Chapter Summaries

Evan tested his new flight, rescued Hill from two Ghoul experts, and learned about the Bone Revival Faction before bringing her home. As Hill recovered without telling him Richard had been captured, Evan reversed the Daylight Potion’s side effect and gained the Monster Hunter and Night Demon statuses, which Black Sun’s Wings then wanted to claim.

• Evan discovered he could fly in his winged form without flapping, reached a height of about three hundred meters, and learned that flying rapidly consumed his energy.
• Evan rescued Hill from Martin and Chariot, but Gust and Nock intervened and drove the two Bone Revival Faction Ghouls away.
• Gust explained the Bone Revival Faction’s campaign to increase Ghouls’ place in human society, while privately suspecting Evan had received a god’s blessing.
• Evan took Hill to his apartment, where she asked him to stay beside her and hid that Richard had been captured so she could recover before acting.
• Evan reviewed his improved attributes and saw that the Daylight Potion’s side effect had reversed, granting him the Monster Hunter status against monsters and the Night Demon status at night.
• Black Sun’s Wings expressed a desire to obtain the Night Demon status, and Evan agreed to let it take the status.

Evan learned that Hill had become an expert and discovered that Richard had been kidnapped by Ghouls from the Bone Revival Faction. He and Erlong went to question Leto about the Ghouls, and Leto denied involvement before Evan asked why a Boundary Ghoul had come to his funeral company.

• Evan gained a Physique and Spirit boost from devouring the Night Demon state, then ate breakfast with Hill after she woke from her breakthrough.
• Hill told Evan that two Ghoul experts had attacked them, frozen Richard, and taken him for his blood.
• Evan gave Hill the Amulet of Four Blessings and brought her to David and Erlong so they could prepare to rescue Richard.
• Evan and Erlong traveled to Leto Funeral Company to investigate the Bone Revival Faction and Richard's whereabouts.
• Leto denied any involvement in Richard's kidnapping, and Evan asked why a Boundary Ghoul had come to Leto's place before.

Evan used his new Invited Expert authority to secure Leto’s cooperation and followed a ritual clue to identify Puke Canning Factory as the likely hideout of the Ghouls who abducted Richard. He arranged support from Vic while Hill returned to David’s workshop, and the chapter ended with an operation planned within ninety minutes.

• Evan showed Leto and his wife his Special Operations Team armband, and Leto gave him Martin’s letter as a lead to the Ghouls.
• Erlong performed a Spirit Communication ritual, but interference limited the clue to the word “Cans.”
• Evan connected the clue to Puke Canning Factory, where Morales’s father had traced illnesses to canned food.
• Evan sent Erlong to David’s workshop and went to the Police Station to arrange support from Vic.
• Vic agreed to back the operation and warned Evan that the Healing Church’s Holy Sword Execution Squad was pursuing the Ghouls and their evidence.
• Evan named Puke Canning Factory as the target and told Vic the operation would begin within an hour and a half.

Evan, Hill, David, and Erlong prepared for a raid and fought their way into the Ghoul lair beneath the Puke Canning Factory. They reached a vast chamber at the boundary between the Material World and the Dreamlands, where Erlong discovered the Ghouls had carved out a Neutral Zone.

• Vic mobilized the Judges' Faction and summoned Gray and Senior Inspector Blakes after Evan shared his plan.
• Evan joined Hill, David, and Erlong at David's workshop, where they reviewed Ghoul dangers and equipped themselves with armor, weapons, and Magic Potions.
• The group reached the Puke Canning Factory, confirmed that many Ghouls lurked beneath it, and drove the workers out with Erlong's chilling wind.
• Evan led the others through the basement, broke traps with his Copperized arm, and killed several Ghouls as they descended into the lair.
• The group entered an enormous chamber where Erlong identified the boundary between the Material World and the Dreamlands and discovered the Ghouls' Neutral Zone.

Evan, Hill, and David fought through Martin’s Dreamlands Ritual Ground to rescue Richard, but a Giant Ghoul named Chariot overwhelmed Evan and shrugged off his plague attack. Evan recovered and defiantly prepared to face the monster, insisting that nothing was his natural enemy.

• Evan and his companions found Richard hanging over a basin on Martin’s High Platform, surrounded by Ghouls and Copper Corpses.
• Hill sent Erlong back to keep the passage open while Evan, David, and Hill fought off the monsters around them.
• Martin struck Evan with an unseen attack, but Evan healed and used an Insight Potion to reveal the Giant Ghoul Chariot.
• Evan’s Copperized arm shattered when he blocked Chariot’s claw, and his Plague Cluster had no effect on the monster.
• Martin claimed the Giant Ghoul was Evan’s natural enemy and said his abilities had been thoroughly investigated.
• Evan laughed off Martin’s taunts and declared that he had no natural enemy.

