Chapter Summaries

Tasia explained that she had boarded the ship to visit her father in District 14 and might stay in the wasteland, while the others discussed her desire for a life beyond the Habitable Zone. Hesta reassured Tasia that Rene would not be appearing again for a long time before going to meet someone.

• Tasia told Silei that she felt Hesta was complicated and sometimes frightening, but Ligo interrupted their conversation.
• Silei asked why Tasia had boarded the ship, and Tasia explained that she was traveling to visit her father in District 14.
• At breakfast, Tasia said she found life in the Habitable Zone boring and recalled how her father had urged her mother to choose between an ordinary life and a great one.
• Tasia revealed that she had persuaded Robogriye to let her board despite never taking his trial, and the group toasted to a great life.
• Hesta told Tasia she had assigned Rene something else to do and that he would not appear again for a long time, then left to meet someone.

Tasia reflected on her fear of Rene as Silei urged her to stay vigilant without exhausting herself over him. Hesta and Ligo met Bo Shanfu at a café, where Hesta connected him to Dona and asked about his past in Ulen; their conversation continued with a comparison to District 14.

• Tasia thanked Hesta and said she was worried about Rene but no longer wanted to be afraid of him.
• Silei told Tasia to conserve her energy and warned that Rene could still turn dangerous.
• Hesta and Ligo went to the Secondhand Era café to meet Bo Shanfu, whom Chiba had arranged for them to see.
• Hesta recalled seeing Bo Shanfu named in the Unyielding Herald on March 23rd, Year 27, and said she had discussed him with Dona two days later.
• Bo Shanfu explained that he had met Dona in Ulen while she investigated threatening letters sent to Anna and that Dona had helped him obtain a book.
• Hesta asked Bo Shanfu how Ulen compared with the wasteland of District 14.

Hesta asked Bo Shanfu about District 14 and learned that the name Albodoronica referred to a female assassination group from the Golden Age, linked to Robogriye’s death aboard the Supreme Praise. As Ligo wheeled Hesta away, Hesta noticed a hidden inscription on the Secondhand Era sign.

• Hesta told Bo Shanfu that a friend had longed to return to District 14, and Bo Shanfu described the wilderness resettlement program and his own past there.
• Bo Shanfu said he would also be going to the area near Wusongyuan, where Hesta planned to stay at a school.
• Hesta showed Bo Shanfu the name Albodoronica, and he identified it as a Northern Jin Ancient Language term for female assassins and a Golden Age codename for an assassination organization.
• Bo Shanfu said the organization had assassinated Robogriye aboard the Supreme Praise and suggested Hesta ask Ms. Anna for details.
• As Ligo wheeled Hesta past the Secondhand Era sign, Hesta noticed a small inscription stating that the future had not remained in its own place and that only a Secondhand Era stood before them.

Hesta and Ligo searched Anna’s study for records about the Supreme Praise and an ancient Robogriye, while Meyers and Agnes remained confined there. Hesta found a citation and finally arrived at the Arbiter gathering with Ligo near noon.

• Silei and Tasia waited at Grace Theater after Hesta failed to arrive, and Silei said no one had answered the call to her room.
• Hesta and Ligo searched Anna’s study and found an account of an unnamed survivor of the Supreme Praise disaster.
• Meyers and Agnes encountered Hesta, who said she was looking for records of an ancient Robogriye’s death.
• Hesta urged Meyers to read documents about Robogriye and the lives of women before him, while Agnes warned her not to trust Hesta.
• Hesta found the citation she wanted and left with Ligo, who pushed her wheelchair into Grace Theater near noon.

Hesta tried to explain the Travel Guide to the passengers, but Göbelin attempted to stop her and clear the theater. Hesta challenged Göbelin’s identity and revealed that the ship’s killings repeated a mass murder from the Golden Age, leaving the passengers questioning the Thorn Monks’ origins.

• Hesta opened the Travel Guide and began addressing the passengers, prompting Göbelin to rush downstairs and demand that she stop.
• Göbelin urged Bernhard to disperse the crowd, while Hesta insisted that Göbelin was no longer part of the game and should not have come.
• Hesta asked whether Göbelin was his real name and pointed out that every Robogriye had a Göbelin beside him.
• Silei questioned Göbelin about the note signed H.G. in the Travel Guide, and he denied leaving it.
• Hesta told the crowd that they were caught in a premeditated murder modeled on an older shipboard killing that had claimed nearly two thousand lives.
• Hesta linked the Golden Age founder Robogriye to the Ascetic Monks and suggested that the Thorn Monks had imitated his ideas.

