Recaps

Nimrod obtained a combat-focused scythe and reviewed his plans to advance to Fire Thief before returning to the present. He saved Lumian from the Shotgun Monster, and Lumian recognized him as his rescuer and called him Godfather.

• Nimrod assessed the scythe’s combat abilities and side effects, and considered using the Church of Evernight’s Blood Vessel Thief to obtain a Fire Thief Beyonder characteristic.
• Nimrod suspected Adam had prevented Amon from encountering him in Tingen, but thought that might not apply in Backlund.
• When the countdown ended, Nimrod returned and used his power to restrain the Shotgun Monster as it threatened Lumian.
• Lumian seized the opening and hacked the Shotgun Monster to death with his axe.
• Lumian thanked Nimrod for saving him and called him Godfather.

Nimrod helped Lumian obtain a Hunter Beyonder characteristic and prepared the Hunter potion for him. Lumian drank it, beginning his path as a Beyonder.

• Nimrod used the lingering power of Sefirah Castle to steal the Hunter characteristic from the dead Shotgun Monster.
• Nimrod explained that Lumian could become a Sequence 9 Hunter by consuming the characteristic and Lumian chose that path to protect his sister.
• Nimrod explained how potions were made and told Lumian he knew the Hunter formula and had gathered its supplementary ingredients.
• Nimrod mixed the Hunter characteristic with red chestnut flower essential oil, poplar leaf powder, basil, and red wine to make the potion.
• Lumian drank the Hunter potion in one gulp.

After Lumian survived drinking the Hunter potion, Nimrod ended their dream meeting and later returned to Lumian’s dream to assess Cordu Village’s danger. Nimrod warned that their plan to send a telegram could expose their intention to leave, but advised Lumian to continue it and seek help from potential allies.

• Lumian survived the potion’s dangerous reaction and asked Nimrod whether he was helping because of the seal inside him; Nimrod said he valued Lumian’s fate and sympathized with his situation.
• Nimrod ended the dream, and Lumian returned home determined to gain power like his godfather’s.
• Nimrod entered Lumian’s dream again and learned that the strange owl had not reappeared after Nimrod killed it.
• Nimrod warned Lumian that the people behind Cordu Village’s abnormalities would watch prominent figures and might notice Lumian and Aurore trying to leave.
• Nimrod told Lumian to follow through with the telegram plan and seek help from the Church Beyonders and the mysterious woman from the old tavern.

Nimrod questioned the Celestial Worthy about how his actions across two timelines affected the present, then defended his decision to remain in Lumian Lee’s dream. He left the Celestial Worthy to fade from the room while continuing to pursue his own plans atop Sefirah Castle.

• Nimrod asked the Celestial Worthy whether changing the past would immediately alter the present.
• The Celestial Worthy explained how reality and history could be made to overlap, and suggested that Nimrod’s actions on his other timeline would affect the future as his vessel advanced.
• The Celestial Worthy asked why Nimrod had not ended Lumian Lee’s dream, but Nimrod said he could safely digest his potions in Sefirah Castle and had no reason to leave early.
• Nimrod accused the Celestial Worthy of growing impatient because Nimrod was destroying the mental imprints in digested Beyonder Characteristics.
• Nimrod said he treated Lumian Lee as an independent person, and the Celestial Worthy withdrew into the sunlight after calling Nimrod paranoid.

Lumian became a Hunter after consuming a Beyonder Characteristic and hid the truth about Nimrod from Fors. Nimrod warned him that the seal on him came from the Fool and that revealing the name to Aurore would corrupt her.

• Lumian told Fors he had eaten a monster's Beyonder Characteristic raw, and she explained that he had become a Hunter.
• After exploring the dream and noticing his improved abilities, Lumian prepared breakfast for Aurore and Nimrod.
• Nimrod arrived, and Lumian planned to present their battle plan to Aurore while keeping Nimrod's involvement secret from Fors.
• Lumian asked Nimrod about the seal after Fors had said it came from a great existence whose name he could not know.
• Nimrod said the seal came from the Fool and warned Lumian that hearing the name would corrupt him and Aurore.

Lumian told Aurore that Cordu Village was trapped in a ritual and that Lent might offer their best chance to escape. He also confessed that he had become a Beyonder, and Aurore accepted his decision before asking whether they should flee or sabotage the celebration.

