Chapter Summaries

Audrey resumed work at the charity funds amid worsening shortages, while Klein entered Moon City’s expedition camp and used divine power to prove himself as the Fool’s Oracle. After healing the explorers, he learned they planned to reach the City of Silver and promised to help them leave the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

• Audrey visited the charity funds and learned from Melissa that even disabled soldiers could no longer receive their full food allotments.
• Klein presented himself to Moon City’s explorers as the Fool’s Oracle and used a radiant cross and Hermes’s influence to establish the Fool’s connection to the Creator.
• Klein healed the explorers with the Life Walking Stick, convincing them that he had come to fulfill the Fool’s promise of salvation.
• The expedition leader told Klein that Moon City’s people were trying to reach the City of Silver and join its survivors.
• Klein promised to help the Moon City and City of Silver residents find a way out, and agreed to pass along a young man’s gratitude and gifts to the previous Oracle.

Audrey asked Earl Hall to let her buy the family’s stored food for the Poor Relief Fund, while Klein and Medici discussed the risks of Klein’s approaching transformation into a Mythical Creature. Klein reached the gray fog sealing the Western Continent and fully digested his Scholar of Yore potion, as the Lord of Withering noticed a Demon Wolf carrying an object with the aura of Sefirah Castle approaching the seal.

• Audrey asked Earl Hall to spare some of the Hall Family’s food for the Poor Relief Fund, and he explained that the family’s survival and status came before helping strangers.
• Klein left the Moon City Exploration Squad with Hermes, then met Medici, who warned him about advancing and explained how anchors and humanity affected nonhuman Mythical Creatures.
• Klein told Medici and Hermes that he had seen the gray fog from Sefirah Castle, and Medici explained that the seal separated multiple Sefirot from the world.
• Klein followed the pull east and found the immense gray fog barrier; as he reached it, his Scholar of Yore potion was completely digested.
• The Lord of Withering noticed a fluctuation in the seal and spotted a Demon Wolf carrying something with the aura of Sefirah Castle.

Edward learned that his other half had found a missing Attendant of Mysteries in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, while Devil Family members debated selling contaminated food to a noblewoman. Klein failed to open the Western Continent’s gray-fog seal and then met Moon City’s High Priest, who explained the city’s long history of guarding it.

• Edward’s other half reported finding an Attendant of Mysteries whose advancement ritual seemed ready to be completed, and Edward questioned him about Klein before the contact ended.
• Devils from the Nois Family discussed Miss Hall’s bulk food purchase and their stockpile of rations contaminated with a virus, then decided to report the matter and possibly sell her food scraps instead.
• Hermes told Klein that beings on the level of the Lord of the Mysteries, including God Almighty or entities in the Starry Sky, could open the Western Continent’s seal.
• Klein used Leymano’s Travels to try Door Opening and other powers on the gray-fog barrier, but none of his attempts opened it.
• Nim, Moon City’s High Priest, introduced himself to Klein and Medici and said Moon City had guarded the seal for 3,722 years after migrating there on the Sun God’s orders.

Klein met High Priest Nim near the Gray Fog Seal and promised to lead Moon City out under the Fool’s protection. He revealed that the Creator had fallen and returned as someone else, leaving Nim to decide how to tell Moon City the truth.

• Klein learned that Nim and his squad had been parasitized without knowing it, and that Moon City had guarded the fog for thousands of years because the Creator had instructed them to watch for anyone emerging.
• Klein told Nim he was the Fool’s Oracle and had come to lead Moon City out, while Nim warned that some residents still clung to their ancestral faith and might refuse to leave.
• Klein explained that the Creator had fallen after the kings betrayed him, and that the being who returned was no longer the Creator Moon City knew.
• Klein used the Life Walking Stick to stop a Moon City Beyonder from losing control after the revelation, while Nim and the others struggled with grief and disbelief.
• Nim agreed to tell Moon City the truth, recognizing that the Creator’s final wish had been to entrust them to the Fool.

Klein performed Moon City's ritual to contact the gray fog and heard the name “Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,” while a Moon City Beyonder wore a monocle that made him suspect Amon was nearby. In the City of Silver, Derrick discovered a warning about the Angel of Time; meanwhile, Richard began executing corrupt elites and redistributing their wealth in the Southern Continent.

• High Priest Nim told Klein that Moon City had tried for centuries to contact the gray fog through rituals, and Klein asked to attempt one himself.
• Colin noticed Derrick repeating the same library visit and reading the same textbook; Derrick turned to a passage naming the Angel of Time and left a scratch beneath it as a warning.
• After repeated ritual attempts, Klein heard voices in the gray fog chanting “Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.”
• Klein saw a Moon City Beyonder put on a monocle, and Nim explained that the accessory had recently become popular as an aid for eye diseases.
• Letty Orr asked Richard to keep watching over Kajia and sought help buying discounted compressed rations; Richard agreed to arrange a factory school for girls.
• Richard hanged three corrupt Southern Continent elites and ordered their assets redistributed, then told Letty to bring him more documents so he could continue.

