Chapter Summaries

Kallen confronted the York City District leadership with borrowed garrison knights, using the threat of force to make them yield without starting a battle. He stabbed Minister Bernie and then slapped Acting Chief Bishop Dunke, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate further.

• Alfred imagined immortalizing Kallen's public standoff in a mural, while Kallen reflected on the limits of commanding borrowed garrison knights.
• District Chief Harry accused Kallen of rebellion, and Kallen decided to act outrageously enough to force the district leaders to back down without ordering an attack.
• Kallen secretly stabbed Minister Bernie, then publicly framed the wound as an old injury; Bernie played along to avoid provoking the garrison knights.
• Kallen walked toward the press platform as the five bishops avoided his gaze, and Acting Chief Bishop Dunke approached him with friendly remarks.
• Kallen slapped Dunke across the face and claimed there had been a mosquito on it.

Kallen forced District Chief Harry to return five bishops to the Detention Center, using the apparent threat of burning his soul to make Harry concede. As the standoff ended, Woforen and Byrne reconsidered Kallen’s origins and potential, while a mysterious woman watched over him from nearby.

• Kallen confronted Dunke, who admitted he had approached hoping to subdue him, but backed down when Kallen displayed his apparent madness and vowed to make everyone lose with him.
• Woforen warned Byrne not to probe Kallen, then suggested that Kallen’s unusual talent and character might point to a hidden inheritance like that of the current High Priest.
• Byrne met a Gray-Robed Person who said she was there to protect Kallen; after she left, Byrne told Woforen he would not investigate Kallen and was beginning to believe in him.
• Monaxi tried to photograph the standoff while Neo watched from the sidelines after escaping prison.
• Kallen demanded that Harry return the five bishops to the Detention Center, then appeared to burn his soul when Harry charged him.
• Harry stopped and ordered the bishops locked back up, and Kallen let the flames fade as Alfred recalled the words, “The compensation for lost courage is decadence.”

Kallen’s confrontation at the Whip of Order Headquarters ended with five Bishops detained and prosecution documents sent, while the Order’s leadership prepared for further upheaval. Woforen contacted High Priest Norton to explain the crisis, but died before he could give his answer.

• Neo persuaded Old Kea to take custody of the Bishops, and Kallen rejected Harry’s offer to keep him in office, saying he trusted Order’s arrangements.
• Vic organized the reading of evidence against the five Bishops and submitted the prosecution documents, while Alfred invited him into his circle of believers.
• Kallen ordered the Knights to withdraw, told Bernie that what came next was not his business, and said he could afford to lose.
• The Order alerted its forces in Vien, while Bishop Byrne and his battalion surrendered themselves without resistance.
• Kallen entered the detention cell and asked Neo for paper to plan a funeral, while Leon helped Woforen prepare for a final communication.
• Woforen invoked his highest authority to speak with High Priest Norton, began explaining that there had been no factional strife, and died before he could finish.

Kallen and Neo discussed Chief Bishop Woforen’s deliberate death and the political cost of the York City purge, while Base explained to High Priest Norton that Woforen’s death had affirmed Norton’s hardline vision. Norton resisted Tyranus’s growing influence by stabbing himself with the divine artifact Eternal Sigh, as Kallen did the same in York City to drive the presence from his body.

• Old Kea brought Kallen a fire-crystal brazier in the cell, and Kallen and Neo discussed Woforen’s expected death and the losses their side had suffered despite winning the factional struggle.
• Kallen told Neo that Woforen had wanted to show the High Priest there was no factional struggle in York City, but only a need to purge the district’s rot.
• Base told Norton that Woforen’s death had ultimately agreed with Norton’s vision of radical reform and might lead Norton to let the York City incident pass lightly.
• Norton and Base argued about Base’s ancestors, Tyranus, and whether Woforen’s death had pleased Norton; Base then withdrew into the darkness.
• Norton rejected Tyranus’s influence and stabbed himself in the chest with Eternal Sigh, while Kallen burned his soul in the York City dungeon and roared for the presence to get out.

While Kallen and Neo remained in the Dungeon, an investigation team arrived, apologized for Richel's rough treatment, and left them to speculate about the Church's coming reshuffle. Richard brought Madam Tang Li and Old Delong to visit Kallen, who was comfortable enough that his grandmother struggled to pretend he was suffering.

• Kallen suppressed his Hunger Addiction and planned a late-night barbecue with Neo, but they returned to their cells when Richel arrived with the investigation team.
• Richel tried to intimidate Neo, but Kallen challenged her authority and pointed out that they had not been charged; after receiving a message, she left and later returned with a meal and an apology.
• Kallen and Neo discussed their likely promotions and the investigation team's delay, joking that Neo might become Minister of Logistics.
• Madam Tang Li and Old Delong visited Headquarters with Richard, while Philomina arranged time off to avoid taking a walk with Madam Tang Li.
• Madam Tang Li visited Kallen and found his cell warm and well supplied, then watched him open the door and invite her inside.

