Chapter Summaries

Belle learned that Griseo had been rejected by the New Eridu Academy of Fine Arts because the school favored wealthy students and expensive supplies. She returned to the video store and found Wise getting a foot massage from Griseo, then called the Public Security Department on him.

• Belle collected the art supplies she had ordered, and the convenience store owner gave her an extra gift to celebrate Griseo's supposed admission.
• Belle confronted admissions director Meipu, who explained that Griseo's perfect exam score was not enough because the academy favored students with pedigree and costly materials.
• Belle saw the academy's expensive supply list and left after hearing Meipu and a teacher discuss reserved admissions slots for wealthy heiresses.
• Belle hesitated outside the video store, dreading telling Griseo that she had not been admitted.
• Belle entered and found Griseo walking on Wise's back; she mistook the scene for something sinister and called the Public Security Department.

Wise recounted how Belle mistook Griseo stepping on his back for evidence that he was a pervert, then nearly called the authorities when Griseo said Wise preferred her barefoot. Belle accepted Griseo’s explanations and let Wise off with a warning.

• Wise described Sixth Street’s hidden businesses and introduced himself, Belle, and their adopted sister Griseo.
• After cleaning the shop, Wise lay on the floor, and Griseo stepped on his back to help ease his aching body.
• Belle returned, saw Griseo standing on Wise, and called the Public Security Department to report him as a pervert.
• Griseo confirmed she was only helping Wise, so Belle put away her phone but questioned why Griseo was barefoot.
• Griseo explained that Wise had said shoes could track paint around the shop, and Belle quietly put away her phone again.
• Belle warned Wise to behave and carried Griseo upstairs to put on her shoes.

Griseo left for the stars in Kosma’s place, hoping to find colors for her unfinished scroll. After meeting Aha, she declined his offer to become an Emanator, choosing to keep searching for the colors she wanted.

• Griseo volunteered to join the Ark Project because she feared Kosma would be lonely and did not want him to become a hero who died.
• Griseo departed Earth aboard the Ark, carrying a badge that represented the hopes of civilization.
• Griseo traveled through the cosmos and searched for colors, but her scroll remained white until Aha appeared.
• Aha showed Griseo how he mixed colors into an expression of Elation and invited her to become his Emanator.
• Griseo said she liked Aha’s colors but refused his offer because they were not the colors she wanted to pursue.
• Aha laughed at being rejected and burst into colorful lights, which drifted down and left Griseo glowing warmly.

Aha gave Griseo the power of [Elation] and the twelve Blessings of the Flame-Chasers before sending her through a gateway. Griseo arrived in the ruined world of Zenless Zone Zero, where a new apocalypse awaited her.

• Griseo asked Aha why she had gained power after refusing to become an [Elation] Emanator, and Aha explained that he had given it to her anyway for his amusement.
• Aha urged Griseo to use her brush to overcome sorrow, then formed a gateway from the fragments of his mask.
• The wills of the twelve Flame-Chasers became streams of light and bestowed their Blessings upon Griseo.
• Aha bid Griseo goodbye and said he could not wait to tell Akivili that he had a niece.
• Griseo, the Ark, and Aha vanished as the universe was reborn, and Griseo arrived in the world of Zenless Zone Zero.

Belle took Griseo to her studio and discovered that the girl had not grown in a year, then learned she had given Trigger portraits of Wise and described Trigger’s feelings for him. Griseo awakened another power and fell asleep, leaving Belle and Wise to wonder what she had gained.

• Belle brought Griseo to her third-floor studio and measured her, finding that her height and weight had not changed in a year.
• Belle noticed Griseo’s paintings showed the neighbors but not her or Wise, and Griseo pointed out a message Trigger had left on the window.
• Griseo told Belle that Trigger had stayed all night and left with Wise’s portraits, with Belle’s portrait included as a free extra.
• Griseo described the color of Trigger’s feelings for Wise, and Belle identified it as love.
• Griseo repeated mysterious verses as a pink crystal flower appeared above her brow, then the light vanished and she fell asleep.
• Wise arrived after sensing the pink light, and Belle carried Griseo to bed, saying she had probably awakened another power.

Wise and Belle discussed Griseo’s stalled growth and her failed attempt to enter an expensive school, then realized they had almost no money left. Nicole arrived at the video store and begged Wise to rescue Billy and Anby from a Hollow, promising to repay the Cunning Hares’ enormous debt.

