Chapter Summaries

He Shenyan negotiated with an Elf for her advanced technological products and completed the trade after she made an unexpected demand. He obtained a blue technological octahedron for the Empire, then found a new post on the Internal Network that left him furious with Elves.

• He Shenyan argued with an Elf buyer over the price of his refined Power Shard, and she came to his room to negotiate in person.
• He Shenyan explained the shard's value as a vast, controllable source of magical power, but the Elf demanded that he sweeten the deal.
• The Elf made a provocative advance, and He Shenyan ended up accepting her terms.
• He Shenyan received the Elf's technological products in the form of a glowing blue octahedron and planned to deliver it to The Emperor.
• He Shenyan opened the Internal Network discussion section, saw a new post, and declared that he and Elves could not live under the same sky.

Loken told Kronos about the Imperium’s recovery and the battle for Terra, as a golden sun appeared above Noxus and drove off a fleeing star. In Shurima, Aatrox recognized the Aspect of Twilight, while Darius returned alone from a disastrous campaign and Sion ordered an uncompromising march on Duinmans.

• Loken told Kronos that Terra had been invaded by Chaos, that the Imperium had won, and that Roboute Guilliman had returned as Imperial Regent.
• As Loken recounted the war, a golden sun emerged from his armor, rose above the Immortal Bastion, and warmed Noxus; Kronos wept and prayed to The Emperor.
• A starlike figure fled from beneath the Immortal Bastion, but the sun stripped away most of her radiance as she passed.
• In Shurima, Aatrox recognized the Aspect of Twilight and revealed his power, but Nezus scolded him for disturbing the sleeping children, so Aatrox sat down and resumed writing his poem.
• Darius returned to camp as the sole survivor of the ten thousand men he had taken to Duinmans and told Sion that the city’s nobles had used civilians as weapons and treated them as food.
• Sion ordered the army to march on Duinmans in three days, with no negotiations or retreat, and commanded his soldiers to kill the nobles and rentier class.

He Shenyan examined a Demon Red Dragon that Undine had procured, rejecting it because its bones were too weak. He then shifted their negotiation toward buying experimental materials from her, and Undine asked what he needed.

• He Shenyan cut open the Demon Red Dragon's head and complained that its bones did not meet his standards.
• Undine explained the dragon's magical traits and said she had taken it from a breeder who raised such creatures for food.
• He Shenyan reversed time to heal the dragon and rejected Undine's attempt to negotiate a discount.
• He Shenyan told Undine he wanted to buy experimental materials rather than her exclusive patents.
• Undine asked what materials He Shenyan needed, and he asked what she had.

Undine Shiningheart explained how the Internal Network rewarded new knowledge, but He Shenyan said he wanted something other than academic papers. In Noxus, Felicia escorted Lacha through the harbor toward the Immortal Bastion and warned him about conspirators; when assassins attacked, Lacha knocked one unconscious and sensed more nearby.

• Undine Shiningheart told He Shenyan that he could access millions of academic papers by adding new knowledge to the Internal Network.
• Lacha arrived at the harbor of Horeth, where Felicia and her soldiers escorted him toward the Immortal Bastion.
• Felicia explained that conspirators still operated in Noxus and might capture Lacha to provoke a war with Ionia.
• An assassin fired an arrow at Lacha, and Felicia deflected it before the soldiers sounded the alarm.
• Lacha struck a bald assassin unconscious and warned Felicia that he could smell other attackers nearby.

Lacha defeated the assassins sent to stop him from reaching the Immortal Bastion, and the last one confessed during interrogation. Felicia explained that local nobles in Horeth had arranged the attack, and the group planned to continue their journey that evening.