Madam Tang Li visited Kallen in prison, while Ophelia discussed plans to station a Dark Moon Warrior Squad in York City. The next morning, District Chief Suss questioned Kallen and hinted that he wanted to leave Dinge District, prompting Kallen to suggest York City.

• Madam Tang Li found Kallen’s imprisonment comfortable, then took Philomina for a walk and advised her about choosing a strong partner.
• Ophelia visited Kallen, explained that Dark Moon Island wanted to station a Dark Moon Warrior Squad in York City, and received his approval in principle.
• Kallen told Neo that his Dark Moon heritage made him more exalted and pure than anyone on the island, provoking Neo’s laughter.
• Richel brought Kallen from his cell to meet Team Leader Suss, who hinted that he wanted to leave Dinge District.
• Kallen suggested that York City would suit Suss, and Suss agreed.

Kallen negotiated with District Chief Suss over York City District’s appointments, while Byrne returned from prison to face Cardinal Kreid and prepare a confession backed by case files. Kreid called an election for acting Chief Bishop, and Byrne cast the first vote for himself.

• Kallen and Suss agreed to work together, and Suss named Neo investigation minister and Richel logistics minister pending a vote.
• Kallen returned to prison as Byrne was brought before Cardinal Kreid, who ordered him to write a confession within three hours.
• Byrne collected case files and evidence, setting aside files on Yedel and five others while the bishops watched uneasily.
• Kreid received Byrne’s confession and announced that Woforen would report to the First Knight Order and Dunke had been recalled to Dinge District.
• Kreid called an election for acting Chief Bishop and allowed Byrne to participate and keep the record.
• Byrne wrote down one vote for himself and invited the bishops to vote as they pleased.

Alfred prepared the York City Whip of Order for a change in leadership as Suss returned as District Chief and Kallen and Neo were appointed ministers. Kallen’s brief address restored order in the Headquarters, and he and Neo later visited Leon as he mourned his grandfather, Chief Bishop Woforen.

• Alfred learned that Bernie, Harry, and several ministers had left, then arranged a farewell meal while preparing for Suss’s arrival as the new District Chief.
• Suss entered the Dungeon through the back, revoked the internal investigation order, announced appointments, and welcomed Kallen and Neo as colleagues.
• Suss and Neo gave speeches at the staff meeting, while Kallen’s silent presence held the room until he simply said, “Everyone, I’m back.”
• Kallen and Neo discussed Neo’s appointment as investigation minister, the Headquarters’ lack of funds, and Neo’s plan to build a group of Light Remnants.
• Kallen and Neo visited Leon, who was burning offerings for Woforen, and joined him in mourning over wontons that Kallen had prepared.

The High Priest confronted the Divine Temple over its authority while Norton revealed to Haiman that Tyranus had awakened within him to prepare for the gods’ return. In York City, Helen and Vernon chose to use their healing powers to help the poor instead of preserving Kallen’s test, and Neo arrived to tell them they had passed.

• The High Priest traveled to the Divine Temple with Daina and Mobiten, met with its elders, and used the earliest edition of the "Light of Order" to intimidate them into accepting reforms that would restrict the temple’s authority.
• Norton told Haiman that his doppelganger’s simultaneous actions reflected a worsening condition and explained that Tyranus had awakened to prepare for the gods’ return, though he opposed Tyranus’s plans to welcome the God of Order.
• Vernon bought supplies, treated poor residents without charge, and helped repair Helen’s school with volunteers from the neighborhood.
• Helen decided to use her healing ability to save a student’s failing eyesight, and Vernon admitted he had already used Light Spell Art to treat patients, so both accepted that they had failed Kallen’s test.
• Neo and Alfred listened to Helen and Vernon’s conversation, then Neo entered their home and announced that they had passed the test.

Neo pressured Vernon and Helen to join his Secret Office, warning that their aid to people could expose them and their followers to a deadly crackdown. Kallen settled into his new ministerial role and learned that the late Chief had secured approval for him to seek a partner from the Cavern Order God Church.

• Neo overpowered Vernon and warned him and Helen that the Order God Church would target the people they had helped if their work came to light.
• Neo offered to protect Vernon, Helen, and those they helped if they joined his Secret Office, and gave them one day to settle their affairs before meeting him.
• Neo and Alfred discussed building power independent of the Order God Church, while Alfred cautioned Neo about his allegiance to Kallen.
• Kallen relaxed at home with Puer, welcomed Leon back as his secretary, and took a call from Byrne congratulating him on becoming a minister.
• Byrne told Kallen that his application for a partner from the Cavern Order God Church had been approved and that the late Chief had attached it to his work report.

