Chapter Summaries

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed Raphael’s report that the Ancient Sun God had awakened in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. In Backlund, Raphael began preparing to advance to Desire Apostle by murdering a corrupt merchant and cooking his organs for another corrupt diner, but the ritual made his mood erratic, and he later intimidated an Iron and Blood Cross Order negotiator.

• Audrey told the Tarot Club that Raphael had described ruins where the Ancient Sun God awakened, and Klein identified their location as southeast of the City of Silver.
• Raphael performed a single-dimensional ritual to prepare for advancing to Desire Apostle, then killed a wealthy merchant near Saint Samuel Cathedral and cooked the merchant’s organs for a corrupt diner at the Backlund Grand Hotel.
• Leonard examined the murder scene and suspected that a Devil had come to Backlund to commit killings for rituals and advancement.
• Raphael struggled with heightened, unstable emotions through the night and painted a disturbing picture, which he offered to the Lord of Evil Desires.
• Raphael eagerly met Haim, the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s representative, and warned him that he would not return the Beyonder Characteristics until he became an Angel.
• Raphael used Frost to immobilize Haim and mimed chopping his neck to demonstrate why he would not surrender the Characteristics while the organization’s Saints wanted him dead.

After a second brutal murder in Backlund, Audrey asked Raphael about the suspected Devil and passed his information to the Official Beyonders. Raphael misdirected her suspicions while offering a psychological profile of the killer, and fully digested his Devil potion by deceiving her to her face.

• After a second victim was found disemboweled near a church, Leonard asked Audrey to obtain Raphael’s information about the suspected Devil.
• Audrey met Raphael at the Abandoned Manor, where he joked with her and told her a powerful Devil and his followers were active near Tuck Village and in Backlund.
• Raphael said the Official Beyonders would struggle to eliminate the group and suggested that the Devil’s murders challenged the churches’ authority and targeted depraved rich people.
• Audrey said she would pass Raphael’s warning to the Official Beyonders, believing his account supported her deductions about the killer.
• Raphael fully digested his Devil potion after successfully deceiving Audrey, a Saint of the Spectator pathway.

Raphael watched the official Beyonders hunt the Demon Zeno Andariel and secretly warned him, hoping to preserve him as a scapegoat and use the deception to digest his Demon potion. After Zeno escaped and mistook Raphael for an alternate persona of the Mother Tree of Desire, a ray of dawn light arrived at Raphael’s door as the contact from the God of Combat.

• Raphael used the Dark Hut to warn Zeno that three church saints were closing in on his manor.
• Zeno escaped underground, but the saints pursued him and destroyed two of his divided masses before he used a blood-transforming power to flee through magma.
• The saints halted the magma beneath Backlund, while Zeno emerged at a distant weak point in the crust and fled, badly injured.
• Raphael later intercepted Zeno’s prayer to the Mother Tree of Desire and told him there was no need to sever his connection with the Lord of Evil Desires.
• Zeno concluded Raphael was an alternate persona of the Mother Tree of Desire, and Raphael waited for a chance to exploit that belief.
• A ray of dawn light passed through Raphael’s door, signaling the arrival of the God of Combat’s contact.

Raphael met Daniel Payton, the God of Combat’s envoy, and traded information about a concealed route to the Forsaken Land of the Gods. As murders continued in Backlund, Raphael helped the escaped Demon Zeno evade the authorities and appeared to him as the Lord of Evil Desires, telling him to leave the city.

• Raphael met Daniel Payton and agreed to provide intelligence in exchange for compensation to be settled later.
• Raphael told Daniel about ruins east of Backlund containing a Teleportation Array to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and Daniel left to report it.
• Three weeks later, six more murders brought the Serial Murder Case’s toll to eight, and the churches’ joint team killed a Desire Apostle using Raphael’s clues.
• After a ninth murder, the Official Beyonders tracked the escaped Demon to a town east of Backlund, but he escaped their operation again.
• Raphael secretly warned the Demon Zeno to leave Backlund while appearing as the Lord of Evil Desires.

Raphael manipulated Zeno into believing he was communicating with the Mother Tree of Desire while planning further murders and planting false clues to mislead the Official Beyonders. After Raphael’s tenth and eleventh killings, investigators reconsidered their theory, but Leonard suspected the clues were too deliberate.

• Raphael answered Zeno’s prayer with an honorific name, convincing Zeno that the being was the Mother Tree of Desire.
• Raphael planned to exploit tensions within the Blood Sanctify Sect while reducing the risk of exposure by limiting his murders to the ritual’s minimum requirement.
• Raphael committed his tenth murder near the Feysac embassy and planted clues suggesting the killer was Feysac.
• For his eleventh murder, Raphael used wolf-fish’s smell as another false clue, killed a wealthy merchant’s bodyguards, and prepared a meal in the merchant’s villa.
• Raphael distributed six paintings from earlier crime scenes to interfere with the investigation.
• Fabio told Church investigators that their earlier pursuit of Zeno had been misguided and that the killer was likely Feysac; Leonard questioned whether the clues were too deliberate.

