Chapter Summaries

Fors left Dorian and encountered Emlyn heading to sea with Danitz, while Emlyn resolved to fight the apocalypse after receiving a revelation from Lilith. In the past, Edward investigated Henry’s family after Dubois unexpectedly digested his potion, and discovered that Henry’s son Will drew the Wheel of Fortune before asking to use the bathroom.

• Fors left Dorian and went to the station, where she saw Emlyn with Danitz and imagined them as characters in a vampire love story.
• Emlyn boarded a ship with Danitz, privately determined to help fight the apocalypse after receiving a revelation from Lilith.
• Dubois told Edward he had digested his Spectator potion and chose to gather information about the King of Intis in exchange for Sequence 8 ingredients.
• Dubois brought Edward gemstones, and Edward went to Henry’s family’s spice shop to investigate the boy who might have affected Dubois’s potion digestion.
• Edward gave Will a tarot reading, and Will drew the Wheel of Fortune before telling his mother he needed to pee.

Edward met Will Auceptin, learned that Will was seeking the male Wheel of Fortune die and that Lilith had survived her apparent death, then returned home with a Paper Crane. The next morning, Bernadette asked him to rescue her from early lessons, while Pallez reported finding a descendant of the Abraham Family.

• Edward met Will Auceptin at a restaurant, and Will drew a blank Tarot card for him that showed no past or future.
• Will told Edward that Lilith had survived and explained that she possessed a female die, while the male die he wanted was still missing.
• Edward asked Will for a Paper Crane to use for contact, and Will folded one before Mrs. Henry caught him sneaking out for ice cream.
• Edward reflected that his meeting with Will had nearly digested his Secrets Sorcerer potion and advanced the digestion of his Spirit Mage potion.
• Bernadette contacted Edward through Sefirah Castle to complain that Matilda was making her attend lessons before seven, and Edward told her to persevere.
• Pallez contacted Edward and said he had found a descendant of the Abraham Family.

Edward interrogated Benjamin Abraham about the scattered Abraham Family and used his hair to summon Mr. Door during the full moon. Mr. Door confirmed he had urged his descendants to leave the Northern Continent and asked Edward to help him return to reality, leaving Edward poised to make a request.

• Edward controlled Benjamin Abraham and learned that the Abraham Family had split over instructions to relocate, with some members planning to leave for the Southern Continent.
• Edward discovered that Benjamin knew little about the family’s current whereabouts, then took a strand of his hair and left him unaware of the encounter.
• Two days later, Edward performed a ritual on a deserted island in the Rorsted Archipelago and contacted Mr. Door.
• Mr. Door recognized a familiar aura in Edward but did not know who he was, and he said Wanderer characteristics were held by the Churches and the Abraham Family.
• Mr. Door explained that he had directed the Abraham Family to a secluded island in the Fog Sea, not the Southern Continent, and that his full-moon murmurs harmed his descendants involuntarily.
• Mr. Door asked Edward to help him return to reality, and Edward began to ask for a favor in return.

Edward struck a bargain with Mr. Door for his Uniqueness in exchange for helping him return to reality, then received information about the Planeswalker pathway. Dubois reported on King Doloren Sauron’s limited power and Roselle’s inventions, while Edward received a mysterious letter from a Spirit World Creature.

• Edward agreed to give Mr. Door a month to hide after returning in exchange for Mr. Door’s Uniqueness, and Mr. Door described the ritual needed to escape the Cosmos.
• Mr. Door gave Edward the Planeswalker formula and advancement ritual, and pointed him toward the Sonia Sea for a Wanderer Beyonder characteristic before vanishing.
• Dubois told Edward that King Doloren Sauron had gained the throne after his two older brothers died and later clashed with the nobility while promoting Roselle’s inventions.
• Dubois revealed that he had become a Telepathist and that Henry was moving into the house at 7 Rose Street, while Bernadette showed Edward her improved drawing.
• A Spirit World Creature delivered a letter to Edward, which he unfolded after Bernadette noticed the sudden cold.

Edward visited Feynapotter after Akasha’s plea for help and met Marquis Ponk, who questioned him about Progenitor Lilith and his own search for a woman named Lilith. Duke Olmer appeared and demanded that Edward compensate the Sanguine for the losses Lilith had once caused.

• Edward divined that Akasha was not in danger but that going to Feynapotter carried some risk, then traveled there after praying to himself.
• Beksong Ponk welcomed Edward and explained that his grandfather, Marquis Ponk, wanted to meet him because Akasha’s family had forced her to summon Edward.
• Marquis Ponk asked about Edward’s encounter with a Beyonder calling herself Lilith and described the Sanguine’s efforts to find their Progenitor.
• Edward questioned Marquis Ponk about the Sanguine’s role in the Fourth Epoch, then revealed he was searching for a woman named Lilith who had appeared during that era.
• Duke Olmer appeared in a coffin, introduced himself as one of the Sanguine’s Three Dukes, and demanded compensation from Edward for Lilith’s past losses to the Sanguine.