Evan used four Magic Potions to power through his fight with the Giant Ghoul and kill it, while Martin attacked Hill and the others with the Ritual Ground’s bone spikes. After Martin’s Sonic Attack knocked Evan back, Evan grew twisted wings, seized Martin by the throat, and left his fate unresolved.

• Evan consumed and absorbed four Magic Potions, gaining immense strength and rapid healing as his body transformed into a beastlike form.
• Evan fought the Giant Ghoul in a brutal exchange, healing from its attacks while steadily breaking its shell.
• Martin activated his Expert Level Characteristic, causing corpses and the Ritual Ground to erupt with bone and metal spikes that wounded David and attacked Hill and Evan.
• Hill tried to bind and kill Martin, but an unseen Ghoul’s eerie melody disrupted her until the Amulet of Four Blessings helped her recover and escape.
• Evan tore off the Giant Ghoul’s head, then charged Martin, who pinned him with spikes and struck him with a Sonic Attack.
• Evan recovered with twisted wings, grabbed Martin by the throat, and left Martin crying for help.

Evan killed Martin, rescued the captive Demon Hunters, and captured a Ghoul Wizard before escaping the unstable pocket space. As the group fled the building, a Master's attack struck Evan, and Martin's bone chain caught him in the shadows.

• Evan killed Martin, rescued Richard, and used the Mist Brain Plague to protect Hill from the black fog.
• Evan infected the hidden Ghoul Wizard with a nonsensical question, captured it, and used the Silver Key to learn secrets about the Descent of the God-Child.
• Evan and the others escaped the unstable pocket space with the rescued Demon Hunters and the unconscious Ghoul Wizard.
• A Master's attack struck as the group fled, but Evan healed his chest wound and pushed the others clear.
• A chain made of human bones caught Evan by the ankle in the building's shadow, and he recognized Martin's skull on it.

Evan was trapped in Martin’s Revenge Curse and faced a Master Level Ghoul in the collapsing Ritual Ground. After surviving repeated attacks, he wounded the Ghoul with his toxic blood, forcing it to retreat.

• The Revenge Curse dragged Evan back into the Ritual Ground while Vic and Gray entered to rescue him.
• The Master Level Ghoul repeatedly smashed Evan apart, but Evan’s Endurance and rapid healing kept him alive.
• Evan taunted the Ghoul to buy time and provoke it into revealing its true form.
• Evan hurled his toxic blood into the Ghoul’s face, causing half of it to rot and forcing it back behind the boundary.

Evan escaped the Master Level Ghoul with Vic’s help, while a clash between the Special Operations Team and the United Merchants’ Association ended when Judge Vincent took control. After the group left the factory with commendations and a new Magic Artifact, Vic revealed that the Ghoul had once been a financier involved in a case from ten years ago.

• Evan used the ghoul’s blood to break the Revenge Curse, and Vic and Gray arrived as Klaus fled from a disturbance behind the veil.
• Vic got Evan out of the factory before the Holy Sword Execution Squad arrived, and Evan reunited with Hill, David, and Erlong outside.
• Blakes and Walsh Ronald fought over jurisdiction until Judge Vincent silenced both sides and ordered a joint investigation of the factory.
• The group left with the injured Demon Hunters for Clocktower Hospital, and Evan secretly removed their toxins and Bone Marrow Parasites.
• Evan reflected on the Shadow Cloak and his gains from the mission before Vic told him Klaus had been a 65-year-old financier ten years earlier.

Vic revealed that Klaus had sacrificed his Family to become a Ghoul, and Evan declined to commit to helping capture him. The group brought the wounded to Clocktower Hospital, where Blood Healing revived them, then left Richard and the others in recovery while Evan, Hill, and David went to dinner.

• Vic told Evan that Klaus had sacrificed all 120 members of his Family to become a Ghoul and warned that the Plague outbreak and other Ghoul sources remained unresolved.
• Evan said he needed time to consider working with Vic and agreed to keep the encounter with Klaus secret from his fellow disciples.
• The convoy took Richard and the two Demon Hunters to Clocktower Hospital, where Sister Mary treated them with Gentle Blood.
• Richard and the other patients awoke after their transfusions, and Vic's team questioned them and Evan's companions about the incident.
• Erlong stayed behind to watch the patients while Evan, Hill, and David went to dinner, where Evan ate far more than David expected.

Evan identified and tested the Shadow Spirit-Eating Cloak, then let the Mist Brain Plague consume the Ghost King's Blessing, triggering a dangerous mutation that put him to sleep. In the Dreamlands, Klaus concealed Evan’s abilities from Sapp while reporting that the Christmas Potion was nearly complete.

