Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The Situation in Feysac and an Archaeologist's Acting”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the Descent of the Abyss, Trier’s Triumphal Arch, parliament building, and Prime Minister’s residence were destroyed. Intis temporarily moved its political center to White Maple Palace and replaced its republican system with Roselle’s earlier Consul system.
• John Fleys became the first Grand Consul. His rise was supported by the Eternal Blazing Sun Church and the Church of Steam, both of which wanted to prevent the Sauron Family from regaining power.
• Fanny, now Deputy Speaker and known publicly as the Saintess of Toulon, leaves White Maple Palace and is unexpectedly visited by Abner and Melissa.
• Abner asks Fanny about Intis’s position regarding the war involving Loen, Feysac, Feynapotter, and Lenburg. Fanny explains that nearly all parliamentarians favor war, differing only over whether Intis should support the northern coalition or join Feysac against Loen.
• Abner implies that war will likely harm Intis and encourages Fanny to maintain her anti-war position, which may eventually benefit her politically.
• At Fanny’s villa, Abner, Fanny, and Melissa enter a hidden Mirror World containing Fanny’s collection of antiques.
• Abner explains that the antiques contain Historical or Civilization Imprints. He gives Melissa special starlight tweezers and assigns her the task of removing those imprints, allowing her to gain valuable Acting experience as an Archaeologist.
• Abner plans to replace Fanny’s troublesome Staff of Life and then collect the “reward” Fanny promised him.

Character Developments

• Fanny has matured into a capable politician. As Deputy Speaker and a former Saintess, she understands the political implications of maintaining a pro-peace stance and shows confidence in her growing power as a Baron of Corruption.
• Abner continues acting as a mentor and strategist. He carefully analyzes Intis’s political situation, supports Fanny’s political survival, and helps Melissa advance her Sequence through practical experience.
• Melissa displays greater determination and a desire for strength after recalling the deaths and injuries caused by air raids. She eagerly accepts Abner’s task and begins Acting seriously as an Archaeologist.
• John Fleys’s election reflects the Fleys Family’s strengthened position after the political conflict surrounding Johnsen Fules’s death and the weakening of the Delien and Sauron Families.

Significant Themes

• Political upheaval and manipulation: Intis’s political reforms and the Grand Consul election reveal how the Churches and powerful families influence government.
• The inevitability and human cost of war: Melissa’s question about why war must occur contrasts with the political warmongering in parliament. Abner suggests that the conflict is driven by forces beyond ordinary people, including the Gods.
• Power through patience and positioning: Fanny’s anti-war stance may appear politically isolated, but Abner believes it will eventually benefit her if Intis suffers from entering the conflict.
• Acting and experiential advancement: Melissa’s archaeological work demonstrates that Acting involves directly engaging with the concepts and experiences represented by a pathway. Removing Historical Imprints allows her to understand and embody the Archaeologist role.
• Modernity and cultural influence: Fanny’s business attire and luxury stockings show how Abner’s film industry is shaping fashion and creating profitable new industries.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Fanny: They share a close, trusting relationship. Abner advises Fanny on politics, jokes about the Staff of Life’s effects, and offers to replace it with a safer protective item.
• Abner and Melissa: Abner acts as Melissa’s teacher and assigns her a practical Acting exercise using the antique collection. Melissa accepts with new resolve.
• Fanny and Melissa: They greet each other warmly but remain acquaintances rather than close friends. Melissa is initially confused about why Abner brought her to Trier.
• Melissa and Abner: Their discussion of war reveals Melissa’s growing concern for ordinary victims, while Abner responds with grim awareness of the supernatural forces driving the conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Spy Family”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Melissa finishes removing the “civilization imprints” from the antiques, Abner takes her to several important figures to collect additional Historical Imprints:
  • Daphne, vice president of the Secret Order.
  • Selo Delien, the controller of the Men in Black, whose body is occupied by the former pope of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
  • Helene, at the Braine Film Company.
• At Helene’s office, they discuss the company’s performance during the ongoing war. Although growth in box-office revenue has slowed, Abner believes films will remain popular as inexpensive entertainment.
• Abner outlines plans to distribute Beldan’s war films differently across nations:
  • Patriotic resistance films in Loen and Lenburg.
  • Conquest-themed epics in Feysac.
  • Anti-war films in Feynapotter.
  • Politically neutral commercial war films in Intis.
• Helene reveals that the company is facing harassment from jealous rivals. Using Insight, Abner determines that these attacks are being directed by Intis’s Chief Consul, John Fleys.
• Fleys suspects Abner, Helene, and Fanny of being connected to his missing son, Johnsen. Abner concludes that Fleys has already harmed innocent people during his investigation and decides that the simplest solution is to replace him—by assassinating him.
• Abner plans to strike when Fleys leaves Trier, avoiding an assassination in the capital that might provoke a divine response. Helene agrees to monitor his schedule. Abner also intends to have an elite Assassin team divert suspicion toward the Aurora Order.
• Once Melissa finishes her work, Abner restores her energy through a wish and sends her back to Backlund, replacing her with the personality avatar that had been impersonating her.
• The chapter ends on Sonia Island, where Dunn and Daly celebrate the birth of their daughter. They name her Anya, choosing a name suited to the island rather than the more Loenese “Rozanne.”

Character Developments

• Abner continues to expand his influence through Historical Imprints, political maneuvering, and control of the film industry. He shows a pragmatic willingness to eliminate threats, even high-ranking officials, when they endanger his allies.
• Melissa demonstrates endurance and usefulness by extracting numerous imprints, though the task leaves her mentally exhausted. Abner’s concern for her well-being is shown when he arranges for her recovery.
• Helene acts as a competent and politically cautious business leader. She worries about the consequences of opposing a Chief Consul but trusts Abner’s judgment and agrees to assist him.
• John Fleys is presented as a desperate and increasingly dangerous father whose search for his missing son has led him to abuse his authority and target others.
• Dunn and Daly enter a new stage of life as parents. Their affectionate teasing remains intact, but their humor and priorities have softened around their newborn daughter.

Significant Themes

• Power and political manipulation: Abner treats business, intelligence, assassination, and propaganda as interconnected tools of influence.
• The uses of entertainment during war: Films can provide relief, shape public opinion, glorify conquest, or expose the brutality of conflict depending on how they are presented.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Abner justifies removing Fleys by pointing to his corruption and crimes, while also carefully planning to conceal responsibility.
• Identity and substitution: Melissa’s replacement by an avatar reflects the chapter’s recurring concern with impersonation, secret identities, and the instability of appearances.
• Family and renewal: The birth of Anya provides a warm contrast to the political intrigue and violence, emphasizing love, domestic happiness, and the possibility of a future beyond conflict.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Helene share a relationship built on trust and professional cooperation; she challenges his plans practically, while he reassures her with confidence.
• Abner and Melissa work as partners in gathering Historical Imprints, with Abner supporting her after the exhausting process.
• Dunn and Daly’s exchange over their daughter’s appearance and name highlights their affectionate marriage and familiar banter.
• The contrast between Abner’s calculated political conversation with Helene and Dunn and Daly’s joyful family scene gives the chapter both a conspiratorial and domestic tone.

Chapter Summary: “Mechanical Emperor’s Impending Advancement”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At his abandoned Bocklund Street home, Klein summons the sentient Magic Mirror Arrodes. Arrodes reveals that it is being treated as a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact because it pretended to go mad after Zaratul detected it spying on him. This was done to prevent Zaratul from capturing it and using it to learn about Klein.
• Klein asks Arrodes about Vice Admiral Dusk, Bulatov Ivan. Arrodes shows that Dusk is currently near White City, Nass, in the Gargas Archipelago. Klein suspects Dusk may be targeting a fleet associated with Queen Mystic Bernadette, possibly the fleet transporting supplies to Abner’s Floating City.
• Arrodes asks why Klein has not left Backlund. Klein answers that fleeing would not truly solve his problems. He believes he must face his fate directly, while continuing to protect Sharron, Melissa, and Benson.
• After dismissing Arrodes, Klein travels through the Spirit World using the marionette Botis.
• Meanwhile, Queen Mystic Bernadette’s Floating City, Morning Star City, relocates to the sea east of the Gargas Archipelago. Bernadette sends its new coordinates to Cattleya so the supply fleets can adjust their routes.
• Abner visits Bernadette and informs her that his preparations for advancement are nearly complete. He requests 300 milliliters of the Knowledge Elf’s blood for his ritual and confirms that they will soon travel to Observer Castle together.
• Once Abner advances to Knowledge Mentor, Morning Star City—his true body—will possess Angel-level power and will no longer require Bernadette’s protection.

