Chapter Summaries

Ligo examined Hesta’s Ship Card while Hesta recalled how a strict nun at Saint Anne Abbey had cared for her by trying to correct her. Hesta and Ligo later met Meyers in a secluded spot, where Hesta inspected Meyers’s pistol and warned her that chambering a round could cost a crucial second.

• Ligo noticed Hesta’s Ship Card was marked Number Zero and asked to keep it so she could investigate it with Silei.
• Hesta and Ligo saw Agnes while walking to the Observation Deck, and Hesta compared Agnes’s earnest protectiveness to the strict nun who had raised her at Saint Anne Abbey.
• Meyers caught up with Hesta and Ligo in a secluded corner after they left the open deck to talk privately.
• Meyers showed Hesta her silver Beretta 92 and explained that she carried it with two spare magazines but without a round chambered.
• Hesta checked the pistol’s safety and hammer, then told Meyers that chambering a round in a critical moment could cost her the outcome.

Hesta learned that Robogriye’s team belonged to a Doomsday Resistance Organization preparing for another Blackout, and Meyers urged cooperation against the Chelated Being. Later, Anna heard that Gopelin had spoken with Sanders and Agnes, while Zero prepared to retrieve Meishijin.

• Meyers explained to Hesta that Robogriye’s team were survivalists preparing for a future Blackout, not his followers.
• Meyers said she had shared information with Silei because she believed the groups should cooperate against their unknown enemy, and warned Hesta not to go out that night.
• Ligo explained that survivalist groups in District 12 stockpiled supplies and weapons while helping villages defend themselves.
• Anna asked Zero about Meishijin, and Zero said the cat had gone out that afternoon and would be brought back.
• Zero told Anna that Gopelin had spoken with Sanders Land and Agnes Dinonshiade, and explained that Agnes had earned a general mechanic certification with a six percent pass rate.

Anna and Zero planned to go to Hesta’s, while Agnes warned Meyers against trusting the Quicksilver Needles and made her return home before nightfall. Ligo and Hesta came back to find Anna playing a piano in their room, and Hesta confronted her.

• Anna asked Zero to go to Hesta’s that night after learning Chiba planned to stay with Bo Shanfu.
• Meyers told Agnes she had spoken with Ligo, Hesta, and the others about being less hostile toward each other.
• Agnes and Meyers exchanged pistols, and Agnes warned Meyers not to trust the Quicksilver Needles or share everything with them.
• Agnes escorted Meyers back and told her not to go outside after dark.
• Ligo and Hesta heard music coming from their room and found Anna playing the piano.
• Hesta charged at Anna and demanded that she stop touching the piano.

Ligo restrained Hesta after Anna provoked her by handling Liz’s accordion, then warned Anna that Robogriye’s followers might attack them to pressure Chiba into bringing the Ascending Bright ashore. Anna refused to leave and invited Hesta and Ligo to the navigation museum, where she said they could learn why the ship was also called Alecto.

• Ligo held Hesta back while Anna returned Liz’s accordion to its case.
• Anna explained that she had deliberately come to stay in the suite because she believed the night would be dangerous.
• Ligo reasoned that Robogriye might target Hesta or Bo Shanfu to make Chiba change course, but Anna insisted on staying.
• Anna invited Hesta and Ligo to the navigation museum on the Seventh Deck and said it held the answer to the name Alecto.
• Anna led Hesta and Ligo through an accessible passage toward the museum, while Ligo wondered why they could not wait until tomorrow.

Agnes warned Silei that Gopelin’s group planned to attack Bo Shanfu that night, hoping Miss Chiba would make the ship dock. Meanwhile, Gopelin coordinated with an unseen accomplice and said Hesta and Ligo were at the Maritime Museum, while Agnes encountered a white cat backstage at Grace Theater.

• Hesta kept thinking about Anna’s retreating figure and missed Ligo’s question.
• Agnes met Silei at Grace Theater and warned her that Gopelin’s group planned to target Bo Shanfu so Miss Chiba might bring the ship to dock.
• Silei questioned Agnes about the plan and said she would consider what she could do, then told Agnes to invoke her name if Buli caused trouble again.
• Gopelin told an accomplice that Hesta, Ligo, and a woman in a wheelchair were at the Maritime Museum, and ordered the accomplice to wait while he located someone else.
• Agnes returned to the dark backstage area, drew her gun at a sudden noise, then lowered it when a white cat appeared.

