her despite her warning that He had violated their agreement.
• At Mitra Palace Square, Jupiter III demanded an explanation from Arthur IX, who claimed he knew nothing of Sophia’s actions while secretly smiling.
• The true Child of Dawnbreak sensed a worsening backlash from killing Sophia and breaking the verbal agreement, then resolved to deal with Sanu quickly so He could prepare.
• Aaron announced that the first prerequisite had been met, and Dawnbreak’s Remnant Chrysalis avatar restrained the Lady of the Woods’s power of change.
• The Mist of History enveloped the River of Death and the Lady of the Woods, restoring their former states, while a Night Curtain blocked the Pure White Sun’s attempt to interrupt the rewind.

Aaron used the influence of the Keeper of Secrets and Dawnbreak’s decisive battle to advance to the Sixth Primordial, becoming a Crown Bearer. Dawnbreak then unleashed half-Creator-level power, leaving the allied Age Controllers close to defeat.

• Aaron removed the black-and-white gemstone from the Fool's Crown and killed Vickfield before traveling to the Spirit Realm.
• Aaron swallowed the gemstone and used the battle between the Keeper of Secrets and Dawnbreak to lever the Spirit Realm’s power and complete his advancement to the Crown Bearer.
• Dawnbreak absorbed three Age Controller-level avatars and awakened half of the Crimson Creator’s power.
• Dawnbreak shattered the Mother of Night’s defenses, severed the River of Death, and set the woodland ablaze, bringing the alliance of four Age Controllers to the verge of collapse.

Aaron used the completed Law of Accident to bring a meteor crashing down on the Child of Dawnbreak’s Crimson avatar in Plymouth, while Arthur IX and Jupiter III protected the rest of the city. After the avatar survived the impact, Aaron pierced its heart with the Sun King’s Spear and began reforging the weapon using the avatar as a sacrifice.

• Aaron bestowed misfortune on the Child of Dawnbreak and gave himself a Lucky Accident enhancement.
• A meteor hurtled toward the Child of Dawnbreak’s Crimson avatar in Jeston District, while Arthur IX and Jupiter III rallied their forces to protect Plymouth’s other districts.
• The Child of Dawnbreak’s Shadow avatar failed to teleport Crimson away, and the meteor struck, reducing over half of Jeston District to ruins.
• Crimson survived the impact in a badly weakened state, but Aaron pierced its heart with the Sun King’s Spear.
• Aaron summoned Furnace Fire to consume Crimson and activated his prepared ritual arrays to reforge the Sun King’s Spear using a Longevity One as the sacrifice.

Aaron reforged the Sun King's Spear into the Sword in the Stone and used it to kill the Child of Dawnbreak, erasing its avatars and allies across Plymouth. He gathered the resulting remnants while Adelbert and two others survived only as spirit bodies after the Law of Creation ended.

• Aaron fused the broken Sun King's Spear with a monster and forged it into a rapier he named the Sword in the Stone.
• Aaron struck the Child of Dawnbreak with the sword, piercing its defenses and killing it.
• The sword's Annihilation Law erased the Child of Dawnbreak's avatars, the Longevity Ones across Plymouth, and Shadow's arriving avatar.
• Aaron silenced Sanu with a sword thrust, then collected the Child of Dawnbreak's remnant and Shadow's remains.
• The False Immortality cross's tiny heart exploded as the Persian cat watched a world-ending meteor.
• Adelbert and two others lost their bodies and spirituality when the Law of Creation ended, but their souls remained as spirit bodies.

After the Child of Dawnbreak fell, the Keeper of Secrets began a ritual to recreate the Fate Controllers’ ancient attack on the Crimson Creator, but the ritual stalled until Aaron agreed to serve as its witness. Aaron’s prayer and use of Power of Secret Source let the ritual proceed, replaying the Crimson Creator’s fall as the Keeper of Secrets attacked Dawnbreak’s weakened half-sun.

• The Keeper of Secrets used the Child of Dawnbreak’s death to begin a Historical Retrospection ritual, summoning the secret history of the Fate Controllers who had once besieged the Crimson Creator.
• Aaron appeared in the mortal world, suppressed the gathered Sixth Primordial Beyonders, and claimed the Longevity One’s relics.
• Aaron recognized that the ritual needed the witness and impetus of the Spirit of Unknown Void, and prayed for it to witness the battle.
• Aaron spent nearly a month’s accumulated Power of Secret Source to declare that the Keeper of Secrets had successfully performed the ritual.
• The ritual resumed and replayed the Crimson Creator’s fall, as the Keeper of Secrets wielded the power of the Fate Controllers to shatter Dawnbreak’s weakened half-sun.

