Chapter Summaries

At the Tarot Club, Audrey and Leonard revealed that Raphael had risen to a powerful position in the Aurora Order and led a devastating strike against the Rose School. After the gathering, Audrey remained concerned about Backlund’s serial killer and arranged to meet Raphael at the Haunted Manor to discuss the case.

• Audrey told Alger that Raphael was protecting Lady D while offering information about Mr. G, and explained that Raphael had taken charge of Aurora Order affairs across Loen and the Rorsted Islands.
• Leonard described the Aurora Order’s overwhelming defeat of the Rose School, leading the Tarot Club members to conclude that Raphael had gathered support and was consolidating control over the Order.
• Alger and Leonard discussed how Raphael’s work inside the Aurora Order had struck the Iron and Blood Cross Order and the Rose School harder than the Official Beyonders had managed.
• Leonard reported that the serial murder investigation had made no progress and that the Special Investigation Team would soon disband, while Audrey hoped the killer would be caught.
• Back in Queen’s Road, Audrey reviewed the gathering, thought about the serial killer’s psychology, and wrote Raphael to arrange a meeting at the Haunted Manor.

Audrey met Raphael at the Haunted Manor and asked him to help profile the killer behind a series of murders. Raphael suggested the killer might be a fallen noble who had been swindled, leaving Audrey with a new lead and believing Raphael was using their conversation to digest his Wraith potion.

• Audrey entered the Haunted Manor and found Raphael manipulating a clean puppet in the dusty living room.
• Audrey asked Raphael to model the psychology of the killer who had targeted thirteen wealthy merchants or nobles.
• Raphael suggested the killer might simply target a class he considered corrupt, then proposed that he could be a noble ruined by a fraudulent investment.
• Audrey considered how nobles could lose their fortunes through failed investments and realized she had neglected nobles as possible suspects.
• Raphael admitted he was using conversations about nobles' secrets to digest his Wraith potion, and Audrey accepted his request not to expose his puppet act.

Raphael used a puppet and illusions to make Earl Jiao confront the memory of murdering his brother Barry, advancing his Wraith potion digestion. He realized he needed more spectators and planned a new approach, while preparing to visit Sophia.

• Raphael frightened Earl Jiao by impersonating his murdered brother and recalling the rainy night of the killing.
• Earl Jiao admitted that he had killed Barry and driven Barry’s wife and son away because they frightened him.
• Raphael discovered that provoking the living person’s psychological scars helped digest the Wraith potion.
• Raphael used Create Illusions to make Earl Jiao see Barry and beg for forgiveness in front of his servants.
• Earl Jiao decided to arrange a meeting with Bishop Roberts, while Raphael concluded that he needed more spectators and planned to visit Sophia.

Raphael discovered that Florence had been watching Sophia and confronted her after she interrupted them to propose a partnership. Florence eventually explained that she wanted to know why Raphael had put one of her people in charge of his assassin organization, and Raphael asked her what she had in mind.

• Raphael visited the Mechanic Company and saw that Sophia had grown the organization and advanced to Sequence 5, Demoness of Affliction.
• Florence appeared through Raphael's living-room mirror while he and Sophia were getting intimate, but Raphael summoned Pain and left with Sophia rather than hear her out.
• Sophia suspected Florence had been following her because of her work running the Assassin Company, and Raphael concluded Florence had likely discovered its connection to Mr. A and the Aurora Order.
• Raphael and Sophia returned to find Florence still waiting, and Raphael challenged her for staying after he had told her to wait.
• Florence broke Raphael's coffee table while demanding to know why he was using one of her people to run his assassin organization, then gave him a pearl necklace to pay for the damage.

Raphael negotiated a cooperation agreement with Florence that protected Sophia’s independence and gave him control of the Mechanic Company. On the Western Continent, he explored the Land of Extreme Yin and discovered a steel plate bearing the words “Institute of Mysticism.”

