Recaps

Lumian and Franca agreed that Mystery’s Face could be kept under control, while Jenna chose the Generalist pathway for her brother Julian. After Julian returned to Trier, Jenna brought him to meet Bella, whose extraordinary mechanical skill left him awestruck.

• Lumian used the Blood Emperor’s residual aura to calm Mystery’s Face, and the group decided to keep it asleep and replenish its life force regularly.
• Jenna chose the Generalist pathway for Julian, and Lumian urged her to arrange for him to encounter it naturally.
• Julian returned to Trier confident in his technical abilities and reunited with Jenna at the North Train Station.
• Jenna told Julian about a remarkable female technical expert and took him to meet her at a factory.
• Julian watched Bella work on a giant machine with astonishing precision, and his confidence collapsed as Jenna introduced them.

Bella trained Julian in mechanical work and offered to take him as her apprentice, while Jenna secretly arranged for Bella to guide him into mysticism. Julian accepted the opportunity to leave for Susie, and Jenna and Franca turned their attention to their other plans as several months passed.

• Bella corrected Julian's technique as he built a precise metal-cutting machine, then offered to take him as her apprentice.
• Jenna told Julian that Bella was a Steam Church believer with ties to Deep Valley Monastery, easing his suspicions about the offer.
• Jenna secretly ordered Bella to take Julian to major cities, introduce him to mysticism, and guide his advancement, threatening to send Bella back to the Future if she disobeyed.
• A week later, Julian told Jenna he would apprentice under Bella in Susie for at least two years, and Jenna encouraged him to go while he gave her money for her studies.
• After Julian left, Franca and Jenna discussed consolidating Disease Church believers, preparing Anthony's advancement ritual, and searching for the Society of the End of All Things and Zaratul.
• With Lumian and the others remaining relatively settled, several months passed.

Leon earned the trust of Messy Street’s residents and was appointed its bishop in the Disease Church, while Lugano reported the Church’s progress to Jenna, its Pope. At Lumian’s villa, the group discussed their advancement and their shortage of Beyonder characteristics, and Lumian decided to visit Bansy Harbor.

• Leon celebrated at the Golden Rooster Inn, where a young man announced his promotion and overseas assignment in Susie.
• Lugano appointed Leon bishop of the area, gave him a mirror for contacting the Pope, and supplied the potion formula and ingredients to advance to Warlock.
• Lugano reported the Disease Church’s affairs to Jenna through a mirror, and the Pope told him he could become an archbishop before long.
• Jenna read Lugano’s report to Franca, and they discussed how the Church would build her standing as its Pope and their plans to advance to Sequence 2.
• Lumian explained that they lacked leads on Weather Warlock and Calamity Witch Beyonder characteristics, then said he planned to visit Bansy Harbor.

Lumian used the Corpse Oil Candle at Bansy Harbor’s telegraph office and entered a prosperous city through the ritual. He reached a guarded temple and learned from a stone stele that the fifth Celestial Master had imprisoned a Sinful Dragon there.

• Lumian, Franca, and Jenna searched Bansy Harbor for a Weather Warlock Beyonder Characteristic and the ritual’s special location.
• Lumian prayed to Mr. Fool, activated his special traits, and followed his intuition to the ruined telegraph office.
• Lumian lit the Corpse Oil Candle and entered a bustling city where its inhabitants appeared ordinary.
• Lumian followed his spirituality through the city to a temple, where monks barred him from approaching a wooden tower.
• Lumian detached himself through mysticism and reached the tower’s entrance, where a stone stele said the fifth Celestial Master had imprisoned the Sinful Dragon.

Lumian entered the wooden tower and asked the Sinful Dragon where he could find a Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic. The blood in the well pulled him into its Mirror World, where he encountered a second mirror and watched Alista Tudor step out of it.

• Lumian spotted an intruder hiding in the tower and used Fascination to make the man fall from his perch before continuing underground.
• At the bottom of the tower, Lumian examined the chained well and asked the Sinful Dragon where to obtain a Beyonder characteristic for advancement.
• The blood’s visions showed Alista Tudor’s divine corpse in Fourth Epoch Trier and the Blood Emperor in the Blue Avenger’s treasury; then a powerful suction dragged Lumian into the well.
• Lumian passed through the blood’s surface into its Mirror World and followed drifting corpses to a blocked underwater opening that suddenly swallowed many of them.
• A surge pushed Lumian toward an enormous shadow beneath the blood sea and onto a vast square, where he found a full-length mirror like the one in the Blue Avenger’s treasury.
• Alista Tudor appeared in the mirror and stepped out onto the square before Lumian.

