Chapter Summaries

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.

Omniscient Carbuncle explained how origin powerhouses conceal their anchors and revealed that the Shadow Nightmare Realm was hidden between the past and future after its creator’s enemies destroyed it. As the realm drew closer to the present, Charles offered Charles origin power in exchange for the Book of Causal Paths.

• Omniscient Carbuncle explained that origin powerhouses hid their anchors and erased records of themselves to prevent enemies from tracking them.
• Omniscient Carbuncle described how gods depended on faith and could lose their power if their followers’ faith changed or disappeared.
• Omniscient Carbuncle revealed that the creator of the Shadow Nightmare Realm had hidden it between the past and future after enemies attacked and destroyed the world while trying to destroy his anchor.
• Omniscient Carbuncle explained that the Shadow Nightmare Realm was drawing closer to the present and would be destroyed when it returned.
• Charles said he needed to exist in the present to become an origin powerhouse, then offered Charles origin power for the Book of Causal Paths.

Charles questioned the Omniscient Carbuncle about its knowledge of the Book of Causal Paths and learned its account of Alasta’s transformation into the book. The Carbuncle warned that the book was narrowing Charles’s future to consume him, then offered enough source power to help him ascend and asked whether he remembered a beam of light.

• Charles challenged the Omniscient Carbuncle’s knowledge of the Book of Causal Paths and asked why it wanted the book.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle claimed the book could turn its knowledge into power and warned that the book was using Charles and leading him toward destruction.
• Charles revealed that Alasta had tried to weave a perfect future for his ascension, reversed his failed ritual, and was transformed into the Book of Causal Paths.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle told Charles that the book was narrowing his future and would consume him once his path became singular, likely after he gathered enough source power.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle offered to provide Charles with enough source power to ascend and asked whether he remembered a beam of light.

Charles learned that the beam of light in Bansler was origin power and considered whether to retrieve it, while remaining wary of the Book of Causal Paths and the Omniscient Carbuncle. The Omniscient Carbuncle advised him to hide his anchor rather than leave it in the Wizard World, but Charles was left asking where to hide it.

• The Book of Causal Paths told Charles that the beam of light in ruined Bansler was origin power Alasta had gathered.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle accused the Book of Causal Paths of concealing the origin power and warned that it planned to devour Charles and use his body to claim it.
• Charles refused to hand over the Book of Causal Paths until he could verify the Omniscient Carbuncle's claims by absorbing the origin power.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle explained that the Wizard World’s depleted origin power and hostile Wizard Kings made it a poor place for Charles to ascend.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle argued that even the Wizard World could not guarantee an anchor’s safety and advised Charles to hide his anchor.
• Charles asked the Omniscient Carbuncle where he should hide it.

Charles and Omniscient Carbuncle Charles discussed hiding Charles’s anchor and pursuing ascension in the Shadow Nightmare Realm, then negotiated over the Book of Causal Paths. They left the conversation agreeing that cooperation was necessary, though Charles’s willingness to surrender the book remained unresolved.

• Omniscient Carbuncle Charles proposed hiding Charles’s anchor in the Shadow Nightmare Realm, where even Origin powerhouses could not find it.
• Omniscient Carbuncle Charles explained that the realm’s Origin power could support Charles’s ascension and that his own power kept the realm from slipping into the present.
• Charles proposed receiving Omniscient Carbuncle Charles’s Origin power first and handing over the Book of Causal Paths after becoming a Seven Ring Wizard King, but Charles refused.
• Charles and Omniscient Carbuncle Charles agreed they needed to cooperate to protect the Shadow Nightmare Realm and their respective interests.
• Omniscient Carbuncle Charles said he had to devour the Book of Causal Paths to become whole and ascend, while Charles warned that neither of them would accept waiting thousands of years to grow stronger.
• Charles urged Omniscient Carbuncle Charles to cooperate with him, leaving their agreement over the Book of Causal Paths unsettled.

Charles left the Shadow Nightmare Realm after Omniscient Carbuncle Charles warned that the Book of Causal Paths could create dangers when Charles sought an origin source. Back in the Wizard World, Charles concealed part of his meeting from the Book and considered how to pursue advancement without becoming dependent on its causal power.

• Omniscient Carbuncle Charles warned Charles that the Book of Causal Paths might weave obstacles around his attempt to obtain an origin source, but admitted he could not protect him.
• Charles returned to the Wizard World, where the Book of Causal Paths asked about the strange plane it had been unable to sense.
• Charles recounted his experiences in the Shadow Nightmare Realm but withheld part of the conversation, and the Book speculated that the plane's inhabitants could not access its origin power or escape it.
• Charles suspected that both Omniscient Carbuncle Charles and the Book were hiding dangerous secrets, and considered advancing within the Shadow Nightmare Realm to learn more.
• Charles asked the Book to spend its causal power securing an origin source or an escape from a sixth-rank powerhouse, but the Book warned that doing so would drain its reserves and proposed accumulating power for one or two thousand years.
• Charles doubted he had that much time and decided he could not afford to trust anyone.

