Recaps

Charles learned that Pushton’s meeting to discuss his advancement to seventh-circle wizard would take place in four years, and promised to return. In the Abyss, Charles continued building power through his followers and arenas, and his Fear Divinity finally condensed.

• Pushton summoned a fragment of Charles’s consciousness through a puppet, and the wizard sages greeted Charles.
• Pushton told Charles that a meeting about his possible advancement to seventh-circle wizard would take place in four years, and Charles promised to attend.
• Charles withdrew his consciousness from Isata’s puppet and returned to analyzing the Abyss World’s rules while his divinity formed.
• Charles reflected on how Ratmen across the Abyss worshipped him and how arenas directed demons’ and Ratmen’s battles and sacrifices toward him.
• Charles watched as the Fear Divinity successfully condensed.

Charles condensed the Divine Core of Fear, used his accumulated faith power to become a god, and established an earthly divine kingdom at Millstone Fortress. Within a year, he advanced from weak divine power to lesser divine power and considered granting divine spells to his believers.

• Charles used the faith power of his Ratmen and demon believers to ignite divine fire and form the Divine Core of Fear.
• Charles considered the duties gods owed their believers and decided to create an earthly divine kingdom to shelter their souls after death.
• Charles opened his divine kingdom at Millstone Fortress, expanded it to the size of a county seat, and then refined it.
• Charles advanced his divine core from weak divine power to lesser divine power in less than a year.
• Charles considered granting divine spells to his believers and wondered whether he could advance another rank within three years.

Charles considered how slowly faith would increase his power and decided he needed to pursue origin power through conquest and conflict instead. A year later, he emerged from his tower at Millstone Fortress and summoned his followers to offer their loyalty.

• Charles concluded that relying on faith would take too long to reach seventh-tier strength, so he planned to seek origin power through war and conquest.
• Charles decided to return to the Wizard World to prepare for gathering origin power and advancing to a seventh-ring wizard.
• Another year passed, and Charles emerged from his tower nearly fifty meters tall, stronger than Hachiwote had been.
• The Flame Ratman Imperial Guards, including fear warriors, fear knights, and fear priests, gathered as Charles's followers recognized that he was setting out.
• Zarlos and Dorkas watched Charles, while Dorkas regretted losing his freedom without gaining strength.
• Charles addressed his followers and demanded that they offer their loyalty to their ruler.

Charles gathered his greater demons in Millstone Fortress, reviewed the expansion of Ratman settlements, and prepared to leave the Abyss World for battle. He entrusted its defense to Scorchflame and appointed Bruce to spread the faith of the God of Fear.

• Charles summoned his greater demons, who knelt before him, and teased Zarlos about his claim that he had missed him.
• Bruce reported that Ratmen had established settlements across the habitable Abyss, mined minerals, and continued to multiply.
• Charles dismissed the other demons and told Scorchflame to help Bruce guard Millstone Fortress and the Abyss while he prepared for battle.
• Charles appointed Bruce Pope of the Church of the God of Fear and instructed him to spread the faith so Charles could gather divine power.

Charles prepared to return to the Wizard World as the war between Isata and White Mountain Boros continued, though its outcome depended on Pushton, Archibald, and those behind them. A huge Abyss Gate opened over Isata, and Sage Webster recognized it as Grand Sage Charles’s return.

• Charles learned through Anderson that the war between Isata and White Mountain Boros had claimed countless lives, while the true decisions rested with Pushton and Archibald and their backers.
• Isata trained large numbers of novice wizards for the war, lowering the barriers to learning spells while sending many new wizards toward the battlefield.
• Sage Webster taught Third-Ring Wizards in Isata after learning he would not be sent to the front.
• A gigantic, dark-red Abyss Gate opened in the sky above Isata, drawing the attention of its wizards.
• Sage Webster identified the gate as Charles’s teleportation gate and reminded his students that Charles was now Grand Sage Charles.

Charles returned to Isata through the Abyss Gate in a towering Abyssal Grand Lord form, astonishing the wizards and Sage Pushton. He and Pushton exchanged thanks while Pushton wondered at Charles’s strength, which seemed to rival sixth-circle powerhouses wielding origin power.

