Chapter Summaries

Kronos revived in the mortal world and sensed that Uranus was still weak, while the God of Space-Time pieced together how Uranus had repeatedly interfered with Kronos’s revival. The God of Space-Time issued the Undead a long-term quest to find and eliminate Uranus’s soul fragments, and Hill explained to Oaises why Uranus posed a danger to their world.

• Kronos revived, sensed Uranus’s presence, and reflected on how Gaia’s two chances to bring him back had been disrupted.
• The God of Space-Time realized that Uranus had interfered with Gaia’s attempts to summon Kronos and might have tried the same scheme in Telashir.
• The God of Space-Time issued a long-term quest ordering the Undead to eliminate Uranus’s soul fragments or report creatures that carried them.
• Hill and Oaises saw the quest notice while Oaises watched the giant screen from a prepared mirror space.
• Hill told Oaises that Uranus had nearly repeated Gaia’s scheme in their world and that Telashir would have suffered even worse under the God of Space-Time’s former soul.

Hill discussed Telashir’s survival and Oaisis’s flaws before preparing to return home. On the battlefield, he noticed the Chaos Queen had begun to waver and might betray her allies.

• Hill reflected that the Earth Bears’ continued tree planting had given Telashir a future, and felt sympathy for Aurelio’s hardships.
• Oaisis explained that worlds tied to the Gods of the Earth had to endure a trial, while Hill noted that Telashir’s remaining problems no longer threatened its safety.
• Hill and Oaisis discussed Oaisis’s unchanged bluntness, and Hill said he planned to continue home after the fighters divided the spoils.
• Oaisis admitted that he had been watching the Fairies’ theater in Toril and wanted to experience an emotional farewell like the Undead’s.
• Hill observed that the Chaos Queen’s black liquid had changed and concluded that she was wavering and might betray her allies.

Hill realized the Abyssal Will’s signals to Asmodeus might lead Hell and the Abyss to temporarily reconcile, throwing Toril into chaos. As Hill watched the battle, Rose moved to claim Gaia, apparently relying on knowledge of a Rod of Seven Parts fragment, and Gaia was crushed.

• Hill reasoned that the Abyssal Will had sent the Chaos Queen to signal Asmodeus and that their cooperation could destabilize Toril.
• Hill asked Oaisis when he would cast the mirror space away, and Oaisis explained he wanted to keep the Slaad away from his world.
• Hill reassured Oaisis that he would return to visit after a long period of seclusion, and Oaisis happily bounced at the promise.
• Oaisis spotted Rose moving on the battle screen, and the Undead discussed whether she knew where a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts was located.
• Demon Sword announced that Gaia had been crushed by Typhon.

Oaisis investigated why Asmodeus was observing the battle below and learned that the Slaad’s changing colors exposed a weakness that could turn them against one another. The Undead suspected Asmodeus was focused mainly on the Slaad, while Rose might interpret his behavior as an opening, and Xue Yunfeng considered how to prevent anyone from resorting to disgusting tactics.

• Oaisis noticed that Asmodeus was watching the battle on the ground while fighting Kronos and asked Xue Yunfeng’s group what he might be observing.
• Demon Sword told Xue Yunfeng that the fly-moths had evolved enough to hurt the Slaad, and Perfect Baldhead explained that the Night Butterfly’s origins and the worms’ crisis had spurred the changes.
• Perfect Baldhead pointed out that some Slaad had turned beige and were being attacked by their own kind, revealing that the Slaad could reject members whose colors changed.
• Xue Yunfeng and Perfect Baldhead reasoned that Asmodeus was watching the Slaad more closely than the fly-moths and warned that his apparent reluctance to face Rose could be a calculated trap.
• Xue Yunfeng said Hill was leaving for Telashir and suggested asking the Nature Tower to help keep the environment sanitary if Rose or the Abyss Lords used disgusting tactics.

Hill and Oaisis watched Asmodeus seize control of the demiplane while the Undead discussed the Abyssal factions’ plans. Asmodeus vanished with Kronos after using Radiant Crystals, leaving the Chaos Queen and the Slaad behind, and Hill wondered why Hell feared the Slaad so much.