• Raphael rejected Florence’s demand to let the Demoness Sect run the Mechanic Company, then proposed helping its Assassins digest their Potions.
• Raphael and Florence agreed that he would help the Assassins for payment, the Demoness Sect would not interfere in the Mechanic Company, and its Assassins would be paid for completed commissions.
• After Florence left, Sophia thanked Raphael for helping free her from most of the Demoness Sect’s control.
• Raphael traveled to the Land of Extreme Yin on the Western Continent and observed the river dividing sunlight from darkness.
• Raphael went to a nearby tavern to gather information and found a steel plate inscribed with “Institute of Mysticism.”

Raphael received intelligence about Rose School strongholds in the Southern Continent and planned an investigation while considering clues from the Western Continent. At Viscount Kade’s poetry salon, Raphael appeared as a Wraith to frighten Kade, but found that the noble showed no guilt over his past killings.

• Raphael met with Florence to discuss their cooperation and considered whether to use Rose Redemption’s support to expand the Mechanic Company.
• Wagner brought Raphael Rose School documents, including a map marking two strongholds in the Southern Continent, and Raphael sent Wagner and Moor to investigate cities for traces of the organization.
• Raphael planned to travel south to investigate the Rose School and recalled that his Western Continent self had found Simplified Chinese characters near the Land of Extreme Yin.
• At Viscount Kade’s poetry salon, Beyonder bodyguards were injured, the exits froze shut, and an eerie voice accused Kade of killing her.
• Raphael, acting as a Wraith, realized Kade felt no guilt and decided he would have to frighten him into feeling guilty.

Raphael used Yuna’s corpse to expose Viscount Cade as her murderer while continuing to digest his potion. After the incident spread among the nobles, Raphael tormented Cade again that night, leaving him close to a mental breakdown.

• Raphael made Yuna’s corpse confront Viscount Cade in front of nobles, where she identified the dagger he had used to kill her.
• Yuna’s corpse vanished after threatening Cade, and the words “wicked husband” appeared burned into his chest.
• News of the incident spread, and Audrey recognized that Raphael was digesting his potion while her family discussed the opportunity it gave Yuna’s brother to challenge Cade.
• Raphael sent Yuna’s corpse into Cade’s bedroom, where she evaded his dagger and the Official Beyonders before escaping through a window.
• The word “murderer” appeared on Cade’s hand, and Raphael sensed from the Dark Hut that Cade was nearing a mental breakdown.

Raphael’s actions drove Viscount Kade mad and helped Yuna’s spirit find peace, digesting more of Raphael’s potion. He then traveled to the Southern Continent to investigate a Rose School base and woke in an inn after hearing a voice call to him.

• Raphael used a hallucination to torment Viscount Kade, who went mad and begged Yuna’s corpse for forgiveness before the Nighthawks found him.
• As Yuna’s corpse rotted away, Raphael saw her smile with happiness and felt a large portion of his potion digest.
• Raphael traveled to Tizamo Town, an Intisian colony, and used spirituality to communicate with locals despite the language barrier.
• Raphael gathered information in a tavern, learned that local authorities tolerated the Rose School and the Numinous Episcopate, and found no Beyonders in town.
• Raphael checked into an inn and fell asleep, but abruptly sat upright when a voice called to him.

Raphael discovered that a strange town was caught in a dangerous dream connected to the River of Eternal Darkness, then investigated a Zombie whose loss of control sparked a deadly attack. After translating the Zombie’s writings, Raphael suspected the Chained God was hidden nearby, possibly concealed by the river’s influence.

• Raphael realized he was inside a dream and saw a local Zombie flee into the rainforest, leaving frantic writings on his room’s walls.
• The Oldest One told Raphael that the dream’s strange events were connected to a sefirah’s influence and that their cause had little to do with Salinger.
• A scream ended the dream, and Raphael awoke to find a monster attacking a local man; he killed it, destroyed the Zombie’s writings, and took its characteristic.
• Raphael spotted a Werewolf investigating the burning room, marked him, and left town through the Spirit World.
• Raphael obtained a Dutanese language charm and translated the Zombie’s writings, which described a black stone hidden in the dream and someone sealed away.
• Raphael conjectured that the Chained God might be hiding nearby under cover of the River of Eternal Darkness.

