Recaps

Klein discovered an unfamiliar prayer above the gray fog and called Lin Chuan to help translate it. Lin Chuan recognized the praying boy as Derrick and asked Klein for permissions, leaving Klein unsure how to grant them.

• Klein memorized the Clown potion formula, burned the copy, and entered the gray fog to study its powers.
• Klein noticed an unfamiliar crimson star pulsing and touched it, revealing a boy praying before a crystal ball in an unknown language.
• Klein recognized that the language might be Jotun and summoned Lin Chuan to help translate the boy’s prayer.
• Lin Chuan recognized the boy as Derrick, silently used a wish to become proficient in Jotun, and asked Klein to give him permissions.
• Klein wondered how to grant Lin Chuan permissions and recalled that he had once conjured the palace and long table by thought.

Klein answered Derrick’s prayer and brought him into the mysterious space, where Lin Chuan secretly translated their words. Derrick asked for help for his parents and the City of Silver, then joined the proposed Tarot Club and chose the Sun as his code name.

• Klein sensed Derrick’s prayer, and Lin Chuan enabled simultaneous translation so they could understand each other.
• Klein summoned Derrick to the space above the gray fog, where Derrick mistook him for a God and begged for help.
• Klein explained that he was the Fool and offered Derrick a chance to exchange for what he desired through the Tarot Club.
• Derrick asked to become the Sun and obtain its starting potion formula, and Klein introduced him to the Tarot Club.
• Klein presented the Tarot Cards, and Derrick chose the Sun as his code name.

Lin Chuan explained that the gray fog palace could grant wishes and confirmed that the City of Silver lay in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, though he refused to reveal more because Klein’s level was too low. Klein convened the Tarot Club with Derrick as its newest member and asked whether anyone had found pages of Roselle’s diary.

• Lin Chuan told Klein that he had blocked Little Sun’s senses by asking the gray fog to grant his wish, and described the palace and its manifestations as expressions of wish-based power.
• Klein asked whether Little Sun’s home was the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and Lin Chuan confirmed it but declined to explain further, saying Klein’s level was too low.
• Lin Chuan suggested Klein could have asked Derrick for the City of Silver’s history and knowledge in exchange for joining the gatherings, but Klein worried that would be fleecing the new member.
• Klein summoned Audrey, Alger, and Derrick to the Tarot Club and introduced Derrick as Mr. Sun, the new member.
• Klein observed that Alger’s aura had become purer, then asked the members whether they had found any pages of Roselle’s diary.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Alger and Audrey offered pages of Roselle’s Diary, and Lin Chuan added one of his own. Klein read the entries and discovered Roselle had written about Lin Chuan, leaving Klein determined to show him the page after the gathering.

• Alger offered five pages of Roselle’s Diary, while Audrey offered one and said she still owed two pages.
• Lin Chuan volunteered a diary page, and Klein agreed to have him materialize it with the others.
• Klein read Roselle’s entries about his early life, his choice to become a Savant, and his encounter with Zaratul.
• Klein found an entry describing Roselle choosing Lin Chuan’s work for his first serialized novel and joking that its author could not demand royalties.
• Klein decided he would show Lin Chuan the diary page after the Tarot Club gathering.

Klein read Lin Chuan’s selected diary page and realized Roselle may have used pathway switching to become a true god before his assassination. After opening the Tarot Club’s free exchange, he watched Audrey prepare to ask about her potion formula.

• Klein read Roselle’s diary entries about a Demoness and her Sequence 6, Pleasure.
• Klein learned that Beyonders could exchange pathways after reaching Sequence 5 and suspected Roselle had ascended to true godhood.
• Klein wondered whether the Eternal Blazing Sun and other gods had allowed or helped Roselle’s assassination, then decided to verify the theory.
• Klein ended the reading and began the Tarot Club’s free exchange.
• Audrey thanked Mr. Fool for agreeing to an equivalent exchange for Roselle’s diary and turned to ask about her potion formula.

