Recaps

Lumian learned that the danger in Cordou Village was so severe that the lady could only resolve it by destroying everything, and she agreed to send ingredients into his dream. He warned Ryan, Lya, and Valentine about the Parish Priest, then watched Ava become a candidate for Spring Spirit and prepared ingredients for his dream.

• Lumian asked the lady to resolve Cordou Village's problem, but she said the cost would be the destruction of everything and told him the villagers had to find a better outcome themselves.
• The lady said Madame Pualis was a Beyonder on an abnormal pathway and offered to send ingredients Lumian placed beside his bed into his dream.
• Lumian told Ryan, Lya, and Valentine about Pons Béné entering Naroka's house after her funeral and accused the Parish Priest of immoral conduct and suspicious plans.
• Lumian gathered red chestnut flowers and white poplar leaves, then saw Ava named as a Spring Spirit candidate and win over eighty percent of the villagers' support.
• Lumian returned home to learn there was no telegram, recovered from training with Aurora's massage, and placed the dream ingredients by his window before sleeping.

Lumian brewed and survived the Hunter potion, discovering that its abilities had carried over from the dream into reality. After noticing the chest symbol fading in reality, he saw an owl watching him from an elm tree.

• Lumian mixed the Hunter potion from red wine, herbs, a Red Chestnut Flower, and the crimson mass, then drank it despite the severe pain and the mysterious voice’s interference.
• Lumian recovered and found that his strength, speed, reflexes, and control had greatly improved, along with heightened senses, tracking and tactical insight, knowledge of plants and animal organs, and a stronger sense of danger.
• Lumian concluded that his abilities and use of the environment had helped him defeat the shotgun monster, then returned to reality to test whether the potion’s effects remained.
• Lumian found that he had become a Beyonder in reality and that his abilities were undiminished; the thorn-chain symbol on his chest was fading, while the bluish-black symbol appeared to remain only in the dream.
• Lumian sensed something, looked up, and saw the owl from the Warlock legend watching him from an elm tree.

Lumian planned to escape Cordou Village with Aurora and went to the old tavern to learn about being a Beyonder. The lady explained the origins of Beyonder powers and introduced the Law of the Indestructibility of Beyonder Characteristics.

• After the owl visited again, Lumian planned to leave Cordou Village with Aurora, using a hidden mountain trail if no reply telegram arrived.
• Lumian told Aurora the escape plan over breakfast, and she agreed it had a good chance of succeeding.
• On his way to the old tavern, Lumian taunted Pons Béné, who fled; Lumian decided not to chase him and risk complicating their escape.
• The lady told Lumian that Sequence 0 of each pathway was equivalent to a true god, and named the Hunter pathway's vacant Red Priest position and the Mystery Pryer pathway's Hidden Sage.
• The lady explained that Beyonder characteristics came from the original Creator and could neither disappear nor increase in quantity, introducing the Law of the Indestructibility of Beyonder Characteristics.

Lumian learned the laws governing Beyonder characteristics, the dangers of advancing, and the Acting Method from the lady. He also discovered the origins of the Sequence system and Emperor Roselle’s power, leaving him to wonder what Aurora had learned from Roselle’s diaries.

• Lumian asked whether Beyonders could obtain characteristics by killing other Beyonders, and the lady explained the Indestructibility Law and warned that the knowledge could encourage slaughter.
• The lady explained that Beyonder characteristics converged through fate, especially among Beyonders of the same or neighboring pathways, and described Saints and Angels as higher Sequences.
• Lumian learned that potion use could cause loss of control through spiritual remnants, improper advancement, or the influence of powerful beings, and the lady warned him not to seek the identity behind the voice he had heard.
• The lady explained neighboring pathways, including Hunter’s connection to Assassin and Mystery Pryer’s connection to Generalist, and described ways to switch pathways or remove characteristics.
• The lady taught Lumian the Acting Method as a way to digest potions by exploring a Sequence’s deeper meaning, and said the potion formulas and Sequence names came from the Blasphemy Slates.
• Lumian learned that Emperor Roselle had been a powerful Beyonder who created the Blasphemy Cards, then wondered whether Aurora’s ability to decipher Roselle’s diaries had contributed to her power.

The lady taught Lumian about Sealed Artifacts, Beyonder Items, the Spirit World, and the dangers of losing himself while acting. Lumian then joined Ava’s Blessing Procession as the Lent Festival began, and the procession reached his home.

