Chapter Summaries

Kallen removed most of Mr. Hoffen’s seal on Kevin, restored his wisdom and divine power, and watched him return to his original form as Raniedal. After Raniedal demonstrated his power, Kallen offered him a place in his system and warned that he might eventually strip away his godhood; Raniedal accepted and asked to be called Kevin.

• Byrne and Alfred discussed whether gods would willingly surrender their power and whether Order’s followers could support Kallen’s godless world.
• Kallen removed most of Mr. Hoffen’s seal from Kevin, leaving three purple nails, and Kevin’s divine wisdom and other fragments were restored.
• Kevin merged with the Kindling of Thought and his skull, regained his original form, and briefly restrained those in the Office as he approached Kallen.
• Vic arrived with the Mills Goddess’s Harp, which Kallen offered to Raniedal along with the chance to join his system.
• Kallen warned Raniedal that he might one day strip away his godhood, and Raniedal accepted his terms before transforming back into a Big Golden Retriever and asking to be called Kevin.

Alfred and Byrne reflected on Kevin’s return as a deity, while Kallen spent time with his grandmother and helped Dali Wenluo plan to share fruit with his family. Puer learned that Kevin had regained formidable strength and asked whether he could defeat Dis, but Kevin hesitated over the answer.

• Alfred told Byrne that Kevin’s restrained restoration showed he had never treated godhood as an end, and Byrne joked that their strongest fighter was a dog.
• Kallen dined with Madam Tang Li, who declined to stay overnight, and he later asked Dali Wenluo to bring fresh fruit for the Whip Bearer and Miss Daina.
• Eunice trimmed Kevin’s fur for Puer, and Puer recognized that Kevin was still adjusting to his rapidly restored power.
• Kevin told Puer that the Order Temple held threats, but he could face most opponents without being outnumbered and agreed to help Kallen against Rasma and Wukongjia.
• Puer asked whether Kevin could defeat Dis; Kevin hesitated, and Puer noted that Dis might have more than three godhead fragments.

Kallen half-awakened Buken and Molindi, assigning them roles in his plans while withholding the power to move freely. He then went to the sacrificial assembly at Church Headquarters, where Kevin recognized Tyranus in the High Priest.

• Kallen awakened Buken in a mental study and ordered him to assist Alfred with his work, including plans against the Silent Ones Organization.
• Kallen awakened Molindi, stabilized her after she learned he approved of the High Priest, and assigned her to guard the Opera House and attend Alfred's lessons.
• Kallen sealed spiritual power in two sacred artifact cups so Buken and Molindi could act freely when necessary.
• Kallen traveled to Church Headquarters with Puer, Kevin, and Little Kangna, who handed out fruit to the dignitaries as they waited for the High Priest.
• Daina asked to keep serving under Kallen, and he told her to submit an application.
• When the High Priest arrived with Kreid and Fudeng, Kevin hid behind Kallen and insisted that the High Priest was Tyranus.

Kallen investigated Ogleve Fortress after its phantom appeared during the High Priest’s ceremony and learned that the fortress had moved through time to reveal Ogurev and the Tree of Life. Commander Punk disclosed that the fortress’s true mission was to prevent Ogurev’s return, but the chapter left Ogurev’s awakening seemingly close at hand.

• Regiment commanders from the Second through Twelfth Knight Orders arrived at the sacrificial ceremony, where the High Priest led the dignitaries to the square.
• Ogleve Fortress appeared in a screen of light, and Kallen recognized that the fortress itself had gone out of control and left the ceremony to investigate.
• Kallen arrived at Ogleve Fortress with Whip of Order personnel, where Punk admitted that the Ogurev Statue had been acting on its own and moving the fortress’s coordinates.
• Kevin heard a heartbeat inside the statue, which turned toward the void and revealed a vast scene of the Tree of Life as lightning and Void Demon Beasts surged around the fortress.
• Kevin perceived Ogurev suffering in the past and heard him say, “Almost... there,” while Puer identified the two flowers on the Tree of Life as the two Gods of Life.
• Kallen pressed Punk about the fortress’s purpose, and Punk revealed that Ogleve Fortress existed to prevent Lord Ogurev’s return.

