Recaps

Lin Chuan explained the Spectator Pathway’s connection to mind dragons and Ankewelt, the Dragon of Imagination, then warned Audrey and Alger not to repeat or recall the dangerous legend outside the gray fog. Audrey asked how to obtain the Spectator formula, and Lin Chuan questioned whether she had chosen the Pathway too quickly.

• Alger and Audrey reacted with surprise when Lin Chuan revealed that the Spectator Pathway had once been called Dragon.
• Lin Chuan explained that the name referred to mind dragons and that Ankewelt, the Dragon of Imagination, had once stood at the Pathway’s pinnacle.
• Lin Chuan warned Audrey and Alger not to speak or recall Ankewelt’s name and legend outside the gray fog, where Mr. Fool’s protection covered them.
• Audrey asked Alger how to obtain the Spectator formula, and he requested at least 100 milliliters of ghost shark blood in exchange.
• Lin Chuan asked Audrey why she had decided on Spectator without first learning about the other twenty Sequences.

Lin Chuan encouraged Audrey to pursue the Spectator pathway, and Alger gave her the potion formula and instructions. As Audrey memorized the formula and listened to his advice, a tapping sound interrupted the gathering.

• Klein reasoned that the gray fog might protect those gathered there from dangerous attention drawn by secret names.
• Audrey thanked Lin Chuan and explained why she had chosen the Spectator pathway, and Lin Chuan supported her decision.
• Alger told Audrey where to deliver Ghost Shark blood and asked whether she wanted the formula by mail or in person; she chose to hear it at the gathering.
• Alger recited the Spectator potion formula, and Audrey repeated it until she had memorized the ingredients and their order.
• Alger explained potion preparation, meditation, and daily practice, then a light tapping sounded on the table as Audrey prepared to ask a question.

Lin Chuan taught Alger and Audrey the acting method during Klein’s first Tarot Club gathering, and they agreed to meet regularly under Tarot card code names. After Klein ended the gathering, Lin Chuan discovered he was still trapped in Sefirah Castle, while Klein returned to his apartment and saw Lin Chuan in the mirror behind him.

• Lin Chuan corrected Alger’s potion advice, explaining that Beyonders should digest potions through acting and use the potion’s name as a key.
• Alger recognized the value of the acting method and asked Klein to hold further gatherings, offering his and Audrey’s help in exchange.
• Klein agreed to meet every Monday at three, and Audrey chose Justice while Alger chose the Hanged Man as their code names.
• Klein ended the gathering when his connection to Sefirah Castle began to weaken, but Lin Chuan remained inside after Audrey and Alger disappeared.
• Klein returned to his apartment and saw Lin Chuan’s figure in the mirror behind him.

Klein found Lin Chuan, now a spirit body, appearing in his mirror after they had expected to meet again Above the Gray Fog in a week. Reassured that Lin Chuan was doing well and his parents were recovering, Klein accepted that they would be working together in this world and turned to satisfy his hunger.

• Klein saw Lin Chuan in the mirror, then learned that his surgery had gone well and his parents were recovering.
• Lin Chuan said he had transmigrated again and was currently a spirit body after an accident.
• Klein asked Lin Chuan to call him Klein and explained that he intended to take responsibility for Melissa and Benson, whose memories he had inherited.
• Klein reasoned that Lin Chuan had a way home but had run into difficulties, then got up to find food.
• Klein noticed four black dots on his hand fade away, retrieved rye bread from the ritual's four corners, and prepared to eat it with boiled water.

Lin Chuan reflected on his missing memories and his bond with Klein, concluding that his desire to return home had remained unchanged across time and divided versions of himself. Urgent knocking at the door interrupted him as he prepared to resume their conversation.

• Lin Chuan watched Klein wait to share the lamb with Melissa and reflected on how Zhou Mingrui and Klein both treasured home and family.
• Lin Chuan recalled choosing to enter Tingen as a spirit rather than possess a body, and considered his missing ten thousand years of memories and divided selves.
• Lin Chuan decided that every version of himself still wanted to return to his original home, so he had no need to worry about how time had changed him.
• Lin Chuan drifted toward Klein to resume their conversation, then heard a series of urgent knocks at the door.