Lumian fought the powerful Alista Tudor from the mirror in the Ancient Well’s Mirror World, but his attempt to destroy the Silver Full-Length Mirror was a trap. After Alista withdrew into darkness and the ritual ended, Medici revealed that he had let Lumian trigger Tudor’s traps, while a deep purple streak raced eastward.

• Alista from the mirror overwhelmed Lumian with flames, fog, and explosions, while Lumian used Mirror Substitute and other powers to survive.
• Lumian destroyed the Silver Full-Length Mirror, but Alista revealed that its apparent connection to him had been a deliberately exposed weakness and pierced Lumian with a Flame Spear.
• Lumian used his War Bishop gift and prepared to seek angelic-level help, but a stretch of darkness appeared and Alista walked into it without attacking again.
• Lumian ended the Mysticism Ritual and awoke in the ruins of the Telegraph Office, where Franca asked what had happened.
• A deep purple streak rose from the violently shaking Blue Avenger and raced eastward as Mr. Hanged Man watched.
• Medici told Albus that he had waited for Lumian to trigger the problems and traps Tudor had left behind.

A Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic flew across the Northern Continent toward Lumian, and he concluded that Alista Tudor wanted him to advance to angelhood before revealing his resurrection scheme. As the blazing Grade 0 Sealed Artifact arrived at Bansy Harbor and challenged him to face it, Lumian sent Franca and Jenna away and prepared to confront it alone.

• Lumian sensed that a Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic had escaped the Blue Avenger's treasury and was flying toward Bansy Harbor.
• After preparing and recounting his mysticism experience, Lumian discussed the strange arrival with Franca and Jenna and concluded that Alista Tudor wanted him to become an angel.
• Lumian said the characteristic's arrival was an open scheme that would allow Alista Tudor's resurrection preparations to emerge after Lumian advanced to Sequence 2.
• The deep-purple, blue-green giant bird arrived over Bansy Harbor, setting the ruins ablaze and challenging Lumian to face it.
• Lumian sent Franca and Jenna away through the Mirror World, then drew the Book of Post-Apocalypse from his Traveler's Bag.

Lumian endured the Purple-Flame Giant Bird’s assault at the Bansy Harbor Telegram Office until the angel was afflicted by an anomaly tied to the ruins. The Bird acknowledged Lumian’s qualifications before shrinking into a weather-filled crystalline pillar.

• Lumian used the Book of Post-Apocalypse to ensure good luck, then stayed within the Telegram Office ruins as the Purple-Flame Giant Bird attacked with rain, lightning, fire, and a tsunami.
• Lumian relied on Mirror Substitutes to survive the assault while Bansy Harbor’s ruins were flooded and devastated.
• After Lumian exhausted his Mirror Substitutes, the Purple-Flame Giant Bird suddenly convulsed in pain, an effect Lumian had anticipated from the angel attacking the Telegram Office’s leakage point.
• Lumian revealed that he had drawn the Bird into the ruins and used the Corpse Oil Candle there to provoke an anomaly, aided by the prophecy’s good luck.
• The Purple-Flame Giant Bird acknowledged that Lumian was qualified, then shrank into a crystalline pillar containing weather phenomena.

After defeating the purple giant bird in Bansy Harbor, Lumian learned that advancing along a pathway he had switched into might require hidden conditions, and he prepared to become a Weather Warlock. He planned to gather the remaining ingredients and wait for a hurricane before performing his ritual.

• Lumian recovered from the battle, sealed the purple crystal pillar and other items, and returned to Trier, where he explained that facing the bird alone may have fulfilled a hidden advancement condition.
• Lumian told Franca and Jenna that he needed to advance before Alista Tudor's preparations could force him to do so during the approaching apocalypse.
• Lumian prayed to Mr. Fool, who shattered the purple crystal pillar and removed the madness and mental imprint from its Beyonder characteristic.
• Lumian said he had devised a simpler ritual method using his Witch of Unaging and Reaper abilities, but would explain it only after succeeding.
• Lumian decided to gather the remaining ingredients and wait for a typhoon or hurricane before performing the ritual.
• Across several regions, hooded figures gathered materials from corpses amid lightning, extreme snow, drought, and an approaching storm at the Berserk Sea Coast.