• Lacha spotted an assassin in the crowd and broke his poisoned dagger against his chest without being harmed.
• An assassin tried to escape with two magical creations, but Lacha seized them and knocked him down with a flaming punch.
• The remaining assassin screamed in terror, and the captured attacker confessed without being tortured.
• Felicia told Lacha that local nobles had learned of his arrival and wanted to prevent him from reaching the Immortal Bastion.
• Felicia said the group would leave Horeth for the Immortal Bastion at seven that evening, while Lacha decided not to look around the city.

He Shenyan asked Undine for the principles and manufacturing methods behind her technological products, along with a powerful dragonkin for an experiment. Undine recognized that his requirements matched a notorious world-destroying modification spell and warned him about its consequences; He Shenyan said he needed the material to save a world, and she promised to watch him.

• He Shenyan asked Undine to provide the technology and manufacturing methods for her products, as well as a special experimental material.
• Undine realized his requirements for a dragonkin matched the material specifications of a notorious modification spell and challenged him about his intentions.
• Undine explained that the spell involved torturing an intelligent being and combining its shattered mind and soul with a powerful dragonkin to create a monster capable of destroying a world.
• Undine warned He Shenyan that the spell's creator had a joint bounty on them and cautioned him against following the same path.
• He Shenyan said he needed the dragonkin to save a world, and Undine told him she would be watching him.

He Shenyan obtained a dragon specimen and considered four methods for transforming a human, focusing on a spell that used collective belief to make fiction real. After sensing Valoran through his backup measure on Garviel Loken, he recognized that Noxus faced a contamination phenomenon.

• Undine delivered a dragon specimen to He Shenyan, who sent her away without paying her.
• He Shenyan examined the dragon and judged it suitable for his experiment.
• He Shenyan compared four human modification methods, including a spell that transformed a person into a dragon through contamination.
• He Shenyan explained how shared belief could make a fictional creature or event become reality.
• He Shenyan used his illusory backup measure on Garviel Loken to perceive Valoran and recognized the threat facing Noxus as contamination.

Vladimir awaited the approaching Noxians while reflecting on the loss of his humanity and the blood offerings he needed for his god. Meanwhile, Rageclaw and his Noxian scout squad prepared to raid the border kingdom and confront its Blood Knights.

• Vladimir dismissed a scout reporting the Noxians’ approach and ordered him not to disturb him for several days.
• Vladimir recalled his childhood as a slave, his rise to become the first human student of blood magic, and the rituals that changed him.
• Vladimir shed his human disguise, and the human named Vladimir died as something more terrifying emerged.
• Rageclaw joined his scout squad near the border kingdom’s capital, where their captain distributed explosives for the coming raid.
• The captain ordered the squad to prepare and revealed that his title was Silent Sword.

Kronos and Loken discussed a strange outbreak in Noxus that drove infected soldiers insane, and Kronos explained why he had called for a Wandering Monk from the Placidium of Navori. As Lacha and Felicia traveled to the Immortal Bastion, their carriage was attacked, and Lacha confronted a mysterious figure who claimed not to be human.

• Kronos told Loken that afflicted soldiers lost their sanity within days and were being kept in quarantine zones.
• Swain explained that a powerful Wandering Monk from the Placidium of Navori was traveling to the Immortal Bastion to help with the outbreak.
• Lacha questioned Felicia’s willingness to sacrifice the horses and other lives to ensure his safe arrival.
• A crash stopped the carriage, and Felicia found two soldiers lying on the ground while an indistinct chuckle came from the horses’ section.
• Lacha stepped out with crimson energy rising from his hands and confronted a silver-lit stranger, who said he was not human.

Lacha confronted an Aspect sent by the Aspect of Twilight, learned of the Aspect’s past slaughter of humans, and killed him. He then declared that he would kill all the Aspects.

• The Aspect tried to make Lacha kneel, but Lacha punched a hole through his chest and taught him the meaning of pain.
• The Aspect threatened Lacha and humanity, so Lacha said he intended to kill him rather than merely hit him.
• Lacha demanded to know whether the Aspect had killed people before, and the Aspect admitted to massacring humans 350 years earlier after accepting their offerings.
• The Aspect described killing people for amusement, horrifying Felicia, and Lacha punched his head apart.
• Lacha told Felicia he was not finished and vowed to beat the Aspects in the sky to death.

