Chapter Summaries

Belle recognized that Griseo’s story resembled Astra Yao and Evelyn’s lives, then read its romantic tale of how Evelyn became Astra’s bodyguard and fell for her. The story ended with Astra pulling Evelyn onstage to sing with her, followed by an author’s note.

• Belle questioned Griseo about the story’s resemblance to Astra Yao and Evelyn, and Griseo claimed she had learned the details from Lyra’s intel.
• Belle took Griseo’s illustrated book home and read about Astra rubbing sunscreen onto Evelyn at the beach and asking why she had become a bodyguard.
• Evelyn recalled that a plate of egg fried rice had led her to become Astra’s bodyguard.
• At Astra’s concert, Evelyn fought Fugue agents backstage after receiving the organization’s signal to act against her.
• Astra dedicated her final song to Evelyn, pulled her onto the stage, and held her hand as they performed.

Wise and Belle argued with Fairy about Astra Yao’s online haters while Griseo met Cui Ji at a milk tea shop to give her a new comic sample for publication. The chapter ended with the author noting that Cui Ji’s story would be told later in a flashback.

• Wise read comments about Astra Yao and urged Fairy to counterattack the haters, but Belle made Fairy delete the accounts and comments instead.
• Wise and Belle joked with Fairy about taking over New Eridu and making Wise mayor, before Belle remembered she had something important to do.
• Belle went looking for Griseo and learned from Wise that Griseo had gone to Lumina Square to meet someone.
• At Licha Tea, Griseo gave Cui Ji a sample of her latest story and asked her to publish it after the New Year.
• Cui Ji reflected on how Griseo had saved her and entrusted her with publishing The Stars comic.

Griseo met Cui Ji and Coco at a milk tea shop, where Coco explained that she stayed at an exhausting job despite recovering from Ether Corruption. Cui Ji stopped Coco from voicing her criticism of New Eridu’s powerful capitalists, while Griseo wondered what capitalists were.

• Griseo worried that Cui Ji might still be suffering from Ether Corruption, but Cui Ji recoiled at the sight of Griseo’s Infinity Signet because Mobius’s experiments had frightened her.
• Coco brought Griseo and Cui Ji their drinks, and Griseo asked why she still looked exhausted after Mobius’s injection had eased her condition.
• Coco explained that her long shifts running the shop kept her overworked and that she had stayed because she once expected the job to provide easy money and free milk tea.
• Coco told a story comparing exploited workers to a crab and a fish, then criticized how New Eridu’s capitalists valued people who had suffered Ether Corruption.
• Cui Ji covered Coco’s mouth and warned Griseo not to listen, while Griseo asked what capitalists were and TOPS executives felt a sudden chill.

Wise, Belle, and Griseo went to Star Ring for Astra Yao’s New Year’s concert, where Evelyn revealed that she knew Wise and Griseo’s secret identities. Evelyn invited them into their VIP box to talk, leaving them unsure what she wanted.

• Wise, Belle, and Griseo dressed for the concert, and Wise closed the video store for the day.
• At Star Ring, Wise bonded with an enthusiastic Astra fan and took a group photo with Belle and Griseo.
• Belle urged Wise to stop chatting so they could find their VIP box.
• Outside box 109, Evelyn greeted the trio and identified Wise as Phaethon and Griseo as Princess Starlight.
• Evelyn stepped aside and invited them into the box to talk.

At Astra’s concert, Belle suspected Evelyn was hiding a secret and asked Griseo to probe her with her special ability. Astra’s sudden arrival interrupted Evelyn’s attempted explanation, leaving Belle and Griseo wondering what she had been about to reveal.

• Evelyn thanked Wise and the others for helping Astra and asked them to intervene if trouble arose during the concert.
• Belle privately told Griseo that Evelyn’s remarks resembled events from Griseo’s artbooks and asked her to probe Evelyn.
• Griseo approached Evelyn and told her to open her heart, prompting Belle to ask why trouble might arise at the concert.
• Evelyn began explaining the conflict between Fugue and Diga, but Astra rushed into the box before Evelyn could finish revealing how she knew.
• Astra asked Evelyn to cover for her while she went to see Mrs. Tivert, and Evelyn agreed before leaving the box.
• Belle asked Griseo whether Evelyn had been trying to reveal a secret, and Griseo agreed.

