Aster

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Aster was a university student and occasional power-leveling player of the MMORPG Sequence Wars. Less than a month after Version 7.0 released, he was killed by a falling cat and awakened in the body of Aster Crowley. He retained no memories of the original Aster, whose remaining relatives were dead and whose family had declined into bankruptcy. 1 40

He arrived in Tingen on June 27, 1349, intending to locate the game’s protagonist and use that person’s expected rise to demigod level as protection against the coming Apocalypse. His plan immediately failed when he found and purchased the Mysterious Ring—the artifact that should have begun the protagonist’s destiny—at the Evil Dragon Bar’s black market. 1 2

The ring instead brought Aster above the Gray Fog, placing him in the seat associated with the absent protagonist during the Tarot Club’s first gathering. He adopted the codename Lovers and began using remembered game knowledge to alter events, trade Beyonder information, and accelerate his own advancement. 3 5

Will Auceptin later reveals to Rachel that the original Aster Crowley had already lost his own past memories before the transmigration. This may explain why Aster inherited neither the original body’s memories nor a clear understanding of its earlier ties to powerful figures. 87

Appearance

Aster is a tall, thin young man, nearly six feet three inches in height, whose unusually silver eyes are often concealed beneath the broad brim of his bowler hat. His passive undead affinity gives him a persistent cold, gloomy presence that unsettles ordinary people. 1

• Eyes — Naturally silver; his right eye later changes to bronze after his near-fatal encounter with Megose and the subsequent contract with Alidibus. The bronze eye is necessary for him to retain himself while using Underworld Passage. 1 48 50
• Aura — Necromantic Body continuously radiates coldness, making people uncomfortable even when he is silent. 1
• Usual attire — Black formalwear, coat, bowler or top hat, and a large suitcase. 1 16
• Demoness form — Through Witch’s Kiss, he can assume a much shorter feminine body with black waist-length curly hair and golden eyes. He primarily uses the identity Rachel Jones in this form. 32
• Physical condition — While acting as Rachel, his left arm is severely damaged. Azik temporarily restores its spirit body, but warns that the physical limb must be replaced before the damage worsens. 84

Personality

Aster is practical, calculating, and strongly survival-oriented. He habitually evaluates people, artifacts, and crises through the language of game mechanics: levels, equipment, quests, builds, and possible rewards. This perspective gives him unusual strategic insight, but initially makes him detached from the suffering and deaths of those he considers “NPCs.” 1 37 43

He is capable of politeness and restraint, especially when dealing with stronger figures, but is also opportunistic, shameless, and willing to lie, intimidate, or kill to protect his identity. His experience with threats such as Alidibus, Mr. A, and the True Creator gradually tempers his confidence. He increasingly recognizes that the world is real and that his actions carry consequences for real people. 6 14 43 47

Aster has become increasingly conflicted over his morality. Though he takes satisfaction in having preserved Klein and Old Neil’s lives and prevented several disasters, he acknowledges that his planned theft of Sealed Artifact 1-27 and his willingness to kill Beyonders still make him far from righteous. 60

Abilities & Skills

Game-like Status Panel

Aster alone possesses a supernatural character panel originating from Sequence Wars. It displays his class, skills, levels, buffs, equipment, and special quests. 1

• Makes his potion advancements safe once he meets the level and material requirements. 13
• Issues daily acting quests that accelerate his progress through the Death Pathway. 2 15
• Identifies some items and status effects, including True Creator corruption and Phoenix-related blessings. 5 29 49
• His game knowledge is incomplete and frequently unreliable because reality has diverged from the original storyline. 2 12
• Its terminology and effects are echoed by Roselle’s black metal belt, increasing Aster’s suspicion that Emperor Roselle may have possessed knowledge of, or a connection to, the game-like system. 84

Death Pathway

As a Grave Digger, Spirit Medium, and later Spirit Guide and Gatekeeper, Aster specializes in undead, spirits, death-related rituals, control, and reconnaissance. 1 13 61 88

• Necromantic Body — Grants resistance and affinity toward undead; some low-intelligence undead treat him as one of their own. Its constant cold aura compromises his social presence. 1
• Eye of Death — Detects ghosts and death-related abnormalities, including the resentful spirit in Swain’s commission. 6
• Communicate with the Dead — Allows interaction with spirits and is central to his acting requirements. 1 15
• Spirit Vision — Can be activated or dismissed mentally without a gesture; Aster considers it less reliable than his other senses for detecting undead. 13
• Ritual magic and divination — Uses pendulums, mirror channeling, and other rituals for investigation and risk assessment. 1 23
• Undead Tenacity — Allows Aster to calm his thoughts temporarily until they resemble those of the dead, aiding his composure when preparing for dangerous advancement. 60

