Chapter Summaries

Abner made Margaret his believer and planned to have her manage a charity foundation, while Bernadette successfully advanced to deity and began investigating the Pale Death mask. Back in Backlund, Abner noticed Bernadette’s new imprint and was interrupted by a visitor named Lamia.

• Abner used a Secret Art to make Margaret his devout believer and assigned her to manage the Film Company’s Charity Foundation.
• Bernadette resisted the Hidden Sage’s interference with help from the Pale Death mask and successfully became a deity.
• Bernadette used her Eyes of Mystery Prying to examine the Pale Death mask and wondered whether it was connected to a hidden existence her father had mentioned.
• Abner returned Margaret to Alvin’s Quiz Maze, reflected on his gains and losses, and noticed a new imprint in the Land of Unknown.
• A servant told Abner that an old acquaintance named Lamia had come to visit.

Abner asked Lilith why she had avoided him before he crossed the Sequence 3 threshold, and she explained that his connection to the Unknown could have exposed Amanises’s plan. He realized that a chain of seemingly unrelated misfortunes had helped conceal his advancement and served as the key to a scheme involving several major factions.

• Abner recognized that Lilith was using Lamia’s appearance and learned that Suah had taken Lamia’s body.
• Lilith explained that Abner’s advancement to Sequence 3 connected him to the Unknown, and that she had avoided him to protect Amanises’s plan.
• Abner asked whether the Black Saintess’s appearance at the House Hall banquet had been more than coincidence.
• Abner reasoned that his bad luck, his battle with the Glorious One, and the use of the Wheel of Fortune’s Unique had helped conceal his later advancement.
• Abner concluded that the Church of Storms’s Sea Monster Extermination Battle and other events had placed a negative bad-luck effect on him as part of a wider scheme.

Abner realized Lilith and the Evernight Goddess could not openly explain their plans because doing so might alert the Unknown, and he reaffirmed that he did not want to merge with Liu Bo. Lilith rewarded him by reshaping his troublesome living scepter into a controllable, evolving Rose-themed combat aid.

• Abner inferred that the Unknown’s warning system did not treat him as an enemy and decided to investigate its secrets himself rather than merge with Liu Bo.
• Lilith told Abner that Amanises had said Alvin hid the general direction of the Secret Art in his Quiz Maze.
• Abner learned that Lilith and the Evernight Goddess had not planned the Trier Earthquake, and he suspected Ialdabaoth was connected to the Unknown.
• Lilith offered to modify the mischievous scepter Abner had created from the creature obtained after fighting a Glorious One in Groselle’s Travels.
• Lilith transformed the scepter into a Rose-themed being with several evolving forms and revealed that a God of Luck had once proposed the image as Rose Redemption’s emblem.

The Soren Family and Loen’s royal family assessed the upheaval in Intis and the forces involved in stopping the Abyss. After Abner reflected on the God of Luck’s past, someone pulled his projection from the Historical Void.

• Hiri Soren ordered the family to focus on securing control of the army and to support the Sari Family in the struggle for political power, while warning them not to target Helene’s Film Company because Abner Brain had her back.
• Tust told Hiri that Bernadette would not cooperate with the Churches and had likely acted to protect her homeland; Hiri revealed that the Ancestor had ordered him to take Abner seriously.
• George III and the Augustus family identified Roselle’s children, a Historical Projection of Rhine Calendia, and Vincent Miranda as figures involved in stopping the Abyss, then decided to seek information from Owen.
• Abner tested the chopsticks-shaped scepter, reflected on the God of Luck’s ties to Rose Redemption, and sensed someone pulling his projection from the Historical Void.

Klein and Alger escaped Primordial Island after a powerful Six-Winged Gargoyle overwhelmed them, while Abner’s Historical Projection defeated the creature and discovered a mural depicting the Oldest One witnessing Liu Bo’s Transmigration. Abner realized his Transmigration had given birth to the concept of the Unknown, then his projection vanished and he collapsed at home, where Xio caught him.