Character Developments

• Klein becomes more resolved to confront danger rather than attempt to escape his destiny. His decision is motivated both by his growing understanding of fate and by his desire to protect those close to him.
• Arrodes demonstrates greater loyalty and initiative. It proactively explains its status and continues serving Klein despite the danger posed by Zaratul.
• Bernadette continues managing Morning Star City and coordinating its movements and supply operations. Her relationship with Abner remains informal and familiar, including their mutual disregard for conventional etiquette.
• Abner reaches the final stage of preparing for his advancement to Knowledge Mentor, marking a major step toward Angel-level strength.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus free will: Klein recognizes that simply fleeing Backlund may not allow him to escape the destiny surrounding him, so he chooses to confront it actively.
• Protection and responsibility: Klein’s refusal to leave is strongly tied to protecting Sharron, Melissa, and Benson.
• Power and advancement: Abner’s impending promotion emphasizes the importance of acquiring greater strength and the risks involved in climbing the pathway.
• Secrecy and surveillance: Arrodes’s danger from Zaratul and Klein’s investigation of Vice Admiral Dusk highlight the constant threat of being observed or manipulated.
• Strategic preparation: The characters carefully gather information, reposition fleets, and complete rituals before taking decisive action.

Character Interactions

• Klein and Arrodes: Their exchange combines master-servant formality with growing familiarity. Arrodes tries to please Klein and voluntarily offers additional information, while Klein uses it to investigate Dusk and assess possible threats.
• Klein and Zaratul: Although Zaratul does not appear directly, his ability to detect Arrodes’s spying reinforces his importance as a dangerous unseen opponent.
• Bernadette and Abner: Their conversation is efficient and comfortable. Abner requests the Knowledge Elf’s blood, while Bernadette prepares to relinquish responsibility for protecting Morning Star City once his advancement is complete.
• Bernadette and Cattleya: Bernadette maintains their operational connection by sending updated coordinates for the relocated Floating City and its associated supply routes.

Chapter Summary

• Plot/events: No narrative events occur. The author explains that eating spicy food caused stomach discomfort, and needing to wake up early prevented them from finishing the chapter.
• Character development: There is no character development or interaction in this installment.
• Themes: Rest, personal health, and the practical difficulty of maintaining a writing schedule. The author also emphasizes continuity by promising to resume the story tomorrow.
• Character interactions: None. The only direct reader-facing interaction is the author’s request for continued support through monthly tickets.

Chapter Summary: “Knowledge Mentor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bernadette gives Abner a vial of her own blood, fulfilling his request for the “blood of a Knowledge Elf.” Although blood is mystically dangerous to surrender, she willingly provides it, using an Invisible Servant to draw and seal it.
• Abner combines Bernadette’s blood with a Civilization Imprint and the Knowledge Mentor Beyonder Characteristic recovered from the God of Luck’s tomb. The mixture produces a bronze-colored potion.
• He invites Bernadette to witness the birth of an Angel, revealing that the potion is intended for someone else—himself.
• Abner teleports with Bernadette to the core of Morning Star City: the Myriad-Forged Divine Machine, the source of the Mechanical Emperor’s power and the foundation of the city’s four major systems.
• Abner pours the potion into the Divine Machine. The entire city freezes, and more than ten thousand residents simultaneously praise the Mechanical Emperor. Their collective faith and prayers help Abner withstand the potion’s effects.
• Abner successfully advances to the Angel level as a Knowledge Mentor. He manages the flood of knowledge by transferring it to modified souls connected to him, using their computational abilities to prevent mental overload. His experience, connection to Unknown, and existing status as a Dominator of Mysteries help him resist divine contamination.
• After advancing, Abner transforms Morning Star City into a colossal humanoid mechanical form. The city’s lower cone becomes legs, its side platforms become arms, and the Central Tower becomes a head.
• Realizing the mechanical body needs weapons or extensions for its arms, Abner releases the pirate flagships Death Announcer and Noah. Under the Mechanical Emperor’s power, they transform and attach themselves to the robot’s arms.

Character Developments

• Bernadette demonstrates deep trust in Abner by surrendering her blood despite its mystical dangers. Her curiosity also reveals her interest in witnessing Abner’s extraordinary advancement.
• Abner successfully becomes a Knowledge Mentor Angel. His mastery of knowledge, computational resources, prior advancement experience, and control over Unknown allow him to overcome the normally severe risks of Angel-level advancement.
• Abner’s relationship with Morning Star City changes: rather than merely controlling it as a city or artifact, he integrates it into a massive mechanical battle form that reflects his identity as the Mechanical Emperor.

Significant Themes

• Trust and vulnerability: Bernadette’s willingness to provide her blood symbolizes confidence in Abner despite the serious occult risks.
• Knowledge as power and burden: Abner must endure an overwhelming influx of rules and laws, but his ability to process and distribute knowledge lets him turn the burden into strength.
• Faith and divine authority: The prayers of Morning Star City’s inhabitants stabilize and empower Abner, showing how belief supports the creation and maintenance of higher beings.
• Merging mysticism and machinery: The chapter presents the Mechanical Emperor’s power as a fusion of Beyonder abilities, divine systems, advanced technology, and a transformed living city.
• Transformation and ascension: Abner’s Angel advancement is mirrored by Morning Star City’s physical conversion into a gigantic war machine.

Character Interactions

• Bernadette assists Abner directly and observes his advancement, acting as both a trusted ally and witness.
• Abner relies on the collective inhabitants of Morning Star City, whose synchronized praise provides crucial support during his advancement.
• The Mechanical Emperor’s systems respond to Abner’s ascension, while the two legendary pirate ships become extensions of his newly transformed mechanical body.

Chapter Summary: “Bestowing Authority”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the eastern Gargas Archipelago, Abner uses the transformed Morning Star City and its attached Ghost Ships to test the Knowledge Mentor’s Authority of Endowment.
• The Death Announcer fires a massive pillar of light at a hidden enemy fleet following the Queen of Stars’ squadron. The entire fleet is annihilated, its ships and crew transformed into blood and absorbed by the sea.
• Abner explains that the Knowledge Mentor can bestow “knowledge” or special abilities upon machinery, objects, and living beings. This can alter their forms, grant them powers, give them life, and even modify physical laws.
• He extends this power to Morning Star City’s mechanically modified inhabitants, allowing them to transform between mechanical bodies and human-like forms.
• Lazar is among those transformed. After more than two centuries without the ability to eat, he joyfully tastes milk candy and sheds genuine tears, praising the Mechanical Emperor.
• Other residents, including Olmos and Annik, also complete their transformations and ceremonially express their gratitude to Abner.
• Abner then gives a camera both intelligence and a mechanical body, turning it into a small Mechanical Doll. He equips it with Mystery-based abilities, effectively making it one of his followers and granting it a powerful weapon.
• Through these experiments, Abner discovers that creating an intelligent follower from an inanimate object consumes enormous Spirituality—far more than modifying followers already linked to his soul.
• He also realizes that the personalities of newly created spirits and modified followers are influenced by his own nature and tendencies.
• Finally, Abner transforms the Mechanical Emperor’s statue avatar into a human form and teleports it to Bernadette and himself, setting up the next scene.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates increasing mastery of the Knowledge Mentor and the Authority of Endowment. He moves beyond merely empowering machines, experimenting with life creation, bodily transformation, and the alteration of natural laws. He also becomes more aware of the costs and psychological consequences of his powers.
• Lazar: Experiences an emotional breakthrough after regaining the ability to taste food and temporarily return to a human appearance. His gratitude toward Abner becomes deeply personal and sincere.
• Morning Star City’s residents: Gain greater freedom and humanity through the ability to shift between mechanical and human-like forms. Their worship of Abner as the Mechanical Emperor is reinforced.
• The Mechanical Doll: Is created as a new intelligent being and follower, though its creation reveals the immense spiritual cost of bestowing life on an independent object.
• Bernadette: Does not act directly in the chapter but is positioned to interact with Abner’s newly transformed avatar at the end.

Significant Themes

• Authority and creation: The chapter explores the Knowledge Mentor’s power to “endow” beings with abilities, identity, life, and purpose.
• Technology and divinity: Machines can be transformed, animated, and even granted souls, blurring the boundaries between technology, life, and godhood.
• Humanity versus machinery: The residents’ ability to regain human forms—and Lazar’s emotional response to tasting food—emphasizes that humanity involves more than physical appearance.
• The cost of creation: Giving life and independent power to an object requires far more energy than modifying beings already connected to Abner.
• Influence and free will: Abner recognizes that the personalities of his creations are shaped by his own nature, raising questions about whether his followers possess true independence.
• Myth and pop-culture parallels: Abner compares Endowment to the AllSpark from Transformers, speculating that similar divine or technological mechanisms could explain the creation of opposing factions and vessels of resurrection in that fictional world.