Richard told Audrey about his painful past under Feysac, Intis, and Loen’s invasions, then urged her to consider how she might face a future upheaval. Meanwhile, Klein entered Moon City alone and arranged to stay there as an ascetic while offering daily purification and healing.

• Richard sentenced more Highland families and recounted how Northern Continent forces destroyed his people’s religious artifacts and killed his master’s master.
• Audrey told Richard she understood the blood debts and sorrow but could do little; Richard assured her he would not harm her and urged her to consider what she would do if she became his enemy.
• A stitched-together pursuer in the Forsaken Land of the Gods resumed searching for the giant wolf he could not catch.
• Klein overcame his fear of Amon and entered Moon City with Nim High Priest, while remaining alert to possible deception.
• Klein told Nim he would practice asceticism and offer daily purification and healing, then headed toward an unoccupied house in the east.

Colin Iliad sought the Angel of Fate’s blessing and learned that he had to wait for a man carrying a lantern to reach the City of Silver. In Moon City, Nim announced Gehrman Sparrow’s arrival and began telling its residents the truth about their faith, while Klein met a strange survivor who called himself Lia.

• Colin Iliad asked Uno for help, and Ouroboros appeared through Colin to mock him before granting him a blessing and removing a Worm of Time from his body.
• Ouroboros showed Colin a vision and told him to wait until a man carrying a lantern arrived; Colin concealed the Worm of Time and considered advancing.
• Nim told Moon City that a second Oracle of the Fool, Gehrman Sparrow, had healed residents and offered daily purification, then began explaining the truth about their faith and the Almighty.
• Klein left Moon City to hunt monsters and encountered a wounded, unnatural figure in the wilderness.
• The figure claimed to be a Moon City Exploration Squad survivor and introduced himself as Lia, while privately observing that the Lord of Mysteries was playing the roles of both himself and his attendant.

Edward spoke with his other half about Klein, the Eurasian seal, Amon, and possible candidates to help the Demon of Knowledge, who remained committed to Bethel Abraham. Meanwhile, Klein answered a Moon City resident’s questions about leaving the Eastern Continent, then watched a small group approach with an alarming number of monocles.

• Edward’s other half said the seal dividing Eurasia had shown signs of opening when Klein was nearby, and speculated that Amon might have drawn Klein to Moon City.
• Edward and the Demon of Knowledge discussed Amon’s lack of action, the dangers facing Moon City and the City of Silver, and a brass dragon picture book that had led a boy to become a Beyonder.
• The Demon of Knowledge said Bethel Abraham remained his first choice to support, though he would also consider Pallez, Klein, and Kotar, and asked Edward for his archaeological records.
• Klein told a Moon City resident that leaving the Eastern Continent was necessary to avoid eventual extinction, though he could not guarantee the outside world was better or promise the Fool would allow them to return.
• A Moon City team followed a note toward the grayish-white fog, and Klein later saw a group of arrivals approaching his camp, with half of the dozen or so people wearing monocles.

Klein learned that a Demon Wolf resembling Kotar had appeared near Moon City on the day he first entered Sefirah Castle, and he set out to investigate the deep pit left behind. Meanwhile, the Outer Deity uncovered the Amons’ plan to frighten Klein and joined their circle.

• Klein questioned Moon City’s High Priest Nim about the monocles, then told the residents about the world beyond their cursed land.
• While sharing roasted mushrooms, Klein suspected that most of the ten Moon City residents were Amon Avatars.
• Nim revealed that Kotar had appeared near a vanished hill one year, five months, and ten days earlier, then fled in a hurry.
• Klein recognized the date as June 28, 1349, when he had entered Sefirah Castle, and asked Nim to show him the deep pit.
• The Amon Avatars discussed frightening Klein, but the Outer Deity noticed their conversation, took a monocle, and asked what they were talking about.

Klein preached to the people of Moon City and prepared to investigate the place where the God of Wishes had appeared, while Emlyn searched for a way to obtain an Earl characteristic. After the Moon City residents left, Klein confronted the strange Amon Avatar he suspected of manipulating him.

• The Outer Deity sealed off the area around the bonfire, while the Amons stopped trying to contact their main body and the Moon City residents forgot their brief confusion.
• Klein used the Radiant Cross to preach the first two commandments to the people of Moon City, and the light began easing their darkness and discomfort.
• Cosmi told Emlyn that the Sanguine had no spare Earl characteristics and that Emlyn ranked fifth in line, so Emlyn considered seeking one from Saint Tenebrous or the Rose School.
• Emlyn left the Audra family's villa for his East Borough residence and wondered whether the missing Maric and Sharron could help him find an Earl characteristic.
• Klein sent Nim and the other Moon City residents back, then noticed that only nine people had departed and found a strange Spirit Body Thread nearby.
• Klein summoned the hidden figure and accused the unusual Amon Avatar of deceiving him and deliberately exposing the other Avatars.

