Chapter Summaries

Mulan refused to accept the Raven Messengers until they confronted the risk his mission posed to the Kordel people, then promised to meet them at the next Evil Moon Day. The chapter ended with Raven Church followers gathering at the Grape Estate, eager to learn whether Mulan was the true Apostle.

• Mulan told the Raven Messengers he would take the second Apostle's Eye from Silindia, while Caesar warned them not to follow.
• Solomon caught the two Raven Messengers as they tracked Mulan into the Blue Moon Forest, and Mulan explained that joining him could bring near-annihilation to the Kordel people.
• The Raven Messengers returned and declared they were willing to fight rather than cling to life, as long as Mulan was the true Apostle.
• Mulan invited willing Kordel people to meet him on the next Evil Moon Day, when he would enter the Otherworld and lift Silindia's curse.
• Two days later, dozens of Raven Church followers gathered at the Grape Estate, and an injured old man urged them to witness the truth before he died.

Mulan led nearly two hundred Raven Church believers into the Otherworld to confront the Raven Queen, Silindia, and claim the Apostle’s Eye. At the edge of the Despair Abyss, he resisted her attempt to overpower his will and declared himself the First Apostle foretold by the Quinas People.

• Raven Church believers traveled to the Blue Moon Forest, where Mulan and the Four Silent Knights gathered with nearly two hundred followers.
• Mulan used the Elf’s power and a ritual to lead the group from the forest into the Otherworld.
• Mulan guided the believers through a dead forest toward the Despair Abyss as crows gathered around them.
• Silindia confronted Mulan, and her black aura seized him while her overwhelming will battered the believers and the Silent Knights.
• Mulan resisted Silindia’s attempt to drag him into the abyss and told her he had come to claim the Apostle’s Eye, awaken her memories, and free her sorrowful soul.
• Mulan declared that he was the First Apostle foretold in the Quinas People’s prophecy.

Mulan used the Apostle’s Eye to reveal the previous world’s destruction, then summoned the Book of Dawn to shield everyone from its corruption. He awakened the Quinas People and prepared to free the Raven Queen from the Cursed Abyss.

• Quinas souls recognized Mulan as the First Apostle, easing the Raven Queen’s pressure and the Kordel People’s headaches.
• Mulan persuaded Silindia to give him the Second Apostle’s Eye in exchange for revealing the truth of history.
• The Apostle’s Eye showed the destruction of the previous world, but its corrupted vision threatened everyone until Mulan summoned the Book of Dawn to dispel it.
• Mulan told the Kordel People and Quinas souls that the world’s final hour was coming and called on them to honor their oath and fight for its future.
• The Kordel People answered Mulan’s call to charge into the darkness, and Mulan turned toward the abyss to begin the dangerous task of freeing the Raven Queen.

Mulan used the Book of Dawn to reveal the Raven Queen’s past and the dangers threatening the world, then persuaded Silindia to swear loyalty and accept redemption. After the Quinas People lifted her curse, Mulan and the others returned to the Blue Moon Forest, where he sent the believers to spread news of the Apostle’s descent and the Raven Queen’s return.

• Mulan opened the Book of Dawn and showed the Raven Queen and the Quinas People visions of the Great Vortex, past abuses of Chaos, and the awakening of hope.
• Mulan called the Raven Queen by her true name, Silindia, and asked her to help him fight the darkness.
• Silindia swore by her title, true name, body, and soul to honor the ancient oath and follow Mulan as the Apostle.
• Mulan commanded the Quinas People to lift Silindia’s curse, and their blessings united them as the Cursed Abyss rose and freed her.
• Mulan, the four Silent Knights, and the Quinas People returned to the Blue Moon Forest, where Mulan ordered the believers to tell their trusted companions that the Apostle had descended and the Raven Queen had returned.

The Book of Dawn vanished from its sealed chamber without triggering the defenses, and Haisen, Walton, and Mulan concluded that it had disappeared on its own like the Three Great Holy Relics. Queen Nisheriel limited Haisen’s punishment and ordered the Black Castle to keep searching, while Mulan asked to visit the relic’s place of origin in Kingsbia.

• A warning bell rang in the palace and Black Castle, and Haisen and Walton found the Book of Dawn missing from its intact sealed chamber.
• Haisen told Mulan the Holy Relic had most likely vanished on its own, and Mulan hurried with him to the Royal Palace for questioning.
• At the palace, nobles demanded punishment and tighter oversight of the Black Castle, but Nisheriel ruled that the disappearance had been beyond anyone’s control.
• Nisheriel lowered Haisen’s noble rank by two grades, withheld a year’s salary, and ordered the Black Castle to continue searching for the Book of Dawn.
• Mulan reported the research progress to Nisheriel and requested permission to visit Kingsbia, where the Book of Dawn had first appeared.

