Chapter Summaries

Bronya remembered her childhood with Chu Mu and grieved the brother she had lost, while Natasha, Seele, and Oleg watched over her. Seele then asked permission to protect Bronya in the Upper District from enemies created by her policies.

• Bronya recalled how she and Chu Mu had treasured the Snow Globe and shared an unspoken understanding about his blindness.
• Bronya remembered childhood moments with Chu Mu as she sat in the classroom holding the Snow Globe.
• Natasha invited Bronya outside, and Bronya went to the Orphanage steps and broke down sobbing.
• Natasha said that remembering brought Bronya new pain, while Seele insisted Bronya would choose those memories despite the hurt.
• Seele told Oleg that Bronya had made enemies among former Upper District nobles and requested permission to operate there to protect her.

Oleg discussed Belobog’s defenses and its cautious approach to threats from the sea of stars, while Natasha and Seele helped Bronya rest after she broke down crying. Svarog and Clara waited together for Chu Mu’s return as Belobog began to rebuild.

• Oleg told Seele and Stelle that he would train Silvermane Guards and explained why Belobog needed to maintain its armed forces against dangers from the sea of stars.
• Stelle reassured everyone that Belobog was well protected, and Bronya began sobbing again after hearing her words.
• Natasha treated Bronya, then Seele, Stelle, and Natasha carried her back to the Orphanage so she could sleep.
• Clara asked Svarog why he had timed Bronya’s crying, and he revealed that he still believed he would meet Chu Mu again.
• Clara and Svarog agreed to wait together as they watched Belobog change and begin anew.

Bronya became Belobog’s Nineteenth Supreme Guardian and worked to reunite the Upper District and the Underworld through equal rights and shared spaces. As March 7th and Stelle prepared to leave Belobog, Hook asked whether the absent Wooden Head would return, and their silence dimmed her hope.

• Bronya took the position of Supreme Guardian and gave Wildfire autonomy to help Belobog recover and bring its districts together.
• Rivet Town reopened as a lively market where Upper District and Underworld residents could meet, and Hook recruited children for the Moles.
• Stelle asked Hook for the members-only privilege of squishing her cheeks, and Hook gave in.
• Hook told March 7th and Stelle that she and Daddy Fissman had moved to Rivet Town and that she planned to open a shop.
• March 7th told Hook that she and Stelle were leaving because their Trailblaze mission was over, and Hook asked whether Wooden Head would return.
• March 7th fell silent and Stelle looked away, leaving Hook to remember that her parents were dead and would not come back.

Stelle and March 7th searched for souvenirs in Rivet Town, where Stelle continued hiding her fear that her apparent mastery came from Chu Mu. They ran into Sampo and a counterfeit seller, and Sampo offered to pay for their shopping as he showed them the goods.

• After Hook left, Stelle reasoned that Chu Mu must still be alive because she could not reproduce the sun-like power seen on Everwinter Ridge.
• Stelle noticed March 7th had bought no souvenirs and suggested they look for some before returning.
• Stelle mistook a hooded bald merchant for Sampo and pulled down his hood, but the merchant quickly covered his face again.
• Sampo appeared, and Stelle confronted him over the museum theft and the damage his escape had done to her reputation.
• Sampo offered to pay for the souvenirs and pressured the merchant into displaying his counterfeit goods.
• Sampo showed Stelle and March 7th a working clock, a singing Snow Globe, and a red glass marble.

Stelle, March 7th, and Sampo bargain for souvenirs, and March keeps a red bead that she hopes belonged to a vanished Astral Express passenger. In the Underworld, Sampo tells a silent television about his performance and wonders who stole his Mask and saddled him with a two-billion debt.

• Stelle and March 7th choose souvenirs, and Sampo persuades them to buy a red bead from the Bald Merchant.
• The Bald Merchant claims the bead fell from the sky during the Red Sun, but Stelle suspects a scam and Sampo negotiates the price down to five thousand Credits.
• Stelle demands compensation from Sampo over the museum business, but he vanishes before she can catch him.
• Stelle buys local snacks and returns to the Goethe Hotel to prepare to leave, while March 7th holds the warm bead and hopes it belonged to a passenger who has not vanished completely.
• Sampo speaks to a silent television in the Underworld, recounts the performance, and asks the Tavern who stole his Mask and caused his two-billion debt.

