Recaps

Aaron used his meeting with Nicholas Inam to learn that he had found another Yao Beyonder and offered him money to search for materials. Later, Aaron ambushed Miss White Dove at her safe house and revealed that he knew she was Liliat Thorne.

• Aaron paid Miss White Dove 100 pounds after lifting part of her curse, then asked Nicholas Inam whether he still wanted Secret Lore of Yao.
• Aaron deduced that Nicholas had obtained a Yao inheritance and offered him 50 pounds to find Yao materials, plus a further reward if he succeeded.
• Miss White Dove escaped through a sewer and went to her safe house in the Iver Bridge District.
• Aaron used a phantom in a Raven Mask to confront Miss White Dove and claimed that worshipping the Spirit of Void could save her from the curse.
• Miss White Dove put the phantom to sleep and tried to remove its mask, but Aaron struck her from behind while concealed by the Shadow Ring.
• Aaron revealed that he had identified Miss White Dove as Liliat Thorne.

Aaron captured White Dove and forced Liliat Thorne to join his sect, but her prayer to the Spirit of Void unexpectedly connected her to Aaron and brought about a miracle. He purified her and then tested whether he could use the Power of Secret Source to affect his own body.

• Liliat woke tied to a chair in Aaron's safe house, where he revealed that he knew her identity and recognized her Sothos ancestry.
• Aaron gave Liliat the choice of dying or joining his sect, and she chose to recite the Spirit of Void's divine name.
• Liliat's prayer formed a mystical connection with Aaron, who sent his spirit to her and used the Power of Secret Source to purify her from an Evil Spirit's malice and some advancement-related mental problems.
• Aaron saw a black curse on his physical body and sent it over ten days' worth of the Power of Secret Source to test its effects.

Aaron purified Lilliat’s curse and spiritual contamination through the Spirit of Void, then recruited her as a believer and asked her to surrender the replica of the Green Forest Ring of Power. After Aaron returned home, Lilliat went to her father and told him she had received a response from a hidden being.

• Aaron used the Power of Secret Source to purify Lilliat, then freed her from her bonds.
• Lilliat accepted Aaron as the Spirit of Void’s emissary and agreed to hand over her replica of the Green Forest Ring of Power.
• Aaron told Lilliat to contact the Iron Fist Gang if she needed help, and agreed to look into Rapier while warning her not to preach or recruit.
• Aaron found the danger around the Green Forest Cathedral unchanged and wondered whether corruption had reached the Investigation Bureau.
• Lilliat returned home through a window, warned her father Vernon Doran against divining her fate, and told him about the Spirit of Void’s response.

Lilliat told Vernon that an unseen being had answered her, and he feared the danger despite her curse being lifted. Aaron received the imitation Green Forest Ring of Power from Lilliat and used divination to confirm its origin, strengthening his suspicion that an organization stood behind Beast and the Sothos Ruins excavation.

• Lilliat refused to reveal the Spirit of Void’s name to Vernon, who warned her against seeking help from the unseen being and urged her to rest.
• On September 1, Aaron checked the Iron Fist Gang’s territory and went to the docks in disguise to meet Scarface.
• Scarface gave Aaron a package from a disguised woman, and Aaron instructed him to keep her identity secret and regularly change the gang’s code.
• Aaron opened the package at 33 Golden Rose Street and found the stolen imitation Green Forest Ring of Power.
• Aaron suspected Beast had acted as an organization’s mouthpiece and used pendulum divination to confirm the ring’s origin matched the previous result.

Aaron attended an underground gathering, watched a newcomer named Hound recruit companions to explore ruins, and bought a Sunbird feather from Nicholas Inam. He then offered Nicholas information about the Benjamin case, leaving Nicholas to decide whether to hear more and verify Aaron’s claims.

• Aaron received word of an underground gathering, entered wearing his Rapier mask, and noticed that Hound seemed hostile toward the attendees.
• Hound introduced himself as a former associate of Beast and sought companions to explore ruins, while Lilliat held back and Clark stopped Bruce from responding.
• Aaron traded as usual and then met Nicholas Inam in a private booth to buy a complete Sunbird feather for 750 pounds.
• Aaron told Nicholas that Chris had been framed and was not the mastermind behind the Benjamin case, and Nicholas reacted with disbelief.
• Nicholas chose to hear the rest of Aaron’s information directly and said he would verify it himself.