• Evan fed the Shadow Spirit-Eating Cloak a piece of Copper Patina and discovered it could make him invisible when it covered at least sixty percent of his body.
• Evan identified the Bone Walnut as the Ghost King's Blessing, swallowed it, and agreed to let the Mist Brain Plague devour it.
• The Mist Brain Plague consumed the Ghost King's Blessing, began an unpredictable mutation, and fell asleep for an estimated twelve hours, leaving Evan without its Characteristics.
• Evan felt an extreme surge in Self-Awareness and forced himself to sleep before examining the Ghoul Wizard's memories.
• Klaus told Sapp that the Christmas Potion was nearly complete and that it would allow the Son of God to be born.
• Klaus misled Sapp about Evan, claiming his strength came from Magic Potions while concealing Evan's wings and extraordinary Physique.

Klaus planned to capture Evan and use his blood to become a Higher One, while Evan unlocked the full Mist Brain Plague at the cost of severe physical and mental weakness. At breakfast, Evan learned that dozens of Gooding Street residents were taking Copper Pills and that Aubly’s memory was already deteriorating.

• Sapp left the Dreamlands after Klaus assured him that the plan remained on schedule, and Klaus vowed to capture Evan and absorb the Bone Saint Child.
• Evan woke with Copper Patina covering part of his head and neck, checked his potion reversals, and found Mist Brain Plague had reached 100.4%.
• Evan activated Mist Brain Plague’s final effect, gaining the ability to manipulate the mist and infect attackers while losing six Physique points and all of his remaining Self-Awareness.
• Evan went to Bee Diner for breakfast and heard workers discuss an attack on Bolton City's Public Library.
• Evan asked Aubly about Copper Pills and learned that forty or fifty Gooding Street residents took them, while Aubly’s pain had eased but his memory had begun to worsen.

Evan advised Hain Street’s workers to stop taking Copper Pills once their pain became bearable, then planned his advancement and accepted Professor Byron’s offer to test potions in exchange for a shortcut to becoming a Master. The chapter ended with Byron giving Evan a Fusion Potion and having him drink complete versions of two potions.

• Evan told Aubly and the others to take Copper Pills only when their pain returned, explaining that the pills dulled pain permanently and harmed memory.
• Evan decided to seek Doctor Armitage’s help and use Vic’s Office to endure the Spirituality Shock Period when he advanced.
• Professor Byron offered Evan a well-paid, confidential seven-day potion-testing project at Pleiko Sanatorium and promised to teach him a shortcut to becoming a Master.
• Byron explained that Demon Hunters fused their Beyonder Characteristics in the Dreamlands and offered Evan a Fusion Potion to help him begin.
• Evan accepted the potion and agreed to cooperate with Byron, who then gave him complete versions of the Anti-Moon Potion and the Eclipse Potion to drink.

Evan discovered that the Eclipse Potion and Anti-Moon Potion could raise his moon and solar affinity under different conditions, then met Lane and visited the recovering Richard and the Demon Hunters he had rescued. Meanwhile, the Special Operations Team’s interrogation of the Ghoul Wizard failed, and Vic decided to focus on Arkham.

• Evan took the Eclipse Potion and Anti-Moon Potion, reversing their side effects and discovering their conditional affinity boosts; he realized the Anti-Moon Potion might help Bloodthirsty Species resist sunlight.
• Byron paid Evan and arranged to meet him again in thirty hours, while Evan admired Byron’s research and spoke with Lane about Ghoul control and the Church’s planned operation with the Special Operations Team.
• Allen Salk revealed that a Higher One’s shadow hidden in the Ghoul Wizard’s memories had destroyed them and injured his spirituality, so Vic suspected Klaus and turned his attention to Arkham.
• Evan visited Richard at Clocktower Hospital, where Richard introduced him to the siblings Rain and Lucky, the Demon Hunters Evan had rescued.
• Rain and Lucky told Evan that work had dried up for their aquatic-specialist branch, so they had joined the Alchemy School as potion test subjects before Ghouls captured them.

Evan traveled to Doctor Armitage’s museum to advance from Apprentice to Expert under his protection. As Evan began the breakthrough, he suppressed the forces attacking his Beyonder Characteristics and appeared on the verge of becoming an Expert.

• Evan bought potion ingredients, brewed potions, and raised his Spirit Vision to nine while waiting to examine the Ghoul Wizard’s memories until he became an Expert.
• Evan and his allies received rewards and temporary investigative authority after Richard’s group defeated the Ghouls, then launched a campaign against Ghoul activity.
• Evan told his friends he planned to advance in New Haven under Doctor Armitage’s protection because Klaus had targeted him.
• Evan reached Armitage’s museum, received payment for the Dryad Beyonder Characteristic, and asked the doctor to protect him during his advancement.
• In Armitage’s Meditation Room, Evan began the breakthrough and used his mental strength and Toxic Blood to subdue his three Beyonder Characteristics as outside forces tried to seize them.