• Lumian and Nimrod warned Aurore that an unknown force was looming over Cordu Village and that they could not escape by normal means.
• Nimrod explained that the village was caught in a ritual and that Lent would be the crucial moment for the offerings and their chance to act.
• Lumian revealed to Aurore that he was already a Beyonder.
• Nimrod explained that Lumian’s powers came from his special dream and that he had helped him.
• Aurore accepted Lumian’s choice to become a Beyonder and asked whether they would escape during Lent or sabotage the celebration.

Nimrod, Aurore, and Lumian decided to attack the Father of the Parish and the other cultists to stop the ritual during Lent. Nimrod sent Lumian to contact the official Beyonders and identify the Spring Elf, while they planned to set traps that night.

• Nimrod argued that they should kill the ritual’s organizers, beginning with the Father of the Parish, rather than merely disrupt Lent or flee.
• Aurore agreed to attack the Father of the Parish the next day, but Lumian noticed she seemed distracted and asked if she was hearing the Hidden Sage’s ravings again.
• Nimrod told Aurore to rest while he and Lumian prepared traps and searched for the official Beyonders who had come to investigate.
• Nimrod reflected that he had displaced the Celestial Worthy’s will and trapped it within his spirit body, while fate continued to force the Celestial Worthy’s assimilation with Klein back into place.
• Nimrod asked Lumian to inform the three official Beyonders about Lent, find out who would be the Spring Elf and where the celebration would take place, and meet him at midnight to set traps.

Nimrod and Lumian prepared to disrupt the Lent ritual by setting traps and occult explosives around the village, while Nimrod warned Lumian that the ritual might hold hidden dangers. After Lumian fell asleep, Nimrod spoke with the Celestial Worthy in Sefirah Castle, who suspected Nimrod had glimpsed the future.

• Nimrod watched the Governor's Mansion and reviewed the stages of the Lent celebration, which would end with the Spring Elf being killed.
• Lumian reported that he had set traps in the mountains and by the river, avoiding the church to keep their plans hidden.
• Nimrod and Lumian placed concealed occult explosives beside the church, using gray mist to hide the arrays from the priest in the dream.
• Nimrod told Lumian to rest and prepare to act during the next day's celebration, while admitting he could not yet understand the ritual's full secrets.
• After Lumian fell asleep, Nimrod entered Sefirah Castle and discussed the dream with the Celestial Worthy, who asked whether Nimrod had seen something belonging to the future.

Nimrod struck a bargain with the Celestial Worthy to help him become a Pillar, then coordinated with Lumian and Aurore to attack the Father of the Parish during Lent. After Lumian left for the church, Nimrod used dream power to clear Aurore’s mind, and she began to recognize that something was wrong.

• Nimrod proposed an alliance with the Celestial Worthy, who agreed to help him ascend to a Pillar in exchange for excluding God Almighty from the new world.
• Nimrod and Lumian prepared to attack the Father of the Parish and his followers during Lent, with Lumian assigned to hold off the other enemies.
• Nimrod explained that the Demoness pathway was adjacent to Hunter, and Lumian silently regretted considering a switch.
• Lumian left to attend Lent as usual while Nimrod planned to enter the church and detonate the traps once Guillaume Bénet emerged.
• Nimrod spread gray fog through the Cordu Village Dream, clearing Aurore’s dazed state and asking her to voice her suspicions.

Nimrod met Aurore inside a hidden layer of Lumian’s dream and offered to repair her soul fragment and restore her past self in exchange for Lumian’s future help. After Aurore accepted and asked Nimrod not to hurt her brother, she forgot their conversation and joined the blessing procession with Lumian.

• Nimrod used Sefirah Castle’s power to speak with Aurore in a dream layer that Lumian could not detect.
• Nimrod offered to restore Aurore’s past self if she agreed that Lumian would call him Godfather and perform tasks for him in the future.
• Aurore accepted Nimrod’s offer and asked him to do his best not to hurt Lumian.
• The dream conversation faded from Aurore’s memory, and she returned to her usual role in the Lent festivities.
• Aurore joined Ava and Lumian in the blessing procession, joking with Lumian as they went.

Lumian’s traps disrupted the Blessing Pilgrimage, but the procession reached the church, where Guillaume Bénet arrived and ordered the Spring Elf sent away. As Pierre Berry attacked Ava, Nimrod emerged from her body and unleashed the power of the Fool’s seal.

