Chapter Summaries

Neph settled into life on Torster Island, gathered supplies and pirate information, then tested her abilities by killing One-Eye Anderson. The chapter ended with a mysterious woman answering Neph’s question about whether a Planter could regrow a head.

• Neph explored the island, bought local clothes and art supplies, and obtained pirate wanted notices after praying.
• Neph identified One-Eye Anderson, a Red Skull pirate with a 500-pound bounty, as an easy target for her experiment.
• Neph sketched Anderson in a bar, waited for him to leave, and followed him into a quiet alley.
• Neph stabbed Anderson with an Ice Spear and erased his memory of the wound until he died from blood loss.
• Neph cut off Anderson’s head and wondered whether a Planter could grow another one, and a mysterious woman answered that it was possible at a high enough Sequence.

Neph concealed Anderson's head and tried to buy a first-class ticket on the Pearl, but she lacked identification. A harbor clerk directed her to a contact who offered to arrange temporary papers, leaving Neph to decide whether to wait two days.

• Neph vanished from sight as a translucent woman examined Anderson's corpse and the sketch Neph had drawn of him.
• Neph left the alley with Anderson's head disguised as a ball of ice and learned that the Pearl would depart for Bayam at six in the morning.
• Neph chose a first-class ticket after learning about the ship's private accommodations, but the clerk asked for identification.
• The clerk quietly sent Neph to a drunk called One-Armed, who offered to prepare papers for ten pounds in two days.
• Neph accepted the offer and asked whether she should return to find him in two days.

Neph tested her painting theory in Bayam, then arrived in Backlund and received 3,000 pounds from Alger. Following Ouroboros’s instruction to give the money to Mr. A, she asked Klein to have Fors explain how to find his gathering.

• At the Tarot Club, Neph described Nass’s canned Wolf Fish as a delicacy that should be thrown into the sea, and Alger advised jumping in as well.
• Neph stayed hidden aboard the ship near Dainos Island, then tested her painting theory in Bayam and learned she needed to depict a complete sequence of events.
• Neph obtained false identity papers from Cattleya and became known in Bayam for leaving paintings at murder scenes, targeting only Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 Beyonders.
• On the last day of November, Alger delivered 3,000 pounds to Neph in Backlund, and Ouroboros instructed her to give the money to Mr. A.
• Neph asked Klein to find out from Fors how she had located Mr. A’s gathering, and Fors began composing a reply.

Neph searched for Mr. A and found him at an Aurora Order temple, where he welcomed her as the True Creator’s Blessed. She followed his ritual before the deity statue, and Mr. A reported that he had brought her back to the Lord.

• Neph checked the last of Mr. A’s gathering venues and found no sign of a meeting, then decided she had to locate him before Backlund’s Great Smog.
• Mr. A knelt before the True Creator’s statue in a basement temple, tore off his right index finger, and ate it after sensing someone nearby.
• Neph waited outside the Aurora Order property and was surprised when Mr. A emerged and recognized her as the Blessed the Lord had sent him to welcome.
• Mr. A led Neph into the temple and expected her to kneel and crawl toward the statue, but she criticized crawling as unsightly and approached with measured steps.
• Neph knelt beside Mr. A, who bowed his head and told the True Creator that he had brought His Blessed back.

Neph learned the details of the planned Backlund disaster by investigating Mr. A, then warned Klein that the Demoness Sect and Aurora Order were conspiring with the royal family and Ince Zangwill. Klein questioned why she was telling him and whether she viewed him and the Tarot Club as historical figures, leaving Neph to answer.

• Neph gave Mr. A money from Ouroboros and questioned him about the Aurora Order and Demoness Sect’s cooperation to welcome the True Creator’s descent.
• While Mr. A described the plans, Neph glimpsed a memory of Panatiya and then told him to continue as planned before leaving.
• Neph contacted Klein and explained that George III had made a secret deal with the Demoness Sect.
• Neph told Klein that the Demoness Sect and Aurora Order planned to cause a disaster in Backlund’s East Borough at year’s end, with Ince Zangwill involved.
• Klein asked Neph whether she saw him and the other Tarot Club members as historical figures and what she was hoping for.

Neph and Klein discussed how to limit the coming catastrophe, the Churches’ motives, and ways to help each other. Neph offered Klein advice and investment prospects, then began explaining alternatives for finding mermaids as the chapter ended.

