Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Karg and Saruman retrace their steps, facing more battles and obstacles that seem designed to drive them away from a central point.
• They return to the enormous stone door, finding it shut tight with increased pressure.
• Lina's condition worsens; she convulses and mutates further, causing Saruman to use magic to stabilize her.
• The ruins create illusions to tempt them, showing what they most desire (e.g., unharmed Lina, supreme glory, hope of salvation).
• Saruman discovers a way to open the stone door after studying ancient documents.

Character Developments

• Karg remains steadfast in his care for Lina and hope for her salvation, becoming more determined despite the hardships.
• Saruman becomes more exhausted but also more determined as he delves deeper into his research, ultimately finding a solution.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance: Both Karg and Saruman show unwavering determination in the face of adversity, refusing to give up despite the challenges and temptations.
• Hope: The theme of hope is emphasized through Karg's unyielding belief in Lina's salvation and Saruman's discovery of a way to open the door.
• Contamination and Madness: The power of the deep sea continues to corrupt and drive those within the ruins to madness.

Character Interactions

• Karg and Saruman support each other, with Karg caring for Lina and Saruman researching the door. They share a determination to remain unmoved by the illusions.
• Saruman shares his discovery with Karg, boosting his hope and leading him to guard the outside while Saruman attempts to open the door.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman successfully deciphers the stone door using forbidden knowledge.
• A dark, swirling portal opens, leading to an unknown destination.
• Karg and Saruman decide to enter the portal, despite its unknown dangers, to save Lina from her corruption.
• They enter the portal together with Lina on Karg's back.

Character Developments

• Saruman: Becomes more determined and willing to take risks to save Lina, even if it means facing the unknown.
• Karg: Overcomes his hesitation and fear of the unknown, choosing to trust Saruman and enter the portal to save Lina.
• Lina: Remains unconscious and in a worsening state due to corruption, driving Karg and Saruman to take desperate measures.

Significant Themes

• Despair and hope: The characters face a desperate situation but choose to take a risk for a chance at salvation.
• Trust and friendship: Karg and Saruman trust each other and make decisions together, emphasizing their bond.
• The unknown and fear: The characters face an uncertain and frightening future but choose to confront it together.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg: They support each other and make decisions together, showing a deep bond and mutual trust.
• Karg and Lina: Karg's determination to save Lina, despite the risks, highlights his love and protectiveness towards her.
• Saruman, Karg, and Lina: The three of them face the unknown together, emphasizing their unity and shared fate.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The contaminated beings were guiding Saruman and his companions to the stone door, wanting Saruman to open it.
• Saruman, Karg, and Lina entered the stone door, and their figures vanished into the swirling darkness.
• A thousand years later, an old Saruman shares his memories with a black-robed man, revealing the horror beyond the door.
• The conversation is interrupted by a sudden commotion from the prison level above.

Character Developments

• Saruman: Reveals his past experiences and the true horror beyond the door. He shows concern for the black-robed man's safety and the secrecy of their mission.
• Black-robed man: Shows curiosity about the truth beyond the door and determination to protect the secrets, even if it means eliminating those who pose a threat.

Significant Themes

• The unknown and unknowable horror beyond the stone door.
• The struggle between curiosity and self-preservation.
• The consequences of delving into forbidden knowledge.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and the black-robed man: They share a secret bond and mutual respect. Saruman acts as a mentor, while the black-robed man seeks answers from him. They both understand the gravity of their mission and the necessity of protecting the secrets they guard.

Summary of Chapter 7: The Revival of the Old Days

Key Plot Points and Events

• A black-robed man, revealed to be a powerful and ruthless killer, pursues and eliminates two groups of escaped prisoners in an underground prison.
• The prisoners, skilled in various forbidden arts, attempt to escape through a heavily reinforced bronze door but fail.
• The black-robed man confronts and kills both groups of prisoners, demonstrating his immense power and cold efficiency.

Character Developments

• The black-robed man is introduced as a formidable and merciless opponent, using a mix of orthodox and dark magic, as well as enhanced physical abilities.
• The prisoners, despite their skills in forbidden arts, are no match for the black-robed man, highlighting their desperation and futility in the face of his power.

Significant Themes

• Power and Corruption: The black-robed man's immense power is a result of Cthulhu's corruption, raising questions about the cost of such power and the temptation it presents.
• Despair and Futility: The prisoners' attempts to escape and their eventual demise emphasize the themes of despair and futility in the face of overwhelming power and insurmountable obstacles.