Agnes let a girl named Duke leave the theater after spotting her with the cat, then regretted not acting. At the Ascending Bright exhibition, Anna challenged Hesta’s view of the passengers who had voted to rescue people from an epidemic zone, and the group ended their visit at a figurehead sculpture.

• Agnes hid backstage when she heard a woman call for Duke, then realized the name belonged to the white cat.
• The girl beside Anna collected the cat and left; Agnes aimed her gun at the girl but could not pull the trigger.
• Hesta and Ligo examined the Ascending Bright exhibition and recognized a group photograph of the passengers involved in the Waiting Room Number 12 rescue.
• Anna questioned whether the rescue vote had been informed or courageous, while Hesta argued that the passengers had accepted risks to save others.
• Ligo pointed out that it was getting dark, and Anna, Hesta, and Ligo passed an ivory figurehead sculpture near the exit.

An explosion on the cruise ship forced Hesta, Ligo, and Anna to hide in the Maritime Museum as armed Thorn Monks hunted them. After gunfire erupted downstairs and the group outside their room was distracted, two unexplained shots struck a man trying to open their door.

• Hesta, Anna, and Ligo heard an explosion at the helipad and fled the museum galleries to hide in a restricted passage.
• Gopelin watched the fire response and noted that Chiba had stayed away from the blast site, leaving Ligo as the next person to deal with.
• Ligo hid Hesta and Anna in an empty second-floor office and estimated that at least eight Thorn Monks were nearby.
• Ligo heard Agnes arguing downstairs, then heard a howl and gunfire; Hesta suspected the conflict involved Agnes, Buli, and Meyers.
• Two men approached the office, and one was hit by two shots after trying the locked doorknob.

Ligo, Hesta, and Anna escaped the second-floor room after disarming two Thorn Monks, then chose to search for Agnes rather than flee the museum. They followed her blood trail and found her being interrogated about the “Guide,” where she demanded to see Mr. Gobelin alive.

• Ligo and Hesta subdued two Thorn Monks outside the locked room and learned that the group was searching for the “Guide.”
• Ligo, Hesta, and Anna escaped through an emergency passage and discussed whether to leave the museum or rescue Agnes.
• Hesta chose to rescue Agnes, and Ligo agreed that finding her might help them learn about the “Guide.”
• The three crossed the exhibition hall and followed fresh blood and bullet marks toward Agnes.
• Ligo and Hesta spotted Agnes being held by two Thorn Monks, and Agnes demanded to see Mr. Gobelin alive before she revealed anything.

Ligo, Hesta, and Anna rescued Agnes from two Thorn Monks and learned that Gopelin was being held in the gas power room while the Thorn Monks searched for the Guide. They agreed to return to the Navigation Museum, where Agnes said a backup copy of the Guide was hidden in the figurehead, and found the entrance deserted.

• Ligo incapacitated two Thorn Monks, searched them for supplies, and recovered Agnes's silver Beretta.
• Agnes said the Thorn Monks had detained Gopelin and that Sanders Land had taken command after Buli fell.
• Agnes asked the group to return to the Navigation Museum because the Guide was hidden in its figurehead, and Hesta agreed to give back Agnes's gun.
• The group heard repeated calls over the captured walkie-talkies and decided to move before the other Thorn Monks found them.
• Ligo, Hesta, Anna, and Agnes returned to the Navigation Museum entrance and found it silent, with no guards left behind.

Hesta smashed the Alecto bust in the museum and found a golden key hidden inside it. As the group headed to Grace Theater, Hesta questioned Agnes about Robogriye’s whereabouts, leaving Agnes increasingly nervous that her scheme had been noticed.