• Sage Webster ended his lesson and led the third-circle wizards to welcome Grand Sage Charles as the Abyss Gate opened above Isata.
• Grand Sage Pushton joined Sage Webster and watched the gateway, wondering why its aura seemed stronger than before.
• Charles emerged from the Abyss Gate nearly fifty meters tall, leaving the wizards stunned by his immense size and oppressive power.
• Sage Webster asked how Charles had grown so large, and Pushton claimed that the things he had given Charles might have accelerated his growth.
• Charles sensed Pushton’s condensed origin power and greeted him, then credited the Tower Master’s gifts with awakening his talent.
• Pushton asked how Charles had grown so powerful, and Charles repeated that the Tower Master’s gifts might have strengthened his talent as they both laughed.

Charles learned from Pushton that six-ring wizards seeking the seventh ring faced rivals and Wizard Kings who coveted Origin power. Back in his tower, Charles questioned the Book of Causal Paths about its ambitions and learned that his existence was already helping it accumulate karmic Origin power.

• Charles asked Pushton why he had not rallied other six-ring wizards, and Pushton explained that many were his enemies and that the meeting would give him grounds to kill those who blocked his advancement.
• Pushton warned Charles that six-ring wizards and even seven-ring Wizard Kings could become enemies over Origin power, and advised him to seek Origin power only when his strength stopped improving.
• Pushton told Charles that ascension depended on a single decisive instant, then ended their conversation when a friend arrived.
• Charles asked the Book of Causal Paths whether it wanted to use him to reach the seventh tier, and the book said their interests complemented each other.
• The Book of Causal Paths said it could not see Pushton's fate because Pushton had mastered Origin power, and explained that Charles's existence helped it accumulate karmic Origin power.

Charles waited in Isata for a special meeting of the Wizard King's Court, reflecting on his growing power and choosing not to return to the Osela plane himself. As the golden hall of the Wizard King's Court began summoning its members, Charles prepared to attend with Pushton.

• Charles considered how becoming a Sixth-Ring Wizard had brought new troubles, then decided that Fifth-Ring Wizards had troubles of their own.
• Charles spent his free time instructing his former students and decided to send wizards to conquer the Osela plane rather than enter it himself, leaving the elves a final patch of pure land.
• Charles abandoned the idea of having descendants because he believed it would not matter if he became a Seventh-Ring Wizard or died trying.
• Pushton told Charles that a special Wizard King's Court meeting was approaching and instructed him to use his Sixth-Ring Wizard authority to learn how to participate.
• Charles confirmed with Anderson that his teacher knew how to attend, then waited for Pushton to notify him so they could enter together.
• The golden hall in the Wizard King's Court began to glow as beams of light descended onto its thrones, signaling that the meeting was about to begin.

Fourth- and fifth-circle wizards gathered at the Wizard Throne, where white and black wizards eyed one another and traded insults. In Isata, Pushton told Charles he would appear before the newly appointed sixth-circle wizard to surprise the other attendees.

• Fourth-circle wizards took their seats at the Wizard Throne, where white and black wizards from rival academies exchanged insults.
• Fifth-circle wizards arrived, and the gathering awaited the descent of the sixth- and seventh-circle wizards.
• Pushton told Charles to prepare to go to the Wizard Throne from Isata.
• Charles offered to arrive first as a newcomer, but Pushton insisted that he would appear before Charles to surprise the gathering.

At the Wizard Throne conference, the sixth-circle wizards descended one by one, and Pushton of Isata received a particularly grand welcome as a candidate for seventh-circle advancement. The arrival of a powerful new sixth-circle wizard at Isata’s seat stunned the gathering, while Archibald recognized him as Charles.

• Pushton communed with his Wizard Sage authority and sent a thread of it into the Wizard Throne.
• Sixth-circle wizards descended in turn, and the gathered fourth- and fifth-circle wizards rose to welcome them.
• Pushton descended with a hundred-meter projection, prompting every wizard in the court to welcome him as Isata’s renowned Sage and a possible seventh-circle wizard.
• Archibald watched a dark-red projection descend toward Isata’s seat and suspected that it belonged to Charles.
• Charles’s projection expanded to eighty meters, and his throne rose to match it, astonishing the wizards and troubling White Wizard allies of White Mountain Boros.

Charles attended the Wizard King's Court, where the Wizard Kings gathered and Pushton explained their titles and the history of their deaths. The gathering ended with Charles observing that several ancient Wizard Kings, including the Third, were absent and likely dead.