Edward learned that Lilith had impersonated the Sanguine Progenitor for centuries, then worried about how much time had changed her. After preparing for the second Misery Contest, he met privately with Intis, who offered him a Wanderer Beyonder Characteristic to guard something buried underground.

• Duke Olmer told Edward that Lilith had impersonated the Sanguine Progenitor, commanded the Sanguine for centuries, and stolen their treasures, but Edward escaped before learning when it happened.
• Duke Olmer told Marquis Punk to watch Akasha and revealed that the Sanguine had been too preoccupied with Lilith to participate in the Fourth Epoch’s events.
• Edward reflected on Lilith’s long life and wondered whether she would still be the person he remembered, then recalled her promise that they would meet again.
• Edward began preparing for the second Misery Contest while Dubois screened the villa’s employees and later complained that his friends valued his looks over his mind and soul.
• Edward attended a private meeting with Intis, denied taking the Brass Rod beneath 7 Rose Street, and accused Intis of leading him into danger.
• Intis offered Edward a Wanderer Beyonder Characteristic to guard something buried underground and keep others from taking it.

Edward agreed to guard one of seven Brass Rods for Intis, though he suspected Intis had lied about what they did and might be planning a catastrophe beneath Trier. Later, Edward met Dubois at a restaurant and told him that Marcia was a Demoness, prompting Dubois to wonder whether Roselle had also been involved with one.

• Intis told Edward that seven Brass Rods guarded against corruption beneath Trier and recruited him to guard one during a commission lasting no more than three days.
• Edward accepted after asking whether Intis could help him obtain a Dream Weaver Beyonder Characteristic from the Chief.
• Back at Sefirah Castle, Edward reasoned that the Brass Rods amplified spirituality and wondered whether Intis meant to unleash corruption on Trier, perhaps as part of a Demoness of Affliction advancement ritual.
• Edward traveled to a restaurant on Montaguet Street, where he found Dubois playing piano with a student from Intis University.
• Edward learned that Dubois had been involved with Marcia and revealed that she was a Demoness, leading Dubois to ask whether Roselle had also been with one.

Edward gathered Roselle, Medici, Pallez, and Reinette in the gray fog to hold the Second Misery Contest, where Roselle and Medici would compete by recounting their misfortunes. The contest began with Roselle insisting he had lived a fortunate life, while Pallez warned that his future would be miserable.

• Roselle received Edward’s summons and silently counted to a hundred before entering the garden in the gray fog.
• Edward’s gathering brought together Roselle, Medici, Pallez, and Reinette, and Pallez and Medici recognized each other from the Fourth Epoch.
• Edward assigned Medici the code name “Mr. Not Quite Dead” and Roselle “Mr. Failed to Live,” then explained the voting and rewards.
• Medici proposed that everyone vote for him to ensure a reward, but Edward announced that the vote would be anonymous.
• Edward opened the Second Misery Contest, and Pallez explained that Roselle and Medici had to compare their misfortunes.
• Roselle said his life had been fortunate and happy, and Pallez replied that his future must be miserable.

Edward held a Misery Contest in which Medici recounted how he had been captured and used as a potion, while Roselle learned that his future held his family’s deaths and his own ruin. Edward then showed Medici a future in which Adam captured him, provoking Medici into losing his composure as the contest continued.

• Medici described his capture by Adam, Amon, and Tudor, his transformation into an evil spirit, and how he could be freed with blood from the Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici Families.
• Edward compared Medici’s suffering with Pallez’s and Reinette’s, then asked Roselle to share his experiences.
• Roselle said his life had been satisfactory, so Edward revealed a future in which Roselle lost his wife and child, became estranged from Bernadette, and died after a failed gamble.
• Gray fog showed Roselle images of that future, leaving him shaken despite his resolve to try to change it.
• Edward showed Medici a vision of his escape ending with Adam capturing him, and Medici reacted with anger and vowed to oppose him.

Edward’s Misery Contest ended in a tie after Pallez and Reinette changed their votes, leaving Roselle and Medici without a winner’s reward. Edward instead offered each of the four one free question, though he warned that his answers might not satisfy them.

• Edward invited Roselle and Medici to make final cases for why they were more miserable, but neither spoke.
• Pallez and Reinette initially voted for Medici and Roselle respectively, while Roselle and Medici voted for themselves.
• Edward offered Pallez and Reinette a second vote, and Medici guessed that Edward was the Lord of the Mysteries.
• Edward explained that a Lord of the Mysteries would be born in the future, while his potions finished digesting as Medici believed he was that figure.
• Pallez switched his vote to Roselle and Reinette switched hers to Medici, creating a 3–3 tie and canceling the contest’s reward.
• Edward declared that each participant could ask him one free question, though he reserved the right to interpret his answers.