• Agnes and Ligo searched the damaged museum for a hiding place and considered whether the Alecto bust had been replaced.
• Hesta broke the bust with a fire axe and took the golden key concealed inside it.
• Ligo and Hesta left Agnes and Anna in the museum while they went to retrieve Jane’s wheelchair.
• Anna asked Agnes why the Thorn Monks and Robogriye had fallen out, then wondered whose protection people would seek in the next storm.
• Ligo, Hesta, Agnes, and Anna traveled toward Grace Theater, and Hesta repeatedly nodded off as her condition worsened.
• Hesta asked Agnes where Robogriye was and whether his security had lost its leader; Agnes claimed Gobelin had prepared a second plan.

Agnes and Hesta discussed freedom, equality, and women’s place in Robogriye’s order while searching Grace Theater’s prop room. Agnes rejected being identified with other women and, after the conversation strengthened her resolve, said survival was what mattered most and apologized to Hesta.

• Agnes led Hesta, Ligo, and Anna into the damaged, empty Grace Theater and searched backstage for the prop safe.
• Agnes discovered that Ligo and Anna had left, leaving her alone with Hesta, who said backstage was safe.
• Hesta discussed Agnes’s belief that freedom was a lie and argued that they shared a desire to build a more equal order.
• Agnes condemned women’s reproductive role and said she would choose a harder path to live like a real person.
• Agnes thanked Hesta for the conversation, said survival came first, and apologized to her.

Hesta fought off Agnes in the theater prop room, but Gobelin's armed reinforcements trapped them under heavy fire. A mysterious black-clad figure intervened, and Ligo carried Hesta away, leaving Agnes alive as they discovered the gunmen had been killed and their hearts torn out.

• Hesta overpowered Agnes and disarmed her, but gunfire and armed newcomers interrupted their confrontation.
• The armed group opened fire in the prop room, wounding Agnes and leaving Hesta pinned down behind a crate.
• A tall figure in black caught bullets and drove the gunmen back before withdrawing when Ligo arrived.
• Ligo told Hesta that the second floor had been full of gunmen and that the mysterious figure had killed them; he had hidden Anna somewhere safe.
• Hesta told Ligo to leave Agnes for the moment, and they found the backstage exits littered with corpses whose hearts had been torn out.

Hesta and Ligo found a damaged document identified as the “Guide,” but its warning was mostly destroyed by acid. Ship Police arrived at the theater, and Ligo told them that an injured person backstage needed treatment.

• Hesta and Ligo left backstage and crossed the bloodied theater, where the carnage reminded Hesta of villages attacked by Chelated Beings.
• Anna revealed that Zero had brought her back to the stage, and Zero fell while lowering a black box from above.
• Hesta, Zero, and Ligo examined the locked box; Ligo pried it open after corrosive liquid began leaking from inside.
• Ligo found a fragment of the “Guide” warning, “Return at all costs,” while Hesta questioned whether Agnes had told them the truth.
• Zero hid Anna as at least fifty Ship Police entered the theater, and Ligo identified herself as an ordinary passenger and reported the injured person backstage.

Ship Police officers investigated the theater as Gopelin arrived with Sanders Land, who confessed he had been assigned to assassinate Bo Shanfu. After Hesta and Ligo challenged Gopelin’s attempt to put an inexperienced guard captain in charge, Gopelin asked them where Chiba had taken Robogriye.

• Ship Police officers searched the theater and found bodies backstage as the emergency lights came on.
• Gopelin arrived with the bound Sanders Land, who confessed that his mission had been to assassinate Bo Shanfu.
• Hesta said Thorn Monks had been among the attackers, while Gopelin claimed they had been incited after Buli was attacked.
• Agnes was carried out wounded, and Gopelin promised to ensure Meyers’s safety.
• Hesta and Ligo questioned the guard captain’s ability to command the response, and the Ship Police took Land into custody.
• Gopelin asked Hesta and Ligo where Chiba had taken the missing Robogriye.

Hesta and Ligo confronted Gopelin over his actions and confiscated his recording device, but a sudden shooting erupted in the theater. Hesta was incapacitated by a painful ringing sensation as Ligo protected her and Anna, then charged the shooters and stopped the attack.