Lumian destroyed the typhoon by dragging its structural weaknesses into the Mirror World, then drank a potion and endured catastrophic weather as he transformed into a complete Mythical Creature Form. He returned to the Luxury Villa in Trier, where Franca, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig saw that he had grown taller again.

• Lumian teleported into the typhoon's eye and used Weakness Detection to find vulnerable sections in its structure.
• Lumian repeatedly dragged the typhoon's weaknesses into the Mirror World until the storm collapsed and the affected skies cleared.
• Lumian drank the prepared potion on the sea and endured lightning, hail, and other extreme weather as the area and Spirit World resisted his transformation.
• Lumian's body was destroyed and re-formed as a complete Mythical Creature Form before shrinking back into a taller human appearance.
• Lumian teleported to the Luxury Villa in Trier, where Franca remarked on his increased height.

Lumian described the abilities he gained as a Weather Warlock, including his enhanced war powers, weather control, and combined Hunter and Witch abilities. He ended by explaining that unless he restrained himself, his presence would provoke extreme weather and increase the chances of war and slaughter.

• Lumian changed into clothes that fit his transformed body and explained how his new charisma affected people around him.
• Lumian described his Weather Warlock abilities, including flame transformation, battlefield-scale attacks, team coordination, Fog of War, and weather manipulation.
• Lumian gave Franca and Jenna the Sword of Courage and its sealing swords, then explained how his weaknesses detection and combat abilities had improved.
• Lumian demonstrated a black-flame Sword of Destruction that could cut through spatial barriers and described other powers combining Hunter and Witch abilities.
• Lumian warned that without restraint, his presence would bring extreme weather and increase the likelihood of war and slaughter.

Lumian explained the abilities and costs of his new angelic status, then reunited with Jenna and Franca before seeking guidance from Mr. Fool. The chapter ended with Mr. Fool beginning to explain the distinction between divinity and humanity to Lumian and Madam Magician.

• Lumian explained how his Hunter abilities let him form a team, share certain powers, and pray for mystical communion, while warning that his gifts would eventually demand a price.
• Lumian took Ludwig out to sea to feed him, then returned to find Jenna alone; she said she would expand missionary work once Lumian designed a proper honorific name and asked about his subdued mood.
• Lumian told Jenna that his divinity was still unsettled, and she hugged him; after they noticed Ludwig watching, Jenna went to contact the bishops and Lumian went upstairs.
• Franca gave Lumian Mystery's Face to feed, and Lumian offered her a hug; they embraced and welcomed Lumian Lee back before he left to visit above the Gray Fog.
• Above the Gray Fog, Lumian told Mr. Fool about his violent and sexual urges, and Mr. Fool identified them as manifestations of divinity.
• Madam Magician asked Mr. Fool to explain the distinction between divinity and humanity, and he agreed.

Mr. Fool explained the origins and manifestations of divinity, the two layers of humanity, and how different Beyonder pathways inherit different spiritual influences. The discussion ended as Lumian asked Mr. Fool to explain what sefirot were and why he had mentioned only sixteen Divine Pathways.

• Mr. Fool said divinity in the true sense came from the spirits and consciousnesses left by the Original Creator and the personalities that split from Him.
• Mr. Fool explained that the Celestial Worthy and the original God were linked to different pathways and sefirot, and that Lumian’s divinity included influences from both the Original Creator and the original God.
• Mr. Fool described outward manifestations of divinity and explained that ordinary people often mistake the first layer of humanity—self-preservation and self-interest—for divinity.
• Mr. Fool distinguished that first layer of humanity from a second layer that included love, kindness, courage, sacrifice, and other qualities, both positive and negative.
• Mr. Fool asked Lumian whether he wanted to know what sefirot were and why only sixteen Divine Pathways had been mentioned, and Lumian asked him to explain.

