Recaps

Deathbird tried to recruit Nuen by promising to save White Cliff Town and revealing that he belonged to the surviving Doom Omen Clan. Nuen refused, and Deathbird unleashed a warped Crimson Sun whose power threatened to collapse the Interstice Gray Domain into the Spirit Realm.

• Deathbird confronted Nuen and urged him to join forces, arguing that the world was dying and that they shared the goal of saving it.
• Deathbird revealed that Nuen carried the Sunflower Clan’s hope of rebuilding and offered to take White Cliff Town’s people to safety in the Flamecore Inner Ring.
• Nuen ignited his Soul Marrow and drew out the full power of his sword, while Deathbird revealed the Doom Omen Clan tattoo and said his clan had survived the century-old campaign.
• Nuen charged Deathbird, who cut his chest and summoned a distorted Crimson Sun that flooded the Interstice Gray Domain with overwhelming power.

During White Cliff Town's celebration, Xilian and Ava recalled how he had praised her, and Tim asked her to dance. A crimson flare and Burning Wind struck the town, Boll transformed into a Demon and died, and Xilian set out to face the threat while Tim led the townspeople toward shelter.

• Xilian told Ava that Tim liked her, and Ava explained she had fallen for Xilian after overhearing his praise of her last summer.
• Tim approached Ava and asked her for a dance, but Boll arrived with a warning before she could answer.
• The Crimson Sun flared over the Wilderness, and a scorching Burning Wind battered White Cliff Town's high wall and devastated the celebration.
• Boll suffered severe burns, transformed into a Demon, and attacked Ava before Tim killed him.
• Xilian discovered his sword was missing, accepted Tim's sword, and ordered Tim to lead the townspeople to Torchlight Lighthouse while he went to face the threat.
• Tim organized the evacuation as Mick kept watch, and Xilian headed toward the blazing wall with his Soul Marrow burning.

Xilian fought his way through the Demons to the Crimson Sun, where Nuen confronted the Deathbird and learned Xilian carried Torchbearer Sacred Blood. The Deathbird destroyed Torchlight Lighthouse, plunging the land into darkness as the Chaos tide surged back.

• The Crimson Sun's burning wind destroyed White Cliff Town's wall and devastated the town before Demons poured through the breach.
• Xilian fought through the Demons toward the Crimson Sun and saw that it extended into the Spirit Realm.
• Nuen appeared before the Crimson Sun with Gene's remains, while the Deathbird revealed that Nuen had given Xilian Torchbearer Sacred Blood.
• Xilian attacked Tania, but Toren intervened and drove him back.
• The Deathbird focused the Crimson Sun's power into a spear that tore down Torchlight Lighthouse, ending its light and letting Chaos surge across the land.

After Torchlight Lighthouse fell and Chaos engulfed White Cliff Town, Xilian fought Toren while Nuen battled the Deathbird. Xilian overcame Chaos’s hold and killed Toren, but the invasion and the fighting around the town remained unresolved.

• The Deathbird destroyed Torchlight Lighthouse, and Tania used a ritual to summon a Grey Fog that swallowed White Cliff Town.
• Toren left the fog to attack Xilian, who tricked him with a burning blood-flame and knocked him to the ground.
• Toren transformed under Chaos’s influence, and he and Xilian fought until a heat wave knocked them both down.
• Toren caught Xilian in Chaos’s grasp and drove a bone spike toward his heart, but Xilian broke free with the Ouroboros Mark’s power.
• Xilian set Toren ablaze and cut off his head with his longsword.

Xilian returned to White Cliff Town as the Grey Fog overwhelmed it, while Tim and Mick struggled to protect the surviving townspeople. Xilian led the survivors toward the ruined Torchlight Lighthouse, hoping to use the Soul Marrow stored beneath it to survive the night.

• Xilian found White Cliff Town saturated with Chaos and worried that his friends would be corrupted by the Grey Fog.
• The Torchlight Lighthouse collapsed, and the Grey Fog flooded the town as demons slaughtered its inhabitants.
• Tim and Mick gathered the surviving townspeople around their Soul Marrow torches and fought off demons as the light weakened.
• A demon killed the baker's daughter, and Ava pulled the shaken Tim back to his senses.
• Xilian arrived, cut down demons with the Fire Sword, and led the survivors toward the Torchlight Lighthouse and its Soul Marrow storehouse.