Spirit Contracts and Spirit Channeling

Spirit Medium advancement grants Aster the ability to formally contract spirits and undead. His capacity is exceptionally high, reaching forty contract slots where a normal Spirit Medium would have around twenty. 13 23

• Uses contracted spirits for combat, surveillance, security, tracking, and impersonation. 15 23
• Can perform Spirit Channeling to extract information from a target, as he does with Sergi and his own mirror reflection. 16 23
• Uses Eye of Slumber to slow a target’s thoughts and incapacitate them. 16
• Maintaining continuous communication with many scouting spirits rapidly exhausts him. 47
• Mirror Self-Spirit Channeling provides reliable answers but risks mental fragmentation and personality splitting if overused. 23
• After becoming a Spirit Guide, Aster can directly enslave undead and undead creatures instead of relying solely on contracts and their cooperation. 60 61

Gatekeeper Abilities

Upon advancing to Gatekeeper, Aster’s connection to the Underworld becomes part of his own body rather than depending entirely on contracted spirits. 88

• Can maintain an internal Underworld gate and carry a large number of undead for immediate release in battle. 88
• Can exchange positions with undead under his control. 88
• Can temporarily merge with certain undead possessing special abilities, producing effects beyond a Spirit Guide’s ordinary possession techniques. 88

Phoenix’s Embrace and Underworld Passage

After Alidibus takes Aster’s “death” through a deeper contract, Phoenix’s Gaze evolves into Phoenix’s Embrace. 48 49

• Raises the priority of his undead intimidation and undead-related spells. 49
• Gives an additional advantage against Death Pathway Beyonders below demigod level. 49
• Reduces the effectiveness of undead-, dream-, and dusk-related damage against him. 49
• Makes him more vulnerable to purification-, lightning-, and life-related attacks. 49
• Causes Feathered Serpents to detest him. 49

Underworld Passage allows Aster to physically enter the Underworld under Alidibus’s protection. 49 50

• He can alter his coordinates in the Underworld and emerge elsewhere in the mortal world, functioning similarly to short-range teleportation. 50
• Entering the Underworld helps him evade attacks originating outside it. 50
• The ability consumes substantial spirituality, either from Aster or Alidibus. 50
• Abandoning Alidibus’s protection while inside the Underworld may leave him unable to return. 50
• At his initial proficiency, Aster can make only one significant displacement in a high-intensity battle, or remain in the Underworld for only several seconds before exhausting his spirituality. 51
• Through experimentation, Rachel can project Underworld power into the mortal world, creating a temporary half-Underworld domain that empowers her spirits and seals an area. Excessive use risks permanently contaminating the real world. 57

Witch’s Kiss

Witch’s Kiss is a dangerous pair of white gloves that can transform Aster into a Demoness persona while concealing him from divination and prophecy below demigod level. 7

• Creates feminine identities such as Rachel Jones for Beyonder dealings and combat. 28 32
• Provides black flames, transparent threads, freezing effects, and identity-based deception. 12 32
• Its virtual personality helps maintain the transformed identity’s behavior but can attempt to seize control of Aster’s mind. 7 32
• Drains blood and spirituality, grows living skin across the wearer’s body, and may permanently transform a user if worn too long. 7
• Aster can seal the gloves with a simplified Wall of Spirituality for safer transport. 16
• Rachel used Witch’s Kiss, Underworld Passage, and her necromantic summons to kill the Demoness of Pleasure Madam Sharon, whose death was mistaken by the authorities for the work of a Corpse Collector demigod. 57

Combat and General Skills

Aster has practical combat experience from his former player career, including familiarity with Storm, Twilight Giant, Warrior, and Hunter Pathway fighting styles. 6 30

• Uses physical force effectively against ordinary opponents even without Beyonder abilities. 1 30
• Has general combat training and limited firearms mastery. 1
• Can use simplified Twilight Giant techniques, such as crossing a broken staircase without directly stepping over the gap. 6
• Prefers burst-damage fighting and considers his Spirit Medium and Demoness abilities too dependent on control and sustained damage. 42 43
• Continually tests newly acquired abilities for unconventional applications, as demonstrated by his development of Underworld Passage into a battlefield domain. 57