Madam Magician and Mr. The Fool explained the Great Ones Above the Sequence, the sefirot, and how the Original Creator’s destruction brought fragments of three outside sefirot into the world. Lumian learned how the Celestial Worthy’s Western Continent scheme was thwarted and heard that numerous Outer Deities still sought to invade.

• Madam Magician explained that Great Ones Above the Sequence had accommodated a sefirah, its Uniquenesses, and Sequence 1 Beyonder Characteristics, and described their origins as Rulers of the Old One and Outer Deities.
• Madam Magician said the Original Creator’s awakening split Him into six sefirot, while the Fallen Mother Goddess, Mother Tree of Desire, and Son of Chaos each lost half of their sefirot to the world inside the barrier.
• Mr. The Fool explained that the torn fragments became the Brood Hive, Shadow World, and Nation of Disorder, while the Son of Chaos’s consciousness became the Genie sealed inside 0-05.
• Mr. The Fool revealed that the Celestial Worthy sealed seven sefirot on the Western Continent to compel the gods to help create a Lord of Mysteries, but powerful Western Continent beings such as the Celestial Master thwarted the plan.
• Mr. The Fool connected the Luo Sect’s worship of the Brood Hive to the Knowledge Wilderness’s corruption and the Hidden Sage’s emergence.
• Madam Magician listed the many Outer Deities seeking to invade, including the Fallen Mother Goddess, Mother Tree of Desire, Mist of Uncertainty, Circle of Fate, and Goddess of Destiny, leaving Lumian alarmed by their numbers.

Madam Magician explained the barrier, the Outer Deities, and the three Pillars to Lumian, including why the apocalypse could not be avoided simply by surrendering the sefirot. As Lumian considered provoking the Outer Deities to fight one another, Mr. Fool revealed that a Hidden Fourth Pillar also existed.

• Madam Magician explained that the Original Creator’s fading will weakened the barrier protecting the planet, with the apocalypse expected in 1368 but possibly arriving earlier.
• Madam Magician described how the whirlpool incident had wounded the Mist of Uncertainty and killed the Brokers, leaving nine Outer Deities to threaten the planet.
• Madam Magician explained the levels above the Sequence and identified the Primordial Witch God, Mr. Fool, and the Fallen Mother Goddess as the three Pillars governing the Astral World, Spirit World, and physical world.
• Madam Magician warned Lumian that giving the sefirot to the Outer Deities would not prevent the apocalypse and described the destruction their arrival could cause.
• Lumian proposed provoking the Outer Deities into fighting over a sefirot, but worried that the victor would grow stronger.
• Mr. Fool told Lumian that there was also a Hidden Fourth Pillar.

Mr. Fool explained the Hidden Fourth Pillar and warned Lumian that his future had become chaotic after advancing to Weather Warlock. The gathering ended with Fors advising Lumian on his advancement, while she prepared to become a Sequence 1 angel and Lumian considered the implications of the apocalypse.

• Mr. Fool explained that the Hidden Fourth Pillar could form from the City of Calamity and the River of Eternal Darkness, and described how the Goddess of Evernight was approaching the necessary conditions.
• Mr. Fool warned Lumian that switching to a neighboring pathway without expelling its Beyonder characteristics would prevent him from accommodating a sefirah, and urged him to be careful because his destiny had become difficult to foresee.
• Fors advised Lumian to act out earlier sequences, improve weather in different regions to digest his potion and gain anchors, and distinguish ordinary desires from abnormal ones.
• Fors told Lumian she planned to advance to Sequence 1 of the Door pathway in exchange for protecting the Abraham Family and relocating them if the apocalypse came.
• Lumian realized that Mr. Fool might not need to face the planetary apocalypse because the Outer Deities would not risk taking Sefirah Castle and its pillar symbolism.

After learning the apocalypse could arrive in a year or two, Lumian considered the steps needed to reach Sequence 0 and confront it, while reflecting on how to digest his Weather Warlock potion and keep his humanity intact. He warned his companions about Alista Tudor’s possible arrangements, then flew off on a flaming coat rack, reassuring Franca and Jenna that he was doing better.