Character Interactions

• Abner indirectly protects the Queen of Stars’ fleet by destroying the pursuing enemy fleet.
• His authority affects every mechanically modified resident of Morning Star City, granting them new forms and abilities.
• Lazar’s transformation produces a moment of emotional connection between the followers and their creator, as his gratitude reflects the profound impact of Abner’s power.
• Olmos, Annik, and the other residents respond collectively with reverence, strengthening their relationship with Abner as the Mechanical Emperor.
• Abner creates and empowers the Mechanical Doll, establishing a new creator-created relationship.
• The chapter ends with Abner’s human-form avatar appearing before Bernadette, preparing for their next interaction.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On Vice Admiral Dusk Bulatov’s flagship, the Glory Vessel, Bulatov learns that a newly formed special fleet led by Kampar has vanished and lost all communication.
• Bulatov and his third mate, Wycliffe “Black Fighting Cock,” speculate that the fleet may have encountered the Queen of Stars, entered the dangerous God War Ruins, or discovered some unknown threat or treasure.
• Bulatov orders two investigations:
  1. Confirm through informants whether the Queen of Stars is still attending the Moses Ascetic Order’s Pillar conference.
  2. Hire adventurers in Nass to investigate the area where Kampar’s fleet disappeared and recover any surviving belongings.
• In Backlund’s East Borough, Miss Judgment, Xio Derecha, encounters a terrified Feysac general fleeing through an alley. She stops him with an Imperative Mage ability.
• The man identifies himself as General Demitryev, an Iron-blooded Knight whose airship was shot down. He begs Xio to arrest him because a terrifying entity is pursuing him. His chief fear is a place filled with dangerous, bizarre mushrooms, implying that Klein’s recent actions have traumatized him.
• Above the Gray Fog, Klein, as The World, proposes using Abner’s Floating City to trap Vice Admiral Dusk. The plan is intended to help Klein complete the Acting ritual for the Bizarro Sorcerer Sequence and lure out Bulatov’s father, the Demon Hunter.
• Abner agrees, treating Klein’s assistance to Xio—namely, handing over Demitryev—as payment for using the Floating City. Klein then summons Alger, whose commission initiated the operation, and expects him to act as bait because Bulatov considers him an enemy.
• In Morning Star City, Bernadette sees the Mechanical Emperor, who has appeared in Abner’s form, and directly questions the relationship between Abner and the Mechanical Emperor.

Character Developments

• Bulatov is shown as cautious and methodical. Rather than reacting emotionally to the fleet’s disappearance, he orders intelligence-gathering and an independent investigation.
• Wycliffe demonstrates his reputation as a strategist and conspirator by analyzing multiple possible causes for the fleet’s disappearance.
• Xio continues acting under Klein’s instructions and successfully restrains Demitryev, though she is bewildered by how thoroughly Klein has frightened a Demigod.
• Demitryev is portrayed as pragmatic and utterly unconcerned with dignity when his life is threatened. His terror reveals the severity of whatever he encountered.
• Klein advances his plans through manipulation, delegation, and clever exchanges of favors. He uses Demitryev as both a reward for Xio and leverage in a broader trap.
• Abner remains willing to cooperate with Klein but insists on compensation and practical terms, emphasizing his independent interests.
• Alger becomes directly involved in the scheme as bait because of his past conflict with Bulatov.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and strategic planning: Nearly every major character acts through schemes, informants, traps, or indirect influence.
• Fear as a weapon: Klein’s actions have psychologically broken Demitryev, turning the powerful Iron-blooded Knight into an unwilling source of information and a potential asset.
• Information and uncertainty: The disappearance of Kampar’s fleet creates competing theories, while Bulatov’s response emphasizes the importance of verification before action.
• Interconnected identities and alliances: Abner, the Mechanical Emperor, Klein, Xio, and Alger are tied together through concealed identities, favors, and shared operations.
• Power balanced by pragmatism: Even powerful figures such as Demitryev and Abner prioritize survival or practical benefits over pride and appearances.

Character Interactions

• Bulatov and Wycliffe: They discuss the vanished fleet, with Wycliffe offering theories and Bulatov issuing measured orders.
• Xio and Demitryev: Xio captures Demitryev, while he eagerly asks to be arrested for protection from the terrifying threat pursuing him.
• Klein and Abner: Klein negotiates access to the Floating City, using Xio’s reward and Alger’s commission to justify the arrangement.
• Klein and Alger: Klein summons Alger to involve him in the trap against Bulatov, relying on Alger’s status as a former enemy.
• Bernadette and the Mechanical Emperor: Bernadette challenges the apparent connection between the Mechanical Emperor and Abner, setting up questions about their identities and relationship.

Chapter Summary: “Preparing to Enter”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner explains to Bernadette that Lucien Evans, the “Mechanical Emperor,” has become his avatar. Bernadette misunderstands this, believing Abner has assumed the Mechanical Emperor’s identity through mystical characteristics rather than realizing that Abner himself is the Mechanical Emperor.
• Bernadette agrees to visit Observer Castle after making preparations and investigating a lead concerning the “Darkness” card. Abner also informs her that Mr. Fool has accepted the remaining pages of Roselle’s Diary, though she may still have Cattleya ask Him questions under the principle of Equivalent Exchange.
• Bernadette departs using an illusion of dissolving bubbles, leaving Abner puzzled by the unusual complexity of her gaze.
• In Afternoon Town, Derrick Berg prays to Mr. Fool before joining the City of Silver’s expedition. Klein observes the team from above the gray fog and examines the distant Giant King’s Court, but its divine Twilight prevents him from seeing its details.
• Klein detects a familiar presence interfering with his vision and identifies it as the True Creator observing the expedition through Lovia. He refrains from attacking Lovia because he is uncertain of her betrayal and does not want to reveal the Fool’s weakness.
• Klein notices that Groselle, the giant guide sent by Abner, is struggling to eat wolf-fish canned food. Groselle prays to Abner, who remotely alters the food’s properties through the Mechanical Emperor’s alchemy, allowing the giant to eat it comfortably.
• Chief Colin Iliad leads the nine-person expedition, guided by Groselle, from Afternoon Town toward the Giant King’s Court.
• Within Groselle’s Travels, Abner, Alvin, and the Mechanical Emperor’s statue avatar enter Liveseyd and proceed through the Hall of Truth to the Dream Labyrinth Tower.

Character Developments

• Abner: Continues operating through multiple identities and avatars, carefully managing his growing influence. His concern for Groselle’s well-being shows a practical but considerate side.
• Bernadette: Remains cautious and methodical, preparing thoroughly before entering Observer Castle and pursuing the Darkness card clue. Her incorrect interpretation of Abner’s identity highlights how successfully he conceals the truth.
• Klein: Displays restraint and strategic judgment by refusing to attack Lovia immediately. He recognizes the True Creator as a serious threat and uses humor to manage his anxiety.
• Derrick: Shows continued faith in Mr. Fool as he prepares to enter the dangerous Giant King’s Court.
• Groselle: Functions as the expedition’s guide but also demonstrates loyalty to Abner by praying to him. His difficulty with wolf fish provides a brief humorous moment amid the tension.
• Lovia: Her prayers to the True Creator raise suspicions about her allegiance, while her actions allow the True Creator to monitor the expedition.

Significant Themes

• Identity and impersonation: Abner’s relationship with the Mechanical Emperor illustrates the blurred boundary between avatar, identity, and original self.
• Faith and competing divine influences: Mr. Fool, Abner, and the True Creator all observe or affect the expedition, creating a layered struggle for influence.
• Caution versus decisive action: Klein’s hesitation to eliminate Lovia reflects the risks of acting without certainty and the importance of preserving the Fool’s image of invulnerability.
• Observation and hidden dangers: The major figures watch events indirectly, while the expedition remains unaware of the full extent of the powers observing them.
• Humor amid danger: Klein’s “livestream” analogy and Groselle’s wolf-fish problem relieve the tension surrounding the True Creator and the expedition.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Bernadette discuss his Mechanical Emperor avatar and arrange her future visit to Observer Castle.
• Bernadette’s reaction shows mutual respect but also a major misunderstanding of Abner’s true identity.
• Klein observes Derrick, Lovia, and Groselle from above the gray fog, while the True Creator observes through Lovia.
• Groselle prays to Abner, prompting Abner to assist him remotely.
• Abner, Alvin, and the Mechanical Emperor avatar reunite inside Groselle’s Travels and advance toward the Dream Labyrinth Tower.