Lin Chuan helped Klein conceal the Antigonus Family Notebook and revolver when the Nighthawks came to question him about the deaths of Welch McGovern and Naya. After they left, Lin Chuan appeared openly to Klein and explained that he could now control whether ordinary people saw his spirit body.

• Klein answered the door when Dunn, Leonard, and the other Nighthawks arrived to investigate the deaths of Welch McGovern and Naya.
• Lin Chuan concealed Klein’s revolver and the Antigonus Family Notebook before the Nighthawks could discover them.
• Dunn warned Klein not to leave Tingen without notifying Officer Mounbatten, and Leonard remarked that everyone involved in such incidents usually died.
• After the Nighthawks left, Lin Chuan reappeared and told Klein he could now control whether ordinary people saw him, though he still could not touch anything.

Klein questioned Lin Chuan about his condition, his past, and whether he had found a way home. Lin Chuan greeted him as a friend, and Klein’s fear and doubts eased as he returned the greeting.

• Lin Chuan joked that a barrier had grown between him and Klein, then explained that he had inferred Klein’s thoughts from his emotions rather than reading his mind.
• Klein asked Lin Chuan whether he was only a spirit, how he had arrived in this world, how long he had been there, what pathway and Sequence he belonged to, and whether he had found a way home.
• Lin Chuan paused before extending his translucent hand and telling Klein, “It’s good to see you again, my friend.”
• Klein shook Lin Chuan’s illusory hand and told him that it was really good to see him again.

Lin Chuan reassured Klein that he could eventually return home, but said he could not explain how or reveal certain dangerous secrets yet. Klein learned that he would need to reach at least Sequence Two to learn more, and was left weighing the long road ahead—and whether to slap Lin Chuan.

• Lin Chuan grew wary when Klein held onto his hand, then realized Klein was urgently asking whether he could return to their original world.
• Lin Chuan promised to reunite Klein with his parents and get everyone home, but said he could not explain the method or why they could not leave yet.
• Lin Chuan recited a passage about knowledge hunting people and explained that he had found no sign of the Three Pillars, though gods existed in this world.
• Klein asked whether hidden knowledge was inaccessible until he became stronger, and Lin Chuan said he needed to reach at least Sequence Two.
• Lin Chuan explained that Sequence Two was called an Angel and had once been known as a Subordinate Deity, while Klein considered the distance to home and whether to slap him.

Klein read his predecessor’s notebook while asking Lin Chuan about his past and his connection to the Gray Fog. Lin Chuan explained that he had been trapped in a void until gray fog led him to an endless gray space, which he suspected belonged to another transmigrator.

• Lin Chuan explained that he could touch objects wrapped in his spirit body, and Klein began searching the notebook for clues about the original owner’s suicide.
• Klein learned that Lin Chuan had watched his arrival above the Gray Fog and improvised his Tarot Club remarks, including the supposed common knowledge about Beyonder Pathways, to make Klein look impressive.
• Lin Chuan said he had awakened in another world inside a boundless void, where he could observe the outside world but could not enter it.
• Lin Chuan described gray fog seeping into the void and growing thick enough for him to follow it into an endless gray space.
• Lin Chuan recalled thinking the gray space resembled his void and wondering whether it was another transmigrator’s home.

Lin Chuan told Klein a fabricated account of how he had escaped into the gray fog and discovered him, then warned him not to rely entirely on anyone. When Klein asked whether Lin Chuan knew why the original owner had killed himself, Lin Chuan hesitated, weighing whether to reveal the role of the Antigonus Family Notebook and fate in Klein’s path.

• Lin Chuan said he had first seen Klein performing the Luck Enhancement Ritual and later recognized him after observing him through the fog.
• Klein finished reading the notebook and worried that the original owner’s suicide might happen to him again.
• Klein asked Lin Chuan for help, but Lin Chuan cautioned him against trusting or relying completely on one person.
• Klein directly asked whether the Antigonus Family Notebook had caused the original owner’s suicide, and Lin Chuan fell silent.
• Lin Chuan considered that the notebook had been drawn to Klein by the convergence of Beyonder characteristics and that the Fool pathway was Klein’s only route to godhood.