Aaron sold Nicholas intelligence about the Green Forest Cathedral's mastermind and learned the mastermind might be a Non-Human Existence. After a suspicious Hound questioned him and supplied spiritual materials, Aaron returned home to prepare to advance to Light Shepherd.

• Aaron told Nicholas that the mastermind was hiding in the Green Forest Cathedral and might have opened the Fourth Primordial, then sold him the intelligence for 300 pounds.
• Aaron left the Calendula booth with the Sunbird Feather and encountered Hound, who questioned him about his dealings with Beast and Beast's death.
• Hound used a talisman to assess Aaron's Primordial level, then offered to continue trading Beast's materials with him.
• Aaron left with corrupted spiritual materials, suspected they could be used to track him through a mystical connection, and planned an anti-divination ritual.
• Aaron returned to 33 Golden Rose Street, checked the materials, and prepared to advance to Light Shepherd.

Aaron prepared and completed the ritual to advance to Light Shepherd, resisting the light’s attempt to overwhelm and control him. After gaining control of his new power, he considered the dangers of advancing further and tested the enchantments he could now place on objects.

• Aaron brewed the Light Shepherd potion using purified materials of Yao and a Sunbird Feather, then began the advancement ritual in his sealed bedroom.
• As the potion’s light threatened to tear apart Aaron’s body and make him submit, he activated the ritual seals and forced the light under his control.
• Aaron opened the Second Primordial, Stability, and became a Light Shepherd, realizing that the true Path of Yao meant mastering light and could draw the attention of the Age Controller at its source.
• Aaron tested his new abilities by shaping a ray of sunlight and temporarily enchanting his hidden sword with light.
• Aaron reflected that he could now accumulate more spirituality and eventually attempt to advance to Forge-Maker.

Aaron prepared to explore the Sothos Mausoleum by crafting three kinds of supernatural bullets with his Light Shepherd abilities and the Spirit of Void’s power. He finished with thirty Radiant Bullets, twenty Filth Bullets, and six Evil Spirit Curse Bullets as a powerful trump card.

• Aaron explained that the Spirit of Void allowed him and its followers to advance through multiple stages without suffering the usual corruption and side effects.
• After breakfast, Aaron returned to his room and decided to prepare weapons for exploring the Sothos Mausoleum.
• Aaron used spiritual materials and a ritual to make Radiant Bullets effective against evil creatures and spirits, and Filth Bullets that could contaminate Beyonders.
• Aaron repeated the process to produce thirty Radiant Bullets and twenty Filth Bullets.
• Aaron used the imitation Green Forest Ring of Power and its Evil Spirit curse to create six bullets that immediately inflicted a high-rank Evil Spirit’s curse.

Aaron crafted a face-changing skin mask and met Liliat Thorne at the docks under the identity of the Divine Envoy. Liliat revealed her Sothos lineage and explained that the Soren Family had hunted her family for generations.

• Aaron used Mr. Benjamin's remaining skin to craft a mask that gave him a fixed new face and decided to use it as the Divine Envoy's disguise.
• Liliat Thorne went to a secluded dockside meeting and greeted Aaron, who wore a silver Raven Mask over his altered face.
• Liliat told Aaron about a recent gathering and asked about Mr. Rapier, then revealed that her true surname was Sothos.
• Aaron asked whether anyone was hunting or pressuring Liliat, and she named the Regicide, the Soren Family, as her sworn enemies.
• Liliat said the surviving direct Sothos descendants had formed the Green Banyan Council and explained that the Soren Family also had purple eyes.

Aaron learned about the Green Banyan Council’s history and the dangers of Underworld Evil Spirits from Lilliat, then went to Wickhanno Racecourse to survey the area near the tomb ruins. He left intending to use a nearby estate and stable as cover for exploring the ruins.

• Lilliat explained that the Soren Family descended from Sean, who had been expelled from the Sothoth Family, and described the Green Banyan Council’s occult paths and lost knowledge.
• Aaron invited Lilliat to explore the Sothoth noble’s tomb, but she declined and warned him that Underworld Evil Spirits were immortal, inhuman, and prone to madness.
• Aaron thanked Lilliat for the information and disappeared into the darkness.
• The next morning, Aaron traveled to Wickhanno Racecourse, the closest convenient cover for reaching the ruins.
• Hank showed Aaron around the stables and introduced Supernova, but Aaron said he wanted to ride while surveying the area and planned to buy a nearby estate.

Aaron discovered that an organization tied to Beast was secretly excavating the ruins, then infiltrated their camp and entered the underground passage. The organization ordered its members to pursue and kill him before he could reveal its secret.