At the Tarot Club, Derrick explained potion digestion and the Acting Method to Audrey, revealing that the City of Silver taught it in general education. Klein then noticed an additional Roselle diary entry on the back of Lin Chuan’s parchment, which raised a question about whether the Savant and Demoness pathways could substitute for each other at high Sequences.

• Derrick told Audrey that a properly acting Sequence 9 Beyonder could digest a potion within a month or two and warned that signs of losing control should be reported.
• Derrick revealed that the City of Silver taught the Acting Method in general education classes, surprising Audrey and Alger.
• Audrey admitted that her city did not teach the Acting Method in ordinary classes, while Derrick wondered how its city-states survived in the darkness.
• Lin Chuan directed Klein’s attention to the back of the five diary pages, where Klein discovered another entry from Roselle.
• Klein read Roselle’s question about whether the Church’s Savant and Demoness pathways could substitute for one another at high Sequences.

Klein considered whether Roselle had switched pathways through Demoness before pursuing an unknown pathway, and wondered whether crossing between adjacent pathways offered an advantage. At the Tarot Club, Audrey asked Lin Chuan about the City of Silver, and Derrick prepared to explain its history and background.

• Klein realized Roselle's diary said Beyonders could switch to adjacent pathways during advancements after Sequence 5, not only when becoming demigods.
• Klein speculated that Roselle might have switched through Demoness and wondered whether repeated pathway changes could help someone become a true god.
• Audrey concluded that Derrick's questions came from innocence rather than tactful probing and grew curious about the City of Silver.
• Audrey asked Lin Chuan whether he meant Derrick's City of Silver and requested an explanation of its history and its teaching of the acting method.
• Derrick understood Audrey and Alger wanted to learn about the City of Silver and prepared to introduce it.

Lin Chuan described the City of Silver’s ancient history and its isolation in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, while the Tarot Club members misread his hint that the land’s old name was no longer appropriate. The discussion ended with Lin Chuan realizing that nobody had understood what he meant.

• Lin Chuan stopped Derrick from revealing the City of Silver’s secrets and began explaining its history.
• Lin Chuan said the City of Silver had once been the Kingdom of Silver, ruled by the Giant King’s Court, and had endured more than two thousand years without sunlight after the Great Cataclysm.
• Alger recognized the City of Silver as part of the Forsaken Land of the Gods and grew more reverent toward Mr. Fool.
• Lin Chuan confirmed the name but said he preferred to call the region the Eastern Continent because the old name seemed inappropriate.
• Alger and Audrey assumed Mr. Fool’s attention meant the land was no longer forsaken, while Derrick mistakenly thought Lin Chuan meant the Lord would return.
• Lin Chuan noticed that none of the Tarot Club members had asked what he meant by the name being inappropriate.

Lin Chuan helped Derrick and Alger arrange an exchange of potion formulas, while Klein introduced a ritual method for transferring physical objects between Tarot Club members. The gathering ended with Lin Chuan suggesting Audrey use the method to pay the one thousand pounds she owed.

• Lin Chuan explained the value of information from the City of Silver and encouraged Derrick to negotiate exchanges rather than give it away freely.
• Derrick offered to trade the Telepathist formula for the starting Sequence of the Sun pathway, and Alger agreed to obtain the Bard formula in one or two weeks.
• Klein explained that Tarot Club members could transfer physical objects through sacrifice and bestowment rituals, and described how to perform them.
• Klein said members could pray to him to recall the ritual symbol, and Lin Chuan suggested Audrey use the method to pay her one thousand pounds.

Audrey arranged to pay Lin Chuan the thousand pounds she owed through a sacrifice to the Fool, while the Tarot Club members discussed the Acting Method and traded for potion knowledge. Derrick agreed to obtain the Telepathist formula for Audrey, who promised him a Sequence 9 main ingredient and additional compensation.

