Chapter Summaries

Edward learned from Bernadette’s prophecy that a devastating disaster would strike Backlund on the day he was originally due to be attacked, and agreed to translate Roselle’s Diary in exchange for her help. He began gathering support to face Botis and the looming crisis.

• Bernadette prophesied that a disaster would befall Backlund’s East Borough and revealed that preventing it was tied to her advancement.
• Edward agreed to translate Roselle’s Diary in exchange for Bernadette helping him through the crisis.
• After Bernadette left, Lilith offered to help Edward, and he decided to gather reinforcements for the fight against Botis.
• Edward gave Black Bird his feathers in exchange for its help with Spirit World Traversal, then asked which pathway it belonged to.

Edward learned that the Black Bird might be connected to the Phoenix Pathway, then met with Klein to discuss the stolen Card of Blasphemy and Bernadette. Edward warned Klein that a catastrophe might soon strike Backlund and could involve the Aurora Order or the Demoness Church.

• Edward asked the Black Bird to arrange a meeting with its Headless Friend and learned he could summon it by silently reciting the last line of the incantation.
• Mr. Fool told Edward that the stolen bookmark was a Card of Blasphemy made by Roselle, and Audrey learned the Tarot Club had gained one.
• Edward met Klein at 13 Minsk Street, explained that he recognized Klein by his eyes, and told him that Bernadette was the Sequence 3 Saint he had encountered.
• Edward and Klein discussed Bernadette's belief that Roselle was alive and her suspicion that the thief had a connection to Roselle.
• Edward asked to borrow the Black Emperor Card and warned Klein that Bernadette had prophesied a catastrophe in Backlund, possibly connected to the Aurora Order or the Demoness Church.

Edward borrowed the Black Emperor Card of Blasphemy from Mr. Fool and copied two abilities to prepare for hunting Botis, a Saint of Secrets. He recruited Mr. A for the hunt and began a deliberately obvious plan to use himself as bait, while the chapter ended with Klein at the Quelaag Club.

• Edward used [Bookworm Moth] on the Black Emperor card to acquire [Amplification] and [Distortion], then tested their effects and considered how they could help him hunt Botis.
• Edward told Audrey that Queen Mystic Bernadette might have mistaken him for Emperor Roselle, then said he was going to meet Mr. A and prepare to hunt Botis.
• Edward asked Mr. A to help hunt Botis and proposed using himself as bait; Mr. A agreed after considering the plan.
• Edward laid out a plan to operate in the East Borough and Bridge Borough, expose his identity, and have the Aurora Order leak information so Botis would be drawn out.
• Klein, now a full member of the Quelaag Club, had made friends there including Talim Dumont and Aaron Ceres.

Klein heard about Talim’s transformed friend and Aaron’s increasingly abnormal good luck, which seemed to have begun after he adopted Will. Meanwhile, Edward and Mr. A’s trap drew Botis into a battle, where Bernadette joined the attack and Edward blocked Botis’s attempted escape, though Reinette Tinekerr failed to appear.

• Talim asked Klein to investigate a friend who had abruptly abandoned one passionate love for another, but Klein withdrew after learning the friend was a prince.
• Aaron told Klein that his extraordinary run of good fortune began after he adopted Will, and Will warned Klein that his luck might not be good.
• Botis discussed using himself as bait to confront the person he had been ordered to hunt.
• Edward and Mr. A waited in an abandoned factory for Botis, with Edward holding the Leymano's Travel Notes and offering Botis one last chance.
• Botis attacked with the Box of the Great Old Ones, but Mr. A and Edward countered; Saint Tenebrous Kisma charged Mr. A while Bernadette appeared to strike Botis with a deadly spear.
• Edward prohibited Botis from teleporting away, but realized that Reinette Tinekerr had not arrived as planned.

Edward and his allies fought Botis and Saint Tenebrous Kisma, with Azik and Reinette intervening against powerful enemies. Edward nearly defeated Botis, but a masked Half-God disrupted him, and Reinette enclosed him in a puzzle-like box as Botis opened the Box of the Great Old Ones.

• Bernadette vanished with Katarina Pelle into a Peach Blossom Spring while Botis prepared to keep fighting.
• Kisma attacked Edward, but Mr. A interrupted him, and Azik rescued Edward from the man in the white shirt before trapping that man in the Spirit World.
• Botis unleashed a barrage of attacks across the factory, but Edward survived with The Emperor's New Clothes and silenced Botis before wounding him with spells.
• A masked Half-God influenced Edward and stopped him from summoning the Spear of Longinus, but the messenger bird and Reinette helped him break free.
• The masked person released a dragon-like storm as Botis opened the Box of the Great Old Ones, and Reinette enclosed Edward in a three-colored puzzle box.

