Recaps

Neph was dragged through the earth and used to block the advancing Eternal Darkness, while the Blond Priest and his inverted counterpart argued over the consequences of their plan. Elsewhere, Alger advanced to Sequence 4, and Enlake realized that a star was missing from the crimson starry sky.

• Darkness overtook the battlefield as the twilight and vegetation struggled against it in the Astral World, where three immense figures gathered and one called out to Lilith.
• Neph met Arianna, Sloka, and a military representative in the concealed darkness before vines seized her and dragged her out of the earth into the fading orange-red light.
• The Blond Priest admitted that he had used Neph as part of his plan, while his inverted counterpart objected and they discussed Medici and the consequences of their eventual merger.
• Alger prayed to Miss Pure White about obtaining a Cataclysmic Interrer characteristic after advancing to Sequence 4 through the Church of Storms.
• Enlake withdrew from Alger’s crimson star and noticed that one star was missing, prompting him to check the identities of the others.

Neph recovered her memories and sense of self inside the Pure White Space, then emerged into Feysac after the God of Combat fell. She told Enlake that the god had fallen and prepared to explain the path Adam had arranged for her.

• Neph recalled Genesis and the River of Eternal Darkness, recognized herself as Neph, and remembered her mother and little sister.
• Neph realized Eternal Winter's memories had been stripped of emotional influence, then angrily blamed Adam for the safeguard her mother had left behind.
• Neph returned to the Real World, encountered Suah in Feysac, and watched him flee from her.
• Neph saw darkness cover Feysac while crops grew rapidly after the God of Combat's fall, and she brought Enlake into the Pure White Space.
• Neph told Enlake that the God of Combat had fallen, learned Adam had said she had her own path to walk, and offered to explain what had happened.

Neph explained to Klein that Lilith had replaced Omebella with help from the Ancient Sun God, and that Adam was also part of him. As the war ended, Audrey learned that Loen had defeated Feysac, while Neph went to claim Arrodes as a congratulatory gift for the Fool.

• Neph told Klein that Omebella's remains were in the City of Silver and that Lilith had taken her place with the Ancient Sun God's help.
• Neph revealed that Adam was another part of the Ancient Sun God, and Klein concluded that Adam and the True Creator struggled for dominance but could cooperate.
• Klein told Neph that Alger had become a demigod through the Storm Church, and they speculated that he had benefited greatly from the war.
• Neph sent Klein back to the Real World and wondered whether Audrey would still reach the same realizations as before.
• Audrey learned from Earl Hall that Loen and Feynapotter had defeated Feysac, but she grew troubled when he described the hardship awaiting Feysac's people.
• Neph asked Archbishop Horamick Haydn for Arrodes as a congratulatory gift for the Fool, then told Ace to bring it to her once the matter was settled.

Neph considered how to advance without repeating Eternal Winter’s sacrificial rituals, while Klein prepared to enter the Giant King’s Court and arrived at Moon City to evacuate its people. The chapter left Nim startled by Klein’s unexpectedly early arrival, as Klein announced that the time to leave had come.

• Neph considered her potion’s seasonal snowmelt ingredients and weighed possible candidates for her Sequence 1 ritual, including Mr. Door, Amon, Zaratul, and the True Creator.
• Neph briefed Klein on dangers in the Giant King’s Court, gave him the Eye of God, and warned him to keep Lovia away from the room where Sasrir slept and to seize the slate inside.
• Klein took the key to the Giant King’s Court and wondered who had arranged for it to reach him at such a convenient time.
• Klein returned to Moon City, where High Priest Nim welcomed him, and told Nim that he had come to take the people away.

Klein arranged for Moon City to send an advance party to the City of Silver, where Colin Iliad agreed to prepare for their departure after three days. Afterward, Klein pressed Neph to consider how she would resettle both cities’ populations in the outside world, and she wondered why he had faced fewer concerns when he brought people out before.