Astra Yao began her New Year’s concert at Star Ring while Belle, Wise, and Griseo watched from a private box. Elsewhere, Evelyn tried to reach the atrium to stop Fugue, but Hobbs’s security team attacked her, leaving the corridor in a hostage standoff.

• Astra Yao descended onto the stage and greeted the audience as the concert began.
• Belle compared Astra’s passionate performance with Eden’s, while Griseo showed her messages from the Angels of Delusion.
• Astra began singing, and Star Ring transformed and rose as its Ether engines started.
• Evelyn asked Hobbs whether Astra knew he planned to stop her, then explained that she was heading to the atrium to stop Fugue.
• Hobbs ordered his guards to capture Evelyn, so she took one of them hostage and demanded that the others let her pass.
• Hobbs ignored the hostage and ordered his team to attack, promising compensation for any casualties.

Griseo sensed the Star Ring’s crisis and headed for the main control room as Fugue attacked during the station’s takeoff. After Evelyn warned Belle and Wise, the three fought their way toward the control room, where they found fallen enemies bound by golden threads.

• Griseo used the Signet of Wisdom to survey the Star Ring, learned of Evelyn’s fight and the threat to the main control room, and went there herself.
• Evelyn arrived at Belle and Wise’s private box and warned them that Fugue’s people were threatening the Star Ring while it took off.
• Belle and Wise decided to help Evelyn reach the main control room, taking Eous with them.
• Evelyn defeated enemies along the route, while Wise knocked out an attacker with a wall painting and Belle struck two assassins with Eous.
• Evelyn led Belle and Wise toward the main control room, passing bodies wrapped in faint golden threads.

Evelyn, Wise, and Belle found Star Ring’s control room filled with unconscious staff and Fugue members, along with a countdown that could trigger a catastrophe. While Wise and Belle tried to stop it, Evelyn went to help Astra, and Griseo’s presence on the observation deck revealed Vill-V’s role in changing Star Ring’s course as Aponia persuaded Mrs. Tivert to abandon her revenge.

• Evelyn found Star Ring staff and Fugue members unconscious in the control room and realized a third party had intervened.
• Wise discovered that a countdown would soon send commands to Star Ring’s systems or possibly detonate a bomb, but he could not quickly crack its password without Fairy.
• Evelyn failed to contact Astra because Star Ring’s communications link had been cut, then left with Eous to help Astra while Wise and Belle worked on the countdown.
• On Star Ring’s observation deck, Vill-V used a control terminal to change the ship’s course and assured Griseo that her performance was under control.
• Aponia got Mrs. Tivert to confess that she had planned to attack Astra’s concert out of grief and hatred, and Mrs. Tivert agreed to help complete the performance.

Vill-V and Griseo turned Astra Yao’s performance into a surprise dance battle, while Wise and Belle discovered that Vill-V’s modified bombs were still causing explosions aboard Star Ring. The chapter left Vill-V pleased with the chaos and Griseo worried the ship might blow up.

• Aponia vanished in a shower of blue, butterfly-like lights after handing the rest of the plan to Vill-V and Griseo.
• Vill-V launched her surprise show during Astra Yao’s performance, plunging Star Ring into darkness and summoning four challengers to the stage.
• The challengers performed the Coffin Dance and challenged Astra Yao to prove she deserved Yulan’s name, and Astra accepted their dance battle.
• Wise and Belle watched the spectacle from the control room as four explosions made Star Ring lurch.
• Vill-V said the explosions were only a scare and claimed the modified bombs would go off as fireworks at midnight, while Griseo worried about the ship.

Astra Yao overcame the staged challenge by singing a song that stirred the audience’s memories, evening the score. Vill-V then introduced two new challengers as the performance continued.

• Astra Yao realized the men’s challenge was tied to bombs planted around the Star Ring, with one set to detonate each time she lost.
• Astra Yao accepted the challenge and sang “The Camellias Have Bloomed,” while Griseo’s ability drew the audience into memories of their grandmothers and home.
• Griseo told Vill-V that Evelyn was about to enter for the next step, and Vill-V praised Griseo’s use of her abilities to shape the performance.
• Vill-V announced that Astra Yao had evened the score and introduced two new challengers, one carrying a huge sword and the other performing martial-arts moves.

Astra Yao and Evelyn teamed up to defeat the challengers on the Star Ring stage, but learned the detonator countdown was still active. Mrs. Tivent appeared above the stage and declared that the challenge was not over, accusing Astra of tarnishing Yulan’s name.