Chapter Summary: “Scaring Off Old Huang with Bernadette?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner enters the Dream Labyrinth Tower through the Pure White Eye, voluntarily allowing its summoning force to pull him and his Alvin and Evans avatars inside.
• He discovers that the tower’s Reward Room is essentially the Wisdom Angel’s White Tower Space, and realizes he can communicate with it directly rather than rely on its normal instructions.
• Because he previously failed the tower’s first floor, his permissions have been reduced to the fourth floor. He negotiates a loophole: instead of completing numerous tasks on each floor, he only needs to finish one task per floor.
• On the fourth floor, he enters a dream version of Backlund and is tasked with killing Panatia, the Demoness of Despair, to prevent the Great Smog Incident.
• Abner uses Insight to locate Panatia’s appearance point and arranges a confrontation between her dream phantom and the projection of his former enemy, now his repentant head maid. With Abner’s assistance and a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, Panatia is defeated almost instantly.
• Abner realizes the scenario was created from the collective dreams and wishes of Backlund’s residents and official Beyonders, suggesting that the tower can accumulate wishes through its dream tasks.
• On the third floor, he must defeat Jahn Kottman, the Sequence 3 Sea King. Rather than fight personally, Abner uses Hosenam’s projection and the Historical Projection of 0-08 to weaken and defeat him.
• The second-floor task involves rescuing Ignacia, the Golden Saintess, from an Angel-level siege. Abner recognizes that this is connected to Old Huang’s attempt to kill her and suspects that Old Huang may have had allies.
• He also becomes increasingly concerned that another will or consciousness may exist within the tower, possibly a fragment of God Almighty’s spirit revived through the Dragon of Imagination.
• Before entering the second-floor scenario, Abner considers summoning Bernadette’s Historical Projection, wondering whether her appearance would frighten Old Huang into retreating.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates far greater power and confidence than during his previous visit. He uses Authority, Insight, secret arts, projections, and loopholes intelligently rather than relying on brute force. His reaction to the Great Smog shows that he still carries regret over being unable to prevent it in reality, although he now has the strength to correct it within the dream.
• Panatia: Appears as a dream phantom embodying her former role as the Despair Nightingale. Her defeat contrasts with her current existence as Abner’s repentant head maid, emphasizing the transformation forced upon her after death.
• Alvin and Evans: Accompany Abner as avatars and serve as additional bodies and safeguards while he explores the dangerous tower.
• Hosenam: Her projection is used as Abner’s champion against Jahn Kottman, allowing him to complete the task without exposing his own full strength.
• Ignacia: Her plight introduces the next major conflict and reveals a connection to Old Huang’s past actions.
• Old Huang and Bernadette: Though they do not directly appear, their history becomes central to Abner’s planning. Abner considers using Bernadette’s projection to intimidate Old Huang.

Significant Themes

• Dreams and reality: The tower turns collective wishes, regrets, and subconscious desires into seemingly real scenarios. This raises questions about whether imagined events can become genuine sources of power, especially within the Chaos Sea.
• Regret and redemption: Abner revisits the Great Smog, an event he once failed to stop, while Panatia’s transformation into a charitable maid represents forced repentance and possible redemption.
• Power and loopholes: Abner exploits the tower’s rules and its Black Emperor origins, showing how intelligence and understanding of Authority can overcome seemingly rigid systems.
• Hidden consciousness and danger: The tower may contain an awakened will connected to God Almighty, making the lower floors far more dangerous than their apparent tasks suggest.
• Control versus testing: Abner suspects the tower is deliberately assigning combat challenges to measure his strength, indicating that the scenarios may serve a larger purpose beyond simple trials.

Character Interactions

• Abner negotiates directly with the Dream Labyrinth Tower, reducing the number of tasks required to clear each floor.
• He confronts Panatia through the intervention of her current, repentant form, creating a dramatic clash between her past and present identities.
• He indirectly manipulates the battle between Hosenam’s projection and Jahn Kottman by weakening the Sea King with 0-08.
• Abner connects Ignacia’s predicament to Old Huang’s actions and considers using Bernadette’s projected presence as a psychological weapon against him.

Chapter Summary: “Combat”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Golden Saintess, Ignacia, is trapped in an icy valley by a cage of orange “Twilight” light. The valley is revealed to be the Imaginary World within Groselle’s Travels.
• Ignacia is ambushed by three members of the Twilight Hermit Order:
  • Natalia, the Yellow Saint and Demoness of Unaging
  • Roselle Gustav, the Son of Steam and Knowledge Mentor
  • Boris Vassika, the Glorious One and Chief Judge of the Church of Combat
• The three attack in coordinated fashion: Boris fights at close range, Roselle provides heavy firepower, and Natalia supports them by disrupting Ignacia.
• Ignacia uses her defensive abilities and a Substitute Technique to survive, even seizing one of Roselle’s electromagnetic cannons and damaging the Time-Space Amber imprisoning her. However, a second Twilight barrier and the isolation of the Spirit World prevent her escape.
• Twilight’s Decay continues accumulating in Ignacia’s body, steadily weakening her. Without outside interference, her defeat and death appear inevitable.
• Abner, observing from concealment, realizes that the beings in this dream-like scene are significantly weaker than their real counterparts. He decides to intervene, partly to save Ignacia and partly to demonstrate his combat power to the hidden observer testing him.
• Abner manifests alongside Alvin and Evans. Evans transforms into a massive steel combat machine and attacks Roselle.
• Roselle responds by summoning a blue-and-white mech resembling a Gundam, creating a spectacular mechanical battle in the sky.
• Alvin engages Boris and summons a projection of Isis, the Goddess of Life, from the Historical Void. Isis’s life-based powers naturally counter Boris’s Decay abilities and are considerably stronger than his weakened dream manifestation.
• The chapter ends with Abner’s apparent trump card being revealed as a deliberate misdirection; Isis is not actually his strongest hidden asset.

Character Developments

• Ignacia: Despite being a powerful Sequence 2 Demoness with numerous survival techniques, she is placed under severe pressure and reduced to a desperate defensive struggle. Her resilience is emphasized, but so is the danger posed by coordinated high-level enemies and Twilight’s Decay.
• Abner: He shifts from passive observation to direct intervention. His analysis of the dream world’s weakened combatants shows his tactical intelligence, while his decision to reveal some of his strength suggests he is carefully managing how others perceive him.
• Roselle: The dream-version of Roselle lacks the memories of his transmigrator identity but retains his technological creativity and combat instincts. His hidden mech becomes one of the chapter’s most striking revelations.
• Boris: Though formidable in reality, the dream version of the Glorious One is noticeably weakened. His Decay remains dangerous, but Isis’s appearance exposes his disadvantage.
• Natalia: She functions primarily as a support fighter in the ambush, reinforcing the coordinated nature of the attack. Abner also reflects on her past and concludes she likely had no connection to the Calamity Seal.
• Evans and Alvin: Both serve as extensions of Abner’s strategy: Evans handles Roselle with overwhelming mechanical force, while Alvin counters Boris through the summoning of Isis.

Significant Themes

• Combat and tactical adaptation: Victory depends not only on raw power but also on teamwork, counters, timing, and exploiting an enemy’s weaknesses.
• Reality versus illusion: The battlefield exists inside a dream-like Imaginary World, where historical figures are present but weaker and lack their full memories. This raises questions about the reliability and limits of such manifestations.
• Hidden strength and misdirection: Abner deliberately reveals Isis while concealing his true trump card, emphasizing the importance of deception and controlled disclosure.
• Technological imagination: Roselle’s electromagnetic weapons and Gundam-like mech, along with Evans’s transforming steel body, blend modern technological imagery with the supernatural setting.
• Natural oppositions: Life directly counters Decay, demonstrating the importance of conceptual and pathway-based advantages in high-level battles.

Character Interactions

• Ignacia versus Natalia, Roselle, and Boris: Their coordinated ambush forces Ignacia into a prolonged defensive battle and highlights the effectiveness of the Twilight Hermit Order’s teamwork.
• Abner versus the dream combatants: Abner interrupts the battle without negotiation, immediately asserting himself as a new and potentially superior threat.
• Evans versus Roselle: Their mechanized duel provides a humorous but serious clash between two technological combat styles.
• Alvin and Isis versus Boris: Alvin’s intervention prevents Boris from continuing to pressure Ignacia, while Isis’s life powers exploit Boris’s vulnerability to Decay.
• Abner and the hidden observer: Abner’s actions are partly intended to satisfy an unseen party testing his strength, making the entire battle also a contest of perception and psychological positioning.