After returning to the Astral Express, March 7th grieved that she could not bring Chu Mu back, while Himeko and the crew comforted her and welcomed Stelle’s strength. Himeko examined March 7th’s mysterious bead without identifying it, and the crew prepared to Warp to the Space Station for Stelle’s checkup and Herta’s test.

• Himeko welcomed March 7th, Stelle, Welt, and Dan Heng back aboard the Astral Express and comforted March 7th over Chu Mu’s loss.
• Himeko praised Stelle’s debut and told her that Herta wanted to examine her Stellaron and test her in the upgraded Simulated Universe.
• Stelle eagerly agreed to Herta’s test after Herta promised that the Space Station’s treasure chests had respawned.
• March 7th showed Himeko the red bead she had received from a merchant, and Himeko said she would arrange for specialists to examine it.
• Stelle wondered whether the bead was connected to Chu Mu, then Pom-Pom returned and announced that the Express was about to Warp.

Asta learned that Chu Mu had died during the Trailblaze Journey and followed Himeko to the train’s Data Bank to read the travel log. The chapter left Asta and Arlan grieving as they learned what had happened on Jarilo-VI.

• Asta told Arlan to hire mercenaries to help the Star Destroyer’s component supplier survive the Swarm crisis so Chu Mu’s order could be completed quickly.
• Herta logged into her Puppet as the train arrived and asked Himeko about her two research subjects.
• Himeko told Herta that Chu Mu had sacrificed his life during the Trailblaze Journey, and Herta then invited Stelle to test the Simulated Universe.
• Asta and Arlan asked Himeko whether Chu Mu had really died, and Himeko led them to the train’s Data Bank to read the Jarilo-VI travel log.
• Asta read the log and broke down in grief.

After reading the Astral Express’s account of Chu Mu’s past and sacrifice on Jarilo-VI, Asta decided to help Belobog with supplies and technology. Himeko agreed to connect her with the planet and invited her to return with the crew, then realized Stelle and March 7th were missing.

• Asta read the travel log and learned what Chu Mu had endured in Belobog, including his reunion with old friends and his sacrifice for Bronya.
• Asta closed the book in tears and told Himeko she wanted to support Jarilo-VI with supplies and technology.
• Himeko agreed to help connect Asta with Belobog, and Asta explained she wanted to help because she was Chu Mu’s friend.
• Himeko invited Asta to visit Belobog on the train’s next departure, and Asta gladly accepted.
• Himeko noticed Dan Heng and Welt were back in the carriage, then realized Stelle and March 7th were missing.

Stelle and March 7th had a glass bead tested, hoping it might contain Chu Mu’s consciousness, but the results gave them no reason to believe it did. March 7th still refused to give up hope and joined Stelle to test Herta’s upgraded Simulated Universe, where Herta clarified that she had only wanted Chu Mu for the testing.

• Arlan sent Stelle and March 7th to the testing facility, where a researcher identified their red bead as ordinary glass.
• March 7th left the testing room clutching the bead, while Arlan explained why many Space Station researchers acted arrogantly.
• Stelle found March 7th sitting in a corridor and tried to comfort her, but March 7th insisted that the bead’s tests were not conclusive.
• March 7th asked to join Stelle in testing the upgraded Simulated Universe, and Stelle agreed.
• Herta told Stelle and March 7th that she had meant to recruit Chu Mu for testing, since the Simulated Universe’s computing power was too precious to use on just anyone.

Herta let Stelle and March 7th enter the Simulated Universe with disguises as the Aeons Akivili and Idrila. After discovering a hacker had remotely infiltrated the system, Herta entered herself, leaving Himeko to find the two unconscious and the Simulated Universe flashing a danger warning.

• Herta explained that the Simulated Universe required Aeon disguises, then assigned Stelle the interface for Akivili and March 7th the interface for Idrila.
• Stelle and March 7th entered the Simulated Universe as Herta watched their data and pondered how Aeons came into being.
• Herta detected an outside intrusion and traced it to a backdoor left by a hacker from Punklorde during an earlier invasion of the Space Station.
• Herta realized her planned trap for the hacker had been triggered early, then entered the Simulated Universe herself.
• Himeko arrived to find a standby Herta Puppet and the unconscious Stelle and March 7th, while the Simulated Universe flashed red with a danger warning.

