Chapter Summaries

Lumian took Gabriel and Jenna to Nathan Lope’s apartment and forced the theater manager to hear Gabriel’s play at gunpoint. Nathan agreed to sign a contract, and Lumian returned to the Golden Rooster Inn to sleep.

• Lumian left the Golden Rooster Inn’s bar with Gabriel and Jenna, promising he could get Nathan Lope to read Gabriel’s script.
• Lumian hired a carriage to 15 Defoe Street, tied up the doorman, and broke into Nathan Lope’s apartment with Gabriel and Jenna.
• Lumian restrained Nathan and had Gabriel read his play, Those Who Chase the Light, while Jenna guarded Nathan’s companion.
• Nathan became absorbed in the play and told Gabriel to bring it to his office the next morning to sign a contract.
• Lumian and Jenna left with Gabriel, returned to the Golden Rooster Inn, and Lumian washed up and went to bed.

Lumian reviewed Aurora’s witchcraft notes, encountered anti-Hugues Artois leaflets, and discussed the Stinger Gang threat with Franca. As the election results approached, Black Scorpion Roger’s gang expected new gifts from Lady Moon and planned to kill Charles.

• Lumian studied Aurora’s notes, found no suspicious material, and wrote down questions to ask Franca.
• Lumian saw leaflets accusing Hugues Artois of abandoning troops and taking covert support from Loen, then scared off Stinger Gang members who tried to confiscate one.
• Lumian learned Charlie had quit the Breeze Ballroom and asked Louis about his age, marriage, and children.
• Franca heard Jenna’s account of Lumian’s troubled night, then asked Lumian whether he had met Madame Pualis; Lumian confirmed he had learned painful truths.
• Lumian asked Franca for help with mysticism questions and considered attacking the Stinger Gang before the election results, but Franca was unsure they could defeat Black Scorpion Roger.
• Black Scorpion Roger learned Hugues Artois was leading by a wide margin and told Harman and Castina that Lady Moon would bestow gifts on them after the results, then they would kill Charles.

Lumian exchanged the fate of encountering the Montsouris Ghosts from Fallen Mercury onto a dying vagrant, choosing a more immediate fate for his planned attack on “Black Scorpion” Roger. After the vagrant died, Lumian returned to Market Avenue, where Franca joined him.

• Lumian found a vagrant at a quarry who was expected to die within days and used Mysticism Smelling Salts to wake him.
• The vagrant told Lumian how debt collectors had destroyed his family, then asked for a meat pie as his last wish.
• After bringing the vagrant a Rouen meat pie, Lumian told him he would stab him and used Fallen Mercury to exchange their fates.
• Lumian transferred the fate of encountering the Montsouris Ghosts to the vagrant and took the fate of recently fainting in return.
• The vagrant died of suffocation in the plaster kiln, and Lumian returned to 126 Market Avenue, where Franca appeared beside him.

Lumian and Franca prepared to infiltrate 126 Market Avenue by capturing a Stinger Gang messenger, learning his habits, and disguising Lumian as him. After Franca gave Lumian the Ring of Punishment, he set off toward Roger’s house.

• Franca spotted a Stinger Gang member carrying election updates to Roger, and she and Lumian decided to use him to gain access to the house.
• Lumian subdued the messenger with gas, questioned him about his reports to Roger, and learned that Hugues Artois was nearly halfway to securing the vote.
• Lumian put on the messenger’s clothes and used the Mystery-Peering Glasses, makeup, hair dye, and brown contact lenses to disguise himself as Aersai.
• Franca explained the Ring of Punishment’s spirit-piercing ability and its risks, then handed it to Lumian.
• Lumian put on the ring and black gloves and jogged toward 126 Market Avenue.

Lumian and Franca attacked “Black Scorpion” Roger at his home, using psychic strikes and Fallen Mercury to begin an exchange of fates. Roger escaped through the faces of his “Land of the Undying,” while Lumian and Franca fought his reanimated followers and prepared to continue the battle.

• Disguised as Aersai, Lumian entered Roger’s home and approached him with false news about Hugues Artois’s election.
• Lumian struck Roger with “Psychic Piercing” and stabbed him with Fallen Mercury as Franca killed Castina, but Roger vanished into the “Land of the Undying” before the dagger could pierce him fully.
• Harman attacked Lumian, but Lumian’s psychic strike stunned him and Franca shot him dead.
• Roger emerged from a wall and used blood to revive Castina and Harman, while Lumian threw Fallen Mercury aside after its exchange of fates had begun.
• Franca froze the floor to restrain the dead souls, destroyed Castina with black flames, and escaped Roger’s attack with a “Mirror Substitute.”
• Lumian broke away from the headless Harman and fired at Roger, who retreated into another face on the wall.