• Klein told Nim that a small, powerful advance party would open the sealed door before the rest of Moon City followed.
• Moon City's Lightning Priest chose to accompany Klein, leaving his successor Zaphir behind.
• Klein brought the advance party to the City of Silver, and Colin Iliad agreed to assemble the group in three days rather than require quarantine.
• The Lightning Priest asked whether people outside were as tall as Klein and the City of Silver's residents, and Klein tried to comfort Moon City's people with religious reassurance.
• Neph asked Klein why he had not considered so many resettlement problems when he had brought people out before, and Klein wondered whether she was referring to a book.

Klein joined an expedition from the City of Silver and Moon City toward the Giant King's Court, reflecting on whether his life had been written into history or myth. The team entered the twilight region near the Court, and Neph left Klein wondering whether she might use her mind-related authority to make people fanatical believers.

• Klein and Neph discussed his unease that his life seemed arranged in advance and whether the book describing it was a myth.
• Rumors about Klein, the outside world, and an exploration team spread through the City of Silver as preparations for the expedition continued.
• The team left the City of Silver, stopped at Afternoon Town, and Colin Iliad questioned Klein about the mushroom crops grown there.
• Colin led the City of Silver and Moon City team into the twilight region, where Derrick's Cross of Darkness changed and the group fought enormous decayed humanoid monsters.
• The team reached the Giant King's Court's core region, and Colin warned them of greater dangers ahead.
• Neph told Klein that the Seven Gods were merciful for not using their mind-related authority to create fanatical believers, then suggested she might do so herself.

Neph borrowed Arrodes while the Church of Steam and Machinery delayed approving its transfer, then decided to make Ais her messenger and possible holy emblem. At the Giant King's Court, Klein recommended that the Beyonders below Demigod level stop before the dangerous steps and Silver Knights.

• Neph watched the Church of Steam and Machinery renovate Saint Hylarn Church and learned that its Pope's approval was needed before Arrodes could be given to the Fool.
• Neph reasoned that the Pope was likely delayed by negotiations in Trier after the allied forces entered Intis.
• Neph collected Ais from Saint Hylarn Square and proposed making the pigeon her messenger, granting it authority to answer prayers and shaping its image through faith.
• Neph asked Ais whether it had ever questioned its past, then took it to watch events at the Giant King's Court.
• Klein and his companions reached the steps guarded by two Silver Knights, and Klein suggested that those below Demigod level retreat to camp.
• Link Iliad asked Derrick what he thought of Klein's proposal.

Derrick was ordered to return with the others while Colin Iliad led the exploration toward the Giant King's Court. After Klein captured one Silver Knight as a marionette and opened the Court's entrance, the group began clearing the Divine Kingdom Stairway as Klein prepared to use a key on the final door where Dark Angel Sasrir slept.

• Derrick argued that he and the others should probe the dangerous route, but Colin Iliad sent him back to protect the group and bring them safely to camp.
• Colin Iliad's team found their alternate path collapsed into dark clouds and turned back toward the main entrance.
• Klein used himself as bait while Reinette Tinekerr exposed and possessed a Silver Knight, allowing Klein to turn the guard into a marionette.
• Klein and the Silver Knight opened the Giant King's Court's main doors, revealing the stairway to the Giant King's residence.
• Colin Iliad and the others began breaking the guarded statues along the stairway while Klein took out the key for the final door where Dark Angel Sasrir slept.

Klein opened the door to the Giant King's residence and entered with Colin Iliad and the Iron-blooded Knight, where the darkness cut off his connection to the Historical Void. As strange changes spread across the world, the residence’s shadows began taking the explorers one by one.