Chapter Summary: “Golden Saintess”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner covertly supports Ignacia, the former “Golden Saintess,” in her confrontation with Natalia, the “Yellow Saint.” Ignacia petrifies Natalia and prevents her from taking Ignacia’s Beyonder Characteristic.
• Boris Vassika, the “Glorious One,” realizes the battle is lost and retreats using a prepared “Twilight” Barrier to block Goddess of Life Isis.
• Roselle continues fighting because the Roselle present in the Dream Labyrinth is only a Mechanical clone.
• Roselle’s Freedom Gundam battles the Mechanical Emperor’s Jetfire Optimus Prime. Their fight is less about physical strength and more about manipulating and countering Authorities bestowed upon one another.
• Because Roselle’s manifestation is weakened while the Mechanical Emperor’s clone benefits from Abner’s computational power, Roselle is defeated. The Freedom Gundam’s physical laws are altered, rendering it powerless and reducing it to scrap.
• As the dream scene collapses, Abner senses that the soul within the Holy Seal is awakening. He returns to the Reward Room rather than immediately proceeding to the first floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
• Abner creates a temporary body for Ignacia using the Reward Room’s exchange function and places the Holy Seal in her hand. Ignacia awakens within the artificial body and reveals that she is the spirit sealed inside the artifact.
• Ignacia explains that she had avoided communicating with Abner because she sensed the “Calamity Seal” on him, which was connected to the events that led to her downfall.
• She recounts how Natalia, Boris, and Roselle once joined forces against her. Natalia took her Beyonder Characteristic, Boris took Groselle’s Travels, and Roselle carried away her soul.
• Ignacia reveals that Groselle’s Travels originally belonged to her. Natalia borrowed it under the guise of research, then used knowledge provided by the not-quite-dead Aglaia to trap Ignacia inside it.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates strategic restraint and resourcefulness, allowing Ignacia to defeat Natalia while using the Reward Room to restore Ignacia’s consciousness. He also learns more about the history of the Three Divine Artifacts and Aglaia’s past schemes.
• Ignacia: Moves from an aloof, silent spirit within the Holy Seal to an outspoken and sardonic personality once awakened. She proves willing to cooperate with Abner but remains wary because of his connection to the Calamity Seal.
• Roselle: Even in weakened clone form, he fights until the end, showing determination and ingenuity. His past relationship with the Seven-Colored Saintesses is revealed to have been based largely on mutual exploitation and personal interests.
• Natalia and Boris: Both are shown to be opportunistic figures who participated in Ignacia’s downfall for practical gain rather than personal loyalty.
• Aglaia: Although absent, her influence becomes important. She provided Roselle and Natalia with the rituals needed to use Groselle’s Travels, directly contributing to Ignacia’s defeat.

Significant Themes

• Power and Authority: The battle between the two Knowledge Mentors emphasizes that high-level combat is a contest of conceptual Authorities, not merely physical force.
• Betrayal and Self-Interest: Ignacia’s downfall resulted from an alliance motivated by each participant’s desire for a different prize, rather than hatred or genuine friendship.
• Identity and Artificial Existence: Ignacia awakens in a temporary, dream-created body, immediately recognizing it as false. This highlights the difference between a person’s soul, body, and spiritual identity.
• Memory and Hidden History: The chapter uncovers forgotten connections among Ignacia, Roselle, Natalia, Boris, Aglaia, and the Three Divine Artifacts.
• Manipulation and Strategic Control: Abner’s covert intervention, Aglaia’s guidance, and the dream labyrinth’s exchange system all demonstrate how information and preparation can be as important as raw strength.

Important Character Interactions

• Abner and Ignacia: Their conversation establishes a cautious master-and-spirit relationship. Ignacia thanks him indirectly but teases and challenges him, while Abner presses her for information about her silence and past.
• Ignacia and Roselle: Their former relationship was cordial but not truly affectionate. Ignacia admits that Roselle’s role in her death did not cause her much resentment because their connection was ultimately transactional.
• Ignacia, Natalia, and Boris: Their conflict is revealed to have been an organized ambush designed to divide the spoils of Ignacia’s power, soul, and possessions.
• Aglaia and Roselle/Natalia: Aglaia’s knowledge of Door Pathway rituals enabled them to enter and manipulate Groselle’s Travels, making her an unseen participant in Ignacia’s defeat.

Chapter Summary: “Returning to the First Floor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner questions Ignacia, the Golden Saintess, about the Dream Labyrinth Tower. She explains that Roselle built it while suffering from corruption by the Primordial Moon, resulting in contradictory arrangements within the tower.
• Roselle’s crucial instruction for mastering the tower was revealed: do not obey its rules blindly and cheat whenever possible. Abner realizes this explains his earlier intuition to visit the Reward Room and consult the soul within the Holy Seal.
• Abner suspects the tower’s final enemy may be a weakened revival of God Almighty through the Dragon King’s remaining body and spirit. He begins formulating a strategy based on exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses.
• To verify Ignacia’s information, Abner uses a Pure White Eye passage and an illusory White Angel to notarize it.
• Ignacia explains that her attitude toward Abner changed because he killed Natalia, avenging her, and demonstrated significant strength and powerful backing during his battle for the Snake of Mercury characteristic.
• She asks Abner to help recover her physical body, which was taken after her death by Boris, a powerful Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Combat. Abner agrees to help if an opportunity arises.
• Ignacia’s temporary body reaches its limit, so she returns to the Holy Seal.
• Abner then enters the first-floor scenario, which has changed from the previous Holy Grail War to a King of Fighters-style tournament. The mission is simply to win the tournament.
• Although he registers and publicly follows the tournament’s rules, Abner immediately begins preparing to cheat. After winning the preliminary round, he seals his private room with Spiritual Lock.
• He uses a mirror containing Lilith’s divine power and a Black Gemstone to activate the Authority of Secrecy, erasing his presence from perception.
• Hidden by Secrecy, Abner leaves his room and begins scouting the organizers’ area and the boss team’s rooms, correctly anticipating that these groups are likely to cause trouble or contain important targets.

Character Developments

• Abner becomes more strategic and confident. Rather than treating the tower’s scenarios as straightforward challenges, he now understands that exploiting contradictions and bypassing the rules is essential to mastering it.
• He also demonstrates increasing resourcefulness by combining Lilith’s divine power, the Black Gemstone, and the Authority of Secrecy to infiltrate the scenario.
• Ignacia reveals a pragmatic side: she changes her attitude toward Abner because of his accomplishments and the value he can provide. At the same time, her request to recover her body shows her continuing desire to restore herself fully.
• Roselle is portrayed as brilliant but mentally conflicted, with his corruption causing him to leave contradictory mechanisms and instructions within the tower.
• Lilith’s influence remains indirect but important, as the divine artifact she gave Abner becomes essential to his current plan.

Significant Themes

• Breaking rules to gain control: The chapter emphasizes that blindly following established rules leads to failure, while clever deception and exploitation offer the path to mastery.
• Contradiction and corruption: Roselle’s corrupted state is reflected in the tower’s conflicting tests, which both challenge participants and secretly provide them with useful information.
• Pragmatism and mutual benefit: Ignacia and Abner interact according to practical calculations, with trust emerging from demonstrated strength and useful promises rather than simple loyalty.
• Identity, secrecy, and infiltration: Abner’s use of Secrecy highlights the importance of concealment and indirect action in confronting powerful enemies.
• Preparation before confrontation: Rather than rushing toward the final battle, Abner gathers intelligence, analyzes weaknesses, and positions himself to exploit the scenario’s hidden structure.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Ignacia: Their conversation establishes a more cooperative relationship. Ignacia provides vital information about the tower and asks Abner to retrieve her body; Abner agrees cautiously without committing to an immediate confrontation with Boris.
• Abner and Roselle’s legacy: Abner interprets Roselle’s advice and contradictory designs, using them to revise his approach to the tower.
• Abner and Lilith: Though Lilith does not appear directly, her gifts provide the divine power and artifact necessary for Abner’s infiltration.
• Abner and the tournament system: He outwardly behaves like a normal contestant but secretly prepares to bypass the tournament’s intended progression and investigate the organizers and boss team.

Chapter Summary: “Theft”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner’s team rapidly defeats the opposing teams in the stadium and reaches the finals, where they face a powerful “final boss team” consisting of a Profane Presbyter, a Wisdom Angel, and an unrevealed third member.
• The battle is divided into two fronts:
  • Alvin, one of Abner’s incarnations, engages the Profane Presbyter.
  • Abner’s main body secretly leaves the arena to investigate the source of the opposing team’s power.
• Alvin summons two powerful Historical Projections:
  • Agni Sauron, a peak Sequence 1 Conqueror.
  • Aglaia Constantine, the former Demoness of Apocalypse.
• The Profane Presbyter splits into three bodies, each supported by numerous Grazed Demigod souls.
• Agni uses the Conqueror’s Authority to transform the stadium into a domain under his control. He summons the Red Rose Legion and manipulates the battlefield’s weather, light, and terrain. By eliminating shadows, he specifically weakens the Profane Presbyter’s abilities.
• The Profane Presbyter attempts to curse Agni with a powerful declaration invoking the Authority of the Fallen. Alvin counters with a recorded Sun Pathway ability: “God said, invalid!”
• Agni’s army begins advancing on the Profane Presbyter’s forces while the larger battle continues.
• Meanwhile, Abner secretly enters an underground passage beneath the organizers’ office and discovers a dark palace resembling one from the earlier Holy Grail instance.
• Through Insight, Abner determines that the palace is the source allowing the enemy to draw power from the Chaos Sea. He deduces that two Cards of Blasphemy—the White Tower Card and the Hanged Man Card—are hidden inside it.
• Rather than enter the dangerous palace, Abner decides to steal the entire structure and its contents.
• He summons a Historical Projection of the Star Wand and uses it to reproduce Pallez’s Theft ability, ending the chapter with the command: “Theft!”