• Audrey asked the Fool for permission to perform a sacrifice after the gathering and pay Lin Chuan one thousand pounds, and the Fool agreed.
• Alger asked Derrick about precautions for the Acting Method, and Derrick explained that one must remember one is only acting.
• Alger promised to find Derrick the Bard potion formula, and Derrick thanked him for being a good person.
• Audrey offered Derrick compensation for his Acting Method advice, and he accepted her offer of a Sequence 9 main ingredient and additional payment.
• Audrey and Derrick agreed that Derrick would seek the Telepathist formula within the next one or two gatherings, after which Audrey would compensate him.

Lin Chuan asked the Tarot Club to help his Blessed obtain a legitimate identity in Loen, and Audrey offered to arrange one for him in Backlund. After the transaction, the members shared news about proposed government reforms and the activities of secret organizations, including an Aurora Order Listener seeking the True Creator’s sanctuary.

• Audrey and Alger said they had nothing else to trade before Lin Chuan asked for help securing proof of identity for his Blessed.
• Alger explained that forged or registered identity documents could be obtained in Loen, and Audrey offered to arrange a legitimate identity through her connections.
• Lin Chuan accepted Audrey’s offer and promised to answer one of her questions as compensation.
• Klein privately allowed Lin Chuan to tell Audrey the details of his Blessed’s Hercules Hastings identity.
• Audrey reported that parliament members supported Klein’s civil service and administrative reform proposals, while Alger shared reports of growing secret organizations and an Aurora Order Listener searching for the True Creator’s sanctuary.

At the Tarot Club, Alger explained the True Creator and the Aurora Order, while Klein advised the members to observe rather than treat them as enemies. After the gathering, Alger headed toward the Rorsted Archipelago to seek a Bard potion formula, and Audrey performed her first ritual to send an offering through the Illusory Door.

• Alger described the True Creator to Audrey and explained that Emperor Roselle may have based the Hanged Man card on His appearance.
• When Audrey asked about the Aurora Order, Klein told the Tarot Club members to wait and observe rather than regard them as enemies.
• Klein ended the gathering and returned to the real world, thinking that he needed to advance to Clown to improve his spirituality.
• Alger ordered the Blue Avenger to stop for a day at the Rorsted Archipelago so he could try to buy a Bard potion formula.
• Audrey performed a ritual in her laboratory and sent a wallet of cash through the Illusory Door, praising Mr. Fool afterward.

Derrick learned that the Council of Six had found the expedition team his parents belonged to, while Klein received Miss Justice’s thousand pounds and questioned Lin Chuan about the rise of secret organizations. The chapter left Klein silenced by Lin Chuan after speculating that Beyonder characteristics might exist elsewhere in the universe.

• Derrick discovered that the crystal ball had shattered and a crimson symbol had appeared beneath his hand.
• Daq Regins told Derrick that the Council of Six had found the expedition team, including Derrick’s parents.
• Klein received a thousand pounds sacrificed by Miss Justice and asked Lin Chuan when he would perform the bestowal ritual.
• Klein asked Lin Chuan why secret organizations had become more active and speculated that Beyonder characteristics might exist beyond the planet.
• Lin Chuan told Klein to stop speaking and thinking, and Klein complied.

Lin Chuan told Klein about the Seven Lights, Yellow Light Venithan, and his prophecy of the apocalypse. Klein realized the predicted end of the world was only a little over a decade away, and Lin Chuan urged him to become strong enough to save him.

• Lin Chuan warned Klein not to think about the Starry Sky outside the gray fog, and explained that the danger was connected to becoming an Angel.
• Lin Chuan revealed that the Seven Lights were living Spirit World creatures who had founded the Pure Light Brotherhood.
• Lin Chuan identified Yellow Light as Venithan, described his attributes and astrology expertise, and suggested Klein summon him for occultism questions.
• Lin Chuan said Venithan had prophesied that a gaze from the Starry Sky would destroy the earth and all life, prompting secret organizations to become more active.
• Klein learned the prophecy was dated for the Fifth Epoch, year 1368, only a little over a decade away, and Lin Chuan said he would count on Klein to save him.