• Klein and Alger explored Primordial Island, obtained the Tyrant Card of Blasphemy, and fled the Six-Winged Gargoyle by summoning Abner’s Historical Projection and teleporting away.
• The island vanished from the sea, and Klein went Above the Gray Fog to confirm that Abner was safe before dividing the spoils.
• Abner analyzed the Six-Winged Gargoyle’s weakness, struck the spot Klein had damaged with a flaming spear, and killed it after a bullet exploded inside its chest.
• Abner entered the church and saw a mural showing the Oldest One awakening and encountering someone who looked exactly like Liu Bo before his Transmigration.
• Abner concluded that his Transmigration had created the concept of the Unknown, then his projection disappeared and he collapsed in Backlund as Xio caught him.

Abner recovered from fainting and theorized that the Unknown was an empty shell seeking characteristics and power, while Lilith explained that Adam had shown him the mural to help him. Later, Klein attended Senator Macht’s ball and noticed Aaron Ceres and his pregnant wife, prompting an idea.

• Xio carried the dazed Abner to bed, told him she had fought Trissy while tracking Shermane, and gave him a potion Darkwill had asked her to deliver.
• Abner destroyed the potion to prove his innocence, then pondered the church murals and concluded that the Unknown sought to become a Great Old One by gathering characteristics, Uniquenesses, and a Sefirah through his incarnations.
• Abner suspected that the God of Knowledge was restricting his Eyes of Wisdom and wondered why Adam had shown him the mural.
• Lilith secretly reasoned that Adam had arranged for Abner to see the mural as compensation and to help him learn about the Unknown.
• Klein attended Senator Macht’s ball with Sharron and Ludwell, greeted Aaron Ceres and his pregnant wife, and felt an idea stir.

Klein spoke with Will Auceptin about Bernadette’s offer and learned that Sharron had been secretly marked by the Mother Tree of Desire. Will explained that Klein could protect Sharron once he became a Demigod, leaving Klein resolved to advance quickly and aware that Sharron cared deeply for him.

• Klein told Will Auceptin that Bernadette offered either a look at the Wheel of Fortune card or a way to briefly recover strength, and Will chose the second offer as another method to prepare for his birth.
• Will told Klein that Bernadette had become a Sequence 2 Sage after helping prevent a catastrophe in Trier, and asked Klein to congratulate her and invite her to join them.
• Will warned Klein that Sharron had been marked through the Succubus once carried by Creeping Hunger, but said the source had been removed and the mark was not serious.
• Will explained that Klein could protect Sharron by becoming a Demigod and drawing more power from Sefirah Castle, while advising him to maintain restraint around her.
• Klein thanked Will and resolved to become a Demigod as soon as possible; Will left after asking Klein to bring him ice cream from the Witch Gourmet Restaurant when visiting his father.

Klein worried about Sharron’s unexplained corruption by the Mother Tree of Desire and learned that becoming a Demigod was the only reliable way to resolve it. At the Tarot Club, Klein received Roselle’s Diary pages containing Dragon Race information and the Dreamwalker and Manipulator potion formulas.

• Klein learned that Sharron expected to finish digesting her Marionette Potion in six to ten months, but found no trace of the Mother Tree of Desire’s influence when he examined her Above the Gray Fog.
• Klein asked Reinette Tinekerr for an immediate way to help Sharron, and she said Sefirah Castle or the Unknown were the only reliable options besides Klein becoming a Demigod.
• Abner prepared to attend the Tarot Club meeting with an Eye of Wisdom, keeping his advancement to Sequence 3 secret while he researched Soul Stones and a resurrection method.
• Audrey submitted three pages of Roselle’s Diary, and Klein found that two contained information about the Dragon Race and the Sequence 5 Dreamwalker and Sequence 4 Manipulator potion formulas.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Klein traded Beyonder Characteristics and arranged deals while revealing that Queen Mystic had become an Angel. The members examined a mural of the Betrayal Banquet, and Abner identified the infant depicted as the True Creator.