• Aaron rented a black stallion from the stable and rode with Old Rem into the woods, where he found outsiders digging at the ruins under the cover of clearing land for a farm.
• Old Rem told Aaron that the outsiders had ties to gangs, discouraging local farmers and officials from interfering.
• Aaron used a Crimson talisman to give Chanivet an erotic dream, then slipped out of the stable and approached the camp in disguise.
• Aaron overheard the camp members discussing Spirit Repellent Oil and a man named Hark who had died in the ruins, and concluded they were connected to Beast and Jazz.
• Aaron sent an illusion toward the underground entrance to distract the guards, then slipped past them and entered the passage.
• The organization's leader ordered the entrance secured and sent someone after Aaron, insisting he had to be killed.

Nicholas Inam broke into the underground storeroom to investigate the cathedral’s hidden corruption, where Cleric Thomas attacked him with a swarm of insects. After destroying Thomas with a powerful talisman, Nicholas opened the storeroom and found a huge, sinister cocoon.

• Nicholas resolved to expose the person who had framed Chris and took a high-grade talisman with him to search the cathedral.
• Nicholas ruled out Chris’s quarters and the treasury, then broke into the underground storeroom using wire to pick its lock.
• Nicholas found Cleric Thomas guarding the passage, with a black bug on his lifeless eye.
• Thomas unleashed clouds of insects, and Nicholas used the talisman to engulf them and Thomas in white flames.
• Nicholas opened the underground storeroom and discovered a symbol-covered cocoon with something dark and powerful moving inside.

Aaron explored the Sothos Mausoleum, killing its guardians and evading a group of Beyonders who pursued him. He fought their powerful leader with specialized bullets, and an Evil Spirit Curse Bullet appeared to possess the man as he pleaded for help and twisted his own head around.

• Aaron entered the Sothos Mausoleum, shot a low-level Beyonder, and destroyed a vengeful spirit with a Radiant Bullet.
• Aaron explored the subsidiary burial chambers and killed a beastlike attacker after luring him into shooting an illusion.
• Aaron sensed pursuers and hid in a subsidiary tomb while a group of Beyonders followed him, led by a burly man who recognized Wood's ring and Aaron's scent.
• Aaron dodged the leader's attacks and blinded him with Light, then fired bullets that polluted the man's spirituality.
• Aaron struck the burly leader with an Evil Spirit Curse Bullet, and a ghostly noble merged with him as he twisted his own head around.

Aaron killed Kyle and most of the Bone Worship Society followers, then learned about the mausoleum and its dangerous lower levels. He descended to the second level, fought a powerful Spirit Realm creature, and prepared to lure an Evil Spirit into appearing.

• Aaron interrogated a wounded Bone Worship Society follower, learning that the group served the Lotus Eaters and that Spet, their leader, had gone to a Lotus Eaters branch.
• Aaron learned that Kyle and Oliver had been overseeing the camp, and that the mausoleum’s second level was filled with wraiths while the third level lay beyond the Bridge of the Dead.
• Aaron abandoned the captive and descended to the second level, where his purifying radiance drove off wraiths in the passage.
• Aaron found a higher-level Spirit Realm creature in a tomb chamber and destroyed its tentacles with purifying radiance and Radiant Bullets.
• Aaron collected several valuable crystalline bones, then exposed Evil Spirit Curse Bullets and used his bloodline and a prayer to lure an Evil Spirit.

Aaron purified and possessed the Evil Spirit in the Inverted Pyramid Tomb, then discovered that it was the failed elector Auclair Sothos. He identified the Green Forest Ring of Power as the cursed object anchoring Auclair’s obsession.

• Aaron’s spirit left his body as the Evil Spirit possessed him, and he merged with it.
• Aaron used the Power of Secret Source and the Spirit of Void to purge the Evil Spirit’s madness, leaving it vacant.
• Aaron possessed the purified Evil Spirit and used it to travel through the tomb to its third level.
• Aaron read the murals and writings, learning that Auclair Sothos had built the tomb to advance into an Evil Spirit but lost his humanity.
• Aaron found the Green Forest Ring of Power on Auclair’s skeleton and realized it was the object anchoring the Evil Spirit’s obsession.

Aaron stored Auclair Sothos in the Green Forest Ring of Power and possessed him to attack the Bone Worship Society camp outside the mausoleum. Auclair’s Death Command killed the defenders, while Oliver survived its first strike with his Double-Return Doll, which then shattered.