• The lady explained Sealed Artifact grades and negative effects, Beyonder Items, the Spirit World, and how Hunters might obtain supernatural tools.
• The lady told Lumian that Sequence 8 of the Hunter pathway was Provocateur and Sequence 7 was Pyromaniac, then warned him to remember that he was only acting.
• Lumian left the old tavern, checked for a telegram, and joined Ava, Raymond, and the other young people for the Blessing Procession.
• Ava sang blessings and gave natural offerings to villagers in exchange for gifts as the procession moved from house to house.
• The procession reached Lumian and Aurora’s home, where Aurora gave Ava an earthenware jar of animal fat in exchange for a leaf.

Lumian joined Cordou Village’s Lent Festival celebrations and recognized that the villagers had grown strangely distant from their faith in the Eternal Blazing Sun. The ritual ended in horror when Pierre Berri beheaded Ava, and Lumian fled toward the church windows.

• Lumian asked Aurora to alert him if Novel Weekly sent a telegram, then joined the Blessing Procession through Cordou Village.
• At the Riverside Ritual, Lumian rushed to throw offerings into the river, and the others tossed Raymond into the water for finishing last.
• During the church celebration, Lumian realized that people in the village rarely praised the Eternal Blazing Sun anymore and told Aurora he needed to speak with her later.
• Parish Priest Guillaume Béné and Pierre Berri entered the church to announce the Spring Spirit’s departure, and Lumian discreetly moved toward the stained-glass windows.
• Pierre Berri picked up an axe and beheaded Ava as Lumian ran toward her, then Lumian turned and sprinted for the windows.

Lumian fought to escape the church after Ava was killed and the villagers became deranged, but the Parish Priest’s supernatural power knocked him unconscious. He awoke at home and warned Aurora, only to learn that the Lent Festival had not happened yet.

• Guillaume Béné used mysterious symbols to disrupt Lumian’s escape, and Lumian crashed through a stained-glass window before Pierre Berri drove him back into the church.
• Lumian dodged Pierre Berri’s axe and charged at Guillaume Béné while the other young villagers celebrated Ava’s death in a trance.
• Guillaume Béné’s body swelled as terrifying marks appeared on his skin, and their presence subdued everyone in the church except Lumian.
• Lumian saw a thorn-like mark matching his own on Guillaume Béné, broke the Parish Priest’s neck, and was struck unconscious when Guillaume Béné opened his blood-red eyes.
• Lumian awoke in his bedroom, rushed to Aurora, and warned her that the Parish Priest and villagers had gone mad and killed Ava.
• Aurora told Lumian that the Lent Festival was still several days away.

Lumian confirmed that he was back on March 29, several days before the Lent Festival, while retaining his Hunter abilities. He ended the evening by verifying that Ryan, Lya, and Valentine had arrived in Cordou Village as before.

• Lumian learned from Aurora that it was March 29, then rushed to the Lizier home and confirmed Ava was alive.
• Lumian learned that Pierre Berri had secretly returned to the village a few days earlier and brought several sheep with him.
• Lumian saw that the church window was intact and encountered Guillaume Béné, who told him to return the next day to pray.
• Lumian realized he still possessed his supernatural abilities as a Hunter and concluded his earlier experiences had not been a dream.
• Lumian ate dinner with Aurora, then went to the old tavern and saw Ryan, Lya, and Valentine arrive.

Lumian found that March 29 had repeated, while the Wands card from the mysterious lady remained and hinted at the danger ahead. In the special dream, he discovered that time had reset there too and killed one of the monsters waiting in the ruins.

• Lumian told Lya, Valentine, and Ryan that the Parish Priest was likely having an affair, then left them at the church and returned home.
• Lumian sat with Aurora on the roof as she spoke about being unable to return to her homeland, then found the Seven of Wands card beneath his pillow.
• Lumian entered the special dream again and found his collected gold coins missing, while the shotgun and other supplies had returned to their earlier state.
• Lumian followed signs of two creatures to the ruins and recovered the Gold Louis from a broken jar.
• Lumian evaded a skinless, blood-red monster leaping from the roof and killed it with his axe.

After becoming a Hunter, Lumian killed the Shotgun Monster again but found no Beyonder characteristic, confirming that the time reversal had not restored the one he had already absorbed. He discussed the village’s abnormalities with Aurora, then received a telegram that appeared to answer a message she had not yet sent.

