Chapter Summaries

Kafka and Number Seven guided Chu Mu through his fear of water and taught him to use buoyancy while swimming. Chu Mu submerged himself alone and resurfaced several meters away, having learned to swim.

• Kafka and Number Seven supported Chu Mu as he entered the sea and gradually adjusted to the water.
• Kafka taught Chu Mu to sense and use buoyancy, guiding him to stay calm and control his breathing.
• Chu Mu asked to submerge himself alone, and Kafka encouraged Number Seven to trust him and let go.
• Chu Mu submerged himself, remained calm underwater, and resurfaced several meters away.
• Kafka told Number Seven to trust Chu Mu, while Number Seven wondered whether Kafka understood her little brother better than she did.

As autumn arrived on Melon Melon Island, Goff and Daisy married while the islanders watched their harvest fade. War broke out between the Redemption Army and the Giantwood Alliance, and Commander Ena drew the fighting into the Southern Region’s swamps and forests, where the Redemption Army’s veterans could use their advantage.

• Herta taught Chu Mu swimming techniques, while Silver Wolf gave him a spotted conch shell to hear the ocean.
• After the island’s fruit ripened, Goff and Daisy held their wedding, and Goff embraced his new responsibilities as a husband and father.
• March 7th saved seeds from the dying melon vines and buried them by Charles’s grave, hoping to plant them in spring.
• The Giantwood Alliance sent newly uniformed workers to the southern front after war broke out with the Redemption Army.
• Commander Ena avoided a direct artillery battle and pulled the fighting into the Southern Region’s swamps and forests, where Redemption Army veterans had the advantage.

As the Redemption Army’s battlefield losses mounted, Ena’s forced conscription devastated the Southern Region. Chu Mu, Number Seven, and their companions escaped Melon Melon Island and headed for abandoned Wood Farm, but a conscription squad surrounded their hiding place and ordered Goff’s mother chained.

• The Redemption Army’s lack of weapons and supplies left Ena conscripting people of every age and sex as the Alliance advanced.
• Chu Mu, Number Seven, and the others fled Melon Melon Island by boat under cover of darkness.
• Lina suggested traveling to abandoned Wood Farm, and the group headed north through emptied market towns.
• The group hid in an abandoned storehouse and ate porridge Lina made from grain and wild greens.
• Silver Wolf spotted a conscription squad surrounding the nearby town and their storehouse, but a hunting dog revealed their hiding place.
• Goff’s mother opened the door and pleaded that her family had already sent a recruit, but the conscription officer ordered his soldiers to chain her.

Goff’s father surrendered himself to the conscription squad to protect his family, leaving Goff to bear the burden at home. As Kafka, March 7th, and Herta reflected on their limited roles and the war’s shifting course, the group reached the market town near Wood Farm on the first day of snowfall.

• Goff’s father left with the conscription squad, urging his wife to return and leaving Goff as the family’s only remaining support.
• Kafka told Stelle and March 7th that they were observers, while Herta considered how their actions had changed the course of events and concluded that Number One would win the war this time.
• The group traveled toward Wood Farm as winter slowed the fighting and the Alliance prepared for a final offensive against the Redemption Army.
• On the first snowfall, Kafka and the others reached the market town nearest Wood Farm and saw that the Giantwood Alliance had occupied it.

Lina returned with Kafka, Stelle, March 7th, and Number Seven to the abandoned Wood Farm, where its ruins stirred painful memories and revealed the truth about Little Wood and his father. The discovery left Number Seven questioning whether her own father might still be alive and whether she could trust Number One.

• The group reached market town Number 363 and then followed Lina to the abandoned Wood Farm.
• Kafka told Lina that they could not change the farm’s past but could change its future, helping Lina face her memories with greater resolve.
• Stelle found a hidden passage in a wardrobe and explored the dungeon with March 7th, where they discovered a skeleton Lina identified as Old Wood.
• Kafka concluded that Little Wood had imprisoned his father and faked his death, prompting Number Seven to wonder whether her own father was still alive.
• Number Seven reflected on Number One’s secrecy and Chu Mu’s recovery after stopping his medicine, deepening her doubts about her sister.