Klein investigated the pit where Kotar had appeared, while the strange Outer Deity pursued him and offered to cooperate in uncovering what happened around Klein’s transmigration. The chapter ended with the Outer Deity revealing that Kotar possessed a Sequence One Seer potion, prompting Klein to stop and question him.

• The Outer Deity told Klein that Amon had deeply parasitized the Moon City squad and influenced its members, but Klein remained suspicious and escaped into the Historical Void.
• Klein sent a Historical Projection to investigate the pit where Kotar had appeared and found that the area unnaturally slowed his thoughts.
• The Outer Deity followed Klein to the pit, and Klein noticed that the strange being had neither a heartbeat nor breathing.
• The Outer Deity tried to persuade Klein to work together by discussing the day Klein arrived in Tingen and suggesting a connection to the Antigonus Notebook.
• The Outer Deity said Kotar possessed a Sequence One potion from the Seer pathway, and Klein turned back in disbelief.

Klein divined how the Sequence One potion appeared in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and learned that Kotar had taken the mysterious curtain, while the vision suggested the curtain came from Sefirah Castle. The chapter then shifted to Maric, who was being reformed through hard labor in a remote village while Sharron avoided fieldwork.

• Klein questioned the strange hidden existence about the Sequence One potion and agreed to attempt a divination with its help.
• Klein's divination showed the curtain emerge from the grayish-white fog, cover a hill, and later turn Kotar into a puppet before Kotar's marionettes took control of it.
• The vision showed a vortex pulling Kotar and the curtain toward the fog, after which Kotar fled with the curtain as a Moon City patrol witnessed him.
• Klein and the hidden existence concluded that the curtain had fallen from Sefirah Castle, and Klein reflected that its arrival might have spared him from becoming the Celestial Worthy.
• Maric worked under supervision in a remote village after the Temperance Faction sent him there for reform, while the village chief complained that Sharron avoided hard labor and might be kept there for decades.

Sharron considered teaching village children to write, while Klein learned that Moon City’s patrols had been told to welcome anyone emerging from the fog and say “Chernobyl.” Audrey secretly gathered food for people supported by her Foundation, and Ileana told Clovis that a nineteen-year-old Sequence 5 relative was coming to Trier.

• Sharron copied village accounts and letters, then considered teaching a farmer’s youngest son to write after the woman asked her for help.
• Klein questioned Duke about what Moon City’s residents should do if someone emerged from the fog, and Duke revealed they were to say “Chernobyl.”
• Audrey manipulated farmers and a grain merchant into gathering and selling mushrooms and fruit, then secretly transferred food into Xio’s Traveler’s Bag for the Foundation’s disabled soldiers and children.
• Ileana told Clovis that Earl Hall’s nineteen-year-old daughter was a beautiful Sequence 5 Spectator who might inherit assets and come to Trier, prompting Clovis to try to win her favor.

Colin Iliad advanced to Silver Knight, while Klein learned that the Ancient Sun God had been God Almighty’s vessel and accepted an invitation to Moon City. The chapter left Klein preparing to enter a city where he suspected Amon had set a trap, while Richard planned to support Sharron’s new role as a village teacher.

• Colin Iliad performed the Silver Knight ritual, endured the transformation, and used the memories of his hunts as anchors to preserve his sense of self.
• Colin Iliad completed his advancement and demonstrated his new power by splitting a distant hill with silver radiance as Ouroboros watched from the City of Silver.
• Klein asked the Lord of Withering about Chernobyl and learned that the Ancient Sun God had been God Almighty’s vessel, chosen for the Sun and Hanged Man pathways.
• High Priest Nim invited Klein to Moon City’s ceremony, and Klein accepted after consulting a coin.
• Klein asked the Lord of Withering for advice about the invitation, but rejected the suggestion to turn Moon City’s residents into marionettes.
• Richard told Baranka that Sharron had agreed to teach village children and proposed building a school that Sharron would help construct.

Klein spoke with the Lord of Withering about his reasons for seeking power and whether he would yield to a worthy rival, while Colin returned to the City of Silver and Klein prepared for competing paths to become an angel. Klein’s arrival at Moon City ended with its residents welcoming him in unsettling unison.

