Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After surviving the seventh floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, Klein and Miss Sharron return to the Reward Room mentally and physically exhausted.
• Klein learns that he has obtained limited authority over the tower. He can pause the challenge and schedule his next return, but several privileges—including the Rest Room and reward exchanges—are unavailable because of irregularities surrounding his Tower Climber qualification.
• Klein and Sharron infer that Linster, who sacrificed himself to the tower, may have arranged these restrictions as part of his revenge. The later floors may contain deadly scenarios that blur the line between dreams and reality, meaning death inside them could result in actual death.
• Rather than immediately attempting the sixth floor, Klein decides that they should leave, rest, and prepare. They agree to return the following Monday night, after the Tarot Club gathering.
• Klein receives a reward titled The Vampire’s Precious Dolls. The story initially seems irrelevant, focusing on Emlyn White’s obsession with collecting dolls, but it ultimately reveals that Emlyn encountered the name “Thousand-faced Hunter” in the Sanguine Vault. Klein realizes this may be a clue to the main ingredient required for his potion and decides to investigate Emlyn.
• Sharron tells Klein that someone wishes to exchange a Beyonder item for the Zombie characteristic he possesses. She will bring the item for him to inspect later.
• In a separate scene, Abner enters Edwina’s dream. She reveals that their research into a “Secret Teleportation Art” has produced a workable basic framework. She plans to submit it to Lenburg under the title The Basic Principles of the Edwards-Braine Teleportation Technique.

Character Developments

• Klein becomes increasingly cautious and analytical regarding the Dream Labyrinth. He recognizes that the tower’s apparent freedom to retreat may be deceptive and prepares to confront Linster’s schemes rather than underestimate them.
• He also shows practical flexibility, accepting that the tower’s strange rewards may contain useful information even when their surface content seems absurd.
• Miss Sharron displays greater openness toward Klein, speaking at length to share her deductions. Her continued cooperation reflects their growing trust and familiarity.
• Edwina demonstrates strong initiative and scholarly progress. She transforms their experimental work into a formal teleportation theory suitable for academic submission.
• Emlyn White, though absent in person, is characterized as eccentric, isolated, and passionately devoted to collecting dolls rather than as the sinister figure Klein initially suspects.

Significant Themes

• Danger concealed beneath apparent choice: The Dream Labyrinth offers Klein and Sharron the option to leave, but they suspect that retreat will not truly protect them from Linster’s revenge.
• Reality versus illusion: The later labyrinth scenarios blur dreams and reality, raising the stakes of every challenge.
• Knowledge hidden in unexpected forms: The tower’s seemingly pointless novel contains an important clue about Klein’s potion ingredients, emphasizing the value of careful investigation.
• Preparation and cooperation: Klein and Sharron choose to rest and plan rather than act recklessly, while Edwina and Abner’s joint research shows how collaboration can produce new supernatural techniques.
• Transformation of experience into knowledge: Both the Dream Labyrinth’s rewards and Edwina’s research convert strange experiences into practical information and power.

Character Interactions

• Klein and Sharron discuss the tower’s restrictions, Linster’s motives, and the dangers of the sixth floor, reaching a mutual decision to postpone their next challenge.
• Their brief exchange about the return date shows increasing trust and efficient cooperation.
• Sharron offers Klein a potential trade involving his Zombie characteristic, demonstrating that she is actively helping him obtain useful resources.
• Abner and Edwina collaborate intellectually as she presents the completed framework of their teleportation technique and seeks his approval before formally submitting it.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner learns from Edwina that Lenburg’s Beyonders exchange research through the Wisdom Tower, a living, mystical institution near the God of Knowledge and Wisdom’s temple. Accepted papers are stored there, and Readers must pay a price to access others’ knowledge.
• The Wisdom Tower can be entered physically or through a Spirit Body in a special “Learning Space.” Abner speculates that it may be an Angel of the Reader Pathway or a Sealed Artifact.
• Edwina suggests publishing their teleportation research, but Abner objects because the technique could expose the connection between his identities, Doctor Strange and Hero Detective. Edwina agrees to delay publication and improve the technique first.
• Abner identifies the major flaw in the Edwards-Braine Teleportation Technique: its consumable materials cost over 3,000 pounds per use. He insists they find cheaper substitutes.
• In Backlund, Klein wakes after an exhausting night in the Dream Labyrinth Tower and nearly goes back to sleep instead of reading mystical texts or preparing for his appointment with reporter Mike Joseph.
• Mike arrives to commission Klein. Klein disguises him in workman’s clothing so he can safely enter the East Borough.
• A prayer from the Tarot Club interrupts Klein. He discovers that Derrick, the Sun, intends to transfer collected materials to The Tower while pretending to lose control. Klein accepts the sacrificed materials, including the Devourer’s Stomach intended for Miss Magician.
• Klein then leaves the gray fog and accompanies Mike toward the East Borough, postponing his investigation into Emlyn until after his planned meeting with Sharron.
• In the City of Silver, Derrick begins suffering auditory and visual hallucinations and reports his condition. He is examined and confined in the Round Tower, where residents at risk of losing control are held.
• A neighboring prisoner tells Derrick that he was imprisoned after encountering an outsider named Amon in a ruined city forty-two years earlier.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates caution and strategic awareness by refusing to publish the teleportation technique before its risks are understood. His concern over identity exposure shows how carefully he maintains his multiple personas. He also focuses on the technique’s impractical financial cost.
• Edwina proves receptive to criticism. Although initially eager to publish, she accepts Abner’s concerns and agrees that the technique requires further refinement.
• Klein continues balancing his ordinary detective identity with his secret mystical activities. Despite exhaustion, he maintains the appearance of a working detective and responds efficiently to Tarot Club business.
• Derrick reaches a dangerous stage of mystical instability, experiencing hallucinations and being confined for possible loss of control. His encounter with the prisoner introduces a potentially important connection to Amon.

Significant Themes

• The danger and cost of knowledge: Mystical knowledge can be hazardous, and even academic publication requires strict safeguards.
• Secrecy and identity: Abner’s hesitation reflects the risks of allowing others to connect his different identities and activities.
• Practical limitations of mystical power: The teleportation technique is powerful but financially unsustainable, emphasizing that supernatural abilities still have material costs.
• Knowledge as an exchange: The Wisdom Tower embodies a system in which information is shared, but only through payment and controlled access.
• Loss of control: Derrick’s confinement and the implied danger surrounding Beyonder instability reinforce the threat of madness and corruption.
• Foreshadowing and hidden enemies: The mention of Amon introduces a mysterious and potentially significant figure tied to the City of Silver’s past.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Edwina debate whether and when to publish their teleportation research, with Abner ultimately persuading her to delay.
• Klein and Mike establish a cooperative detective-client relationship; Klein advises Mike on how to blend into the East Borough.
• Klein receives Derrick’s sacrificial materials through the Tarot Club but deliberately delays notifying The Tower and Miss Magician until he can return to the real world.
• Derrick speaks with the imprisoned old man, whose account of meeting Amon creates a new mystery and possible danger.

Chapter Summary: “Diary and a Glimpse of Secrets”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a day accompanying Reporter Mike, Klein returns to his home troubled by the poverty and social suffering he witnessed, including bankrupt workers, exploited children, and the death of an impoverished old woman.
• He reflects on Roselle’s warning that the Industrial Revolution could create conditions for an evil god’s descent.
• Sharron unexpectedly appears in Klein’s house and delivers a Biological Toxin Bottle, a Beyonder item that releases spreading toxins capable of killing victims within minutes.
• Klein agrees to appraise the item before deciding whether to complete the exchange. Sharron intends to trade it for the Zombie Beyonder Characteristic, which she says belongs to her enemy.
• Sharron reveals that she gave Maric the Scarlet Lunar Corona, protecting him from the full-moon curse. She also says the sixth floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower may contain a way to remove the contamination from Linster’s Beyonder Characteristic.
• Klein retreats above the Gray Fog and divines the properties and dangers of the Werewolf and Zombie characteristics, as well as the toxin bottle. He concludes the toxin bottle is extremely valuable and that the proposed exchange is fair.
• Klein then reads Roselle’s diary, discovering that 0-22, the Calamity Seal, is an intelligent Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
• Roselle records that 0-22 eventually revealed himself to be Liu Bo, another Chinese transmigrator. Liu Bo claims to have transmigrated repeatedly, previously becoming the Sanguine Duke Rhine Calendia and the Death Archon Vincent Miranda.

Character Developments

• Klein continues to develop compassion and moral awareness, becoming increasingly disturbed by the human cost of industrial society. He remains cautious and analytical, carefully testing the toxin bottle rather than trusting appearances.
• Sharron remains emotionally restrained and mysterious, but her actions suggest loyalty and practical concern for Maric. Her connection to the Dream Labyrinth Tower and the unknown owner of the toxin bottle hints at deeper personal motives.
• Roselle is shown as skeptical, clever, and characteristically cautious when dealing with powerful entities. Even when offered forbidden secrets, he refuses to surrender control.
• Liu Bo/0-22 is revealed as an extraordinary recurring transmigrator whose past identities reached the Angel level, expanding the story’s understanding of transmigration and hidden history.

Significant Themes

• Industrialization and social injustice: The chapter emphasizes how poverty, exploitation, and economic instability create an environment resembling a “jungle,” potentially inviting supernatural catastrophe.
• The danger of power and contamination: Beyonder characteristics and sealed artifacts offer great abilities but carry curses, mental contamination, and unknown risks.
• Trust and secrecy: Klein, Sharron, Roselle, and Liu Bo all conceal information or test one another before revealing their true motives.
• Transmigration and identity: Liu Bo’s repeated reincarnations suggest that transmigration may be a recurring phenomenon with immense historical consequences.
• History beneath the surface: The diary reveals that famous figures and major historical events—such as the Black Emperor’s exile and the struggles of the Fourth Epoch—may have been shaped by hidden transmigrators.