• Klein used the Black Iron Key to open the door, but a black ocean attacked his marionette and caused him intense pain before ice and snow appeared and Colin Iliad cut apart the shadow that had stolen Klein’s own.
• Klein and Colin Iliad tested the corruption inside the residence, then Klein entered with the Star of the Wand after his Historical Projection lost contact with him.
• Neph learned the door had opened as orange-red twilight spread across the sky, while Edwina gave Danitz the Demoness of Despair potion formula and changes struck Trier, Lenburg, and Backlund.
• Inside the residence, Klein discovered he could no longer reach the Historical Void and found that the doorway behind them had vanished.
• A shadow enveloped a missing member of the group, then took Colin Iliad and Klein as Colin recognized it as an invitation.

Klein and his companions reached the throne room of the Giant King's Court, where the sleeping Dark Angel Sasrir sat before the door to the outside world. As Klein provoked Sasrir into speaking, he learned that the Primordial had awakened within the Ancient Sun God, and faced the reality that madness threatened even the highest beings.

• Klein saw Sasrir seated on the iron-black throne and suspected the first Blasphemy Slate was hidden behind his illusory wings.
• Colin Iliad and Klein agreed to explore the palace before waking Sasrir, and Klein approached the throne after finding the grayish-blue door to the outside world.
• Klein endured the palace's corruption and omniscience, and Sasrir's eyes detected the aura of Sefirah Castle and named people connected to Klein's fate, including Neph.
• Klein provoked Sasrir by asking whether the Primordial had deceived him, and Sasrir revealed that the Primordial had awakened within him.
• Sasrir explained that he had split off part of himself to control the chaos sea and resist corruption, but the Primordial had awakened anyway.
• Klein recalled Dunn Smith's warning about guardians fighting madness and accepted that he could not retreat from the dangers of the Beyonder path.

Klein and Neph secured the first Blasphemy Slate after confronting Sasrir, and Neph stabilized Colin Iliad’s mortal wounds. Neph planned to lead the City of Silver’s people out, while Klein learned the slate’s White Angel ritual explained the betrayal of the former master of the chaos sea.

• Klein spotted the first Blasphemy Slate beneath Sasrir and ordered the others to draw the Dark Angel’s attention.
• Neph used her authority to stabilize Colin Iliad, who thanked her and vowed to follow her; she warned that he remained near death and needed healing.
• Neph said she would lead the City of Silver’s people out and bring them to Bayam, where they could find support and seek help for Colin from Ouroboros.
• Neph revealed that she had supervised Bernadette in writing an edition of the Fool’s Holy Bible and had prepared believers for Klein.
• Neph gave Klein the first Blasphemy Slate to inspect before taking it to her Lord.
• Klein and Neph read the White Angel’s ritual and realized that the former master of the chaos sea could have fulfilled its requirement alongside the White Angel, prompting Neph to curse his madness.

After the Forsaken Land’s great door opened, Colin Iliad returned to camp and Derrick discussed the team’s plans with Gehrman Sparrow at the Tarot Club. Neph confronted the True Creator, received the name Ash Angel, and asked whether her apotheosis ritual would require her to die in terms of fate.

• Colin Iliad reunited with the Exploration Team and recounted what had happened in the secret chamber beside the campfire.
• Gehrman Sparrow offered to help Derrick leave the Forsaken Land, but Derrick said the people of the City of Silver would walk part of the way themselves.
• Neph presented the first Blasphemy Slate to the True Creator and spoke openly about her anger toward Adam and her doubts about the True Creator.
• The True Creator explained that he had learned what happened only after Adam and the others had begun fighting, then asked Neph about her names.
• Neph explained the origins of her name and the Pure White title, and the True Creator named her the Ash Angel after learning her Uniqueness was the Ash Ledger.
• The True Creator told Neph to return after leading Moon City and the City of Silver out of the land, and Neph asked whether her ritual’s fated death would count as her death.

Neph considered the dangers hidden in the Door pathway and questioned whether Klein’s past choices had truly been his own. After she guided the City of Silver and Moon City survivors to Bayam, Klein prepared and drank his Sequence 2 potion.