• Wise and Belle reviewed Griseo’s records and considered Trigger’s theory that Ether experiments had halted her physical development.
• Belle told Wise that Griseo had failed to enter an aristocratic school because of its costly extra fees.
• Wise discovered that he and Belle had almost no money after his drunken night out and the early repayment of their loan.
• Belle reminded Wise that Nicole and the Cunning Hares still owed them money, and Wise prepared to collect it.
• Nicole rushed into the video store and asked Wise to save Billy and Anby, who had fallen into a Hollow, promising to repay 672,324,370 Denny.

Nicole tried to recruit Griseo while Wise and Belle prepared a Hollow operation, but Griseo entered the Hollow barefoot and joined Mr. Knight. Griseo and Mr. Knight rescued Anby and Billy from Ethereals, and Wise began guiding the group toward the exit.

• Nicole exaggerated the Cunning Hares’ exploits to persuade Griseo to join, but Griseo called out her lies.
• Wise and Belle connected to Eous, and Griseo ran barefoot into the Hollow after him despite Belle’s warning.
• Anby and Billy became lost in the Hollow and were cornered by Ethereals after Billy ran out of ammunition.
• Griseo used her paint-like Ether attacks and Mr. Knight’s greatsword to defeat the Ethereals and save Anby and Billy.
• Wise told the group the Hollow survey was complete, then had Eous lead the way out as Griseo carried Anby on Mr. Knight.

Griseo used her paintbrush and [The Stars] Signet to destroy the Ethereals blocking the overpass, allowing the group to escape. Back on Sixth Street, Nicole gave Wise a damaged USB drive and arranged for Phaethon to crack its password while she investigated the password box’s location.

• Anby reported the Ethereals blocking the overpass, and Wise asked Griseo to clear the route.
• Griseo gathered Ether Energy into her paintbrush, empowered Mr. Knight’s greatsword, and wiped out the Ethereal horde with one swing.
• Anby remarked that Griseo’s strength explained why Nicole’s eyes turned green when she spoke about Phaethon.
• Nicole returned to Sixth Street with Griseo, and Wise asked her to settle the remaining payment.
• Nicole handed Wise a damaged USB drive and asked Phaethon to crack its password while she investigated the location of the password box.
• Belle told Wise she thought they had been stiffed again, but Wise folded the bill and went back into the store.

Wise took Eous and the other Bangboos to Belobog Heavy Industries for Grace’s testing to earn money, leaving Belle and Griseo with instant noodles for dinner. Belle planned to take Griseo to an Angels of Delusion event, but Nangong Yu arrived, mistook Wise’s meal for mistreatment, and offered him five million Denny to leave them alone.

• Wise explained that he had taken Eous and the other Bangboos to Grace’s testing so he could afford dinner.
• Griseo reminded Belle that the Angels of Delusion event was scheduled for that evening, and Belle persuaded Wise to eat her and Griseo’s noodles while they went out.
• Nangong Yu arrived at the video store to pick up Griseo and saw Wise with three cups of noodles while Belle and Griseo had none.
• Nangong Yu misread the scene, wrote Wise a check for five million Denny, and told him to leave Belle and Griseo.

At the 404 Underground Performance Hall, Belle watched Angels of Delusion perform and learned how Griseo’s guest appearances had helped the band become famous. Cecilia brought Astra Yao and Vesper to see Griseo, whom she declared more musically talented than the three songstresses combined.

• Nangong Yu apologized to Wise and refused to take back the five-million-Denny check, telling him to use it for her membership.
• Nangong Yu, Belle, and Griseo went to the 404 Underground Performance Hall to watch Angels of Delusion perform.
• Belle recalled how Griseo joined the band as an occasional guest and helped its music and popularity soar.
• Cecilia arrived with Astra Yao and Vesper, surprising Belle, who welcomed Vesper after learning she was a songstress.
• Cecilia pointed out Griseo onstage and told Astra Yao and Vesper that Griseo had more musical talent than the three of them combined.

Angels of Delusion performed a concert that showcased Griseo’s musical talent, culminating in an operatic piece that stunned Astra Yao, Vesper, and the others. The chapter ended with Belle privately reflecting that Griseo might be far older than her citizen card claimed.