Important Character Interactions

• Klein and Sharron: They negotiate the toxin bottle, discuss Maric’s protection and Linster’s contamination, and establish that their cooperation will continue in the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
• Klein and Roselle’s diary: Klein reacts with excitement and disbelief upon learning about another possible Chinese transmigrator, especially one who may still exist as 0-22.
• Roselle and 0-22/Liu Bo: Their conversations show mutual suspicion. Roselle refuses 0-22’s initial attempt to gain freedom from storage, but later allows communication under controlled conditions.
• Roselle and Liu Bo: Their exchange reveals Liu Bo’s long history across multiple identities, including Rhine Calendia and Vincent Miranda, linking him to major events and powerful supernatural beings.

Chapter Summary: “Mr. Fool’s Little Revenge”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Klein reads the final sections of Roselle’s diary concerning Liu Bo, a mysterious transmigrator who lived numerous lives, including as a Sanguine Duke and the Death Archon Vincent Miranda.
• Liu Bo explains that only Sequence 1 beings can fully recover memories from their past lives. Lower-level beings may sense fragments or remember nothing at all. His complete recollection occurred because he directly transmigrated into the “0”-grade Sealed Artifact formed from the Conqueror characteristic.
• Roselle remains frustrated that Liu Bo refuses to explain how his transmigration differs from Roselle’s, joking that both the Hunter and Seer pathways deserve a beating for provoking him.
• Liu Bo reveals that he once had a close connection with Ancient God Lilith. After his death, remnants of his body and the mysterious “unknown place” remained within him. Lilith attempted to use these remnants to conceive offspring, but the resulting descendants possessed a defect preventing them from becoming Demigods unless they underwent “completion.”
• Liu Bo had prepared for this possibility by giving specially modified blood to Yaluolan, later a Pillar of the Moses Ascetic Order. Roselle interprets Liu Bo’s account as blatant boasting about his relationships with women.
• Klein considers investigating Liu Bo’s past through the Sanguine, Emlyn’s connections, Cattleya, and Yaluolan. He plans to have The World discreetly ask about them during the next Tarot Club meeting.
• Klein then leaves the gray fog and goes to Emlyn’s home, apparently beginning his promised or necessary investigation.
• Elsewhere, Jane defeats a chess endgame set by Bernadette, though she admits that a friend taught her the winning move. Bernadette rewards her with an Underworld Flower Fruit, needed for Jane’s advancement to Spirit Guide.
• Bernadette asks Jane to help her with a future task in the Southern Continent and hints that Jane may soon find an opportunity to advance to Sequence 5.
• Abner notices that his Polymath potion has digested further after his recent chess-related activity. He suspects that the experience helped him develop another Acting Method beyond simply demonstrating knowledge.
• The gray fog suddenly appears before Abner and Fors, summoning them to respond to Tarot Club business. Both are exhausted and reluctant, but immediately act when they see the materials they need.
• Klein observes their tired reactions from the Fool’s seat and jokingly considers their forced late-night summons a small revenge for the late-night “mukbang” incident from earlier.

Character Developments

• Klein: Gains important clues about transmigration, Liu Bo, Lilith, and the unknown place. He begins forming practical investigative plans involving Emlyn, the Sanguine, Cattleya, and Yaluolan. His playful side also appears as he enjoys summoning exhausted Tarot Club members.
• Roselle: His diary portrays him as competitive, boastful, curious, and easily provoked. Despite his irreverence, he is deeply interested in the mysteries of transmigration and Liu Bo’s history.
• Liu Bo: Is revealed to be an extraordinarily powerful and enigmatic figure with repeated lives, ties to the Sanguine and Lilith, and long-term preparations for his possible death and resurrection or “completion.”
• Bernadette: Acts as Jane’s mentor and benefactor. She rewards Jane fairly while arranging to use her assistance in the future, suggesting a growing relationship of trust.
• Jane: Demonstrates intelligence and resourcefulness by completing Bernadette’s chess challenge, even with help from a friend. She willingly accepts Bernadette’s future request and moves closer to advancement.
• Abner: Shows increasing understanding of the Acting Method, realizing that a Polymath must embody broad, varied knowledge rather than specialize in only one field.
• Fors and The Sun: Their exhaustion highlights the demanding nature of their lives, but both quickly respond to the Tarot Club’s needs.

Significant Themes

• Transmigration and identity: The chapter explores whether past lives truly form part of one’s identity, and how memory, power, and resurrection affect continuity of self.
• Secrets and dangerous knowledge: Liu Bo’s refusal to explain the nature of transmigration suggests that such knowledge may be dangerous even for powerful beings.
• Long-term planning: Liu Bo and Bernadette both prepare events far in advance, showing how survival in the supernatural world depends on anticipating future threats.
• Advancement through experience: Jane’s chess victory and Abner’s potion digestion emphasize that growth comes through applying knowledge and embodying one’s pathway’s principles.
• Humor amid cosmic mysteries: Roselle’s jealousy and Klein’s “revenge” contrast with the chapter’s serious revelations, maintaining the story’s blend of grand supernatural intrigue and comedy.
• Relationships and influence: Mentorship, friendship, descendants, and past romantic ties all become sources of power, information, and obligation.

Character Interactions

• Roselle and Liu Bo: Their conversations are competitive and teasing, with Roselle seeking information and Liu Bo responding with evasive boasts and provocations.
• Liu Bo and Lilith: Their past relationship is central to the mystery surrounding Liu Bo’s body, corruption, descendants, and possible “completion.”
• Bernadette and Jane: Bernadette mentors and rewards Jane while securing her future assistance. Jane accepts the arrangement out of gratitude and trust.
• Klein and the Tarot Club: Though he does not directly converse with Abner and Fors in the closing scene, Klein summons them through the gray fog and amusedly watches their reluctant responses.
• Klein and Emlyn: Klein travels to Emlyn’s home to begin investigating connections related to Liu Bo and the Sanguine.

Chapter Summary: “Before the Dinner”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After nearly four days at sea, Abner arrives safely in Bayam aboard the White Agate, just before an approaching storm.
• He hires a local fixer, Winter, to guide him and arrange a carriage to his newly acquired manor outside the city.
• While leaving Bayam, Abner recognizes Tracy, the Vice Admiral of Ailment and one of the Seven Pirate Admirals. Although he realizes she is likely connected to criminal organizations and possibly protected by powerful political or military interests, he chooses not to report her in order to avoid attracting attention to himself.
• Winter identifies the Seyd Merchant Association as a tobacco business with ties to local gangs, leading Abner to suspect that it may help Tracy and other pirates dispose of stolen goods.
• Abner reaches Fragrant Manor, a large estate with a castle, gardens, servants, and its own income. The staff gathers to welcome him as the new master.
• At the Seyd Merchant Association, Redhead Helene plots her escape from Tracy’s group. When Hilia deliberately leaves the room, Helene seizes the opportunity, jumps from a window, and flees toward the outskirts, intending eventually to seek refuge at the Intis Embassy.
• Hilia secretly allows Helene to escape out of jealousy, hoping she will never return.
• The chapter ends with Abner and Winter entering the manor’s dining room, where Butler Harvey has prepared a lavish welcoming dinner.

Character Developments

• Abner: Establishes himself in Bayam while deliberately maintaining a low profile. He displays caution and political awareness by ignoring Tracy’s presence, understanding that reporting her may be ineffective or dangerous. He also begins adapting to life as a wealthy manor owner.
• Winter: Introduced as a knowledgeable, capable local guide. His familiarity with Bayam helps Abner understand the city’s businesses and criminal connections.
• Tracy: Appears confident and unconcerned about being recognized, suggesting she has strong protection or believes she can escape authorities.
• Helene: Shows desperation to escape Tracy’s control. She acts decisively when an opportunity appears and begins a dangerous flight toward the Intis Embassy.
• Hilia: Revealed to be jealous of Helene’s relationship with Tracy. She intentionally facilitates Helene’s escape while pretending to help maintain order.

Significant Themes

• Political corruption and hidden power: Bayam’s colonial history, the collapse of the Central Sunia Sea Company, and the cooperation between criminal, military, and political forces emphasize that official authority is often compromised.
• Caution and survival: Abner avoids unnecessary involvement, while Helene chooses concealment and flight rather than confronting Tracy directly.
• Freedom and control: Helene’s escape reflects her desire to break away from Tracy, while Hilia’s resentment reveals the emotional tensions created by Tracy’s dominance.
• Colonial wealth and exploitation: Bayam’s abundant natural resources and plantation economy contrast with the corruption and criminal activity supporting its prosperity.
• New beginnings: Abner’s arrival at Fragrant Manor marks the start of his life in Bayam, though the city’s political and criminal dangers are already beginning to intersect with his plans.

Character Interactions

• Abner questions Winter throughout the carriage ride, using him to learn about Bayam’s streets and local businesses.
• Abner notices Tracy but deliberately avoids confronting or reporting her.
• Helene and Hilia share tense interactions shaped by rivalry and jealousy. Hilia’s apparent hostility masks her decision to help Helene escape.
• Abner and Winter arrive at the manor together, where Butler Harvey and the servants prepare to receive Abner with a formal dinner.