After learning from Lin Chuan that the Apocalypse would arrive in nineteen years, Klein resolved to advance quickly and protect the people he cared about. Lin Chuan erased the dangerous details from Klein’s memory, and Klein began planning how to earn money before checking the safety of the memory seal with divination.

• Klein rejected the idea of relying on Lin Chuan to save him and set becoming an Angel as his goal so he could protect his family and friends.
• Klein worried that he might accidentally recall dangerous knowledge about the Starry Sky, so Lin Chuan used Grand Memory Erasure on him.
• Klein discovered that he remembered the Apocalypse warning but could no longer recall its cause or the dangerous keywords Lin Chuan had explained.
• Klein considered how to fund his advancement, failed to create a convincing alternate persona at the Tarot Club, and planned to open an anonymous bank account for his Blessed.
• Klein wrote down his plans, then used his Yellow Crystal Pendant to divine whether returning to reality with his current knowledge would endanger him; the result was negative.
• Klein began further divinations about whether the memory seal could fail or be affected by mental attacks.

Klein learned that Tris had been identified as a dangerous Beyonder and was being pursued, while Dunn summoned him to assist with the newly arrived Sealed Artifact 2-049. In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Lin Chuan collected Beyonder characteristics as he traveled toward Chernobyl, prompting Amon to ask whether that was his destination or the Chaos Sea.

• Klein found no report of the Alfalfa Tragedy in the newspaper, then received an internal wanted notice identifying Tris as a suspected Sequence 8 Instigator responsible for the disaster.
• Dunn confirmed that Joyce Meyer had helped establish Tris's guilt and told Klein that the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, and Machinery Hivemind were jointly pursuing him.
• Dunn took Klein to Chanis Gate because Sealed Artifact 2-049 had arrived in Tingen and the coming operation might require Klein's connection to the notebook.
• Lin Chuan used his lantern to draw a rotting Eight-Legged Demon Wolf into the light, turned it into a marionette, and collected its remaining Beyonder characteristics.
• Amon recognized that Lin Chuan was traveling toward Chernobyl and asked whether he was heading there or to the Chaos Sea.

Lin Chuan explored the Forsaken Land of the Gods with Amon while joking about their identities and Amon’s father. Meanwhile, Klein prepared with the Nighthawks to retrieve Sealed Artifact 2-049, and Lin Chuan finished crafting two new god-tier items from his overnight card pulls.

• Lin Chuan told Amon he wanted to visit the Primordial’s spawn point, and Amon questioned whether Lin Chuan was truly a Great Old One Remnant.
• Lin Chuan walked deeper into the wasteland with Amon and teased him about his avatars and his father.
• Klein listened to Dunn’s instructions about Sealed Artifact 2-049 and decided to hint to him about the Acting Method after the operation.
• Al Hassen proposed setting out, and Dunn sent Lenna to drive the Nighthawks to Ray Bieber’s home.
• Lin Chuan cleared the dangerous artifacts from his room and reviewed the defective items he had crafted overnight.
• Lin Chuan used the Chaoswalker and Misfortune Mage characteristics and Ouroboros’s luck before crafting a shortbow and an ancient scroll.

Lin Chuan examined two divine creations, including a scroll that offered chaotic, unreliable plans, and discovered an unexpected effect from the shortbow. Meanwhile, Klein and the Nighthawks approached a warehouse with 2-049, but an attack and a horrifying scream revealed danger inside as a black-robed figure fled across the rooftops.

• Lin Chuan tested the scroll, which wrote out plans for conveying Daly Simone’s feelings to Dunn Smith but would lead its user toward failure.
• Klein and the Nighthawks traveled with 2-049 to the Harbor District and identified their target warehouse.
• Klein began divining the warehouse as sudden rain and an orange fireball interrupted the group.
• Klein warned Lenna, threw the iron box containing 2-049 away from the group, and drew his revolver.
• A scream and chewing sounds came from the target warehouse as Klein spotted a black-robed figure fleeing over a warehouse roof.

Klein and the Nighthawks fought the Tuxedo Clown outside the warehouse while a mysterious black-robed figure fled. The warehouse’s 2-049 broke loose and destroyed the Magician’s teammate, and Klein shot the wounded Clown as he tried to escape.