Goff went to town to buy winter supplies and watched a Circus performance before an old college classmate recognized him. In a tavern, Goff asked the classmate for help because his child would soon be born, and the classmate revealed he would die the next day.

• Goff went to town with a handcart to buy Lina's requested winter supplies and heard that the Circus was performing for wounded soldiers.
• Goff watched the blue-haired clown's dazzling act and imagined what his life might have been if he had chosen to perform.
• Goff's old college classmate recognized him on the street and pulled him into a tavern, where Goff learned the man had risen through connections to his lieutenant-general uncle.
• Goff's classmate rebuked him for becoming a wanted criminal, and Goff asked Number Four to help because his child would soon be born.
• Number Four said he had never intended to arrest Goff and revealed that he would die the next day.

Goff returned safely to the farm after escaping town, and the group suspected a rumored visit by Number One was bait for Ena. The next day, the Redemption Army ambushed Number One in Settlement 363, but the Guards revealed their disguises and joined the fight.

• Goff's old classmate warned him not to return to town, and Goff took a roundabout route back to the farm.
• Goff told Daisy and the others what he had seen, while Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Herta concluded that rumors of Number One's visit were meant to lure Ena into attacking.
• The group stayed at the farm as Number One arrived in Settlement 363 to cheers from wounded soldiers and worship from local natives.
• Redemption Army infiltrators revealed their guns and launched an attack to surround and kill Number One.
• A disguised soldier exposed the Guards among the wounded and ordered them to fight and regroup at the temporary airfield, shifting the battle in the Alliance's favor.

The Guards defeated Ena's fanatical forces, but an avalanche and a bombing strike devastated 363 Market Town, where Number Six died impersonating Number One. At Wood Farm, Number Seven dreamed that Number Six warned her she was next.

• The Guards killed or captured the Redemption Army infiltrators, but an avalanche triggered by explosives swept through 363 Market Town as they tried to escape by plane.
• Ena reached the plane and discovered that the woman inside was Number Six, who died after revealing the deception and dropping a Signal Transmitter.
• A second plane bombed Ena and his followers, while the survivors at Wood Farm learned by radio that the town had been buried and Number One had ordered a winter offensive.
• The people at Wood Farm worried that Number One would find them once peace allowed her to register land and count the population.
• Number Seven fell asleep and dreamed that Number Six wept blood-red tears and told her it was her turn next.

As the Alliance’s amnesty brought the war in the Southern Region to an end, Number Seven told Kafka about nightmares in which Number Six might be dead. When spring opened the mountain road, Kafka and the others said goodbye to Goff and his family and set off for Giantwood City to continue their quest.

• Herta dreamed of returning to an abandoned Giantwood City, where she, Chu Mu, and Number Seven hid after Number One was killed.
• The Alliance announced a general amnesty, prompting many remaining Redemption Army soldiers to surrender and giving Goff hope for his child’s future.
• Number Seven told Kafka that her dreams showed Number Six bleeding in a sealed room and asked whether her sister was dead.
• Kafka promised they would return to Giantwood City in spring to find out what had happened to Number Six.
• When the mountain road reopened, Kafka’s group parted from Goff, Daisy, and Lina, and March 7th mourned the memories they would leave behind.
• Silver Wolf announced that the group was heading to Giantwood City for the boss fight.

Goff met a blue-haired clown who showed him that the people around him were dead in the real memories and that his world was false. Though the visions devastated him, Goff chose to leave his family and do something important, determined to perform as a proper clown.

• Goff found his old classmate's grave, then encountered a blue-haired clown who gave him Star Glasses.
• Goff saw the deaths of strangers through the glasses and learned from the clown that his world was false and would soon end.
• Goff went home and saw that his father and wife had died in the real memories, then realized his own death had been in an Electric Chair.
• Goff saw that Daisy had died in the real memories, but she and his mother urged him to go do what he needed to do.
• Goff left the farm by water, deciding that a proper clown played the audience for fools.