• Raymond stumbled near Lumian’s trap, uncovered it, and accidentally revealed that it lay ahead of him and Ava.
• Lumian covered up his traps by claiming a hunter had failed to clear them, and the procession continued to the riverside ritual and then the church.
• Guillaume Bénet entered the church with Pierre Berry and ordered the Spring Elf sent away.
• Lumian attacked Pierre Berry, but Pierre dodged and swung his axe at Ava.
• Nimrod emerged from Ava’s body, blocked Pierre’s axe with his scythe, and restored his unfinished legs and feet.
• Nimrod put on a monocle, took on the gray mist of the Fool’s seal, traced an inverted cross, and filled the church with points of light.

Nimrod and Lumian defeated Pierre Berry and Guillaume Bénet, but Lumian found Aurore with blood-red eyes before Nimrod sent him back in time. Lumian awoke on March 29, 1358, the day before everything began, and discovered that Aurore did not know who Nimrod was.

• Nimrod shattered the Sun Holy Emblem and killed Pierre Berry while healing Ava's wounds.
• Nimrod restrained Guillaume Bénet, and Lumian killed him with a punch despite the agony in his mind.
• Lumian saw Aurore with blood-red eyes, and Nimrod told him there was still a chance to turn things around.
• Nimrod pressed a hand to Aurore's head and spoke strange phrases, causing Lumian to black out.
• Lumian awoke in his room on March 29, 1358, and found that Aurore was alive but did not know who Nimrod was.

Lumian learned from Nimrod that powerful beings had deliberately created his twelve-day loop and that Aurore's death might not be inevitable, then resolved to investigate the dream's secrets. Back in his room, Nimrod reflected on his actions and the progress he had made as a Mystery Pryer before Mr. Z arrived to treat his injuries.

• Lumian asked Nimrod whether his experience had been a dream and whether the loop could be resolved, and Nimrod offered him a dream to live out the rest of his life.
• Nimrod told Lumian that powerful beings had deliberately brought about the loop to shape him into a tool, and Lumian asked how they could break it.
• Nimrod urged Lumian to explore the dream's secrets, while Lumian acknowledged that Nimrod was the only one who had explained what was happening.
• Nimrod returned to his room and noted that injuries from the dream had carried over, with the burns from Little Scythe remaining unrepaired.
• Nimrod reviewed how he had disrupted the loop and concluded that discovering and solving mysteries had advanced his Mystery Pryer digestion.
• Mr. Z knocked on Nimrod's door and offered to treat his injuries.

Nimrod learned that the True Creator had mistakenly blessed him after Adam’s intervention, then recovered and reorganized the Aurora Order’s plans. The chapter ended with Nimrod assigning Mr. Z to watch Lanevus because he was connected to the Lord’s descent.

• Mr. Z praised the True Creator and used shadows and Flesh Magic to heal Nimrod’s burns.
• The Celestial Worthy told Nimrod that the True Creator had spoken to Sefirah Castle and said, “Well done.”
• Nimrod questioned Mr. Z’s decisions and redirected the Aurora Order toward finding specific recruits who could provide operating funds.
• Nimrod ordered Mr. Z to personally watch Lanevus, explaining that Lanevus was connected to the Lord’s descent.

Nimrod used the True Creator’s descent to burden Ince Zangwill with a difficult choice, then wrote to Saint Tenebrous Kisma with proposals for reforming the Aurora Order. He began a ritual to summon a messenger, and the candle flames surged as the ritual took effect.

• Nimrod arranged for Mr. Z to handle the matter involving Lanevus, hoping to complicate Ince Zangwill’s plans through the connection to the True Creator’s descent.
• Nimrod wrote Saint Tenebrous Kisma a letter proposing changes to the Aurora Order and praising the True Creator.
• The Celestial Worthy proposed using the True Creator’s ravings and Sefirah Castle to contact and awaken the True Creator, but Nimrod refused to let him control Sefirah Castle.
• Nimrod prepared a messenger-summoning ritual and recited its incantation.
• Grayish-white mist rose around Nimrod, and the candle flames surged into a funnel as the ritual began.

Nimrod held a recruitment fair for spirit-world messengers and secured the angel-level Animated Void as his messenger. The Animated Void delivered his letter to Saint Tenebrous Kisma, interrupting Kisma and Botis as they discussed the being preventing their return to Tingen.