Lumian and Franca fought Black Scorpion Roger in the Land of the Undying, using the sun painting, spells, and Mr. K’s finger to survive his attacks. After Fallen Mercury caused Roger to pass out, Lumian killed him, but then spotted Mr. K watching from the stairs before he vanished.

• Lumian and Franca battled Roger as he used the female statue and the Land of the Undying to curse and weaken them.
• Franca froze the statue while Lumian used Mr. K’s finger to form a blood-colored robe that countered Roger’s life-draining flames.
• Fallen Mercury transferred a vagrant’s fate of passing out to Roger, leaving him unconscious.
• Lumian used sedative fumes on Roger, carried him out of the living room, and shot him dead.
• Franca suggested they search for loot and leave quickly, while Lumian wondered why Mr. K’s finger had seemed weaker than expected.
• Lumian saw Mr. K standing at the foot of the stairs, but Mr. K vanished into the shadows.

Lumian and Franca searched Black Scorpion Roger’s estate after killing him, learned about his potions and scythe, and uncovered the prisoners he had been draining to strengthen himself. They freed the prisoners and escaped after leaving a clue for the authorities, then Franca offered Lumian a share of the proceeds from selling Harvest Sacrifice to help fund his advancement.

• Franca used Spiritism to learn the effects of the Bark, Berserk, Healing, and Scorpion Venom potions, identify Roger’s scythe as Harvest Sacrifice, and discover that Madame Moon had ordered Roger to support Hugues Artois.
• Lumian searched Roger’s study, found a wooden case for the scythe, and discovered a hidden prison where Roger had been draining prisoners’ lives to replenish his strength.
• Lumian broke the cell locks and freed the survivors, then wrote “Great Mother” in blood on the wall as a clue for the official Beyonders.
• Franca and Lumian packed Harvest Sacrifice, burned away traces of their presence, and left Roger’s estate with its front door open for passersby to see the scene.
• Lumian killed the unconscious Aersai, and he and Franca returned to the Breeze Ballroom after cleaning up and restoring Lumian’s disguise.
• Franca offered to sell Harvest Sacrifice and split the money with Lumian, noting that he needed funds and materials for his advancement.

Lumian sold the inconvenient scythe, divided potions with Franca, and fully digested his Provocateur potion, opening the way to advance to Sequence 7 Pyromaniac. After returning to the Golden Rooster Inn, he heard Gabriel had sold his script and checked on the madman in Room 310.

• Lumian and Franca agreed to sell Harvest Sacrifice and split their potions while raising money for Lumian's advancement.
• At 126 Market Avenue, Angoulême de François learned that Black Scorpion Roger had sacrificed people and found a crumbling seed inside a statue.
• Lumian suddenly finished digesting his Provocateur potion and realized he could advance to Sequence 7 Pyromaniac without knowing every acting principle.
• Gabriel told Lumian that Mr. Nathan Lope had bought his script and offered him a share of ticket revenue.
• Lumian learned that Fallen Mercury had only about three months left without repairs, exchanged fate with it, and visited the terrified madman in Room 310.

Lumian exchanged Flamang’s fate of encountering the Montsouris Ghosts for Black Scorpion Roger’s fate of drinking alcohol, freeing Flamang from the ghosts and restoring his sanity. After learning about the Pyromaniac potion from Madam Magician, Lumian discovered the next morning that Flamang had died by suicide.

• Lumian stabbed Flamang with Fallen Mercury and exchanged his fate of encountering the Montsouris Ghosts for Black Scorpion Roger’s fate of drinking alcohol.
• Flamang regained his sanity, followed Lumian to the basement bar, and told him about his life and his research into Trier’s rock strata.
• Lumian wrote to Madam Magician about his recent actions and asked for the Pyromaniac potion; she offered the formula as a reward and the Beyonder Characteristic for 30,000 felkine.
• Roul told Lumian that Flamang was dead, and Lumian found him hanging in Room 310 with a note asking to be buried in the Tomb-Lamp Cellar.

Lumian reflected on Flaman’s suicide and learned that the Aurora Order had claimed responsibility for killing the Stinger Gang leaders, prompting an upcoming gang sweep. The chapter ended when Jenna recognized the cleaning woman Elodie as her mother, revealing her hidden family connection to Lumian.

• Police officers investigated Flaman’s death and took his body away, while Lumian reflected on how Flaman’s fate resembled a possible ending for himself.
• Jenna visited Lumian and asked whether he had killed the Stinger Gang’s leaders, but he denied doing so.
• Charlie told Lumian that the Aurora Order had claimed responsibility for the killings and that authorities would sweep the Market District gangs that afternoon.
• Lumian told Jenna he would attend an Occult Gathering and decided not to warn others about the sweep, while Jenna went to find Franca.
• Jenna recognized Elodie as her mother, and Elodie called her Celia and asked why she was there wearing that makeup.