• Mr. Fool warned Madam Magician that becoming a Key of Stars would make her a target if the Outer Deities invaded before he fully awakened.
• Lumian realized he had little time to digest his potion, become a Sequence 1 Archangel, defeat Red Angel Medici, and accommodate the City of Calamity.
• Lumian considered ways to digest the Weather Warlock potion faster and reflected on balancing his humanity against divinity.
• Lumian warned Franca, Jenna, Ludwig, and Anthony to stay alert for Alista Tudor’s arrangements, especially those involving the Witch Sect.
• Lumian divined where extreme weather was occurring, then flew there on a flaming coat rack; Franca and Jenna saw him go and felt reassured by his improved mood.

Lumian discovered that Weather Warlock acting required conspicuous, ceremonial displays, then demonstrated the principle by stopping a flood with a public sky-dance. Back in Trier, he agreed to help Franca try flying on a weaponized object, but their plans were interrupted by news that Louis Gustav had vanished.

• Lumian flew across the sky on a weaponized coat rack, then danced amid a storm until the rain stopped and the clouds cleared; witnesses praised him as a priest of weather and plague.
• Back in Trier, Lumian concluded that Weather Warlock acting had to be visible and ceremonial, and that bringing disaster upon enemies through weather would likely be important.
• Franca asked Lumian to share his flying-sword ability, and he explained its ten-kilometer range and agreed to help her try it.
• Franca received a message from Niseya reporting that Louis Gustav had mysteriously disappeared.

Franca learned that Louis Gustav had disappeared and was ordered by the Black Witch to find useful leads, while she and Lumian discussed the risks surrounding the case and Lumian’s struggle with divinity. A week later, Niseya brought Franca two items from one of Louis’s former hideouts, including a Tudor Gold Coin that immediately caught her attention.

• Niseya told Franca that Louis Gustav had missed a secret meeting with Grue and other Emperor Party members and had not responded to attempts to contact him.
• Franca reported Louis’s disappearance to the Black Witch, who ordered her to find useful leads as soon as possible.
• Franca ordered Niseya to search for Louis’s current residence and obtain items connected to him, then discussed Lumian’s condition and his humanity with him.
• A week later, Niseya secretly contacted Franca and presented a silver brooch and a dark gold coin found in one of Louis’s former hideouts.
• Franca recognized the coin as a Tudor Gold Coin similar to one they had obtained from the Disease Church.

Franca and Lumian used Mr. Fool’s permission to divine Louis Gustav’s whereabouts, revealing that he had entered a changed, fog-shrouded Fourth Epoch Trier and approached Madame Pualis and the infant Ombella. Franca passed the discovery to the Black Witch and returned Niseya’s stolen items, but Grue caught Niseya sneaking back into bed.

• Niseya told Franca that Louis Gustav had left a family brooch and Tudor gold coin at his hiding place, and Franca borrowed them for divination.
• Lumian received Mr. Fool’s permission and used the brooch and coin to divine Louis Gustav’s location.
• The vision showed Louis Gustav crossing a Light Gate into Fourth Epoch Trier, where he approached the shadow of a figure holding a baby.
• Lumian and his companions concluded that the discovery was too dangerous for them to investigate, and Franca reported it to the Black Witch and planned to notify Angoulême.
• The Black Witch told Franca to inform her if Louis Gustav returned, and Franca gave the brooch and coin back to Niseya.
• Niseya hid the returned items and slipped back into bed, where Grue woke and asked where she had gone.

Franca and her companions surveilled Grue after he became suspicious of Niseya, then followed him to an unusual house in the Prison District. Inside, Lumian encountered an old man who claimed to be God's Messenger and said he had a letter for Lumian.

• Niseya explained to Grue that she had gone onto the terrace for air, and they kissed before returning to bed.
• Franca and her companions watched Grue through mirrors; he checked that the brooch and coin were still hidden, then visited a house where the surveillance briefly failed.
• Grue visited military camps before Franca noticed he had left for an unusual house, prompting Lumian, Franca, and Jenna to investigate.
• Lumian explained that extreme weather had helped him digest his Weather Warlock potion and formulate an acting principle.
• At 20 Saint Fred Street, an old man appeared and told Lumian that he was God's Messenger and had a letter for him.

A Circle of Fate messenger delivered a warning to Lumian that entering the Special Mirror World would lead him to lose control and go mad. Lumian and Amon learned that the warning had reached them despite their attempts to evade the letter, leaving Lumian to face the prospect of eventually entering the dangerous realm.