Rumors of an Investigation Team sent to question Black Castle’s professors spread among the students, prompting some well-connected students to seek help from their families. Meanwhile, Mulan traveled toward Kingsbia on a diplomatic mission before planning to reach Silias, and the Elf awakened with news about elves imprisoned in the otherworld.

• Jenny and Hathaway discussed rumors that the Nobles’ Council was investigating the Black Castle’s reforms and might restrict Professor Jonester.
• Sarah took her younger brothers York and Eugene to visit their grandfather, a senior Nobles’ Council member, after telling them about the Investigation Team.
• Mulan hoped the Council’s intervention would help turn the Black Castle into a genuine school and encourage students’ families to obstruct parts of the investigation.
• Nisheriel and Glando discussed Mulan’s efforts and the support that students’ influential families could offer the Black Castle.
• Mulan arrived at the Dierjia-Kingsbia border and boarded a train for Kingsbia as an envoy, planning to take a circuitous route to Silias.
• The Elf awakened and told Mulan that elves were imprisoned in the otherworld, though many might have lost their sanity and become demons.

Mulan Jonester led Dierjia’s delegation to Kingsbia, where King George welcomed him as a hero and asked him for swordsmanship lessons. While reviewing evidence of the Life Cult’s activities, Mulan uncovered a large cache of Life Crystals, as Farolynch and Shire expected him to visit Silias and discuss a related matter.

• Mulan traveled by train through Kingsbia and learned that King George greatly admired him.
• King George welcomed Mulan and the delegation at Lombardier Station, requested a photograph with him, and later practiced swordsmanship with him.
• Mulan reviewed Kingsbia’s files on Life Cult cases and found two crates of Life Crystals, resolving to investigate the cult’s goals.
• Farolynch and Shire discussed Mulan’s visit and planned to speak with him when he reached Silias, while the children eagerly asked when they could see him again.

Mulan tried to destroy the Wish-Granting Pot, but his attack left the holy relic unharmed, and the World Tree concealed it underground. The elf then began teaching Mulan, Shire, and Farolynch how to communicate with Silias, and Mulan's perception started to deepen.

• Mulan entered Silias and used the Ring of Light to hurl a powerful attack at the Wish-Granting Pot, but the relic remained intact.
• Shire and Farolynch arrived, and Mulan explained that he had been trying to destroy the holy relic.
• Mulan identified the pot as the Wish-Granting Pot and warned Shire and Farolynch not to entertain wishes in its presence.
• The elf used Silias's vines to bury the Wish-Granting Pot and explained that the realm could be reached through sincere communication with nature.
• The elf guided Mulan, Shire, and Farolynch to empty their minds and sense the wind, soil, and water, and Mulan's perception grew finer as he followed the lesson.

Mulan welcomed Silias into Dawn and explained the organization’s expanding structure, allies, and communication network to Shire and Farolynch. With the Raven Queen, Silias, and his new knowledge, Mulan decided he might finally be able to bring Evan back to life.

• Mulan thanked Silias for teaching them to sense the patterns of nature and asked to share the meditation with Dawn.
• Silias joined Dawn and received its mark, while Shire and Farolynch learned that the organization was far larger than they had assumed.
• Mulan outlined Dawn’s branches, safe bases, potential recruits, and methods of gathering and sharing intelligence.
• Farolynch asked whether Mulan’s priority was destroying the Wish-Granting Pot, and Mulan revealed that he wanted even more to revive Evan.
• Mulan looked at Fang, where Evan’s soul remained sealed, and resolved to try bringing him back to life.

Mulan arranged for the Quinas People to reach Silias through Raven Church followers settling in Great Oak Town. After they sensed Dawn's power and entered the secret realm, they gathered beneath the World Tree and learned it was Dawn's headquarters.

• Mulan told Shire and Farolynch that preparations would begin once the Quinas People arrived.
• Raven Church followers traveled to Great Oak Town and quietly bought vacant houses, while Xin Erwei noticed the newcomers and worried about their growing numbers.
• The Raven Church followers gathered in their new homes and waited for guidance to enter Silias.
• Mulan sent the Quinas People a vision and urged them to sense Dawn's power, allowing them to enter the secret realm.
• The Quinas People saw the World Tree, greeted Mulan as the Apostle, and performed the Heart-Touching Salute as Shire and Farolynch joined them.