Number Seven returned to Giantwood City with Kafka and discovered that her sisters were missing, then learned from Number One that Numbers Two through Six were dead. Number One blamed Number Seven’s prison break for ruining her plans and began explaining why she had killed their father nine years earlier.

• Number Seven and Kafka searched Giantwood University and learned that Number Six had been away for months on a confidential research trip.
• Number Seven visited Numbers Two through Five and found their homes abandoned and covered in dust.
• Number Seven dreamed that rising blood nearly submerged her, then decided to seek answers from Number One.
• Number One told Number Seven that Numbers Two through Six were gone and that Number Six had died three months earlier while impersonating Number One to kill Ena.
• Number One blamed Number Seven’s prison break for the deaths and led her beneath Giantwood Tower, where she admitted she had killed their father to protect herself and her sisters.

Number One revealed to Number Seven that the Glacier Laboratory was the Mother Tree, which had created their world and its people as part of an experiment under the God of Order. She warned that Taiyi’s restored sight could awaken Order and destroy the world.

• Number One led Number Seven to the Mother Tree and explained that it was the Glacier Laboratory and their mother, which had grown them as fruit.
• Number One told Number Seven that their father was a gardener serving the Mother Tree, and that Ena had been one form of him.
• Number One revealed that the planet was an Incubator where the God of Order repeatedly ran experiments to create new Aeons, and that the experiment was still underway.
• Number One explained that she had become the gardener in the Mother Tree’s judgment, while the other siblings would return to it through death until the next reset.
• Number One warned that Taiyi had been given the Eye of Order and that opening his eyes could awaken Order and doom the world.

Number One revealed Number Six's plan to seize the Authority of Order by making the Eye of Order obey her, and blamed Number Seven for disrupting it. Number Seven returned to her lodgings burdened by the truth, while Number One's proposed backup plan and Chu Mu's approaching recovery left the story poised for what would happen next.

• Number One explained that Number Six had discovered the Mother Tree's summons and devised a plan to take Order's Authority through the Eye of Order's obedience.
• Number One admitted that the pills were starch used to test the Eye of Order's obedience and that she had hoped to make him obedient by encouraging him to start a family.
• Number Seven challenged Number One for ignoring the Eye of Order's desire for freedom, and Number One revealed that their family had been a lie and they were experimental subjects.
• Number One told Number Seven that Number Six had left a backup plan and whispered instructions to her, warning that the Mother Tree was already calling.
• Number Seven returned to her lodgings and withdrew to her room, while March 7th, Kafka, Silver Wolf, Stelle, Herta, and Chu Mu shared snacks and jokes.
• Chu Mu laughed at the exchange as the thin mist before his eyes began to clear.

After dreaming of a bloody scene involving Number Seven, Herta warned Chu Mu to be wary of her and to protect his eyes. Silver Wolf then found Herta’s scent on Chu Mu, leaving the reason for it unexplained.

• Herta dreamed of a white-haired woman with bloodied hands and a boy bleeding from his eyes before something emerged from the earth.
• Herta found Number Seven awake and learned that her nightmare was worsening and leaving her afraid to sleep.
• Herta secretly entered Chu Mu’s room and urged him not to trust Number Seven, especially around his eyes.
• Silver Wolf entered and speculated that Number Seven’s nightmare might involve an Aeon and Chu Mu’s past life.
• Silver Wolf detected Herta’s scent strongly on Chu Mu and reacted with disgust.

Chu Mu and Silver Wolf played a board game after discussing Kafka’s visit to Giantwood Tower and wondering what had become of Tingyun. Meanwhile, Herta joined Kafka for a late-night conversation, where Kafka revealed that a storm was expected after sunrise and could only be stopped by a sacrifice.

• Silver Wolf told Chu Mu that she had watched outside Giantwood Tower while Kafka went in after Number Seven left, and Chu Mu realized they had kept the visit from him.
• Silver Wolf checked Chu Mu’s bedroom for hidden valuables, then said she would rather accept Tingyun into the family than Herta.
• Chu Mu recalled how Kafka had entrusted amnesiac Tingyun to an old friend on the Xianzhou Luofu, leaving him uncertain whether she had recovered her memories.
• Silver Wolf and Chu Mu began playing a board game while Herta slipped out of the wardrobe and encountered Kafka.
• Kafka poured wine for Herta and said a storm would arrive after sunrise, explaining that stopping it required a sacrifice: pleasing a god or becoming one.