After the six bishops’ sentencing ended, Kallen traveled with Aisili, Puer, and Kevin to the Cavern Order God Church to choose a partner. At the Dim Hotel, Aoji confronted him, and when Kallen mentioned their night in York City, a lightning seal struck her and began electrocuting her.

• Gaspol finished the six days of sentencing, exchanged farewells with Kallen, and left the courtroom.
• Kallen prepared to travel with Aisili, Puer, and Kevin while Neo tried to borrow vouchers and later persuaded Leon to fund a speculative investment plan.
• Leon fed the bound Gus black mist while Gus explained he had no family and preferred his comfortable captivity.
• Kallen and Aisili reached the Cavern Order God Church and traveled to the Dim Hotel, where Aisili demanded a thousand-voucher receipt for their fifty-voucher carriage fare.
• Aoji grabbed Kallen and raised her fist after Daina accused him of falsifying a receipt, but Kallen mentioned their night in York City and a lightning seal suddenly bound and electrocuted Aoji.

Kallen encountered Lord Aoji, whose sealed memories made her forget him until she repeatedly struck herself and recognized him. After Daina arranged lavish rooms for Kallen and his companions, she confronted him privately and attacked him out of anger rooted in memories of someone who had hurt her as a child; Kallen dodged and knocked her down.

• Lord Aoji suffered lightning strikes when she tried to remember Kallen, then recognized him and returned to her room to rewrite her memories using his suggestion.
• Daina arranged rooms for Kallen and his companions, while Puer and Aisili teased Kallen about Daina's interest in him.
• Daina recalled how a man from her childhood had treated her as a prop, and Kallen's manner reminded her of him.
• Daina visited Kallen and asked about his church position, then demanded that he spar with her despite his refusal.
• Daina charged at Kallen, and he evaded her punch before striking her back and knocking her face-down.

Kallen fought Miss Daina after she attacked him, then learned that her anger came from feeling used and repeatedly rejected by someone she viewed as a father figure. Miss Daina stopped before undoing her final seal, and Kallen ended the confrontation by tossing her a handkerchief when she demanded he wipe her face.

• Miss Daina attacked Kallen, but his gravity formation, Black Chain, and swordsmanship repeatedly overpowered her.
• Miss Daina accused Kallen of being just like the man who had tormented her by offering affection and then withdrawing it.
• Puer guessed that Miss Daina had projected her resentment toward her father onto Kallen, while Kevin listened.
• Miss Daina used Charm to cloud Kallen's mind, but he recovered in time to seize her wrist and throw her down.
• Miss Daina asked whether undoing her final seal would let her defeat Kallen, accepted his answer that it would not, and stopped fighting.
• Kallen offered Miss Daina a handkerchief, but when she ordered him to wipe her face, he tossed it onto her and called her spoiled.

Kallen fought and lectured Miss Daina, who later learned more about him and discussed her own past with Lord Aoji. On the way to the Selection Conference, Daina revealed she had reserved a revived Bone Dragon for herself, while Kallen privately realized that the Bone Dragon was the one he wanted.

• Kallen healed Miss Daina after defeating her, then teased her about relying on her family’s protection before she stormed off.
• Miss Daina read Kallen’s investigation report, and Lord Aoji described a fabricated memory in which Kallen had supposedly molested her.
• Kallen and his companions left the hotel with Miss Daina and Lord Aoji to attend the Selection Conference.
• Miss Daina told Kallen that she had reserved a Bone Dragon revived by a madman in a Dragon Clan graveyard.
• Kallen realized that the Bone Dragon he had taken a liking to was the one Miss Daina had reserved.

Kallen reflected on the Order God Church’s role in shaping the world and received recognition from Daina and Aoji for his insight. At the Cavern Order God Church’s selection event, Aoji killed a guard who tried to make her descend, and Kallen realized the church’s defiance was only the beginning.

• Kallen reconsidered the Order God Church’s history and concluded that its actions had brought order to the secular world.
• Daina sensed Kallen’s glow of Order, while Aoji recognized the depth of his insight and Kevin realized Kallen was following the God of Order’s path.
• The Cavern Order God Church laid red carpets for several visiting churches, prompting Daina and Aoji to recognize its attempt to challenge the Order God Church’s authority.
• Aoji swallowed a Lizardman guard captain’s head when he asked her to descend, and the Cavern Order God Church removed the extra red carpets.
• Kallen’s group entered the event, where candidates would be presented for selection, and Kevin warned that the incident was only the setup.

Kallen received visits from admirers at the partner-selection gathering and learned that the bone dragon might become a prize open to all the churches’ candidates. Daina urged him to compete for it if that happened, and Kallen agreed.