Mulan and the Quinas people planned an immense rune array across Silias's Secret Realm that could strengthen the Raven Queen's reach and help revive Evan, though the project required enormous resources. In mid-January, Mulan returned to Lorint, reviewed Dierjia's intelligence on Kingsbia, and prepared to pursue the Life Cult investigation and gather materials.

• Mulan asked the Quinas people to call him Sage instead of Lord Apostle, and they agreed to prepare a report connecting the Life Cult's sacrificial rites to the Book of Dawn and its crystals.
• The Quinas people proposed covering Silias's Secret Realm with ancient totem magic runes, and Mulan joined them in designing a vast array with ritual-array nodes to stabilize its power.
• Mulan recognized that the rune array could extend the Raven Queen's power throughout the Secret Realm and potentially improve the chances of reviving Evan, but its materials and construction would be costly and demanding.
• Mulan arrived in Lorint in mid-January and met members of the Dierjia Diplomatic Mission, who gave him records gathered with help from the country's intelligence service.
• Mulan reviewed the documents on Kingsbia, credited his subordinates for their work, and left to continue his investigation and seek money and materials.

Nisheriel halted an intensive Imperial investigation into the Life Cult while encouraging Mulan to rest and go home to Valentine. After arriving, Mulan visited Evan’s former Holy Temple and reflected on what people meant by gods.

• Nisheriel told Mulan that the Empire would monitor the Life Cult but would not devote major resources to investigating it, and she reassured him that he had done enough regarding the Book of Dawn.
• Nisheriel urged Mulan to return to Valentine for a proper rest, and he promised to bring cookies made by Grandpa Buck.
• Nisheriel explained that she wanted to gain the Nobles' Council’s support by sharing benefits rather than relying on intimidation; after Mulan left, she and Glando reviewed memories captured by Glando’s alchemical monocle.
• Mulan posted a notice suspending his classes for at least two weeks, gave Sebastina a sketch of an ancient Quinas magic rune array, and left Black Castle.
• Sebastina recruited outstanding students for an advanced research project to analyze the rune array.
• Mulan went to Evan’s former Holy Temple in Valentine, rested there, and reflected on how humans bestowed divinity upon beings they called gods.

Mulan sent Kunlu to recruit Dolly’s help in gathering materials for the enormous Ancient Magic Rune Array being built in the Silias World Tree Secret Realm. As construction advanced and Dawn’s allies joined the effort, Mulan saw the project as a chance both to resurrect Evan and to give Dawn new vitality.

• Mulan retrieved Evan’s notebook and later instructed a raven messenger to contact Dolly and monitor Sebastina’s work in the Black Castle.
• Kunlu met Dolly at sea, showed her the Dawn Mark, and asked her to gather large quantities of materials for Silias’s Ancient Magic Rune Array.
• Dolly agreed to help, collected resources from the sea, and arranged trades with pirates despite their enmity.
• Shiploads of materials traveled toward Great Oak Town as Quinas People worked to construct the array in the Silias World Tree Secret Realm.
• Shire delivered Sebastina’s research results, and Farolynch and the Quinas workers discussed changes to Magic Rune Area Twenty-Seven.

Mulan studied birds in two places at once to master a nature-based transformation, with Silias warning him against becoming too deeply integrated with his research. After a swift transformation in Dierjia and a crow transformation in Basman, Mulan confirmed he had gained a useful new ability.

• Mulan used nature resonance and dissected birds in Dierjia, while his other self got off a train in Basman to find live birds for research.
• Mulan rented a house in Basman, bought dozens of birds, and worked with his Dierjia self to study their anatomy and record detailed observations.
• Mulan and his companions sold feathered hats and preserved birds, earning back several times the cost of the research supplies and rental.
• After a week of study, Mulan transformed into a swift in Dierjia in about sixteen seconds, while Silias cautioned him not to become dependent on the Elf.
• Mulan transformed into a crow in Basman before the Four Knights, then changed back and assured them he could control the risks.

Mulan entered Silias with a second, shapeshifted body and activated the first completed phase of the ritual array beneath the World Tree. The Raven Queen descended into the Secret Realm, overwhelmed by the chance to experience the physical world, and thanked Mulan.

• Mulan received an appointment to the Black Castle Board and sent Nisheriel a request to confirm it before he accepted.
• After learning the ritual array’s central ten-kilometer radius was complete, Mulan left home and traveled to Great Oak Town in his swift form.
• Mulan revealed his Shadow Demon and swift bodies to Dolly, the Four Knights, and the Quinas people before bringing them into Silias.
• Mulan and more than a thousand workers gathered beneath the World Tree as the first phase of the ritual array formed a closed loop.
• Mulan activated the array and called on the Raven Queen to descend into Silias.
• The Raven Queen emerged from the flames, wept as she experienced the physical world, and thanked Mulan.