• Charles's strength on the Wizard Throne astonished the Sixth-Ring Wizards, while Pushton ignored their questions and spoke privately with Charles.
• The Thirteenth Wizard King descended, and Pushton explained that Wizard Kings concealed their names and were titled by the order in which they advanced.
• More Wizard Kings arrived, including the Thousand-Faced Wizard King and the Twenty-Fifth Wizard King, whose number reflected a historical rank rather than the current count.
• Pushton told Charles that Wizard Kings could die or disappear after expending too much origin power, though they might eventually revive.
• After all nineteen current Wizard Kings had arrived, Charles noted that the Third Wizard King and most of the top ten were absent and likely dead.

At the Wizard Throne meeting, Pushton explained that advancing to Wizard King would consume the Wizard World’s Origin Power before raising its upper limit, leaving existing Wizard Kings vulnerable while it recovered. He warned Charles that some Wizard Kings might kill him to seize Origin Power they needed to replenish.

• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King and the Thirteenth Wizard King presided over a meeting to consider Pushton’s ascension.
• Pushton claimed he had enough Origin Power and experience to become a Wizard King, while the Thousand-Faced Wizard King warned that the breakthrough would drain the Wizard World.
• Pushton explained to Charles that he would need external Origin Power to grow his seed of power into a Seventh-Ring body, and that advancing in the void would take centuries and leave him vulnerable.
• Pushton explained that his ascension would eventually raise the Wizard World’s Origin Power limit but could keep its reserves depleted for thousands of years, delaying the revival of dead Wizard Kings.
• Pushton warned Charles that some Wizard Kings might kill him to take his Origin Power and replenish what they had spent reviving.

Charles learned that powerful wizards seeking to advance faced danger from others who coveted their origin power. At the Wizard Throne, a vote rejected Sage Pushton’s advancement to the seventh ring, and the Thousand-Faced Wizard King renewed his offer to take Pushton’s origin power.

• Charles realized that sixth-ring and seventh-ring wizards threatened those seeking to advance because they wanted their origin power.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King proposed that Pushton contribute his origin power before receiving approval to advance, while the Thirteenth Wizard King challenged his motives.
• The Thirteenth Wizard King called for an anonymous vote, and Charles voted in favor of Pushton’s advancement.
• Pushton told Charles that other wizard sages and some Wizard Kings would not allow him to advance.
• The Wizard Spirit announced 1,112 votes in favor, 2,945 against, and 58 abstentions, rejecting Pushton’s advancement.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King repeated his proposal to Pushton after the vote.

Sage Pushton rejected the Wizard Throne’s opposition to his advancement and threatened to kill every Sixth Ring Wizard who voted against him. A second, named vote still rejected his advancement, leaving the Thousand-Faced Wizard King to claim that the sages were not afraid of Pushton’s threats.

• Pushton told the Wizard Kings he would advance despite their opposition and kill the Sixth Ring Wizards who voted against him.
• Pushton challenged the Thousand-Faced Wizard King to send his avatar against him and argued that his accumulated origin power made him unmatched in the Wizard World.
• Pushton requested a new vote with named ballots, and Charles again voted in favor.
• The Wizard Spirit announced that nine Wizard Kings supported Pushton and ten opposed him, then read the named votes of the lower-ranking sages.
• The Wizard Spirit announced 1,517 votes in favor, 2,240 against, and 58 abstentions, and the Thousand-Faced Wizard King said the voters were not afraid of Pushton’s threats.

Pushton refused to abandon his advancement after the Wizard Throne’s vote went against him and declared that he would answer any attack. He vanished from the throne and struck a powerful Sixth Ring wizard, starting a battle that shook the Sea of Rules.

• The Wizard Throne’s public vote showed that ten Wizard Kings and numerous wizard sages opposed Pushton’s advancement, though more supported him than in the previous vote.
• Pushton refused the Thousand-Faced Wizard King’s demand to retreat and insisted that those opposing him had declared war first.
• After Pushton vanished from the Wizard Throne, the Thousand-Faced Wizard King ordered the opposing wizard sages to kill him when he began his ascension.
• A Wizard King realized Pushton had already acted, and Charles calculated that he had teleported across at least a continent to attack a Sixth Ring wizard.
• The attacked wizard accused Pushton of striking first, and the ensuing battle caused violent tremors in the Sea of Rules.