Kallen discovered that Ogurev was returning with the support of the Tree of Life and other deities, possibly within a thousand years, and isolated Ogleve Fortress before reporting the danger to Church Headquarters. The chapter ended with Piaget painting a sinister vision of people hanging from the Tree of Life and saying they had to be “nice and orderly.”

• Kallen ordered Punk and Scarlett to seal Ogleve Fortress, restrict all personnel movement, and keep the operation secret.
• Kevin showed Kallen a vision of Ogurev enduring lightning beneath the Tree of Life and indicated that the return might happen in a thousand years or much sooner.
• Kallen drew the vision for the High Priest and considered attacking the Life Order God Church to disrupt Ogurev’s return; he planned to report privately to the Whip Bearer first.
• Hიმilis sensed unusual activity in the Garden of Life and left with Gleehar while Mr. Bede and Piaget stayed behind to paint.
• Mr. Bede saw that Piaget had painted people hanging from a sinister Tree of Life, and Piaget said they had to be nice and orderly.

Kallen and Fudeng learned that Ogurev had begun returning through Ogleve Fortress, but the High Priest decided the Order God Church would not allow the return. At the Sacrificial Plaza, Daina announced the Life Order God Church as the church selected for collaboration, despite drawing Night God Church.

• Mr. Bede comforted Piaget as he struggled with his grief over Linda, and they discussed returning to Vien and Kallen’s rise within the Order God Church.
• Kallen summoned Fudeng and showed him a painting depicting Ogurev’s return; Fudeng agreed to protect Kallen’s secret and said the fortress staff would remain on paid leave until [Life] was over.
• Fudeng told Kallen that the High Priest would not permit Ogurev and the others to return, then agreed to visit the First Knight Order to retrieve experienced commanders.
• The Tree of Life in the Garden of Life suddenly glowed with renewed vitality, and two flowers bloomed as the Life Church’s leaders praised it.
• Daina drew a bookmark marked Night God Church, then announced the Life Order God Church as the selected church.

Daina helped carry out Kallen’s plan during the Order ceremony, where the drawing named the Life Order God Church for cooperation. The High Priest learned that Lord Ogurev was leading deities back and ordered preparations to destroy the Tree of Life, while Kallen headed to the First Knight Order to select a commander for the coming war.

• Daina passed the drawing ceremony’s test, and the Order ceremony ended with the Life Order God Church selected; the High Priest offered no explanation.
• Fudeng told Kreid that the drawing had been altered because a serious threat came from the Life Order God Church, then brought Kallen’s picture to the High Priest.
• The High Priest revealed that Lord Ogurev had betrayed Order and was leading deities back, and Kreid proposed attacking the Garden of Life and destroying the Tree of Life.
• Kreid convened the Order war council and declared that the Life Order God Church would be their target.
• Kallen met Temila and Saloni and reviewed a roster of First Knight Order commanders for the campaign against the Life Order God Church.
• Kevin chose Dikno Shan Beston from the roster and pressed Kallen to select him.

Kallen visited the First Knight Order Base to choose commanders for the coming war and discovered that Commander Dikno possessed extraordinary strategic abilities hidden beneath his unremarkable biography. He then uncovered Dikno’s deepest mental simulation, where the commander had set the entire Order God Church against the God of Order.

• Kallen let Little Kangna eat pieces of the White Bone Giant Gate, which she restored as she went, and then followed Zhongtasen into the Pyramid.
• Zhongtasen gave Kallen the detailed biographies of the five commanders he had shortlisted, and Kallen read them in a private hall while Kevin urged him to choose Dikno.
• Kallen entered Dikno’s memories and discovered a vast battlefield simulation in which Dikno tested strategies against deities and their forces.
• Kallen explored deeper layers of Dikno’s thoughts, finding simulations of Order Church gods and the 12 Order Knights fighting the Order Knights Corps.
• Kallen reached Dikno’s deepest mental layer and saw the entire Order God Church fighting the God of Order.