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates increasing confidence and strategic sophistication. Instead of confronting the apparent trap directly, he identifies the true source of the enemy’s power and chooses an indirect solution.
• Alvin shows his willingness to rely on powerful allies and carefully manage his resources. He avoids wasting additional Miracles because the battlefield is only a distraction from Abner’s main objective.
• Agni Sauron is presented as an overwhelming battlefield controller. As a Conqueror, he can impose his will on the environment, summon an army, and ensure that the battlefield favors his side.
• The Profane Presbyter remains composed despite being disadvantaged. His ability to divide into multiple bodies and use Grazed souls demonstrates both versatility and resilience.
• Abner’s understanding of the Cards of Blasphemy, the Chaos Sea, and the nature of the enemy’s power deepens, showing his growing mastery of the larger supernatural conflict.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute force: The apparent final battle is largely a diversion while Abner targets the true power source.
• Control of reality: Agni’s Conqueror Authority illustrates the theme of imposing one’s will upon the environment and turning reality itself into a weapon.
• Knowledge as power: Abner’s Insight allows him to understand the connection between the palace, the Cards of Blasphemy, and the Chaos Sea.
• Avoiding traps through indirect action: Rather than entering a dangerous location where the enemy is likely waiting, Abner plans to steal the entire structure from outside.
• Borrowed and replicated power: Historical Projections, Recorded abilities, Grazed souls, and the Cards of Blasphemy all reflect the chapter’s interest in power being copied, borrowed, or transferred.

Important Character Interactions

• Alvin and the Profane Presbyter: Their clash centers on opposing supernatural Authorities. Alvin uses Agni’s battlefield domination and the Sun Pathway’s Notarization to neutralize the Presbyter’s curse.
• Alvin and Agni Sauron: Alvin summons Agni as his primary combat asset, allowing the Conqueror to reshape the arena and command the Red Rose Legion.
• Agni and Aglaia Constantine: Both are summoned as Historical Projections and are linked by their shared history as former classmates, though Aglaia does not yet play an active role in the battle.
• Abner and Pallez’s legacy: Abner recalls Pallez’s demonstration of Theft and applies that knowledge through the Star Wand, turning a previously learned ability into the key to bypassing the palace’s defenses.

Chapter Summary: “White Tower Card”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Pallez uses the Star Wand to steal the Dark Palace from the underground chamber. The palace transforms into light and enters Abner’s eyes, severing the connection between the palace, the Chaos Sea, and the hidden Card of Blasphemy.
• Without the Chaos Sea’s support, the Dragon lying in ambush inside the palace loses control and mutates into a monstrous form. It appears to be a contingency connected to the resurrected Dragon King Ankewelt.
• Abner summons Sigrid, whose body is occupied by the descending Spirit Angel Tolzna. Tolzna ignores the monster’s powers of evil and corruption and transforms it into a black goat through a malicious curse.
• The Dragon’s instinctive Imagination Authority allows it to retain power, causing the goat form to grow multiple mouths and tentacles. However, its transformation consumes much of its strength.
• Abner takes advantage of the weakness. He defines the monster as “ultimate evil,” materializes the corresponding Beyonder Characteristic, and transforms into the Sun God Bird. His holy flames destroy and purify the monster.
• With the monster gone, the viscous corruption covering the chamber dissolves, revealing the true core of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, a simply furnished modern room.
• Elsewhere, the theft of the Dark Palace causes the Profane Presbyter to panic and attempt to escape his battle with Agni Sauron, but Aglaia’s projection blocks him.
• The Wisdom Angel also rushes toward the organizer’s office but is trapped by a ritual prepared by Evans’s mechanical forces. He behaves irrationally, abandoning his usual insight and ritual expertise. As his strength weakens, Evans transforms his mechanical clone into a cannon and destroys him.
• The Conqueror’s Divine Kingdom projection disappears after Agni, Aglaia, and the Profane Presbyter are dealt with, leaving only Alvin behind.
• Abner reopens the Pure White Eye and retrieves two cards from the Land of Unknown. He studies the White Tower Card, which contains the formula for the Sequence 2 Wisdom Angel potion.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates greater control over the Chaos Sea’s remnants, his simulated Beyonder abilities, and the Land of Unknown. He calmly exploits the Dragon’s weakened state instead of confronting it recklessly.
• Tolzna, acting through Sigrid, shows her resilience as a top-level Prisoner by completely resisting the Dragon’s corrupting powers. Her intervention is decisive in controlling the monster.
• Sigrid serves as Tolzna’s vessel after her curse is lifted, allowing the Spirit Angel to directly enter the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
• The Dragon King’s remnant loses its original intelligence and becomes a mindless monster, but its innate Imagination Authority remains strong enough to sustain its power temporarily.
• Evans’s mechanical clone proves capable of adapting mid-battle. Although initially pressured by the Wisdom Angel, it recognizes the enemy’s weakening and uses a simple but overwhelming transformation to finish him.
• The Wisdom Angel becomes increasingly irrational after being cut off from the Dark Palace’s support, acting contrary to his Pathway’s defining abilities of insight and omniscience.

Significant Themes

• Power depends on its source: The Dragon’s strength collapses once it is severed from the Chaos Sea, emphasizing the fragility of borrowed or externally sustained power.
• Corruption and purification: The Dragon’s descent into a mindless monster contrasts with Abner’s transformation into the Sun God Bird, whose flames symbolize purification and the destruction of evil.
• Adaptability versus established power: Evans defeats the Wisdom Angel not through superior knowledge but through improvisation, while Abner wins by strategically redefining and exploiting his opponent’s weakened condition.
• The danger of knowledge: The White Tower formula reveals that advancement along the Reader Pathway involves an endless ascent toward the stars, where insufficient protection can expose the Beyonder to terrifying cosmic entities.
• Dependence on divine protection: Becoming a Wisdom Angel requires either the blessing of a White Tower True God or the protection of a Great Old One, reinforcing the immense risks involved in high-Sequence advancement.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Pallez: Pallez’s theft of the Dark Palace directly enables Abner to sever the Chaos Sea’s influence and defeat the hidden Dragon.
• Abner and Tolzna/Sigrid: Abner summons Sigrid after lifting her curse, allowing Tolzna to descend and assist him. Tolzna neutralizes the Dragon’s corruption while Abner delivers the final purification.
• Abner and the Dragon King’s remnant: Abner first observes the monster’s reduced strength, then uses a simulated Justice Mentor ability and Sun God Bird form to destroy it.
• The Wisdom Angel and Evans: The Wisdom Angel tries to break through Evans’s ritual barrier but irrationally relies on brute force. Evans exploits his weakening condition and destroys him.
• Agni, Aglaia, and the Profane Presbyter: Their battle is interrupted when the theft of the Dark Palace destabilizes the situation. Aglaia prevents the Profane Presbyter from fleeing, and all three eventually vanish with the Divine Kingdom projection.

Chapter Summary: “Hanged Man Card”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner reflects on the dangers of advancing to Sequence 2, “Wisdom Angel,” particularly the risk of being drawn toward the Outer Deities and losing control while researching the cosmos.
• He concludes that advancing within the God of Knowledge’s Divine Kingdom would provide essential protection. True Gods can offer safer rituals to Beyonders of their own Pathways, though this often strengthens the recipient’s dependence and faith.
• Abner analyzes the Traitor Dragon’s history, theorizing that His successful advancement without the White Tower’s protection was possible either because He was originally an Ancient God or because the Earth’s Barrier was stronger during the Second Epoch. His difficulty digesting the Wisdom Angel characteristic may have contributed to His betrayal of the Dragon of Imagination.
• He considers why Lilith and the Goddess allowed him to use Asmoro to enter the God of Knowledge’s Divine Kingdom. He suspects that the ritual may involve deeper plans connected to the Unknown, Klein, or the possible awakening of the Celestial Worthy.
• Abner reviews the materials needed for the Wisdom Angel potion:
  • The intelligent core of Dream Labyrinth Tower
  • Water from the Fountain of Wisdom
  • A scale from beneath the Mind Dragon’s neck
  • A Sun God Bird feather
  • A Kraken’s tentacle
  • An “eye behind a curtain of shadows,” likely from a Hanged Man Pathway Mythical Creature
• He plans to seek these materials through Edwina, Miss Sloth, Historical Projections, his subordinate organizations, and the City of Silver.
• Abner then examines the Hanged Man Card, revealing the formula for

Sequence 2, “Profane Presbyter.”

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates increasing insight into the intentions and arrangements of True Gods, recognizing that his status as a Dominator of Mysteries allows him to interpret hidden implications others would miss.
• He becomes more cautious and strategic about his advancement, considering not only the ritual and materials but also the influence of the Unknown, Klein, the Celestial Worthy, and the gods.
• His confidence in using Historical Projections and his network of allies shows his growing mastery over resources and preparations.
• Roselle’s past refusal to accept the God of Steam’s ritual is contrasted with Bornova’s willing dependence, highlighting different attitudes toward faith and independence.
• The Traitor Dragon’s history is reconsidered, making His betrayal appear potentially motivated by the danger of losing control rather than simple treachery.