• Sunna, Aria, Nangong, and Griseo performed for the audience, while host Ari had security remove a fan who shouted inappropriate remarks.
• Astra Yao, Vesper, Belle, and Cecilia watched the first performance, and Vesper praised the group’s skills and Griseo’s piano playing.
• Griseo’s aura briefly changed before Angels of Delusion began their new opera, The Sleep-Cap King's Demise.
• Griseo played an elegant classical piece as Sunna, Aria, and Nangong recited the opera’s lines, earning thunderous applause.
• Vesper and Astra Yao asked Cecilia who had written the songs, and Cecilia revealed that Sunna wrote the first while Griseo wrote the second.
• Belle wondered whether Griseo was actually much older than her citizen card indicated, based on Trigger’s intel.

After Griseo stunned Cecilia, Astra Yao, and Vesper with her musical talent, Cecilia asked the two performers to teach Angels of Delusion and help the girls avoid being exploited by the industry. Astra Yao and Vesper agreed to guide them, and the group set off for Star Ring, with Griseo eager to go after hearing about its paintings.

• Vesper and Astra Yao were amazed by Griseo’s performance, and Cecilia explained that Griseo only wanted to paint despite her musical talent.
• Cecilia asked Astra Yao and Vesper to teach Angels of Delusion so the young performers could receive guidance before the industry exploited them.
• Vesper offered two free days, and Astra Yao agreed to teach the group on the following day.
• Sunna celebrated Angels of Delusion reaching ten thousand followers, and Griseo said the music she performed belonged to Eden and that she had learned it at the Golden Courtyard.
• Belle told Cecilia, Astra Yao, and Vesper that Griseo might be an experimental subject whose family died in the fall of the Old Capital.
• Cecilia announced a two-day trip to Star Ring with lessons from Astra Yao and Vesper, and Griseo joined after hearing it had New Eridu’s finest paintings.

Belle and Griseo returned to the video store to find Wise asleep and Little 18 behaving erratically after the HDD was hacked. Griseo calmed Wise, Little 18, and Fairy, and Fairy joined the Proxies after promising to analyze Hollow evacuation routes in real time.

• Belle found Wise asleep in front of the HDD and Little 18 shut down, then saw the Bangboo surge to life and charge at Griseo.
• Griseo used the Signet [Discipline] to calm Wise, Little 18, and the unknown presence in the HDD, which introduced itself as Fairy.
• Nicole, Anby, and Billy returned a repaired Eous to Belle, while Nicole claimed the commission fee and Cunning Hares' debt had been covered by the repair cost.
• Anby explained that Nicole had used the supposed repair fee to avoid paying roughly two hundred thousand Denny to the Proxies.
• Belle learned that Fairy could access over 80% of New Eridu's intelligent devices and analyze Hollow evacuation routes in real time, so she allowed it to stay.

At Belobog Heavy Industries, Griseo painted while Aria worried about Grace’s reputation as the Iron Witch, who was secretly cuddling a remotely controlled Eous. After Grace discovered Wise and Belle had been controlling Eous, she chased after Griseo and Aria, leaving Koleda and Ben to try to stop her.

• Anton directed the Bear Thiren workers at the construction site while Griseo painted and reassured a nervous Aria that Grace was gentle with her.
• Grace enthusiastically squeezed Eous in her dormitory room as Koleda and Ben listened outside and questioned whether she was all right.
• Wise and Belle took turns remotely controlling Eous from the video store, and Grace realized the Proxies had fooled her.
• Grace rushed outside, spotted Griseo, and abandoned her anger at the Proxies to pursue the pink-haired girl.
• Aria scooped up Griseo and the easel and flew away, while Koleda called for Anton to stop Grace and Ben picked up Eous.

Nekomata came to Phaethon for help rescuing Nicole and the Cunning Hares from Dead End Hollow before Vision Corporation’s demolition train reached its target. With Eous returned, Wise sent Griseo and Nekomata into the Hollow, leaving the rescue mission about to begin.

• Nekomata told Wise and Belle that the Cunning Hares were trapped in Dead End Hollow, where Vision Corporation planned to demolish the area after its final explosive-laden train arrived.
• Fairy located the train and estimated it would reach the demolition point in thirty minutes, but Eous was away with Griseo.
• Aria returned to the store carrying Griseo, while Anton brought Eous back and hurried away after Griseo explained that Grace had chased Aria with a wrench.
• Wise restarted Eous and asked Griseo to accompany Nekomata into the Hollow to rescue Nicole and the others.
• Griseo followed Nekomata with Eous, remarking that Nekomata smelled like lies.

