Chapter Summaries

Carl survived the bombing of Hunter Bar, while the Investigation Bureau raided Castle Hall and stripped its extraordinary residents of their powers. The next day, William reported the bar attack to Aaron, who learned that the Bureau had also raided Halsey's Mobile Castle and suspected the God of Suffering was behind the retaliation.

• Carl smelled blood on a man in black leaving Hunter Bar, then was thrown clear when the bar exploded.
• At Castle Hall, Xisthos used a magical item to weaken the market's extraordinary individuals, while Haixinge led the Investigation Bureau to seize the castle.
• Halsey confronted Xisthos, who accused him of disrupting the district with his market's logistics system and warned that the Bureau was prepared for war.
• William saw the ruins and victims of Hunter Bar, feared that the attackers might be looking for him, and hurried back to Aaron.
• William told Aaron about the explosion, and Aaron reflected that the Investigation Bureau's raid on Halsey's Mobile Castle might have been retaliation orchestrated by the God of Suffering.

Sylvia received a ciphered letter from Bruce Field and secretly arranged for it to reach Aaron Yugus, while Lilliat intercepted it and checked that the museum’s gatekeeper could not follow. Aaron decoded Bruce’s message and learned that an unforeseen change had occurred after Bruce entered the school of the Eye of Ancient Meng.

• Bartolo delivered Bruce Field’s letter for Aaron Yugus to Sylvia, who agreed to pass it along.
• Sylvia recognized Bruce’s Bauhinia mark and placed yellow daisies by the Sothoth Family graves as a signal to her mysterious contact.
• Lilliat noticed the signal, then intercepted the letter that flew from the museum and restrained the gatekeeper who followed it.
• Aaron received the letter through the Exchange Drawer, confirmed with a coin toss that no one was in danger, and decoded Bruce’s cipher.
• Aaron learned that Bruce had reached the Druid holy land, gained Beast Tongue through the Historical Retrospection ritual, and joined the school of the Eye of Ancient Meng before an unforeseen change occurred.

After the Eye of Ancient Meng’s headquarters was destroyed, Bruce and Connelly Earse hid in Plymouth’s dangerous Ruined District while pursued by enemies who could use divination. Aaron Yugus set out to help them, and Bruce revealed that he had contacted him, leaving Connelly hopeful but still trying to convert Bruce to the Druid path.

• Aaron summoned the evil spirit Auclair, took control of his body, and slipped into a wall to go help Bruce.
• Bruce returned to Connelly Earse’s basement hideout with a loaf of bread and apologized for drawing Connelly into the pursuit.
• Connelly explained that the Ruined District was contaminated by an Angel-level Strange Object incident and said they would have to leave within three days.
• Connelly warned that their pursuers’ divination made them difficult to evade and said they needed someone or something that could counter it.
• Bruce told Connelly he had contacted Aaron Yugus, and Connelly urged Bruce to put his faith in Mother Nature.

Aaron Sothoth arrived to help Bruce and Connelly escape their pursuers, then stayed behind to cover their retreat. An Investigation Bureau agent named Lifton reached the aftermath and saw Aaron among the many corpses.

• Connelly recited the Druid doctrine, then transformed his right arm into a mass of flesh and machinery and destroyed a nearby building.
• Aaron appeared and told Connelly he was not an enemy, explaining that he had come at the request of his descendant, Aaron Yugus.
• Bruce and Connelly handed Aaron personal items, and Aaron claimed he had placed anti-divination interference on them.
• Aaron told Bruce and Connelly to leave while he covered their retreat, and they departed as other Beyonders approached.
• Lifton investigated the collapse and found numerous corpses before an illusory figure turned its shining eyes toward him.

Aaron gave a Plymouth agent a prophecy that a disaster tied to the Desire Spirit Sect was approaching, then met Connelly and Bruce to question them about the Eye of Ancient Meng School’s destruction. Bruce revealed that the Desire Spirit Sect had taken the school’s Angel-grade sacred artifact, an eyeball belonging to the Spirit Realm creature ancient Meng.

• Lifton recognized Aaron as the evil spirit Auclair, and Aaron warned him that a great disaster would strike Plymouth and that the Desire Spirit Sect was involved.
• Aaron told Lifton that the Desire Spirit Sect’s God of Suffering was a Crowned One who supported Kebo Phil and stole the Iron Crown, then disappeared.
• Fiona arrived, heard Lifton’s account, and took him to headquarters for questioning and a physical examination.
• Aaron found Connelly and Bruce in the Ruined City district and asked Bruce about the attack on the Eye of Ancient Meng School.
• Bruce said the attackers had turned the sky blood-red, flooded the ground with black liquid, and stolen the school’s Angel-grade sacred artifact.
• Bruce identified the attackers as the Desire Spirit Sect.