• Neph told Klein she wanted fewer people to die and explained why she would not yet reveal the location of the Descent Ritual.
• Neph warned Klein that the orthodox Churches might cooperate with evil cults and might protect believers rather than everyone.
• Neph asked Klein how to publicize paintings warning about the catastrophe, and Klein advised her to avoid cathedrals and official Beyonders.
• Klein offered to introduce Neph to Raypard as a potential investor in his pedal bicycle, and Neph agreed to invest up to two thousand pounds.
• Neph advised Klein to ask Emlyn White about potion ingredients and described ways to remove corruption from Beyonder Characteristics.
• Neph told Klein that mermaids could be found in the Sea of Ruins and hinted that other ritual options existed.

Klein suggested that Neph might replace the mermaid’s song in her advancement ritual with another sound or ability, then encouraged her to accept life in this world. Neph hired solicitor Trapopoktitztli Lee to help negotiate a bicycle investment, and they went to meet the advertiser, Mr. Raypard.

• Neph explained that a sound or Beyonder ability with an effect like a mermaid’s song might substitute for it during Klein’s advancement ritual.
• Klein encouraged Neph to accept her new world, and she said she was glad she had been the one to see it rather than a Great Old One.
• Klein recommended a solicitor to Neph, who visited the Dawn Lawyer Firm and commissioned Trapopoktitztli Lee to handle her investment.
• Neph told Trapo she had up to two thousand pounds to invest and asked to visit the person who had advertised a bicycle investment.
• Neph and Trapo traveled by carriage to Sachi Street to meet Mr. Raypard, and Trapo advised her not to appear too generous while alone.

Neph visited inventor Raypard with Trapp to inspect his pedal bicycle and discuss investing, meeting Sherlock Moriarty for the first time. After testing the prototype, she agreed to arrange a time to discuss an investment contract.

• Neph thanked Trapp for warning her that two thousand pounds was a fortune to ordinary people, then accompanied him to Raypard's home.
• Raypard welcomed Neph and Trapp as prospective investors, where they met Sherlock Moriarty, who introduced himself as a detective.
• Neph examined Raypard's inventive workshop and praised his pedal bicycle prototype.
• Neph tried pedaling the bicycle and asked to ride it off its stand, but Raypard refused because it was his only prototype.
• Neph agreed to arrange a time to discuss an investment contract, and Trapp handled the scheduling.

Neph discovered the Sequence 5 Memory Collector ritual and believed she could fulfill it with a copy of Lord of the Mysteries, but the Sequence 4 Eternal Winter Priest ritual left her unsure how to proceed. She decided to focus on acting and consider exploring Backlund’s East Borough, perhaps asking for help during the negotiations scheduled for a week later.

• Neph examined the Pure White Space and found records describing the Memory Collector potion and its ritual to prepare a crowning treasure for the Memory Collection Hall.
• Neph decided that a complete copy of Lord of the Mysteries could serve as the crowning treasure and thought her precious memories might help her digest the potion through acting.
• Neph discovered that the Eternal Winter Priest ritual required an offering that satisfied Eternal Winter, the Great Old One at the top of her pathway.
• Neph rejected the idea of presenting the offering to herself and worried that she had no way to learn how to complete the ritual or find a predecessor for guidance.
• Neph decided to study her acting and consider visiting Backlund’s East Borough, possibly asking for an experienced detective during the negotiations set for a week later.

Neph invested in Klein and Raypard’s Bicycle venture, but neither she nor Raypard could handle sales, so Klein took responsibility for promotion and sales. She then hired Klein as a consultant for a special painting series in the East Borough, and they discussed her chilling ability over a meal.

• Neph invested 1,500 pounds for a 27% stake in the Bicycle venture, leaving Klein with 26% and Raypard with 47%.
• Raypard agreed to handle research, development, and assembly-line production, while Klein took charge of promotion and sales.
• Neph told Klein she planned to travel as a painter and asked him to consult for her East Borough research; he agreed.
• Over a meal, Neph explained that her ability caused an unavoidable chill around her, and Klein joked that they should not meet in winter.

Neph toured Backlund's East Borough with Klein, then painted scenes connected to the affair before Klein sought her help after receiving death threats linked to Detective Isengard Stanton. She examined Klein's memories and decided they should report the threats to the police.