Chapter Summary: “Helene”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner hosts a welcoming banquet at Fragrant Manor after becoming its new master. Although the lavish event is unnecessary from his perspective, he recognizes its value in securing the loyalty of the manor’s employees.
• After examining the staff’s thoughts, Abner decides that the existing servants may remain, keeping their salaries unchanged. The staff, especially Butler Harvey, become genuinely relieved and more cooperative.
• During the banquet, one of Abner’s warning traps near the third-floor study is activated. He realizes that an intruder has entered the manor.
• Using the Pure White Eye and Rewind, Abner identifies the intruder as Helene, a red-haired Hunter Pathway Beyonder who has recently escaped from Vice Admiral Tracy.
• Helene had fled through the woods after escaping the Seyd Merchant Association. Her elaborate dress was destroyed during the escape, forcing her to sneak into the manor and steal men’s clothing from the study.
• Abner enters the study, seals the surrounding space, and subdues Helene with Dragon’s Might, the Affliction Whip, and Psychological Suggestion.
• Helene reveals that Tracy did not accompany her and that the remaining pursuers are likely members of the merchant association, led by Misol the Silvertongue.
• Abner forms a plan to eliminate or deal with the pursuers and drive Tracy out of Bayam, thereby protecting his Hero Detective identity and preventing his abilities from being exposed.
• He locks Helene inside a protective ritual and prays to Mr. Fool, asking him to inform Alger—the Hanged Man—that Tracy is at the Seyd Merchant Association so the Church of Storms can be notified.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates caution, strategic thinking, and increasing confidence in managing both his manor and supernatural threats. He balances public courtesy with secret preparations, using traps and investigative abilities to control the situation. He also shows a willingness to manipulate and temporarily imprison Helene to protect his identities.
• Helene: Appears desperate, frightened, and physically exhausted after her escape. Despite being a capable Hunter Beyonder, she is overwhelmed by Abner’s sudden attack and reveals information under pressure.
• Butler Harvey and the staff: Initially anxious about losing their positions, they become more sincere and loyal after Abner allows them to stay.
• Tracy: Though absent from the manor, she remains the main external threat. Her pursuit of Helene drives the chapter’s conflict.
• Misol the Silvertongue: Identified as the probable leader of the remaining pursuers and a potential target of Abner’s plan.

Significant Themes

• Trust and self-interest: Abner accepts that the servants have selfish motives, viewing ordinary human imperfection as more trustworthy than false saintliness.
• Control and secrecy: Abner carefully manages information, protects his identities, and takes steps to prevent Tracy and the merchant association from discovering his involvement.
• Power imbalance: Helene’s helplessness against Abner’s abilities highlights the danger of psychological and supernatural coercion.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Abner is willing to imprison Helene and exploit the situation if doing so protects his larger objectives.
• Appearance and reality: The welcoming banquet presents an image of hospitality and stability, while hidden supernatural conflicts unfold within the manor.

Character Interactions

• Abner reassures the manor staff by permitting them to retain their jobs and salaries.
• Butler Harvey nervously checks whether the food satisfies Abner, reflecting the servants’ fear of displeasing their new master.
• Abner confronts Helene in the study, suppresses her resistance, and interrogates her about Tracy and her pursuers.
• Abner indirectly contacts the wider Beyonder network through Mr. Fool, asking for Tracy’s location to be reported to the Church of Storms.

Chapter Summary: “Ambush” (Bonus Chapter)

Key Plot Points and Events

• After dinner with Reporter Mike, Klein returns home and is visited by Miss Sharron, who arrives by knocking on his window. He agrees to exchange the Zombie Beyonder characteristic for information or assistance related to the Biological Toxin Bottle.
• Sharron reveals that the Zombie characteristic was merely the “spoils” of another woman and that the Roselle Manuscript pages she previously provided also came from this mysterious woman. Klein becomes increasingly curious about her identity.
• Sharron offers Klein a new deal: Gondola’s Golden Wings, 2,200 pounds, or Eyes of the Lustful Banshee. Klein needs the Golden Wings for Miss Judgment, but lacks the money. Sharron gives him until Sunday night and warns him not to visit Bravehearts Bar because Kaspars has been arrested by MI9. She promises to return to Klein’s home the next night.
• Klein enters the Ancient Palace Above the Gray Fog and uses the World to relay Sharron’s offer to Miss Judgment. Before he can investigate the Biological Toxin Bottle, Mr. Tower summons him with urgent information: Vice Admiral of Ailment Tracy is in Bayam and may be involved in human trafficking.
• Klein transfers this information to Mr. Hanged Man, Alger Wilson, who has already gathered evidence connecting Tracy to the transportation of people.
• Xio, having imprisoned Kaspars at MI9 headquarters, learns of Sharron’s offer through Mr. World. She decides to raise the 2,200 pounds, using her savings and seeking help from Princess Vera or Abner.
• In Bayam, Alger reports his evidence to Diocesan Bishop Jorgori. The bishop orders the Mandated Punishers to seize control of the Seyd Merchant Association and permits them to use the powerful sealed artifact 2-37 if necessary. Alger is instructed to participate in the operation.
• Meanwhile, Abner prepares an ambush outside a villa where Helene is expected to appear. He lays a spell trap, transforms into a giant bear using Lilith’s Tears, and hides underground.

Character Developments

• Klein continues balancing multiple identities and networks. He accepts Sharron’s bargain but remains cautious, investigating the mysterious woman behind the Zombie characteristic and Roselle Manuscripts. He also actively coordinates the Tarot Club’s members against the developing Bayam crisis.
• Miss Sharron remains mysterious and emotionally restrained. Her strange window-knocking entrance and vague explanations reinforce her ghostlike nature. She demonstrates access to valuable information, Beyonder materials, and powerful contacts.
• Xio shows increasing independence and initiative. Despite her limited finances, she immediately begins planning how to obtain the required money and fulfill the exchange.
• Alger acts pragmatically, combining his own investigation into Tracy with the information supplied through the Tarot Club. Although cautious about entering a battle involving a pirate admiral, he obeys the bishop and prepares to provide support.
• Abner demonstrates tactical preparation and resourcefulness by setting a trap and taking on a powerful animal form before confronting Helene.
• Jorgori is portrayed as energetic, forceful, and decisive. He responds rapidly to the evidence against Tracy and is willing to deploy dangerous supernatural resources.

Significant Themes

• Information networks and indirect cooperation: The Tarot Club members work across different regions, passing information through Mr. Fool while concealing their true identities and limitations.
• Trust and secrecy: Klein and Sharron cooperate, but neither fully reveals their sources or motives. The unknown woman connected to the Zombie characteristic and Roselle Manuscripts becomes another mystery.
• Escalating danger: The chapter links several threats—Rose School violence, human trafficking, Vice Admiral Tracy, and hidden supernatural actors—suggesting that separate investigations are converging into a larger conflict.
• Preparation before confrontation: Xio gathers funds, Alger organizes a church operation, and Abner constructs an ambush. Each character responds to danger through planning rather than direct confrontation.
• Power balanced by cost: Valuable Beyonder materials and information require enormous sums of money, while powerful church artifacts and abilities carry risks, emphasizing the material and strategic costs of supernatural conflict.

Character Interactions

• Klein and Sharron: Negotiate the Zombie characteristic and discuss Roselle Manuscripts, the Biological Toxin Bottle, payment, and Kaspars’s arrest. Sharron also establishes a future meeting at Klein’s home.
• Klein and the Tarot Club: Klein uses Mr. World to communicate with Miss Judgment and Mr. Hanged Man, coordinating their responses to Sharron’s offer and the threat posed by Tracy.
• Xio and Klein’s network: Through Mr. World, Xio learns of the financial demand and begins arranging payment.
• Alger and Bishop Jorgori: Alger submits his evidence against Tracy, prompting Jorgori to authorize a major operation and assign Alger to assist.
• Alger, Roye, and Wick: They are grouped together for the assault on the Seyd Merchant Association, with permission to use sealed artifact 2-37.
• Abner and Helene: Though they do not yet meet directly, Abner prepares a trap for Helene, setting up the chapter’s impending ambush.

Chapter Summary: “Total Annihilation (Second Update)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Silvertongue Misol King, former pirate captain under Vice Admiral Tracy and now third mate of the Black Death, leads three pirates through the forest to track the fleeing Helene.
• Using torn pieces of Helene’s dress, the group follows her trail to an estate. Misol orders his men to seize everyone inside and kill anyone who resists.
• Before they can enter, the ground turns into a swamp, trapping the pirates. The ambush is revealed to be the work of Abner, who is disguised as a giant bear and using the abilities of a Druid and a Judge.
• Misol attempts to bribe Abner by throwing him the fabric fragments, but Abner invokes the rule “Bribery is forbidden here!” and then punishes him with a powerful, unavoidable strike.
• Abner breaks Misol’s spine, leaving him near death, and then uses Spirit Channeling and Dreamwalker abilities to interrogate him.
• Misol reveals that four people were tracking Helene, that Tracy does not yet know Helene is missing, and that Hilia suggested keeping the pursuit secret.
• Before dying, Misol unintentionally reveals that Tracy is scheduled to meet someone from MI9 about transporting something to the Southern Continent. Tracy suspects the assignment will be dangerous and intends to demand higher compensation from the military.
• Abner retrieves Misol’s Beyonder Characteristic and the bodies of the three dead pirates, ensuring that no witnesses remain and that Helene’s presence at his estate stays hidden.
• Meanwhile, the Mandated Punishers successfully raid the Seyd Merchant Association but fail to capture its important figures, including the blonde female Beyonder. Cordova suspects that someone leaked the operation.
• Alger claims he reported the intelligence to Jorgori immediately, subtly protecting himself while implying that the information may have spread through higher levels.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates increasing confidence and ruthlessness. He efficiently combines multiple powers, kills Misol and his subordinates, and prioritizes protecting his identity and maintaining a low profile.
• Misol is shown as arrogant, opportunistic, and cruel. He views Helene and Hilia in a predatory manner and casually orders the slaughter of the estate’s occupants. His inability to recognize Abner’s true strength leads directly to his defeat.
• Helene remains absent from the action but is established as frightened, inexperienced, and desperate enough to flee and seek shelter or clothing at Abner’s estate.
• Tracy emerges as cautious and financially calculating. Although she is unaware of Helene’s disappearance, she recognizes the danger of her upcoming cooperation with MI9 and plans to exploit the military’s need for her assistance.
• Hilia is revealed to be more involved in the situation than previously apparent, having encouraged the secret pursuit of Helene.
• Alger continues to act carefully and politically. His statement to Cordova is technically truthful while also distancing himself from responsibility for the intelligence leak.