Xilian led White Cliff Town’s survivors through the Grey Fog as Demons overwhelmed them and the torchlight faded. When they reached the ruined Torchlight Lighthouse, Tania appeared and unleashed another horde, but a fiery sweep split the Demons and let Xilian reach her with his sword.

• Xilian and Mick fought through waves of Demons while the townspeople struggled to keep up, and Mick lost his left ear protecting Xilian’s flank.
• Xilian killed a townsman who tried to seize a torch, revealing that the man had been corrupted by Chaos.
• Mick stabbed a survivor who shoved another man into the Demons to claim his place under the light.
• Xilian led the survivors toward the burning Torchlight Lighthouse, but found its ordinary flames could not repel Chaos.
• Tania emerged from the Grey Fog, and Xilian recognized her as a figure from Her City before she summoned a horde of Demons.
• Xilian charged Tania’s line, and a dazzling stream of fire split the Demon horde and carried him within striking distance of her.

Xilian and the surviving townspeople faced Deathbird after Chaos corrupted White Cliff Town and its Soul Marrow. Nuen and Mick died in the battle, while Xilian awakened the Blessing Cultivation of Ten Thousand Forms and struck down Deathbird with the Fire Sword.

• Tania was dragged into the Grey Fog by a filament-covered hand, and Nuen returned with severe wounds as the survivors gathered by Torchlight Lighthouse.
• Nuen revealed that Chaos had corrupted the Soul Marrow and fought Deathbird, who used Forbidden Art: Threshold Liberation to unleash a deadly Grey Domain.
• Mick stabbed Deathbird in the throat to create an opening, but Deathbird killed him; Nuen then struck Deathbird while being run through by his bone sword.
• Nuen recited the Torchbearers' oath as Chaos froze Xilian, and the oath stirred Xilian's Soul Marrow and awakened his Blessing, Cultivation of Ten Thousand Forms.
• Xilian reached Nuen, seized the Boiling Sword, and drove it through Deathbird's heart, unleashing flames that swept away the darkness.

After the Deathbird’s defeat, Xilian and the survivors grieved for Mick and watched Nuen sacrifice himself to keep them safe until dawn. As daylight arrived, Xilian took up Nuen’s sword and began organizing the survivors, though Tim feared their troubles were not over.

• Xilian found Mick dead and carried his body back to Nuen and the survivors.
• Xilian explained that the Wanderer had given him the Blessing: Nurture Myriad Forms, which adapted into a power that strengthened him as he fought Chaos.
• Nuen told Xilian he had long intended to return to the Dark World and die searching for the Sunflower Clan, then warned him that the Doom Omen Clan still hunted their bloodline.
• Nuen gave Xilian the Boiling Sword and walked into the fire, using the Soul Marrow in his body to protect the survivors until morning.
• After the Grey Fog dispersed, Xilian told Tim to take the survivors to the Armory while he searched for others and prepared to defend White Cliff Town.

After discovering that White Cliff Town had no survivors and that the Armory survivors were all contaminated, Xilian prepared to leave for Her City. Tim stayed behind with the dying, while Xilian departed alone, carrying grief and a newly accepted purpose to hunt the enemies of Chaos.

• Xilian returned to the Armory with supplies and told Tim that White Cliff Town had been destroyed and they needed to reach Her City.
• Tim showed Xilian that every survivor was contaminated and would become a Demon when night fell, and Xilian learned Ava was likely contaminated too.
• Ava told Xilian she loved him and the life they had shared, then fell asleep after asking him not to forget them.
• Tim revealed that he was contaminated as well, and Xilian agreed to leave alone after the survivors were given poison for a painless death.
• Xilian told Tim that killing Bell had filled him with ecstasy and that he found purpose in killing the enemies of Chaos.
• Tim said goodbye to Xilian, then returned to Ava and invited her to dance.

After the Grey Fog slaughtered the people at the Armory, Xilian buried the dead, gathered Nuen's belongings, and resolved to pursue those responsible. In the year 434 of the City-State Calendar, he left White Cliff Town for Confluence City Hel.

• Xilian slaughtered the demons that attacked him through the night, then broke down in grief before the burning Ashen Mountain.
• Xilian found the survivors, Ava, and Tim dead, embraced Ava and Tim, and spent the day burying the victims outside White Cliff Town.
• Xilian opened Nuen's Iron Chest, found a torn flag linked to the Boiling Sword, and packed it along with supplies from the Armory.
• Xilian studied his sketches of the Doom Omen Clan, Tania, and the Ouroboros Mark, then vowed to make someone answer for the bloodshed.
• Xilian ate Ava's leftover Syrup Pancakes, said goodbye to White Cliff Town, and rode toward Confluence City Hel.