Lin Chuan considered telling Klein to leave Tingen so he could avoid the dangers ahead, while Lin Chuan took on the burden himself. After Klein refused to abandon him, Lin Chuan reconsidered and agreed to ask for help when he needed it.

• Lin Chuan realized he could take Klein's place in keeping the Celestial Worthy suppressed, sparing Klein the dangers tied to his fate.
• Lin Chuan told Klein he was considering warning him to leave Tingen with his siblings and explained that certain dangers had already latched onto him.
• Lin Chuan asked Klein whether he would choose an easier path if it meant transferring trouble to someone else.
• Klein refused to leave Lin Chuan with the trouble, saying they would go home together and neither would be left behind.
• Lin Chuan recognized that deciding to protect Klein alone was arrogant and said he would ask Klein for help when needed.

Lin Chuan explained the Antigonus Family’s history and the danger of its notebook to Klein, then taught him how genuine Beyonder Items differ from ordinary items imbued with temporary abilities. The chapter left Klein learning that genuine Beyonder Items contain Beyonder characteristics whose powers endure.

• Lin Chuan told Klein that the Antigonus Family had risen from a lesser noble house by supporting Blood Emperor Tudor, while the Zoroast, Abraham, and Zaratul Families had been pillars of the Solomon Empire.
• Lin Chuan revealed that Antigonus was the son of Flegrea, the Annihilation Demonic Wolf, making the Antigonus Family descendants of an Ancient God rather than humans.
• Klein asked why the family’s notebook remained dangerous after so many years, and Lin Chuan said he believed it was a genuine Beyonder Item.
• Lin Chuan explained that ordinary items with sealed Beyonder abilities lost their spirituality over time, while genuine Beyonder Items contained Beyonder characteristics.
• Lin Chuan taught Klein the law of indestructibility of Beyonder characteristics and explained that such characteristics could transfer into nearby objects, granting enduring abilities.

Lin Chuan explained that the Antigonus Family Notebook might be connected to a living angel, then taught Klein how Beyonder items and Sealed Artifacts worked. He also claimed Roselle was a transmigrator who had started but abandoned a serialized novel, leaving Klein curious about the predecessor.

• Lin Chuan told Klein the notebook might draw power from a living angel of the Antigonus Family, though he considered that only a theory.
• Klein said he was more concerned with making lamb stew for Melissa and joked that Lin Chuan could rescue him if an angel appeared.
• Lin Chuan explained that Beyonder items could be made by Artisans or form naturally, and that dangerous items of the latter kind were sealed and numbered by the churches.
• Klein compared Sealed Artifacts to SCP, and Lin Chuan blamed Roselle for familiar elements in the world.
• Lin Chuan said Roselle had serialized The Throne of the Son of Steam in an Intis newspaper before abandoning it, possibly because Lin Chuan had not finished Throne of Magical Arcana for him to copy.

Lin Chuan watched the evening settle over Tingen and considered how to get a physical body. He decided to seek help from the Hidden Sage, a being tied to the Hermit Uniqueness, to create one.

• Lin Chuan stood unseen on Iron Cross Street while Klein stayed home with Melissa, and he amused himself imagining Klein being scolded over the stew.
• Lin Chuan reflected that Klein might soon face a dream investigation from a Sequence 7 Nightmare and trusted him to handle it.
• Lin Chuan realized he could no longer freely possess living people and considered finding a recently dead person for a body.
• Lin Chuan decided instead to create a body through flesh-and-blood abilities, then chose to turn to the Hidden Sage for help.

Lin Chuan visited Welch’s rented house and Old Neil’s home while investigating the places connected to the Antigonus Family Notebook case. At Old Neil’s house, the piano and photograph suggested his memories were already being corrupted, and Lin Chuan waited for him to return.

• Lin Chuan went to Welch’s house, sensed the notebook’s eerie influence, and raised a Wall of Spirituality before leaving for the North Borough.
• Lin Chuan entered Old Neil’s home and noticed a piano and a carefully kept photograph of Shaliste among flowers she may have loved.
• Lin Chuan examined Old Neil’s ritual supplies and found no materials for Life Alchemy, reasoning that the rarer ingredients were likely hidden elsewhere.
• Lin Chuan waited in the reception room, adding coal to the fire while Old Neil remained away at work.
• Lin Chuan recalled the nearly invisible figure that had appeared beside Old Neil and later played the piano, hoping it had been Shaliste’s Spirit Body.