Aaron asked Connelly to find a remnant of the Tower's Fourth Primordial and secure him a false identity to investigate Baron Jacques and the Desire Spirit Sect. Meanwhile, Xisthos confronted Ferret at Mitra Palace about the sect’s suspected ties to the Church of the Holy Spirit, and Ferret denied knowing anything about it.

• Aaron, Bruce, and Connelly discussed the attacks on the Eye of Ancient Meng school and the sect’s possible connection to the Desire Spirit Sect, Baron Jacques, and the Blood Robe Club.
• Aaron asked Connelly to find a remnant of the Tower's Fourth Primordial and arrange a false identity that would let him enter Baron Jacques's social circle.
• Connelly agreed to pursue both requests, while he told Bruce to stay hidden and avoid exposing himself.
• Ferret arrived at Mitra Palace and taunted Xisthos over the Investigation Bureau’s failure to capture Halsey.
• Xisthos accused Ferret of needing to explain the Church of the Holy Spirit’s connection to the Desire Spirit Sect, but Ferret denied knowing the organization and blamed infiltrators for misleading church members.

Ferret proposed that the Church of the Holy Spirit publicly acknowledge supernatural powers as divine arts and lend sacred authority to Arthur VI, while Xisthos feared the Church would become dangerously powerful. Later, Aaron assumed the identity of El Augustus and arrived at the Stas residence to apply as a private tutor, where he met Mrs. Stas and her reluctant young son.

• Ferret argued to Xisthos and Arthur VI that the kingdom should reveal supernatural phenomena through the Church of the Holy Spirit and present them as gifts from the gods.
• Arthur VI said he would consider Ferret's proposal and submit it to the Upper House, while Xisthos left believing the Church could grow more powerful than the Investigation Bureau.
• On Monday, February 22, Aaron visited the Stas family under the forged identity of El Augustus to apply for a private tutor position.
• While waiting in the Stas drawing room, Aaron recalled that Nock Stas was a wealthy bookmaker with ties to Baron Jacques's family.
• Mrs. Stas entered with her seven- or eight-year-old son, and Aaron privately judged the boy to be another brat.

Aaron secured a tutoring position with Mrs. Stas and began teaching her son Robin, who tried to bully him into being lenient. Aaron secretly frightened and hurt Robin without leaving a mark, and Mrs. Stas made Robin apologize after discovering his accusation was false.

• Mrs. Stas hired Aaron as Robin’s tutor for seven pounds a week and invited him to dinner.
• Robin threatened to have Aaron fired and complained that he wanted a young woman to teach him etiquette.
• Aaron began Robin’s Ancient Green Forest Language lesson while secretly showing him a book about torturing prisoners.
• Aaron used the Crying Blade to make Robin cry and claim that he had been hurt.
• Mrs. Stas examined Robin’s unmarked neck, accused him of lying, and ordered him to apologize to Aaron.

Aaron taught Robin and impressed Mr. Nock with his knowledge, while the Stas family sought a path to supernatural power. The next day, Mrs. Stas privately asked Aaron whether he believed in gods and supernatural phenomena, and he told her to believe in science.

• Mrs. Stas told Nock that Aaron had improved Robin's behavior and invited him to dinner.
• Aaron impressed Nock with his knowledge and suggested an unusual therapy for Robin, which Mrs. Stas declined.
• Mrs. Stas recounted Robin's earlier outburst, and Nock revealed that Pastor Ande had shown him a miracle and described a mysterious inheritance tied to Green Forest's ancient writings.
• Mrs. Stas agreed to help Nock seek the mysterious inheritance.
• Aaron returned to the Stas residence to teach Robin, and Mrs. Stas asked whether he believed in supernatural phenomena and gods.
• Aaron told Mrs. Stas to believe in science.

Aaron investigated Mrs. Stass and discovered she had joined the Moromen Society, where a supposed saint used staged miracles and religious pressure to exploit followers. After Mrs. Stass fainted during a private meeting with the cult leader, Aaron entered and confronted him.

• Aaron followed Mrs. Stass to the Sran Beauty Club, then used divination to locate her at a secret gathering in Green George District.
• At the gathering, the golden-masked saint staged supernatural feats and persuaded the masked believers to surrender their valuables.
• Mrs. Stass offered one hundred pounds and later asked the saint to curse Metana Jacques, but he frightened and manipulated her with staged sparks and aphrodisiac candles.
• The cult leader removed his mask and prepared to carry the unconscious Mrs. Stass to a bed, revealing that he intended to exploit her and recruit more noblewomen.
• Aaron walked in, told the cult leader that his accomplices had been put to sleep, and confronted him.