Kallen awakened Dikno, a former Order Legion commander, to prepare battle plans for the returning gods, but Dikno’s mental simulation revealed that the God of Order had entered it. Meanwhile, Fudeng investigated Dikno’s records and recognized Kallen’s connection to Raniedal, concluding that Kallen was the god himself.

• Kallen told Dikno that the gods had been driven from the current era and were preparing to return, then asked him to awaken and devise plans against the Life Order God Church.
• Dikno agreed to work, but Kallen offered him a second life in exchange for his devotion; Dikno challenged Kallen to say who he thought he was.
• Kallen turned toward the simulated battlefield, and the God of Order and the simulated Order Legion broke free of Dikno’s control; the God of Order asked Dikno who he was.
• Kallen returned to the Cardinal’s Court with three coffins and an Awakened squad, while Puer wondered why the Whip Bearer had sent him to choose a commander.
• Fudeng examined Dikno’s archives and original records about Raniedal, then concluded that Kallen was Raniedal.

Neo observed Richard using the Alt Bloodline to bless struggling women at a pastry shop, then joined Kallen in his car and learned that Order would soon move against Life. Neo hinted that he was pursuing an experiment Kallen would oppose, and left to try it himself.

• Rotini discussed his political troubles and plans with Oni, then boarded a cruise ship for a private party with other dignitaries.
• Oni spotted Richard meeting with twelve women at a pastry shop and noticed Richard's Alt Bloodline blessing them.
• Neo joined Kallen and Little Kangna in the car, where Kallen said Order would soon go to war against Life and the Divine Temple would later target his grandfather.
• Neo refused to explain his plans, said Kallen would oppose them, and left after telling him he had to go to the Black Market Bank.
• Neo gave coins to purple-haired children and decided to try an experiment himself, despite sharing Kallen's wish to prevent the others' experiment from succeeding.

Kallen ordered a crackdown on the Order God Church’s god-making project while Prime Minister Rotini rallied support for his New Deal. As the operation dismantled the project, Neo shot Rotini in public while disguised as Luther.

• Kallen learned the god-making plan was about to begin and ordered the project team arrested, with senior backers in Dinge District targeted as well.
• Rotini and Neo discussed the New Deal and illegal immigration before Rotini addressed a cheering crowd and proclaimed his commitment to freedom.
• Kallen watched the motorcade and oversaw the operation, as the Discipline Department arrested project members and killed those who resisted.
• Kevin detected Neo inside the motorcade, but Neo masked his presence, disguised himself as Luther, and raised a pistol toward Rotini.
• Neo shot Rotini in front of the crowd and the assembled reporters, and the prime minister fell with his head blown open.

Neo used Rotini’s death to pursue an impossible path to godhood, and Kallen followed him to witness the attempt’s failure. When the emerging divinity awakened signs of Light across the world, Kevin suspected the sealed epoch might contain a third candidate for godhood.

• Neo shot Rotini, consumed his personality, and used the corpse as a vessel for his God-Making Plan.
• Kallen let Neo flee, then Alfred ordered the reconnaissance squads to contain him as divine power gathered around him.
• Philomina and Puer stopped Neo at sea, where he fought Philomina and began transforming into a polluted false god.
• Kangna sealed the surrounding sea with Guardian's Shield while Kallen confronted Neo and accepted that his friend would die.
• Neo summoned Mr. Luther, the Ancestor of the Bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demon, young Mr. Phileas, and the Mad Pope, who tore power from Rotini's divine image and awakened Light's followers.
• Kevin recalled the God of Order's history with Light and wondered whether a third person had been granted godhood qualification in this epoch.