• Lumian ambushed and killed the Shotgun Monster, then realized its Hunter Beyonder characteristic was absent because he had already absorbed it before time reversed.
• Lumian prepared breakfast and asked Aurora about strange villagers, learning that she suspected Madame Pualis, the Parish Priest, and Pierre Berri’s sheep.
• A telegram from Novel Weekly arrived inviting Aurora to a Writers’ Salon in Trier, though she had not sent a message requesting an invitation.
• Lumian guessed that the telegram was a reply to one Aurora had sent before time reversed, even though that message had not yet been sent in the current timeline.

Lumian persuaded Aurora to take him to Trier, then investigated the time loop and concluded that he might have sent the letter asking for help in an earlier loop. He confirmed with the lady that Cordou Village’s residents were People of the Loop, and learned that the term also described a power granted by a hidden being.

• Lumian admitted to Aurora that he had sent Novel Weekly’s invitation telegram and persuaded her to take him to Trier in a few days.
• Lumian studied the Little Blue Book and theorized that he might have written the letter asking for help during an earlier time loop.
• Lumian planned to check the Little Blue Book in the Dream Ruins to determine who had sent the letter.
• Lumian met the lady at the old tavern, confirmed that she remembered the loop, and asked whether Cordou Village was trapped in one.
• The lady told Lumian that they were People of the Loop and explained that the term also referred to a power equivalent to Sequence 4 granted through prayer.

Lumian learned that boons could alter their recipients and that the time loop had several triggers, including reaching the Twelfth Night. Realizing outside authorities might destroy Cordou Village if they discovered the anomaly, he resolved to find the loop’s key quickly and went to investigate Pierre Berri.

• The lady explained how boons could change a recipient’s body, mind, and spirit, and confirmed that Lumian’s special quality would preserve his memories and Beyonder Characteristics through the loops.
• Lumian learned that the loop could begin for reasons beyond killing Parish Priest Guillaume Béné, and that Intis authorities might destroy the village to contain the anomaly.
• After leaving the old tavern, Lumian sensed that his Hunter potion was beginning to digest and considered how becoming a Provocateur could help him survive.
• Lumian questioned Pierre Berri near the church, noticed differences in his wording and suspicious new shoes, and abandoned his plan to speak with the Parish Priest.
• Lumian headed to Pierre Berri’s house to investigate the shepherd.

Lumian investigated Pierre Berri’s three unusual sheep and discovered a hidden plea for help written in Highland Language. Aurora identified the sheep as possibly transformed humans, while Lumian connected hair and nail clippings outside the Berri house to funeral customs and wondered whether Pons Béné had taken Naroka’s.

• Lumian examined Pierre Berri’s three sheep, found recently cut hair and nails in their hay, and saw one sheep write a word in the dirt.
• Lumian pretended to understand the word, erased it, and went home to tell Aurora what he had found.
• Aurora recognized the word as Highland Language for “Help!” and suspected the sheep had once been human.
• Aurora explained that hair and nails were hidden outside a house after certain deaths, prompting Lumian to wonder whether Pons Béné had taken Naroka’s hair and nails.

Lumian and Aurora prepared to leave Cordou Village and planned to report the people transformed into sheep to the authorities. While visiting Madame Pualis to borrow her carriage, Lumian secretly investigated Louis Lund and witnessed a horrifying birth from the butler’s swollen belly.

• Aurora decided to take Lumian out of Cordou Village and teach him mysticism during the journey, while refusing to risk rescuing the transformed villagers herself.
• Aurora and Lumian packed their suitcases and went to Madame Pualis’s castle to borrow her carriage, intending to send the authorities an anonymous letter from Dalege.
• Aurora noticed that the castle garden’s flowers were blooming unusually early, then Madame Pualis welcomed the siblings and said Louis Lund was sick.
• Lumian slipped upstairs to investigate Louis Lund and heard the butler screaming in pain.
• Lumian looked through Louis Lund’s window and saw a woman deliver a blood-covered baby from the butler’s bursting belly.

Lumian witnessed Louis Lund give birth to a claw-nailed baby in Madame Pualis's castle, then left with Aurora in a carriage bound for Dalege. After Naroka joined them, she revealed that she was going to the Otherworld as the world outside the carriage turned unnaturally dark.

• Lumian saw a woman deliver a claw-nailed baby from Louis Lund, then stitch his wound while Madame Pualis remained nearby.
• Madame Pualis confronted Lumian, but Aurora arrived, and the siblings departed for Dalege in a carriage.
• The coachman stopped to collect Naroka, who boarded in a black dress and said she was going to visit some people.
• Lumian noticed Naroka turn pale and lifeless, alerted Aurora, and Aurora sensed something abnormal.
• Aurora told Lumian to stay close, then Naroka said she was going to the Otherworld as darkness gathered outside the carriage.

