Chapter Summaries

Ash, Sonia, and Diya escaped into Reflecting Heart's House as the Heroic Soul Legion closed in, only to lose their memories of non-knowledge skills and face phantom versions of themselves. Danzel also entered the house and lost her memories, and the phantoms began organizing a game of questions to win back their treasures.

• Ash's Refraction Curtain weakened under the Heroic Soul Legion's attacks, and he urged Sonia or Diya to kill him so the pursuers would give up.
• A golden indicator led Ash, Sonia, and Diya to a Wooden Cabin, where they recognized Reflecting Heart's House and its memory-erasing effect.
• The three lost their memories of non-knowledge skills and learned they would have to answer questions from their phantoms to retrieve three precious treasures.
• Phantom Ash, Phantom Sonia, and Phantom Diya appeared and gave themselves the names Watcher, Sword Maiden, and Witch.
• Danzel entered the cabin, lost her memories, and met Phantom Danzel, who chose the name Empress.
• Watcher proposed that everyone use code names and asked who would answer their own questions first.

After losing their memories in the Wooden Cabin, Ash helped the panicking Diya calm down and reasoned that the group must have entered together because they trusted one another. He left them with a series of increasingly absurd guesses about their relationships, concluding that Danzel was his lover.

• Sonia refused to believe the phantoms' explanation, while Sword Maiden described her reaction and noted that Diya was trying to flee.
• Ash distracted Diya with a shifting sword light, soothed her, and told her that frightened people should stay together.
• Sonia used the Miracle Treat People with Sincerity to show Diya how afraid she was, helping Diya relax and quieting the Sisters in her mind.
• Ash reasoned that the group had entered the cabin together because they were close and trusted one another.
• Ash guessed that Diya and Sonia were his Younger Sisters and that he was Danzel's boss, then decided Danzel must be his lover.

Ash helped the four amnesiac Spellcasters agree on provisional relationships so they could use them as a basis for answering questions. Sonia volunteered to go first, and Sword Maiden presented her with a question about whom she loved most.

• Ash explained that assigning provisional identities could help the group reason through the Q&A Game, while the phantoms refused to reveal memories or act out relationship tests.
• Danzel chose the Lover identity, Sonia chose Sweetheart, and Diya chose Younger Sister; they chose Knight as Ash's identity.
• The group sat down to begin the Q&A Game, and Sonia volunteered to answer first.
• Sword Maiden showed Sonia three pictures and asked whom she loved most; Ash immediately told her to eliminate the Hooded Man as the wrong answer.

Sonia recognized herself as the little girl in the picture and answered that she loved that younger self most, winning back her Sword Art Faction Realm and a Time Faction Realm. Sword Maiden then asked whom Sonia hated most, and Ash stopped Diya from dismissing the image of Diya in white as an incorrect choice.

• Diya became overwhelmed by the Sisters arguing in her mind, and Ash calmed her by letting her bite his hand.
• Diya said the little girl in the picture was Sweetheart herself, and Sonia recognized the girl as her younger self.
• Ash reasoned that Sonia’s beloved was the person she had chosen to protect, and Sonia named her younger self as the one she loved most.
• Sword Maiden returned Sonia’s Sword Art Faction Realm and rewarded her with a Time Faction Realm.
• Sword Maiden asked whom Sonia hated most, and Ash said the image of Diya in white might be the right answer.

Ash tried to use the phantoms’ interactions to prove that Sonia, Diya, and Danzel each had a different relationship with him, while the group faced a joint question from Sword Maiden, Witch, and Empress. The question showed four portraits of Diya and one of Ash, and its answer could become reality.

• Sonia chose Pure White Diya as the person she hated most, answered incorrectly, and lost her Silver Rank Mind School spell.
• Sonia bit Ash’s hand to vent her frustration, while Diya clung to his other hand and Danzel declined to join in.
• Witch compelled Diya to answer, but Empress interrupted and joined Witch and Sword Maiden in asking a question together.
• Ash interpreted the phantoms’ interactions as proof that Sonia was his sweetheart, Diya his younger sister, and Danzel his lover.
• Sword Maiden, Witch, and Empress revealed five portraits, four of which showed different versions of Diya, and asked whom the contestants would want to die with if they knew they were about to die.
• Witch warned that the answer to their joint question could become reality, whether the contestants answered correctly or incorrectly.

Danzel revealed that her Spider Tower ability could uncover hidden truths and help her pass the Wooden Cabin Trial. After transforming into a Secrecy Peeking Woman, she embraced Ash and declared that she would leave with him while keeping the others trapped.