• Xue Yunfeng and the Undead watched Asmodeus fight Oaisis for control of the demiplane while Perfect Baldhead explained the Chaos Queen’s deal with Kronos.
• Oaisis told Hill that it had bounced the demiplane toward the Mulhorandi Pantheon and described Rose fleeing as the Slaad adjutant arrived.
• Hill explained that Rose had to honor her agreement with the Chaos Queen and warned Oaisis to avoid dealing with the Abyss.
• Oaisis reported that Kronos had died and that Asmodeus had vanished with him and two subordinates as the Chaos Queen and Slaad unleashed their powers.
• Oaisis saw Asmodeus use numerous Radiant Crystals, and Hill surmised that Asmodeus could activate them using an innate ability from his origins as a combat angel.

Hill learned that Asmodeus had staged the deaths of flies, moths, and Slaad to conceal his cooperation with the Abyssal Will, then prepared to leave before others could focus on his destination. After hearing that the Lady of Pain had appeased the Elven Pantheon, Hill refused Oaisis’s help and chose to leave through a Random Dimension Door, letting fate decide where he went.

• Oaisis confirmed that the dead Slaad were bluish-green and that no pale-colored ones remained in the dimensional space.
• Hill explained that Asmodeus had killed the flies and moths and some Slaad to hide the harm to the Slaad and obscure his intentions from the Abyssal Will and Toril’s gods.
• Hill told Oaisis to guard the remaining flies and moths against Devils, then said he planned to leave before his movements drew too much attention.
• Oaisis told Hill that the Lady of Pain had given the Elven Pantheon Tieflings and equipment, easing its anger and blocking Aoskar’s route out.
• Hill refused Oaisis’s offer of help and said he would leave through a Random Dimension Door, leaving his destination to fate.

Hill said goodbye to Oaisis and reflected on why he had grown reluctant to form close bonds with mortals like Bourne. After emerging into unfamiliar space, he began mapping the stars and decided to stay put until he found a reliable route, while Asmodeus’s next move against Toril remained on his mind.

• Hill left Oaisis through the Random Teleportation portal and considered how the difference in their lifespans had shaped his past friendship with Bourne.
• Hill remembered that Bourne had married and started a family, and that his Tower Spirit was watching over Bourne in Telashir.
• Purvi carried Hill out of the dimensional passage into an unfamiliar region of the Starry Sky.
• Hill questioned whether Purvi’s remembered routes were reliable, and Purvi stormed off after Hill teased him.
• Liszt reassured Hill that he could find a more suitable direction through his own choices, then asked whether he wanted to explore nearby worlds.
• Hill chose to remain in place until he calculated the Star Route, ordered dessert and juice, and began mapping the stars.

Hill abandoned his attempt to reach Alice and traveled toward Telashir, where he discovered that every world along the route had turned black. Recognizing an overwhelming threat near his home, he decided to face it despite the danger.

• Hill decided not to visit Alice until she officially became a god and turned Purvi toward Telashir.
• Hill reflected on Telashir’s history and his own luck during the journey through the stars.
• Purvi’s cry alerted Hill to the blackened worlds blocking the Star Route to Telashir.
• Hill suspected the Nine Hells, possibly Asmodeus, had darkened the worlds near Telashir.
• Liszt warned Hill that entering the dangerous region alone could cost him his life, but Hill declared himself Hill of Telashir.

Hill prepared to enter a dangerous, concealed world under a low-profile identity, leaving Purvi and Liszt hidden nearby as his backup. He left behind his most conspicuous and valuable protections, but the Magic Book chose to accompany him in a subdued defensive form.

• Liszt warned Hill that the hidden world could conceal an exceptionally powerful presence and urged him to disguise his natural power and belongings.
• Hill refused to take Purvi or Liszt with him, explaining that he needed to blend in and would use Liszt's Demiplane as a last refuge if necessary.
• Hill hid Purvi and Liszt inside a small metal satellite surrounded by a stellar vortex, where they could wait and escape if he did not return.
• Hill removed his Divine Artifacts, Winter's Ring, Crystal Flower Ring, and Magic Book to avoid drawing attention in the evil world.
• Liszt persuaded the Magic Book to seal itself into a thin black defensive form, and Hill slipped into the world with it at his waist.

Hill entered a dying world by hiding inside a meteor, severing his connection to the Elemental Realm so he would not be detected. He overheard mages discussing dwindling resources and the collapse of the old social order.

• Hill reflected on the Magic Book’s sacrifice and resolved to face the danger alone.
• Hill cut off his connection to the Elemental Realm and disguised himself in ordinary shadowweave robes.
• Hill hid inside a meteor cast by an Archmage and noticed the spell included Capture Astral Travelers.
• Hill sank into the lifeless soil as the meteor struck, avoiding detection.
• Nearby mages discussed the scarcity of meteors, their Mage Tower’s growing intake of apprentices, and the worsening shortage of food in their world.