Charles speculated that Pushton had advanced him to the sixth ring to protect Isata, while Pushton fought the other sixth-ring wizards alone. Pushton quickly killed two powerful wizards, leaving the remaining Wizard Kings scrambling to organize before he hunted them down.

• Charles and the Book of Causal Paths considered whether Pushton had fought a pseudo-seventh-rank Abyss Overlord or a seventh-rank anchor, and concluded Charles might have been meant to protect Isata if Pushton failed.
• A tremor in the Sea of Rules signaled that Pushton had killed a powerful sixth-ring wizard in less than a quarter of an hour.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King questioned Charles about Pushton, but another Wizard King confirmed Charles was telling the truth and that Pushton had deceived everyone.
• Archibald urged the remaining sixth-ring wizards to gather and search for Pushton, while an attacked wizard pleaded for help.
• The other sixth-ring wizards fled to regroup, and Pushton killed the wizard under attack, whose projection then shattered.

Sage Pushton overwhelmed the Sixth-Ring Wizards who opposed his advancement, showing Charles the terrifying power of accumulated origin. Pushton killed a second Sixth-Ring Wizard as the Wizard Kings debated whether to intervene, leaving Charles to consider the dangers of pursuing advancement in either the Wizard World or the Abyss.

• The Sea of Rules churned as Sage Pushton attacked the gathered Sixth-Ring Wizards, and the Thirteenth Wizard King showed the battlefield in the Wizard Throne.
• Pushton destroyed a Sixth-Ring Wizard’s tower and killed its terrified occupant, who had agreed to Pushton’s advancement in exchange for his life.
• Charles recognized that Pushton’s power came from origin and wondered whether he would need to wage war against the Wizard World to become a plan wizard.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King argued that Pushton’s actions threatened the Wizard World’s origin, while another Wizard King challenged him to send his anchor to stop Pushton.
• Charles discussed with the Book of Causal Paths the possibility of advancing in the Abyss, but judged the Blood War and the seventh-tier devils too dangerous.
• Pushton killed another Sixth-Ring Wizard.

The Thousand-Faced Wizard King confronted Pushton through an anchor in the Wizard World and unleashed a devastating attack. Pushton revealed his full power and challenged the descending strike with a move of his own.

• Pushton’s Wizard Tower appeared before the Thousand-Faced Wizard King’s gigantic face after Pushton had killed four Sixth Circle Wizards.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King demanded that Pushton surrender his origin and warned that he would stop him for defying the Wizard Kings’ vote.
• The Thousand-Faced Wizard King gathered the Sea of Rules into a colossal finger and sent it descending toward Pushton.
• Pushton showed no fear, released his immense origin power, contested the anchor’s control over the Sea of Rules, and raised a finger of his own.
• Pushton told the Thousand-Faced Wizard King that he knew the move too.

Charles witnessed Pushton withstand the Thousand-Faced Wizard King's attack and announce that he would begin his ascension ritual in one year. Afterward, Pushton explained that he had raised Charles to the sixth ring so Isata would remain protected if he failed, and Charles promised to defend the academy.

• Charles watched Pushton survive the Thousand-Faced Wizard King's attack, after which the Wizard King said he would not stop Pushton's ascension.
• Pushton announced that he would begin the ascension ritual in one year, and the Wizard Kings' meeting ended.
• Charles congratulated Pushton after he returned, but Pushton warned that nine other Wizard Kings still opposed his ascension.
• Pushton told Charles that he had given him origin power to protect Isata if Pushton failed, and praised Charles's unexpected strength.
• Charles promised Pushton that he would protect Isata regardless of the outcome.

Sage Pushton secretly prepared to ascend while Charles learned that Pushton had concealed the timing of his ritual. When Pushton began ascending, a Wizard King attacked him, but Pushton survived and became a new Seventh Ring Wizard King.

• Sage Pushton spent ten days wandering Isata unseen, observing and sometimes interfering with bloodline experiments before leaving for the swamps.
• The Book of Causal Paths told Charles that Pushton’s preparations for ascension were beginning, and Charles realized Pushton had misled others about the timing.
• As the Sea of Rules boiled, a Wizard King confronted Pushton and accused him of coordinating with Thousand-Faced to drain the Sea of Rules.
• The Wizard King attacked Pushton with a pillar of light, and Pushton ignited his origin power instead of resisting.
• The pillar of light reduced Pushton’s body to ashes, but a singularity erupted within it, prompting the Wizard King to withdraw as Pushton became a Seventh Ring Wizard King.