Lumian and Aurora fought their way through a wilderness filled with undead, using Aurora’s protective spells to reach its edge. Aurora stayed behind to draw the undead away, but a crowned woman resembling Madame Pualis appeared, and the undead followed her carriage instead.

• Lumian recognized the wilderness as the Otherworld, while Aurora identified its inhabitants as undead and warned him to stay close.
• Aurora used a golden brooch and sunflower powder to repel the undead as she and Lumian fled on foot.
• When Aurora ran out of powder, she gave Lumian the brooch and told him to sprint for the wilderness’s edge while she stayed behind to cast a powerful spell.
• Lumian turned back to save Aurora, but she used an invisible force to push him toward the edge and drew the undead toward herself with black vapor.
• A crowned woman resembling Madame Pualis rode through the wilderness in a dark-red carriage pulled by devil-like creatures, and the Death Knight and undead followed her toward the mountains.

Lumian and Aurora escaped the wilderness procession of undead and devils, then hurried toward a dangerous path out of Cordou Village. Just as Aurora flew them down a cliff, Lumian’s vision shattered and he woke at the beginning of the loop, where Aurora said it was the 29th.

• Lumian and Aurora recognized the carriage’s rider as a woman resembling Madame Pualis, then escaped the wilderness and returned near Cordou Village.
• Aurora revealed that her Brooch of Integrity was a Mystical Item and explained that her companions had called similar carriage riders the Night Lady.
• Lumian told Aurora how he obtained a Hunter Beyonder Characteristic, and Aurora explained that she had chosen to save him so he could avenge and revive her.
• Lumian carried the exhausted Aurora to a highland pasture, where she prepared to fly them down a cliff toward the dangerous path.
• Lumian and Aurora suffered sudden head pain in midair, and Lumian woke in his bedroom at the start of the loop on the 29th.

Lumian told Aurora that Cordou Village was trapped in a time loop, explained his investigations and transformation into a Hunter, and persuaded her that his account was true. He left to investigate the village while Aurora prepared to use her mystical sight, and their conversation about his adoption stirred Lumian emotionally.

• Lumian and Aurora reasoned that the loop’s final night might hold the key to breaking it, and Lumian planned to avoid triggering abnormalities while investigating the village.
• Lumian confessed that he had become a Hunter and described the loop, the outsiders, the Dream Ruins, and the mysterious lady’s teachings; Aurora examined him and questioned what price he might owe.
• Lumian recounted the events of the previous loops and predicted developments in the village, convincing Aurora that time was repeating.
• Lumian set out to gather information while Aurora agreed to search with her mystical sight, despite the danger and limitations.
• Lumian asked why Aurora had adopted him, and after her irritated explanation, he left for the village with unspoken gratitude.

Lumian investigated the Parish Priest’s mistresses and visited the church, uncovering hints of a secret ritual connected to Pierre Berri and Twelfth Night. He planned to investigate deputy Parish Priest Michel Garigu further after Aurora reported that she had also found something suspicious about him.

• Lumian eavesdropped on Sybil Berry and Jean Mori, learning that Pierre Berri was helping with an important ritual for God that was not the Lent Festival ceremony.
• Lumian listened outside Pato Russel and Madina Benet’s home and learned that Madina had been visiting the church frequently and that Pato wanted to invite the Parish Priest over again.
• Lumian went to the church to speak with Guillaume Béné, but found only Michel Garigu, who said the Parish Priest had left after three outsiders came looking for him.
• Lumian pretended he would return the next day to pray, then decided to investigate Michel’s residence after dark.
• Lumian returned home, where Aurora told him she had found something suspicious about Michel Garigu.

Aurora noticed that deputy Parish Priest Michel Garigu had an unusually bright Astral Body and gave Lumian a remedial lesson in mysticism, explaining the human spiritual layers and the Mystery-Pryer's abilities. She began teaching him about Spirit Vision, ritual magic, and supernatural languages, using her contracted Spirit World creature, White Paper, as an example.

• Aurora told Lumian that Michel Garigu's Astral Body was unusually bright, then explained the Spirit Body, Astral Body, Mental Body, and Ether Body.
• Aurora explained how the Mystery-Prying Eye let her examine spiritual bodies and see normally invisible things, and revealed that she had observed the church through a telescope from home.
• Aurora showed Lumian a miniature ink bottle containing her contracted Spirit World creature and discovered that he did not know how to activate Spirit Vision or recognize supernatural languages.
• Aurora introduced the creature as White Paper, a weak Spirit World creature that could carry one of its contractor's supernatural abilities, and began teaching Lumian basic mysticism.