Hesta exposed Göbelin as the sole survivor of the Golden Age sea murder and arranged to make the Guide available for passengers to read voluntarily. She then took Anna to the Observation Deck and questioned her about the exhibition’s phrase, “Libo Bay has never existed.”

• Hesta revealed that Heinze Göbelin had survived the Golden Age murder aboard the passenger liner and likely wrote the Guide’s note.
• Anna proposed letting passengers decide for themselves whether to read the Guide, and Hesta agreed to post copies at three locations before their next meeting.
• Hesta said Rene had received a Night Banquet invitation and that she had discussed precautions with him.
• Hesta asked Anna to speak privately, switched wheelchairs with her, and took her to the Observation Deck with Ligo.
• Hesta suggested that Libo Bay was only an imagined place and asked Anna what she had intended to say about the phrase at the exhibition.

Anna told Hesta and Ligo how the Ascending Bright became known as the Alecto after a voyage through an unexpectedly violent sea, and Hesta asked whether Anna objected to their plan concerning the death list. Hesta later showed Silei stolen documents from Anna’s study, which revealed accounts of deaths aboard the Golden Age and widespread terrorism.

• Anna recounted how the Ascending Bright disappeared from contact in a level-nine sea state but returned with its crew believing they had sailed calmly, inspiring the Alecto legend.
• Anna explained that the shipping company bought an Alecto figurehead to capitalize on the story, and she described how the myth helped people imagine the sea as kin rather than an enemy.
• Silei arrived and learned that Anna had heard Hesta’s words at Grace Theater; Anna said she had no objection to their plan involving Rene Blombo and the death list.
• Anna asked whether Hesta had finished reading the guide, and Hesta confirmed that she had.
• Hesta showed Silei documents she had stolen from Anna’s study, and Silei read an interview with survivor Heinshi describing shocking deaths and terrorism aboard the Golden Age.

Silei and Hesta debated how to contain Anna and whether the ship’s surveillance could help, while Goperin and Bernhard argued over Hesta’s altered rules and the growing danger aboard the ship. Goperin ordered Bernhard to withdraw the guards watching the posted rules but keep the passengers under surveillance, then headed for the stern deck.

• Silei read accounts of Albodoronica’s massacres and questioned whether one person could have carried them out, while Hesta said the evidence did not settle the matter.
• Silei proposed getting Anna under control, but Hesta doubted they could restrain her and warned that she and Silei might be the next to run amok.
• Bernhard told Goperin that Hesta’s posted Guide contradicted his earlier version and concealed the Arbitrator-related rules behind a verification process.
• Bernhard questioned whether the deaths aboard the ship were truly part of the lord’s plan, and Goperin insisted they were a test and promised Bernhard would survive if he did.
• Bernhard revealed that he had people guarding the Guide’s posting spots, but Goperin ordered him to withdraw them and secretly begin surveillance in the living quarters.
• Goperin considered the three places where the Guide had been posted and decided to go to the stern deck.

Tasia became curious about the notice posted in Grace Theater, but Philip urged her to wait until morning before investigating. After returning to her cabin, she secretly went to the theater and found a document titled “Ascending Bright... Passenger Code of Conduct.”

• At dinner, Helen hinted that Tasia should look at the notice in Grace Theater, while Philip learned that ordering food depended on whose guest they were.
• Tasia asked about the notice, and Philip offered to accompany her, but he advised waiting until morning because the theater was unsafe at night.
• After Philip complimented her and they said goodnight, Tasia left her cabin alone and descended the emergency stairs to Grace Theater.
• Tasia entered the dark theater and approached a lit whiteboard displaying “Ascending Bright... Passenger Code of Conduct.”

Tasia read the passenger guidelines after 19:00 and realized she had missed the chance to opt out, leaving her frightened but determined to continue. She learned the ship’s ironclad rules and daytime recommendations, including instructions for guardians and Risk Passengers.

• Tasia checked her watch at 7:06 and realized the deadline to opt out had passed.
• Tasia steadied herself by thinking of Officer Silei and continued reading the guidelines.
• Tasia read the three ironclad rules: never hand over a Ship Card, never go below Deck 1, and leave the Fifth Deck during Safety Inspection.
• Tasia read the daytime recommendations about ship activities, guardianship, and reporting Risk Passengers who might endanger themselves or others.