Aaron used his assumed identity as the Moromon Church leader to manipulate Mrs. Stas into promising to bring Metana Jacques to a future gathering. After returning home, he received a letter from the Professor explaining Beyonder advancement, the power of Law, and a possible clue to Tower remnants in Diat.

• Mrs. Stas woke and Aaron told her she had passed out, then persuaded her that she had experienced spiritual greatness and instructed her to bring Metana Jacques next time.
• After Mrs. Stas left, Aaron removed his human-skin suit and revealed that he had taken the identity of Solomon, the Moromon Church's fraudulent leader.
• Aaron returned to No. 27 Phoenix Street, checked the Exchange Drawers, and found a letter addressed to Green Potter.
• The Professor described how the Fifth and Sixth Primordials might involve entering a special region of the Spirit Realm and warned that Their Majesties could wield Law to twist familiar rules.
• The Professor told Aaron that a vanished non-human predecessor might have left Tower remnants in Diat, though the city was too dangerous for him to explore.

Aaron entered Diat through his restored connection to investigate its ruins and the remnants he needed for his advancement. At the former Light of Redemption headquarters, he found evidence of an Age Controller’s fall and heard a familiar sigh from the black flames.

• Aaron concluded that the world’s spiritual tide had crossed a threshold that could let Sixth Primordials advance toward the Seventh Primordial, and noted that he still needed one non-human remnant of Tower for his advancement to Furnace.
• Aaron summoned the Spirit of Unknown Void and entered the Dream Realm, arriving directly in the deepest ruins of Diat.
• Aaron passed unseen among packs of evolved Dark Beasts and reached the ruined headquarters of the Light of Redemption.
• Aaron found the former altar and hall reduced to a vast pit filled with Undying Black Flame, and wondered whether the Light of Redemption had been attacked after the sun fell.
• A familiar sigh echoed from the black flames, which tried to consume Aaron before he extinguished them with Power of Secret Source and recognized the site as the place where an Age Controller had fallen.

Aaron discovered a blood mural revealing how the Fallen Corona devoured [Extinguishing Wind], then sent Auclair to retrieve a Tower remnant from the cursed site. After Auclair’s Radiance of Redemption purified the curse and awakened a faint light in the ruins, Aaron realized he had gathered all seven materials needed to open the door beyond humanity.

• Aaron found a blood mural and learned that the Fallen Corona had killed [Extinguishing Wind] and taken its power.
• Aaron discovered the ashes of a dead Fourth Primordial Beyonder and recovered the blue-gold Tower crystal through Auclair.
• Auclair was attacked by his own splitting personalities but purified them with Aaron’s Power of Secret Source.
• The Radiance of Redemption awakened faintly in the ruins, and the nine-headed Dark Beast rampaged after Auclair vanished.
• Aaron awoke in his study with the Tower remnant and realized he had collected all seven materials needed to open the door beyond humanity.

Aaron taught Robin at the Stas residence while the Investigation Bureau struggled to question arrested Church of the Holy Spirit pastors. Pope Ferret offered to undergo the Sun King's Spear’s highest-level examination himself, bringing the conflict to a decisive point, as Mrs. Stas welcomed Metana to the residence.

• Mr. Nock read that Mormora Yard had arrested several Church of the Holy Spirit pastors and vowed the Church would fight the case in court.
• Aaron concluded that the arrests showed the Investigation Bureau was acting independently, though he suspected the pastors were bound by powerful oaths or spirit words.
• Xisthos and Jacob discussed the pastors’ resistance, the Bureau’s political difficulties, and the risks posed by secrecy and the changing times.
• An agent reported that Pope Ferret had offered to undergo the Sun King's Spear’s highest-level examination at Investigation Bureau headquarters, alarming Xisthos and Jacob.
• Aaron left Robin to study and watched Mrs. Stas warmly welcome the beautifully dressed Metana to the Stas residence.

Metana accompanied Mrs. Stas to the Moromon Church gathering, intending to expose the supposed cult with the help of her Beyonder ability. As Aaron began the service, Metana activated her Strange Object, and he realized she was a Beyonder whose power was affecting everyone in the hall.

• Mrs. Stas brought Metana to the Moromon Church gathering hall, while both women privately planned to use the visit for their own amusement and advantage.
• Aaron, wearing Solomon’s human skin and a golden mask, opened the gathering and proclaimed himself Moromon’s chosen Saint.
• Mrs. Stas introduced Metana, who questioned whether Aaron truly possessed supernatural powers, prompting the believers to condemn her as a sinner.
• Metana secretly activated her Crimson Strange Object by reciting “Open,” expecting its influence to send the cultists into a frenzy.
• Aaron sensed desire spreading through the hall and recognized Metana as a Beyonder.