• Neph told the True Creator how Amon had obtained the Door Uniqueness and described his later battle with Klein over Sefirah Castle.
• The True Creator’s doubts made Neph question Klein’s motives and recognize that the story left important events as blank spaces.
• Neph asked Archbishop Horamick for a self-steering ship for Arrodes, but he had none, so she waited for the City of Silver and Moon City to prepare.
• Neph met Colin Iliad and Nim, then used her powers to bring their scouting parties to Bayam and gave them edited memories and language knowledge.
• Klein confirmed that the Forsaken Land of the Gods’ return had completed his advancement ritual, prepared the Sequence 2 potion, and drank it.

After becoming a Miracle Invoker, Klein discussed his unstable state and Neph’s nature, then planned to seek guidance from the Seven Lights and explore ways to stabilize himself. Neph offered advice about the Spirit World and Klein’s next identity before preparing a congratulatory gift for him.

• Klein told Neph he planned to accumulate wishes from Moon City’s residents, and she suggested healing Colin as another possible miracle.
• Neph explained that she had never seen herself and others as equals, then described how Amon’s avatars voted to settle on his current image.
• Klein planned to try using marionettes to worship him and offered Neph the Sea God Scepter to give Mr. Hanged Man trouble.
• Neph agreed to accompany Klein to meet the Seven Lights and explained what they knew about the Spirit World and Emperor Roselle’s Diary.
• Neph told Klein about her new title, Ember Angel, and advised him to ask her twin sister about the remaining Attendant of Mysteries characteristics.
• Neph jokingly suggested Klein call himself Adam, then stopped him before he left and revealed that she had prepared a congratulatory gift.

Klein met with the Seven Lights of the Spirit World to ask about the Outer Deities and the advancement ritual for an Attendant of Mysteries. He learned how the ritual worked and heard three possible ways to carry it out, but left without choosing a plan because digesting his potion and finding a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic came first.

• Neph gave Klein an ancient silver mirror as a congratulatory gift and warned him that the Seven Lights served the ruler above the Spirit World, not him.
• Klein and Neph met Orange Light Hilarion and the other six Lights, whose names prompted Neph to realize they had been named by the former ruler above the Spirit World.
• Klein asked the Seven Lights about the Outer Deities, but they knew little more than Neph and offered only additional honorific names.
• The Seven Lights revealed that the Attendant of Mysteries ritual required Klein to build a town of marionettes with designed fates, creating a corresponding region in the Spirit World.
• The Seven Lights proposed three ways for Klein to establish the marionette town, but he left without choosing one and said he needed to digest his potion and find a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic first.

Klein chose to wander instead of pursuing his next advancement, while Neph visited Medici and discussed his past role in the plan involving Adam and Alista Tudor. Neph offered to help Medici remove something unnecessary from his fused soul, leaving him curious about her proposal.

• Klein considered his advancement options, asked the mirror where it wanted to go, and set off to wander toward the nearest city.
• Neph visited Medici Sauron Einhorn, and they traded jokes about Amon and his father.
• Medici learned that Neph had known since birth about the Lord's long-planned scheme involving him as a stepping stone for Alista Tudor.
• Neph explained that Adam and the True Creator had once been enemies who avoided involving outside forces in their struggle, and Medici concluded that the Lord might have avenged him.
• Neph told Medici that the Lord had named her the Ash Angel, then offered to help remove something unnecessary from his fused soul.

Neph spoke with Medici about revenge on Adam, the reasons behind Adam’s past actions, and the uncertain future of the Red Angel. After warning Medici that he might become a stepping stone again, she left and called Enlake, who considered asking her for help but decided to leave it to Miss Justice.

• Neph examined Medici’s merged form and suggested that a humiliating rumor could serve as revenge against Adam, though she thought the opportunity had passed.
• Medici asked whether Adam had acted for a greater purpose, and Neph vaguely said he might have been trying to save the world; Medici said he could have understood if Adam had told him beforehand.
• Neph worried about the Mother Goddess of Depravity and prayed for the Lord to wake, then told Medici he might have to become a stepping stone a second time.
• Neph explained that prophecies were records of possible futures and teased Medici about the fate of his pathway before fleeing.
• Neph called Enlake, who considered asking her for help but decided to leave the matter to Miss Justice.