Shahrukh’s rebel force faced the Invis Empire’s superior colonial army until the sun suddenly went dark and Dawnbreak fell, stripping imperial forces of their supernatural support and turning the battle. In the homeland, Connie and her students witnessed the same event, and Lamore saw a Sun Church priest dead beside the shattered emblem of Dawnbreak.

• Shahrukh led native warriors against the Southern Colonial Legion, whose guns, artillery, and extraordinary support overwhelmed the rebels.
• A sudden darkness spread across the battlefield, and Sun Church priests lost their holy radiance as imperial extraordinary individuals withdrew in fear after Dawnbreak fell.
• Shahrukh rallied the surviving warriors and led a charge that broke into the colonial position and reversed the battle’s tide.
• Connie recognized the darkness as a sign that something terrible had happened to the one representing the sun in the Spirit Realm.
• Lamore followed townspeople to the church, where they found the priest dead and Dawnbreak’s holy emblem shattered.

After the Malff Meteor Shower Impact Incident, Aaron met Triss in Plymouth and then secretly negotiated with the Keeper of Secrets over Dawnbreak’s remains and knowledge of the Creator’s Path. Aaron accepted a secret-keeping iron box containing the Keeper’s information, intending to carry it to the main world as an offering to his lord.

• Triss told Aaron that her family had survived the disaster and that her mother had found paid work clearing rubble in Jeston District.
• Aaron entered a concealed alley and greeted the Keeper of Secrets, who confirmed that Dawnbreak had fallen and his remains had been divided or scattered.
• Aaron said he needed Dawnbreak’s relics but would not enter the Spirit Realm because of the dangers there.
• The Keeper of Secrets warned Aaron that the Spirit of Void had begun to awaken within him and offered him information about the Creator’s Path.
• Aaron accepted a secret-keeping iron box from the Keeper of Secrets and stored the information inside so he could take it to the main world.

Aaron offered to deal with Jupiter III in exchange for Arthur IX establishing a social welfare system and issuing a decree. Meanwhile, Jupiter III ordered riots and sacrifices for the Sun Church, but a crimson sealing ritual trapped the Church’s leaders and crimson threads began killing them.

• Arthur IX dismissed his ministers after South Innis declared independence and decided to seize the Sun Church’s assets.
• Aaron met Arthur IX and agreed to deal with Jupiter III in exchange for two requests, including a minimum social security and welfare system.
• Arthur IX summoned his officials to prepare to take over the Sun Church’s assets.
• Jupiter III ordered the Sun Church to incite riots in major cities and gather offerings for Dawnbreak’s return.
• A crimson sealing ritual trapped Jupiter III and the bishops, and crimson threads pierced several of the Church’s leaders.
• Jupiter III invoked light to dispel the crimson gloom and reveal a figure.

Aaron tested the abilities of several sixth-rank primal essences against Jupiter III and the Sun Church bishops, then threw the Sword in the Stone through Jupiter III’s defenses. The chapter ended with the weapon lodged in the Pope’s heart.

• A bishop named Ibosius fired at Jupiter III, but Jupiter III stopped the bullet and calmed him before explaining that an Apostle of Heart was manipulating the bishops’ emotions.
• Aaron revealed himself as the source of the attack and used his anger incarnation to confront Jupiter III, who turned it into a plaster statue and smashed it.
• Aaron transformed into an Arcanist and cast Summon Meteor Fire Rain, while Jupiter III used the Sun Scepter to transmute the ground into a steel fortress.
• After probing Jupiter III’s abilities and sealing off his escape routes, Aaron marked him with the Sword in the Stone and hurled it through the fortress into his heart.

After defeating the Sun Church’s leaders, Aaron used Dawnbreak’s radiance to divine the knowledge required for his next advancement. He learned that becoming a Life Scholar required divine blood and passage through the true Gate of Longevity, which left him wondering how he could reach it.