Jenna told Lumian about her family’s hardships and her hope of becoming a stage actor, while Lumian prepared to meet Mr. K. Mr. K initiated Lumian into the Aurora Order and tasked him with investigating Gardner Martin and the Iron and Blood Cross Order.

• Jenna explained that her mother had once been a stage actor and that her family was struggling with debt after her father died from a factory accident.
• Jenna said she planned to work as an underground singer to save for theater tuition and help her mother and brother, and Lumian felt his spirits lift as he listened.
• Lumian performed a ritual seeking the Fool’s protection before setting out to meet Mr. K.
• Mr. K told Lumian to choose three parts of the True Creator’s Honorific Name and pray, and Lumian experienced a terrifying presence behind a curtain of shadows.
• Mr. K welcomed Lumian as a brother in the Aurora Order and revealed that Gardner Martin belonged to the Iron and Blood Cross Order.
• Mr. K tasked Lumian with infiltrating the Iron and Blood Cross Order to learn why it had distanced itself from the True Creator and what significant plan it was pursuing.

Lumian joined the Aurora Order’s high-risk mission to investigate the Iron and Blood Cross Order and received funds and a warning item from Mr. K. After earning more money at a gathering, he returned home to find Madam Magician’s next assignment and the Pyromaniac potion formula.

• Lumian asked Mr. K about the Iron and Blood Cross Order and learned its plans only partly involved Hugues Artois and that Gardner Martin’s transported item required investigation.
• Mr. K gave Lumian ten thousand felkins, preached about the Aurora Order’s beliefs and strength, and handed him a severed finger to use in an emergency.
• Lumian visited the Spiritism magazine library, sold unused monster materials at a gathering, and brought his funds to 14,710 felkins and 24 kopeks.
• Roul told Lumian that scavengers had collected valuable rubbish from a celebration banquet at the Member of Parliament’s office.
• Lumian found a note from Madam Magician telling him to complete Mr. K’s assignment and providing the Pyromaniac potion formula.

Lumian visited Franca to ask her to find supplementary ingredients for the Pyromaniac potion and help locate an Artisan to repair Fallen Mercury. After taking a twelve-thousand-felkin advance from the Breeze Ballroom, he spotted Gardner Martin leaving Hugues Artois's banquet and told him about the money.

• Franca told Lumian that Gardner Martin had helped settle the police sweep of the gangs, while Jenna had avoided it by staying home with her.
• Lumian asked Franca to look for Fire Salamander blood, Magma Pyroxene powder, and red-crowned impatiens, and accepted her offer to buy out his share of the Harvest Sacrifice and lend him money if needed.
• Lumian asked Franca to find an Artisan willing to repair Fallen Mercury, though she warned that its suspected corruption might deter them.
• Lumian took a twelve-thousand-felkin advance from the Breeze Ballroom, bringing his available funds to 26,710 felkin.
• Lumian watched guests leave Hugues Artois's banquet, saw Gardner Martin, greeted him, and then revealed that he had taken the advance from the ballroom.

Lumian asked Gardner Martin for money to advance to Sequence 7 and secured his help finding the Pyromaniac potion’s supplementary ingredients. After giving his savings to Madam Magician as an advance, he returned to the inn, where Madame Michel woke him with news that Roul had suddenly fallen ill.

• Lumian told Gardner Martin he planned to become a Sequence 7 Pyromaniac, and Gardner Martin agreed to help him find the supplementary ingredients.
• Gardner Martin warned Lumian to check his condition before taking the potion, and Lumian went to his White Coat Street safe house with his money.
• Lumian sent Madam Magician 26,000 felkine as an advance payment for the Pyromaniac Beyonder Characteristic and received her confirmation.
• Lumian passed Flamang’s open room and overheard Roul and Michel dreaming about saving enough money to return to Olmuir and buy land.
• In the middle of the night, Madame Michel knocked on Lumian’s door and asked him to carry the suddenly ill Roul to a clinic.

Lumian took the gravely ill Roul to a clinic and used a Healing Potion to stop a seemingly supernatural disease. After arranging for Roul and Michel to sleep in another room, Lumian woke to Michel’s sobs and learned that Roul had died.

• Lumian carried Roul to the Roblin Clinic, where a doctor treated his high fever while Michel paid the fee.
• Lumian saw blisters filled with pus spread across Roul’s skin and suspected a supernatural illness; Michel insisted on transferring him to Holy Palace Hospital.
• Lumian secretly gave Roul half of a Healing Potion, and the blisters vanished as his condition improved.
• Roul woke and could recall nothing unusual before falling ill, so Lumian found no clear cause and moved the couple to Room 307 for the night.
• Lumian woke to a woman sobbing, went to Room 307, and found Michel kneeling beside the bed; she told him Roul was dead.