• Klein told the Lord of Withering that he wanted power to protect people and do what he wanted, and said he would still compete to become the Lord of the Mysteries even if a worthy rival appeared.
• Edward questioned why his other self had hinted at the Demon of Knowledge’s plans to Klein, and learned that Klein had said he would give the rival a try.
• Colin returned to the City of Silver, where Derrick warned him that an Amon might be influencing people and that he had been losing memories.
• Colin told Derrick he had failed to obtain the blessings of the City of Silver’s two Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts.
• Klein decided to prepare for both the Miracle Invoker and Planeswalker paths so Amon would have fewer chances to thwart him.
• Klein reached Moon City and saw its welcoming residents greet him with nearly identical smiles, leaving him in a bad mood.

Klein entered Moon City and learned from its physician that the later healing rituals differed from the Fool’s genuine miracles, giving him a way to expose Amon’s deception. At the ceremony, Klein interrupted the prayers and raised the cross, revealing people whose reactions set them apart as the light shone over the city.

• Klein entered Moon City, checked its residents for signs of parasitism, and mapped the city while preparing for the ceremony.
• A Moon City physician told Klein that the later healings only removed diseased parts and that those treated developed matching behaviors, including a fondness for monocles.
• Klein explained that an angel serving the Fool had performed the later treatments and promised genuine healing at the ceremony.
• The Nim High Priest began the ceremony by describing Moon City’s agreement with the new god, but Klein interrupted before the people could pray together.
• Klein raised the cross and announced that the Lord would save the people, causing golden light to shine over the crowd and revealing dozens whose reactions differed from the others.

Audrey learned that her family planned to send her to Intis to protect their assets, while Klein preached to Moon City and promised the suffering residents a brighter future. The chapter ended with an unnamed person in the crowd questioning whether a future without his father could have any meaning.

• Audrey returned home and, with Susie covering for her, hid her absence from her mother.
• At dinner, Earl Hall told Audrey that the family had transferred assets to Intis and wanted her to travel there, though she had no engagement.
• Audrey accepted the plan and reassured her family that she could protect herself as a Beyonder.
• Klein used the cross to deter Amon and then purified the people of Moon City with the Fool's power.
• Klein addressed the festival crowd, saying the gods remembered their suffering and promising that peace would come.
• An unnamed person in the crowd wondered what a future and a world of human virtues meant without the father he had wanted to learn from.

Audrey observed dreams in Backlund, reflecting on the boundary between private thoughts and actions. In Moon City, Klein healed its residents and gained their prayers to the Fool, but Amon parasitized him as the ceremony ended.

• Audrey watched a noblewoman dream of an affair, then saw that the woman and her husband were sleeping together peacefully in reality.
• Audrey visited an old woman's dream of a happy family and, seeing their portraits and bombed ruins in reality, returned to watch without interfering.
• As Klein stalled during the Moon City ceremony, the Lord of Withering appeared and sang a song that drew the crowd into a shared vision.
• Klein used the Life Walking Stick to heal Moon City's residents and led them to pray to the Fool for salvation.
• The residents' prayers resonated, but Amon parasitized Klein and began taking control of his body.

Klein was parasitized by an Amon avatar, who led him out of Moon City and offered to cooperate rather than kill him. Meanwhile, Emlyn considered the Church of the Earth Mother’s recruitment offer and wondered how to investigate the Southern Continent; Klein ended his conversation with Amon by challenging him to explain how he had acted as a Swindler.

• Amon took control of Klein’s body and led him out of Moon City while the High Priest ended the ceremony and sent the residents home.
• Emlyn reread the Church of the Earth Mother’s letter thanking him for exposing the traffickers and inviting him to Feynapotter, then considered asking Judgment, Magician, and Justice for help investigating the Southern Continent.
• Amon met Klein in the wilderness and revealed that his main body had killed the avatar that helped Klein after it developed a self.
• Amon said he did not intend to kill Klein and offered to let him remain the Fool, lead Moon City out of the Forsaken Land, and possibly advance to Sequence 2.
• Klein rejected Amon’s assurances, criticized his attitude toward Moon City’s residents, and demanded to know how Amon had acted as a Swindler.

Klein was trapped by Amon in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, where Amon planned to prevent him from advancing and uncover the secrets of the past. As Amon led him onward, Klein revealed what he knew about the ancient catastrophe and the True Creator, while Amon disclosed clues about the Error pathway and his search for history.

• Amon told Klein he would keep him in the Forsaken Land of the Gods to stop him from advancing, and he stole Klein’s thoughts about Ouroboros.
• Amon recited the fourth line of Klein’s Scholar of Yore honorific name and questioned him about its connection to Backlund.
• Klein offered to share ancient secrets, and Amon explained that his main body had used Sefirah Castle’s powers to illuminate historical fragments.
• Klein told Amon about the warning from Afternoon Town, and Amon described the catastrophe and the dead man’s lingering imprint.
• Amon explained that the Marauder pathway’s Sequence 0 was called Error, a concept his father had also called “Bug.”
• Klein told Amon that the Dark Angel Sasrir had been part of the Ancient Sun God and that the True Creator was the Ancient Sun God’s shattered humanity.