Himeko and Asta found that March 7th, Stelle, and Herta remained unconscious in the malfunctioning Simulated Universe, so they prepared to wait for Screwllum. Inside the simulation, March 7th and Stelle found themselves trapped in a harsh desert scenario with no way to log out.

• Himeko contacted Asta, who said the Space Station's researchers could not handle the joint project and that Screwllum would visit the next day.
• Himeko placed March 7th and Stelle in life-support pods while they waited for help.
• March 7th and Stelle awoke in a desert wearing unsuitable clothes, with bare, injured feet and no weapons or Path abilities.
• Stelle discovered that she could not summon the exit menu, and she and March 7th took shelter in a broken-down pickup truck.
• Stelle used their only water to cool the truck's scorching seats, leaving the pair thirsty and worried about whether attacks in the simulation would hurt.

Stelle and March 7th were caught in a sandstorm, then struggled with thirst, hunger, and the cold while waiting for help in the desert. As they huddled together in the truck, their teasing was interrupted by two unfamiliar voices calling Stelle a pervert.

• Stelle tried and failed to start the pickup truck as the sandstorm approached.
• Stelle and March 7th huddled inside the truck and endured the storm, which buried part of the vehicle and left them battered.
• After the storm, Stelle and March 7th complained about Herta and waited for their pursuers, but evening came without anyone arriving.
• Stelle asked March 7th for help with the cold, and March 7th suggested they huddle together.
• Stelle and March 7th joked and argued while squeezing into the passenger seat, until two unfamiliar voices called Stelle a pervert.

Stelle and March 7th encountered Kafka and Silver Wolf in the desert, where they shared food and water with them. After eating, March 7th praised Herta and declared the Simulated Universe a healing game.

• Kafka greeted Stelle, and Stelle realized she still remembered Kafka’s name and face but not their past together.
• Kafka said she and Silver Wolf had also been dragged into the Simulated Universe and denied causing the strange run.
• March 7th and Stelle teased Silver Wolf about resembling Chu Mu’s little sister, and Kafka asked March 7th what kind of friend she was to Chu Mu.
• Kafka opened her bundle and gave Stelle and March 7th water and bread.
• After eating, March 7th said the hardships had made the food feel especially precious and praised Herta’s game design.

Stelle, March 7th, Kafka, and Silver Wolf discussed their chances of surviving the desert and whether dying in the Simulated Universe would let them escape. Kafka and Silver Wolf took the first watch, while Kafka resolved to stop A-Mu from being burdened by his past life.

• Silver Wolf questioned whether the group's dwindling supplies would last in the desert, and Stelle expected they would eventually face an enemy.
• Silver Wolf warned Stelle that the Simulated Universe might be an anomaly where death would not return her to reality, so Stelle abandoned her plan to quit.
• Kafka arranged for herself and Silver Wolf to take the first watch and Stelle and March to take the next night's watch, then March and Stelle went to sleep.
• Silver Wolf told Kafka that an unknown force had changed the Simulated Universe, and Kafka said Elio had predicted they would meet A-Mu.
• Kafka vowed to stop A-Mu from heading toward his future and said he should not have to repay the debt of his past life.

Kafka, Silver Wolf, Stelle, March 7th, and Herta confronted the Simulated Universe anomaly after Herta arrived in person and found herself trapped inside. Kafka proposed that they cooperate to survive and escape, and Herta was left considering the offer.

• At dawn, Stelle woke with numb legs after March 7th had slept on her all night, and blamed Herta for the trouble.
• Kafka, Silver Wolf, and March 7th discovered Herta sitting in the truck bed, appearing in her real-self consciousness rather than as a Puppet.
• Herta explained that she had followed external data into the Simulated Universe and was now trapped there too.
• Herta denied causing the anomaly, and Kafka argued that an Aeon must have rewritten the Simulated Universe and proposed that they work together.
• Stelle urged Herta to accept Kafka's offer, leaving Herta surprised by Stelle's sudden support.

