Chapter Summaries

Griseo and Cui Ji entered LB-10 Hollow to search for Morel and Claire after Griseo failed to sense their fate. Pardo found Morel’s phone and led them to an Ether Rift, which she entered first.

• Griseo and Cui Ji reached LB-10 Hollow, and Griseo decided to search for Morel and Claire despite being unable to sense their fate.
• Pardo was chased by Ethereals after collecting Ether crystals, but Griseo’s attacks weakened the pack and Pardo defeated the survivors.
• Pardo showed Griseo Morel’s old phone, which had a picture of Claire on its wallpaper.
• Pardo led Griseo and Cui Ji to the Ether Rift where she had found the phone, then entered it first.
• Griseo followed Pardo into the Ether Rift, and Cui Ji hurried after them.

Cui Ji, Griseo, and Pardo discovered a Ravenlock Family laboratory using Silver Army cloning technology to replace and harvest people from New Eridu’s lower classes. Griseo uncovered the memory of Doctor Lin dissecting Claire while her father, Morel, was forced to watch.

• Cui Ji recognized the facility as a Ravenlock Family lab built with the Silver Revival project’s cloning technology and blamed herself for giving the family that technology.
• Griseo led the group down the corridor, and Pardo picked the lock on a heavy metal door.
• The three entered a laboratory filled with cloning tanks containing copies of people, including a clone labeled ClaireA003.
• Griseo entered an adjoining operating room and used the Signets of The Stars to reveal a memory of Doctor Lin cutting open Claire while her father, Morel, watched.
• The memory showed Doctor Lin harvesting Claire’s organs and telling Morel that Claire could not scream because he had destroyed her vocal cords.

Griseo’s despair unleashed a dangerous surge of Ether Energy in the laboratory, and Pardo and Cui Ji tried to calm her before Doctor Lin and armed guards arrived. Qianjie and Kosma subdued the attackers, while Pardo escaped with Griseo and Cui Ji and Qianjie stayed behind to deal with Doctor Lin and the facility.

• As Griseo’s despair deepened, her powers shook the laboratory and cracked the cultivation pods, and Pardo and Cui Ji tried to bring her back to herself.
• Cui Ji urged Griseo to spare the city and ordinary people, and Griseo gently closed her fingers around theirs as Doctor Lin entered with armed guards.
• Doctor Lin ordered the guards to shoot, but Pardo and Cui Ji took down four while Kosma stopped the remaining bullets and Qianjie killed the last two guards.
• Qianjie picked up Griseo, told Pardo to take her and Cui Ji away, and Pardo carried them through the Ether Rift.
• Qianjie ordered Kosma to handle the rest of the facility and kept Doctor Lin for himself.

Griseo emerged from the Hollow upset that she could not resurrect Morel and Claire, whose souls could not be reached through her authority. Kevin and Mobius comforted her, and Mobius suggested a way to make others help change tragic endings.

• Pardo brought Griseo and Cui Ji out of the Ether Rift, and Cui Ji checked that Griseo had returned to normal.
• Griseo explained that she had tried to resurrect Morel and Claire but could not find their soul fragments in the Ether Sea.
• Kevin appeared and told Griseo she did not have to save everyone or take every responsibility upon herself.
• Mobius reassured Griseo that her abilities had limits, then whispered an idea for making other people help change endings.
• Griseo said she understood Mobius's suggestion, and Mobius urged her to act.

Kosma and Qianjie returned from destroying a Ravenlock Family base with Doctor Lin captured and evidence recovered. After Belle learned the extent of the organ-trafficking operation, Griseo planned to eliminate those involved, send the evidence to Zhu Yuan, and have Kosma destroy the remaining research institutes.

• Kosma returned with the battered Doctor Lin and a USB drive containing evidence, while Qianjie emerged from the destroyed base.
• Griseo sent Pardo and Cui Ji to retrieve Eous, and Pardo returned with them about an hour later.
• Belle connected to Eous, read the memory card, and discovered records of the Ravenlock Family's organ-trafficking network and hidden research institutes.
• Griseo asked Belle to organize the evidence for Zhu Yuan and said she would eliminate everyone involved except innocent people.
• Griseo asked Belle to guide Kosma in destroying the research institutes, and Belle enthusiastically introduced herself to him.

Griseo and her allies planned an operation against the Ravenlock Family, coordinating around the mayor, Victoria Housekeeping, and the need to expose the family’s crimes through official channels. Belle agreed to help, and the operation was set to begin the next day.