The Official Beyonders uncovered a lead connecting the Backlund Grand Hotel to the murders and split up to investigate several new clues. Raphael prepared to kill his twelfth target, but Randall appeared as soon as Raphael revealed his killing intent, forcing him to escape into the Dark Hut.

• Leonard proposed activating the churches' emergency protocols to protect believers and help catch the murderer.
• O'Connor reported that a young chef had cooked organ-based dishes at the Backlund Grand Hotel shortly after each murder, and Leonard suspected the dishes had contained the victims' organs.
• A Nighthawks captain reported a suspicious painting at an auction house, while Ikanser chose to investigate a lead suggesting the murderer was Feysac; the Senior Deacons divided up to pursue the leads.
• Raphael watched his twelfth target's carriage and prepared an ambush, but his Malice Perception warned him of an approaching attack.
• Raphael entered the Dark Hut just before Randall appeared overhead and struck at him with lightning, then decided to avoid killing near churches.

Raphael completed his advancement ritual while misleading Backlund’s official Beyonders into suspecting the Feysac Embassy. After the search found no trace of him, he killed his final target and advanced to Desire Apostle.

• Raphael escaped Privy Bishop Randall’s ambush, and Randall warned the other Privy Bishops that the killer was preparing to strike again.
• Raphael killed another target, planted evidence pointing to the Feysac Embassy, and later completed his final murder after Trissy visited to ask him to recover a stolen potion ingredient.
• Raphael told Trissy he would seek help from the Aurora Order’s Vice President, then put her request aside to focus on his advancement ritual.
• The Three Great Churches accused the Feysac Embassy of aiding the killer and, after a standoff, searched it but found no information about Raphael.
• Raphael killed his final target and completed his advancement ritual, leaving the official Beyonders fooled.

Raphael completed his advancement ritual by devouring Aiden’s corrupted spirit body, then drank the potion and advanced to Desire Apostle. He regained control over the desires overwhelming him and began examining his new abilities.

• Raphael killed Aiden in his carriage and devoured the spirit body containing the suffering of thirteen corrupted souls.
• Leonard and the Official Beyonders found Aiden’s corpse and realized the murderer had completed the ritual while they were distracted.
• Raphael struggled to contain the corruption and extreme emotional swings caused by devouring the spirit body.
• Raphael drank the Desire Apostle potion, endured an eruption of desires, and used the thirteen souls’ corruption to channel them into the Abyss.
• Raphael regained his reason and body, discovered he could precisely control his emotions, and began examining his new abilities.

After advancing, Raphael examined his strengthened abilities and new composite skills, which gave him a chance to fight Sequence 4s. With Backlund’s lockdown lifted, he began restoring the Aurora Order’s Beyonder gatherings and prepared Wagner to lead the low-sequence meetings.

• Raphael discovered that Desire Control, Mental Impact, and Desire Incarnation had become powerful attacks, while his existing Wraith and Devil abilities were strengthened.
• Raphael gained Create Illusions, which could turn emotionally guided hallucinations into injuries to a target’s spirit body.
• Raphael assessed his unstable but improved mental state, rested, and checked the Dark Hut, where he found no new privileges.
• After seeing no police or Official Beyonder patrols, Raphael concluded that Backlund’s lockdown had ended and decided to resume the Aurora Order’s gatherings.
• Raphael summoned Wagner, gave him a Rose Bishop characteristic, and ordered him to advance and lead the low-sequence gatherings.

Raphael strengthened the Aurora Order and considered how to help Trissy, but Messenger Pain asked him to find a rare corpse so he could advance. Raphael then received Mr. Z’s plea for help from Enmat Harbor and prepared to respond to the Feysac threat.

• Raphael arranged advancement opportunities for Aurora Order members, assigned Wagner to lead low-Sequence gatherings, and put Moor in charge of higher-level gatherings.
• Messenger Pain said he needed an intact Profane Presbyter corpse to advance and offered to fight for Raphael in exchange; Raphael withheld his agreement because Pain’s past might involve Outer Deities.
• Raphael explained that his dual pathways made his emotions dangerously difficult to control, though his Desire Apostle abilities helped him manage them.
• Raphael opened Mr. Z’s letter and learned that Feysac agents had infiltrated Enmat Harbor, threatened him, and demanded he join their side.
• Mr. Z asked Raphael for permission to withdraw from Enmat Harbor temporarily rather than risk assassination.