Charles learned that the Book of Causal Paths was accelerating the convergence of his future, then entered Alasta’s plane to investigate its dangers and the book’s behavior. When the Book tried to stop him with a spatial explosion, Charles shrugged it off and crossed the void to Bansler, where the city was rebuilding itself.

• Charles visited Sixth Ring Wizard Sages and explored the Shadow Nightmare Realm, growing stronger by killing Rank Six monsters.
• The Omniscient Carbuncle told Charles that his future was becoming singular and warned that the Shadow Nightmare Realm would return to the gap between past and future.
• Charles left the dissipating Shadow Nightmare Realm and opened a portal to Alasta’s plane to investigate the realm and gather origin power.
• The Book of Causal Paths warned Charles that the plane could affect him and drain its power, then accused him of forgetting their alliance as its pages faded.
• Charles questioned whether the Book had deceived him, survived its attempt to stop him with a spatial explosion, and crossed the void to Bansler, where the city was rebuilding.

Charles exhausted the Book of Causal Paths’ causal power and left it behind in Bansler after learning that it had deceived him about the plane’s origin power. He departed as the city resumed its slow march toward destruction, bidding goodbye to Alasta.

• Charles ignored the Causal Walkers who attacked him and entered the tower where he had first found the Book of Causal Paths.
• The Book of Causal Paths confessed that it had hidden the plane’s origin power and urged Charles to leave with it.
• Charles removed the book from his body and placed it back where he had found it, exhausting its power as Bansler’s past briefly returned.
• Charles absorbed knowledge from the city, fortified the tower with wizarding arrays, and sealed the powerless book inside.
• As time began moving forward again and Bansler continued toward destruction, Charles opened an interplanar portal and said goodbye to Alasta.

Charles returned to his Abyss World and absorbed the portion of origin power Alasta had prepared, greatly strengthening himself and Scorchflame. He emerged with stable, formidable power but remained uncertain where to ascend, since the Wizard World would not allow him to follow Pushton so soon.

• Charles considered whether his evil-god identity would hinder his ascension and weighed the dangers of ascending in the Wizard World or the Abyss.
• Charles returned to his Abyss World and began absorbing the origin power Alasta had prepared for his own ascension.
• As Charles absorbed the power, his soul, magic, and body grew stronger, while Scorchflame gained enough power to advance into a sixth-tier drake.
• Charles finished absorbing the origin power and emerged from his wizard tower with solid strength that he felt could rival Pushton.
• Charles judged that he could now battle some Wizard Kings but could not ascend in the Wizard World so soon after Pushton's ascension.

Charles chose the Shadow Nightmare Realm as the place to ascend to the Seventh Rank, trusting Omniscient Carbuncle Charles’s promise that he could advance safely there. His gamble succeeded, and as he absorbed the realm’s source power to condense a true source body, the Shadow Nightmare Realm returned to the gap between the past and future.

• Charles returned to the Shadow Nightmare Realm and confirmed that Omniscient Carbuncle Charles had found Alasta’s source power but would not receive the Book of Causal Paths before Charles’s ascension.
• Omniscient Carbuncle Charles warned Charles that killing him would leave the realm exposed to reality and put Charles’s anchor in danger, then explained the risks of Seventh Rank ascension.
• Charles decided that the Shadow Nightmare Realm offered the best chance of success and ignited his source power outside the realm.
• Charles’s source power ascended successfully, and he began absorbing the Shadow Nightmare Realm’s vast source power.
• Charles sensed Omniscient Carbuncle Charles guiding the Shadow Nightmare Realm back into the gap between the past and future as Charles continued condensing his true source body.

Charles ascended to become a Wizard King in the Shadow Nightmare Realm, astonishing the Wizard Kings because its origin power had long seemed impossible to access. They identified him as the likely new Wizard King and waited for him to emerge and condense his true body.

• The Wizard Kings sensed a new Wizard King ascending in the Shadow Nightmare Realm and debated how anyone could draw upon its inaccessible origin power.
• A Wizard King explained that the Shadow Nightmare Realm had vanished after its original main world was destroyed and later reappeared beneath the Wizard World.
• Pushton suspected Charles was the one ascending because he had recently investigated the Shadow Nightmare Realm, but he could not explain how Charles had gathered enough origin power.
• The Wizard Kings identified Charles of Isata as the likely new Wizard King and asked Pushton whether he had given Charles origin power.
• Pushton said he had given Charles only a small wisp of flame origin power, and the Wizard Kings agreed that Charles must have found another way to gather what he needed.
• The Wizard Kings watched the Shadow Nightmare Realm disappear and decided to wait for Charles to emerge after condensing his true body.