• Aaron used the Green Forest Ring of Power to store and release Auclair Sothos, then possessed the Evil Spirit to fight the people outside the mausoleum.
• Oliver learned that Executioner Kyle and his squad had died and prepared the Bone Worship Society camp to defend the mausoleum entrance.
• The Bone Worship Society members attacked Auclair, but their bullets, talismans, and extraordinary abilities dissolved against his black mist.
• Aaron and Auclair emerged from the mausoleum and used Incantation—Death Command to kill the camp’s defenders.
• Oliver’s Double-Return Doll blocked the death spell once, but it cracked and broke under the Non-Human-level attack.

Aaron possessed Oliver and interrogated him about the Bone Worship Society, learning of its ties to Archbishop Roberts John Schaller and Roberts’s corrupted advancement. At Green Forest Cathedral, Nicholas Inam confronted Roberts as the transformed archbishop explained his ambition and revealed that he had orchestrated events to fulfill a grand ritual.

• Aaron took control of Oliver and forced him to answer questions about when Spet would return and where the society’s money and artifacts were kept.
• Oliver revealed that Roberts John Schaller had funded the Bone Worship Society in exchange for help pursuing advancement through the Crimson Secret Lore.
• After answering Aaron’s questions, Oliver began choking himself under the Evil Spirit’s influence.
• At Green Forest Cathedral, Nicholas Inam watched Roberts emerge from a giant cocoon, transformed into a monstrous body crawling with beetles.
• Roberts told Nicholas that he had abandoned his faith, pursued advancement and the meaning of life, and combined Crimson knowledge with his incomplete Weaver ritual.
• Roberts revealed that he had manipulated events from the beginning, gathering extraordinary people and weaving their fates into a grand performance for his ritual.

Archbishop Roberts revealed that he had become the Fourth Primordial, Insect Hive, and infected Nicholas with his madness before unleashing insects from Green Forest Church. As the Investigation Bureau responded to the crisis, it discovered its director had been killed and learned that the infestation was spreading.

• Roberts told Nicholas that he had ascended to the Fourth Primordial, Insect Hive, and made a beetle infect him with the burden of his desires and madness.
• Roberts left Nicholas suffering in the underground storeroom as his reason and control began to fail.
• Sinderson Kappler assembled the Green Forest City Investigation Bureau after reports of an evil believer and a high-level Yao spell at Green Forest Church.
• Sinderson and Percy Anias found Director Sendi dead, and Percy realized that a mole might have allowed the crisis to develop.
• Inspector Vick reported that insects were spreading from Green Forest Church and that officers had suffered heavy losses.
• Sinderson led the patrol team out into the night to respond to the large-scale supernatural incident.

Aaron returned to Green Forest City after a night at the racetrack and found the city under martial law following a deadly explosion at Green Forest Cathedral. At Clark Das’s home, Clark and Bruce suspected the disaster was part of a ritual intended to open the Fourth Primordial, while Aaron quietly learned more about the Chrysalis path.

• Aaron hid the Green Forest Ring of Power and his spiritual materials, then left the racetrack after learning that Green Forest City had been placed under martial law.
• Aaron learned on the subway that officials were blaming a gas explosion at Green Forest Cathedral for the deaths of the clergy and other victims.
• Sylvia told Aaron that at least a hundred people had died and that many survivors had suffered hallucinations after the supposed gas leak.
• Aaron concealed sensitive materials at home and went to Clark Das’s residence, where Bruce welcomed him back safely.
• Clark said the cathedral disaster might be part of a ritual to open the Fourth Primordial, and he and Bruce discussed whether the suspected mastermind followed the Chrysalis path.

Aaron received a prepared identity and learned that the recent incident would force Clark Das to suspend their gatherings, while Aaron considered exploring the Dream Realm through Auclair. An Investigation Bureau inspector then questioned Aaron at home, but his documents and alibi satisfied Percy Anias.

• Clark Das warned Aaron to keep a low profile and gave him identity documents prepared under the name Aaron Yugus.
• Clark told Aaron that an emergency gathering would take place the next day before their meetings were suspended, and Aaron considered entering the Dream Realm through Auclair.
• After returning to 33 Golden Rose Street, Aaron received Inspector Percy Anias, who was investigating the escape of Archbishop Roberts.
• Aaron showed Percy his documents and said he had been at Wickhanno Racecourse the previous night.
• Percy accepted Aaron's cooperation and left without further questioning.