Significant Themes

• Power and law: Abner’s Judge abilities turn abstract rules into weapons, demonstrating how supernatural authority can impose order and punishment.
• Secrecy and information control: Abner kills the trackers to preserve his anonymity, while Alger manipulates the flow of information to protect his position.
• Predation and exploitation: Misol’s thoughts about Tracy, Helene, and Hilia reveal the pirates’ exploitative culture and his lack of moral restraint.
• Dangerous alliances: Tracy’s cooperation with MI9 suggests that military, pirate, and intelligence interests are becoming increasingly entangled.
• Consequences of overconfidence: Misol trusts his tracking advantage and underestimates the ambush, suffering a devastating defeat as a result.

Important Character Interactions

• Misol questions his subordinate’s tracking judgment but ultimately follows the trail.
• Misol attempts to bribe Abner, only for Abner to reject the bribe and punish him under the authority of the Judge’s rule.
• Abner interrogates Misol’s spirit, learning about Helene’s pursuers, Hilia’s role, and Tracy’s secret meeting.
• Cordova questions Alger about the failed raid, and Alger gives a carefully worded answer that shields himself while leaving the possibility of a broader leak.

Chapter Summary: “The Military’s Secret Mission”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vice Admiral of Ailment Tracy meets a masked man in Bayam to negotiate transporting a valuable item aboard her ship, the Black Death.
• Tracy demands a Conspirer Beyonder Characteristic as additional payment. The masked man agrees but requires her to create trouble that will draw Admiral Amelius away from the Rorsted Archipelago.
• He also offers to help her obtain the main ingredients for the Reaper potion, though Tracy ultimately agrees to abandon that reward in exchange for help determining whether the Church of Storms has captured Redhead Helene.
• Tracy’s maid, Hilia, arrives after the Mandated Punishers raid the Seyd Merchant Association. Most of the organization is captured, while Hilia escapes using an item Tracy previously gave her.
• Hilia claims that Helene may have betrayed them by reporting the association to the Church of Storms. Tracy is emotionally shaken, unwilling to believe Helene betrayed her, but quickly regains control.
• Tracy and the masked man formalize their agreement with a magically binding Notarized Document. He then helps Tracy escape Bayam rather than return to the compromised merchant association.
• Elsewhere, Abner finishes dealing with Misol the Silvertongue and three other pirates. After recovering their Beyonder Characteristics and valuables, he erases evidence of the confrontation.
• Abner sends the four corpses above the Gray Fog to Klein, ensuring Tracy cannot use divination to locate Misol. He also relies on the Book of the Dead’s protective ritual to shield Helene from divination.
• Klein receives the corpses while studying the Book of Secrets and reluctantly prepares to contact Mr. Hanged Man.

Character Developments

• Tracy: Demonstrates her usual confidence and seductive manipulation, but her concern for Helene reveals genuine emotional attachment. Despite her feelings, she remains pragmatic, abandoning her base and crew rather than rushing into a trap.
• Hilia: Escapes the raid and subtly manipulates Tracy by implicating Helene. Her hidden resentment or jealousy becomes apparent when Tracy focuses only on Helene.
• Helene: Remains absent, but her escape and possible betrayal drive the negotiations and Tracy’s emotional reaction. Her fate is left uncertain.
• The masked man: Is revealed as highly resistant to Tracy’s Fascination and capable of carefully structured bargains. He uses Tracy’s personal concerns to secure her cooperation in a broader plan involving Admiral Amelius.
• Abner: Shows resourcefulness and caution by eliminating evidence, collecting the pirates’ remains, and protecting Helene against divination. He also thinks practically about the financial value of the defeated pirates.
• Klein: Continues investigating supernatural knowledge through the Book of Secrets but is unexpectedly burdened with receiving four corpses.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and bargaining: Both Tracy and the masked man attempt to use charm, leverage, and strategic concessions to gain what they want.
• Trust and betrayal: Helene’s possible betrayal, whether real or fabricated by Hilia, creates uncertainty and intensifies Tracy’s vulnerability.
• Pragmatism versus emotion: Tracy cares deeply about Helene but refuses to recklessly return to danger, showing the tension between personal attachment and survival.
• Secrecy and countermeasures: The characters repeatedly conceal their actions, erase traces, and block divination, emphasizing the importance of information control in the Beyonder world.
• Power and contractual obligation: The Notarized Document transforms the negotiation into a binding supernatural contract, ensuring that both parties must fulfill their promises.

Character Interactions

• Tracy and the masked man engage in a tense, professional negotiation shaped by mutual suspicion and calculated concessions.
• Tracy’s emotional response to Hilia’s report exposes her attachment to Helene, while Hilia quietly reacts with jealousy or disappointment.
• Abner indirectly supports Klein and Mr. Hanged Man by delivering the pirates’ corpses and securing evidence of their defeat.
• Klein, Abner, and the masked man operate separately but become connected through their shared involvement in the military and pirate-related conspiracy.

Chapter Summary: “Cautious Alger and Ashamed Helene”

Plot Points and Events

• The Church of Storms raids the Seyd Merchant Association, uncovering evidence of extensive cooperation with gangs and rescuing more than a dozen kidnapped girls.
• Deacon Cordova Roye learns that many of the association’s members fled before the raid, suggesting that the Loen military—or someone within it—may have leaked the operation.
• A supernatural investigation identifies the escaped Beyonder as Hilia, the “Blonde Magician,” a trusted subordinate of Vice Admiral Tracy and suspected Gnosis Society member. Hilia used Invisibility or a related mystical item to escape.
• Cordova orders the remaining evidence secured, the ports searched, and tracking operations launched to locate Hilia and intercept fleeing pirates.
• Alger receives a vision from the Gray Fog showing the corpses of Silvertongue Misol King and three other pirates. The Tower asks him to report them to the Church.
• Although Misol’s corpse carries a valuable bounty, Alger decides not to claim it because doing so would be too risky and difficult to explain. He chooses to claim only the other three bounties, worth 1,400 pounds.
• Alger suggests searching the waters around the harbor for escaping pirates. Cordova authorizes him to inspect vessels under the pretense of plundering them.
• Alger sails away on the Blue Avenger, then performs a ritual to request the three corpses from Mr. Fool.
• Above the Gray Fog, Klein reflects on the value of receiving living or recently deceased targets, since Spirit Channeling could provide useful information. He ultimately recognizes that making such a demand would damage Mr. Fool’s image.
• Helene remains trapped inside a powerful protective ritual at Fragrant Manor. After her initial panic fades, she becomes overwhelmed by anger, shame, and fear about her fate.
• Abner returns and confronts her, displaying four Beyonder Characteristics. He tells her that she has caused him trouble, implying that he expects compensation or intends to punish her for the complications surrounding her presence.

Character Developments

• Alger demonstrates increased caution and self-control. Rather than pursuing the highly valuable but dangerous Misol, he prioritizes survival and accepts a smaller, safer reward. He also acts efficiently and cooperatively with the Church while discreetly advancing his own interests.
• Cordova Roye remains composed and practical despite the possibility of an internal leak. He focuses on containment, investigation, and preventing the pirates from escaping.
• Klein continues balancing the benefits of supernatural information against the need to preserve Mr. Fool’s dignified, benevolent image. His thoughts also reveal his interest in extracting knowledge from corpses.
• Helene shifts from terror to humiliation, resentment, and anxiety. Her vulnerability is emphasized as she worries that Tracy may reclaim her or that Abner may harm or exploit her.
• Abner appears controlled and confident. His presentation of four Beyonder Characteristics suggests considerable power and indicates that he intends to hold Helene accountable for the trouble she caused.

Significant Themes

• Caution versus greed: Alger consciously rejects a tempting bounty because he recognizes that excessive profit could place him in mortal danger.
• Risk management and survival: Both Alger and Cordova make practical decisions under uncertain circumstances, prioritizing long-term safety over immediate gains.
• Power and vulnerability: Helene’s confinement and shame contrast sharply with Abner’s calm authority and control over the situation.
• Identity and reputation: Klein worries that acting too much like an “evil god” could undermine the Tarot Club’s perception of Mr. Fool.
• Hidden alliances and betrayal: The raid exposes links between the merchant association, criminal gangs, Tracy’s organization, and possibly compromised military officials.

Character Interactions

• Cordova and Captain Wick discuss the failed raid and the likely escape of Hilia, while a Detective reconstructs the escape using supernatural abilities.
• Cordova and Alger cooperate closely: Alger offers a naval interception plan, and Cordova authorizes him to act independently.
• Alger communicates with Klein through the Gray Fog, receiving the corpses and the opportunity to claim their bounties.
• Klein reflects on Alger’s restrained choice and considers how the corpses might be used for Spirit Channeling.
• Helene is confronted by Abner after being left trapped in the ritual. Her shame over losing control of herself intensifies when he notices the evidence of her panic, and his final accusation establishes a tense power struggle between them.

Chapter Summary: “Red Maid”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner defeats and kills the pursuers who followed Helene to his manor, revealing an alarming range of simulated Beyonder abilities.
• Helene realizes that Abner can use powers from multiple Pathways, including Sunfire, Water Control, and the Affliction Whip. She becomes frightened, suspecting he may be as powerful as a pirate admiral.
• Abner intimidates Helene by warning that she “knows too much,” then offers her clean clothing and leaves the room so she can change privately.
• After changing into a maid’s uniform, Helene burns her old men’s clothing and reflects on why she escaped Tracy: despite Tracy treating her well, Helene longs for freedom, her family, and her homeland.
• Abner offers Helene food and proposes that she remain in his manor until the New Year, after which he will release her.
• To reassure her, he offers a notarized contract witnessed by the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Helene accepts, believing this indicates that Abner is connected to a legitimate church rather than an evil organization.
• Abner gives Helene a magical hat that changes her hair color and hairstyle, helping her avoid detection by Tracy’s forces.
• He assigns her the identity of his personal maid, allowing her to stay in the manor without attracting suspicion.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates overwhelming strength, resourcefulness, and careful planning. He balances intimidation with courtesy, using threats, food, clothing, and a legal contract to control the situation without unnecessarily harming Helene. His secrecy about his abilities remains a major priority.
• Helene: Shifts from panic and resistance to cautious cooperation. Her experience with Tracy has taught her patience and survival skills, allowing her to assess Abner rationally. She remains wary but accepts that staying with him is safer than continuing to flee alone.
• Tracy: Though absent, she remains an important influence. Her pursuit forces Helene into hiding, while her past treatment of Helene complicates Helene’s escape: Helene does not flee because Tracy abused her, but because she desires independence and reunion with her family.