• Nimrod watched spirit-world creatures gather to compete for the chance to become his messenger, but the weaker creatures fled under the pressure.
• Nimrod asked the Animated Void to become his messenger, and it agreed without requesting payment.
• Nimrod signed a contract with the Animated Void and gave it a revised summoning incantation.
• Nimrod told the Animated Void to deliver a letter to Saint Tenebrous Kisma, and it disappeared with the letter.
• Kisma and Botis discussed the being preventing them from returning to Tingen and speculated about the Lord's emissary.
• The Animated Void emerged through their secrecy, handed Kisma the letter, and left Kisma to conclude that the being simply could not be bothered with them.

Nimrod visited the Evil Dragon Bar to find the underground trading market and pursue Tris, an Aurora Order Beyonder wanted in Tingen City. After using Thought Disruption to persuade the bartender to help him, Nimrod followed the directions to the market.

• Nimrod entered the Evil Dragon Bar and asked the bartender about the underground trading market.
• Nimrod used Thought Disruption and praised Swain and the Lord of Storms to win the bartender's trust.
• The bartender told Nimrod how to reach the underground trading market through the billiard room behind the boxing ring.
• Nimrod took the bartender's wallet, left two banknotes in it, and followed the directions.
• The bartender counted the money and wondered why his wallet and cash seemed different.

Nimrod met Ademisaul at a hidden occult market and used a glimpse of his monstrous form to gain the half-Monster’s trust. He offered to teach Ademisaul to control his Beyonder powers and left him with a deadline to seek help before Nimrod departed that night.

• Nimrod entered the hidden market and recognized Ademisaul, a half-Monster of the Wheel of Fortune Pathway.
• Nimrod asked the Celestial Worthy how Ademisaul could sense Sefirah Castle and learned that the Key of Light was a fragment of the Original Creator.
• Nimrod shook Ademisaul awake and used Thought Interference and illusions to keep nearby people from noticing them.
• Nimrod briefly revealed a grotesque shadow to Ademisaul, terrifying him with a glimpse of the kind of horrors he had seen in visions.
• Nimrod offered to teach Ademisaul to control his Beyonder powers and told him to come find him before he left that night.

Nimrod recruited the troubled Ademisaul for the Aurora Order while pursuing Tris and finishing his potion digestion. He left Ademisaul questioning the Church of Storms’ claim that it lacked a suitable Fate pathway potion.

• Nimrod finished digesting the Marauder beyonder characteristic and went looking for Tris.
• The Celestial Worthy identified a young man as a possible resurrection contingency connected to the Primordial Demoness and God Almighty.
• Nimrod stole Tris’s wallet and replaced it with a message as Tris fled the underground trading venue.
• Nimrod summoned his messenger and brought himself and Ademisaul to the Aurora Order.
• Nimrod introduced himself as Mr. L and recruited Ademisaul, arguing that the Church of Storms had Fate pathway potion formulas but had concealed them.

Nimrod persuaded Ademisaul to join the Aurora Order and arranged for Mr. Z to guide him. Meanwhile, Klein asked Dunn to consider seeking information about Tris from Mr. L, but Dunn warned him about trusting an Aurora Order Oracle.

• Nimrod told Ademisaul that the Aurora Order would protect him and invited him to stay, and Ademisaul agreed despite his fears.
• Nimrod told Mr. Z that Ademisaul had high spiritual perception and should not yet listen to the Lord's grace, so Mr. Z took him to read the doctrine and eat.
• Klein learned from Dunn that the attempt to capture Tris had failed after Tris vanished on Iron Cross Street.
• Klein suggested asking Mr. L for information about Tris, but Dunn warned him that the Aurora Order was a violent evil-god cult.
• Klein swore that he wanted Tris captured quickly to protect his family in Tingen.

Klein joined the Nighthawks’ mission to seize the Antigonus Family Notebook, but Sealed Artifact 2-049 controlled him during the battle. He escaped the puppet’s control by reaching the gray fog, then returned to find Nimrod had intervened and vanished.