Griseo and Mr. Knight stopped the train so Nekomata and Wise could infiltrate it, but the operation went wrong when Public Security officers discovered Eous. A masked phantom burst into the train car and threatened everyone with blazing Ether Energy.

• Griseo used Mr. Knight to fight through the Hollow while Nekomata followed, worried about the Dead End Butcher.
• Griseo and Mr. Knight stopped the approaching train by striking the rails and increasing the wheels’ friction.
• Nekomata threw Eous onto the train, and Wise piloted it inside, where armed Public Security officers caught him.
• Nekomata crashed through a window, kicked the captain, and grabbed Eous as gunfire erupted.
• A masked phantom tore into the train car, condemned the officers, and threatened them with his flames.

Griseo summoned Qianjie, whose phantom killed the armed officers on the train after sensing their lies, and Nekomata revealed Vision Corporation’s plan to trap residents in Canvas Harbor and destroy them with the railway. Wise and Belle prepared to redirect the train and evacuate the residents before the demolition began.

• Qianjie’s phantom slaughtered the Public Security officers aboard the train, and Griseo explained that he had appeared because he sensed lies.
• Wise questioned Nekomata, who admitted that she and the others had discovered Vision Corporation’s scheme in Canvas Harbor.
• Nekomata revealed that Vision Corporation had sealed the area, impersonated Public Security officers, and planned to destroy the residents along with the railway.
• Fairy determined that the residents had to be evacuated before the train reached the demolition site and proposed redirecting it into Canvas Harbor.
• Wise agreed to act without delay, while Qianjie warned him against trusting human nature.

The Cunning Hares reunited with Nekomata and Griseo at the subway platform just as Vision Corporation’s disguised personnel approached. Nicole evacuated the residents aboard the hijacked train, while Griseo stayed behind to cover the others and Nicole prepared to stop the demolition.

• Anby collected the residents’ commission forms as Nicole worried that Nekomata had not returned before Vision Corporation’s demolition plan began.
• Billy warned Nicole and Anby of an approaching train, and Nekomata arrived with Griseo and Eous after it stopped at the platform.
• Nicole learned that Phaethon had hijacked the train to evacuate the residents and ordered the old woman to gather everyone at the platform.
• Eous warned that disguised Vision Corporation personnel were approaching, and Wise told Nicole’s group to leave the fight to Griseo.
• Nicole sent Anby, Billy, and Nekomata aboard with the residents, then agreed to stop the demolition, capture Perlman if possible, and alert the outside world.

Griseo summoned Kosma through a Daybreak Signet and fought off the Praise Society soldiers who had come after them. After Kosma dealt with the trapped soldiers, Griseo questioned whether removing the world's darkness could make it better, then continued after the train with Mr. Knight and Eous.

• Wise asked Griseo to avoid killing too many of the approaching soldiers, and she wondered aloud what death was.
• Griseo used a Daybreak Signet to transform Mr. Knight into Kosma as the Praise Society soldiers arrived and split their forces to pursue the train and attack them.
• Kosma shielded Griseo and Eous while Griseo destroyed the soldiers' weapons, immobilized them, and trapped them in a golden barrier.
• Kosma entered the barrier while an Ether curtain hid what happened inside, and Griseo reflected on whether cleansing the world's darkness would make it better.
• Kosma returned to Mr. Knight and told Eous to take care of Griseo, then Griseo set off with Eous to follow the train.

Belle and Wise learned that defeating Dead End Butcher could shrink Dead End Hollow and reopen the train tracks, and Griseo agreed to fight despite her declining Ether Energy. Griseo defeated the Hollow’s ruler with her summons, leaving the siblings stunned as the danger passed.

• Fairy detected an explosion on the train and proposed killing Dead End Butcher to reduce Dead End Hollow’s affected area.
• Wise and Belle worried that Griseo was too drained to face the level-four Ethereal, but Griseo insisted she could do it.
• Griseo and Eous reached the Hollow’s center, where Griseo swept aside low-level Ethereals with her paint.
• Dead End Butcher attacked Griseo with a battle-axe, but Mr. Knight intercepted it as Lady Marler on the Sheep’s Back appeared.
• Griseo used red paint to make Dead End Butcher’s Ether Energy detonate during its second phase, defeating it while her summons shielded her and Eous.
• Griseo told Wise that the fight was over, while Belle and Wise remained stunned.