Edward survived the hunt for Botis after the Box of the Great Old Ones expelled him, and Bernadette took the box with Botis trapped inside. Back at the Hall Earl Family villa, Edward recounted the battle to Audrey, who worried over how often he faced deadly threats.

• Edward realized he was unafraid of cosmic corruption, and the Box of the Great Old Ones spat him and the cube out before he could use the Spear of Longinus.
• Reinette helped Edward defeat Botis, who was trapped inside the box and began turning into a toy.
• Edward summoned Azik's and Bernadette's messengers, paid Reinette 10,000 pounds, and agreed to trade Bernadette three stories for help finding a Polymath Beyonder Characteristic.
• Bernadette took the box and said she had her own way to deal with Botis, then left to organize diary entries for Edward to translate.
• Mr. A and Kisma continued fighting until Orthodox Church members arrived, and both men teleported away.
• Edward returned to the Hall Earl Family villa and told Audrey about the hunt, prompting her to worry about the repeated dangers he faced.

After surviving Botis, Edward planned to attend the coming Pirate Gathering to seek Beyonder Characteristics and find Helene, a Sauron descendant, while waiting for news from Bernadette. He summoned Danitz to guide him at sea, and Danitz’s crew wondered why their captain had sent him to follow a stranger.

• Edward returned to his villa, reassured Lilith after describing the danger he faced, and considered exchanging Botis’s head for Abraham family potion formulas once he heard from Bernadette.
• Alger told Edward that the Pirate Gathering was approaching, prompting Edward to plan to search for useful Beyonder Characteristics and meet Helene aboard Tracy’s ship.
• Edward wrote to Danitz, offering help with his Sequence 7 potion digestion and the Sequence 6 formula in exchange for guiding him, then sent the message with his messenger bird.
• The messenger bird told Edward it might grow stronger by staying with him, and Edward gave it Leymano’s Travel Notes to return to Lawrence.
• Aboard the Golden Dream, Danitz boasted to the crew about his role in the Governor’s Mansion raid, and they teased him about his bounty and questioned why the captain had sent him to follow a stranger.

Danitz received Edward’s invitation and returned to Backlund, where he visited the Harvest Church and discovered Emlyn’s contradictory feelings toward him. As the Pirate Gathering approached, Alger received Mr. Tower’s items, while Fors began losing control during the full moon and called on The Fool for help.

• Danitz received Edward’s letter, and Edwina told him he could refuse but urged him to consider whether Edward could help him digest his potion.
• Danitz visited the Harvest Church, where Father Utravsky said Emlyn felt both gratitude and hatred toward him; Emlyn learned Danitz had been there and demanded to confront him.
• Alger received three storage pouches and a Suitcase through an Illusory Door, then restrained his curiosity about the Suitcase.
• Fors suffered severe full-moon ravings and, fearing she would lose control, recited the invocation to The Fool that Edward had given her.

Edward met Alger at Dead Volcano Island and joined the Pirate Gathering to seek Beyonder Characteristics. Vice Admiral of Ailment Tracy sensed something important about Edward and became suspicious, leaving him determined to act first.

• Edward stepped out of the Suitcase aboard the Blue Revenge and introduced himself to Alger as Mr. The Tower.
• Edward told Alger he had forty thousand pounds to spend on defensive and offensive Beyonder Characteristics, including one effective against Half-Gods.
• Alger and Danitz explained the Pirate Gathering’s outer and inner sessions as they walked toward the Black Palace.
• Tracy arrived aboard the Black Death, sensed something important near Edward, and asked whether he had recently obtained anything.
• Edward resisted Tracy’s charm, and after she left, he realized she suspected him and decided to strike first.

Edward tried to obtain Red-Haired Helene’s blood from the Black Death but learned Tracy had taken her in a storage bag. At the Pirate Gathering, Seniors exposed Edward as Gehrman Sparrow and attacked Danitz, prompting Edward to fight back as the pirates watched.

• Edward secretly boarded the Black Death and learned from a crewman that Tracy had stored Red-Haired Helene in a Beyonder Characteristic bag and taken her along.
• Edward left the ship, while Danitz registered Edward’s requested Beyonder ingredients at the Black Palace and worried that he had paid for them himself.
• Seniors possessed Danitz and forced him to choke himself, but Edward arrived and expelled Seniors from Danitz’s body.
• Seniors attacked Edward, then announced that he was Gehrman Sparrow, drawing the attention of the pirates gathered nearby.
• Seniors fled deeper into the palace, but Edward distorted his direction, stole his thoughts, and cast Avada Kedavra.