Xilian endured another night in the Wilderness when the Craftsman’s hammerblows shook the Grey Fog and nearly killed him. After waking to a devastated landscape, he found a newcomer who had emerged from the sand and discovered that the man had become a white dog.

• Xilian restrained his anger toward the demons and meditated beside his Soul Marrow fire, recognizing that he needed stronger enemies to advance.
• The Ouroboros Mark burned as the Grey Fog churned, and Xilian fed Soul Marrow to the fire to keep himself anchored in reality.
• Xilian saw the Craftsman strike an ancient anvil, and the hammerblows shattered demons and battered Xilian before dawn interrupted the Craftsman’s ascent.
• Xilian woke at midday among flattened ruins, recovered his pack and damaged motorcycle, and searched the sand when something moved nearby.
• A newcomer emerged from the sand, and Xilian used the Boiling Sword to reveal that the man’s reflection showed a white dog’s head.
• The newcomer saw his reflection and screamed in disbelief that he had become a dog.

Xilian found a talking white dog in the Outer Flame Frontier and learned it could use Source Energy to repair and modify his broken motorcycle. The two agreed to work together, though the dog could not explain who it was or how it had arrived, and it began to suffer from the heat.

• Xilian left his broken motorcycle and started walking, but the big white dog followed him across the barren wilderness.
• The dog revealed it could use Source Energy and offered to repair the motorcycle.
• The dog smelted metal from the surrounding earth and rebuilt the motorcycle, modifying its engine to run on Source Energy.
• Xilian tested the repaired motorcycle and agreed to work with the dog, while asking about its identity and arrival.
• The dog said it did not know how it had appeared and asked to discuss the matter later because it was getting heatstroke.

Xilian and Bruce, a human-minded dog with no memories, discussed Bruce’s origins and set out together for Confluence City Hel. Xilian hoped Bruce might find clues about his past there, while he continued his journey for revenge.

• Bruce theorized that someone had transplanted his brain into a dog’s body and removed part of it, causing his memory loss.
• Bruce recalled that he was likely a low-ranked Spirit Artisan on the Machinery and Bone Fated Path, though he did not know which Foundry Court he came from.
• Xilian named the dog Bruce, and Bruce learned that his new body had been neutered.
• Bruce reminded Xilian of his brother Tim, but Bruce’s distress over his body’s condition eased Xilian’s grief and made him smile.
• At daybreak, Xilian and Bruce rode toward Confluence City Hel to seek clues about Bruce’s past, while Xilian pursued revenge.

Xilian and Bruce raced across the Wilderness toward Confluence City Hel, but Demons surrounded them after nightfall and they had to follow an armored Fogbreaker through the horde. They reached the city, where Darin Morrison and the City Guard Bureau stopped them for questioning.

• Xilian learned that Bruce could build machinery from memorized blueprints, though damage to his brain had left many of them incomplete.
• Xilian and Bruce found a river and followed it toward Her City after seeing its white light rise in the distance.
• As night fell, Demons swarmed the pair, and Xilian fought through them with his motorcycle and Boiling Sword.
• A Fogbreaker broke through the Grey Fog and led Xilian and Bruce through the Demons toward the city.
• Darin Morrison identified himself as a member of the City Guard Bureau and ordered Xilian to cooperate, so Xilian sheathed his Boiling Sword.

Xilian was interrogated in Her City and cleared of Chaos corruption, though Dailin realized he had lied about his past. As Xilian left, Dailin and Anya uncovered evidence that Chaos Followers had returned, and Anya secretly fixated on Xilian’s blood.

• Dailin questioned Xilian about his identity and his journey through the Wilderness while suspecting he might be corrupted by Chaos.
• Anya injected Xilian with Soul Marrow Agent, and he channeled his Source Energy without triggering a dangerous reaction.
• Dailin released Xilian, explaining that Bruce’s presence had made him doubt Xilian was a Chaos Follower.
• After Xilian left, Dailin concluded he had lied about traveling with a caravan, but Anya agreed he posed no proven threat to the city.
• Anya showed Dailin a tattooed piece of skin taken from a man she had dated, and they recognized it as evidence that Chaos Followers were active in Her City again.
• Alone in the interrogation room, Anya picked up the syringe holding Xilian’s blood and whispered his name.