Tasia read the ship’s nighttime recommendations and realized that the elevator she had taken with Philip had come from Level -2. At the elevator, Helen revealed that she had read the rules, leaving Tasia to wonder whether Helen had become a guardian.

• Tasia questioned how passengers could distinguish guardians from Risk Passengers, then read the nighttime activity recommendations and their detailed explanation.
• When voices approached, Tasia hid behind a stage curtain, then photographed the recommendations after the people left for Bishop Restaurant.
• Tasia recalled Rene pointing out that an elevator had risen from Level -2 while she and Philip were traveling, and wondered if taking it had been dangerous.
• Tasia waited alone at an elevator entrance until Helen arrived and suggested they ride down together.
• Tasia asked whether Helen’s dinner had come from Bishop Restaurant’s secret menu, and Helen laughed that Tasia had read the rules.

Tasia learned from Helen that sharing the Detailed Rules with three people could bind someone to them, while Hesta revealed that she had killed Rene and planned to stop keeping watch. Anna explained that Hesta’s revised rules were meant to keep people from going downstairs, where her lie would unravel.

• Helen warned Tasia that three people sharing the Detailed Rules could bring someone under their rules, then asked what was written on Tasia’s invitation.
• Silei, Hesta, and Ligo discussed the deaths aboard the ship, and Hesta admitted that she had killed Rene and thrown his body into the sea.
• Ligo confirmed that she had helped Hesta dispose of Rene’s body and checked that nobody had seen them.
• Hesta told Silei and Ligo that they could stop keeping watch and trust the Albodoronica behind the scenes to get them safely ashore.
• Anna told Zero that Hesta had revised the rules to keep people from going downstairs, where a conversation with the Hard Rock Bar bartender would expose her lie.

Hesta, Ligo, and Silei explored the Fourth Deck, where Silei found a hidden dinner invitation addressed to her inside a fake book. The invitation connected the banquet to Silei’s matchbox collection and hinted that only one woman aboard could vouch for her, leaving the three to confront what they had not told her.

• Hesta, Ligo, and Silei explored the nearly empty Fourth Deck and found no obvious secrets.
• Silei discovered that the decorative books on a bookshelf were hollow shells and heard something rattling inside one.
• Silei opened the shell and found a sealed letter inviting her to a welcome banquet and telling her to collect accessories from Hard Rock Bar.
• Ligo found that the shell resembled a matchbox, and Silei revealed that she collected matchboxes and had brought many aboard in her luggage.
• Hesta noticed the invitation referred to a woman vouching for Silei, and Silei concluded that only one woman aboard could fill that role.

Hesta attended a tense gathering where Adams and Fionn challenged her over conflicting guidelines and the deaths aboard the ship. Helen and Jivi disclosed further rules, and Hesta revealed that Silei had received a death invitation that day.

• Silei chose to investigate alone, using the elevator to mislead Hesta and Ligo about where she was going.
• Hesta and Ligo arrived at Bishop Restaurant, where Adams and Fionn demanded an explanation for the guidelines she had posted.
• Helen argued that no one had died since the Quicksilver Needles began intervening and said cabins were the safest place aboard the ship.
• Helen prompted Jivi to confirm that the nurse had warned them to ride the elevator together at night, and Gustav began to mention a daytime rule.
• Tasia interrupted Gustav to ask whether anyone had received a new death invitation, and Hesta said Silei had received one that day.

Hesta and Ligo investigated strange surveillance footage showing a crowded gathering of unfamiliar passengers who vanished into Bishop Restaurant. They recognized the cross pins worn by several men as the emblem of the Thorn Monks.

• After the gathering ended, Silei called Hesta and asked her to bring Ligo to the captain's quarters.
• Silei showed Hesta and Ligo footage of unfamiliar, elaborately dressed passengers appearing in the Sixth Deck elevator lobby.
• The passengers entered Bishop Restaurant, but its surveillance feed showed an empty room and proved to be a looping static image.
• Hesta had the footage rewound and enlarged, revealing that several men wore the same cross-shaped lapel pin.
• Ligo identified the pin as St. James' Cross, and Hesta confirmed it was the Thorn Monks' emblem.