• Diya used Ash's hand to manage her stress while she discussed the four portraits with the Sisters.
• Sonia argued that she would choose Ash to die with her, making Ash doubt his theory that she was his sweetheart.
• Danzel recognized the Spiderweb Eye Mask and explained that her ability could reveal the truth, which was why she entered the Wooden Cabin.
• Danzel transformed into a Secrecy Peeking Woman and described her powers of Secret Peeking, Weaving, and Concealment.
• Danzel rejected Sonia's request to transform the others and said she would keep them in the cabin while she and Ash left.

Danzel attacked Sonia and Diya, but Ash subdued her and persuaded her to release them. Danzel used her Secrecy Peeking ability to answer the question, while Annan logged into the Gospel with Danzel Dolan’s account and invoked its power to see the future.

• Danzel trapped Sonia and Diya in spider silk, and Ash stopped her before she could kill Sonia.
• Ash argued that he could not risk killing someone he might love, and Danzel released Sonia and Diya in exchange for a favor.
• Danzel activated her Secrecy Peeking ability and answered the question: “her.”
• Annan learned that Ash had placed first on the Artistic Ranking and suspected the Gospel had chosen him for unknown reasons.
• Annan used the Spiderweb Eye Mask to access Danzel Dolan’s Gospel account and invoked its power to reveal a more distant future.

Ash, Diya, Sonia, and Danzel answered the Wooden Cabin’s question about whom they would choose to die with, and all four recovered their wagered treasures. Their rewards created dangerous bonds between them, while Watcher changed the Cabin’s rules and astonished the Empress Phantom by exercising authority beyond that of an ordinary phantom.

• Ash and Sonia reasoned through the paintings, and Diya chose Princess as the person she would drag down with her to die.
• Witch announced that everyone had answered correctly and returned Diya’s Mask Spell Spirit, Sonia’s Water Art Faction, and Danzel’s Secret Incarnation.
• Diya received a Co-death blessing that would randomly transfer a fatal blow to someone inside the Wooden Cabin, while Sonia received a Co-birth blessing that linked her soul to Ash’s.
• The Empress awarded Danzel 10,000 Soul Power, but Watcher intervened, made Danzel’s wager carry over to the next question, and banned her Secrecy Peeking Woman power inside the Cabin.
• The Empress Phantom realized that Watcher had not merely repaired a loophole but had directly changed the Wooden Cabin’s rules.

The Witch tested Diya’s knowledge of the Princess in the painting, and Diya lost her cherished Spell Spirit after answering incorrectly. As Diya considered what her family might have wanted from her, Danzel tried to enlist Ash’s help, while Annan resolved to restore the Doran Clan’s glory.

• The Witch began Diya’s round by asking whether the person Diya had chosen was her mother, grandmother, or grandfather, with Listen to the Sun as the prize.
• Diya decided the person was her elder sister, but the Witch revealed that she was wrong and destroyed Diya’s Listen to the Sun Spell Spirit.
• The Witch asked what the Princess wanted to do to Diya, and Diya concluded that the Princess wanted to sacrifice her after hearing that the person was likely her grandmother.
• Danzel told Ash she had discovered important information and asked him to forgive her and cooperate, then pulled his head into her embrace when he did not agree.
• Annan deactivated the Gospel and resolved to restore the Doran Clan’s glory by following in Empress Danzel’s footsteps.

Diya recognized the Witch’s eyes as matching the Princess in the painting, then relived a disturbing memory of the Princess’s confinement and chose the third answer before collapsing. Watcher followed with a question for Ash and Danzel about the identity of the Eyepatch Girl.

• Danzel revealed that the Witch’s eyes matched the Princess’s eyes in the painting, and Diya noticed their shared arrogance.
• Diya experienced a vision of the Princess in a High Tower and overheard a woman describe the Princess’s strict routine and an impending Armor Ceremony.
• Back in the Wooden Cabin, Diya answered that the third option was correct and fainted in Sonia’s arms.
• Witch said Diya would recover after resting and began moving closer to Sword Maiden.
• Watcher announced that his first question matched Empress’s second question and asked who the Eyepatch Girl was, offering three possible identities.

Ash, Sonia, and Danzel debated the identity of the Eyepatch Girl and chose the Gospel Incarnation as their answer. The Wooden Cabin accepted their answers but punished them for choosing alike, swapping Ash and Danzel’s treasures and leaving Danzel wondering whether she had fulfilled her mission.

