Chapter Summaries

Aaron attacked Lofman Soren at Baron Jacques's estate, but Lofman countered with a deadly curse. The curse destroyed Auclair, leaving Aaron's black iron box and Revolver behind.

• Lofman Soren killed a maid and discussed Blood of Decay's plans before Aaron shot him in the head.
• Lofman revived, drained the blood of living creatures in the estate, and fought Aaron with blood magic as Demon Beetles devoured his blood mist.
• Lofman transformed into bats, wounded Auclair, and recognized him as the evil spirit from the Auclair Ruins.
• Lofman tore out and destroyed his own heart to cast a curse through the wound he had inflicted on Auclair.
• The curse reduced Auclair to ash, leaving a black iron box and a Revolver on the floor.

Aaron revived Auclair and killed Lofman, then left Baron Jacques's manor with a relic from Crimson. William woke safely at home, thanked Aaron, and returned to work at Hunter Bar, where Aaron warned him to avoid the Blood Robe Club and said the Blood of Decay would likely stay quiet for a while.

• Aaron used the Power of Secret Source to revive Auclair, who shot Lofman and helped destroy the crimson bats with Demon Beetles.
• A fire consumed Baron Jacques's manor as Aaron left with a crimson fang taken from Crimson.
• William woke in his rented room, realized his wound had healed, and guessed that Aaron had saved him.
• William bought a newspaper reporting several crimes and disasters from the previous night, then went to Hunter Bar to thank Aaron.
• Aaron told William to avoid the Blood Robe Club and said the Blood of Decay would likely lie low after losing a Non-Human Existence.

Isabet worked on Mary Street and learned about a new cleric and a church blessing where attendees would receive bread. Meanwhile, Aaron commissioned Halsey to investigate Baron Jacques and negotiated for rare advancement materials, leaving Halsey to search for remnants tied to the Chrysalis, Tower, and Shadow paths.

• Isabet reflected on her difficult childhood and her improving prospects as she walked through Mary Street.
• Mrs. Xiuge told Isabet that Cleric Smith had been replaced by Cleric Im and invited her to a weekend blessing ceremony that would provide rye bread.
• Aaron decided to turn his inquiry into Baron Jacques and the Blood of Decay into a bounty-hunter commission through Hunter Bar.
• Halsey and Gantis tested the Exchange Drawer Aaron had made, and Halsey praised the finished product.
• Aaron asked Halsey for high-tier materials, specifically spiritual remnants of Non-Human Existences from the Chrysalis, Tower, or Shadow paths.
• Aaron said he planned to use incomplete-inheritance blueprints to forge Non-Human-grade mystical items, and Halsey agreed to search for the rare remnants.

Aaron arranged for Halsey to investigate Baron Jacques’s connections and posted a public bounty as cover. At a church service, Isabet discovered Cleric Im was distributing a strange pendant and wine that drew her into a contract.

• Aaron asked William to post a 100-pound bounty for information about Baron Jacques’s social connections and the arson at his manor.
• William had Manager Balkin post the bounty, and bounty hunters took note of the task.
• Aaron paid for Carl’s drinks and noticed William and Isabet exchanging flirtatious looks.
• Isabet attended Cleric Im’s service and noticed his teachings emphasized the Holy Spirit’s connection to radiance.
• Cleric Im gave Isabet a pendant depicting a bound human figure and Mrs. Xiuge offered her a cup of wine.
• After drinking the wine, Isabet felt herself enter a contract and lost the desire to report Cleric Im.

Aaron learned through coffee divination that Isabet was dead and that her death was connected to a religious site, leaving William determined to find out what had happened. That night, Aaron met a masked trader who offered a mysterious Chrysalis legacy for sale.

• Aaron teased William about his feelings for Isabet, then divined that she was dead and that her death was connected to a religious site.
• William rejected the news at first, then hardened with resolve when Aaron identified the religious connection.
• Aaron met Halsey's contact, Mr. Cocoon-Man, at Halsey's Moving Castle to inspect a Chrysalis legacy.
• Cocoon-Man opened a box containing a luminous silkworm-cocoon-like object left behind by a transforming high priest.

Aaron traded the Witch Pendant and 3,000 pounds to the Cocoon-Man for a contaminated remnant of a Chrysalis-pathway Non-Human Existence. Meanwhile, William tracked down Mrs. Xiuge at a church and confronted her over Isabet’s disappearance.