Edward answered Pallez, Reinette, Medici, and Roselle’s questions at a gathering, then reflected on his newly digested potions and plans for advancement. Roselle resolved to hurry his voyage after learning how his future relationship with Bernadette would end, while in 1349 Klein encountered Frank’s latest mushrooms aboard the Future.

• Pallez asked how to rescue his great-grandson from the book, and Edward said he could summon him at the cost of turning him into an evil spirit.
• Edward advised Reinette to seek the future Lord of the Mysteries or abandon the Rose School’s Temperance Faction, then told Medici the True Creator would be Him after leaving the seal.
• Edward explained that Roselle’s future madness would cause Bernadette to hate him and leave, prompting Roselle to order the Black Throne to sail day and night toward the unnamed island.
• After the gathering ended, Edward finished digesting the Secrets Sorcerer and Spirit Mage potions, chose Amplification as a solidified ability, and considered how to obtain the ingredients and rituals for advancement.
• Aboard the Future in 1349, Klein found Frank showing off new mushrooms, and suggested he develop a variety that could turn poisonous, corrupted monsters into safe food.

Klein received Audrey’s request to speak with Gehrman Sparrow, then met Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards aboard the Future and learned she could tell he was not the original Gehrman Sparrow. Edwina gave Cattleya a box for Queen Mystic, while Audrey considered traveling to find Klein; the chapter then shifted to Edward’s unsuccessful search for the Abraham Family’s hiding place in 1160.

• Klein suggested Frank invent edible mushrooms that could consume monsters’ flesh and blood, potentially solving the City of Silver’s food shortage.
• Audrey asked Mr. Fool to arrange a meeting with Mr. World, and Klein told her he was at sea and would not return to Backlund for two to three weeks.
• The Future encountered Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards’s ship, and Edwina identified Klein as someone other than the Gehrman Sparrow she knew.
• Klein explained that Gehrman Sparrow was a shared identity and told Edwina that Edward was safe, though he did not know where Edward was.
• Edwina gave Cattleya a box for Queen Mystic, and Emlyn protested when Klein asked whether he was a captive.
• Audrey considered flying her broomstick to find Klein, while Edward continued searching Midseashire for the Abraham Family’s concealed refuge without success.

Edward investigated Tarik’s renewed appearance and confronted him at Marcia’s villa, where he destroyed the doll and learned little about its plans. After Edward left, Krismona and the Demoness Sect discussed the fragments and decided that the unknown person pursuing Intis’s Brass Rod could be useful to them.

• Edward ordered the Aurora Order to continue investigating the King of Intis and learned that Tarik had appeared at Marcia’s villa.
• Edward entered the villa in Zaratul’s appearance, froze Marcia, and questioned Tarik about the Brass Rod and his plans.
• When Tarik refused to explain, Edward destroyed the doll with lightning and used Spirit Channeling on Marcia, learning that Tarik had sought cooperation with the Demoness Sect.
• Edward concluded that the King of Intis was likely still behind the events and left Marcia in place as bait.
• Marcia regained consciousness and met Krismona, who explained that Tarik had been a doll controlled by someone else.
• Krismona and the other Demoness Sect members decided not to pursue the unknown intruder, since he was also targeting Intis’s Brass Rod.

Edward provoked Intis’s royal angels while posing as Zaratul, then learned that his new commission involved guarding a dangerous Tudor relic from Krismona, a Sequence 2 Demoness of Catastrophe. Despite the overwhelming danger, he accepted the three-day assignment at 11 Aden Street in exchange for a Wanderer Beyonder Characteristic.

• Edward disguised himself as Zaratul, showed the Brass Rod to two royal angels at the palace, and escaped after summoning Kottman to unleash lightning.
• Edward returned home, sent the sleeping Bernadette to bed, and divined that the doll parts came from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery but could not identify their controller.
• Intis summoned Edward to the Corpse Cathedral and told him the commission would begin the next day and last three days at 11 Aden Street.
• Intis explained that Edward must delay anyone trying to retrieve a dangerous Tudor relic and could flee with it if he could not hold them off.
• Edward learned that the enemy was Krismona, a traitorous Sequence 2 Demoness of Catastrophe, but accepted the commission despite being Sequence 4.

Edward retrieved a Brass Rod from a house in Trier and concealed a replacement while waiting for a Demoness to arrive. Hunter found him first, and the two discussed their plans to flee and the secrets hidden beneath Trier.