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mysterious Ring—Death — A brass ring with twenty-two gemstones. It brought Aster above the Gray Fog and fulfilled its mission afterward; he continues to wear it on his right thumb. 2 5
• Witch’s Kiss — White gloves that enable Demoness transformation, anti-divination concealment, black flames, and thread-based attacks at the cost of spirituality, blood, and mental risk. 7 16
• Silver pendant / Death’s Door — A Crowley family relic that improves divination, grants a third-person spiritual perspective, deters some undead and Spirit World creatures, and strengthens necromantic spells. Excessive use causes his spirit to reject his body and makes him impulsive. 17 28
• Fors’s teleportation stone — An escape item obtained after Aster rescued Fors and Xio from ghosts; he uses it to flee Mr. A after discovering Megose. 13 47
• Soul Stealer — A dagger recovered from Rawlins. It becomes sharper after humanoid kills, inflicts stacking slowing effects, attracts powerful Devils, and drives its wielder toward madness. Aster later gives it to Roland as part of payment for a custom weapon commission. 37 43
• Against the Light — A Level 40 Dawn Paladin rapier concealed in a cane and crafted by Roland from a Dawn Paladin Beyonder Characteristic. It stores ambient light and can unleash Dawn Storm, a powerful light-based explosion, but Aster risks harming himself and his undead through its purification properties. Its negative effect compels the wielder to attack any woman in sight, prioritizing closer targets. 57 58
• Messenger whistles — Six three-month ritual whistles created by Roland. They allow trusted recipients, including Klein, to summon Aster’s messenger without performing a full ritual. 57 60
• Roselle’s black metal belt — A technologically advanced artifact taken from Qilangos’s possessions. It responds in Chinese, requests a Card of Blasphemy, and grants Unyielding to Demoness Pathway users, allowing them to resist the rank suppression of stronger Beyonders without eliminating the underlying power gap. 84
• Demoness of Pleasure Beyonder Characteristic — The characteristic Aster obtained from Madam Sharon. Since its likely abilities overlap heavily with Witch’s Kiss, he sells it to Audrey through the Tarot Club rather than use it himself. 58 61

Relationships

• Klein Moretti / The Fool — Fellow Tarot Club member and the apparent leader of the Gray Fog gathering. Their relationship combines cooperation, mutual suspicion, and guarded exchanges of information. Aster later gives Klein a messenger whistle, warns him about the coincidence-manipulating mastermind, and assists his Morse Town investigation by staging hauntings. 3 40 41 51 60
• Audrey Hall / Justice — Tarot Club associate. Aster sells her the Spectator formula and later sells information about a potential Psychology Alchemists contact. She later purchases Madam Sharon’s Demoness of Pleasure Beyonder Characteristic from him for 4,000 pounds. 4 40 61
• Alger Wilson / The Hanged Man — Tarot Club associate and business partner. Aster obtains materials through him and negotiates commissions for higher-sequence ingredients. Aster later sells him the Wind-blessed potion formula and receives intelligence concerning Qilangos. 4 5 40 61 63
• Derrick Berg / The Sun — Tarot Club associate from the City of Silver. Aster trades Derrick the Bard potion formula for the history of the City of Silver, gaining rare information about the Forsaken Land of the Gods. 55
• Swain — Retired Mandated Punishers captain, black-market contact, and increasingly trusted ally. Swain gives Aster Witch’s Kiss, investigates his warnings, and shows concern for his safety. After a Witch attacks Swain while seeking Witch’s Kiss, Aster feels responsible and investigates the attacker. 6 7 49 55
• Alidibus — Overwhelming undead entity and former messenger. He contracts with Aster, saves his life by taking his death, and protects him during Underworld Passage, though his motives and the “Brewing” ritual remain unclear. Azik warns Aster that Alidibus is dangerous and may have malicious intentions. 14 48 50 84
• Fors Wall — Debtor, courier, and occasional collaborator. Aster rescued her and Xio from ghosts; Fors later handles secret transactions and seeks his advice when Xio is imprisoned. 12 13 29
• Azik Eggers — Powerful Death Pathway figure whom Aster recognizes from the game. Aster gives him a clue about his amnesia and gains permission to seek future undead-related guidance. Azik later repairs Rachel’s damaged spirit arm, warns her about Alidibus, and gives her Roselle’s black metal belt while temporarily retaining Creeping Hunger for his memory investigation. 45 84
• Roland — Machinery Hivemind-affiliated Artisan commissioned to appraise Aster’s Beyonder Characteristics and create custom equipment. Roland distrusts Aster’s apparent history of killing Beyonders, but completes six messenger whistles and the Dawn Paladin rapier Against the Light. 42 43 57
• Madam Sharon — Demoness Sect Witch and former Tingen contact. Aster, acting as Rachel, interrogates Sharon about Witch’s Kiss before killing her with Underworld-enhanced necromantic power. 56 57
• Will Auceptin — A Sequence 1 Snake of Mercury who knew Aster before his transmigration. Will reveals that the original Aster had lost his memories and possesses knowledge of Aster’s obscured past. 87
• The True Creator — Hostile divine force whose corruption burdens Aster with the task of stealing Sealed Artifact 1-27 within three months. The corruption appears to diminish after Alidibus saves Aster, but the divine mission remains unresolved. 29 36 50