Significant Themes

• Power and intimidation: Abner’s display of varied abilities establishes a sharp imbalance between him and Helene, forcing her to negotiate from a position of weakness.
• Trust and contracts: Helene cannot rely on Abner’s promises alone, so the notarized contract and divine witness provide an institutional and supernatural basis for trust.
• Freedom versus security: Helene chooses temporary confinement under Abner rather than continued danger under Tracy’s pursuit, highlighting the difficult compromises involved in pursuing freedom.
• Identity and concealment: The disguise, maid’s uniform, altered hair, and assumed role reflect the importance of hidden identities in the Beyonder world.
• Fear moderated by civility: Abner’s polite behavior contrasts with his terrifying strength, creating an uneasy relationship in which kindness and coercion coexist.

Character Interactions

• Abner first frightens Helene by revealing his abilities, then softens his approach by offering clothing, food, and privacy.
• Helene carefully tests whether Abner intends to harm her, asking about his demands and how she can ensure he will release her.
• Their negotiation becomes formal and contractual, with Abner addressing both her immediate safety and the practical problems of hiding her from Tracy.
• By making Helene his personal maid, Abner transforms her from an intruder and potential liability into a protected resident of the manor.

Chapter Summary: “Edwards-Braine Teleportation Technique”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mr. Harvey and the manor staff formally meet Helene, who is presented as Abner Braine’s personal maid. Through a fabricated shared memory, everyone believes she had been absent from the previous dinner because of seasickness.
• Although Helene is technically a maid, Abner’s high regard for her causes the staff to treat her with respect. Winter briefly finds it strange that he never noticed such a striking woman during the previous day’s journey.
• Helene begins her first assignment: reviewing Fragrant Manor’s accounts and separating its income from its expenditures.
• Abner has Winter guide him around Bayam to buy mystical materials and mechanical components. At a gathering in the Scented Leaf Bar, he acquires supplies for constructing a Teleportation Technique altar.
• Abner recognizes a fat Apothecary selling Mummy Powder Potions as Darkwill. Remembering that Darkwill’s circumstances are dangerous, he chooses not to approach him.
• Abner purchases machinery parts for a future workshop, but postpones acquiring a steam engine because Bayam’s models are outdated. He plans to ask Tarot Club members in Backlund to obtain one.
• Transporting the materials to Fragrant Manor costs nearly 1,000 gold pounds. Abner orders Harvey to clear the basement so it can become a workshop and house the teleportation altar.
• Before Helene can report on the accounts, Abner receives a dream summons from Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina. He enters the Dream Labyrinth Tower to meet her.
• Edwina reveals that she has completed an altar aboard the Golden Dream, allowing Abner to test the newly developed Edwards-Braine Teleportation Technique.
• The technique uses a Teleportation Talisman and a specially prepared altar. The user performs Spirit World Traversal to reach the altar, but must provide the altar’s correct “ciphertext” or the teleportation fails.
• The system is extremely expensive: each altar costs roughly 350 pounds, while each single-use talisman costs about 80 pounds. Abner reduces the burden by creating talismans in a Dream Labyrinth scenario and temporarily exchanging them into reality through the perfect-clearance system.
• Edwina reports that the Golden Dream is near Kronus Island, southeast of Bayam, though Church of Storms ships have been patrolling nearby. Abner decides the distance is manageable and agrees to attempt the teleportation.
• Before Edwina leaves, Abner asks whether she can claim the bounty on the major pirate Silvertongue Misol. Edwina agrees, instructing him to bring Misol along.

Character Developments

• Helene: Accepts her new role as Abner’s “personal maid,” despite feeling conflicted and incredulous about how dramatically her life has changed. She begins adapting by handling the manor’s financial administration.
• Abner: Demonstrates increasing control over Fragrant Manor, combining practical organization with ambitious mystical research. He also shows caution by avoiding Darkwill and by carefully considering the costs and risks of teleportation.
• Edwina: Becomes Abner’s technical partner in developing the teleportation method. Her calm and efficient cooperation indicates growing trust and a productive alliance.
• Winter: Proves himself a capable guide despite lacking Beyonder abilities, helping Abner navigate Bayam’s occult markets and trading circles.

Significant Themes

• Identity and imposed roles: Helene’s public identity as a maid contrasts sharply with her actual status and past experiences, emphasizing the instability of identity in a world shaped by supernatural powers.
• The cost of advancement: The teleportation technique represents major progress, but its construction and operation require enormous financial resources and rare materials.
• Caution amid hidden dangers: Abner’s decision not to contact Darkwill and his awareness of the Church of Storms’ patrols show the risks surrounding occult networks and political factions.
• Innovation and collaboration: The teleportation technique is the result of Abner and Edwina combining knowledge, resources, and experimentation.
• Dreams and reality: Abner’s Dream Labyrinth enables him to create temporary real-world tools, blurring the boundary between imagined spaces and physical existence.

Important Character Interactions

• Helene and the manor staff: The staff accept her as Abner’s maid but treat her with unusual deference because of Abner’s attitude toward her.
• Helene and Abner: Abner assigns her administrative work, while she remains privately unsettled by being forced into his service.
• Abner and Winter: Winter guides Abner through Bayam’s occult circles and commercial districts, proving useful despite his limited supernatural knowledge.
• Abner and Darkwill: They recognize one another indirectly, but Abner deliberately avoids contact because of the danger associated with Darkwill.
• Abner and Edwina: They discuss and test their jointly developed teleportation method. Their cooperation expands to include capturing Silvertongue Misol for a bounty.

Chapter Summary: “News from the Southern Continent”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Klein and Reporter Mike spend two days investigating poverty in Backlund’s East Borough under Old Kohler’s guidance. They witness extreme overcrowding, homelessness, prostitution, alcoholism, dangerous factory conditions, and the exploitation of female workers.
• Liv, a laundress determined to educate her daughters through the Church’s night school, is the only hopeful example they encounter.
• Horrified by what he has seen, Mike decides to write both a report for Earl East Chester and an editorial exposing the East Borough’s conditions to the public.
• Klein recognizes that the misery of the district could provide fertile ground for secret organizations such as the Aurora Order or Rose School, potentially enabling another catastrophe like Lanevus’s ritual in Tingen.
• Klein recruits Old Kohler as an informant to monitor secret-organization activity in the East Borough.
• Back home, Klein receives Judgment’s 2,200-pound payment through the Tarot Club and accepts The Tower’s request to receive Misol’s corpse.
• In Bayam, Abner uses the newly developed Edwards-Braine Teleportation Spell to travel from his location to Edwina’s collection room. The spell successfully transports him in roughly ten seconds.
• Edwina informs Abner that the Finks Lion has been spotted in Daniel Valley on the Southern Continent. Since she plans to travel there, they agree to investigate the creature and use the journey to test the teleportation spell further.
• Their discussion is interrupted when Danitz reports the appearance of a Ghost Ship nearby.
• At the same time, in the City of Silver, Derrick receives the Fool’s summons for a Tarot Club gathering. Before he can fully respond, the former captain of his exploration team knocks on the wall—but stops before making the customary third knock, creating suspense.

Character Developments

• Mike Joseph: His investigation reignites his journalistic ideals. Though previously portrayed as somewhat stingy and willing to use questionable methods, he becomes genuinely committed to helping the poor and exposing social injustice.
• Klein: The investigation deeply affects him, giving him a broader and more painful understanding of the “human Abyss” created by poverty. He acts pragmatically by establishing Old Kohler as an informant while continuing to manage his increasingly complicated supernatural obligations.
• Old Kohler: He becomes Klein’s reliable contact in the East Borough and is tasked with watching for secret-organizational activity.
• Abner: He continues cooperating with Edwina on magical research and eagerly accepts the opportunity to investigate the Finks Lion.
• Edwina: Her enthusiasm for the successful teleportation experiment reveals her intense scholarly curiosity and pride in her achievements. She also takes the initiative in arranging the Southern Continent expedition.
• Derrick: He is drawn into another Tarot Club meeting while a mysterious interruption hints at developments involving his former exploration team.

Significant Themes

• Social injustice and human exploitation: The East Borough is depicted as a “human Abyss,” emphasizing overcrowding, unsafe labor, homelessness, addiction, and the indifference of society.
• Hope amid despair: Liv’s determination to educate her daughters represents resistance to fate and shows that dignity and hope can survive in terrible circumstances.
• The power and limits of reform: Mike believes journalism can bring change, but both he and Klein recognize how difficult it may be for even powerful nobles to reform entrenched conditions.
• Poverty as a breeding ground for evil: Klein connects social misery with the possibility of secret organizations exploiting desperate people for destructive rituals.
• Growing supernatural complexity: Klein’s obligations to the Tarot Club, Sharron, The Tower, and the Dream Labyrinth Tower demonstrate how crowded and dangerous his schedule has become.
• Scientific exploration and discovery: Edwina and Abner’s teleportation experiment reflects the continuing development of mystical technology and the pursuit of knowledge.

Important Character Interactions

• Klein and Mike: They silently share the emotional impact of the investigation, with Klein offering cautious encouragement when Mike doubts whether Earl East Chester can accomplish meaningful reform.
• Klein and Old Kohler: Klein turns their investigative partnership into an ongoing intelligence arrangement by making Kohler his East Borough informant.
• Klein and the Tarot Club: Judgment provides payment, while The Tower requests the transfer of Misol’s corpse, highlighting the practical exchanges and growing responsibilities within the organization.
• Abner and Edwina: They successfully test their teleportation method, negotiate the division of a bounty, and agree to investigate the Finks Lion together.
• Edwina and Danitz: Danitz’s report of a Ghost Ship interrupts Edwina and Abner’s discussion, signaling a new maritime development.
• Derrick and the former captain: The unexplained knock—ending before the expected third knock—creates immediate tension and suggests that the former captain may be concealing something or that an unusual event is occurring.