Character Interactions

• The prisoners interact with each other in moments of desperation, fear, and infighting, highlighting their lack of unity and cohesion in the face of danger.
• The black-robed man interacts with the prisoners only to eliminate them, demonstrating his cold, unyielding, and ruthless nature.

In "The Revival of the Old Days 8", the black-robed figure, revealed to be non-human with vertical pupils and a grotesque face, continues his mission to kill all prisoners in the African Ministry of Magic's underground prison. The remaining prisoners, vicious criminals, attempt to fight back using a forbidden ritual, but their power is no match for the black-robed figure's corruption. The ritual fails, and the prisoners are annihilated. The black-robed figure, haunted by his inhuman nature, continues his mission with renewed determination.

Key Plot Points and Events

• A man in black robes, nearing death, cleans up a contaminated prison, using unique magic and experimental substances to suppress residual contamination.
• He descends to the Chamber of Secrets to meet his teacher, Saruman, who reveals the answer to their situation through memory magic.
• Saruman, Karg, and Lina escape the Infinite Corridor but find themselves in a desolate, silent world. Saruman's teleportation spell fails, and they decide to move forward.
• They encounter an ancient city with a tilted stone stele, feeling an oppressive, ancient, and alien presence.
• Ian Prince's voice, using the Killing Curse ("Avada Kedavra"), pierces the silence, indicating his presence.

Character Developments

• The man in black robes shows dedication and efficiency in his duty, accepting his expendable status.
• Saruman maintains his composure and wisdom, guiding his students even in dire situations.
• Karg demonstrates resilience and loyalty, carrying Lina throughout their journey.
• Lina remains unconscious, her condition unknown.
• Ian Prince's presence is revealed, suggesting he's been following or observing them.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice: The man in black accepts his role as an expendable hero, highlighting the theme of sacrifice for the greater good.
• Despair and Hope: The characters experience despair in the Infinite Corridor and upon finding themselves in the desolate world, but also find moments of hope, such as when they believe they've escaped the corridor.
• Ancient Evil: The oppressive presence in the ancient city and the whispers in the corridor emphasize the theme of ancient, otherworldly evil.

Character Interactions

• The man in black and Saruman share a silent, understanding bond, with Saruman guiding his student through memories.
• Karg and Saruman work together, supporting each other's strengths and sharing hope and determination.
• Ian Prince's voice disrupts the silence, indicating his presence and potential involvement in the situation.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The characters arrive at a mysterious, ancient, and ominous city.
• A powerful, childish voice casts the Avada Kedavra curse from within the city.
• The curse is not directed at Saruman and Karg, but they feel its intense, pure killing intent.

Character Developments

• Saruman is shaken by the immense power of the curse, questioning his own abilities and considering the possibility of ancient magic or alchemy at work.
• Karg sees the caster as a potential ally, hoping for communication and assistance in their desperate situation.

Significant Themes

• The power of ancient magic and its potential dangers.
• The pursuit of immortality and rejuvenation through alchemy, with its severe consequences.
• The struggle between Saruman's arrogance and his newfound uncertainty.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg react differently to the curse: Saruman is frightened and intrigued, while Karg sees it as a sign of potential help.
• Saruman's thoughts reveal his extensive knowledge of dark magic, ancient rituals, and alchemy, as well as his pride and insecurity.
• The interaction between Saruman and Karg highlights their different priorities and mindsets, with Saruman focused on the magical threat and Karg hoping for human contact.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman learns about "life alchemy" creations, which are nearly immune to conventional magic and have instant, powerful magic.
• Saruman deciphers the stele, revealing that they are in R'lyeh, a city filled with ancient, terrifying power.
• A powerful wizard within R'lyeh uses a massive, infectious "Avada Kedavra" spell, confirming that they are facing a legendary, extremely dangerous entity.

Character Developments

• Saruman's thirst for knowledge drives him to decipher the stele, but the information he uncovers terrifies him.
• Karg remains vigilant and caring, hoping that the unknown wizard in the city will lead them to safety.

Significant Themes

• The dangers of forbidden knowledge and ancient powers.
• The consequences of curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge.
• The struggle between hope and despair in the face of extreme danger.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg work together, with Saruman deciphering the stele and Karg guarding Lina and watching their surroundings.
• Saruman's discovery of the truth about R'lyeh causes him to realize the severity of their situation, leading to a shared sense of horror with Karg.
• The unknown wizard in R'lyeh serves as a catalyst for their understanding of the danger they face, unifying their sense of peril.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman and Karg witness a powerful, legendary-level wizard fighting within R'lyeh, using an immense green magical energy that covers half the city's skyline.
• Saruman realizes that the wizard's power is on a level that should only be achievable by a legend, which he finds disbelief as legends are thought to have vanished from the world.
• Karg and Saruman discuss possible explanations for the presence of a legendary wizard, including undiscovered Proofs of Legend, the Four Founders of Hogwarts, or an ancient legend.