Significant Themes

• Power versus independence: Divine protection makes advancement safer but may deepen one’s faith and dependence on a True God.
• The danger of knowledge: Higher advancement brings greater exposure to cosmic truths and Outer Deities, making wisdom itself a potential source of madness.
• Hidden divine arrangements: Abner increasingly recognizes that gifts and opportunities from the gods are rarely without purpose.
• Faith and protection: Devotion can provide access to safer rituals, while resistance to divine influence preserves autonomy but increases danger.
• Preparation and control: Advancement requires careful gathering of materials, understanding hidden risks, and anticipating the intentions of powerful beings.

Character Interactions

• Abner considers asking Edwina about the Fountain of Wisdom and its possible connection to the Lenburg fountain.
• He plans to negotiate with Miss Sloth for a Mind Dragon scale and discuss selecting Diligent Castiya to open the Night Emperor’s Seal.
• He relies on Lilith’s gifts, especially Asmoro, the Twilight Giant card, and the mirror containing divine power, while questioning the larger purpose behind them.
• He reflects on the relationships among Klein, the Unknown, Sefirah Castle, and the Celestial Worthy, especially the risks of Outer Deity influence triggering an awakening.
• The chapter ends with the Hanged Man Card explaining that a Profane Presbyter must withstand the True Creator’s terrifying muttering, either through prior exposure as a follower or through protection from Adam.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner considers two possible advancements: continuing along the Reader Pathway to become a Wisdom Angel, or switching Pathways to become a Profane Presbyter. He already has ways to obtain the necessary ritual ingredients for both:
  • Water from the God War Ruins.
  • Blood from a descendant of the True Creator, potentially obtained through Klein’s historical projections.
  • Blood from an Eternal Blazing Sun descendant recently discovered in Beldan.
• He suspects different factions may be maneuvering around his choice. The Traitor Dragon likely wants him to become a Wisdom Angel, while Adam may be encouraging the Profane Presbyter route. Abner decides to gather materials for both options and wait for the results of a probing mission involving a Snowman sent toward Adam’s church.
• Abner enters the control room of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, which resembles a modern studio apartment and may have been modeled after Old Huang’s pre-transmigration home. The room contains screens showing the Tower’s dream scenes and two powerful remote controls representing the Tower’s “functional” and “intelligent” cores.
• Using the controls, Abner reconnects the Tower’s first five floors with the later floors and mischievously alters the dream trials faced by Mr. Gaston, Bernadette, and Audrey.
  • Gaston is forced into a nonsensical detective scenario parodying famous mystery fiction.
  • Bernadette encounters a dream revealing that certain fashion styles associated with her family were borrowed or “invented” by others.
  • Audrey is made to relive an embarrassing heroic dream in which she defeats a Devil and rescues a princess.
• Abner searches several organizations for information about the mysterious “Eyes Behind the Shadow Curtain,” but receives no useful answer. He considers borrowing an eye from an Angel or Saint connected to the True Creator if necessary.
• In Sevia City, Abner meets Closia, the true body of Miss Sloth and Archbishop of the Red Flower Church. She confirms that the Castiya Family’s treasury does not contain the Eyes Behind the Shadow Curtain, though the Church might possess one.
• Closia offers to obtain a Scale Beneath the Mind Dragon’s Neck in exchange for Abner’s help. She wants him to create several durable personality avatars and provide them with convincing, somewhat famous identities so she can improve her Acting as a Dream Weaver.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates increasing power and caution. Although he has the resources to pursue either advancement, he refuses to commit before learning more about the motives of Adam and other major entities. His control over the Dream Labyrinth Tower also reveals his growing, almost Creator-like authority within its dream world.
• Abner’s playful and mischievous side emerges as he manipulates the Tower’s trials for the amusement—and discomfort—of its challengers.
• Gaston continues struggling with the Tower’s higher floors because of insufficient strength, though he remains capable in deduction.
• Bernadette is shown to be highly principled and unwilling to cheat, even in a trial where doing so would be advantageous. Her reaction also suggests a strong personal sensitivity regarding her family’s legacy.
• Audrey continues to possess considerable potential as a Tower climber. However, she is easily embarrassed by the exposure of her private heroic fantasies.
• Closia has reached a bottleneck in her Dream Weaver Acting. Her former method of switching between personalities is no longer sufficient, so she seeks a more advanced approach based on simultaneously maintaining multiple identities.

Significant Themes

• Choice and destiny: Abner’s decision between two advancement routes is linked to the designs of powerful beings, raising the question of whether his apparent choices are actually being guided by fate or manipulation.
• Knowledge versus allegiance: Both potential Pathways could give Abner access to Wisdom Angel abilities, but the choice may determine his future relationships and role in the larger cosmic conflict.
• Identity and performance: Closia’s request to create multiple avatars reflects the importance of acting, role-playing, and maintaining distinct identities in advancing through the Beyonder Pathways.
• Reality as constructed experience: The Dream Labyrinth Tower blurs the boundary between reality, dreams, stories, and personal fantasies. Abner’s ability to alter its trials emphasizes the power of controlling perception.
• Humor amid cosmic danger: The chapter juxtaposes apocalyptic advancement rituals and divine conspiracies with parody, embarrassment, and comedic manipulation of dream scenarios.

Character Interactions

• Abner internally weighs the likely intentions of the Traitor Dragon and Adam, while planning to use the Snowman’s pilgrimage as a way to gather information.
• Abner manipulates the experiences of Gaston, Bernadette, and Audrey through the Tower’s remote controls, though they do not realize he is responsible.
• Audrey discusses her humiliating dream with Susie, who innocently points out that other climbers may eventually encounter the same scenario.
• Abner and Closia negotiate directly: she will help him obtain the Mind Dragon’s scale, while he will assist her in creating long-lasting avatars and acquiring suitable identities.
• Their exchange shows mutual confidence and bargaining, with Abner recognizing Closia’s strategic attempt to emphasize the value of what she is offering before naming her price.

Chapter Summary: “Visiting a Friend”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner discusses finding an influential identity for Closia to use in her Acting, possibly involving powerful organizations or prominent families. He offers to prepare a list of suitable identities for her to choose from.
• Closia asks whether Abner considers her suitable for the identity of “Diligent Castiya.” Abner privately mocks her obvious laziness, recalling how she relied on Dunn to handle everything while she relaxed.
• When Abner suggests giving her an identity with a heavy workload to prove her diligence, Closia evades the subject and retrieves one of the scales beneath her neck.
• Closia explains that the scales of a Mind Dragon correspond to accumulated Persona Masks and are part of her spirit body. Removing one causes significant spiritual damage. She gives Abner a constantly shifting dragon scale.
• Closia then suggests that her daughter, Judy, might qualify as “Diligent Castiya.” Abner agrees that Judy may be worth testing, though he does not reveal that he had already considered her.
• Abner leaves the Red Flower Church and travels directly to the Golden Dream, where Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina is working in Desi Bay.
• Edwina is mapping Feynapotter’s fleet movements because Feynapotter has declared war on Lenburg. She assures Abner that she will not attack merchant ships near Sevia.
• Abner asks about the source of the Fountain of Wisdom. Edwina explains that its springhead lies in the first-floor hall of the Wisdom Tower, near the temple of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
• Abner learns that red spring water from the source costs 300,000 Academic Points per 100 milliliters, or an equivalent thesis. Since Academic Points roughly correspond to Lenburg Thaler, obtaining several hundred milliliters would be extremely expensive, though still financially manageable for Abner.
• The chapter ends with Abner deciding that the price is acceptable, though he recognizes that he is not yet in the proper condition to proceed.

Character Developments

• Abner continues acting as a planner and intermediary, arranging identities and resources for others. His internal commentary shows his sharp judgment, sarcasm, and growing financial power.
• Closia demonstrates the instability and danger of advanced Spectator Pathway Beyonders. Her Personas shift noticeably during the conversation, including a mischievous persona and an intellectual older-sister persona. Her willingness to sacrifice a spiritual “scale” also reveals the physical cost of her Acting.
• Judy is introduced as a possible candidate for the “Diligent Castiya” identity, suggesting she may have a more suitable temperament than her mother.
• Edwina is shown fulfilling her duties to the Knowledge Church despite the broader political conflict. She remains calm, practical, and helpful toward Abner while maintaining her military responsibilities.