Chapter Summary: The Diary Forged Once Again

Key Plot Points and Events

• Audrey discovers a newly compiled investigation in her father Earl Hall’s study concerning living conditions in the East Borough, Dock Borough, and Factory Borough. The reports also document cult activity and cooperation between Beyonders and criminal gangs, with the Church of the Goddess involved.
• She realizes that Earl Hall may be preparing reforms focused on pollution, factory conditions, and broader social improvement, possibly also helping build her brother Hibbert’s political reputation. She leaves after disguising her visit by taking a book.
• In Bayam, Abner offers his guide Winter a permanent position paying £30 annually. Winter accepts, hoping the stable income will allow him to confess his feelings to Reenie and eventually build a home with her.
• Abner considers eventually making Winter a Beyonder, possibly by giving him a Sleepless-pathway characteristic. He also notices the eerie resemblance between Winter’s circumstances and events from the original timeline.
• Helene jokingly asks about her own salary. Abner decides to keep the money for her temporarily, while privately considering that paying her through the manor would help maintain appearances.
• Before the Tarot Club meeting, Abner forges a page of Roselle’s Diary containing information about Amon. He plans to pass the warning to Klein without directly alarming Derrick, whose knowledge of Amon could place him in greater danger.
• At the Tarot Club, Derrick explains how he pretended to be ill and was sent to the Round Tower for isolation. He asks whether an object there could detect the Gray Fog. Klein reassures him that it normally cannot, though unusual mystical artifacts might possess special abilities.
• Derrick then unexpectedly asks whether anyone has heard of Amon.

Character Developments

• Audrey continues applying her Spectator abilities in everyday life, communicating effectively with Susie and carefully observing political and social developments. Her concern for the lower classes appears to be influencing her father’s reform efforts.
• Earl Hall is shown to be investigating serious social problems and possibly coordinating with the Church, suggesting he may be moving toward meaningful political reform.
• Abner demonstrates increasing responsibility as a master and employer. He recruits Winter, offers him security and compassion, and begins considering how to develop him into a useful Beyonder subordinate.
• Winter gains a chance at a respectable, stable future. His emotional attachment to Reenie reveals a hopeful and vulnerable side beneath his professional role.
• Helene becomes more familiar and playful with Abner after judging that he is easy to work with, though her provocative manner remains influenced by her Soren family instincts.
• Klein maintains his composed “Mr. Fool” persona while privately assessing the dangers surrounding the Gray Fog and Amon.
• Derrick grows more independent and bold, successfully carrying out his plan to investigate the Round Tower, but his question about Amon reveals how seriously threatened he feels.

Significant Themes

• Social reform and responsibility: The investigation into poverty, pollution, crime, and cults suggests that lasting political change may begin through practical reforms.
• Influence and unintended consequences: Audrey’s subtle suggestions may be producing real-world effects through her father’s actions.
• Fate and repeated patterns: Abner recognizes similarities between Winter’s situation and events from the original timeline, raising questions about whether destiny is repeating itself.
• Knowledge as both protection and danger: Abner must decide how much to reveal about Amon, since information can help the Tarot Club members but also expose them to greater risk.
• Identity and deception: Audrey disguises her intrusion, Abner forges Roselle’s handwriting, and Derrick pretends to be ill—all using deception to pursue larger goals.
• Class and security: Winter’s gratitude for a stable salary highlights the economic inequality between the colonies and Backlund, as well as the importance of social standing and financial independence.

Character Interactions

• Audrey and Susie: Audrey silently directs Susie to inspect the documents, demonstrating their unusual bond and Susie’s growing intelligence.
• Audrey and Earl Hall: Though they do not meet directly, Audrey interprets her father’s investigation as evidence that her ideas and concerns have influenced him.
• Abner and Winter: Abner offers Winter employment, financial support, and time off to pursue Reenie, establishing a relationship built on trust and practical kindness.
• Abner and Helene: Their increasingly casual exchanges reveal mutual familiarity. Helene teasingly challenges him about her pay, while Abner privately remains alert to her dangerous nature.
• The Tarot Club members: Justice, Magician, and the others become visibly concerned when Derrick describes the Round Tower. Their shared anxiety emphasizes the club’s dependence on Mr. Fool’s judgment.
• Derrick and Klein: Derrick seeks reassurance from Mr. Fool about the Gray Fog, and Klein carefully answers without exposing the full truth. The conversation culminates in Derrick’s ominous question about Amon.

Chapter Summary: “Amon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tarot Club discusses Amon, an ancient and extremely dangerous figure connected to the Amon Family, a family of “blasphemers” rumored to possess the ability to steal the power of gods.
• Derrick reveals that, forty-two years earlier, an exploration team from the City of Silver encountered someone calling himself Amon. The team members gradually went mad and lost control, except for one survivor who has remained imprisoned and sane in the Round Tower.
• Alger explains the Amon Family’s historical significance, including its association with the Tudor Dynasty and its claim of descent from the Ancient Sun God.
• Abner reveals that the Amon Family possesses an Angel of the Marauder Pathway and suggests that Amon may be one of the few beings besides Mr. Fool capable of entering the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Xio reports that the Church of Steam recently explored and destroyed an Amon Family mausoleum near White Cliff Town, obtaining numerous Beyonder materials. Abner realizes the event occurred earlier than in the original timeline, likely because of changes caused by his actions.
• Alger warns Derrick to investigate the imprisoned former captain carefully, since his continued sanity and survival are highly suspicious.
• Derrick thanks both Alger and Abner and promises to provide Abner with the remaining materials he owes him.
• The Tarot Club resumes its usual exchanges. Audrey submits three pages of Roselle’s diary and privately speaks with Mr. Fool, apparently learning important information about the Black Emperor and the “mysteries of God.”
• Abner submits three diary pages, partly fabricated and partly drawn from Mr. Sarr’s records, in an effort to obscure the possibility that Klein might realize he is also a fellow transmigrator.
• The final diary entry records Roselle’s conversation with Mr. Door, who claims that Jacob, Tamara, and Antigonus have largely declined—but ominously states that

Amon “was not a family at all.”

Character Developments

• Abner continues carefully manipulating information while monitoring how his actions are altering the original timeline. He remains cautious about revealing his transmigrator identity to Klein, though he is becoming less concerned about being discovered.
• Derrick gains a clearer understanding of the danger surrounding the imprisoned “Amon.” He accepts Alger’s warning and becomes more determined to investigate while maintaining caution.
• Alger demonstrates his growing knowledge of ancient history and takes responsibility for warning Derrick about the potential threat.
• Klein becomes increasingly attentive to the implications of Amon’s existence, especially the possibility that the Marauder Pathway can steal divine authority. He also continues evaluating Abner’s diary submissions.
• Audrey appears to receive major revelations from her private conversation with Mr. Fool, likely concerning the Black Emperor and the nature of godhood.
• Xio provides valuable intelligence from MI9 but is frustrated by Fors’s unusually formal interest in the Church of Steam’s report.
• Fors becomes intrigued by the Amon mausoleum and considers finding the Church of Steam’s confidential report for herself.

Significant Themes

• The danger of hidden identities: Amon’s true nature remains uncertain, and the final revelation suggests that “Amon” may not refer to a normal family or even a conventional individual.
• Power stolen from the divine: The Marauder Pathway’s abilities may extend to stealing the authority of gods, raising questions about Amon’s status and ambitions.
• Historical mystery and lost civilizations: The Amon Family, the Tudor Dynasty, the Ancient Sun God, and the Forsaken Land of the Gods are linked through fragmented and unreliable historical records.
• The butterfly effect: Abner’s presence has already altered the timing of important events, such as the Church of Steam’s exploration of the mausoleum.
• Caution and incomplete knowledge: Nearly every character has only fragments of the truth, forcing them to infer motives and dangers from suspicious clues.

Important Character Interactions

• Alger and Derrick: Alger questions Derrick about the City of Silver’s encounter with Amon and later warns him not to underestimate the surviving prisoner.
• Abner and the Tarot Club: Abner supplies crucial information about Amon’s Angel-level status and possible access to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Xio and Fors: Fors presses Xio for details about the mausoleum expedition, while Xio can provide only the limited information contained in MI9’s report.
• Derrick and Abner: Derrick thanks Abner for his explanation and promises to fulfill his material obligations.
• Audrey and Klein: Audrey’s private exchange with Mr. Fool appears to give her a significant new understanding of the Black Emperor.
• Klein and Abner: Klein reads Abner’s submitted diary pages while Abner deliberately maintains the illusion that his entries are ordinary contributions.
• Roselle and Mr. Door: The closing diary entry introduces the crucial mystery that Amon may not truly be a family, setting up a deeper revelation about his identity and nature.

Chapter Summary: “Diary and Trade”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Klein reads a diary entry revealing important information about several ancient families and Beyonders:
  • Antigonus went mad after forcibly accommodating the Seer Pathway’s Uniqueness. The Evernight Goddess sealed him in the Nation of the Evernight, explaining his worse-than-Mr. Door condition and possibly his title as the “half-Fool.”
  • The Tamara family lost the “Hand of Order” after supporting the Blood Emperor. Following the War of the Four Emperors, the family split: one branch intermarried with the Abraham family and adopted the Apprentice Pathway, while the other retained the Arbiter Pathway.
  • The Amon family was not a true family. Every member was an avatar of Amon, a Sequence 1 Worm of Time who had accumulated countless Marauder characteristics and avatars. The disappearance of the Jacob family was also attributed to Amon.
  • Amon’s avatars could supposedly be recognized by a monocle over the right eye, a trait even extending to animals he had parasitized.
• Other diary entries mention Roselle’s captain, Ithaca, setting out to locate the Forsaken Land of the Gods. Klein recalls that the expedition later disappeared and may have influenced Roselle’s invention of radio communication.
• Klein speculates about the connections among Amon, the neighboring Seer, Apprentice, and Marauder Pathways, and the possible role of Beyonder Characteristic convergence. He also wonders whether Amon is connected to the gray fog or the mysterious space above it.
• After reading the diary, Klein opens the Tarot Club’s trading session.