Raphael used information from a Feysac Pyromaniac to lure the enemy agents in Enmat Harbor into a fight, then attacked their gathering with Mr. Z. He left five Sequence 5s and their allies in disarray, killing the Astronomer as the battle continued.

• Raphael traveled with Mr. Z to find a Feysac Pyromaniac, beat him into submission, hypnotized him for intelligence, and killed him.
• Raphael told Mr. Z to warn the Pyromaniac's superior that the Loen Royal Family had sent three Sequence 5s, prompting Feysac's agents to demand a meeting.
• Raphael and Mr. Z waited until midnight before traveling to the abandoned factory where five Feysac Sequence 5s had gathered.
• Raphael attacked the group, used Control Desire to make one enemy collapse, and reflected their Beyonder attacks back at them.
• Raphael injured the Reapers and used the Astronomer as a weapon until the Astronomer's emotions overwhelmed him and he died.

Raphael slaughtered a group of Rose School Beyonders, recruited Mr. Z to help the Aurora Order in Backlund, and performed an expensive ritual to contact Ouroboros. The ritual succeeded, and Raphael saw the Angel of Fate appear in his mind.

• Raphael killed the Rose School Beyonders, including the Sequence 5 members, and Mr. Z watched in shock.
• Mr. Z found Valery’s silver-bracelet Sealed Artifact and gave it to Raphael, who let him keep it and ordered him to collect the Beyonder characteristics.
• Raphael asked Mr. Z to come to Backlund when needed and offered him a Rose Bishop characteristic as a reward for sufficient service.
• Raphael returned to Backlund and prepared a costly ritual to contact Ouroboros, burning spiritual materials from the Aurora Order’s warehouse.
• Raphael recited Ouroboros’s honorific name in Jotun, established a connection with the distant void, and saw the Angel of Fate appear in his mind.

Raphael secured Aurora Order approval to recruit Trissy in exchange for the Mirror God's Heart. After a mishap with a box containing a brick, he arranged for his Messenger Pain to present the real ingredient, leaving Trissy to inspect it and wonder whether Pain was the Aurora Order’s Vice President.

• Raphael told Ouroboros that he planned to recruit Trissy, and Ouroboros approved the offer and said Benjamin would contact him.
• Benjamin sent Raphael a letter through a decaying golden horse Messenger, instructing him to report matters directly to the President.
• Trissy arrived for her meeting with Raphael, who offered her the Mirror God's Heart if she joined the Aurora Order.
• Trissy agreed to consider joining but asked to see the ingredient, and Raphael accidentally opened a box containing a brick.
• Raphael retrieved the Mirror God's Heart, had Pain pose as an Aurora Order Saint, and showed it to Trissy, who examined it and wondered if Pain was the Vice President.

Raphael recruited Trissy into the Aurora Order as its Saint of Despair, promising her the Mirror God's Heart and help obtaining Gorgon eyes. After Benjamin agreed to secure the eyes and keep Raphael in charge of the Order's local affairs, Raphael prepared a high-level gathering, where his clothes suddenly tried to strangle him.

• Raphael promised Trissy the Mirror God's Heart within three months and help finding Gorgon eyes in exchange for joining the Aurora Order and following his orders.
• Trissy accepted the title Saint of Despair, agreed to help with a high-level gathering, and gave Raphael a clump of hair to use as her messenger.
• Raphael wrote to Benjamin, who agreed to collect the Gorgon eyes and keep Raphael in charge of affairs in Loen and the Rorsted Islands for now.
• Raphael spent two days preparing for the gathering and confirmed that Backlund's martial law had mostly been lifted, though MI9's arrests and the war had reduced attendance.
• At the gathering, Raphael sat before the suspicious participants, then felt his collar tighten as his clothes tried to strangle him.

Raphael survived a “Marionette”'s attempt to steal his characteristic and used the confrontation, with Trissy's help, to deter the Saints at the Aurora Order's gathering. After the attendees traded peacefully, Raphael began preparing an attack on another Beyonder organization and summoned the Order's Oracles to Backlund.

• A masked “Marionette” attacked Raphael at the gathering, but Raphael escaped his clothes, disrupted the attack with Mind Deprivation, and wounded him with a Magma Greatsword.
• When the “Marionette” considered joining the other Saints against Raphael, Trissy revealed her presence, and he backed down and returned to his seat.
• The gathering proceeded peacefully, with attendees trading enthusiastically; Raphael and several Saints bought Beyonder characteristics while many others held onto their cash.
• After the gathering, Raphael suspected the “Marionette” was from the Indulgence Faction and planned to use a mark on him to identify its members in Backlund.
• Raphael ordered the Aurora Order's Oracles to reach Backlund within three days, and six agreed while four refused or claimed they could not come.