Kallen and his allies gathered Light, blood, and divinity in an attempt to give Neo a chance to survive, but the God-Making Plan seemed to fail and Neo died. Kallen then discovered that the Light Finger held a vast reserve of Spiritual Power and used it to begin an Order awakening ritual, leaving it uncertain whether Neo or the God of Light would return.

• Kevin proposed using the gathered divinity and Puer’s Light Finger to help Neo obtain an inheritance like Kallen’s, and Puer reluctantly agreed to give up the finger.
• Mr. Luther drew divinity from a sealed tunnel in Vien into Rotini’s statue, while the Ancestor of the Bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demon lent his power to protect Neo after Kallen threatened him.
• The Mad Pope entered Rotini’s statue and transformed it into a sacred vessel, and Puer’s Light Finger detached from her and joined the statue as the Mad Pope called for the God of Light to reveal himself.
• The God of Light’s sealed head stirred inside a Small World Space beneath the Order Temple, but its eyes did not open.
• The ritual ended without granting Neo a Light inheritance, and Neo appeared thoroughly dead as his companions prepared to bury him.
• Kallen found pure Spiritual Power within the Light Finger, drove it into Neo’s chest, and began the Order awakening ritual.

Kallen entered Neo’s consciousness space and persuaded him to awaken so he could help face the coming crisis. At the same time, Light’s head stirred in the Order Temple, and Light appeared beside the exhausted Order, standing before him as the two gods awakened one another across epochs.

• Kallen passed through the personalities in Neo’s consciousness space, including Little Phileas, Mr. Luther, and the Mad Pope, before reaching Neo at Miss Elisa’s funeral.
• Kallen admitted he needed Neo’s help and begged him to stay; Neo agreed to awaken, and Kallen began the ritual to awaken the inheritance of Light.
• In the Order Temple, Wukongjia and the temple head discussed Light’s head and the Church of Light as its aura began to stir.
• Light’s head opened its eyes, dissolved into radiance, and sent its gaze into the distant void while the temple’s guardians prepared to contain it.
• Light appeared before the exhausted Order, completing the reversal of their awakenings from the previous epoch.

Kallen welcomed the awakened commanders Dikno and Bamifu, and the chapter ended with the Order God Church declaring war on the Life Order God Church. The commanders were laid in their coffins after recognizing Kallen as their Lord.

• Kallen congratulated Neo after the Awakening ended, and Neo prepared to begin his divine progression anew.
• Bamifu suspected Dikno had been chosen by their Lord, and the two commanders spent their final hours together before Dikno's rebirth.
• Kallen learned that the Abyss Church had excavated Dikalost's tomb while preparing for the gods' return.
• Kallen visited Dikno and Bamifu, and Bamifu broke down in repentance as both commanders praised the God of Order.
• Norton announced that the Order God Church had declared war on the Life Order God Church.

After Kallen attended Dikno’s funeral, he revealed that Dikno had survived and discussed Order’s rapid invasion of the Life Order God Church’s core territory. Kallen then questioned how Order’s intelligence network had supported its victories, and Neo explained that some outsiders joined Order simply because they believed in it.

• Kallen secretly revived Dikno after the funeral, and Dikno left the cemetery with him and Little Kangna.
• Dikno told Kallen that Order’s nine available Knight Orders were attacking the New Nas Subcontinent with a leapfrog strategy, and Kallen worried about the risks of committing the church’s mobile forces.
• Dikno said insider intelligence within the Life Order God Church was supporting the invasion, prompting Kallen to question the scale and origins of Order’s covert network.
• Neo reported that Order’s forces had penetrated the New Nas Subcontinent in a single day, then discussed the apparent intelligence network with Kallen.
• Neo argued that some intelligence agents from other churches had voluntarily joined Order after studying its doctrines, and said Budalas had preserved the advantages of that faith for a new epoch.

Kallen reviewed the war against Life, then visited Ogleve Fortress and learned that the Tree of Life’s return was slowing despite the deities lending it their strength. As he prepared to report to the High Priest, Neo described a voice he heard after Purification, leaving its identity and intentions unexplained.