• Bernadette asked Edward to take her to see her father, and he agreed to bring her after three days; she gave him a pastry she had made.
• Edward found a family living at the designated house on 11 Aden Street, sent them to an inn, concealed the building, and replaced the buried Brass Rod with a fake.
• Edward waited at the house for a day, expecting a Demoness to come for the rod.
• Hunter arrived and revealed he had found Edward and the other assigned watchers, including Demoness and Coward.
• Edward and Hunter agreed they would flee to the Church if the Demoness appeared, then discussed Intis and the treasures beneath Trier left by the Tudor Dynasty.

Edward learned that Hunter had died in a Market Borough explosion and continued working with Intis despite the danger, while Coward quit the commission. The chapter ended with Edward suspecting Hunter had been killed too quietly to have faced the Demoness of Catastrophe as Intis described.

• Hunter left Edward after hinting that he might help turn against Intis, then sent a letter to Tony Twain before a figure in Blood-Red Armor killed him in an explosion.
• Edward read that forty-five people had died in a supposed gas explosion and suspected it was connected to the brass rods.
• Intis told the Twilight Hermit Order members that Hunter was dead and warned that other factions were pursuing the brass rods; Coward quit, while Edward, Demoness, and Wisdom stayed.
• Coward left the meeting and was surrounded by residents wearing monocles, who identified him as a descendant of the Jacob Family; he recognized Amon.
• Edward realized Hunter had died without sending a distress signal and questioned whether the attack matched Intis's warning about the Demoness of Catastrophe.

Edward waited for the attack on the Brass Rod and helped Coward escape a Demoness who was hunting him. After Coward handed over the rod, Edward returned it to Krismona, then went back to a street where the Machinery Hivemind was responding to the deaths caused by the Demoness’s pathogens.

• Edward spent two uneventful days waiting for an attack, then prepared to meet an intruder in his False Reality.
• Coward entered Edward’s villa seeking help, but a Demoness arrived and destroyed the house with invisible threads.
• The Demoness released lethal pathogens among Trier’s civilians, and Edward drew her away from the city before striking her with Lightning Storm.
• Coward revealed that Hunter had told him about Edward, then killed the weakened Demoness and gave Edward the Brass Rod.
• Edward threw the Brass Rod toward the Intis royal palace, where Krismona caught it and kept it.
• Edward returned to 11 Aden Street as the Machinery Hivemind dealt with the victims of the pathogens.

Edward used layered deceptions to escape Amon, who had tracked him after the Demoness attack. Edward reached the War of the Gods Relic and began to suspect that Intis had been cooperating with Amon, while wondering what had happened in Trier.

• Amon confronted Edward and recognized that he had recorded the Snake of Mercury’s Reboot, then discovered Edward’s nested False Reality deceptions.
• Edward used layered illusions to keep Amon occupied, then created many real stone-and-wood doubles and portals to escape.
• Amon’s strength briefly fell to Sequence 5, allowing the fleeing figures to disappear before his power returned.
• Edward emerged from a portal in the War of the Gods Relic, confirmed with a coin flip that Amon had not followed him, and rested under concealment.
• Edward considered Amon’s claim that Intis had offered him as a bargaining chip and concluded that Intis had likely been cooperating with Amon for some time.
• Edward wondered what was happening in Trier and whether Intis’s commission would succeed, which would require Intis to provide the promised Wanderer Beyonder Characteristic.

Edward was driven from the Spirit World by Stieffer, an Angel of the Holy Word, and fought to survive his pursuit in the War of the Gods Relic. After entering the Dream World, Edward found a mysterious room and a shadow that might have been Lilith.

• Edward was forced out of the Spirit World by Stieffer and recognized the place as the entrance to the War of the Gods Relic.
• Stieffer attacked Edward, who used his abilities and spells to evade him and briefly trap him behind Illusory Doors.
• Stieffer broke free and nearly struck Edward, but night fell, forcing them both to sleep in the ruins.
• Edward awoke in the Dream World inside the Black Monastery and searched for a way to escape Stieffer's pursuit.
• Edward found the room where he and Bernadette had discovered Lilith's textbook, but the textbook was gone.
• A small doorway appeared, and Edward spotted a black figure inside that he wondered might be Lilith.

Edward encountered a childhood memory of the Angel of Holy Words that featured Lilith, then used a mirror to turn the Angel’s pursuit into a battle between two Stieffers. After nearly killing Stieffer, Edward was confronted by Amon, who questioned how he knew Lilith.

• Edward found the Angel of Holy Words as a boy in a dream and heard a memory of Lilith sharing roasted rats with him.
• Edward recognized Lilith’s elementary school textbook in the boy’s arms and realized it had appeared in the dream because of the Angel of Holy Words.
• Stieffer attacked Edward, who lured him to a full-length mirror and drew out a hostile duplicate that fought the original.
• Edward joined the battle with spells and a Lightning Storm, then degraded Stieffer and struck his soul with an amplified Avada Kedavra.
• Edward tried to question Stieffer’s regenerating flesh about Lilith, but Amon appeared and demanded to know how Edward knew her.