• Evelyn arrived in time to protect Astra Yao from Michael’s Dance and Kun Dance Iron Mountain Lean.
• Astra Yao gave Evelyn her microphone, and the two sang together as Evelyn drove back the challengers and their allies.
• Their duet sent a wave of sound across the stage, blasting the enemies away as the audience cheered.
• Wise noticed the detonator countdown had not ended, and Belle warned Astra Yao and Evelyn through Eous.
• Mrs. Tivent appeared on the lighting rig, called herself Yulan’s widow, and declared that she would not let Astra tarnish Yulan’s name.

Mrs. Tivert accused Diga, Fugue, and Yulan’s fans of driving Yulan to his death, then used the Harmonic Cores and a massive mecha to seize control of Star Ring. As the station fell and a requiem threatened the audience, Astra Yao defended her music and began singing against Mrs. Tivert.

• Mrs. Tivert denounced Yulan’s death as murder and blamed Diga, Fugue, and the fans who had hurt him.
• Mrs. Tivert activated the Harmonic Cores, summoned a massive mecha, and used “Sanctuary of Atonement, Concerto: Finale” to control Star Ring.
• Star Ring began plummeting, while an invisible force trapped the audience and Mrs. Tivert’s requiem intensified the danger for Astra Yao and Evelyn.
• Mrs. Tivert taunted Astra Yao as a counterfeit who relied on Yulan’s unreleased songs, and Astra Yao rejected the accusation, declaring that her notes belonged to her.
• Astra Yao rose and began singing her final song, determined to carry Yulan’s wish and music into the future.

Astra Yao’s song moved the starlight and helped Mrs. Tivent honor Yulan’s music, while Evelyn confessed she was a Fugue spy and Astra accepted her. Mrs. Tivent’s apparent attack turned out to be a New Year’s fireworks surprise, and Griseo ended the night with a mysterious badge in hand.

• Astra Yao sang with Yulan’s hope in her voice, drawing the starlight away from Mrs. Tivent as the audience joined in with their glow sticks.
• Evelyn confessed to Astra Yao that she was a Fugue spy, but Astra reassured her and invited her to sing together.
• Mrs. Tivent’s mecha aimed its cannon at the stage, then the Star Ring went dark and fireworks erupted across the dome and night sky.
• Wise and Belle realized someone had transformed the performance into one of [Elation], and they wished each other a Happy New Year.
• Mrs. Tivent gave Astra Yao a USB drive containing Yulan’s unreleased music and left the stage.
• Griseo withdrew the power of [Spiral], watched Vill-V fade away, and held a badge-like object as she wished the night a Happy New Year.

On the last day of the New Year holiday, Anby, Soldier 11, and Cui Ji arrived at the video store after a chase turned into a sword fight. Wise suggested they share a meal to make peace, leaving the three to consider his proposal.

• Soldier 11 spotted the Cunning Hares and chased Anby, while Anby called Cui Ji for help.
• Cui Ji learned Soldier 11 only wanted to talk to Anby, but Anby kept running and Cui Ji decided not to intervene.
• Soldier 11 caught up with Anby, and they fought with swords before Anby kicked her away and continued fleeing.
• Anby ran behind Cui Ji, forcing Cui Ji to block Soldier 11's attack and join their three-way melee.
• At the video store, Soldier 11 explained she had only wanted to greet Anby, and Wise suggested the three share a meal.

Anby, Cui Ji, and Soldier 11 met for a meal to ease the awkwardness between them, but Soldier 11 secretly spiced Anby’s dipping sauce until it was unbearably hot. When Anby tried to share Cui Ji’s normal sauce, Soldier 11 poured her own chili sauce into Cui Ji’s bowl, leaving both older sisters stunned.

• Cui Ji suggested that Anby and Soldier 11 join her for hot pot, and they agreed.
• While Anby and Cui Ji bought hamburgers, Soldier 11 mixed her prized chili sauce into Anby’s dipping bowl and kept the remaining sauce for herself.
• Anby tasted the doctored sauce and coughed from the heat, while Cui Ji tried it and suffered the same burning spice.
• Soldier 11 admitted she had added the chili sauce because she thought Anby would enjoy it, and Cui Ji refused to try Soldier 11’s even hotter bowl.
• After learning the restaurant had run out of dipping sauce, Anby asked to share Cui Ji’s bowl, but Soldier 11 poured all her chili sauce into it so they could share together.