• Klein showed the Tyrant Card of Blasphemy and told Cattleya to congratulate Queen Mystic on becoming an Angel.
• The World offered Alger an Ocean Songster Characteristic to turn into a portable Mystical Item and offered Abner a choice of Sequence 5 Characteristics to settle his debt.
• Abner chose the Gatekeeper Characteristic, while Audrey bought the ingredient she needed to advance to Sequence 6.
• The World agreed to provide Cattleya with Mythical Creature Blood in early July and asked her for the Savant Pathway’s Sequence 8 formula and Characteristic in return.
• Alger and the World showed the Tarot Club the Betrayal Banquet mural, and Abner identified the infant in it as the True Creator.

Abner explained that the True Creator was the Ancient Sun God’s last contingency, reborn from his corpse with the Beyonder Characteristics of the Hanged Man Pathway and the Authority of Fallen. He said the God of Luck had belonged to Rose Redemption and that he had recently explored the god’s ruins, leaving the Tarot Club with answers—and new questions—about the Ancient Sun God’s fall.

• Derrick asked whether the True Creator was Dark Angel Sasrir, and Abner explained that both were parts of the Creator who had been devoured, though they were not the same.
• With Mr. Fool’s permission, Abner asked the Tarot Club members to gather fifty to a hundred people to make wishes to him within a month; he let Derrick defer his condition because of the City of Silver’s circumstances.
• Abner revealed that the Ancient Sun God created Sasrir from his own darkness and a rib, then allowed Sasrir and the other angelic Kings and gods to assassinate him as part of a plan to shed corruption.
• Abner said the three gods betrayed the Ancient Sun God, who was devoured, and that the pitch-black infant True Creator had formed from his extreme emotions and inherited the Hanged Man Pathway’s Characteristics and the Authority of Fallen.
• Cattleya asked whether absorbing adjacent Pathway Characteristics and Authorities caused the Ancient Sun God’s corruption, and Sharron connected his attempt to surpass the True Gods with the God of Death’s madness and the Pale Disaster.
• When Derrick asked how he had learned the secrets, Abner said the God of Luck had belonged to Rose Redemption and that he had recently explored the god’s ruins.

At the Tarot Club, Abner arranged investigations and psychiatric treatment, then told Klein about Adam’s intervention and the events in Trier. After the gathering, Medea delivered Princess Vera’s invitation for Abner to visit her that night.

• Abner asked Derrick to question the City of Silver’s leaders about the former Chief’s mausoleum and passed along information about the True Creator as leverage.
• Audrey agreed to treat three former Beyonders suffering psychological problems, while Cattleya agreed to look for news about the Death Announcer.
• Klein warned the Tarot Club members not to recall or draw the mural they had seen in the Real World, and the gathering ended.
• Above the Gray Fog, Abner advised Klein that Sharron’s corruption by the Mother Tree of Desire would likely require Mr. Fool’s recovery to resolve, and explained Adam’s role on Primordial Island.
• Abner recounted how he and Bernadette saved Trier, including his share of the Delien Family’s wealth and collection.
• Medea visited Abner in his bedroom and told him that Princess Vera hoped he would visit her that night.

Princess Vera told Abner that George III wanted her to arrange a meeting with Owen and explained her plans to claim the throne and perform a Heaven-Sacrificing Ritual. She also revealed that she had learned Queen Mystic possessed the Magic Wishing Lamp, then began to introduce the third matter.

• Vera summoned Abner to her bedroom and told him George III had asked her to arrange a meeting with Owen of Lust.
• Abner agreed to meet George III, reasoning that refusing could expose him and put Vera under suspicion.
• Vera explained that she planned to become queen and perform a Heaven-Sacrificing Ritual to gain greater authority, with Prince Mountbatten as an alternative.
• Vera said the ritual’s success depended on whether Abner became a god, since otherwise she might be exiled like Mr. Door.
• Vera told Abner that the Trier incident had revealed Queen Mystic possessed the Magic Wishing Lamp, but she could not take it while Queen Mystic was involved.