• Klein guided Neph around the East Borough, where she was shaken by the poverty and declined to meet its residents.
• Neph told Klein that stopping the suffering would require defeating every god in the alliance and proving her strength.
• Neph painted Ince Zangwill and began a second painting of Panatiya, the Despair Nightingale.
• Klein told Neph that Detective Isengard Stanton had been attacked, that police had suspected him of murder, and that he had received two threatening letters.
• Neph used Spirit Vision on the letters but found that anti-divination measures blocked her from identifying their source.
• Neph examined Klein's memories of the incident and then suggested they report the threats to the police.

Klein and Neph investigated the threatening letters connected to the serial murders and discovered that Stuart carried a dark influence linked to the True Creator. As more letter recipients gathered at Klein’s home, Neph remained with them despite Kasslana warning her she might be in danger.

• Klein warned the Rice police that the threats were connected to the serial murders and that Isengard Stanton had been attacked.
• Neph spotted a corrupting influence in Stuart’s spirit and failed to remove it, so she told Klein to act as though nothing was wrong.
• Stuart arrived at Klein’s home with a threatening letter, and Klein reassured him that the police had been notified.
• Neph subtly eased Stuart’s fear when more visitors arrived at the door.
• Kasslana and the other letter recipients joined them, and Neph said she intended to stay despite the danger.

Neph and Klein helped calm the detectives who had received threats, and Isengard Stanton arrived safely. In private, Isengard began explaining the attacker, but Neph revealed her knowledge of the Desire Apostle and drew his suspicion.

• Neph recognized Kasslana as a Beyonder carrying a seed of corruption and decided not to pray to the True Creator.
• Klein tried to reassure the gathered detectives, but Stuart suffered an emotional breakdown and drew his gun; Neph froze its trigger before he could fire.
• Neph announced that Isengard Stanton was coming, opened the door, and let the great detective into the room.
• Isengard thanked Klein for saving his life and took Klein, Kasslana, and Neph to the sitting room to discuss the attack.
• Isengard revealed that he was a Beyonder and began identifying the attacker as the master of the serial killer, but Neph called him the Desire Apostle, prompting Isengard to ask whether she was a Calamity Priest.

Neph, Klein, Kasslana, and Isengard Stanton tried to locate the Desire Apostle and alert the official Beyonders. After Neph identified Kasslana as the Apostle’s corrupted target and spotted him above them, the group fought to hold him off until help arrived.

• Isengard Stanton explained the Desire Apostle’s abilities and revealed his plan to notify the official Beyonders with a Sealed Artifact.
• Neph said she could evade the Apostle’s mental danger sense, then located him directly above them and identified Kasslana as the person he had corrupted.
• Kasslana attacked Isengard Stanton, but Klein shot her with an Air Bullet and Isengard dodged forward.
• Neph chilled the Apostle’s black liquid form while Klein and the others recovered and Isengard notified the official Beyonders.
• The Desire Apostle condensed into a pitch-black human figure with cold blue eyes.

Neph and Klein helped Isengard stall the Desire Apostle until the Machinery Hivemind arrived, after which Neph avoided being handed over to the Nighthawks by invoking Bernadette Gustav. Later, Neph told Klein how she had been released, and he explained what he had told Isengard about her.

• Neph blocked the exits with ice, while the Sun's power briefly restored her vitality and the Desire Apostle resisted her memory-erasing ability.
• Isengard split the damage from the Desire Apostle's attack with him, and Klein used an Air Bullet to help stall him until the official Beyonders arrived.
• Ikanser Bernard questioned Neph, and she named Evernight as her faith before telling him to ask Bernadette Gustav about her.
• Ikanser left Neph alone after hearing Bernadette's name, and Isengard vouched for Klein so he faced no trouble.
• Neph recounted the incident to Klein above Sefirah Castle, and Klein explained that he had told Isengard she likely had her own plans.

Klein learned that the future had changed and warned Neph that Sharron planned to explore Amon’s mausoleum, where a living King of Angels lay. Neph told him to avoid Amon and asked him to obtain the mausoleum’s address, while Klein informed Sharron of the danger and identified the occupant as the God of Mischief.

