Chapter Summaries

Lin Chuan unexpectedly appeared at the Tarot Club and greeted Zhou Mingrui as an old acquaintance. Zhou Mingrui concealed his shock and answered cautiously, while Audrey and Alger tried to infer the relationship between the two.

• Lin Chuan examined Audrey, Alger, and Zhou Mingrui before taking a seat at the Bronze Long Table.
• Lin Chuan greeted Zhou Mingrui with, “Long time no see.”
• Zhou Mingrui was startled by Lin Chuan’s solid appearance but hid his reaction and replied, “You’re here.”
• Audrey concluded that Zhou Mingrui had expected Lin Chuan and quietly noted the seat Lin Chuan had chosen.
• Alger studied Zhou Mingrui’s response, suspected Lin Chuan held a high standing, and chose to remain silent.

Lin Chuan joined Zhou Mingrui, Audrey, and Alger in Sefirah Castle, startling Zhou Mingrui by speaking Chinese and hinting that he knew him. When Audrey asked how to become a Beyonder, Lin Chuan offered a deceptively simple answer, leaving the others to consider his advice.

• Lin Chuan told Zhou Mingrui that he was there, then said in Chinese that he should not be there.
• Zhou Mingrui wondered if Lin Chuan was a fellow transmigrator and recognized him as Lin Chuan.
• Alger stayed cautious while Audrey waited for Lin Chuan to address her question about becoming a Beyonder.
• Lin Chuan told Audrey to find the Blasphemy Slate, choose a Pathway from it, and become a Beyonder.

Lin Chuan explained how people became Beyonders and told Audrey that she could buy early Sequence Potion formulas through informal channels. The chapter left Audrey curious about finding a reliable seller while Alger worried that Lin Chuan had seen through him.

• After Lin Chuan joked that reading the Blasphemy Slate was the best way to become a Beyonder, he explained that it recorded twenty-two Sequence Pathways and their Potion formulas.
• Lin Chuan advised Audrey to seek a Beyonder mentor or join an established organization, but Audrey said she wanted to keep her freedom.
• Lin Chuan warned Audrey that secret organizations could expose members to evil gods, then suggested buying the formulas she needed.
• Audrey asked whether she could buy Potion formulas with gold pounds, and Lin Chuan said early Sequence formulas could be obtained through trade.
• When Audrey asked for legitimate, reliable channels, Lin Chuan listed underground trading, gray areas, and recommendations from acquaintances.

Audrey learned that the greatest danger in buying potion formulas was not being able to verify they were complete and safe. When she asked how to address the two mysterious figures, Lin Chuan gave his name as Temperance.

• Lin Chuan listed common gray-market dangers and prompted Alger to explain that unaffiliated Beyonders could not verify a formula's authenticity.
• Alger warned Audrey that formulas could be deceptively altered, and Lin Chuan explained that a flawed Sequence 9 potion could fail, cause mutation, or lead to losing control.
• Alger said trustworthiness mattered more than ingredients or formulas, while Lin Chuan secretly replenished Klein's spirituality to help him maintain the Tarot Club gathering.
• Audrey asked how Alger would verify a formula, and Alger offered to sell her two Sequence 9 formulas he guaranteed were genuine.
• Audrey asked how to address Klein and Lin Chuan, and Lin Chuan answered, "Temperance."

Lin Chuan introduced himself as Temperance, and Klein named himself the Fool as Audrey and Alger joined their gathering. Alger presented Audrey with two Sequence 9 options, Sailor and Spectator, while Lin Chuan revealed that Spectator belonged to the Dragon pathway.

• Lin Chuan chose Temperance as his code name, and Klein introduced himself as the Fool.
• Audrey and Alger recognized the two names as Tarot cards and addressed the pair as Mr. Fool and Mr. Temperance.
• Alger asked the Fool to witness a transaction between him and Audrey, and Klein agreed.
• Alger described the Sailor potion’s abilities and its ancient name, Sea’s Favorite.
• Alger explained the Spectator potion’s powers and warned that a spectator must remain an onlooker.
• Lin Chuan said that Spectator had no ancient potion name, but its pathway had once been called the Dragon pathway.

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.