Xilian settled into Her City with Bruce and spent a week learning about the city and its history while avoiding the Firekeeping Cult. When their money ran out, Xilian decided he needed to find work and integrate into the city so he could investigate Tania and avenge White Cliff Town.

• Xilian and Bruce surveyed Her City at dawn, and Xilian reflected on how the city had once represented his hopes for the future.
• Xilian exchanged his soul marrow for City-State Coins, rented an apartment, and settled into life in Her City with Bruce.
• Xilian explored the city and studied its history, noticing gaps in the public record and learning that the Year of Rebellion was not suitable for a public library.
• Xilian avoided contacting the Firekeeping Cult because he feared the trouble that discovery of his bloodline could bring, while Bruce stayed home trying to repair its memories.
• After a week, Xilian and Bruce realized they were out of money and argued over how to earn more.
• Xilian resolved to look for a job and integrate into Her City while pursuing his investigation into Tania and vengeance for White Cliff Town.

Xilian learned that Chaos could corrupt Giant Gods into Abominations, then sought work with the City Guard Bureau. After White Cliff Town’s Torchlight Lighthouse went dark, Dailin visited Xilian and confirmed that he had come to recruit him.

• Xilian studied the history of the Noonday Calamity and learned that corrupted Giant Gods became Abominations, while the calamity’s cause remained unknown.
• Xilian decided to seek work with the City Guard Bureau, hoping to use his night-patrol experience and investigate Chaos.
• Bruce told Xilian that Her City’s Starwatchers had confirmed a nearby Torchlight Lighthouse had gone out, and Xilian recognized the lost city-state as White Cliff Town.
• Bruce explained that the disappearance had frightened Her City’s residents and likely pointed to a Chaos faction, while Xilian saw an opportunity.
• Dailin arrived at Xilian’s apartment, and Xilian correctly guessed that he had come to invite him to join the City Guard Bureau.

Xilian accepted Dailin’s offer to join Her City’s City Guard Bureau and went with Bruce to search the shopping district for ingredients for an Ascension Elixir. The chapter ended with them spotting the Centipede Trading Company, a major hub for trade between city-states.

• Dailin offered Xilian a position in the City Guard Bureau, and Xilian agreed to report there before noon the next day.
• Dailin explained that the Bureau accepted recruits from varied backgrounds and revealed that he followed the Throne Fated Path.
• Xilian asked Bruce about the diversity of Transcendent organizations, then decided to look for ingredients for an Ascension Elixir.
• Bruce explained that automated vertical farms supplied city-states with necessities, while trade provided goods they could not produce.
• Xilian and Bruce traveled by light rail to Her City’s shopping district and saw a Sea-Whale-Class Airship above the city.
• Bruce pointed out the Centipede Trading Company, which served as a major link in trade between city-states.

Xilian bought a damaged Golden Age Jet Revolver with nearly all his remaining money after Bruce urged him to trust him, and Bruce promised to repair it despite worsening memory damage. Anya saw Xilian leave the Centipede Trading Company and asked Meifuni to find out what he had bought, while Valerie arrived and watched her with amusement.

• Xilian explored the Centipede Trading Company, admired advancement materials and Transcendent weapons, but could not afford what he needed to advance.
• Bruce led Xilian to the Sacred Relics and urged him to buy a damaged Jet Revolver whose price matched nearly all his remaining money.
• Xilian bought the Jet Revolver, and Bruce explained that it was a common Golden Age weapon and that he could repair it and make special bullets.
• Bruce suffered a brief seizure after trying to recall design blueprints, then said his brain damage was worse than he had thought.
• Anya watched Xilian leave and asked Meifuni to find out what he had bought.
• Valerie approached Anya and Meifuni, teasing Anya with an amused gaze.

Xilian joined the City Guard Bureau despite the job’s deadly probation period, then met his colleagues and learned about their communications technology. The chapter ended with Meifuni confronting Dailin after he disparaged her work.

• Xilian accepted the City Guard Bureau job and asked Dailin for an advance because he was short on money.
• Xilian completed the hiring forms and met Anya Polk, a Rank Two Smelter who followed the Torchbearing Path.
• Xilian met Elton Hawk, who explained how the Swift Swallow Transceiver sent signals through the Spirit Realm, where messages could emerge at random times.
• Elton claimed the technology might receive signals from the future, and Xilian called the idea cool rather than dismissing him.
• Dailin said the team was short-staffed because the other members had died, then criticized an absent colleague for padding her résumé.
• Meifuni appeared behind Dailin, kicked him in the shin, and insisted that she did her job properly.