Character Developments

• Klein gains crucial historical knowledge but becomes increasingly wary of Amon and the dangers of Pathway convergence. He decides to observe Derrick after the gathering in case Amon-related phenomena appear around him.
• Antigonus is revealed as a tragic, near-godlike figure whose failed accommodation of the Uniqueness drove him insane.
• Amon is established as an extraordinarily dangerous entity with countless avatars and a distinctive monocle-related identifying trait.
• Audrey demonstrates growing independence and confidence. Her connection with the Psychology Alchemists is expected to improve her access to rare materials.
• Derrick continues preparing to escape the Round Tower and offers to search for Audrey’s requested materials.
• Xio shows some anxiety about whether Mr. World will deliver a previously promised item, though she trusts Mr. Fool’s fairness.
• Fors acts protectively toward Xio by asking about the price of an item on her behalf.

Significant Themes

• Madness and the dangers of power: Even powerful Beyonders such as Antigonus can lose control when attempting to accommodate a Uniqueness.
• Identity and individuality: The Amon family’s members are revealed to be merely extensions of one being, raising questions about personhood and autonomy.
• Historical manipulation and hidden connections: The histories of the Antigonus, Tamara, Abraham, Jacob, and Amon families are interconnected with ancient conflicts and Pathway politics.
• Beyonder Characteristic convergence: Klein considers whether encounters involving Amon, himself, and the gray fog are being drawn together by supernatural convergence.
• Knowledge as power: The diary provides dangerous but valuable information, while the Tarot Club’s trades show members using cooperation and trust to obtain advancement materials.

Character Interactions and Trades

• Klein privately assesses the information while monitoring Derrick for possible signs of Amon’s influence.
• Audrey requests Mirror Dragon eyes, Mirror Dragon blood, and Fruit of the Elder Tree; Derrick agrees to search for them in the City of Silver.
• World asks the members to locate the characteristic of a Human Skin Shadow.
• Audrey offers to help the Hanged Man find the eyeballs of a Dragon-Eyed Sea Eagle.
• World announces that he has obtained Gondola’s Golden Wings for Xio and will deliver them after the meeting.
• Fors asks whether World has another copy of the material and learns that it would cost 2,200 pounds, prompting her to withdraw from the trade.

Chapter Summary: “Poverty”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xio nearly offers her newly acquired materials to Abner but decides against it, recognizing that wasting them would hinder the Sacrifice ritual and disrespect Mr. Fool.
• Abner apologizes to Alger for previously claiming a bounty connected to their earlier cooperation. Alger dismisses the issue, explaining that the three related bounties earned him more than a thousand pounds.
• To compensate Alger for the risks he took, Abner offers valuable information: the advancement ritual for the Sailor Pathway’s Sequence 5, Ocean Songster.
• Abner reveals that the ritual requires consuming the potion inside the body of an Obninsk, a gigantic sea monster usually controlled by the Church of Storms. Alger realizes this explains why advancement beyond Sequence 6 is so difficult for independent Sailor Pathway Beyonders.
• Abner asks the female Tarot Club members to help him obtain a sixteen-horsepower steam engine.
• Xio offers to acquire a nearly new Bolton-Donald Type 2 engine confiscated by MI9 for less than £100. Abner accepts and agrees to provide the money through a Sacrifice.
• Fors then asks the group to help her find Deep-sea Marlin blood, offering between £300 and £400.
• Alger explains that such materials are difficult to obtain at sea and are more likely to appear in major cities. Fors, realizing that money is a major obstacle to advancement, asks the group for advice on earning money.
• Abner suggests hunting pirates or wanted criminals for their bounties, but Fors recognizes the danger and abandons the idea.

Character Developments

• Abner/The Tower demonstrates generosity, strategic thinking, and his desire to strengthen his relationships within the Tarot Club. He compensates Alger while also reinforcing his reputation as a knowledgeable and useful member.
• Alger/The Hanged Man becomes increasingly interested in maintaining a close relationship with Abner, valuing his knowledge and connections more than the lost bounty. The Ocean Songster ritual gives him both encouragement and a new practical challenge.
• Fors/The Magician is shown to be financially strained. Her need for Deep-sea Marlin blood highlights how poverty limits her advancement, and her thoughts reveal insecurity about borrowing money from Xio.
• Xio/Judgment acts as a practical and reliable friend by locating an affordable steam engine through her MI9 connections. Her financial awareness also shows that she understands Fors’s limited resources.
• Klein/Mr. Fool observes the members’ behavior from a distance, particularly wondering whether Abner’s generosity and displays of knowledge are part of his Acting method.
• Audrey/Justice remains curious and attentive but lacks the technical knowledge needed to help with the steam engine.

Significant Themes

• Poverty and financial barriers: The chapter emphasizes that advancement as a Beyonder requires not only talent and materials but also substantial wealth. Fors’s difficulty obtaining a relatively common ingredient illustrates how money restricts opportunity.
• Mutual aid and transactional friendship: Abner’s compensation to Alger shows how practical exchanges can deepen genuine friendships. The Tarot Club members increasingly rely on one another for resources, information, and connections.
• Knowledge as power: Abner’s information about the Ocean Songster ritual is extremely valuable, allowing him to repay Alger and enhance his reputation simultaneously.
• Institutional monopolies: The Church of Storms’ control over Obninsk explains why it dominates higher-level Sailor Pathway advancement and why pirates rarely reach Sequence 5.
• Risk versus reward: Bounty hunting offers significant income but exposes Beyonders to deadly danger, while acquiring materials often requires navigating powerful organizations and scarce markets.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Alger move from settling an old dispute to reinforcing mutual trust through compensation and gratitude.
• Xio supports Abner by arranging the purchase of the steam engine and implicitly supports Fors by being a potential source of borrowed money.
• Fors seeks help from the entire group, but her request exposes how limited everyone’s resources may be.
• Alger’s discussion of the maritime material market unintentionally leaves Fors without an easy solution, prompting her frustrated question about making money.
• The group’s silence in response to Fors’s question creates a humorous but revealing moment: even among powerful Beyonders, financial hardship is widespread.

Chapter Summary: “Klein Takes the Blame”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Alger reports that, while investigating Vice Admiral of Ailment, he discovered a man named Baelen, who may be connected to the disappearance of slaves from the colonies. Baelen has Southern Continent features, may speak with a Backlund accent, and is missing a third tooth on the left side. Alger offers at least 100 pounds for information leading to him.
• Judgment agrees to investigate, seeing the reward as valuable. Abner agrees to keep watch, while Klein privately notes that the description is too vague for effective divination.
• During the free exchange, The World introduces a rumor about Sealed Artifact 0-22, the Calamity Seal, which allegedly caused the decline of the Sauron family and indirectly helped Roselle seize power in Intis.
• The Calamity Seal is revealed to be the Sequence 1 Conqueror characteristic of the Hunter Pathway. Klein is clearly interested in the artifact and asks whether anyone knows more about it.
• Abner explains that Roselle once favored the artifact and wanted to use it as his national seal, but it mysteriously disappeared after Roselle became emperor. He does not know where it went.
• Klein then raises the subject of the West Balam Shipyard explosion, intending for Judgment to explain the official investigation and the arrest of Kaspars.
• Judgment claims that the explosion resulted from a clash between Beyonders and triggered secondary explosions that destroyed goods worth tens of thousands of pounds, including steam engines meant for Abner.
• Klein privately knows this account is false, since he caused the explosion and knows the warehouse did not contain the goods described. The chapter’s title refers to the way the official story shifts responsibility onto him and others rather than exposing the true circumstances.
• Judgment adds that MI9 and the Machinery Hivemind arrested several arms dealers but failed to find the source of the explosives.

Character Developments

• Alger continues investigating the slave-trading network and shows willingness to challenge powerful figures indirectly, despite his caution regarding Vice Admiral of Ailment.
• Judgment/Xio becomes more active in pursuing leads and handling official explanations. She is also increasingly constrained by her position within the authorities, especially when Alger criticizes military corruption.
• Abner/The Tower demonstrates his knowledge of Roselle-era history and carefully conceals the true source of his information. He also notices inconsistencies surrounding the Calamity Seal and suspects Klein may have discovered new information.
• Klein/The Fool is increasingly concerned with the Calamity Seal, especially its disappearance and possible connection to deeper secrets. He also manipulates the conversation to obtain an official account of the shipyard incident without revealing his own involvement.
• Fors/The Magician remains curious and imaginative, reacting strongly to the rumors about Roselle and viewing the story as potential material for her writing.
• Audrey/The Justice continues to ask perceptive questions and is shocked by the extent of official corruption.
• Klein’s internal perspective shows his growing difficulty in maintaining the separation between his identities and his awareness that official institutions can distort events to protect themselves.

Significant Themes

• Misinformation and scapegoating: The authorities disguise the truth of the shipyard explosion and effectively shift blame onto the weaker side involved, while Klein knows the official version is fabricated.
• Political corruption: Alger’s comment about overpriced supplies, including toilet paper costing one pound, highlights embezzlement and abuse within the Kingdom’s military.
• The danger of powerful artifacts: The Calamity Seal is portrayed as an object capable of influencing the downfall of royal families and entire nations.
• Hidden histories and incomplete knowledge: The Tarot Club members possess fragmented information, and even their strongest deductions remain uncertain.
• Information as power: Members exchange clues, rumors, and official reports while concealing their own involvement and motives.
• The tension between truth and narrative: The same event—the shipyard explosion—has a private truth known to Klein and a public version constructed by the authorities.