Character Developments

• Saruman: Realizes the extent of the wizard's power and is shocked by the possibility of a legend still existing in the world. He struggles to comprehend and accept this new information.
• Karg: Initially bewildered by the sight of the legendary battle, he later tries to suggest explanations based on his knowledge of the magical world.

Significant Themes

• The power of legends and the disbelief in their existence in the current age.
• The struggle to understand and accept new, unexpected information that challenges one's worldview.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg discuss the phenomenon they witness, each contributing their knowledge and speculations to try and make sense of the situation. Their conversation reveals their shared understanding of the magical world and its history, as well as their bewilderment at the current events.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lina mutters incoherently in her sleep, adding to the mystery.
• Karg and Saruman discuss the origin of the monster in R'lyeh City.
• Saruman hypothesizes that the figure in the city might be from a different space-time, either the past or future.
• They hear a childish voice from the city, expressing impatience.
• An intense battle ensues within the city, with powerful and terrifying magical energies and physical destruction.

Character Developments

• Saruman demonstrates his brilliance by proposing the "temporal displacement" theory.
• Karg shows concern for Lina's safety and remains loyal to protecting her and Saruman.
• The mysterious figure in the city is hinted to be younger than expected, challenging Saruman's assumptions.

Significant Themes

• The unknown and the unknowable, represented by the ancient legend and the city of R'lyeh.
• The power of legends and the limits of understanding and control.
• The passage of time and the changes it brings.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg discuss and speculate about the situation, with Saruman leading the analysis and Karg providing support and protection.
• The mysterious figure in the city interacts with them through voice, expressing impatience and revealing hints about their identity.
• Lina remains unconscious, requiring protection from Karg and Saruman.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman and Karg realize they've escaped a dire situation.
• Saruman senses two powerful, ancient, and unknown enemies in R'lyeh City, unlike any magical creature or being he knows.
• A Legendary is fighting these enemies, using extreme measures like drawing upon the power of the land.
• After a fierce battle, the city falls silent, but the air is thick with tension and an unsettling stillness.
• Saruman decides they can't enter the city without understanding the situation and the Legendary's condition.
• He begins deciphering the stone stele, delving into deeper, more chaotic symbols, which cause vivid hallucinations and psychic backlash.
• He deciphers warnings about a sleeping god within the city, the danger of staying, and the consequences of knowing too much.

Character Developments

• Saruman becomes more cautious and worried, realizing the gravity of their situation and the power of their enemies.
• Karg's concern for Lina grows, and he becomes increasingly desperate to find a way to save her.
• Both characters show determination and resilience in the face of overwhelming danger.

Significant Themes

• The unknown and ancient power of the enemies they face.
• The dangers of knowledge and the consequences of delving into forbidden truths.
• The corruption and mutation caused by prolonged exposure to R'lyeh's assimilating force.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg exchange information and concerns, with Saruman sharing his deciphering findings and Karg expressing his worry for Lina.
• They support each other, with Karg guarding Saruman while he deciphers and Saruman urging Karg to leave the area immediately upon discovering the danger of staying in R'lyeh.
• Their bond strengthens as they face the dire situation together.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman and Karg decide to enter the city of R'lyeh to find a way out, as staying outside means certain mutation and death.
• Saruman deciphers a map from a stone stele at the city's entrance, which might guide them or lead them into a trap.
• They enter the city with caution, aware that the map could be unreliable and dangerous.

Character Developments

• Saruman demonstrates his intelligence and caution by deciphering the map and warning Karg about its potential dangers.
• Karg shows loyalty and determination by agreeing to enter the city despite the risks and his concern for Lina.
• Lina's condition worsens, and she is now carried by Karg, unable to participate in decision-making.

Significant Themes

• Despair and Hope: The characters face a seemingly hopeless situation, but they choose to gamble and enter the city, holding onto a slim hope of survival.
• Trust and Caution: Saruman warns Karg not to trust anything in the city, including the map and their own senses, highlighting the theme of caution in the face of uncertainty.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg work together, with Saruman leading and making decisions based on his knowledge and caution, while Karg supports him and follows his lead.
• Karg shows concern for Lina, ensuring she is secure on his back before entering the city.