Raphael explored an ancient research institute beneath the Land of Extreme Yin and met Wu Zheng, a scientist who had survived since the common era. Wu Zheng explained that researchers had detected mysterious forces before the apocalypse and developed a vaccine to improve humanity’s chances of survival, leaving Raphael with a new lead about the world’s transformation.

• Raphael followed a prehistoric railway into the mountains and found a well-preserved research institute beneath its ruins.
• A powerful monster caused Raphael to see a vision of the institute during the common era, revealing its original buildings and inhabitants.
• Raphael discovered sealed underground laboratory levels containing dormant creatures, experimental remains, and people with yellowish feathers.
• The facility’s lights guided Raphael to a screen, where a scientist named Wu Zheng introduced himself and confirmed he had worked there before the apocalypse.
• Wu Zheng told Raphael that researchers had detected mysterious forces, feared a catastrophe, and created an apocalypse vaccine that was administered to almost everyone.
• Wu Zheng explained that one vaccine mutation gave some people exceptionally powerful mental abilities.

Raphael learned from Wu Zheng about the Common Era researchers’ experiments with dreams and their attempt to approach the Yellow Springs, then followed Rose School members investigating a strange dream in Tizamo Town. The massive black rock they sought suddenly appeared, apparently through the Dark Hut’s power.

• Wu Zheng explained that researchers used mysterious substances and dream experiments to strengthen people’s minds, investigate a higher-dimensional space, and seek a shelter from the coming catastrophe.
• Wu Zheng described approaching the Yellow Springs during a dream nuclear test, witnessing strange figures, mutating, and copying his consciousness into the digital world.
• Raphael learned that the Zombie had found a massive black rock in Tizamo Town’s dream before dying, then secretly followed a Marionette, a Wraith, and a Werewolf as they searched for it.
• The Marionette and Wraith set ambushes, but Raphael’s disguises concealed him as the group followed the Zombie’s directions into the jungle.
• The Rose School members discussed their leader’s order to investigate the dream, and a massive black rock suddenly appeared before them as the Dark Hut’s power stirred around Raphael.

Raphael fought the Rose School’s Marionette and uncovered a connection between the black boulder, the Shadow World, and a being linked to the River of Eternal Darkness. The boulder revealed the Underworld Daoist just as Raphael met him in a dream on the Western Continent.

• Raphael possessed the Rose School’s Wraith, killed him and the Werewolf, then used Seduction Technique and Mental Impact to help the Eye of Illusions’ phantom defeat the Marionette.
• A terrifying presence emerged from the black boulder and sent evil power into the Marionette, but Raphael summoned Pain, whose arrival seemed to unsettle the being inside.
• The Eye of Illusions’ phantom killed the Marionette, and tranquil power resembling the River of Eternal Darkness drew the evil force back into the boulder.
• The black boulder briefly became translucent and revealed the Underworld Daoist, whom Raphael recognized as the man he was meeting on the Western Continent.
• After recovering, Raphael entered the dream surrounding the research institute, accepted an invitation from the Mount Hao Underworld Sect, and met the Underworld Daoist in the sect’s headquarters.

The Underworld Daoist revealed his identity as the original Wu Zheng and recounted the Western Continent’s history, from the Celestial Worthy’s rule to the rise and downfall of the Dao Integrators. He explained his own death and return, then revealed that the being sleeping inside the black stone was an avatar of the Demon Monarch Farbauti.