• Belle realized that her and her brother’s investigation into the Sacrificial Ghost Core connected to Griseo’s investigation of the Ravenlock Family and City Hall.
• Griseo outlined a plan that used Wise as bait, while she arranged to meet Mayor Meflor as an alibi and distraction.
• Qianjie agreed to bring down the Ravenlock Family, and Hua offered to use a formation to conserve Griseo’s energy during the operation.
• Griseo assigned Cui Ji to take the unconscious Doctor Lin to Zhu Yuan so the Public Security Department could investigate the Ravenlocks’ crimes.
• Belle put aside her concerns and promised to help Griseo, as the group prepared for change in New Eridu.

Wise learned that Belle was missing and Griseo had returned, while Vivian agreed to accompany him undercover at a Ravenlock Family banquet. Elsewhere, Griseo waited at Lumina Square, Belle traveled through a Hollow with Kosma, and Qianjie headed to meet buyers connected to the Silver Incident.

• Wise asked Fairy for information about Belle, Griseo, and Eous, but their whereabouts were restricted by the highest privacy level.
• Lycaon told Wise that the Ravenlock Family was hosting a banquet and that Mockingbird could infiltrate Hartmann's study; Vivian agreed after learning she would pose as Wise's partner.
• Lycaon and Fairy informed Wise that Griseo had returned four days earlier and was meeting the mayor at Lumina Square, though Belle's whereabouts remained unknown.
• Vivian prepared to teach Wise noble etiquette before the banquet and suggested they practice acting as a couple.
• Griseo waited beside the river at Lumina Square while Belle traveled through a Hollow with Kosma.
• Qianjie entered Thorne District carrying Eous to visit buyers involved in the Silver Incident.

Wise and Vivian infiltrated the Ravenlock Family estate to investigate Hartmann, but he caught them in his study and aimed a gun at them. Hugo intervened, revealed that he had faked his death and was the leader of Mockingbird, before Qianjie arrived and interrupted his speech.

• Wise and Vivian attended the Ravenlock banquet, where Vivian used coded references to Ravenlock secrets to persuade Burton to arrange an After-Dinner Dessert.
• Wise and Vivian searched Hartmann's study for clues about the Sacrificial Ghost Core but found nothing before Hartmann entered with a pistol.
• Hartmann revealed that he had recognized Wise and Vivian and aimed his gun at them beneath the desk.
• Hugo knocked Hartmann's pistol away with a silver coin and revealed that he had faked his death.
• Hugo declared himself the leader of Mockingbird as TOPS announced it was severing ties with the Ravenlock Family.
• Qianjie descended from the abyss and told Hugo he had three more minutes if he was not finished.

Qianjie rescued Wise and Vivian from Hartmann, killed Hartmann, and faced three Black Branch agents who wanted to recruit him. He rejected Zhao’s offer and challenged her worthiness.

• Qianjie punched a hole in the wall and ordered Hugo, Wise, and Vivian to leave, then gave Wise the barely conscious Eous, which contained the Praise Society’s coordinates.
• After Wise and Vivian escaped, Hartmann tried to shoot Qianjie, but Qianjie seized him and began choking him.
• Zhao, Liuyin, and a stern woman entered through the window, and Qianjie killed Hartmann in front of them.
• Zhao explained that TOPS had cut ties with the Ravenlock Family and said Black Branch wanted to recruit Qianjie after his attacks on major families exposed their crimes.
• Qianjie laughed at Zhao’s offer and asked what made her think she was worthy of recruiting him.

Qianjie rejected Zhao’s attempt to recruit him and defeated Promia when she attacked, then continued his mission against the Ravenlock Family. He slaughtered the family at its banquet, leaving the manor burning and the Ravenlocks erased from New Eridu’s history.

• Qianjie told Zhao and Promia that the Ravenlock Family deserved death for killing innocent girls, then refused to stop his pursuit.
• Promia attacked Qianjie, who caught her strike and sent her crashing into Liuyin; he told Promia his path of vengeance might not suit her.
• Zhao ordered Liuyin to take the injured Promia for treatment and abandoned the pursuit of Qianjie.
• Qianjie fought through the Ravenlock Manor guards and entered the family’s banquet, where he killed everyone on his list.
• The surviving guests fled as Qianjie left the bloodied hall, and flames began consuming the manor and the Ravenlock Family’s traces.

Belle and Kosma destroyed the Ravenlock Family’s Hollow base while Belle drew Kosma into a conversation about his [Daybreak] Signet. When a surge of Ether Energy struck nearby, they rushed to find Wise and Vivian unconscious and learned that Aponia had intervened, though she warned Belle and Wise that removing the force within them would kill them.