Plot Points and Events

• Ian's battle in R'lyeh left the city in ruins, with bizarre and powerful monster corpses scattered everywhere.
• Saruman and Karg enter R'lyeh, finding it twisted and non-Euclidean, with signs of Ian's battle but no trace of him.
• They encounter three possible routes on their map, each with its own dangers and uncertainties.

Character Developments

• Saruman and Karg are both uneasy and stressed, relying on each other for support.
• Karg feels overwhelmed and relies on Saruman's decision-making, acknowledging his bad luck.
• Saruman struggles with indecision but ultimately chooses the most direct route, prioritizing speed over safety due to Lina's and Karg's deteriorating conditions.

Significant Themes

• The corrupting influence of R'lyeh on the mind and reality.
• The struggle against despair and the desire to maintain hope.
• The tension between safety and speed, and the difficulty of decision-making in uncertain situations.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg rely on each other for support and guidance, with Saruman taking the lead in decision-making.
• They share a sense of unease and stress, trying to maintain their sanity in the face of R'lyeh's corruption.
• Karg acknowledges his bad luck and relies on Saruman's judgment, highlighting their differing strengths and roles within the group.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman and Karg venture deeper into the city, facing increasingly dangerous challenges.
• They encounter a slime creature that attacks them, which they manage to defeat.
• They face an acid rain attack from stalactite-like structures, which Karg is partially injured by.
• They continue to feel watched and experience mental assaults from the city's whispers.

Character Developments

• Saruman's mana is draining rapidly due to constant mental shielding and spellcasting.
• Karg is injured by the acid attack and experiences numbness and pain, but he manages to treat his wounds.
• Both characters display determination and resilience in the face of adversity.

Significant Themes

• The city's malicious intent and sentience are emphasized, with the environment actively attacking them.
• The theme of perseverance and resilience is highlighted as they push forward despite the dangers.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg communicate non-verbally to avoid contamination from the city's whispers.
• They support each other, with Saruman providing mental shielding and Karg fighting off physical threats.
• They share their determination to reach their goal, acknowledging the dangers they face.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman and Karg encounter shadow wraiths, which they struggle to defeat due to their intangible nature and resistance to conventional magic.
• They discover a whirlpool symbol on a mural that temporarily repels the wraiths.
• They face an attack by flying, piranha-like creatures, which they manage to defeat using a combination of magic and melee combat.
• Throughout their journey, they encounter various strange and deadly creatures, each battle more challenging than the last.
• They hear Ian's voice, realizing he's in the city and has found something.
• They cautiously approach the source of the voice, finding Ian studying a complex magic circle in the city's plaza.

Character Developments

• Saruman and Karg's bond strengthens as they face increasingly dangerous challenges together.
• Saruman demonstrates his versatility and resourcefulness in adapting to new threats.
• Karg shows resilience and determination, pushing through exhaustion and injuries to continue fighting.
• Ian is revealed to be a child, challenging Saruman and Karg's expectations of a legendary figure.

Significant Themes

• The dangers and mysteries hidden within R'lyeh.
• The power of adaptability and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.
• The dissonance between appearance and reality, as seen in Ian's youthful form.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg rely on each other to survive, communicating mentally during tense moments.
• Saruman provides strategic guidance and magical support, while Karg handles melee combat and physical defense.
• The dynamic between Saruman, Karg, and Ian shifts as they realize Ian's true appearance, adding a layer of complexity to their relationship.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ian, a 15-year-old boy with extraordinary power, appears in a ruin where Saruman and Karg are hiding.
• Saruman and Karg are shocked by Ian's presence and power.
• A thousand years later, Saruman's student recognizes Ian from a recent incident in the same ruin.
• Saruman reveals that Ian's appearance is part of a temporal loop, and his arrival was foreseen but not preventable.
• Saruman believes that Ian's arrival is necessary for a certain balance, but he also hopes for a variable to disrupt the loop.

Character Developments

• Saruman, now an elderly and blind wizard, has gained profound insight and understanding after a thousand years, accepting the existence of anomalies like Ian.
• Karg's role is minimal, serving as a silent observer.
• Saruman's student, a black-robed man corrupted by his duties, is shocked and confused by Ian's appearance and Saruman's revelations.

Significant Themes

• The theme of fate and destiny is explored, with Saruman believing in a temporal loop but also hoping for a variable to disrupt it.
• The power of anomalies and legends is highlighted through Ian's character.
• The price of pursuing forbidden knowledge and guarding secrets is shown through Saruman and his student.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and his student have a profound conversation about Ian, fate, and the student's role.
• Ian interacts with no one directly in this chapter, but his presence and power have a significant impact on Saruman and Karg.
• Saruman and Karg share a moment of shock and awe at Ian's appearance, but they do not interact with each other in this chapter.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Saruman shares a memory from a thousand years ago in R'lyeh, where he and Karg witnessed Ian Prince attempting to decipher a magic array leading to Cthulhu's bedchamber.
• Ian expresses his intention to kill Cthulhu before it fully wakes up.
• The attempt triggers a response from R'lyeh, summoning high-level corrupted creatures to attack Ian.