• Raphael recognized the Underworld Daoist as Wu Zheng, who explained that his research-institute counterpart was a consciousness backup and described how contact with the Yellow Springs had changed him.
• The Underworld Daoist recounted how he and the first Celestial Master resisted the Celestial Worthy, united with other Dao Integrators, and overthrew the Penglai Sect’s rule.
• The Underworld Daoist explained how the sefirot’s influence and outside forces caused the Dao Integrators to turn against one another during the Western Continent’s Warring States period.
• The Underworld Daoist described the Celestial Master’s death, the Mother Goddess of Depravity’s role in creating the Hidden Sage, and his theory that the Celestial Worthy made the Blasphemy Slate.
• The Underworld Daoist said he had entered the River of Eternal Darkness to fight the Blood Emperor and returned with his sense of self supported by Wu Zheng’s backup.
• The Underworld Daoist revealed that his Southern Continent avatar had led him to an avatar of the Demon Monarch Farbauti inside the black stone.

Raphael learned how Farbauti’s avatar had been hidden and received the Underworld Daoist’s guidance on Union with the Dao, including theories about the world and human consciousness. The chapter ended with Raphael realizing that he resonated with preserved psyches because he questioned the Great Old Ones’ monopoly over the universe’s laws.

• Raphael found a Chained pathway Card of Blasphemy on the Marionette’s corpse and left Tizamo Town with Pain.
• The Underworld Daoist explained how Farbauti’s avatar had been created and concealed, then offered to use its psyche to help Raphael advance.
• The Underworld Daoist promised to teach Raphael Union with the Dao after he reached Sequence 3 and described its two forms and risks.
• The Underworld Daoist explained his and the Celestial Master’s theories about the world’s dimensions, supernatural laws, and the space of psyche and consciousness.
• The Underworld Daoist said he had resisted the Great Old Ones’ monopoly over the universe’s laws, and Raphael realized that this was why he resonated with those psyches.

Raphael strengthened his resolve, prepared to advance toward Sequence 3, and persuaded Audrey to consider holding nobles accountable for their crimes. After driving Earl Jiao mad, he headed to Backlund Bridge to meet Queen Mystic about helping Sorn City.

• Raphael used the Card of Blasphemy to remove Erlin's characteristic corruption and sealed the Mother Tree of Desire's curse in a crystal.
• Raphael agreed to discuss Queen Mystic's offer to help Sorn City in exchange for being taken to and from the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Raphael encouraged Audrey to consider judging and punishing corrupt nobles herself, then told her about his experiences in the Southern Continent.
• Audrey sent Raphael a letter arranging a meeting with Queen Mystic at Backlund Bridge.
• Raphael slipped into Earl Jiao's residence during a storm, took him to the place where he had murdered his brother, and drove him mad.
• Raphael prepared for his meeting with Queen Mystic and set out for Backlund Bridge.

Raphael negotiated with Bernadette over her entry into the Forsaken Land of the Gods, pursued trades and preparations for the coming war, and learned that Feysac had broken through Loen’s Northern Defense Line. After spending the evening with Fors and Xio, he received a message that the Church of the God of Combat wanted to resume negotiations over Gass Island.

• Raphael met Bernadette on Backlund Bridge and agreed that she would enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods in a week, then aid the battle by holding off powerful Beyonders when war began.
• Raphael visited guilty nobles, digested much of his Wraith potion, checked Sorn City’s war preparations, and offered the Church of the God of Combat the Nine Hells Method in exchange for Gass Island.
• Xio told Raphael and Fors that Feysac had breached the Northern Defense Line and that fighting could reach Backlund within half a month.
• Raphael shared dinner with Fors and Xio, then went with Xio to their furnished cave, where they discussed the war and her future.
• Pain delivered a letter saying the God of Combat’s messenger wanted to resume negotiations over Raphael’s trade offer.

Raphael and Daniel finalized a deal granting Raphael authority over Gass Island in exchange for the Warrior Bible, while Raphael and Sharron broke into the Loen Royal Family’s underground vault to steal a mummy. Raphael successfully brought the mummy and a dangerous monkey Sealed Artifact into the Dark Hut, then returned to his villa, where Sharron was waiting.