Raphael gathered the Aurora Order’s Oracles and organized a coordinated attack on the Rose School’s Indulgence Faction in Backlund. At nine o’clock, he lured the Marionette who had attacked him into the Spirit World, leaving the citywide assault underway.

• Raphael shared mysticism knowledge with Mr. Z and learned why the Secrets Suppliant pathway’s slow potion digestion could be dangerous.
• The remaining Oracles arrived, and Raphael told them about the Indulgence Faction’s provocation before ordering a surprise attack that night.
• Mr. F challenged Raphael’s motives, while Lady D warned him about the Rose School’s growing power; Raphael insisted the attack was justified and planned for Backlund.
• Raphael distributed target documents, paired the Oracles against mid-sequence enemies, and arranged a nine o’clock assault with MI9’s permission.
• Raphael waited at the Marionette’s usual restaurant, confirmed his identity, slapped him at nine o’clock, and fled into the Spirit World as the Marionette pursued him.

Raphael, Trissy, and Pain teamed up to fight the Marionette, using traps and coordinated attacks to overwhelm him. As the Marionette tried to make one last stand, he lost control.

• Raphael lured the easily provoked Marionette into a trap, where Trissy struck him from behind with a Fatal Blow.
• Raphael wounded the Marionette with Frenzy and Flash, but the Marionette pierced Raphael’s chest before Trissy intervened.
• Pain joined the battle and, with Trissy, trapped the Marionette while Raphael observed his fighting style.
• When the Marionette backed down from trading injuries with Pain, Raphael and Trissy used control abilities to hold him in place while Pain attacked.
• The Marionette tried to enter his incomplete mythical creature form, but his body swelled and his skin turned dark gray as he lost control.

Raphael led the Aurora Order in a surprise assault that wiped out the Indulgence Faction’s foothold in Backlund, then used the victory to reward and secure the loyalty of his followers and Oracles. He ended the chapter preparing to settle his outstanding deal with Miss Sharron and study a Western Continent cultivation method.

• Lady D and Mr. F killed a Wraith, while Wagner and Moor used a Sealed Artifact to defeat a Zombie, as the Aurora Order’s attacks struck targets across Backlund.
• Raphael, Pain, and Trissy killed a Marionette that lost control, and Pain absorbed its vitality before reminding Raphael that he was still owed a Saint-level corpse.
• Raphael declared that the Indulgence Faction no longer existed in Backlund, and news of the Aurora Order’s victory surprised other secret organizations, including the Temperance Faction.
• Raphael revised the Aurora Order’s merit rewards, distributed Beyonder characteristics, and offered the Oracles advancement help and the Immovable Heart Method.
• Raphael decided to use part of the spoils to repay Miss Sharron and turned to studying the Western Continent’s cultivation method for the Desire Apostle.

Raphael studied and practiced the Western Continent’s Seduction Technique, learning reliable ways to use his Desire Apostle abilities. After completing his transaction with Miss Sharron, he learned that the Temperance Faction had found a mummy suitable for his advancement to Marionette.

• Raphael studied the Seduction Technique’s methods for influencing attraction, stirring desire, and detonating it, recognizing how its detailed procedures made his abilities more reliable.
• Raphael spent five days practicing the technique and became familiar with its methods.
• Raphael wrote to Miss Sharron to arrange payment for the remaining Beyonder characteristics, and she came to him soon afterward.
• Raphael showed Miss Sharron the characteristics, and she confirmed their number and Sequences before asking about the Aurora Order’s spoils.
• Raphael explained that the characteristics belonged to the Aurora Order and that he had paid for the ones in the box himself.
• Miss Sharron told Raphael that the Temperance Faction had found a mummy suitable for advancing to Marionette, resolving his final obstacle.

Sharron found a Loen-held mummy that Raphael could use for his Marionette advancement, and the two agreed on a trade before planning to inspect it. At the Tarot Club, Audrey shared information about Sorn City, while Cattleya revealed news of an island whose inhabitants had begun worshipping an evil god.

• Sharron told Raphael about the mummy hidden in Backlund and warned that disturbing its seal would alert a Loen Saint.
• Raphael agreed to inspect the site and negotiated thirteen strands of Sharron's hair in exchange for helping seize the mummy.
• Wagner reported that he had bought the haunted villa for 4,500 pounds, and Raphael gave him a 200-pound bonus.
• Raphael wrote Audrey offering Aurora Order information in exchange for secrets about Backlund's aristocrats, and Audrey sent him scandals involving ten aristocrats.
• At the Tarot Club, the Hanged Man traded with the World for information about the Elf Race, and Cattleya asked Justice about Sorn City for Queen Mystic.
• Cattleya told the Tarot Club that an island's inhabitants had begun worshipping an evil god and killing visiting pirates and merchant crews, prompting Alger to ask where it was.