• Dunn told Klein that Crestet Cesimir would review him and Daly Simone would help investigate the True Creator’s Descent of God incident, then assigned Klein to the mission involving 2-049.
• Klein accompanied the Nighthawks to Ray Bieber’s hideout, where the Tuxedo Clown fled and the team extracted the Antigonus Family Notebook from Ray’s monstrous body.
• The cracked box released 2-049’s influence, and Klein began reciting the incantation to reach the gray fog and free himself from its control.
• Nimrod heard the Celestial Worthy mock Klein for being controlled by a Marionettist and decided to help him.
• Klein returned to his body and saw Nimrod knock him aside, leaving Dunn, Al Hassen, and the other Nighthawks down while the Tuxedo Clown confronted Nimrod.
• The Tuxedo Clown identified Nimrod as Mr. L of the Aurora Order, but Nimrod ignored him and vanished.

Nimrod killed the Tuxedo Clown with 2-049, then took the artifact and confronted Leonard about the presence of Pallez Zoroast. He warned Leonard that the events in Tingen City involved Amon’s brother before disappearing.

• Nimrod used 2-049 to kill the Tuxedo Clown, whose thoughts and movements had been suppressed.
• Nimrod pulled 2-049 into a patch of gray fog and told Klein they would discuss his secrets another time.
• Klein woke Dunn and explained that Nimrod had taken 2-049; Dunn chose to observe rather than intervene.
• Nimrod identified Leonard as Pallez Zoroast and warned him that the events in Tingen City were connected to Amon’s brother.
• After Nimrod disappeared, Pallez told Leonard to shut up while their colleagues watched.

After Nimrod escaped with '2-049,' Dunn reassured the injured Nighthawks, while Nimrod reflected on how his intervention had disrupted Ince Zangwill’s plans and prepared him for the remaining loops of the fated timeline. Back at the Aurora Order’s base, Nimrod questioned the Celestial Worthy about his connection to Sefirah Castle and considered using his apparent status as a Great Old One to influence the Evernight Goddess.

• Dunn retrieved the Antigonus Family's notebook, accepted responsibility for explaining the loss of '2-049,' and told Klein he had done nothing wrong.
• Leonard began to report something to Dunn, but Dunn postponed the conversation until they returned.
• Nimrod assessed the gains from his encounter with the Nighthawks and planned to digest his Mystery Pryer potion before preparing to advance to Fire Thief.
• The Celestial Worthy told Nimrod that Sefirah Castle gave him Great Old One-like status but that his low Sequence limited his access to its power.
• Nimrod argued that the Evernight Goddess might approach him cautiously if she mistook him for a pillar, and he resolved to determine the depth of his connection to Sefirah Castle.
• Nimrod used the Animated Void to retrieve a letter while the Celestial Worthy mocked him for not collecting it himself.

At Blackthorn Security Company, Crestet Cesimir reviewed Klein Moretti’s condition and approved him as a full Nighthawk, recognizing his role in the Antigonus Family Notebook incident. The Cathedral also ordered Klein to deepen his contact with the Aurora Order and report on Mr. L’s plans, then Crestet prepared to have him swear an oath before the Goddess’s holy relic.

• Crestet told Klein that the Aurora Order possessed formidable strength and that Mr. L held a high position within it.
• Crestet used Beyonder methods to test Klein, found no signs of corruption, and praised his control over his potion.
• Klein explained that Miss Daly’s experiences and a maxim from Mr. Neil had inspired his approach to potion mastery.
• Crestet recorded Klein’s performance and said he could apply to the Cathedral for the next Sequence potion when the time came.
• Crestet appointed Klein a full member of the Nighthawks in recognition of his contribution to the Antigonus Family Notebook incident.
• Crestet assigned Klein to deepen his contact with Mr. L and investigate the Aurora Order, then drew the Goddess’s Sword and prepared him to swear an oath.

Klein passed his review and swore an oath to the Evernight Goddess, then learned that Daly Simone had been transferred back to Tingen and that Dunn’s team had been assigned to stop the True Creator’s descent. The chapter ended with Daly offering to teach Klein mysticism.

• Klein swore an oath to the Evernight Goddess and passed Crestet’s review.
• Crestet transferred Daly Simone from Enmat Harbor back to the Tingen City Nighthawks team.
• Crestet assigned Dunn Smith to use Klein’s contact with the Aurora Order to prevent the True Creator’s descent, while warning the team to monitor Klein after every exchange with Mr. L.
• Daly returned with Dunn and Klein to Dunn’s office, where Dunn praised Klein’s progress mastering his potion.
• Daly offered to guide Klein into the mystical world, and Klein agreed.