Story Role / Major Arcs

The Missing Protagonist

Aster’s purchase of the Mysterious Ring displaces the game’s expected protagonist and places him among the Tarot Club’s founding members. He immediately begins trying to rewrite outcomes, including Audrey’s Pathway choice. 2 3 4

Spirit Medium Advancement

After working with Swain and obtaining materials through black-market and Tarot Club transactions, Aster advances to Spirit Medium. He contracts Alidibus, survives the spiritual cost, and begins building an undead network for combat and intelligence gathering. 6 13 14

Eternal Life Society and Lanevus

Aster kills the Eternal Life Society infiltrator Sergi after extracting information about the organization and its interest in Crowley family relics. He later hunts Lanevus across Tingen and Kuman City, adopts multiple identities, and ultimately kills Lanevus while gaining True Creator corruption. 16 28 32 37

Theft of Sealed Artifact 1-27

The True Creator assigns Aster the near-impossible task of stealing Sealed Artifact 1-27 from the Church of River and Sea. Though Aster already wants the artifact for his preferred Storm-oriented equipment build, he postpones the attempt after recognizing that a direct assault would expose him and likely lead to his death. 36 37 44

Megose and the Underworld Contract

While investigating red-chimney houses, Aster discovers Megose and the True Creator’s unborn child. The sight nearly kills him, and Mr. A attacks during his escape. Alidibus restores him through a deeper contract, granting Phoenix’s Embrace and Underworld Passage while binding him to the unexplained Brewing ritual. 47 48 49 50

Spirit Guide Advancement

After gathering the necessary materials through Tarot Club exchanges and continued Spirit Medium acting, Aster advances to Spirit Guide. The advancement grants him direct authority over undead, significantly expands his combat potential, and prepares him to exploit the temporary weakening of the Church of River and Sea’s defenses. 55 60 61

The Witch and Madam Sharon

When a Witch attacks Swain while searching for Witch’s Kiss, Aster investigates under the identity Rachel Jones. He identifies the attacker’s connection to Madam Sharon and the Demoness Sect, then uses an Underworld-infused domain to overwhelm and kill Sharon despite being one Sequence lower. 55 56 57

Qilangos and Roselle’s Belt

Aster becomes interested in Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos because of the Shepherd artifact Creeping Hunger, a powerful item that had been crucial to his former game career. After Azik defeats Qilangos, Rachel receives Roselle’s black metal belt, which grants her the game-like Unyielding effect and allows her to resist higher-Sequence rank suppression. 61 63 84

Gatekeeper Advancement

Rachel later advances to Gatekeeper, gaining an internal connection to the Underworld and the ability to deploy, exchange places with, and merge with undead under her control. The advancement marks the point at which her Death Pathway combat system begins to rely on overwhelming numbers rather than contracted spirits alone. 88

Notable Quotes

“Every power comes at a price. Every blessing requires payment. Whatever you gain, you are bound to give something in return.” 3

“Watch out for coincidences around you.” 49

Trivia

• Aster’s former main class was Calamity of the Storm Pathway, not the Death Pathway he inherited through the Crowley family. 5
• He treats gender transformation as a practical disguise and has a history of impersonating female players online. 29
• His Spirit Contract capacity is twice that of a typical Spirit Medium. 23
• His panel lists him as a favored one of the King of the Astral World and “a lost one who does not belong to this era.” 1
• In his former life, Aster accidentally killed Qilangos by destroying a Backlund hotel during a main-story quest, obtaining Creeping Hunger as his first high-level item. 63
• He considers Sealed Artifact 1-27 one of the few demigod-level artifacts that he can exploit and control effectively because of his player knowledge. 37