• Klein told Neph that Aaron Ceres’s son Will Auceptin was a Snake of Mercury and learned Duke Negan had survived because his would-be assassin died.
• Neph warned Klein that Leonard Mitchell would dig up his grave and advised him to watch out for his former colleague.
• Klein told Neph that Sharron had invited him to explore Amon’s mausoleum in search of materials to help Maric advance.
• Neph revealed that a living King of Angels was inside the mausoleum and warned Klein that Amon could find him through abnormalities in Sharron’s fate.
• Klein promised not to explore the mausoleum, offered to sell Sharron and Maric a Wraith Beyonder characteristic, and Neph asked him to get the mausoleum’s address.
• Klein told Sharron that a living King of Angels occupied the mausoleum and explained that its occupant had once been called the God of Mischief.

Klein sought a corpse to use as a decoy in his grave and considered Neph’s suggestion to leave a monocle in the coffin. At the Tarot Club, Alger offered to sell the World Deep Sea Naga hair, while Neph hinted she knew ways to handle excess Beyonder Characteristics but warned Fors she might not accept them.

• Klein asked Sharron to sell him a corpse matching specific requirements, and she offered one of Maric’s zombies if Klein could make it decay and perform Requiem himself.
• Klein explained his plan to Neph, who suggested asking Mr. Azik about accelerating decay and leaving a monocle in the coffin to frighten Leonard and gain potion digestion progress later.
• Neph completed her painting of Mr. A at an altar, while Klein told her he had met steam-powered automobile magnate Flami Cage and thought he needed an agent.
• Neph saw no news of Duke Negan’s death, and Klein learned that Mr. Azik was wanted before receiving his reply.
• At the Tarot Club, Alger offered the World five strands of Deep Sea Naga hair for 500 pounds, and the World agreed to buy them.
• When Fors asked how to resolve an excess of Beyonder Characteristics of the same level, Neph said she knew methods but warned Fors would either be unable to carry them out or dislike them.

Neph explained how excess Beyonder characteristics could be passed on or removed, then warned the Tarot Club that the Primordial Demoness and the True Creator might descend on Backlund around New Year. She also sought advice on quickly circulating four paintings, but left without settling on a method.

• Neph explained that Beyonders could pass characteristics to their children and described ways demigods could remove excess characteristics from Fors.
• Derrick told the Tarot Club that he had been assigned another exploration of the Half-Ruined Temple.
• Neph warned the members to stay home in Backlund around New Year because the Primordial Demoness and the True Creator might descend.
• Neph urged everyone to avoid the East Borough and to tell their friends and family there to leave during that period.
• Neph asked how to circulate four paintings quickly, and Audrey and Alger suggested newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, or public locations.

Neph finished her paintings and tried to secure a front-page spot for them in the Backlund Morning Post. After Ouroboros transported her away, she learned the True Creator had never planned to descend, leaving her uncertain about the purpose of the Descent Ritual.

• Amon explained that Medici needed Beyonder characteristics to sustain his existence, then showed him a sleeping Demoness who carried a clue to a Conqueror characteristic.
• Neph finished the last of her paintings and decided to submit them to the Backlund Morning Post before leaving Backlund.
• Neph paid twenty pounds to request a rushed front-page placement, and the newspaper’s editor-in-chief agreed to see her.
• Neph prayed to the True Creator’s angel, and Ouroboros transported her through the Spirit World.
• Neph asked Ouroboros whether the True Creator minded her disrupting his descent, and he told her the Lord had not planned to descend.

Neph learned that her demigod advancement sacrifice lay at sea and was connected to Tracy, while Ouroboros gave her a scale for contacting him. After Neph revealed the location of the Dice of Probability, she traveled to Bansy Harbor, where an unfamiliar Loen man entered the restaurant she had found.

• Neph asked Ouroboros about her advancement ritual, and he said her sacrifice was at sea and connected to Tracy.
• Ouroboros placed a silver scale in Neph’s hand so she could contact him when necessary.
• Neph told Ouroboros that the Dice of Probability was at Maple Grocery Store on Enmat Street in Bayam, and he vanished after hearing the address.
• Neph reached Bansy Harbor, learned there was an entrance to the City of Calamity nearby, and went to the Green Lemon Restaurant for its pork blood specialty.
• A sharply featured Loen man entered the restaurant, and the patrons’ chatter fell silent.