Sion and Darius launched a surprise attack on Duinmans, but Vladimir unleashed a blood wave that slaughtered the city and destroyed its walls. As the Blood Knights’ camp began collapsing from unexplained internal bleeding, the attack’s cause remained unclear.

• Sion ordered the Noxian forces to charge after Darius reported that scouts had reached Duinmans and begun a feint.
• Vladimir left the castle and rode a rising torrent of blood toward Duinmans while its residents slept.
• Vladimir’s blood wave killed the city’s civilians and swallowed its walls as he reveled in his power.
• A worried Blood Knights officer ordered a young knight to finish eating and check on the scouts.
• The young Blood Knight collapsed at the tent entrance, and the mustached officer soon fell too as blood leaked from their bodies.

Vladimir continued traveling along the River of Blood, convinced that his fictional god protected him. He Shenyan dragged him out of a portal, stripped away his blood magic, and watched as Vladimir claimed the god had come.

• Vladimir crushed a bead of Eight-Mustache's blood and sensed that the Noxians were close.
• He Shenyan surveyed Runeterra and pulled Vladimir through a portal to confront him.
• He Shenyan beat Vladimir and reminded him of the atrocities he had committed, including controlling a country and creating a human-meat market in Duinmans.
• Vladimir insisted He Shenyan could not destroy his soul and said his god protected him.
• He Shenyan recognized that a fictional thing had invaded Vladimir's mind as the dawn light turned scarlet.
• Vladimir crawled across the ground and cried that his god had come, while He Shenyan smiled in silence.

He Shenyan weakened Vladimir’s false deity by making him question why he had sought power, while suspecting that something else had enabled the phenomenon to form. Elsewhere, Myisha dismissed a terrified celestial’s warning that the Demon had returned, insisting her traps would keep him occupied.

• He Shenyan questioned Vladimir’s reason for seeking power, making him doubt his faith and wonder whether his memories and identity were real.
• He Shenyan suspected Vladimir lacked the magic and willpower to create an infiltration phenomenon and waited to see what had truly caused it.
• A panicked celestial warned Myisha that the Demon had returned and described how he had killed the others.
• Myisha said she had activated triggers across the mortal world, including the Mage Tower, and believed the Demon was occupied with the threat in Noxus.
• The celestial blamed Myisha for provoking the Demon, and Myisha leapt from her cloud and yelled at him to shut up.

Myisha warned a fellow Aspect that mortals could overthrow them, but he dismissed her fears, leaving her to consider seeking help from the Aspect of War. He Shenyan destroyed Vladimir’s god and killed Vladimir, then left through a portal.

• Myisha scolded a fellow Aspect for underestimating mortals and reminded him that the Ascended could have conquered the Aspects.
• The Aspect argued that mortals who worshiped them would never dare resist, and Myisha wondered whether she should seek the Aspect of War.
• He Shenyan dragged Vladimir’s god down from the sky and burned its manifestation to ashes.
• He Shenyan asked Vladimir for his last words, then obliterated his soul as soon as he began to speak.
• He Shenyan burned Vladimir’s body to ash and left through a portal.

He Shenyan returned to the Mage Tower and reunited with Feng, who had spent the past half-year there alone. As he rested beside her, he reflected on the suffering he had witnessed in the Emperor’s universe and found a moment of peace before leaving those questions unanswered.

• Feng greeted He Shenyan so enthusiastically that she nearly knocked over a desk and broke one of his defensive arrays.
• He Shenyan scolded Feng for her dangerous strength, then learned that she had eaten the flowers the residents had brought.
• Feng followed He Shenyan to his room, where he settled beside the fire and stroked her head as she lay down.
• He Shenyan recalled his travels and considered why the Emperor longed for peace and why Trans-dimensional Mages grew indifferent after seeing so many worlds.
• He Shenyan set his questions aside and quietly rested while Feng fell asleep beside him.