Herta joined Kafka’s group and calculated that one day in the outside world could equal at least ten years in their strange world. The group decided to define their roles and seek a way out, leaving Silver Wolf puzzled by Stelle’s warning about the truck’s three pedals.

• Herta agreed to cooperate with Kafka on the condition that everyone share all information, then challenged Kafka’s claim to leadership.
• Herta calculated that time passed at least ten times faster in their world and warned the group that outside help might take decades or centuries to reach them.
• Herta told the group to establish their identities and circumstances in the world, and Silver Wolf explained the idea as triggering a game’s main storyline.
• Herta and Kafka inferred that the others were escaped slaves who had kidnapped a young noblewoman, and Herta agreed to protect the group if they were caught.
• Silver Wolf went to drive the pickup truck, and Stelle warned her that it was broken because it had three pedals.

Herta and Kafka reached a scrap-built town after their car broke down and they crossed the desert with little food or water. The town turned out to be Lone Tree Town, where they found a terrified prisoner and drew the attention of a crowd of men who seemed to be thieves.

• The group abandoned their broken car and crossed the desert until they spotted a town built from scrap and wreckage.
• Kafka described Talia and noted that the town resembled the pirate haven, though they could not tell whether it was connected.
• Herta and Kafka decided to enter the town together while Silver Wolf, Stelle, and March 7th waited outside.
• Kafka and Herta read the sign identifying the town as Lone Tree Town and saw a burned, dead tree at its center.
• Kafka questioned an old man locked in a cage, but he recoiled in fear as the town's men gathered around them.
• Kafka recognized the town as a likely den of thieves and disengaged the rifle's safety.

Herta and her companions met Number Seven, a northern public security officer, who offered to take them to the Refugee Home. Herta learned that Charles, a former steward from the destroyed Wood Farm, was imprisoned for stealing water, and the group prepared to use their last bottle to free him.

• Number Seven rescued Herta and Kafka from trouble in Lone Tree Town, introduced herself, and offered to lead them to the Refugee Home.
• Herta sent Kafka to bring Silver Wolf, Stelle, and March 7th while she asked Number Seven about the town and its caged water thief.
• Herta questioned Charles and learned that he had been a steward at Wood Farm, had been abandoned in the desert, and hoped his daughter Lina was safe.
• Number Seven said Charles could be freed for five hundred milliliters of water, and Herta persuaded Kafka to give up their last bottle.

After escaping Lone Tree Town, Herta’s group learned about the north-south conflict and the factions fighting in the south while heading for the Refugee Home. Number Seven took Kafka to fetch a vehicle and revealed that her younger brother was named Chu Mu.

• Number Seven recognized Kafka as the group’s leader, and Kafka described their escape as Herta fleeing an arranged marriage.
• Number Seven took Kafka on her motorcycle to fetch a vehicle while the others waited with Charles.
• Charles told March 7th how the north had industrialized and how northern weapons had intensified the south’s fighting, destroying Wood Farm and separating him from his daughter Lina.
• Charles explained to Herta that the south’s two major powers were the Redemption Army and the Logging Association, and that the Redemption Army supposedly received secret support from the north.
• Kafka asked Number Seven about the north’s tree-related names, and Number Seven explained that Giantwood City had a huge dead tree.
• Number Seven told Kafka that her younger brother was named Chu Mu.

Kafka learned that Number Seven’s brother shared the name Chu Mu and heard how their father raised him as a replacement heir before an assassination and a power struggle left him imprisoned. Number Seven said her eldest sister had kept him isolated for eight years, and that showing concern could make his situation worse.

• Kafka noticed that the “Mu” in the Giantwood Alliance’s name matched the character in Number Seven’s brother’s name.
• Number Seven explained that her father, a Pre-War scientist, had nine children and intended his son to inherit the Alliance.
• Number Seven recounted that her father was assassinated when her brother was ten, after which their eldest sister, Number One, took power and demoted her siblings.
• Number Seven told Kafka that her brother had been imprisoned by Number One for eight years and that she had not been allowed to see him.
• Number Seven warned Kafka that expressing concern for her brother could make Number One more suspicious and put him at greater risk.