Old Neil walked home after a long night of paperwork and remembered his lost fiancée, Celeste Deray, and the life they had planned together. He found someone inside his house and froze when the intruder used Life Alchemy.

• Old Neil left the Blackthorn Security Company and walked home through the cold, deserted streets after helping with the Nighthawks' reports.
• The scent of golden mint brought Old Neil back to meeting Celeste Deray, falling in love with her, and losing her to illness before they could build their life together.
• Old Neil noticed a fire burning in his living room and sensed no spiritual traces inside the quiet house.
• An unseen intruder called Old Neil by name and invited him inside, while he prepared to alert the Church and feared for his hidden blood.
• The intruder spoke the words "Life Alchemy," and Old Neil froze in place.

Old Neil returned to the house and met Lin Chuan, a mysterious spirit who wanted him to create a body through Life Alchemy. Lin Chuan explained that he had come specifically for Old Neil and Shaliste, leaving Old Neil to reckon with the stranger’s unexplained interest in them.

• After hearing a voice from the house, Old Neil left but turned back when he realized the stranger had not attacked him.
• Old Neil entered the living room and found Lin Chuan, who appeared as a translucent spirit body.
• Lin Chuan asked Old Neil to use a Life Alchemy ritual to create him a body, saying he did not want to possess a living person or attract attention.
• When Old Neil tried to use Spirit Vision, Lin Chuan warned him, and Old Neil’s spiritual intuition froze him with fear.
• Old Neil asked why Lin Chuan had come to him, and Lin Chuan said he had come for Old Neil and Shaliste.

Lin Chuan confronted Old Neil about his failed attempt to cure Shaliste and told him that he would never be able to resurrect her. As Old Neil begged for help understanding his ritual, the Hidden Sage's illusory eyes behind him grew more animated, and Lin Chuan revealed that every step he had taken was wrong.

• Lin Chuan told Old Neil that his ritual magic had failed to cure Shaliste more than twenty years earlier.
• Lin Chuan explained that Old Neil had missed other ways to help Shaliste, including potions and the Mystery Pryer's acting method.
• Lin Chuan declared that Old Neil still could not resurrect Shaliste, and Old Neil pleaded that Life Alchemy and ritual magic could bring her back.
• Old Neil begged Lin Chuan to identify the mistakes in his ritual, but Lin Chuan said every step he had taken was wrong.

Lin Chuan helped Old Neil break free of the Hidden Sage’s corruption and asked him to perform the Life Alchemy ritual. Old Neil agreed, though he still regarded Lin Chuan as a god, and Lin Chuan sent him to rest before beginning.

• Lin Chuan prompted Old Neil to remember the voice that taught him the rituals, revealing the Hidden Sage’s presence behind him.
• Lin Chuan met the Hidden Sage’s gaze, and the Hidden Sage fled through the Spirit World, cutting off his connections to the Mystery Pryer Pathway.
• With the Hidden Sage gone, Old Neil’s corruption cleared and his Spirituality stabilized, confirming Lin Chuan had saved him from becoming a monster.
• Old Neil thanked Lin Chuan and agreed to perform the Life Alchemy ritual, but worried that the Hidden Sage’s instructions might contain a trap and that he lacked enough human blood.
• Lin Chuan assured Old Neil the ritual knowledge was genuine and said he only needed a body, then told the exhausted Old Neil to get some sleep.

Old Neil took Lin Chuan in for the night after learning that the Life Alchemy ritual was real, rekindling his hope. Meanwhile, Ince Zangwill watched 0-08 struggle to explain the missing revolver, leaving him convinced an Archangel might be involved and that he had only one chance.

• Old Neil showed Lin Chuan to a guest room, then went to bed thinking about the real Life Alchemy ritual and his renewed hope.
• In Klein's dream, Dunn Smith questioned Klein about Welch's missing revolver, and Klein denied knowing where it was.
• Ince Zangwill watched 0-08 forcefully write that the revolver had mysteriously disappeared and Klein truly knew nothing about it.
• Ince Zangwill concluded that a legendary Sequence One Archangel might be connected to the gun and told himself this was his only chance.