Neph visited Audrey at the Loen Charity Education Fund and discussed the war, ordinary people’s suffering, and political systems, then told her to ask Mr. World for a politics lesson. Neph later warned Klein that the Church of Steam planned to offer Melissa a Sequence 8 potion formula and advised him to set clear boundaries with Noyatis.

• Neph visited Audrey at the Loen Charity Education Fund while keeping an eye on Klein’s siblings.
• Audrey asked Neph why wars between gods and nations were inevitable, and Neph explained the conflict between adjacent pathways and the law of Beyonder characteristic convergence.
• Audrey questioned why ordinary people suffered even when a nation prospered, and Neph challenged her assumptions about Loen’s rulers, welfare, and officials.
• Neph suggested Audrey ask Mr. World for a remedial politics lesson, then vanished; she later admitted to Enlake that she was too lazy to teach Audrey herself.
• Neph told Klein that the Church of Steam would offer Melissa the Sequence 8 potion formula and warned him to clarify his boundaries with Noyatis.

Klein took Neph to Tingen to visit Welch and Naya’s graves, hoping to reconnect her with ordinary life as she recognized how divinity had distanced her from the world. During the journey, Neph warned him to alert the Tarot Club about the approaching apocalypse and the dangers of the six pathways originating from the Outer Deities.

• Neph told Klein that Benson was thriving in the Ministry of Finance and was expected to become deputy director of the Fifth Department.
• Neph asked to see Klein’s mythical creature form, and he revealed his tentacles before taking her to the train station.
• Klein bought tickets to Tingen and told Neph they were visiting Welch and Naya’s graves, classmates who had died because of the notebook.
• Klein urged Neph to pay attention to people and her surroundings, and she admitted that she had long known she was absorbing her mother’s will as she inherited her authorities.
• Neph pointed out that Klein had neglected his old connections and habits, then warned him to alert the Tarot Club about the apocalypse and the dangers of the six Outer Deity pathways, especially to Emlyn and Frank.

Klein and Neph visited the graves of the Nighthawks and Welch, where Neph confronted memories of her own family and tried to comfort Welch's father. Afterward, she told Klein she understood the pain of being mourned by parents she could never see again, and said she would discuss her problem with My Lord once he woke.

• Klein took Neph to Raphael Cemetery, where she laid white lilies at the Nighthawks' graves and reflected on how she and Klein were like twin sisters.
• Klein and Neph visited Welch McGovern's grave, where they met Welch's aging father.
• Neph comforted Welch's father by telling him that his son would want him to keep living and that Welch lived on in his memories.
• After they left the cemetery, Klein asked Neph what she had nearly said, and she explained that she had imagined herself as the dead child whose parents could not learn what had happened to her.
• Neph told Klein she was not good at comforting others and planned to speak with My Lord when he woke; Klein joked that the Visionary pathway might have been separated out for psychotherapy.

Neph struggled to find respectable work and accepted a flyer from a family mediation association, while Klein built a Fully Automatic Wish Machine and used it to grant a student’s wish for an advanced astronomical telescope. Neph warned Klein that the student’s research team might have encountered something dangerous in the cosmos and suggested he investigate, then mentioned a sealed wish-granting Genie.

• Neph considered what to do after parting from Klein, struggled to find work, and accepted a flyer from a woman recruiting for a mediation association.
• Klein asked Arrodes where to find metal parts, built the Fully Automatic Wish Machine, and moved it near the Civic Square.
• Klein approached a troubled student and offered to let him try the machine, introducing himself as Merlin Hermes, a Wandering Magician.
• The student wished for an astronomical telescope, and Klein gave him one from a historical projection; the student went to fetch help moving it.
• Neph told Klein the research team might have encountered something connected to the cosmos and advised him to alert the Church or investigate further.
• Neph mentioned that she should have brought the wish-granting Genie lamp and asked whether Klein wanted to meet the Genie.