• Aaron recognized the cocoon as a Chrysalis remnant and agreed to trade for it despite its spiritual contamination.
• Aaron and the Cocoon-Man haggled before settling on the Witch Pendant and 3,000 pounds for the remnant.
• After the Cocoon-Man left, Aaron thanked Halsey and began planning for the remaining ritual requirements while avoiding further trades through him.
• William watched Mary Street Church until Mrs. Xiuge emerged, then followed her.
• William confronted Mrs. Xiuge about Isabet and drew his revolver when he realized her claim that Isabet had gone to the countryside to marry was a lie.

William discovered that the Church of the Holy Spirit on Mary Street was tied to an evil god, but Mrs. Xiuge died before she could explain. After Carl rescued William from Cleric Im, Aaron entered the cordoned-off church and found Isabet’s charred corpse bound to an altar.

• William questioned Mrs. Xiuge, who said Isabet was dead and then killed herself when she could not reveal the church’s secrets.
• William found a pendant depicting a blood-red figure bound to a black thorn tree and realized it involved an evil god.
• Cleric Im attacked William, but Carl shot Im, rescued William, and took him away.
• William told Aaron that the church’s believers were bound by contracts and gave him the pendant.
• Aaron used the Spirit of Void to enter the cordoned-off church and found an evil altar with Isabet’s charred corpse bound to an iron pillar.

Aaron investigated Isabet’s murder and discovered that the secret chamber had been used by the Desire Spirit Sect to sacrifice her and gather spirituality. His divination placed the sect’s powerful leader in Plymouth, so Aaron left clues for the authorities and decided not to pursue the group himself.

• Aaron used Isabet’s corpse to divine her final experience and saw the Desire Spirit Sect sacrifice her to the God of Suffering.
• Aaron recognized the ritual as a way for a religious order to draw spirituality through believers’ worship and considered the risks of such practices.
• Aaron divined that the sect’s leader was in Plymouth and followed the Crimson and Dark paths, but the intense interference suggested the leader had opened six Primordials.
• Aaron destroyed the statue, left clues about the Desire Spirit Sect and a Crowned One, and exposed the secret chamber to the police.
• Back in his bedroom, Aaron decided to leave the investigation to the authorities until he had advanced to Furnace.

At the Investigation General Bureau, Fiona reported evidence that the Desire Spirit Sect had infiltrated the Church of the Holy Spirit, while Xisthos revealed that the Sodoma family was obstructing the investigation. The Bureau faced a one-month deadline to find Aaron Yugus and traces of the Count of Green Forest’s arrangements before pressure from outside overwhelmed them.

• Fiona told Jacob that a clue from the Mary Street Church case pointed to the Desire Spirit Sect and recommended screening Church of the Holy Spirit clergy in Plymouth.
• Jacob approved Class Two screening for suspicious clergy and said he would not let Lord Ferret interfere.
• Xisthos revealed that the Sodoma family in Mitra Palace had obstructed the Bureau’s investigation of the Desire Spirit Sect.
• Xisthos explained that the Count of Green Forest’s return signaled the opening of the gate of Longevity and that the royal family and Upper House wanted the Bureau to find the Count’s arrangements and Aaron Yugus.
• Fiona said the Bureau had lost Aaron Yugus’s trail after discovering the Oak Ring’s stronghold, and Jacob proposed using Lady Fireworks and the Book of Prophecy to overcome the interference.
• Xisthos said the Bureau could resist outside pressure for only one month, and Jacob and Fiona resolved to act.

Aaron discussed the bar’s staffing and William’s recovery with Balkin before the magician Kebo Phil arrived, claiming to have solved the arson at Baron Jacques’s manor. Kebo revealed himself through an illusion and escaped after turning Aaron’s shotgun blast into a New Year’s gag.

• Aaron asked Balkin about William’s recovery and told him to hire two young, attractive waitresses to replace Isabet.
• Kebo Phil entered the bar and presented a report claiming that Green Potter was responsible for the arson at Baron Jacques’s manor.
• Aaron offered Kebo eighty pounds, but the report appeared blank to him while Balkin read the name Green Potter.
• Kebo revealed his identity as a magician, and Aaron aimed his shotgun at him.
• Aaron fired, but the shotgun produced streamers and a Happy New Year pennant instead of bullets.
• Carl fired at Kebo as he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

After Magician Kebo Phil attacked Hunter Bar, Aaron explained that Kebo was a Shadow Beyonder staging incidents to build influence for advancement. Kebo then met a Desire Spirit Sect cultist in a sewer and learned his performance had helped the sect investigate the bar and its ties to Baron Jacques's estate.