Lin Chuan explained that Old Neil's Life Alchemy ritual was sound but could not resurrect Shaliste because her spirit body had already dissipated. Old Neil asked what price Lin Chuan required, and Lin Chuan unexpectedly apologized.

• Old Neil woke refreshed after a dreamless night and found Lin Chuan still seated in the living room.
• Old Neil asked whether there was any hope of resurrecting Shaliste, and Lin Chuan said the ritual was valid but following the Hidden Sage would likely turn Old Neil into a monster.
• Old Neil realized he could not ask the Hidden Sage or the orthodox gods to bless the ritual, and Lin Chuan explained that Shaliste's spirit body had dissipated in the Spirit World.
• Old Neil offered his life and everything he possessed, trusting Lin Chuan had come for a reason.
• Lin Chuan told Old Neil that even a true god could not restore Shaliste, then answered Old Neil's appeal with, "I'm sorry."

Lin Chuan apologized to Old Neil and promised he could save Shaliste, explaining that the completely erased belonged to his divine kingdom. Old Neil began preparing a human transmutation ritual, while Lin Chuan vanished and instructed him to direct it toward him.

• Lin Chuan apologized for testing Old Neil's suffering and promised to save Shaliste without demanding a price.
• Lin Chuan explained that death marks eventually dissolved into the Underworld, while those erased from existence belonged to his divine kingdom.
• Lin Chuan concluded that Shaliste's absence was likely connected to his sefirah leaking from the Western Continent.
• Old Neil prepared the human transmutation ritual with the materials he had gathered, despite being short on the required blood.
• Lin Chuan told Old Neil to use Evernight's usual herbs and essential oils, then vanished after a starry eye symbol entered the candle flame.
• Lin Chuan instructed Old Neil to write his honorific name and recite its opening lines to direct the ritual toward him.

Lin Chuan used the Hidden Sage’s power to disguise a Life Alchemy ritual and created a new human body for himself. Old Neil learned that Shaliste’s resurrection could take years, then chose to remain in Tingen and help Lin Chuan.

• Lin Chuan concealed the Life Alchemy ritual with the Hidden Sage’s corruption while Old Neil performed it.
• Lin Chuan warned Old Neil to leave the room and seal his senses as a stream of information entered the unfinished vessel.
• Lin Chuan emerged in a newly created body, fashioned as a shell because the ritual lacked enough material.
• Old Neil asked how long it would take to resurrect Shaliste, and Lin Chuan estimated a few years if circumstances went well or a little over a decade at the latest.
• Old Neil declined Lin Chuan’s offer to place him in a deep sleep and asked to serve him, and Lin Chuan agreed while saying he wanted Old Neil’s help, not service.

Klein weighed the risks and benefits of joining the Nighthawks and decided to become a civilian employee so he could gain access to Beyonder knowledge. Lin Chuan then arrived with a physical body and breakfast, revealing he had borrowed money to buy clothes and food.

• Klein considered the dangers of working for the Nighthawks, including Church surveillance and restrictions, against the knowledge and resources the organization could provide.
• Klein resolved to meet Dunn Smith and join the Nighthawks, while wondering whether employees could ever resign.
• Lin Chuan visited Klein in a newly fashioned physical body and explained that he had performed a Life Alchemy ritual.
• Lin Chuan said he had borrowed fifteen pounds from a kind soul to buy clothes, then enjoyed cream buns and a cup of reddish-brown liquid.

Lin Chuan gave the broke Klein five pounds and shared butter rolls and sweet iced tea with him. Klein gratefully accepted the money and ate while Lin Chuan’s description of Desi pies left him craving more.

• Klein questioned Lin Chuan about how he had obtained fifteen pounds, and Lin Chuan said Old Neil had willingly sponsored him.
• Lin Chuan gave Klein a five-pound note as a friendship fee and urged him to eat.
• Klein accepted the money, thinking he could repay Lin Chuan after joining the Nighthawks and earning a salary.
• Klein ate butter rolls and drank sweet iced tea while Lin Chuan described Desi pies.
• Klein complained that Lin Chuan was making him hungry by describing rich food while he lived on rye bread.