Hill learned that Asmodeus was secretly seeking to resurrect Bisozeya by offering her Astral Visitors, and concluded that Telashir had been targeted for conquest. The mages discussed the dangers of capturing an Astral Visitor, then one asked about the Black Mystery Tower because someone he hated was there.

• Jerry reassured the duck-voiced man that Despair Tower might catch an Astral Visitor and gain resources by offering it to Bisozeya.
• Hill recognized Bisozeya as Asmodeus’s dead wife and realized Asmodeus was secretly trying to resurrect her and had been targeting Telashir.
• The duck-voiced man warned Jerry and the other mage that a tower capturing an Astral Visitor could be attacked by mages across the world unless it coincided with Bisozeya’s festival.
• The mages agreed not to discuss capturing an Astral Visitor, while Hill noticed they avoided saying whether they could keep the matter secret.
• A mage asked what would happen to the Black Mystery Tower and admitted someone he hated was in the Dark Tower.

Jerry and the male mage explained to Kayo the hidden competition for Despair Tower’s apprentice places and the rivalry that nearly drove them to ruin their Mental Seas. Hill listened as they discussed their former rival, Gilbert Chatel Heisenar, and the chapter ended with Hill hoping his good luck would help him find inspiration.

• Jerry and the male mage told Kayo that Despair Tower accepted only apprentices who ranked in the top twenty, while connected applicants could pay for entry separately.
• The male mage explained that Gilbert Chatel Heisenar had nearly overtaken him in the rankings, forcing him to push his Mental Sea to its limits before he secured twentieth place.
• Jerry and the male mage said their struggles to enter the tower had been for their families’ sake, and Jerry praised Kayo as a worthy team leader.
• The male mage revealed that Gilbert had gone to Black Mystery Tower after losing his lands and risking his family’s survival, and warned that he might ambush the male mage.
• Kayo and Jerry warned one another not to investigate Sia Tower’s past, while Hill found a little inspiration and hoped for more luck.

Hill listened as Despair Tower mages investigated the meteorite site, then considered how the nearby Sia Tower might connect to the world’s strange state and the Black Mystery Tower’s decline. After a month underground, he headed toward a Mage Town to study local auras and was disturbed by the suffering of its ordinary people.

• Kayo and his teammates left after warning him to be careful about discussing the Black Mystery Tower.
• A Ninth-Circle Mage and his student inspected the site, and other Despair Tower factions later sent mages to search it under discreet supervision.
• Hill concluded that the mages’ lingering hope might offer him an opportunity through the Sia Tower, which he suspected was connected to the world’s troubles.
• Hill decided to seek out Gilbert Chatel Heisenar and investigate the Black Mystery Tower, whose misfortune he blamed on its proximity to the Sia Tower.
• After waiting underground for a month, Hill set out toward a nearby Mage Town to learn local auras and saw ordinary people whose gaunt, numb appearance disturbed him.

Hill studied the Mage Town and learned how its mages and nobles lived under Bisozeya’s rule, while uncovering clues about the world’s food and history. He then set off to help the land and reached the Black Mystery Tower after twelve sunsets.

• Hill watched Mage Town and concluded that Asmodeus had built the world to help Bisozeya ignite her divine fire, while ordinary mortals were excluded from worship.
• Hill realized that Black Taro was the staple food and that its scent could reveal where people had lived and which mage families they belonged to.
• Hill learned that the Mage Towers had claimed nearly all arable land, leaving few animals, and that the towers had once united to hunt aggressive carnivores.
• Hill memorized the nobles’ accents, family emblems, and stories so he could blend into the world without revealing himself.
• Hill turned away from the Despair Tower, promised the earth he would help it, and reached the Black Mystery Tower after twelve sunsets.

Hill investigated the Haisenar Family to learn more about Gilbert and discovered that Gilbert planned to risk an alchemical potion in an attempt to advance his Mage level. The family prepared to send two young relatives to meet him, hoping they could enter the Black Enigma Tower.