Abner discussed Vera’s plans to obtain Bernadette’s Magic Wishing Lamp and the approaching Spectral Empire, while Cattleya received the Queen’s warning about Frank. The Future encountered the Death Announcer, and Abner arrived just in time to be sprayed with milk and fish.

• Abner agreed to ask Bernadette to trade the Magic Wishing Lamp to Vera, who offered to protect Bernadette on a visit to Roselle.
• Vera told Abner that the Spectral Empire would return near mid-June and gave him a ring to wear aboard it so she could learn its route.
• Cattleya read the Queen’s letter, learned that Frank could advance to Druid but should not gain Divinity, and went to find him.
• The Death Announcer appeared beside the Future, and Cattleya ordered the crew to prepare for battle before realizing Frank might have left his experimental specimens unsecured.
• Abner traveled to the Future through the Spirit World and was greeted by a spray of milk and fish.

Abner rescued the Future from the mushrooms by using Rosemon’s power, then secretly boarded the Death Announcer and uncovered the identity of the being within it. The chapter left Abner confronting Gaunt, a Subsidiary God of the Mutant King Kvastir.

• Abner used the little scepter to summon Rosemon, who made the mushrooms covering the Future wither away.
• Cattleya noticed The Tower disappear after the Death Announcer fled, while Frank decided to become a Druid and Cattleya ordered him to clean the ship.
• Agalito obeyed his Lord’s order to abandon the hunt for Cattleya and the Future.
• Abner revealed that the figure aboard the Future had been an illusion and that his real body had secretly boarded the Death Announcer.
• Abner used Insight to discover that the Death Announcer was Gaunt, the War God and a Subsidiary God of Kvastir.

Abner subdued the Death Announcer by restoring Gaunt, the former War God, to an unknown connection, then visited Cattleya to apologize for Rose’s influence. He gave Cattleya the severed head of Agalito, leaving her shocked that the King of Immortality had been killed.

• The Death Announcer recognized Abner as Oliver Constantine and raged over the grudge it held against him.
• Abner used the God of Luck’s hidden measure to reconnect Gaunt’s Evil Spirit with the unknown, cutting off the Death Announcer’s control over emotion and its subordinates.
• Abner used the Death Announcer’s name to order the King of Immortality and his subordinates to slaughter one another.
• Abner arrived aboard the Future with Rose and apologized to Cattleya for Rose’s influence over her actions.
• Abner handed Cattleya Agalito’s severed head, and she recognized the King of Immortality and asked if he had killed him.

Abner showed Cattleya Agalito’s head, then told her a story in exchange for wine and revealed that the Death Announcer was inside a bottle. After studying it, he understood the framework of the God of Luck’s reincarnation system and connected Alvin Abraham’s six riddles to a Secret Art he planned to finish developing by Thursday.

• Abner offered Cattleya Agalito’s head, but she declined the bounty and asked him to tell her more mystical stories instead.
• Abner showed Cattleya the Death Announcer inside a wine bottle and began telling her the story of “Dream Dragon-Slaying.”
• Abner studied the Death Announcer and learned how the God of Luck’s Soul Stone Reincarnation system had helped Liu Bo escape Unknown’s control.
• Abner realized Alvin Abraham’s six riddles described the framework of a Secret Art that could resurrect a caster while making the caster’s consciousness dominant over the earlier Liu Bos.
• Abner concluded that he could complete the Secret Art by Thursday with the help of many Eyes of Wisdom.

Abner worried that the influence of Unknown could change who he was, but Xio and Fors reassured him and restored his confidence. After secretly witnessing Audrey treat Difo and Darcy, Abner went to St. Samuel Cathedral to begin the plan to resurrect Alvin Abraham by entering the Nation of the Evernight through Sealed Artifact 0-17.