• Raphael agreed to the Church of the God of Combat’s conditions for becoming governor of Gass Island, and Daniel accepted Raphael’s terms for the appointment and information exchange.
• Sharron briefed Raphael on the vault’s dangerous rules, and they entered the underground ruins while the demigod guard was resting.
• Raphael and Sharron found the mummy missing from its sarcophagus and discovered a monkey’s corpse had taken its place; the monkey awakened and interfered with their attempt to retrieve it.
• Raphael used bananas, Sharron’s possession, and the Misfortune Crystal to control the monkey long enough to begin an offering ritual for the mummy.
• Raphael used the Dark Hut to pull in the mummy’s glass cabinet, which also trapped the monkey’s corpse, and sealed both inside crystal.
• Raphael returned to his villa through a homeless man’s prayer, where Sharron was already waiting.

Raphael went to Earl Wyatt’s salon intending to haunt him, but discovered that Wyatt was tied to a hidden Marauder pathway scheme involving stolen fates and traded qualities. After confronting the man he believed to be Lucian wearing Wyatt’s fate, Raphael left him questioning his identity and learned that Amon was likely behind the revenge plot.

• Raphael completed his trade with Sharron, rested, and brought Puppet Brook to Earl Wyatt’s salon to frighten the earl and digest his potion.
• Raphael overheard nobles arranging trades involving courage, lifespan, youth, and a harmful teacup, and suspected that a hidden Marauder pathway Beyonder was stealing and bestowing qualities.
• Raphael followed Earl Wyatt to a suspicious wall and realized that someone had stolen his earlier suspicions and was observing him through the wall.
• Raphael confronted Wyatt as a vengeful spirit, but Wyatt recognized the puppet and called Raphael Wyatt, revealing confusion about his own identity.
• Raphael inferred that the man was Lucian living under Wyatt’s fate and suggested that his savior had placed Lucian’s fate inside him.
• Lucian panicked and admitted that he had used a Mystical Item to make Likabei a zombie and marry her to Jasper, while taking revenge on Wyatt with Amon’s help.

Raphael outsmarted Lucian during Amon’s prank and gained Amon’s help digesting his Wraith potion. He then advanced to Marionette in the Balkan Mountains, discovered his new abilities, and returned to his villa with his mental illness apparently quieted.

• Raphael convinced Lucian that he had been living as Wyatt under a stolen identity, driving him mad and earning Amon’s praise.
• Amon explained that Likabei had been one of Cheek’s avatars and described how Wyatt and Lucian had fought over her before Lucian killed Wyatt.
• Amon synchronized the performance with his true body, instantly completing Raphael’s Wraith potion digestion.
• Raphael prepared the Chained pathway mummy and advanced to Marionette in the Balkan Mountains, enduring the Source of Curses’ projection.
• Raphael examined his new curse, performance, and materialization abilities, and realized the Dark Hut could help prepare future Marionette advancement rituals.

Raphael recovered all his memories in the Dark Hut, recognized Klein as his cousin Zhou Mingrui, and discovered new powers and an escalating conflict over God Almighty’s Black Monolith. With the Oldest One’s protection, Raphael entered the Monolith with Brook and Nami and found an ocean of countless colors that reminded him of the Chaos Sea.

• Raphael gained the Composite Skill Impart Desire and greater authority over the Dark Hut, then recovered his missing memories and concluded that Klein was his cousin Zhou Mingrui.
• Raphael learned that his abilities within the Dark Hut had reached Angel level in some respects and that he was highly resistant to curses, but an enormous Black Monolith remained beyond his control.
• The Oldest One identified the Black Monolith as part of God Almighty’s arrangement and said Raphael would need to suppress it now, then strike it at Sequence 3 and defeat it as an Angel.
• Raphael created a lifeless copy of his Killer Personality to watch the Celestial Worthy and questioned the Oldest One about their cooperation, suspecting its explanation concealed a crucial lie.
• Raphael brought Brook and Nami to the Black Monolith, drew out God Almighty’s residual psyche, and entered through a fissure with the Oldest One’s protection.
• Inside the Monolith, Raphael saw a multicolored ocean whose aura reminded him of the Chaos Sea.