Important Character Interactions

• Alger recruits the entire gathering to watch for Baelen, while Judgment immediately considers the financial reward.
• The World prompts the group to discuss the Calamity Seal, leading Abner to contribute carefully selected information.
• Fors asks follow-up questions about the artifact, giving Abner an opportunity to explain its disappearance.
• Klein uses The World to steer the discussion toward the shipyard explosion, deliberately prompting Judgment to provide MI9’s account.
• Judgment’s explanation provokes reactions from Fors, Audrey, and Alger: Fors focuses on the lost goods, Audrey is disturbed by the corruption, and Alger openly mocks military profiteering.
• Xio ends the discussion by reporting that the authorities arrested arms dealers but still could not identify the explosives’ true source, preserving the official cover story.

Chapter Summary: “Fool and Amon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tarot Club gathering concludes after the Hanged Man shares information about Bayam. Klein remains concerned about Kaspars’s arrest but decides to investigate further later.
• After the meeting, Klein sends the 100-pound payment for the steam-engine materials and the “Gondola’s Golden Wings” to Miss Judgment.
• Before Klein can divine Kaspars’s condition, the Sun prays to him. Derrick has attempted to contact the former exploration team captain in City of Silver’s prison, only to receive a suspicious response from behind him.
• Through the Sun’s prayer, Klein discovers that an invisible figure resembling Amon—wearing a black robe, pointed hat, and crystal monocle—is wrapped around Derrick’s spirit body.
• Klein realizes that the figure is likely an avatar of Amon, the Sequence 1 Worm of Time. Because the captain has been imprisoned for forty-two years, Klein concludes that he is probably not Amon’s main body.
• Klein suspects Amon intends to “inhabit” Derrick and use the next Tarot Club gathering to infiltrate the mysterious space above the gray fog. He fears that Amon might steal control of the space—or even transform Klein himself into an avatar.
• Klein devises a purification plan using the high-level nature of the Black Emperor card, a Mystical Pact with Derrick, and the power above the gray fog. Derrick follows Klein’s instructions and cooperates.
• The purification succeeds: Amon’s illusory figure disappears from around Derrick.
• Meanwhile, in Bayam, Abner and Helene finish constructing a mystical workshop. Abner plans to use Helene’s Pyromaniac abilities instead of coal to power its steam engine.
• The chapter ends with Amon standing in an unknown dark location. He realizes that Klein has intervened and knowingly murmurs, “Fool!”

Character Developments

• Klein: Becomes highly alarmed by Amon’s potential infiltration but reacts quickly and strategically. His fear highlights both the danger Amon poses and Klein’s growing ability to protect the Tarot Club and the gray-fog space.
• Derrick/Sun: Demonstrates trust and obedience by immediately reporting the strange presence attached to him and following Klein’s ritual instructions. His straightforwardness unintentionally prevents Amon’s covert plan.
• Amon: Is revealed to be actively testing ways to reach the space above the gray fog. Even after his avatar is purified, his final reaction shows that he has identified Klein as his opponent and is not discouraged.
• Abner: Recognizes the vast gap between his own strength and that of major supernatural powers such as Amon and the Fool’s enemies. This strengthens his determination to advance his Sequence.
• Helene: Continues assisting Abner with the workshop while displaying her sharp, provocative personality. She is surprised—and annoyed—when Abner treats her as a living power source.

Significant Themes

• Infiltration and hidden threats: Amon’s attempt to conceal himself within Derrick emphasizes that danger can arise from unnoticed manipulation rather than direct attack.
• Trust and cooperation: Derrick’s immediate communication with Klein is crucial to defeating Amon’s avatar, showing the importance of the Tarot Club’s mutual reliance.
• Power and vulnerability: Even Klein, who commands the mysterious space above the gray fog, fears that Amon might steal or corrupt it. The chapter stresses how fragile power can be against an opponent with Amon’s abilities.
• Rivalry between the Fool and Amon: The conflict shifts from indirect schemes to open recognition. Amon now understands that the Fool is actively opposing him.
• Ambition and self-improvement: Abner’s awareness of his limitations motivates him to pursue greater strength, reflecting the broader struggle among Beyonders to survive in a dangerous world.

Important Character Interactions

• Klein and Derrick: Klein receives Derrick’s warning through prayer, gives him ritual instructions, and successfully removes Amon’s avatar.
• Derrick and Amon’s avatar: Derrick unknowingly carries Amon’s parasitic presence while attempting to question the imprisoned captain.
• Klein and Amon: Although they do not meet directly, Klein foils Amon’s plan, and Amon recognizes the intervention by calling out “Fool.”
• Abner and Helene: Their workshop-building scene mixes practical cooperation with playful antagonism, especially over Helene’s role in powering the steam engine.

Chapter Summary: “All Parties”

Plot Points and Events

• Leonard Mitchell travels through Ningye Town near the Church of Tranquility, intending to return to the Holy Cathedral. He briefly encounters a formally dressed man who seems familiar, though Leonard cannot identify him.
• Leonard’s mysterious inner companion, the “old man” inhabiting his body, reveals that an unseen woman was accompanying the man. She is identified as a Saint of the Spectator Pathway, capable of making others psychologically overlook her presence.
• The formally dressed man is revealed to be Dunn Smith in disguise. He is investigating a murderer responsible for killing forty-three people.
• Dunn meets “Miss Closia,” secretly the Earth Mother Church’s Saint known as Miss Sloth. She explains that the murderer is hiding in Ningye Town and has avoided arrest because he is publicly a wealthy, influential believer of the Evernight Goddess. The Church cannot act without proof, so Dunn must serve as the “Hero of Justice.”
• Because the investigation occurs near the Church of Evernight’s Holy Cathedral, Miss Sloth cannot directly assist Dunn and gives him only five minutes to act. Dunn attacks the murderer using a Light Storm and interrogates him with a Guidance charm.
• The murderer confesses that he killed his partners and their families after discovering possible Dragon ruins near Indo Port in Feysac. He wanted to monopolize the treasure within, but the ruins were protected by a ritual involving Brilliant Five-Colored Stones. He fled to Ningye Town to repent near the Goddess.
• Dunn extracts the location and details of the ruins, then kills the man. The dream-like scene resets, concealing the supernatural confrontation and leaving the murderer dead peacefully. Dunn records the crime and departs before a Red Gloves team arrives.
• In Backlund, Jane visits Maric at the Bravehearts Bar and takes a Zombie’s seat during a poker game. Maric is surprised to learn that she has advanced from Spirit Medium to Spirit Guide and can now control Zombies.
• Jane asks about Sharron, who has been away frequently. She explains that she will soon travel to the Southern Continent on a mission for “that lady” and offers to help Maric and Sharron.
• Maric asks Jane to visit the families of several former companions who helped him and Sharron escape the Rose School. Jane agrees to deliver aid if possible.
• At MI9 headquarters, a senior member of the Loen royal family gives Princess Vera a mission involving the transportation of an important item to the Southern Continent. Vera will act as bait, accompanied secretly by the Saint Georgina and other decoys.
• Vera learns that the shipment will depart from Pritz Harbor at noon on Thursday and that she may bring no more than ten subordinates. The mission may provide enough merit for her to apply for the Imperative Mage potion.

Character Developments

• Leonard Mitchell: His memory continues to deteriorate or become unreliable, causing him to mistake strangers for familiar people. He has grown more aware of supernatural abilities such as psychological concealment and appears increasingly accustomed to relying on the “old man” within him.
• Dunn Smith: Dunn is shown operating independently and covertly in a heroic, justice-oriented role. He demonstrates investigative skill, restraint, and a willingness to kill when necessary, while gathering valuable information about potentially dangerous Dragon ruins.
• Miss Sloth/Closia: She acts as an indirect ally and organizer, using Dunn as her agent because she cannot personally intervene near the Evernight Cathedral. Her relationship with an Evernight servant suggests cooperation between influential figures despite tensions between their Churches.
• Jane: She has advanced rapidly to Sequence 6, becoming a Spirit Guide capable of manipulating Zombies. Her emotional recovery after the battle with the Rose School has made her more open and considerate toward Maric and Sharron.
• Maric: He remains guarded but shows lingering loyalty and gratitude toward his former companions. His request that Jane help their families reveals his sense of responsibility and unresolved concern for those left behind.
• Sharron: Though absent, her frequent activities suggest she is deeply involved in current plans or missions. Her importance to Maric and Jane remains evident.
• Princess Vera: She is practical, perceptive, and willing to recognize the danger of acting as bait. The mission offers her a major opportunity to gain the contributions needed for advancement.
• The “old man”: He continues to guide Leonard and demonstrates extensive knowledge of Beyonder abilities, including the Spectator Pathway’s concealment techniques.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus institutional restrictions: Dunn must act because the murderer’s influence and public reputation prevent the Church from prosecuting him openly.
• Covert cooperation between factions: Representatives of different Churches and organizations quietly work together despite political and religious tensions.
• Redemption and punishment: The murderer claims to have sought repentance, but his confession reveals that his remorse does not erase his crimes. Dunn provides both judgment and a final, peaceful death.
• Loyalty and obligation: Maric’s concern for the families of his former allies shows how bonds forged during survival continue to shape the characters’ actions.
• Concealment and deception: Psychological invisibility, disguises, secret identities, decoys, and bait operations dominate the chapter, emphasizing the clandestine nature of the Beyonder world.
• Advancement and growing power: Jane’s rapid promotion and Vera’s pursuit of the Imperative Mage potion highlight the characters’ ongoing progression and the risks associated with acquiring greater strength.
• The dangers of forbidden knowledge: The Dragon ruins and their protective ritual introduce a potentially significant threat and future mystery.

Important Character Interactions

• Leonard speaks with the old man about the hidden Spectator Saint and the limits of her concealment ability.
• Dunn and Miss Sloth discuss the murderer’s location, the Church’s political constraints, and Dunn’s five-minute window to act.
• Dunn interrogates the dying murderer, learning about the Dragon ruins and the Brilliant Five-Colored Stones.
• Jane and Maric exchange news about her advancement and Sharron’s absence.
• Jane offers practical assistance to Maric and Sharron, while Maric entrusts her with the names and addresses of their former companions’ families.
• Princess Vera challenges the royal agent about using her as bait, then accepts the mission after learning that Saint Georgina will protect her.