• Carl warned Aaron that Magician Kebo Phil was a dangerous criminal, while Aaron compensated the bar's patrons for the disturbance.
• Aaron reassured William, explained Kebo's Shadow abilities, and suggested Kebo was creating influence for a Fourth Primordial advancement ritual.
• Kebo told a Desire Spirit Sect cultist that he had drawn attention to the bar and tested its connection to the arson at Baron Jacques's estate.
• Kebo concluded that the sect's goal was to get the bar investigated, and the cultist warned him against growing arrogant.

After Kebo Phil agreed to cooperate with the God of Suffering’s cult, Aaron moved to protect the Hunter Bar and sought information about the magician. He learned that Kebo Phil had announced plans to steal Queen Mary’s diamond necklace at the Royal Art Exhibition.

• Kebo Phil accused the cult of using him, then agreed to cooperate so he could advance toward becoming a Shadowless One.
• Aaron told Halsey about Kebo Phil’s attack on the Hunter Bar and arranged to move the castle entrance to avoid drawing the Investigation Bureau’s attention.
• Aaron said he would hide with William for a while and asked Halsey for information about Kebo Phil.
• Halsey revealed that Kebo Phil had sent a postcard announcing he would steal Queen Mary’s Heart of the Ocean at the Royal Art Exhibition on February 11th.

Aaron and Halsey concluded that Kebo Phil planned to steal the Heart of the Ocean as part of a ritual, and Aaron went to the royal exhibition with William to meet the announced challenge. They entered the crowded exhibition hall, where Aaron examined the royal collection and heard a guide describe the Sothos Cloak.

• Halsey told Aaron that Kebo Phil's planned theft of the Heart of the Ocean could be the final ritual element needed to open the Fourth Primordial.
• Aaron gave Balkin management of the bar and ten percent of its shares, then disguised William and brought him to 27 Phoenix Street as his manservant, Walson.
• On February 11, 1027, Aaron and William arrived at the Kingdom Art Exhibition, where high-society visitors gathered to witness Kebo Phil's announced theft attempt.
• Aaron and William passed inspection and entered Exhibition Hall No. 1, where a guide explained the history and supposed noble bloodline of the Sothos Cloak.

Aaron suspected that the Magician had arranged a concealed trap at the Royal Exhibition Hall, so he watched the exhibits and then set up nearby to wait. The trap was sprung when an elderly man collapsed beside the Ocean Star display and a talisman on his bloodstained handkerchief released white mist throughout the hall.

• Aaron considered why generals needed extraordinary abilities, then viewed the Iron Crown of Founder and Queen Mary's necklace at the exhibition hall.
• Aaron noticed his premonition of danger calm after he moved away from the Heart of the Ocean display and concluded that a concealed plan had been arranged.
• Aaron took William to a nearby restaurant, secured a private room overlooking the exhibition hall, and began divination while waiting for the Magician's move.
• An elderly gentleman approached the Ocean Star display, began coughing blood, and collapsed as guards and disguised Beyonders gathered around him.
• A delayed-activation talisman on the gentleman's handkerchief flashed and exploded, filling the exhibition hall with pungent white mist.

Kebo Phil stole the Sun King's iron crown and escaped the exhibition hall by glider after using magic to scatter the Investigation Bureau’s forces. Aaron recognized that the gliders were a diversion and prepared to enter the Spirit Realm while William protected him with Roberts's Magic Insect Box.

• Haixinge stopped a puppet doll from stealing the Heart of the Ocean and ordered investigators to guard the other displays.
• Kebo Phil stole the Sun King's iron crown, then used a grappling hook and a magical cane to escape the exhibition hall.
• Three gliders drew the pursuers in different directions as Kebo Phil fled across the rooftops.
• Aaron told William that the gliders were only buying Kebo Phil time and gave him Roberts's Magic Insect Box to guard him while he tried to enter the Spirit Realm.

Kebo Phil escaped the Investigation Bureau’s pursuit by completing his advancement into a Shadowless One and fleeing into the Spirit Realm. Aaron followed a divination link to Kebo Phil’s hidden refuge and found him among the graveyard’s twisted figures.