• Hill observed the Haisenar Family and concluded that Gilbert had kept them safe despite his poor prospects and limited influence.
• The Haisenar patriarch asked Ulrich why Gilbert had not sent news for two months, and Ulrich explained that Gilbert planned to go into seclusion and use an alchemical potion to try to reach level twelve.
• Ulrich said Gilbert had asked him to bring the family's two apprentices to visit after the Black Enigma Tower announced relaxed recruitment requirements.
• The patriarch went to find Russell and Carpenter, scolded them for their carelessness, and told them to prepare to meet Mage Gilbert.

The Haisenar patriarch arranged for Russell and Carpenter to meet Mage Gilbert and possibly enter the Black Mystery Tower, warning them about the risks. Hill decided to disguise himself as an old mentor or ring spirit, while the cousins began preparing in the library.

• The Haisenar patriarch told Russell and Carpenter that the family would pay for whichever of them—or both—earned Mage Gilbert’s approval.
• The patriarch warned Carpenter to stop hiding her abilities and explained that failing Gilbert’s assessment could leave them vulnerable inside the tower.
• After the patriarch left, Russell and Carpenter argued over whether Carpenter should enter the tower with him, leaving the decision to Gilbert’s judgment.
• Hill considered how to enter the Black Mystery Tower unnoticed and began aging a refined iron ring set with peridot.
• Russell and Carpenter began studying in the library, where Russell noticed something unusual inside the cover of a family-notes book.

Russell secretly opened a notebook from his family library and found an old ring hidden inside it. When he put the ring on, it drew him into his Mental Sea, where a voice named Hill greeted him at the entrance to a vast library.

• Ulrich and the custodian discussed Gilbert’s hopes of becoming a sixth-circle mage and their fears for the family if the Black Mystery Tower failed to secure enough resources.
• Russell and Carpenter used their Isolation Formations to avoid family members checking whether they were studying.
• Russell discovered a hidden ring in a notebook written by an apprentice from the same intake as an archmage who had joined the Defense Tower.
• After his detection spells found no danger, Russell put on the ring, and it vanished into his Mental Sea.
• Russell entered the ring’s inner world, where Hill spoke to him and suggested he imagine a robe.

Russell met the stranger hiding behind the bookshelves, who revealed Russell’s strong talent for abjuration and offered to disguise his magical aptitude. Russell accepted the help, believing the stranger might be Archmage Johnston, though he still did not fully trust him.

• Hill chuckled at Russell’s cautious attempt to identify him as Pierre Heisenner and asked what had happened to the Defense Tower.
• Russell said the Sia Tower had wiped out the Defense Tower, and Hill speculated that its mages had been discovered trying to contact the outside world.
• Russell worried that his abjuration talent would expose him at the Mage Tower and that Carpenter might be sent to the Black Mystery Tower in his place.
• Russell asked the stranger, whom he suspected was Archmage Johnston, for help protecting him from discovery.
• Hill offered to make Russell appear to have a different kind of magical talent, warning that the process would be painful and would not improve his ability to learn other spells.
• Russell agreed and felt reassured by the stranger’s gentle manner, though he still considered the possibility that the mage was deceiving him.

Russell accepted Hill’s help and began studying a transformation spell in Hill’s vast library, hoping to prepare himself for entering a mage tower. After Hill judged his progress and spell knowledge, he decided Russell needed to start again with the most basic runes.

• Russell accepted a booklet from Hill and learned that his activated ring contained a small storage space.
• Russell studied the transformation spell for three days and asked Hill for guidance when he struggled to understand it.
• Hill criticized Russell’s slow progress and shifted his lessons from first-circle spells to converting cantrips.
• Russell listed the spells he knew, and Hill selected Detect Magic and Detect Poison as the next spells to learn.
• Hill began teaching Russell basic runes, leaving Russell to realize that his earlier training had not given him a proper foundation.

Russell learned Detect Magic and Detect Poison from Hill after correcting his Rune technique, then shared his perfectly written Runes with Carpenter and urged her to practice them. He went to sleep after Carpenter agreed to retrace the Runes so she could improve her chances of advancing.

• Hill made Russell painstakingly trace several hundred basic Runes until he could write them accurately.
• Russell quickly learned Detect Magic and Detect Poison, then asked Hill if he could teach the Rune practice method to Carpenter.
• Russell discovered that only two days had passed and found Carpenter waiting with food she had collected for him.
• Russell wrote perfect Runes for Carpenter, who recognized their quality and guessed they were part of his discovery.
• Russell told Carpenter to retrace the Runes with gauze before she could rely on his help getting into Black Mystery Tower, and she agreed.
• Russell said he would sleep and return to the meditation room after waking.