• Sonia deduced that the Eyepatch Girl was likely related to Diya, and Ash and Sonia agreed that the First Emperor’s Secret Advisor was the likeliest identity.
• Danzel revealed that, if she were an Empress, she would imprison and isolate the person she loved, prompting Sonia to distance herself from Ash before jokingly ending their relationship.
• Ash theorized that the Eyepatch Girl might be the original prototype behind the people resembling Diya, and he and Danzel chose the Gospel Incarnation as their answer.
• Watcher revealed that Ash’s treasure was Avatar of Stars, and Danzel recognized it as something she needed to obtain.
• Watcher declared both answers correct but imposed a penalty for matching answers, swapping Ash’s Secret Incarnation with Danzel’s Avatar of Stars.
• Danzel felt that her deep-seated mission had been fulfilled and wondered whether she had completed her task.

Danzel answered that she had desecrated Eyepatch Girl and received Expert-level Defensive Arts, while her affection for Diya unsettled Sonia and Ash. The Watcher then asked Ash why he was reborn, leaving the answer unresolved among three possibilities.

• Danzel chose the answer that she had desecrated Eyepatch Girl and won Expert-level Defensive Arts.
• Danzel mistook Diya for Eyepatch Girl's Substitute and stared at her with affection, prompting Sonia to protect the unconscious Diya.
• The phantoms privately discussed whether the originals should remain amnesiac, and the Empress insisted Danzel should not be kept in a false relationship.
• Ash persuaded Danzel to stay until he finished answering, then listened as the Watcher asked why he was reborn.
• The Watcher offered three explanations: Ash became a pawn of the Four Pillar Gods, created a world-inverting Miracle over a thousand years, or did not know why he was reborn.

Ash weighed the possibilities of having been a World Destroyer or a Savior, but concluded that he did not know which path his past self had taken. He argued that neither choice fit the character he could sense within himself, leaving the Wooden Cabin without a confirmed answer.

• Watcher told Ash that answering "I don't know" would count as correct, and Ash considered the extreme possibilities of sacrificing the world or reversing it.
• Sonia tried to rekindle her relationship with Ash, and he proposed that they get back together and repeat their mistakes.
• Watcher interrupted Ash and Sonia's flirtation and asked Ash to answer the question.
• Ash said he could not judge whether his past self had been a World Destroyer or a Savior because the options depended on unknown prerequisites and memories.
• Ash explained that either choice would have deeply shaped his character, but he could not sense the resolve or the lingering scent of suffering such actions would have left behind.
• Witch asked Sword Maiden whether she could smell the scent, and Sword Maiden said she could but could not tell whose it was.

Ash answered the Wooden Cabin’s final question by choosing Sonia as the woman he cared about most, but the answer was judged wrong and he lost his Reverse Sun Spell Spirit. Meanwhile, Freyja correctly learned that she and Ash would pursue a grand plan together, then saw a Fate Question listing seven possible answers to who held the highest place in Ash’s heart.

• Ash chose to be an ordinary person who knew nothing and received the Command Spell Spirit as his reward.
• Ash chose Sonia as the woman most important to him, explaining that he could only choose someone from the Wooden Cabin and would worry about her if she was his sweetheart.
• Watcher said Ash’s answer was wrong and took his Reverse Sun Spell Spirit, while Sonia asked to see the remaining candidates and Ash tried to stop her.
• Watcher and the Sword Maiden guessed that Ash still cared most about a particular woman, though the Wooden Cabin had not revealed the answer.
• Freyja answered that she would carry out a plan with Ash and then read a question listing seven possible women, including his mother, as candidates for the person he cared about most.

Diya woke from a nightmare about killing Liss, while Ash and Sonia argued about their feelings and prepared to leave the Wooden Cabin. Danzel transformed into an Assassination Expert and seized Ash, and the group reached the door with Ash poised to open it.

• Diya woke after dreaming that she had to kill Liss.
• Ash and Sonia traded barbs about who they valued and loved most.
• The Watcher urged everyone to leave the Wooden Cabin, and Ash approached Danzel while Sonia spoke with Diya.
• Danzel transformed into a Spider Tower Assassination Expert and grabbed Ash, using him to prevent the others from leaving without her.
• Ash, Danzel, Sonia, and Diya gathered at the Wooden Cabin's door, and Ash grasped the doorknob before stopping.