• Aaron used the Pale Hand to destroy the Sun Church’s leaders’ souls and prevent them from returning as corpses or evil spirits.
• Aaron considered how Arthur IX could manage the remaining Sun Church and worried that his Creator Pathway would soon make his other transformations less useful.
• Aaron used dream divination on Dawnbreak’s radiance and learned a little about the Eighth Primordial and Sun-domain talismans.
• Aaron interpreted his inheritance and discovered that the Seventh Stage was Life Scholar, requiring divine blood from a Tenth Stage being of Yao and passage through the true Gate of Longevity.
• Aaron concluded that the Child of Dawnbreak’s remains contained the needed immortal nature, but he questioned how he could pass through the real Gate guarded by Age Controllers.

Six months after the meteor shower, Aaron returned to Plymouth and attended the weddings of Tracy and of Shahrukh and Connie. He left Shahrukh and Connie behind in this layer of history, while the Empire’s Suppression Bureau detected a ritual linked to the Feathered Serpent but buried its findings.

• Aaron visited Mrs. Remington, learned that her son had died in battle, and offered his condolences.
• Aaron watched Tracy, formerly Triss, marry Mr. Hamilton, then left without speaking to her.
• Aaron attended Shahrukh and Connie’s wedding, learned Shahrukh had chosen to remain in this layer of history, and advised them to keep a low profile.
• The Suppression Bureau detected a large historical secret ritual and suppressed its findings after learning it was related to the Feathered Serpent.
• Arthur IX remained unaware that his contract with Aaron still bound him and that Aaron had stolen his original decree draft from the palace archives.

After returning to the Main World, Aaron warned Motula that the Keeper of Secrets might learn the location of His old nest and attack. He caught up on events and reflected on the balance of power among the Main World’s gods and Fate Controllers.

• Aaron appeared beside Marcel Quinn and ordered him to warn Motula to abandon His old nest before the Keeper of Secrets could raid it.
• Marcel prayed to Motula, who responded, and then told Aaron that it was July 8th, 1028 of the New Era.
• Marcel reported that Governor McCall and Lord Bernard had won further victories over native states and shamans, while a resurrected Feathered Serpent had begun attacking colonial outposts.
• Aaron compared the Main World’s military strength with that of the Third History and explained that the Main World’s apparent weakness came from its spiritual tide and the Age Controllers’ restraint.
• Aaron reasoned that the Fate Controllers’ presence kept Dawnbreak in check and reflected on what he had learned about their sleeping state and their attitude toward the Spirit of Void.

Aaron negotiated a binding agreement with Motula, who accepted his offer of help advancing to a Secret Existence in exchange for five acts of full-strength service. Afterward, Aaron checked on his Invisible Cult and saw that Lilliat had spent more than a year praying for him before an overwhelming drowsiness overtook her.

• Aaron allowed Motula to enter his dream and told it that the Spirit of Void was awakening within him.
• Aaron offered to help Motula advance in exchange for five acts of service given with its full strength, and Motula accepted.
• Aaron and Motula signed a binding contract, then prepared to begin Motula's advancement using its materials and ritual.
• Aaron summoned the Dream Palace and looked in on the faithful of his Invisible Cult.
• Lilliat reflected on Aaron's disappearance and her unanswered prayers before a wave of drowsiness made her collapse onto her desk.

Aaron summoned members of the Invisible Cult and revealed that Rapier had become the vessel for the descent of the Spirit of Void, with Aaron serving as an intermediary. The gathering ended with the group awaiting their lord’s descent into the mortal world.

• William Charles hid with Bran after the raven stole a Tower Pathway mystical item, but then William’s spirit vanished and Bran realized he had been summoned to a special dream.
• Aaron appeared in the palace and summoned Lilliat, Percy, Nicholas, Ye Funai, Metana, Lilli, Jesita, and William Charles.
• Lilliat asked where Rapier was, and Aaron explained that Rapier had voluntarily become a vessel for the Spirit of Void’s descent.
• Aaron said the Spirit of Void had first used him as a vessel before sending a fragment of projection into Rapier, and that his recent journey had prepared for the lord’s true descent.
• Nicholas welcomed the coming divine descent, while Percy, Metana, and the others reacted to the revelation.

Aaron heard how the Invisible Cult members had progressed and agreed to help William advance to Sage in exchange for freeing the Lilly sisters. He then ordered the group to serve as bait for three hostile organizations and announced that he would personally intervene, leaving the others shocked by his recovered strength.