Edward escaped Seniors, then returned to the Pirate Gathering, where he encountered Verdu, who no longer remembered him and wore a Monocle. The gathering was interrupted by reports of a massive fire and explosions at the pier.

• Edward defeated Seniors's zombies and escaped with Danitz, who proposed burning Seniors's pirate ship to get revenge.
• Edward gave Danitz a Leather Pouch and sent him to scout Seniors's ship, while Seniors summoned Shanks for help dealing with Edward.
• Edward returned to the High-End Gathering and found several Pirate Admirals present, but no Seniors.
• Verdu arrived, failed to recognize Edward, and put on a Monocle while listening to information about the Sunken Laurel.
• Edward tried to leave after Verdu asked if he was afraid, but explosions erupted at the pier and attendees were told the area was engulfed in fire.

Danitz’s attempt to burn Senior’s fleet ignited the harbor and completed his Pyromaniac potion digestion, while Edward pursued Verdu and then captured Tracy. Edward traded the promise of restoring Tracy’s male form for her cooperation and took Red-Haired Helene from her Leather Pouch.

• Danitz set off the Leather Pouch Edward had given him, causing flames to spread across the harbor and burn ships, including the Golden Dream; the event completed his Pyromaniac potion digestion.
• Edward spotted Verdu searching for information about the Sunken Laurel and wondered whether the ship’s bow he had seen in Bansy had become Medici’s altar.
• Senior extinguished the fire consuming his fleet, while Tracy ordered her ships out of the harbor and went to a deserted spot with Helene’s Leather Pouch.
• Edward tried to control Tracy with the Imperius Curse, but she broke free, detected him, and fought back before he bound her with chains.
• Edward told Tracy he could help her become a man again in exchange for information about the Demoness Church, and she agreed to consider the bargain.
• Edward took Helene out of the Leather Pouch, and she confirmed that her father belonged to Intis’s former royal Sauron Family.

Edward took Helene away from Tracy, found the despondent Danitz, and returned with them to the Golden Dream, which survived the fire. He repaired the ship with a Mending Charm, but the crew revealed that Seniors had brutally tortured Little Carlo and used Spirit Channeling to learn Danitz's identity.

• Edward collected Helene's blood, asked Tracy to consider his proposal, and left with Helene as Tracy vowed to regain her manhood and seek revenge.
• Edward found Danitz on Dead Volcano Island and convinced him that the Golden Dream had survived the fire.
• Edward, Danitz, and Helene boarded the Golden Dream, where the crew initially aimed their weapons at Edward before Danitz introduced him as a friend.
• Edward apologized for the fire and used a Mending Charm to restore the Golden Dream, astonishing the crew.
• Danitz asked about Little Carlo, and Bru Walls explained that Seniors had crushed the boy's bones while controlling the spirits of his dead parents, then used Spirit Channeling on him.

Edward arranged help for Little Carlo and recruited allies to hunt Seniors, whose fleet followed the Golden Dream into an ambush. Edward burned the fleet but faced a dangerous counterattack, while Edwina eliminated pirates through imitated Wraith possession.

• Danitz offered Edward his Bayam properties to kill Seniors, and Edward offered Skele-Gro to regrow Little Carlo's missing bones.
• Edward recruited Tracy to hunt Seniors alongside Edwina.
• Seniors followed the Golden Dream to capture Edwina and lure Gehrman into a trap, overlooking Edward's fire abilities because of his pendant's bad luck.
• Edward attacked invisibly from a Flying Broomstick and set Seniors's fleet ablaze with Fiendfyre.
• Seniors and Eld counterattacked with spiritual abilities and cannon fire, forcing Edward to transform into an Obscurus to survive.
• Edward began regaining his reason after fighting Seniors's spirits, while Edwina emerged from a pirate she had killed using imitated Wraith possession.

Edward fought Seniors at sea and took his luck-enhancing pendant, but Shanks, a Rose School Sequence 4 Half-God, arrived and overwhelmed him. Trapped and nearly out of spirituality, Edward used the pendant and began stealing Shanks’s abilities.

• Seniors used Ice Arrows and Mirror Flash to evade Edward until Edwina disrupted his flashing, allowing Edward to trap him in Obscurus form and Fiendfyre.
• Two Wraith Spirits recognized Seniors as their killer, attacked him, and caused him to fall, while Edward summoned and pocketed the pendant.
• Shanks emerged from the Spirit World, wounded Edward through a curse, and repeatedly pursued him as Edward escaped between ships.
• Shanks possessed Edward and brought out a Little Man linked to Suah, preventing Edward from using Apparition and making escape more dangerous.
• Edward used Unrestrained and amplified spells to break Shanks’s possession and curses, then tried to steal Shanks’s thoughts and Mirror Flash.