Ash, Sonia, Danzel, and Diya left the Wooden Cabin to face the Upstream Golden Rain and recover their memories. Inside the cabin, the Watcher rejected the Witch’s proposed changes to the plan and declared that Ash’s choice remained his own.

• Ash wondered whether regaining his memories would erase who he was now, and confessed that he liked Sonia.
• Diya argued that the past shaped who they were, while Sonia said she would rather abandon the past and begin again.
• Danzel, Sonia, and Diya joined Ash at the door, and they left the Wooden Cabin as the Upstream Golden Rain illuminated the Memory Palace.
• After Danzel departed, the Empress Phantom vanished, while the Witch, Sword Maiden, and Watcher remained in the cabin.
• The Witch urged the Watcher to change the plan, but the Sword Maiden advocated cautious intervention and rejected the Witch’s suggestion that she envied Sonia.
• The Watcher said Ash’s choice was his own and refused to let the phantoms question his decision.

Danzel confronted Ash and demanded the Secret Incarnation, then overpowered Sonia and Diya while Ash tried to negotiate. She threatened to throw Ash and Sonia to the Void Creatures, and Sonia grasped Ash’s hand as he reached for her.

• Danzel demanded that Ash return the Secret Incarnation, and Ash asked her to return the Avatar of Stars.
• Ash urged Sonia and Diya to leave, but Danzel charged and defeated their attacks, using Ash as a shield against them.
• Ash revealed that Sonia’s Co-birth blessing and Diya’s Co-death curse made it dangerous for Danzel to kill them, but Danzel said she could still let the Void Creatures kill them.
• Danzel carried Ash and Sonia to the fence and threatened to throw them to an Eight-Eyed Weaver Spider and the other Void Creatures.
• Terrified, Sonia reached for a lifeline, and Ash took her hand.

Ash confronted Danzel and argued that she needed to let him and his teammates go if she wanted to preserve her chance of reclaiming Secret Incarnation. Danzel offered them a binding Contract, but Ash objected that it restricted only them and did not guarantee she would let them leave.

• Ash accused Danzel of relying on Secret Incarnation and warned that killing them would disappoint the Omniscient Weaver.
• Ash argued that Danzel should release them because they might return to the Void Realm, while killing them would cost her the chance to recover Secret Incarnation.
• Danzel transformed into a production Job Type and presented Contracts requiring Ash, Sonia, and Diya to enter the Spider Tower Area during each Celestial Cart Bull cycle and surrender the Soul Summoning Spell Spirit if captured.
• Danzel added a clause voiding the Contract if they entered a higher layer of the Void Realm, but warned that repeated breaches would cost them Spell Spirits and eventually their lives.
• Ash pointed out that the Contract placed no restrictions on Danzel and said she might still refuse to let them leave even if they signed.

Ash, Sonia, and Diya signed Danzel’s Contract, but she exploited its loophole by keeping them trapped as the Silent Domain closed in. After they were left to face the Domain, Danzel destroyed the Avatar of Stars, weakening Star Hall and preparing to reclaim its secret.

• Ash demanded that the Contract forbid Danzel and her troops from killing them for an hour, and the group signed it.
• Danzel attacked Ash, Sonia, and Diya, injuring them enough to prevent their escape before the Silent Domain arrived.
• Danzel revealed that the Contract did not stop her from leaving them to die in the Domain, then departed with her Retinue Troops.
• Ash promised to find a way to heal their damaged souls, while Diya thanked him and agreed to explain her background another time.
• As the Silent Domain closed in, Diya offered to skip some visits, and Sonia threatened her into promising to keep coming.
• Danzel crushed the Avatar of Stars, reducing Star Hall’s total combat power by 13%, and resolved to reclaim its secret.

Sonia returned from the Void Realm and struggled to focus on reality as memories of her intimate, embarrassing conversation with Watcher overwhelmed her. Her roommates noticed her strange behavior, but the chapter left her privately reliving the exchange and wishing she could disappear.

• Sonia emerged from the Meditation Building, felt her Void Realm Syndrome ease, and collided with Ingrid upon returning to the Dormitory.
• Sonia sat dazed and nearly took her Sword Bag to class before Adele and Lois noticed that she had gone out without makeup.
• Sonia ignored noble students who mocked her origins, thanked them after taking their abandoned seats, and left them embarrassed.
• Lois and Adele realized Sonia had not heard the mockery because she was absorbed in her own thoughts.
• Sonia replayed her affectionate conversation with Watcher and cringed at what she had said while they were both suffering from amnesia.