• Kallen told Vic to rest before a major project, then reviewed reports showing Order had isolated the Garden of Life and contained diplomatic pressure while the war against Life continued.
• Fudeng sent Kallen to inspect Ogleve Fortress and arranged for him to accompany the High Priest to the front, while the High Priest told Fudeng to focus on his assigned duty.
• Kallen traveled to Ogleve Fortress, where Punk worried about how to respond if Lord Ogurev returned; Kallen told him to follow orders and revealed that he had arranged for clerics to be able to relieve Punk of command if needed.
• Kevin’s observations showed the Tree of Life’s deities contributing strength as Ogurev advanced, but the return process had slowed; Kallen made a discreet drawing to give the High Priest.
• Neo complained that his Purification left him unable to sleep and caused him to bleed, then revealed that a voice told him, “You’re tired. I’ll stand in for you for a while.”

Kallen reported to the High Priest, who assigned him a covert role in the dispute over Wukongjia’s attempt to seize his grandfather’s Godhead Fragment. As they traveled toward the New Nas Subcontinent, Norton gave Kallen a top-secret document titled “Mink Street Incident” to study.

• Kallen reported that the lightning strikes at Ogleve Fortress had dwindled, but the High Priest dismissed his cautious assessment and sent him away without offering a place on the journey to the front.
• Wukongjia intercepted Kallen, dragged him back to the High Priest, and demanded support for Kallen’s future as High Priest in exchange for a scroll.
• The High Priest questioned Kallen about obeying orders that would thwart Wukongjia, and Kallen promised to uphold the High Priest’s will without hesitation.
• The High Priest invited Kallen and Little Kangna into his carriage, where Norton welcomed Little Kangna to the food and praised Kallen’s strong soul and strict adherence to Order Regulations.
• Norton told Kallen that the Order God Church needed the Divine Temple’s cooperation and directed him to read a highly classified document before they reached the New Nas Subcontinent.

Kallen read the investigation report on the Mink Street Incident and learned that the High Priest wanted him to contact and rescue someone who had chosen to sleep, then obtain that person's instructions. He accompanied the High Priest to the Life Order God Church's Central Hub, where the Order, Reincarnation, and Principle churches began their assault on the Garden of Life.

• Kallen read the report's hidden notes, which warned of Order's possible collapse, identified the Extreme Cold Forbidden Zone, and noted the Principle God Church's involvement in the Mink Street Incident.
• The High Priest ordered Kallen to communicate with the sleeper, find a way to rescue him, and obtain his instructions if possible.
• Romir Simorson and Seefus joined the High Priest aboard the carriage, where they discussed their churches' interests and the Reincarnation Church's preparations for its god's return.
• The High Priest and the others arrived at the Life Order God Church's Central Hub and saw the Garden of Life enclosed behind a rainbow barrier and protective vines.
• Romir opened a connection to the Gate of Reincarnation, and vast numbers of undead poured from black holes in the sky to gnaw at the Garden's defenses.
• The High Priest opened the Light of Order and sentenced the Life Order God Church to "Life's Withering."

Kallen accompanied the High Priest Norton and the Order forces as they entered the Garden of Life, where they defeated a surprise attack by three Life Elders. When the Life Church requested surrender, Norton ordered the destruction of every life in the Garden and declared that its Lords would not return.

• Romir guided the undead back through the Gate of Reincarnation, and Norton advanced into the Garden of Life on the Church-Guarding Divine Beast Base.
• Seefus explained to Kallen that the Garden's barren land reflected how the Life Order God Church hoarded nourishment around the Tree of Life.
• Mobiten blocked a Life Elder's Divine Artifact strike, and the Order Knight formations defeated the three attacking Elders.
• The Gardener requested permission for the Life Order God Church to surrender, but Norton ordered the Regiment Commanders to leave no life in the Garden.
• The Gardener warned Norton that the Church World would hold Order accountable, and Norton replied that the Life Lords would not return.