Xilian met Meifuni at the City Guard Bureau, where Dailin offered him money and a tentative job, while Anya investigated his background. Anya revealed that Xilian’s bloodline stirred a powerful, reverent response in her, as if he were the blazing sun and the source of her bloodline.

• Meifuni introduced herself to Xilian, teased him about his looks, and mistakenly suspected Anya was romantically interested in him.
• Dailin offered Xilian an advance from his own money and called him a friend, while explaining that the Bureau director was unavailable to meet him.
• Anya sent Meifuni away and told Dailin that the Love Family was considered an outside power by the City-State Council, keeping Meifuni away from the front lines.
• Anya explained that Xilian had exchanged Soul Marrow, rented an apartment, and bought a damaged Jet Revolver, a purchase that made little sense to her.
• Anya told Dailin that Xilian was not a Chaos Follower but that his bloodline made her feel as if she stood before its source, calling him a blazing sun.

Xilian began working for the City Guard Bureau, where his quiet night patrols introduced him to Her City’s history and helped him build friendships with his coworkers. After a month, he arrived for a gathering Meifuni had arranged and met Valerie, who offered to guide him.

• Xilian joined Dailin on his first night patrol along Her City’s wall and learned how the bureau monitored the Soul Marrow and defended the city from demons.
• Dailin explained how the Linkage Foundry Court’s mobile fortress had once appeared beside Her City and how the Spirit Artisans who stayed helped rebuild it.
• Xilian began making friends with Dailin, Elton, Meifuni, and his other coworkers while keeping his past and plans for revenge to himself.
• After a month of uneventful patrols, Xilian searched for Meifuni’s gathering and was approached by Valerie, who recognized that he was lost.

Xilian attended a board-game gathering at the Ink House, where Valerie acted unusually intimate with him and later announced she wanted to meet him again. Before his city patrol, Bruce explained that he had repaired Xilian’s Jet Revolver and made Soul Marrow Bullets from Xilian’s unusually pure blood, raising new questions about Xilian’s Torchbearer Sacred Blood.

• Valerie led Xilian through the alleys to the Ink House, where he joined Meifuni, Dailin, Anya, Elton, and the others for a board game.
• Valerie repeatedly leaned against Xilian and asked him personal questions, while Xilian left early for his first city patrol.
• Dailin teased Xilian about Valerie’s attention and dismissed his suspicions about her behavior.
• Valerie accused Anya of pursuing Xilian to provoke her, then asked Meifuni to arrange a meeting with him.
• Bruce showed Xilian the repaired Jet Revolver and explained that its twelve Soul Marrow Bullets were made from Xilian’s blood, which seemed unusually pure.
• Xilian recalled the Deathbird’s name for his blood, Torchbearer Sacred Blood, and agreed with Bruce that anyone who made him bleed should be killed.

On his first solo night patrol, Xilian followed the Ouroboros Mark into Dark Alley and uncovered a Chaos-tainted underground passage. He faced the spreading mycelium with elation, realizing he had finally found the enemies he had been hunting as Chaos power closed in around him.

• Xilian used the Ouroboros Mark to search Her City's dark streets for traces of Chaos and followed its warning beyond his patrol area to Flower River.
• Xilian discovered Dark Alley, an underground market for contraband and illicit pleasures, where the Ouroboros Mark began to burn.
• A tattooed man threatened Xilian with a dagger, so Xilian killed him and continued deeper into the passage.
• Blue-green fungi spread across the passage and began consuming Xilian, who recognized the mycelium associated with Tania and declared that he had finally found his enemies.
• Chaos power spread rapidly through the passage as Xilian's unseen enemies sensed his arrival.

Xilian attacked a Chaos ritual, killed its followers and defeated their Rank One Iron Guard while pursuing Tania. A new enemy with Rank Three Source Energy shot Xilian, forcing him to escape into the underground River.

• Xilian stormed the ritual chamber, killed the robed figures, and discovered a woman with a slit belly filled with mycelium.
• Xilian fought the Iron Guard, learned he knew Tania, and explained that he intended to pursue his enemies piece by piece like a jigsaw puzzle.
• Xilian used his Soul Marrow rounds, fire, and Boiling Sword to overcome the Iron Guard's defenses and kill him.
• Xilian sensed an approaching Transcendent whose Source Energy reached Rank Three, then took a bullet through his left shoulder.
• Xilian fled into the rushing underground River as the footsteps drew nearer.