• Hesta confronted Gopelin about trying to control the passengers and threatened him over Agnes, while Ligo ripped out and confiscated his recording device.
• A Ship Police officer suddenly drew her gun on Anna, but Zero deflected the shot and Ligo disarmed and knocked the officer unconscious.
• Several shooters opened fire from the far end of the theater as Hesta tried to enter Bullet Time, but a sharp ringing pain made her collapse.
• Ligo intercepted bullets aimed at Hesta until Zero dragged Hesta to cover beside Anna's wheelchair.
• After confirming Hesta was alive, Ligo charged the firing positions and disabled the shooters, ending the gunfire.

Ligo captured the last shooter, but a sniper shot Zero while Hesta tried to face the bullets, leaving Hesta devastated as Anna blamed her for Zero’s death. Chiba then arrived at Grace Theater leading the handcuffed Robogriye and another prisoner.

• Ligo and the Ship Police restrained the surviving gunner, while the other shooters died after taking poison capsules.
• A gunman above the stage fired at Hesta, but the bullets struck Zero, who collapsed with fatal wounds.
• Hesta caught Zero as she fell, and Anna accused Hesta’s choice to save people of causing Zero’s death.
• Ligo defended Hesta, then Chiba entered the theater leading Robogriye and another man in handcuffs.

Chiba took control of the theater after the massacre, sent Ligo and Hesta to her room, and shot the critically wounded Zero in front of Officer Silei. She left Silei to investigate and departed with Bo Shanfu, while Robogriye was freed from his handcuffs.

• Chiba told Ligo to take Hesta to her room, then stayed behind in Grace Theater.
• Officer Silei arrived and found the theater full of frightened passengers and corpses.
• After Anna explained that Zero had been shot, Chiba killed Zero, claiming she was beyond saving.
• Chiba warned Gopelin that the Ascending Bright would not turn back and ordered the passengers to cooperate with Silei.
• Chiba left to take Bo Shanfu around the ship and tossed Robogriye the key to his handcuffs.

Chiba ended her friendship with Officer Silei while insisting that Silei continue doing her duty, then arranged for Bo Shanfu to greet Anna. Later, Ligo stayed with a distressed Hesta, who insisted that Zero was a robot and blamed Anna for what had happened, before her despair deepened.

• Gobelin helped the old man gather his keys and rest while Officer Silei asked Chiba what human life meant to her and declared their friendship over.
• Chiba dismissed Silei’s ultimatum, told her to maintain her usual standards, and called Bo Shanfu over.
• Chiba directed Bo Shanfu to find Anna, and he greeted her from beside the stage.
• Ligo stayed beside Hesta while waiting for Chiba and comforted her as Hesta said Zero was a robot she had seen many times.
• Hesta accused Anna of arranging Zero’s death, then struggled to control her emotions and felt that nothing would ever improve.

After Hesta relapsed and dreamed of the woman beneath the ice, she remembered Zero’s shooting and went to confront Anna. Anna revealed that she had anticipated Hesta’s arrival, and the two faced each other in the dark study.

• Ligo stayed with Hesta until Chiba returned, then blamed herself for Zero’s injury before leaving to rest.
• Hesta dreamed of a firebird above a frozen lake and saw a giant woman open her pale blue eye beneath the ice.
• Hesta awoke alone, recovered memories of Zero collapsing after the gunshots, and silently left the room.
• Anna woke in the luggage hold when her cat stirred, lit a match, and revealed Hesta standing behind her.
• Hesta asked where Zero was and raised a dagger; Anna said Zero was dead and invited Hesta to sit and talk.

Hesta confronted Anna about Zero’s appearance at Grace Theater and accused Anna of being the real target of the ambush. She warned Anna to leave her out of the conflict, but Anna told her she could decide whether to take part tomorrow.

• Hesta told Anna that she had recognized Zero disguised as a Chelated Being at the theater.
• Hesta threw her dagger toward Anna’s eye, then caught it and drew it back before it could hurt her.
• Hesta accused Anna of causing Zero’s death and said the attackers had meant to kill Anna while using Hesta and Bo Shanfu as cover.
• Hesta warned Anna not to drag her into the conflict and said she would tell no one about her.
• Hesta found Meishijin watching her, extinguished the candle, and headed for the door.
• Anna told Hesta it was too early to decide and claimed that Hesta was the only person in the game who was absolutely safe.