Character Developments

• Ian Prince: Displayed absolute confidence in his strength and a direct, violent approach to problems, even against ultimate horror like Cthulhu.
• Young Saruman: Realized the vast gap between himself and a legend, and the different attitude legends have towards ultimate horror.
• Karg: Felt humiliated and miserable when compared to ants by Saruman's analogy, but also acknowledged the truth in it.

Significant Themes

• The vast gap between legends and ordinary wizards.
• The direct, violent approach of legends to solve problems.
• The corrupting influence of Cthulhu and its creatures.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg: Hid behind a pillar, observing Ian and discussing their observations and feelings.
• Ian and the corrupted creatures: Ian remained calm and composed, using his improved Avada Killing Curse (Avada Withering) against the surging tide of corrupted creatures.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ian effortlessly decimates the monster horde using powerful spells, demonstrating his overwhelming strength.
• Ian begins studying the magic array, using an unknown method to visualize and analyze its structure.
• Saruman and Karg watch Ian's actions from a distance, unable to comprehend his techniques.

Character Developments

• Ian showcases his immense power and knowledge, proving himself to be far beyond Saruman's level.
• Saruman and Karg are left in awe and shock by Ian's abilities, realizing the vast gap between them.
• Saruman struggles to understand Ian's techniques, admitting that Ian's knowledge surpasses his by at least a thousand years.

Significant Themes

• The power of knowledge and understanding in magic.
• The vast differences in ability and knowledge between wizards.
• The potential for genius to transcend their era.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg discuss Ian's abilities, with Saruman admitting his inability to understand Ian's techniques.
• Saruman and Karg watch Ian from a distance, trying to learn from his actions.
• Saruman and Karg's relationship shifts as Saruman acknowledges Karg's courage and skill, while also revealing the vast gap in their understanding of magic.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ian Prince's power is revealed to be beyond any era, even surpassing the understanding of warriors like Karg.
• Saruman and Karg witness Ian's immunity to R'lyeh's contamination and his ability to maintain order within the chaotic domain.
• R'lyeh intensifies its attack, sending waves of physical and psychic monsters, along with environmental contamination and magic-draining vortices.

Character Developments

• Saruman and Karg are terrified by Ian's power and the intensity of R'lyeh's attacks, struggling to maintain their defenses.
• Ian Prince remains unfazed by the intense onslaught, showing no signs of strain or fatigue.

Significant Themes

• The theme of power and its limits is explored through Ian's overwhelming might and R'lyeh's desperate attempts to counter it.
• The theme of contamination and corruption is emphasized through R'lyeh's attacks and Ian's immunity to them.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg interact through mental links, expressing their fear and awe of Ian's power.
• Ian interacts with R'lyeh through his actions, demonstrating his immunity to its contamination and his determination to analyze the magic array.

Plot Points & Events

• Ian uses a simple gesture and a single word, "Prohibition," to create an invisible field that repels and annihilates all attacks, including physical, psychic, and contamination-based assaults.
• He then chants an incantation, "Law of All Things Returning to Silence," which purifies and suppresses all madness and contamination in a wide area, turning animated monsters and patterns back to their original state.
• R'lyeh responds by intensifying the environment's hostility, causing buildings to ooze slime and deform, the air to fill with chaotic whispers, and spatial distortions to increase. It attempts to crush and assimilate Ian and the others mentally and physically.
• Ian completes the magic circle and activates it with an incantation, "With the position of the stars as the key, and the gap of dreams as the door—open."

Character Developments

• Ian demonstrates absolute control and composure in the face of R'lyeh's escalating hostility, focusing solely on completing the magic circle.
• Saruman and Karg witness Ian's power and become increasingly awestruck and fearful, questioning their role in the events unfolding.

Significant Themes

• The power of will and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.
• The ability to block out distractions and maintain focus on a goal.
• The theme of "hunting" a powerful ancient being, with Ian as the hunter and R'lyeh as the prey.

Character Interactions

• Saruman and Karg communicate through a mental link, expressing their disbelief and fear at R'lyeh's power and Ian's composure.
• Ian remains focused on his task, ignoring the increasingly hostile environment and the presence of the two ancients.