Mulan prepared a ritual to truly resurrect Evan, explaining how Evan’s faith and sacrifice had awakened him and shaped his chosen destiny. With the Secret Realm’s people gathered and the preparations complete, Mulan began the ritual, declaring that Torchlight would purify Evan’s will and restore him as a living champion.

• The Raven Church’s followers celebrated the Raven Queen and Silias’s arrival as the World Tree returned to normal and the Secret Realm changed.
• Mulan prepared a resurrection ritual for Evan, whose wounded soul would otherwise be drawn into the Otherworld, while the Raven Queen and Silias discussed their histories as elves.
• Sebastina passed information to the Raven Messenger in a tavern and asked to join Mulan’s plan, but the messenger left without answering.
• The Raven Messenger returned to Silias, and Mulan confirmed that the ritual preparations were complete; he decided not to wait for Sebastina or reveal Silias’s location to her.
• Mulan addressed the gathered people, describing how Evan’s final trust had awakened him and announcing that Torchlight would purify Evan’s will and bring him back to life.

Mulan and the Raven Queen used the Book of Dawn, the World Tree, and a vast magic array to resurrect Evan. Evan awoke safely, learned that only a few years had passed, and was welcomed by the gathered allies—before realizing he had been resurrected without clothes.

• The Raven Queen purified the gray mist from Fang and used her magic to prepare the World Tree and the rune array for Evan's rebirth.
• The Raven Queen and Mulan performed the resurrection, forming Evan's body from light and restoring his flesh and life.
• Mulan urged Evan to wake, and Evan opened his eyes, recognized Mulan, and recalled his death and memories.
• Mulan reassured Evan that he had returned to a changed world, then introduced him to the gathered allies as Dawn's Bell-Ringer, Sir Evan.
• Evan discovered his blond hair and lack of clothes, prompting laughter as Mulan gave him clothing.

Two months after Evan's resurrection, Mulan taught a lesson at the Black Castle and challenged new students to remain cautious in the supernatural world. Lun Chakus offered a bold answer to Mulan's question about breaking fate, prompting Mulan to praise him and promise to tell Benjamin about his nephew.

• Mulan warned the new students not to leave school for Imperial work before their credits exceeded the Black Castle's average, then demonstrated the frightening pressure of the supernatural world.
• Mulan taught the class about the basics and urged students to stay calm and cautious rather than become arrogant.
• Lun Chakus told Mulan that overcoming inner greed and negativity could break fate, and wondered whether a spirit-forged sword could cleave through fate's compromises.
• Mulan praised Lun's answer and courage, learned that he was Benjamin Chakus's nephew, and said he would tell Benjamin about him.
• After Mulan dismissed class, senior students congratulated Lun while the newcomers who had doubted him fell silent.

Mulan pursued the idea of giving a Psychic Weapon physical form and learned that Alopha had been researching how to give spirits a vessel through alchemy. Mulan agreed to support the experiments with his blood, leaving him, Matt, and Alopha set to work together on a new alchemical approach.

• Mulan visited Matt and explained his idea of creating a physical, indestructible weapon governed by the spirit.
• Matt recognized the idea as similar to one Alopha had discussed and accompanied Mulan to Alopha's Alchemy Hut.
• Alopha showed Mulan and Matt vessels containing an intangible red substance cultured with Mulan's blood.
• Alopha explained that Mulan's blood resisted spiritual corrosion because of his powerful will and could help give spirits physical form.
• Mulan proposed gradually refining the technique and offered to join Alopha's research with Matt.
• Mulan began studying Alopha's records and drew blood for the experiments.

Mulan, Matt, and Professor Alopha collaborated on research into psychic fluid and launched it as a serialized paper in Truth and Magic. The publication drew widespread attention and a flood of responses, while Mulan began planning a companion periodical for commentary.

• Mulan and Matt left Alopha's workshop after encouraging him to rest, then studied his research materials through the night at Matt's house.
• Mulan and Matt learned that Alopha had pursued a new path in alchemy for eighty years and had become intensely interested in Mulan's unusual blood.
• Mulan persuaded Alopha to publish their research in installments in Truth and Magic, sharing progress while withholding key details.
• The fifth issue of Truth and Magic was delayed for a month, then appeared with serialized research into verifiable psychic fluid.
• Alchemists sent more than a dozen supportive and critical letters to the Black Castle, and Mulan considered starting a companion periodical for commentary.