• Belle teased Kosma during their mission to destroy the Ravenlock Family’s Hollow base and erase its organ-trafficking and Silver Army records.
• Belle asked Kosma about [Daybreak], and he explained how it represented the first hope before Griseo’s [The Stars] brought countless others.
• After Kosma demolished the base, Belle felt pain and called out for Wise as golden patterns appeared on her body, then abruptly faded.
• Kosma carried Belle toward a surge of Ether Energy and found Wise and Vivian unconscious while Aponia began to fade away.
• Aponia explained that Wise had awakened the power of Griseo’s [Discipline] Signet to save Vivian from transforming into an Ethereal, then warned that expelling the force within Wise and Belle would kill them.
• Kosma carried Wise and Vivian out of the Hollow with Belle after Aponia entrusted him with the cleanup.

Wise was held captive by an obsessive Vivian and nearly escaped before collapsing from starvation. The story then revealed the ordeal as Griseo’s fictional comic, which Vivian indignantly denied resembled her.

• Vivian kept Wise tied up in a basement, insisting she wanted him all to herself and would never let him escape.
• Wise rejected Vivian’s affection and warned that her captivity would leave them with only hatred, but Vivian said she did not care if he hated her.
• Wise stopped eating and waited for an opening; when Vivian thought he was dead and left the door open, he shoved her aside and ran.
• Wise collapsed near the exit from weakness, and Vivian kissed his forehead while promising to punish him for trying to escape.
• On the video store’s third floor, Vivian protested that she would never imprison Wise, while Griseo said she had based the comic on real events.

Belle and Griseo used Ether Energy to show Vivian’s private fantasies about Wise, embarrassing her with scenes of her waking him and preparing for their date. After Griseo stopped the display, Belle asked Vivian to tell them where she and Wise had gone on the date.

• Griseo used her paintbrush and Ether Energy to show Vivian tenderly watching Wise sleep and contemplating touching his face.
• Belle teased Vivian as Griseo showed her trying on outfits and sewing a headscarf printed with Phaethon’s portrait for her date with Wise.
• Belle claimed Vivian had no serious rivals for the position of Wise’s sister-in-law, and Griseo encouraged Vivian to do her best.
• Vivian pleaded with Griseo to stop before she could reveal another scene, so Griseo dismissed the Ether Energy.
• Belle asked Vivian where she and Wise had gone on their date.

Wise and Vivian revisited the river where she had learned he was Phaethon, and Vivian took him to steps carved with words from broken and reconciled relationships. After Wise misunderstood her romantic hint, Vivian left to test whether she could still see tragic futures.

• Wise and Vivian walked together along the river at Lumina Square, recalling how Vivian had discovered his identity and followed Phaethon’s trail.
• Vivian led Wise to a wisteria-covered staircase and showed him the angry words carved on one side and heartfelt pleas carved on the other.
• Wise said the staircase’s design had a flaw because a heartbroken person might never turn back to see the other person’s feelings, leaving Vivian embarrassed.
• In the studio, Belle laughed at Vivian’s failed hint, and Vivian vowed to win Wise’s heart while Griseo shared her chips.
• Belle asked whether Vivian could still see tragic futures, prompting Vivian to leave and test whether her ability had disappeared.

Belle persuaded Griseo to share her private account of Vivian’s past, which revealed how Phaethon’s words had given Vivian hope. Griseo then confirmed that Belle and Wise possessed [authority] and explained that it had drawn her to them two years earlier.

• Belle asked Griseo for the private version of Vivian’s story, and Griseo handed her another sample issue.
• The comic recounted how Vivian’s childhood prophecies brought her rejection, until Phaethon’s message offered her comfort and became the focus of her devotion.
• Belle noticed that Vivian’s prophetic ability resembled Aponia’s [Discipline] Signet, and Griseo said Aponia had erased Vivian’s ability because it came from only a minuscule amount of [authority].
• Belle realized that Aponia’s earlier warning referred to power within her and Wise, and Griseo confirmed that the siblings possessed [authority].
• Griseo explained that the siblings’ hidden power had drawn her to them when she first entered the real world, rather than Sixth Street’s residents being the true reason she stayed at the video store.

Belle and Griseo discussed the siblings’ coming departure and Griseo’s eventual journey among the stars. Days later, Yixuan arrived to take Wise and Belle to Yunkui Mountain, then witnessed Griseo’s Authority and recognized Hua as Yunkui Mountain’s Founding Master.