Aaron attended a gathering where participants discussed the Green Forest Cathedral massacre, Archbishop Roberts, and growing dangers in the city. Nicholas, a surviving Cleric near losing control, sought Aaron's help, but Aaron admitted he was neither a Tower Pathway Beyonder nor a physician.

• Jazz announced that the gathering would be suspended indefinitely and offered potions for sale.
• The Cleric, Nicholas, sought information about Tower Pathway Beyonders and physicians skilled in mental healing.
• Jazz reported that Archbishop Roberts had become a Non-Human Existence, massacred the Green Forest Cathedral, and was wanted by the authorities.
• Gathering attendees discussed the Investigation Bureau's arrests and expected reinforcements, while Aaron wondered why no one mentioned the Sothos Ruins.
• Nicholas received a note directing him to the Morning Glory Room and met Aaron, who told him he was neither a Tower Pathway Beyonder nor a physician.

Aaron purified Nicholas by answering his prayer to the Spirit of Void, saving him from the corruption consuming his body. Nicholas embraced the Spirit of Void while retaining his faith in the Holy Spirit, and he speculated that the Church of the Holy Spirit descended from the ancient Ethereal Sect.

• Aaron sealed the room and urged Nicholas to pray to the Spirit of Void for salvation.
• Aaron answered Nicholas’s prayer and burned away the parasites and other corruption in his body.
• Nicholas thanked the Spirit of Void, while Aaron collected the removed contamination as potential material for powerful bullets.
• Nicholas introduced himself as the Cleric of Green Forest Cathedral and explained that he viewed the gods as faces of the Holy Spirit.
• Nicholas declared that the Holy Spirit might be one incarnation of the Spirit of Void and suggested the Ethereal Sect had inspired the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Aaron instructed Nicholas to remain undercover in the Sunset School and gather intelligence after hearing his account of the Green Forest Cathedral massacre. He then met Lilliat, rewarded her with a repaired Protective Doll, and warned her to limit contact while Green Forest City remained dangerous.

• Aaron told Nicholas to stay in the Sunset School, invent an explanation for his recovery, and use the Iron Fist Gang to contact him.
• Nicholas recounted the events at Green Forest Cathedral, including the mutated archbishop’s insect-controlling abilities.
• Aaron asked Nicholas to protect himself and gather information about the Sunset School and the authorities before ending their meeting.
• Aaron met Lilliat at her safehouse and offered her a choice of rewards for helping with the ruins exploration.
• Lilliat chose a repaired Protective Doll that could block one fatal attack, and Aaron warned her to reduce their contact.

Aaron encouraged Lilliat to cooperate with the authorities and assigned her a mission to reclaim Sothos Castle, while asking her to find Dream Realm navigation and timekeeping techniques. At a funeral for the Green Forest Cathedral victims, Percy saw powerful reinforcements arrive from Investigation Bureau headquarters and vowed to avenge his captain.

• Aaron told Lilliat that Archbishop Roberts had collaborated with the Lotus Eaters and permitted her to share some intelligence with the Investigation Bureau in exchange for leniency and rewards.
• Aaron asked Lilliat to take back Sothos Castle and find techniques for navigating and keeping time in the Dream Realm.
• Aaron returned to 33 Golden Rose Street and read that Nicholas Inam had survived the Green Forest Cathedral gas explosion and completed treatment.
• Percy attended a collective funeral for the fallen investigators, including his captain, Sinderson Kappler, and silently vowed to kill the fallen archbishop.
• Percy saw Jacob Jones, Caslow, and Lady Fiona arrive as reinforcements from headquarters, and vowed that they would avenge his captain.

Percy Anias received his promotion to captain of the Green Forest City Investigation Bureau's patrol team as the Bureau continued its search for Roberts. Jacob Jones told him that Roberts remained in the city, while Caslow and Fiona reported that Roberts had followed a newly created Pathway and likely received help from a secret society.

• Jacob Jones handed Percy Anias his appointment as patrol team captain and discussed the reliability of Nicholas Inam's testimony and the search for Roberts.
• Jacob told Percy that Headquarters' Diviner had concluded Roberts was still in Green Forest City, but refused to bring the Diviner there for further investigations.
• Percy vowed to intensify the citywide search for Roberts, then encountered Caslow and Fiona as they arrived at Jacob's office.
• Fiona reported that Roberts had followed the Chrysalis Pathway before turning toward Crimson at the Fourth Primordial, apparently creating a new Pathway.
• Caslow reported that bank, postal, and other clues suggested a secret society had helped Roberts, and Jacob ordered them to find the group before it could support further disasters.