• Lord Aoji cut through the wall into Kallen’s room, where Daina joined them and teased Kallen about their sparring match.
• Esinla introduced his student Robo Moresisen, who praised Kallen, embraced him, and invited him to drink and fight together.
• Aimei visited with her teacher, told Kallen she admired him, hugged him, and gave him a crystal pendant; Kallen returned a bracelet Aisili lent him.
• The snake demon attendant delivered illustrated booklets for the partner selection, and Kallen noticed the bone dragon was not included.
• After Mengba was announced as the first partner, Kallen suggested the Cavern Order God Church might make the bone dragon a prize for the gathered candidates.
• Daina told Kallen to compete for the bone dragon if it became available, and Kallen solemnly agreed.

During the selection gathering, Kevin sensed a dangerous Undead Archmage in the theater, and Kallen was attacked before confronting a mysterious skeleton who offered him the Bone Dragon in exchange for staying out of an internal dispute. After the skeleton vanished, Lord Aoji repeated his cryptic final words, leaving Kallen unsure whether she was involved.

• A female Order Cleric acquired the Minotaur after the first white Lizardman had been selected.
• Kevin sensed an Undead Archmage secretly spreading an undead aura through the theater, and Kallen sent a Snake Demon maid to report it.
• The theater’s Magic Formation trapped Kallen, and an Undead Priest attacked him before a black-robed skeleton appeared and stopped his Greatsword.
• The skeleton offered Kallen the Bone Dragon if he would let an assassination proceed, but Kallen remained wary and prepared to break through the formation.
• The skeleton released Kallen and vanished after saying, “If there is light in the cavern, it must be the Despairing Gaze.”
• When Kallen repeated part of the phrase to Lord Aoji, she completed it, prompting him to wonder whether he had misjudged the situation.

Kallen realized Lord Aoji was working with the skeleton and suspected that Commander Raio might be the target of its promised assassination. When Aoji blocked him from following Raio and Daina, Kallen asked whether she believed he was the inside man.

• Kallen entered the private room with Kevin and Puer, while Aisili fetched him ice water and he recognized that Aoji was likely aligned with the skeleton.
• Aoji explained to Daina that the Bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demon could combine bloodline inheritance with church faith, while the demon attracted interest from several churches below.
• Commander Raio entered, showed Daina conspicuous deference, and revealed that he had informed the Order God Church about the Bone Dragon as a possible gift for her.
• Raio asked Daina to speak with him privately, and Aoji stayed behind after Daina assured her that Kallen would remain in the room.
• Kallen suspected Raio was the person the skeleton planned to assassinate and tried to follow him, but Aoji blocked the exit.
• Kallen asked Aoji whether she considered him the inside man, and she replied that he knew perfectly well he was.

Kallen uncovered the skeleton's plan to assassinate Laio and learned that the conspirator was a follower of Cavern who wanted to preserve the Cavern Order God Church. The assassination appeared to succeed, but Daina turned the Spear of Rebellion on herself, leaving both her and Laio gravely wounded as the crowd cried out that they had been assassinated.

• Kallen recognized that the skeleton had used a simple trick to keep him and Aoji silent, then followed Aoji out of the private room.
• The skeleton revealed that he planned to kill Laio, frame Daina, and exploit the resulting crisis to preserve the Cavern Order God Church's unity.
• Kallen and the skeleton fought inside a powerful defensive formation, while the skeleton shared his knowledge of the churches' political schemes and his plans for Daina and Aoji.
• Kallen deduced that the skeleton believed in Cavern, and the skeleton confirmed that he sought to protect the church until the God of the Cavern returned.
• The skeleton revealed the assassination on the second floor, where Daina appeared to stab Laio with the Spear of Rebellion.
• Daina turned the spear on herself and was pierced, prompting people below to shout that she and Laio had been assassinated.

Kallen learned that Daina was near death and advised Lord Aoji how to give her account of the incident without taking blame for her mother. As the Dragon Clan lineage gathered outside the main city to demand answers for Laio’s death, Daan Lei Luopu ordered them to disperse, and they obeyed.

• The skeleton departed after suggesting that something unusual might have happened to Daina’s father, while Kallen wondered whether he had already seen the truth in the Opera House at Allen Manor.
• Kallen saw Daina being kept alive by the cross-shaped seal and told Lord Aoji to be truthful while emphasizing that Daina had chosen to speak with Laio and ordered Aoji to stay behind.
• Kallen met Ambassador Lainos and Kejin on the hospital roof and learned that the Dragon Clan lineage had come to demand an explanation for Laio’s death.
• Lord Aoji offered to persuade the dragons to withdraw, but Kejin argued against appeasing them and insulted the Dragon Clan lineage.
• Daan Lei Luopu arrived alone and ordered the dragons to disperse or face the Order Seventh Knight Order, and the black mist and clouds vanished.