• Haixinge shot down a glider carrying a paper-and-ribbon decoy, while Jacob’s airship destroyed another decoy with gunfire.
• Kebo Phil reached a prepared room in the Twin Clock Towers and drank a potion to advance to the Fourth Primordial.
• Fiona and Xisthos arrived too late to stop Kebo Phil, who became a Shadowless One and entered the Spirit Realm.
• Xisthos explained that Shadowless Ones could use Spirit Realm Teleportation to escape the Investigation Bureau’s blockade.
• Aaron used divination to locate Kebo Phil and entered the Spirit Realm, where he found him in a dark graveyard.

Aaron possessed Kebo Phil and exposed that his Magician persona and abilities had been built on deception and others’ belief. After killing him and claiming the Shadow remnant, Aaron discovered a hidden accomplice had arrived to retrieve Kebo Phil and the Iron Crown.

• Aaron possessed Kebo Phil while he was weakened and fought him for control of his body.
• Aaron revealed that Kebo Phil’s supposed magical abilities came from illusions and people’s belief in his tricks.
• Aaron forced Kebo Phil to shoot himself, killing him and leaving behind a Shadow remnant that formed a black twelve-sided die.
• Aaron noticed that Kebo Phil had possessed the Iron Crown rather than the Heart of the Ocean necklace.
• A black tide swallowed Kebo Phil’s corpse and the Iron Crown, and a thorny iron-black tree emerged to bind a gigantic scarlet figure.

Aaron escaped the God of Suffering’s attack with the Shadow Dice after using a high-grade talisman made from the Blood Cup Archbishop’s avatar. He returned to William at the restaurant, where he considered who might trace the talisman and his various identities.

• The God of Suffering killed Auclair’s body and seized the Iron Crown, while Aaron, hidden as the Spirit of Void, remained undetected.
• Aaron revived Auclair, reclaimed the Shadow Dice, and used a high-grade Crimson talisman to break the God of Suffering’s blockade and escape.
• The God of Suffering vanished with the Iron Crown as Investigation Bureau agents arrived at the cemetery.
• Aaron returned to his body at the restaurant and told William that the Magician was dead.
• Aaron left the chaotic exhibition with William and considered how the Desire Spirit Sect and others might trace Auclair, the talisman, and his identities.

After killing Kebo Phil, Aaron wrote to Mr. Halsey with warnings and requests, then sensed that Bruce and the Eye of Ancient Meng might soon matter. Meanwhile, the Investigation Bureau covered up the exhibition’s supernatural events and considered targeting Halsey’s market in a new purge.

• Aaron wrote Mr. Halsey about the Desire Spirit Sect, the stolen Iron Crown, the Professor’s contact information, and the danger facing Balkin’s bar, then sent the letter through the Exchange Drawer.
• Aaron lost his way in the corridor because of the Exchange Drawer’s side effects and followed William to his bedroom.
• Aaron recalled Bruce’s promised contact information and took his intuition as an omen, deciding to gather information about Bruce and the Eye of Ancient Meng.
• At the Investigation Bureau’s headquarters, a senior deacon reported the exhibition casualties and proposed disguising the supernatural events as ordinary incidents.
• Haixinge demanded to know where the Magician had gone, while Xisthos confirmed that Kebo Phil had become a Shadowless One and that a higher-level Beyonder had erased occult clues.
• A director proposed targeting Halsey’s market, citing the Exchange Cabinet’s growing influence and its potential to enable a citywide credit network.

The Investigation Bureau confirmed Aaron Yugus had posed as Green Potter and prepared to raid Halsey's Moving Castle, while a crisis involving the Church of the Holy Spirit drew the Bureau’s attention. Halsey learned of the impending raid from a dead-pigeon warning and faced the threat inside his castle.

• Xisthos and the Investigation Bureau executives agreed to raid Halsey's Moving Castle, then confirmed through Fireworks that Aaron Yugus had been disguised as Green Potter, the owner of Hunter Bar.
• Xisthos ordered the raid to proceed after Aaron had left, arguing that the Bureau needed to investigate Halsey and the immortal’s possible plans.
• Jacob reported that churches across Plymouth were experiencing genuine supernatural miracles suspected to be linked to the Desire Spirit Sect, prompting him to report the crisis to Arthur VI and the Pope.
• Halsey told Gantis that Green had warned him about the Desire Spirit Sect, and learned that Hunter Bar’s new owner, Balkin, had disappeared after hiring a manager.
• Halsey found a dead pigeon in a communications drawer and recognized it as a covert agent’s warning that the Investigation Bureau was about to move against him.