• Abner reflected on the God of Luck’s behavior and feared that Unknown might alter his future personality.
• Xio and Fors joined Abner on the villa roof, promised to search for him if he changed, and comforted him.
• Abner realized that the Death Announcer had used their connection to shake his confidence, then felt reassured by his friends.
• Difo and Darcy visited Escalante, where Audrey used the Fallen Box to draw them into a dream and treat them.
• Abner saw Difo and Darcy begin to weep with relief, then headed to St. Samuel Cathedral to pursue Alvin Abraham’s resurrection.
• Abner concluded that he needed to enter the Nation of the Evernight again by infiltrating Chanis Gate and contacting Sealed Artifact 0-17.

Abner entered St. Samuel Cathedral’s sealed underground and encountered the Goddess’s descent vessel, who brought him to Misty Town. There, the Goddess revealed that she had known his former self, the God of Luck, and offered to help him deal with the Monster created by Zaratul’s Mutation.

• Abner used the Goddess’s blessing and his abilities to pass Chanis Gate and explore the sealed area beneath St. Samuel Cathedral.
• Abner observed Sealed Artifact 1-42 but left it undisturbed, then approached Sealed Artifact 0-17, Mother of Heaven.
• Mother of Heaven erased Abner’s consciousness and transported him to Misty Town, where she revealed herself as Amanises and said they had been friends before he became the God of Luck.
• A hidden Beyonder ambushed Abner and the Goddess with Wind Blades, but Abner transformed into a Cursed Object, reflected the attack, and took the attacker’s Beyonder Characteristic.
• The Goddess told Abner that the characteristics in town were Zhou’s promised reward and that a greater inheritance awaited him.
• The Goddess explained that she had once invited the God of Luck to the Nation of the Evernight, prompting Abner to joke inwardly about the jealous women he might face if he resurrected his former self.

Abner performed the Alvin Resurrection Art, allowing Alvin’s hidden personality to reveal its plan and pass its memories to him. Abner awakened inside Alvin’s memories and began exploring a constrained memory world before he and Alvin opened their eyes in the church of Misty Town.

• The goddess released the tendrils binding Alvin, and Abner used a Secret Art and a resurrection Miracle to begin bringing him back.
• A hazy figure in Abner’s Mind Island warned that the God of Luck might resurrect through their repeated Restarts, but accepted Abner’s choice not to steal Alvin’s Fate.
• The figure vanished, and Alvin’s memories flooded into Abner, showing Alvin’s transmigration into a young Abraham Family Scribe in the Fifth Epoch.
• Abner explored the memory world, discovered that its people and events repeated until he advanced the plot, and used the illusory All-Seeing Eye and the Wheel of Fortune’s Unique to find a clue.
• Abner and Alvin awoke together in the church of Misty Town, and Abner identified himself to the goddess.

Abner spoke with the goddess about Sia Palenque Eggers, her plans concerning Calderón City, and the use of Zaratul’s projection to mislead their enemies. After securing the Miracle Invoker ingredients, Abner and Alvin went to the Hornacis Mountain Range, where Alvin began drinking the potion before the watching world.

• The goddess confirmed that Sia Palenque Eggers had been her incarnation and explained why she had revealed secrets about the River of Eternal Darkness to draw the God of Combat’s attention toward Calderón City.
• Abner agreed to use Zaratul’s assimilated projection as a quest NPC for Zhou and to help create the illusion that Zaratul had been released.
• With the goddess keeping the out-of-control Zaratul asleep, Abner repeatedly used a Secret Art to steal a Sequence 2 Beyonder Characteristic, then received Antigonus’s blood from her.
• Abner prepared the Miracle Invoker Potion, released Zaratul’s Historical Projection, and accepted the goddess’s warning that it was not yet time for Vincent to resurrect.
• Abner and Alvin appeared atop the Hornacis Mountain Range, where Abner broadcast their presence to Angels and higher-level beings around the world.
• Alvin Abraham drank the Miracle Invoker Potion before the gathered Abraham Family members.