Neph and Klein discussed the Genie’s possible ties to the Uncertain Mist and Neph’s plans to investigate a suspicious Mediation Council. Neph explained how Outer Deities granted boons to Beneficiaries, while leaving open whether she would reproduce their ritual.

• Neph explained that the Mediation Council’s flyer carried a misty black aura, and she suspected a connection to the Uncertain Mist.
• Klein and Neph considered the Genie’s possible role as a notary among the Outer Deities and agreed his information might be unreliable.
• Neph said she would take possession of the Magic Wishing Lamp but would not bring the Genie along to investigate the Mediation Council.
• Neph described Beneficiaries as people granted power through Outer Deity boons, which did not require Beyonder characteristics.
• Neph offered to reproduce the ritual used to pray for boons when she returned.

Klein used his angel-level abilities to fulfill Vera’s wish for beauty through his Fully Automatic Wish Machine, while Neph sought a church reward for reporting a cult. The chapter ended with Vera about to see the changes Klein had made to her appearance.

• Klein dismissed Neph’s proposal for a boon ritual, and Neph learned that Anthony Stevenson had gone to undergo his advancement ritual.
• Neph asked the Church of Evernight about rewards for reporting cults and negotiated a possible bounty of three thousand pounds.
• Vera encountered Merlin Hermes and his Fully Automatic Wish Machine in an alley.
• Vera inserted a penny and wished to become beautiful so she would no longer face discrimination.
• Klein used his abilities to alter Vera’s appearance and told her to open her eyes.

Klein granted Vera wishes that improved her appearance and career, then arranged a living doll to fulfill her carefully specified wish for a perfect marriage. As Klein and Neph completed the doll, Neph warned him about a growing network of dispute-mediation groups and the possibility that their absent founder was cultivating believers.

• Vera used her first wish to improve her appearance, then made a second wish for a better position after Klein disappeared.
• Klein told Neph that Vera’s final wish was for an ideal husband and explained how he commissioned and animated a doll to meet her demands.
• Neph warned Klein that collecting memories without the proper safeguards could endanger his sense of self, then agreed to provide the doll with knowledge and skills for a fee.
• Neph told Klein that dispute-mediation organizations had spread across many cities and that their founder had just left to promote his ideas elsewhere.
• Klein and Neph finished making the living doll, and Neph named him Sir Majestic.

Vera Norton reported the Fully Automatic Wish Machine after its third wish brought a lifelike doll named Sir Majestic into her home, and she joined the Nighthawks to investigate further cases. As the Church sent Leonard to handle the machine, Klein and Neph reacted to a vision of the Giant King's Court doors closing, and Neph returned to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, where she encountered a familiar figure.

• Vera Norton told the police that the Fully Automatic Wish Machine granted her wishes for beauty and promotion but answered her wish for a perfect marriage by sending Sir Majestic, a talking doll created by Master Mason, to her home.
• The Nighthawks questioned Vera, recruited her for a clerical role, and later received her report about a veteran whose wish for a noble title led him into the path of a debt-ridden, violent marchioness.
• The Church assessed the Fully Automatic Wish Machine as a powerful, unpredictable Mystical Item requiring senior officials to seal it, prompting Klein to discuss leaving the city with Neph.
• Klein saw an image of the doors at the Giant King's Court closing, and Neph returned to the Forsaken Land of the Gods while Klein stayed behind with Arrodes.
• Leonard received the Church's assignment to investigate Merlin Hermes and the Fully Automatic Wish Machine, recognized Klein's involvement, and went to collect his Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.
• In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Neph found a robed figure bearing a cross and stared in bewilderment at another figure hanging upside down on a giant cross.