Silei and Hesta examined blurry surveillance footage and suspected the figures were Ascetic Monks, while Tasia visited to warn them about Helen and urge them to explain the rules to the passengers. The conversation left Silei reflecting on her isolation aboard the ship and wondering whether ancient Libo Bay had ever truly existed.

• Silei and the others replayed footage and guessed that the figures might be Ascetic Monks.
• Silei found a perfectly fitted formal suit in her cabin but chose to keep her old shoes and set the suit aside.
• Tasia told Hesta that Helen had shared a Guardian rule with her and asked Hesta to explain the rules so the passengers could unite.
• Hesta agreed that trust required someone to take the first step and asked Tasia to keep watching for clues.
• After Tasia left, Hesta suggested Helen might have told her the rule because support between Guardians was unconditional.
• Silei felt increasingly lonely among the powerful passengers and wondered whether ancient Libo Bay had ever existed.

Silei, Hesta, and Ligo discovered Helen Bastia had registered Gustav as her ward and questioned where else guardians could be assigned. At the Hard Rock Bar, Silei chose a Scepter Brooch for the Night Banquet, and Hesta noticed tiny writing on its back.

• Hesta promised Silei she would protect Tasia if Tasia were in danger, and Silei said she was tired.
• At the Hard Rock Bar, Hesta and Ligo found Helen Bastia listed as Gustav's guardian, registered at 7:44 that morning.
• Silei suggested guardian lists might be updated at different locations and asked the bartender whether other registration sites existed.
• Hesta revealed she had Jivi's Ship Card, Rene's Ship Card, and two other cards, while the bartender said the staff who handled registrations had gone off duty.
• Silei chose the Scepter Brooch and learned the Night Banquet would start at nine at Bishop Restaurant, with guests advised to arrive fifteen minutes late.
• Back in their room, Hesta spotted tiny raised writing on the back of the brooch and asked Ligo for her magnifying glass.

Silei and Ligo went to Bishop Restaurant for the announced banquet, but found it empty despite seeing the elevator repeatedly carry people to the Sixth Deck. After Tasia and Philip appeared, Ligo wondered whether they should try the elevator themselves.

• Silei recognized the brooch’s faint inscription as a possible clue to the Ascetic Monks and told Ligo to keep Gustav’s earrings.
• Silei and Ligo left Hesta behind to wait for Chiba and climbed the stairs to Bishop Restaurant rather than use the elevator.
• Silei and Ligo found only two crew members in the restaurant, who insisted they had come to the wrong place and said nothing about the elevator traffic.
• Tasia and Philip arrived to search for Tasia’s missing necklace, and Tasia said she had taken the stairs after seeing both elevators stopped at the second basement level.
• After Tasia and Philip left, Ligo watched the elevator repeat its journey and asked Silei whether they should try taking it.

Silei and Ligo used the elevator to reach a strange version of the sixth floor, where guests welcomed Silei and crew members attacked Ligo. Meanwhile, Hesta rode the elevator toward the negative second floor and confronted a face appearing in its mirror.

• Silei and Ligo tested the elevator, then rode it to the negative second floor before returning to the sixth floor.
• Silei and Ligo emerged into a sixth-floor corridor matching the scene from the surveillance footage, where formally dressed guests welcomed Silei.
• Crew members tried to seize Ligo, whose opponents moved at increasingly unnatural speeds as more crew members arrived.
• At nine-twenty, Hesta entered the elevator on the fifth deck and pressed the button for the negative second floor.
• The elevator malfunctioned and a grinning face appeared in the mirror, but Hesta tapped the glass with her cane and demanded that it take her to the negative second floor.

Hesta asked the bartender for a Ship Card so she could meet Rob Green, while Ligo and Silei encountered suspicious crew members during the event on the Sixth Deck. After escaping the crew, Ligo and Silei discussed the ship’s rules and planned to contact Jane and Chiba.

• Hesta asked for a Ship Card and told the bartender she wanted to see Rob Green.
• Ligo tried to leap through a window on the Sixth Deck but was trapped by a gray-white display panel, then broke free as Silei fired at the crew members.
• The attendant stopped the crew after finding Ligo’s Sapphire Earring, apologized to Silei and Ligo, and blamed Ligo for not securing her accessories.
• Ligo noticed that the crew members seemed to have prosthetics and that the window-like panel still let wind through.
• Silei reasoned that the elevator rules protected ordinary passengers from disturbing the deck’s nighttime activities, and she and Ligo agreed to leave by midnight and contact Jane and Chiba.