Charles witnessed Pushton ascend into a Seventh Ring Wizard King, who named himself First Flame Wizard King and made Charles the tower master of Isata. Afterward, First Flame Wizard King vanished from the memories of nearly everyone in the plane, leaving Charles to wonder about the nature of Wizard King anchors and his own uncertain future.

• Charles arrived at the impact site and saw a singularity, realizing that Pushton had survived and ascended.
• Pushton reformed as a Seventh Ring wizard, named himself First Flame Wizard King, and ordered the gathered Sixth Ring wizards to disperse.
• First Flame Wizard King appointed Charles as tower master of Isata and sent him back there.
• Charles discovered that memories and records of First Flame Wizard King and Pushton's former role had disappeared from Isata, though the Book of Causal Paths retained them.
• The Book of Causal Paths warned Charles that First Flame Wizard King might consider him prey, and Charles set aside thoughts of gaining his support.

After decades of cultivation, Charles reached the limit of his strength without source power and began investigating the Shadow Nightmare Realm after sensing its aura near the Wizard World. He waited in the void and finally saw the Shadow Nightmare Realm appear, with a connection to the Wizard World expected in a few months.

• Charles returned to Isata after decades in the Abyss World and found that the First Flame Wizard King had left the Wizard World.
• Charles recognized the approaching aura as belonging to the Shadow Nightmare Realm and summoned the Book of Orenis.
• Charles searched the void and Isata’s library for information about the Shadow Nightmare Realm, but found no explanation for how it appeared or vanished.
• Charles waited in the void and gathered materials and faint wisps of source power from nearby void storms.
• Charles saw the Shadow Nightmare Realm appear beneath the Wizard World, and it was expected to connect with the Wizard World in a few months.

Charles returned to the Shadow Nightmare Realm after it connected with the Wizard World and explored the place he had once guarded as an apprentice. He found the old city changed and destroyed the powerful creatures gathered around the Shadow Nightmare Realm’s counterpart to Isata.

• Charles sensed the Shadow Nightmare Realm calling to the Book of Orenis and decided to enter it after informing the wizard sages that the worlds would connect.
• Charles arrived at the ancient castle he had guarded as an apprentice and found that the sapling he had left behind had grown into a gigantic, three-ring-level tree.
• Charles moved through the city, killed its small bizarre creatures, and found their power too weak to benefit him.
• Charles traveled to the Shadow Nightmare Realm’s counterpart to Isata and found a vast mass of fused towers filled with creatures as powerful as four- and five-ring wizards.
• Charles sent a growing ball of dark crimson flame crashing into the tower mountain range, killing countless bizarre creatures.

Charles explored the Shadow Nightmare Realm and returned to the White Palace, where he learned the Star-Eclipse Symphony Society had been imprisoned and forced to perform for ages. After hearing their plea in a piece called “Hymn of Chains,” he freed the musicians, who faded away.

• Charles destroyed the twisted tower, explored the Shadow Nightmare Realm, and killed a wind creature that had once threatened him.
• Charles found the White Palace and entered, prompting its guests to vanish and the hall to darken.
• Charles listened as the palace revealed how a powerful being had killed and tormented the Star-Eclipse Symphony Society, trapping its members and other visitors inside.
• Charles sat in the banquet hall and asked the musicians to continue playing.
• The musicians performed “Hymn of Chains” and pleaded for release, and Charles shattered their chains so they could fade away.

Charles returned to the Omniscient Carbuncle’s underground lair and met the being who shared his name, learning how the Carbuncle came into existence. The Carbuncle explained that his creator survived by relying on an anchor, and Charles asked what an anchor was.

• After the bizarre palace faded, Charles noticed that the Book of Causal Paths could not absorb causality or awaken in the Shadow Nightmare Realm.
• Charles returned to the Omniscient Carbuncle’s lair, gathered the spores approaching him, and heard the secrets they contained.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle recognized Charles and recounted his journey from apprentice to Six-Ring powerhouse and Abyssal Grand Lord.
• The Carbuncle explained that a sage’s experiment with dark knowledge created him, and that the sage merged with him to form the Omniscient Brain before it became the Omniscient Carbuncle.
• The Carbuncle said his creator had not died because origin powerhouses could revive through an anchor, and Charles asked what an anchor was.