Evan advanced to Expert and discovered his attributes had grown, but his breakthrough drew the attention of several powerful beings. Doctor Armitage shielded him from their apparitions, then explained the Moon Spirit’s usual role in recognizing Bloodthirsty Species.

• Evan reviewed his potion reversals and improved attributes, then struggled with Spiritual Shock that reduced his maximum Spirituality by eighty percent.
• As Evan opened his eyes, an Old Witch and three other apparitions appeared; Armitage protected him with a Bone Shard, a Crystal, and a brass plaque until they vanished.
• Armitage was shocked that Evan’s breakthrough had drawn the attention of his Ancestor, the Grim Skeleton King, the Black Goat, and the King in Yellow.
• Evan guessed that his Copperization and third Beyonder Characteristic had attracted the beings, and Armitage attributed their interest to Evan’s unusual Physique.
• Armitage explained that a Moon Spirit usually binds Bloodthirsty Species to her with a strand of hair, and Evan recalled that the Moon Spirit had approached him before.
• Armitage questioned why Evan seemed unaffected by Spiritual Shock, while Evan privately credited the Mist Brain Plague with helping him stay composed.

Armitage took Evan into the Dreamlands to explain its powers and the different kinds of Gods. After driving off Klaus, he revealed himself as a Higher One and showed Evan his Domain of Truth.

• Armitage used a statue in a Magic Array room to take Evan into the Dreamlands and explained how Old Gods, Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, and Dream Gods differed.
• Armitage warned Evan about the dangers of Outer God cults and explained the Dream Gods' powers, alliances, and limits.
• In the mist, Armitage transformed from an elderly scholar into a strong young man, startling Evan.
• Klaus and a group of Ghouls attacked Evan, but Klaus fled when he recognized Armitage, who drove the Ghouls away with a powerful ability.
• Armitage welcomed Evan to his Domain of Truth and revealed that he was a Higher One, explaining how he and Evan's Great-Grandmother had gained that Status differently.

Armitage showed Evan the knowledge lighthouse he had built in the Dreamlands and explained its role in guiding Miskatonic University’s forces. He then outlined the realms above Higher One and began teaching Evan why Demon Hunters faced limits on advancement.

• Armitage explained that Higher Ones kept part of their power and form in the Dreamlands because the Material World could not accommodate them at full strength.
• Armitage led Evan through Utnar Vichy and revealed that they were inside his lighthouse, a protected domain in the Dreamlands.
• Armitage introduced the dream deity Ariel and explained that he was a Fanatic devoted to the pursuit of truth.
• Armitage showed Evan the library of Beyonder records, explaining that it served as a knowledge base and a beacon for Miskatonic University’s Dreamlands operations.
• Evan vowed to advance the Demon Hunters, and Armitage listed the realms above Higher One before beginning to explain the limits of Mages, Witches, and Demon Hunters.

Evan learned from Armitage why witches, mages, and Demon Hunters—the Sewer Three Heroes—struggled to advance, while clearer professions faced fewer obstacles. Armitage explained how population growth and the demand for order created Gold, whose professions were deliberately limited by mortal lifespans and dependence on their offices or wealth.

• Armitage explained that witches, mages, and Demon Hunters had accumulated confused public expectations that obstructed their advancement.
• Armitage told Evan that Demon Hunters arose from ordinary people protecting communities, but people could fear heroes who gained power after a crisis.
• Evan assured Armitage that he would help others within his means but would not risk his life for grand ideals, and Armitage approved of his ordinary outlook.
• Armitage contrasted the muddled Sewer Three Heroes with professions such as Knights and Spirit Mediums, whose roles were clearly defined.
• Armitage explained that population and the desire for social order enabled Gold to emerge with other factions' tacit approval.
• Armitage described how Gold's professions were constrained by short lifespans and dependence on factories, money, or public office, leaving them prone to short-term thinking.

Armitage explained how social upheaval and war might create new Beyonder Professions, while Klaus struggled to recover from Armitage’s attack and vowed revenge. Back in New Haven, Evan accepted a paid escort job protecting a woman and her half-Innsmouth baby.

• Armitage told Evan that scientists, soldiers, and secret agents might become new Professions as society and warfare changed, and explained how Gold’s Professions had emerged.
• Klaus survived with a crude bone helmet after Armitage’s attack killed the Dream God who had helped protect him, and he swore he would eventually capture Evan.
• Armitage took Evan around the Dreamlands, where Evan noticed that his Spiritual Shock had diminished faster than the time he felt had passed.
• Armitage invited Evan to stay overnight and offered him an escort job from Union Station to the Healing Church’s Clocktower Hospital.
• Armitage revealed that the woman’s baby was half Innsmouth.