Lacha arrived at the Immortal Bastion, where a Noxian officer escorted him through the residential district and told him he would meet Grand General Swain and Instructor Kronos. Lacha recognized Kronos from the Placidium, then followed a more heavily equipped squad into the inner city.

• Lacha entered the Immortal Bastion with an escort after parting from Felicia, the only survivor of their six-person squad.
• Kreno left the escort formation to walk Liliana home after his officer gave him half an hour.
• An officer questioned Lacha about coming from Ionia despite Swain's invasion and warned him that Instructor Kronos was exceptionally tall in armor.
• Lacha described Kronos's blue armor and three golden forehead studs, startling the officer, who assumed Lacha had a hidden talent.
• A better-equipped squad took over the escort and led Lacha toward Grand General Swain and Instructor Kronos.

Lacha arrived in Noxus’s inner city to meet Grand General Swain and Kronos, while He Shenyan prepared to leave Wind behind before traveling to the deep sea. The chapter ended with He Shenyan disappearing and Wind left to guard the house.

• Lacha reached an Ionian-style building in Noxus and noticed that the creatures around it had fled in fear of a wolf.
• A Spirit Realm creature told Lacha that a wolf had frightened the local animals before the vision vanished in a storm.
• Kronos watched Lacha approach with approval while Swain stood beside him, and Kronos said that he and Lacha had met once before.
• Wind ate an iron bowl, so He Shenyan created a large piece of meat for her and told her to guard the house.
• He Shenyan refused to bring Wind on his trip to the deep sea, warned her not to damage the house, and disappeared.

He Shenyan visited Naga Kaboros in the deep sea to ask about the Aspects, then noted that Soul Eater Night was approaching. In Bilgewater, an old pirate called Dirty Mouth helped cast the dead into the sea while locals prepared for the night.

• He Shenyan met Naga Kaboros, who said the Aspects dwelled beyond the planet and suggested he ask the Radiant Dragon where to find them.
• He Shenyan remarked that Soul Eater Night was almost here.
• Dirty Mouth kicked a coffin carrying a dead body into the sea, following Bilgewater's custom of burying the dead offshore before Soul Eater Night.
• Dirty Mouth drank liquor with several young men, rebuked one for asking about Miss Sarah, and heard him wistfully describe his tattoo of her.

A mysterious man came to Bilgewater to find the name of a dead harpooner, and Dirty Mouth identified him as Pyke. The ghost appeared before the corpse collector and the gathered young men, confirming the name.

• Old Dirty Mouth and the young men discussed Miss Fortune and the deaths expected during Soul Eater Night.
• A man emerged in a flash of blue light, silencing everyone with his heavy presence.
• The man offered Dirty Mouth a green gemstone to help him find a dead harpooner whose relic had been a short blade made from a sea beast’s tooth.
• Dirty Mouth recalled the name Pyke, and an illusory ghost emerged beside the man.
• The ghost confirmed that Pyke was his name, freezing the crowd with fear.

He Shenyan tracked down the Buhr people in Bilgewater and delivered Naga Kaboros’s warning to Illaoi that Soul Eater Night must be stopped. The chapter ended with Illaoi moved by the divine message and He Shenyan gone.

• He Shenyan healed Old Dirty Mouth and left him with the green gem as payment.
• Pyke guided He Shenyan through Bilgewater to Lard Skin, then departed to begin hunting the city’s villains.
• He Shenyan used magic to summon the Buhr priestess Illaoi from the tavern.
• He Shenyan presented a tentacle as proof of Naga Kaboros’s authority and told Illaoi to prepare to stop Soul Eater Night.
• Illaoi wept at the message, but He Shenyan vanished before she could respond.