Edward escaped Shanks after Ouroboros intervened and returned the Little Man, then Ouroboros followed Will's Paper Crane to Dead Volcano Island. There, Verdu encountered Anderson Hood, who offered to help him leave the island by boat.

• Edward lost control of his broom, fell into the sea, and watched Shanks flee after the Little Man transformed him and drove him toward losing control.
• Ouroboros appeared, took the Little Man from Shanks, and gave it to Edward before following Will's Paper Crane away.
• Edward put the Little Man in his Leather Pouch and slapped himself to overcome his urge to wait for Ouroboros.
• Ouroboros followed the Paper Crane to Dead Volcano Island, where he met a man wearing a Monocle and then disappeared.
• The man wearing a Monocle, later identified as Verdu, went to the pier seeking a way to reach the Battlefield of the Gods but found only corpses and wreckage.
• Anderson Hood introduced himself to Verdu as the strongest Pirate Hunter at sea and offered to build a boat with him.

Edward escaped Ouroboros and returned to Backlund, where Will explained the fate of his broken Pendant and the danger and usefulness of the doll. After learning that Seniors had drowned and receiving his Beyonder Characteristic, Edward headed to meet the Medici Trinity.

• Seniors drowned after a backlash at sea, and Edwina helped the Golden Dream crew credit his defeat to Little Carlo.
• Edward reached Saint Samuel Church in Backlund, then visited Will, who said the broken Pendant could not be repaired and warned that the doll could reveal Edward's location to Ouroboros after use.
• Will gave Edward another Paper Crane, while puzzling over a strange change in Ouroboros's aura.
• The Messenger Bird reported that Danitz and the Golden Dream were safe, delivered Seniors's Wraith Beyonder Characteristic, and relayed where the Bayam property deed was hidden.
• Edward decided to visit the Medici Trinity and appeared underground at 8 Williams Street.

Edward agreed to find a direct descendant of Einhorn in exchange for the Card of Blasphemy, while Audrey investigated a dragon’s call in Hedrak Village and discovered that Anna was changing in mysterious ways. The chapter ended with Edward wondering whether a Sequence 1 Author had caused Anna’s transformation.

• Edward gave Medici Helene’s blood and agreed to find blood from a direct descendant of Einhorn so the three prisoners could escape their seal.
• A drunk man at 29 Sivillas Street woke, seemed to understand something, and left his home.
• Audrey flew to Hedrak Village with Lilith, Susie, and Anna, where dragon worship and a nursery rhyme led her to suspect that a Mind Dragon was hiding in the collective subconscious.
• Anna chose to remain in the village, and Audrey agreed to hide her suitcase nearby in case of danger.
• Audrey told Edward that Anna had gained mental communication and other abilities after sensing a call from one of her kind.
• Edward wondered whether a Sequence 1 Author had used writing to cause Anna’s transformation.

Edward was tricked by Medici, who escaped the Underground Palace and took control of Edward’s body. As they walked through the night, the Trinity grew curious about Edward’s abilities and revealed that Medici could make the vanished Card of Blasphemy reappear.

• Raft Pound entered the Underground Palace with blood and holy water, intending to restore the Tudor Family, and found Edward waiting there.
• Medici admitted he distrusted Adam, then sent the genuine Card of Blasphemy toward Edward.
• Medici revealed that he had escaped without completing the ritual, took the Card of Blasphemy back, and seized control of Edward’s body.
• The Trinity discovered Edward was only a Sequence 7 Astrologer and questioned how he had shown abilities beyond his Sequence.
• Edward asked where Medici had hidden the Card of Blasphemy, and Medici made it reappear in Edward’s raised hand.

Edward tried to stop the Medici Trinity from finding a host, but they detected Priscilla and possessed her after he brought her to safety. A mark of the Gate to the Underworld appeared and vanished on Priscilla’s forehead, leaving her unsure whether she had heard a voice.

• The Medici Trinity demanded a suitable body, and Edward offered his Messenger Bird before admitting he had summoned powerful allies.
• The spirits sensed a suitable host in Green Cemetery and found Priscilla digging a grave; Edward recognized her as his friend.
• Medici revealed he had noticed Edward’s feelings for Priscilla, then the Trinity was ejected from Edward and appeared beside her.
• Edward took Priscilla to Azik, who checked her for danger, while Edward returned home.
• The Medici Trinity revealed it had secretly possessed Priscilla, but a mark of the Gate to the Underworld flashed on her forehead and disappeared.