Aurora taught Lumian the basics of Ritual Magic, including how supplication, materials, candles, and Spirit World summoning worked. After dinner, she began demonstrating the remaining steps of summoning a Spirit World creature.

• Lumian asked Aurora how complex and powerful a Spirit World creature could be, and she explained the limits of what it could perform.
• Aurora explained that Warlock spells required several steps and materials, while a Pyromaniac could cast fire spells more directly; Lumian wondered if a White Paper could carry one.
• Lumian proposed summoning and contracting multiple White Papers to imitate floating cannons, but Aurora said the idea probably would not work.
• Aurora taught Lumian how Ritual Magic used supplication, appropriate materials, and an altar with candles arranged according to mystic symbolism.
• Aurora began demonstrating the remaining steps of Ritual Magic by using Spirit World creature summoning as an example.

Aurora taught Lumian how to prepare a ritual space, sanctify a ritual dagger, and structure incantations for petitioning deities or summoning Spirit World creatures. The lesson ended with Aurora warning him that vague summoning descriptions could bring unwanted or dangerous spirits.

• Aurora explained how to create a spiritual wall around an altar and lit the candle representing herself with her spirituality.
• Aurora sanctified a silver dagger using coarse salt, water, and a Hermetic incantation, while Lumian watched and admitted he could not understand the language.
• Aurora explained the rules for petitioning deities, including how to phrase the request and light and extinguish the candles.
• Aurora taught Lumian the parts of an incantation for summoning a Spirit World creature and explained how its description narrowed the target.
• Aurora warned Lumian that vague descriptions could summon an unwanted creature or one dangerous despite being friendly or weak.

Aurora explained how summoning rituals worked and described the dangers of knowledge chasing people, a condition that had altered her mind and personality. She planned to summon a messenger to seek advice from Hella, a fellow member of her secret mutual aid organization, the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society.

• Aurora explained that knowledge forced upon her sometimes came from the Hidden Sage and sometimes seemed to chase her on its own, and she admitted that the torment had changed her.
• Aurora taught Lumian about contracted Spirit World creatures, the limits of summoning, and the risks of calling creatures from other dimensions.
• Aurora said she would perform a summoning ritual to contact Hella, a founder and vice president of her mutual aid organization.
• Aurora revealed that the organization members used code names, including her own, Muggle.
• Aurora told Lumian that the organization was called the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society.

Lumian and Aurora discussed the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society and why they could not summon Hella’s messenger without risking a loop reset. Aurora then taught Lumian true Meditation, but his first attempt ended when he sensed something watching him from the gray fog.

• Aurora explained how messenger contracts used names and aura to identify their targets, while Lumian wondered whether identical names could cause confusion.
• Lumian asked whether Hella’s messenger would count as an outsider, and Aurora concluded that summoning it could repeatedly restart the loop as it tried to leave Cordu.
• Aurora reasoned that inanimate objects could leave the loop unaffected and suggested sending a plea for help in a sealed box floated down the river.
• Aurora taught Lumian the second half of Meditation and showed him an abstract drawing to use in place of the imagined sun.
• Lumian entered a meditative state and perceived gray fog, strange forms, colors, and radiant light before sensing a watcher and jolting awake in fear.

Lumian learned to activate Spirit Vision despite being frightened by a presence watching him in the Spirit World. Later, he and Aurora used White Paper to observe assistant Parish Priest Michel Garigu and saw a blurry, transparent lizard-like figure crawl out of his mouth as he slept.

• Lumian told Aurora that meditation had exposed him to the Spirit World and that a distant presence watching him had frightened him.
• Aurora linked Lumian’s unusually quick meditation success to the two symbols on his chest and advised him to keep practicing cautiously.
• With repeated attempts, Lumian activated Spirit Vision and saw Aurora’s blurred Ether Body and the Spirit World creature White Paper.
• Aurora taught Lumian to deactivate Spirit Vision and helped him practice using it, then sent him to rest as his spirituality ran low.
• Aurora used her contract with White Paper to observe assistant Parish Priest Michel Garigu while he slept.
• Lumian and Aurora watched as a blurry, transparent lizard-like figure crawled out of Michel Garigu’s mouth.