Significant Themes

• Identity and Acting: The chapter explores how Beyonders construct and perform identities, especially through Persona Masks and specialized roles.
• The danger of psychological fragmentation: Closia’s shifting Personas and Abner’s concerns about Spectator Pathway Beyonders emphasize the risk of losing oneself or descending into madness.
• The cost of power and knowledge: The dragon scale damages Closia’s spirit, while the Fountain of Wisdom demands an enormous academic or financial price.
• War and political responsibility: Feynapotter’s war with Lenburg affects Edwina’s movements and obligations, even though she tries to protect civilian merchant traffic.
• Pragmatism and resource management: Abner evaluates the high price of the spring water in practical financial terms, showing his expanding influence and willingness to invest heavily in important objectives.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Closia banter over her supposedly “diligent” nature, with Abner teasing her laziness and Closia defensively justifying herself.
• Closia trusts Abner enough to reveal the nature and cost of removing one of her Persona-related scales.
• Their discussion also touches on Judy, indicating a degree of familial concern from Closia and strategic interest from Abner.
• Abner and Edwina interact cordially and familiarly. She prepares coffee for him while discussing military logistics and the Wisdom Tower.
• Edwina provides Abner with crucial information about accessing the Fountain of Wisdom and its prohibitive cost, helping him assess whether his plan is feasible.

Chapter Summary: “The Approach”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner considers exploiting intelligence about Feynapotter’s experimental Armored Brigade. The vehicles are living creatures shaped like armored machines, powered by high-purity alcohol and capable of entering a more dangerous “drunken rampage” state.
• He realizes that Lenburg’s military is unprepared to counter them and plans to manufacture and sell portable anti-armor weapons. He expects to obtain them from Morning Star City, a highly advanced military-industrial center, and profit by accepting weakened Lenburg currency.
• Abner reasons that the ongoing war may remain limited because the Earth Mother Goddess and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom are not truly enemies. He also notes that the Wisdom Tower’s fixed exchange rate has helped prevent the Thaler from collapsing.
• On the Golden Dream, Shermane submits her work to Edwina and is told that she has passed. Edwina gives her further reading assignments and continues acting as her teacher.
• Abner observes that Shermane is becoming more disciplined and educated, though she still has a weak academic foundation. Edwina reveals that Talim, the ship’s riding instructor, is romantically pursuing Shermane.
• Abner discusses academic matters with Edwina and remains aboard the Golden Dream until dawn before returning to Backlund.
• Elsewhere, a ship investigating a mysterious island reaches its destination. The island appears suddenly, contains a city nearly as large as Bayam, and may be connected to the disappearance of a pirate fleet.
• Despite the captain’s warnings about danger, the crew follows signals directing them to Pier Six and prepares to land.
• At the same time, Leonard uses the Mysticism-Transforming Wand to disguise himself as Trissy and enters a warehouse in Backlund’s East Borough, following instructions from Mr. The Tower.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates his strategic and commercial mindset, turning wartime intelligence into a potential business opportunity. He also shows concern for political stability and maintains connections with Klein’s associates.
• Edwina continues developing as a mentor. Although outwardly calm, she takes clear pride in Shermane’s progress and enjoys guiding her.
• Shermane is becoming more diligent and academically focused. Her eagerness for Edwina’s approval contrasts with her earlier lack of maturity and education.
• Talim is revealed to be pursuing Shermane, adding a romantic and potentially comedic complication to her new life aboard the Golden Dream.
• The island expedition’s captain is cautious and experienced but ultimately willing to accept danger in pursuit of treasure.
• The young adventurer is enthusiastic and adventurous, embodying the crew’s desire for discovery despite the risks.
• Leonard demonstrates his willingness to use disguises and carry out covert missions on Mr. The Tower’s behalf.

Significant Themes

• War as an economic opportunity: Abner views the conflict not only politically but also as a chance to profit through weapons production and currency exchange.
• The relationship between knowledge and power: Military technology, academic institutions, and specialized intelligence all shape the balance of power.
• Education and personal growth: Shermane’s studies represent her effort to overcome her impoverished background and immature past.
• Adventure versus caution: The expedition crew must choose between the captain’s warnings and the promise of treasure and discovery.
• Hidden identities and concealed dangers: The living armored vehicles, the mysteriously appearing island, and Leonard’s disguise all emphasize that appearances are deceptive.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Edwina discuss politics, military technology, academia, and Shermane’s progress in a relaxed but intellectually engaged conversation.
• Shermane seeks Edwina’s approval and receives both praise and further instruction.
• Edwina informs Abner about Talim’s pursuit of Shermane, which Abner treats humorously and mentally connects to Klein.
• The expedition’s captain and young adventurer debate whether approaching the mysterious island is too dangerous, ultimately choosing to proceed.
• Leonard acts independently but under Mr. The Tower’s direction, setting up the chapter’s transition toward a covert investigation.

Chapter Summary

• Plot/events: No story content occurs in this chapter. The author announces that the chapter is being postponed because they need to sleep before work and will finish it the next day.
• Author’s comments: The author responds to readers who feel the story is being padded, explaining that seemingly minor plot points are intended to resolve loose ends, establish foreshadowing, and demonstrate the changes Abner has caused.
• Themes: The note highlights the importance of narrative setup and payoff, suggesting that slower or less action-heavy scenes serve a larger purpose.
• Character development/interactions: Abner is mentioned indirectly as a character whose influence has produced noticeable changes, but no specific interactions or developments occur in this installment.
• Additional note: The author humorously continues requesting monthly votes from readers.

Chapter Summary: “Another Tarot Club Gathering”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leonard, disguised as Trissy through the Transformation Wand, remains in a warehouse for five minutes as instructed by Abner. He discusses the situation with Pallez, who admits that trusting the mysterious “old friend” is their only realistic choice, especially since Mr. Fool has tacitly approved the plan.
• After the five minutes pass, Leonard reports to Mr. Fool and teleports back to St. Samuel Cathedral, where he removes his disguise and returns to normal.
• Shortly afterward, the real Trissy emerges from a mirror with the aid of the elderly voice accompanying her. It is revealed that the deception was meant to mislead an Angel pursuing them. Pallez’s “Fraud” can delay the pursuer only temporarily, so he creates a large sphere of light to help Trissy escape through Mirror Jumping.
• The pursuing old man arrives but fails to detect Trissy and leaves. Ten minutes later, a blonde woman with a monocle enters the warehouse and identifies the involvement of Trissy, Pallez, Zaratul, and the Fool. She suspects the entire event was staged as an invitation or trap specifically aimed at her.
• Abner has been observing the situation through Insight. He reveals that he intentionally postponed the larger confrontation because he is close to advancing into a Wisdom Angel. He plans to eliminate most of the target’s avatars in Backlund before George III’s godhood ritual.
• At the weekly Tarot Club gathering, the members greet Mr. Fool. Audrey remains composed and continues her charitable work, but the emotional brightness of her greeting has diminished after the recent bombing and its consequences.
• Cattleya, following Queen Mystic’s instructions, asks Mr. Fool two questions. The first concerns the title “Lord of Desire, Origin of the Fallen,” and the second asks why the Hidden Sage’s attention toward the Mystery Pryer Pathway has disappeared. The chapter ends before the second question is answered.

Character Developments

• Leonard demonstrates discipline and caution while maintaining his disguise, completing his role in the operation before safely escaping.
• Pallez shows both distrust and pragmatism. Although uncertain about the current Reinhardt, he accepts that cooperation is necessary and relies on Mr. Fool’s approval.
• Trissy is portrayed as frightened and resentful, urgently fleeing an Angel connected to the Royal Family. Her survival depends on Pallez’s support and deception.
• Abner emerges as the hidden planner behind the larger operation. His impending advancement gives him greater confidence and leads him to delay the final trap until he is stronger.
• Audrey remains emotionally controlled and socially responsible, but her reduced cheerfulness reflects the psychological impact of recent violence.
• Cattleya becomes increasingly worried about Queen Mystic’s investigations, recognizing that the subjects of her questions may involve dangerous, high-level beings.

Significant Themes

• Trust under uncertainty: Leonard and Pallez must rely on people whose motives and identities are not entirely clear, including the current Reinhardt and the mysterious forces guiding the operation.
• Deception and staged encounters: The warehouse incident is built around disguises, false trails, traps, and deliberate manipulation, with multiple characters observing or exploiting one another.
• Power beyond the Sequence: Mr. Fool’s answer suggests that the “Lord of Desire, Origin of the Fallen” possesses a status even higher than the Abyss, shocking the Tarot Club members and expanding the apparent scale of the supernatural hierarchy.
• Preparation versus immediate action: Abner postpones the final confrontation until his advancement, emphasizing the importance of timing, strength, and strategic patience.
• The cost of violence: Audrey’s changed demeanor and charitable efforts show the continuing social and emotional consequences of the bombing.

Important Character Interactions

• Leonard and Pallez discuss whether Reinhardt can be trusted and ultimately agree to follow the plan because Mr. Fool has approved it.
• Trissy and Pallez coordinate their escape, with Pallez using Fraud and a protective light while Trissy repeatedly uses Mirror Jumping.
• The blonde monocled woman recognizes the presence of several major figures and interprets the warehouse scene as a deliberate invitation or bait.
• Abner watches the entire sequence from concealment and explains his intention to strike later, once he has advanced.
• At the Tarot Club, Cattleya respectfully presents Queen Mystic’s questions to Mr. Fool. His answer about the Lord of Desire shocks the gathered members and raises new concerns about Queen Mystic’s dangerous investigations.