Wise remembered how Anby’s past as a Silver Army clone soldier began when Nicole rescued her and brought her into the Cunning Hares. The flashback ended with Anby mistaking Nicole’s instructions for military commands and vacuuming up the gang’s belongings.

• After Anby and Cui Ji recovered from the spicy food with Griseo’s healing, Wise reflected that Anby’s story had begun with the Silver Army.
• Anby fought Ethereals alongside her cloned sisters before waking from a nightmare in a messy room, realizing she had escaped her life as a clone soldier.
• Nicole found Anby badly wounded in a garbage dump, spent her savings on serum, and injected it before falling asleep beside her.
• Anby woke in Nicole’s home, watched a cartoon, and introduced herself as Silver Army Captain Anby when Nicole asked her name.
• Nicole introduced herself and Amillion, then ordered Anby to learn to use a vacuum cleaner and clean the room.
• Anby followed the order by vacuuming up account books, Nicole’s underwear, and cockroaches, prompting Nicole to demand a refund.

The chapter recounts how Nicole took in Anby, cared for her, and eventually helped her choose her own path beyond the Defense Force. It ends with Anby joining Nicole on a new commission to the Outer Ring.

• Nicole taught Anby basic life skills and brought her to a hamburger shop, where Anby tasted a burger for the first time.
• When Nicole returned injured from a dangerous job, she gave Anby the food she had brought home and called her the first family member she had picked up.
• Anby asked to join Nicole’s operations, but Nicole told her to learn to give herself orders.
• Years later, Anby left her Defense Force uniform on the wall and kept her tactical gear and equipment ready.
• Nicole announced a new Outer Ring commission, and Anby prepared to go with her.

Cui Ji recounted how she was mutilated and exploited, then helped a former military doctor and TOPS Capital launch a project to clone the Silver Army. As the replicas failed to meet the original soldiers’ standards, Cui Ji grew attached to them, while the doctor’s appraisal of the girls threatened that bond.

• A black-market doctor experimented on Cui Ji, who had been sold after losing her limbs, and called her the Legacy of Silver.
• Cui Ji allied with the doctor, gained prosthetics, and helped TOPS Capital establish the Silver Revival research institute in the Hollows.
• When researchers revealed Cui Ji’s first clone, Cui Ji embraced the newborn girl and felt the warmth of seeing a Silver Army sister again.
• The cloned girls performed poorly in their tests, and Cui Ji blamed the limits of their template and her own shortcomings.
• Girl A massaged Cui Ji’s aching shoulders while the other sisters watched, but the black-market doctor reminded Cui Ji that the replicas were defective products.
• Cui Ji challenged the doctor’s purpose for visiting as the doctor looked over the replicas like goods awaiting sale.

Cui Ji learned that the doctor planned to exploit her newborn sisters for their organs, and after being drugged and restrained, vowed to fight the world. She later replaced the doctor, supplied organs to the Ravenlock Family, and devised a plan to revive the Silver Army using Soldier 11 and Anby.

• The doctor demanded that Cui Ji make her sisters useful as specimens, and Cui Ji attacked her before armed personnel restrained and drugged her.
• Cui Ji lay helpless as the doctor left, then vowed to fight the world and never let her feelings weaken her again.
• Cui Ji pretended to obey the doctor, killed one of her younger sisters to gain the doctor's trust, and learned the institute's secrets.
• Cui Ji struck a deal with the Ravenlock Family, replaced the doctor, and began supplying them with organs from her newborn sisters.
• After learning that Soldier 11 and Anby were alive, Cui Ji planned to capture Soldier 11, lure Anby in, and use the resources to achieve Silver Revival.

After Trigger enlisted Griseo’s help, Griseo reached the research facility where Cui Ji held Soldier 11 and confronted Cui Ji. Mobius arrived to calm Griseo and took charge of the facility, while Girl A asked her to spare Cui Ji.

• Cui Ji held Soldier 11 captive in a research facility and reflected on their shared past.
• Girl A warned Cui Ji that danger was approaching, and they fled toward the exit.
• Griseo arrived, demanded to know where Soldier 11 was, and attacked Cui Ji when Cui Ji lunged at her.
• Girl A tried to stop Griseo, but Mobius arrived and used her Signet to calm Griseo.
• Mobius told Griseo to guard the facility, then ordered Girl A to guide her inside.
• Girl A asked Mobius to save Cui Ji too, and Mobius allowed her to bring Cui Ji inside.