Aaron used an Underworld talisman to subdue Metana Jacques, then invoked the Spirit of Unknown Void to break the blood-red oath binding her. Metana converted to the Moromen faith and revealed that the Blood Robe Club had coerced her family into serving it, leaving Aaron puzzled by the group’s apparent use of the God of Suffering’s powers.

• Aaron unleashed an Underworld talisman in the Moromen Church hall, overwhelming Metana and ordering Mrs. Stas to take her to a back room for purification.
• Aaron recited the Spirit of Unknown Void’s name and used its power to see and remove the blood-red chains binding Metana’s soul.
• Metana was redeemed and became fervently devoted to the Moromen God, asking Aaron to save her family and sending Mrs. Stas out of the room.
• Metana told Aaron that the Blood Robe Club had corrupted her family and forced them to drink blood and make a binding contract.
• Aaron recognized that the Blood Robe Club’s methods resembled the God of Suffering’s powers and wondered why the group was responsible.

Aaron learned that the Blood Robe Club had bound Metana and her father through a blood contract and had used Baron Jacques to obtain records about the Sun King Arthur. Linking the hidden societies’ actions and stolen relics, Aaron realized they were preparing a plan connected to the Sun King’s past.

• Aaron questioned Metana and learned that she and her father were bound by a contract formed when she drank her father's blood.
• Metana revealed that the Blood Robe Club had made Baron Jacques retrieve founding-era records, especially those about the Sun King Arthur's transformation and later madness.
• Metana recounted that Arthur had betrayed the Age Controller Dawnbreak, and that royal secrets confirmed his later scandals.
• Aaron considered that Arthur had changed from the Yao pathway to Crimson after stabbing Dawnbreak, with another Age Controller possibly behind his betrayal.
• Aaron connected the Desire Spirit Sect's raid on the Eye of Ancient Meng and theft of its holy relic with the other societies' activities, and realized what they were preparing.

Aaron deduced that the God of Suffering planned to use Historical Retrospection at Yanan Town to kill the Child of Dawnbreak and seize its immortality, with the Sun King's Spear as the missing ritual element. He asked Metana to report him to the Investigation Bureau later, planning to enter its headquarters undercover.

• Aaron connected the Desire Spirit Sect and Blood Robe Club's research into the Sun King's life to a plan to recreate the Sun King's rebellion through Historical Retrospection.
• Aaron realized the ritual was likely timed for March and would take place in the Spirit Realm region corresponding to Yanan Town, where the Child of Dawnbreak was trapped.
• Aaron concluded that the God of Suffering needed the Sun King's Spear from Investigation Bureau headquarters to complete its plan.
• Aaron revealed his unremarkable appearance to Metana and offered to save her and her family if she helped him.
• Metana agreed, and Aaron told her to report him as an ordinary occult fraudster once he was ready, so he could be sent to the Investigation Bureau headquarters.

Metana reported the Moromon Church to senior investigator Lifton, who agreed to arrest its leader discreetly to avoid drawing attention to the noblewomen involved. Lifton’s team arrested Solomon and found no signs of extraordinary danger, while Metana returned home to face her predatory tutor, Sander.

• Lifton received a report about the Moromon Church and met Metana Jacques, who urged him to arrest its leader quietly to protect the reputations of high-society women.
• Metana offered the police department one thousand pounds for carriages, then returned to the Jacques residence and greeted her tutor, Sander, before retreating to her room.
• Metana realized that the lord had disguised himself as an ordinary person to keep the investigation discreet and protect her from deeper scrutiny by the Blood Robe Club.
• Sander watched Metana leave and privately resolved to wait one more month before acting as he pleased, while the baroness served him wine.
• Lifton’s investigators raided Solomon’s home, arrested him, and seized magic props, financial records, and fabricated Moromon Church Scriptures.
• Lifton checked the Witch’s Astrolabe, found no extraordinary threat, and classified the case as a Class V incident.

Aaron, possessing Solomon, was taken to the Investigation Bureau headquarters, where he studied the Sun King's Spear and completed the insight he needed to advance as a Forge-Maker. He was sent through the Gate of Hell to await an ordinary cell while the Bureau prepared to scrutinize Ferret.

• Secret Police escorted Aaron, disguised as Solomon, through a hidden subway entrance to the underground Investigation Bureau.
• Aaron saw the Sun King's Spear at the center of the Bureau plaza and recognized it as the core of the prison's seals.
• Aaron's study of the spear supplied the final insight he needed to open the Fourth Primordial.
• Lifton brought Solomon to the Gate of Hell, where the gatekeeper ordered them to put him in an ordinary cell because the Bureau was busy preparing for Ferret's arrival.