• Klein spotted a black-robed stranger on the warehouse roof and fired, but the man escaped into the shadows.
• Klein, Dunn, Al Hassen, and Lorotta exchanged attacks with the Tuxedo Clown, who used illusions and fire to evade them.
• The Tuxedo Clown tried to reach the warehouse, but the Nighthawks’ gunfire and Al Hassen’s poetry forced him to retreat.
• The Tuxedo Clown fired Air Bullets at the innermost warehouse door, provoking 2-049 to batter its container and burst through the door, killing his teammate.
• Klein shot the Tuxedo Clown in the abdomen as he tried to slip away.

Klein and the Nighthawks confronted Ray Bieber after he transformed into a powerful undead monster, but their bullets and sleep-inducing verses failed to stop him. As Ray advanced toward the case containing 2-049 and the injured Lenna, Klein called out to Dunn and offered to act.

• Klein and the Nighthawks fired at the grayish-white mass, which healed itself and formed into a monster identifiable as Ray Bieber.
• Dunn ordered Lorotta to use Eyes of the Dead to find Ray's weakness, while the team spread out around him.
• Ray lunged toward Lenna, and Lenna and Al Hassen's verses slowed him until he unleashed a soundless shriek that injured and knocked down several Nighthawks.
• Ray advanced toward the iron-black case containing 2-049, passing the injured Lenna, while Borgia and Dunn's bullets failed to hurt him.
• As Dunn prepared to drag Ray into a dream, Klein called out, offering to take action.

Klein and the Nighthawks recovered the Antigonus Family's notebook and destroyed the mutated Ray Bieber in a warehouse explosion, though the team was left incapacitated. As Klein wondered whether the Tuxedo Clown had escaped, the wounded clown emerged from the shadows.

• Klein used his last Slumber Charms to slow Ray Bieber while Al Hassen shot the iron case containing 2-049 away from Lenna.
• Dunn restrained Ray Bieber with Dream Infiltration, allowing Lorotta to tear the Antigonus Family's notebook from the monster's abdomen.
• An unknown shooter struck the iron case into Ray Bieber as 2-049 broke free, triggering a massive explosion.
• Klein recovered from the blast and found Lenna, Al Hassen, Borgia, Lorotta, and Dunn unable to fight.
• The Tuxedo Clown emerged from the warehouse shadows, confirming he had survived.

Klein was freed from 2-049’s control when the Antigonus Family marionette disintegrated, but the Tuxedo Clown rose again and Klein shot him. Lenna then emerged and asked Klein to put away his gun.

• The marionette took the Antigonus Family Notebook and used its strengthened control to immobilize Klein and his fallen teammates.
• Klein began reciting part of Lin Chuan’s Honorific Name and saw black threads connecting the people, the marionette, and the notebook.
• The marionette’s face cracked and it disintegrated, dropping the notebook as Klein regained control of his body.
• The Tuxedo Clown rose again and staggered toward Klein, who shot him repeatedly with his remaining Demon-Hunting Bullets.
• Lenna pulled himself free, congratulated Klein, and asked him to lower his gun.

Klein and the Nighthawks recovered after the battle, secured the Antigonus Family Notebook, and began a Spirit Channeling ritual on the Tuxedo Clown. Klein entered a dream to seek the Sequence 7 potion formula that followed Seer.

• Klein reassured Lenna that he knew about his unusual abilities, then helped revive the injured teammates with the Goddess's Gaze.
• Dunn confirmed that the notebook matched the one Klein had seen in Dream Divination and secured it without opening it.
• The team searched the warehouse and the area where the monster Bieber had self-destructed, while Klein requested permission to perform Spirit Channeling on the Tuxedo Clown.
• Dunn approved the ritual and assigned Lenna to assist Klein as they moved the corpse to a quieter warehouse.
• Klein prepared a protected spiritual space and recited the incantation, then entered a dream while divining for the Sequence 7 potion formula that followed Seer.