Goff traveled through Giantwood City, using his glasses to see people’s memories of their deaths as he searched for what had caused the world’s destruction. Meanwhile, workers at the Funeral Association investigated reports of people returning to life in the Chemical Pool and prepared to carry out orders to kill them.

• At the train station, a man paid a fine after an officer accused him of deliberately grabbing passengers.
• Goff saw a memory of an enormous eye blotting out the sun and destroying the world, then left by taxi for Giantwood Tower to gather information.
• Two Funeral Association workers entered the Chemical Pool after hearing what sounded like someone thrashing in the water.
• The workers recalled earlier cases of corpses returning to life, the authorities’ intervention, and the order to execute anyone found alive.
• The bald worker took a bladed machine downstairs after his partner refused to kill the person or people in the pool.

A mutation erupted in the Funeral Association’s Chemical Pool, where the dead returned and attacked the middle-aged man. Goff fled by taxi as the authorities sealed off the area, and he realized the mutation would awaken the entire world.

• The bald man hooked something in the Chemical Pool and was dragged into the chemicals, where the machine on his back shredded him.
• The revived dead rose from the pool, and the middle-aged man dodged a flying hook and fled through the iron door.
• A monster broke through the iron door and dragged the middle-aged man away from the gate with flesh-like tendrils.
• Goff urged the taxi driver to flee without looking back as the commotion awakened people nearby.
• The taxi stopped at an intersection where military vehicles had appeared to seal off the area.

Goff escaped gunfire with a taxi driver, who died from his wound, and reflected on how death repeated for ordinary people. Meanwhile, soldiers bombed the monster near the Funeral Association, only to find charred creatures moving unnaturally and charging at them.

• Goff and the taxi driver fled from soldiers firing at their car, but the driver had been shot and later died despite Goff's attempt to call for help.
• Goff remembered the driver's different deaths across the original and restarted stories and resolved to use the glasses to predict events and end the repeating tragedy.
• Planes bombed the monster in the Quarantine Zone with napalm and White Phosphorus, then left as soldiers advanced through the smoke.
• Residents who opened their doors encountered charred, human-shaped monsters that attacked them.
• Soldiers reached the burned Funeral Association, found no sign of the monster, and saw charred creatures covering nearby buildings.
• The creatures leaped down and charged the soldiers with exaggerated, puppet-like movements, and the noncommissioned officer ordered his unit to open fire.

Chu Mu and the others sought shelter from monsters and a military blockade, but bombing shook the underground garage where they hid. After the blasts stopped, Kafka led the group back outside, knowing the danger had not passed.

• Chu Mu considered whether the monsters’ resilience came from Propagation or Abundance, then ruled out both.
• Kafka turned the group back after they learned the military was shooting anyone trying to leave the sealed district.
• Kafka led the group to a shopping mall’s underground parking garage, where residents made room for them.
• Herta watched Number Seven warily while the exhausted group rested in the garage.
• The authorities bombed the area, but the garage remained standing and the people inside stayed put.
• Kafka and her companions left the garage and headed into the danger outside.

Number One confronted her father after the Alliance destroyed most of his undying monsters, but he revealed that the Mother Tree had been aiding him and caused the earth to shake. Number One claimed she had anticipated his scheme and warned that he would face the awakened god's wrath, as the Mother Tree moved to attack her.

• Number One ordered soldiers to destroy the monsters gathered beneath the ruins and capture one intact creature, whose intelligence increased as the others were eliminated.
• Number One recognized the captive as her father and accused him of using his daughters as experimental subjects and trying to reset the world.
• Her father accused Number One of sacrificing her sisters to survive, and she argued that her death would not have saved them.
• Her father revealed that the Mother Tree had been on his side and said he had orchestrated Number One's apparent freedom and her contact with it.
• As the ground shook, Number One claimed she had anticipated his plan, and her father ordered the Mother Tree to kill her.