• Lumian recognized the old man's Philosopher abilities, while Franca and Jenna escaped through the Mirror World to avoid the Circle of Fate's corruption.
• The old man revealed that he was the Circle of Fate's letter and pursued Lumian across the Sea of Fog and into the Mirror World.
• Lumian used the Eye of Calamity to find a way to alter fate, while Amon froze the letter with a time-based power and reproduced a supernova-like blast.
• Lumian pushed destiny toward a peripheral branch, but silver-black light still formed a message warning him to stay away from the Special Mirror World or go mad.
• Amon suggested that the Circle of Fate had warned Lumian because his madness could pose unknown risks to the Outer Deities.

Lumian questioned Amon about the dangers hidden in the depths of the Special Mirror World and learned that Cheek’s secret honorific might be known to only a few people. He and his companions agreed to avoid the fragments for now, while Angoulême prepared to search Fourth Epoch Trier for Louis Gustav and Madame Pualis.

• Amon told Lumian that the Special Mirror World had changed mysteriously and suggested that a paranoid figure might be delaying accommodation of the Chaos Sea because of a terror hidden there.
• Lumian shared his suspicions about the Primordial Witch and the primordial God, while Amon explained that Cheek’s two secret honorific lines were known only to those closely connected to Her.
• Lumian returned to Trier, recounted his conversation to Franca and Jenna, and handed them the Special Mirror World fragments so he could avoid direct contact with related items.
• Lumian agreed to set aside the search for Louis Gustav for now, focus on finding cultists and clues about Zaratul, and prepare to act as a Weather Warlock and War Bishop; he then invited Franca and Jenna to a circus.
• About a week later, Angoulême went underground beneath Saint Viève Church to receive the Eternal Blazing Sun’s blessing before searching Fourth Epoch Trier for Louis Gustav and Madame Pualis.

Lumian led his companions in destroying a Rose School stronghold, then reflected on the early signs of chaos while they shared a barbecue. Meanwhile, Angoulême and Jack Walton entered Fourth Epoch Trier to search for Louis Gustav, and Lumian awoke from a dream of a Montsouris Ghost that Franca feared might be a spiritual warning.

• Angoulême and Jack Walton opened the passage into Fourth Epoch Trier and led their teams through the Well of Blood.
• Lumian directed Franca, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig as they destroyed a human-skin castle and Ludwig consumed the rising gift power.
• Lumian told Jenna that the frequent battles were signs of chaos and an approaching apocalypse, then invited the group to a barbecue.
• Jenna sensed that Lumian's divinity had changed how he controlled his emotions, while Franca reflected on her own changes.
• Jack Walton used a disc and a Historical Projection of a Gustav Family brooch to guide the search for Louis Gustav, and Angoulême identified a Montsouris Ghost in Fourth Epoch Trier.
• Lumian woke after dreaming of a Montsouris Ghost, and Franca warned that the dream could be a spiritual warning.

Lumian moved his team to the Church of the Fool’s headquarters in New Silver City after dreaming of a Montsouris Ghost, while Churches’ operation in Fourth Epoch Trier triggered a swarm of ghosts and the growth of a strange tree. The chapter ended as the crimson moon loomed unnaturally close outside the cathedral.

• Lumian transformed his flames into armor and teleported his team from Trier to New Silver City after dreaming of a Montsouris Ghost.
• Franca linked Lumian’s warning to the Churches’ planned operation against Louis Gustav and Madame Pualis, and Jenna warned Disease Church clergy to shelter if anomalies appeared.
• In Fourth Epoch Trier, Angoulême and Jack Walton decided to eliminate a Montsouris Ghost before unsealing their Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts.
• The ghost multiplied into dozens of Montsouris Ghosts, and Angoulême suspected that Madame Pualis and the Mother Tree of Desire were cooperating with the Great Mother.
• A brownish-green tree rapidly grew near the Fourth Epoch Trier Seal, while Lumian saw roots and branches emerge across Trier through the mirrors.
• Lumian said he wanted to return to Trier and burn the Shadow Tree, then noticed the crimson moon hanging enormously close outside the cathedral.