• Lilliat, Ye Funai, Metana, Percy, and Nicholas reported on their recent circumstances and plans for advancement.
• Nicholas said he planned to hunt a Lamplighter for the material needed to become a Mechanical Mentor, and Aaron offered him a blessing if he invoked his name.
• Lilly and Jesita revealed that they had earned university diplomas while imprisoned, while William asked Aaron to help him obtain the primary material needed to become a Sage.
• Aaron agreed to help William advance on the condition that William free the Lilly sisters afterward.
• Aaron ordered the group to act as bait to uncover information about the Witch Sisterhood, the Gourmet Association, or the Lotus Eaters, promising protection if they invoked his name.
• Aaron declared that he would personally act against the three organizations, and the others wondered whether his condition had fully recovered.

Aaron warned the Invisible Cult that the Gourmet Association, Lotus Eaters, and Witch Sisterhood served the same Fate Controller, then dismissed the meeting without sacrificing his Divine Envoy identity. William summoned Aaron to destroy a contaminated mystical book and received a powerful ingredient, while Bran warned him that knowledge of Fate Controllers could bring misfortune.

• Aaron told the Invisible Cult that the three enemy organizations worshipped entities belonging to one Fate Controller and ordered the cult to seek clues about them.
• William told Bran that the Invisible Cult might have to face the Church of the God of Wisdom, then prepared a ritual to destroy a mystical book.
• William prayed to Aaron Sothoth, whose white flames burned away the book and its spiritual contamination, leaving a bluish ingredient William needed for the Fourth Primordial.
• Bran recognized Aaron's power as control over fate and warned William that fate was beyond the reach of Age Controllers.
• William revealed that his ancestor had told him the Mother of Night, Lord of Corpse Collection, and Underworld Moon were parts of a Fate Controller, alarming Bran.

Nicholas Inam and Ye Funai hunted a Mechanical Mentor hiding in Holger Town, using anti-divination measures and a surprise attack. Ye Funai entered the villa and put its servants to sleep, while the target’s attempt to cast a spell was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit.

• Nicholas Inam reflected on the Church of the Holy Spirit’s declining influence as the Orthodox God churches expanded their presence in Plymouth.
• After dismissing his servants, Nicholas met Ye Funai, who said she had divined that their hunt for the Mechanical Mentor would go smoothly.
• Ye Funai and Nicholas teleported to Holger Town, where Nicholas prayed to Aaron Sothoth and prepared an arsenal that included a small cannon.
• Ye Funai used anti-divination measures and a lullaby to incapacitate the villa’s servants before entering the building.
• The Mechanical Mentor transformed his body and targeted Ye Funai, but an apparent accident made him cough before he could chant an incantation.

Ye Funai and Nicholas killed the Mechanical Mentor and recovered his expanding core, while Aaron entered Plymouth and reflected on how the Law of Accident could affect fate through the Spirit Realm. Aaron left considering whether alchemy and collective belief could turn a lie into truth.

• Ye Funai immobilized the Mechanical Mentor with a dream and shadows, allowing Nicholas to blast the study with an alchemical shell.
• Nicholas approached the ruined study, but the Mechanical Mentor revived and fired at him; Nicholas fell through the shattered floor and accidentally dodged the shot.
• Ye Funai beheaded the Mechanical Mentor, extracted his expanding core, and gave it to Nicholas as promised.
• Ye Funai told Nicholas that the Count's power had caused the convenient accidents, leaving Nicholas stunned.
• In Plymouth, Aaron considered how the Law of Accident influenced the Spirit Realm and wondered whether alchemy could make a widely believed lie become truth.

Aaron met his old friend Bruce Field at the Three Mice Bar and learned that Bruce had become a Secret History Scholar. Later, Bruce’s fear led him to pray to Mother Nature, and she descended through him.

• Aaron considered the limits of his Thought Alchemy and arrived at the Three Mice Bar, where his Cognitive Alteration made him seem ordinary to everyone.
• Bruce Field met Aaron, told him he had become a Secret History Scholar, and shared drinks with him.
• Bruce returned home drunk and found his Half-Moon Orchid transforming into vines that sealed the room.
• Bruce prayed to Mother Nature for forgiveness, and she descended through him as the Spirit Realm overlapped with the mortal world.