Lumian traced Roul’s fatal illness to a contaminated handkerchief and discovered that Madame Michel later hanged herself beside Roul’s corpse. With Franca’s help, he identified the handkerchief’s owner as a member of Hugues Artois’s campaign team.

• Lumian found Roul dead in Room 307 and discovered that a silk handkerchief in the washroom had come from the rubbish and contained phlegm.
• Madame Michel said Roul had kept the handkerchief after washing it, and Lumian carefully wrapped it without touching it directly.
• Lumian carried Roul’s body back to Room 302, where Madame Michel bought food, ate and drank beside him, then set fire to her money and hanged herself.
• Lumian brought the handkerchief to Franca, who detected active spirits on it and divined the identity of its owner.
• Lumian recognized the handkerchief’s owner as a member of Hugues Artois’s campaign team who had stood behind a red-haired woman.

After Roul and Madame Michel died in Room 302, Lumian suspected that Roul’s illness came from a supernatural source and tried to alert the authorities. When the police treated the deaths as ordinary, he traced the obstruction to the Member of Parliament’s office and discovered Tibert was behind the infection.

• Lumian told Franca that he recognized the man connected to Roul and Michel as one of Hugues Artois’s campaign workers, and Franca advised leaving the investigation to the official Beyonders.
• Lumian returned to the Golden Rooster Inn, where he found Roul’s corpse and Madame Michel’s body still in Room 302.
• Lumian explained the deaths and the suspected contaminated handkerchief to two policemen, but they later classified the case as illness and suicide and took both bodies away.
• Lumian followed the police to the Market District Police Headquarters, then watched a chief inspector enter the Member of Parliament’s office.
• In the parliamentary secretary’s office, Tibert collected his recovered handkerchief and admitted that his infectious phlegm had killed people, while the secretary warned him not to cause another incident.

Lumian learned that the MP’s office and Police Headquarters had suppressed evidence of a supernatural disease, but he agreed with Franca to inform the Official Beyonders discreetly. That evening, an explosion at the Goodwell Chemical Factory left Jenna terrified because her mother was there.

• Lumian watched Bonno Goodwell leave the MP’s office and saw a Chief Inspector return to Police Headquarters.
• Lumian told Franca what he had witnessed, and she urged him to be patient and report the case to the Official Beyonders through her channels.
• Jenna told Lumian her mother planned to watch her sing, and Lumian suggested a love-themed performance at the Breeze Ballroom.
• Lumian proposed that Jenna and her family collect their accident compensation directly from the factory owner, but Jenna said she needed time to think.
• Jenna arrived at the Breeze Ballroom in a modest evening dress, and a distant explosion shook the café.
• Louis reported that the Goodwell Chemical Factory had exploded, and Jenna said her mother was there.

After the Goodwell Chemical Factory explosion, Lumian helped Jenna find her mother, Elodie, among the injured and used a healing potion to stabilize her. As authorities extinguished the fire and treated the factory, Jenna and her brother Julian prepared to get Elodie to a hospital.

• Jenna rushed toward the burning Goodwell Chemical Factory, and Lumian caught up and persuaded her to search among the rescued casualties instead of entering without protective equipment.
• Lumian found Elodie unconscious and badly burned in the square outside the Steam Whistle Church, and Jenna recognized her mother.
• Lumian gave Elodie a mystical healing potion, which rapidly healed her burns and eased her chemical injuries enough to put her life out of immediate danger.
• A sudden storm extinguished the factory fires and stopped the secondary explosions, then an airship sprayed liquid over the site as the pungent fumes began to fade.
• Julian arrived, and Lumian urged him to find a doctor and arrange a carriage to take Elodie to the hospital.

After Elodie was hospitalized for injuries from the Goodwell Chemical Factory accident, Jenna committed to paying for her treatment and asked Lumian for help. Lumian encouraged her to reconsider how she dealt with the factory owner, then received the supplementary ingredients for the Pyromaniac potion and told Franca that the factory owner had visited a Member of Parliament.

• Lumian told Jenna she could have sought occult commissions and resources to help her mother, and Elodie was taken to Holy Palace Hospital for treatment.
• A doctor warned Jenna that Elodie might need months of care and would remain frail; Jenna agreed to continue treatment and paid a 200-felkine deposit.
• Jenna asked Lumian to lend her money, and he offered help while proposing they kidnap the factory owner to recover the compensation her family was owed.
• Lumian returned to Breeze Ballroom and found Fire Salamander blood, Red-Crowned Impatiens powder, and Magma Pyroxene in the office safe.
• Lumian visited Franca to borrow 4,000 felkine and told her the Goodwell Chemical Factory owner had visited a Member of Parliament's office that morning.