• Belle accepted that Griseo might someday leave New Eridu, and Griseo reassured her that she still had things to do before then.
• Yixuan arrived at the video store and agreed to register Wise and Belle as disciples so she could teach them to control their Ether abilities.
• Wise and Belle called Yixuan Master, accepted disciple robes, and prepared to leave with her for Weifei Land.
• Yixuan visited Griseo upstairs and asked to see her Authority.
• Griseo displayed her paintbrush, Ether energy, thirteen Signets, and Hua, convincing Yixuan that the ancient texts were true.
• Yixuan bowed to Hua and greeted her as Yunkui Mountain’s Founding Master.

Yixuan mistook Hua for Yunkui Mountain’s founding master and begged her to save Ye Shunguang, while Griseo agreed to go to Yunkui Mountain. Before leaving the video store for Weifei Land, Griseo asked Fairy about her loyalty and origins, learning that Fairy was one of four Keys.

• Yixuan repeatedly mistook Hua for Yunkui Mountain’s founding master because Hua’s Bagua Formation resembled the sect’s arts.
• Griseo suggested Hua teach Yixuan the Taixu Sword God, and Yixuan concluded that its memory-burning cost explained the Azure Nether Swordmasters’ suffering.
• Hua denied founding Yunkui Mountain, but Yixuan decided she would rename it Taixu Mountain and begged Hua to save her disciple Ye Shunguang.
• Griseo agreed to accompany Yixuan to Yunkui Mountain, and Hua praised Yixuan’s integrity after she left.
• Griseo prepared to leave the video store, asked Fairy whether she would harm Belle and Wise, and learned that Fairy was one of four Keys alongside Ghost, Jinni, and Youkai.

Griseo accepted Meflor’s offer to help New Eridu in exchange for two years to prove the city was changing, and chose the name Flame-Chaser for her new position. Ithaqua then came to take her to the investiture ceremony at City Hall, where Griseo used her Authority to open a rift.

• Meflor told Griseo that the Meflor Family would help build the New Eridu she wanted, and Griseo gave him two years to show progress.
• Griseo named her position Flame-Chaser and gave Meflor a moth badge to use for its medal.
• Meflor instructed Servilian to prepare the new position and the title The Stars' Illustrated Scroll.
• Ithaqua arrived at the video store and told Griseo that her investiture ceremony was ready.
• Griseo opened a violet rift with her [Space] Authority and stepped through to City Hall with Ithaqua.

Griseo accepted City Hall’s independent law-enforcement role as Flame-Chaser, then joined a briefing on Hollow Zero and the Whista Society’s interference. She announced she would enter Hollow Zero’s depths, while Meflor learned that the Black Wall had been breached for two years.

• Meflor appointed Griseo as City Hall’s independent Flame-Chaser and presented her with a medal and official document.
• Meflor told Servilian that Hoshimi Miyabi and Yixuan had refused similar investiture ceremonies.
• Lei briefed City Hall officials on Hollow Zero’s expansion and warned that the Whista Society had obstructed the pursuit of Gepetto, whom it and Nineveh were deliberately cultivating.
• Griseo said she would enter Hollow Zero’s depths and challenged Meflor to seal the more urgent Black Wall instead.
• Griseo confirmed that the Black Wall had been breached for the past two years.

Griseo, Hoshimi Miyabi, and Ithaqua traveled deep into Hollow Zero, where two level-six Rek'Sai ambushed them and Griseo disappeared in the attack. As Hoshimi Miyabi and Ithaqua prepared to fight the beasts, an unseen pink-haired figure watched them and recognized their connections to old acquaintances.

• Meflor sent Hoshimi Miyabi and Ithaqua with Griseo to scout the depths of Hollow Zero and keep watch on her while the Municipal Government focused on Nineveh.
• The trio fought through waves of Ethereals, and Griseo repeatedly restored Hoshimi Miyabi and Ithaqua while conserving her own strength.
• Griseo sensed something approaching from the northeast as the ground began to tremble beneath the resting group.
• Two level-six Rek'Sai burst from underground, and Griseo vanished when the ground exploded beneath her.
• Hoshimi Miyabi and Ithaqua regrouped and prepared to fight the Rek'Sai, whose movements let them detect vibrations in the ground.
• An unseen pink-haired figure watched Hoshimi Miyabi and Ithaqua, recognized their family connections, and wondered whether they were heading for the Black Wall.