Chapter Summaries

Lumian endured several lethal-seeming anomalies in 13 Market Avenue by following Termiboros's warning not to respond, and learned that Gardner Martin had sent him there to be corrupted. He left at dawn and met Gardner Martin, with both men smiling at each other.

• Lumian stayed silent as an unseen presence opened the door and blood fell from the ceiling, gradually covering him and clouding his thoughts.
• Lumian resisted the urge to fight back and saw a vision of a charred figure dismembering him, then returned unharmed to his body.
• Termiboros explained that the anomaly would have transformed Lumian's beliefs and confirmed Gardner Martin wanted to control him through it.
• Lumian inferred that Gardner Martin and the Iron and Blood Cross Order were already corrupted, and learned that Hunter and Witch pathways inevitably triggered the anomaly.
• Lumian endured two more anomalies without responding, then left 13 Market Avenue at dawn and met Gardner Martin across the street.

Lumian survived the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s test, but learned that Gardner Martin’s watchers were still monitoring him and that the Order might have changed. Franca and Jenna found no useful leads at Deep Valley Monastery, while Lumian arrived for his initiation ritual at 11 Springwater Street.

• Gardner Martin welcomed Lumian as a brother, called him Chief in private, and invited him to an initiation ritual that evening.
• Lumian wrote to Madam Magician about the test and Termiboros, and the messenger warned him that someone was still watching him.
• Madam Magician advised Lumian to prioritize his survival, remain wary of Termiboros, and tell Mr. K that he escaped corruption by reciting a being’s honorific name.
• Franca and Jenna investigated Deep Valley Monastery but found no clues, then questioned the gatekeeper at the abandoned Deep Valley Quarry.
• Lumian arrived at 11 Springwater Street and saw a windowless room with symmetrical rows of tableware, drinks, dishes, and unlit candles prepared on a table.

Lumian attended an Iron and Blood Cross Order gathering at Gardner Martin’s home, where Gardner explained the secret organization’s ideals and hierarchy. As the ritual began, Lumian recognized Supervisor Olsen as the monstrous trader he had encountered underground.

• Faustino welcomed Lumian and introduced the other Iron and Blood Cross Order members, including Vincent Lorin, Parsifal, Albus, and Black.
• Gardner Martin explained that the Order sought recognition and status for all Beyonders and opposed the government and the two major Churches’ restrictions on supernatural powers.
• Gardner Martin described the Order’s ranks and instructed Lumian to report any abnormalities involving him or the Supervisor.
• Gardner Martin introduced Supervisor Olsen, whom Lumian recognized as the trader he had encountered underground in monstrous form.
• Gardner Martin began the ritual by ordering the members to load their weapons with red wine, stand, and raise their glasses.

Lumian completed the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s initiation and learned that the group sought to overthrow the government by exploiting public unrest and controlling workers. Gardner Martin also revealed that they were searching for Fourth Epoch Trier to find the remains of the Blood Emperor, Alista Tudor, leaving Lumian to consider what the Order hoped to gain there.

• Gardner Martin led the Iron and Blood Cross Order through its wine ritual, welcomed Lumian Lee as a brother, and Lumian drank a glass in response.
• Gardner Martin explained that the Order aimed to overthrow the government and establish a nation ruled by Beyonders, using workers and citizens as leverage against the churches and government.
• Gardner Martin revealed that he supported Hugues Artois’s campaign because he expected Artois’s actions to cause disasters that would draw people toward the Order.
• Gardner Martin explained that the Savoie Gang gathered intelligence, found contacts, raised funds, and helped the Order control ordinary people.
• Gardner Martin said the Order was exploring underground to find an entrance to Fourth Epoch Trier, which he described as a treasure trove for Hunters.
• Gardner Martin revealed that the Blood Emperor, Alista Tudor, had been a deity of the Hunter pathway and that his remains lay inside Fourth Epoch Trier.

Lumian joined the Iron and Blood Cross Order, tested what its members knew about potion digestion and the Trier underground, and received a promise of money and future rewards. As he left, Supervisor Olsen unexpectedly appeared in his carriage.

• Lumian questioned Gardner Martin about the Blood Emperor’s remains and why the Churches had not entered Fourth Epoch Trier, but Gardner withheld the details.
• Lumian asked for a mystical item, and Gardner promised choices of items after he earned merit while counting Lumian’s advance money as a reward.
• Gardner described potion digestion through vague advice and gave Lumian the aphorism that flames could burn others but also hurt him.
• Lumian asked about the Catacombs, and Gardner warned that its dangers were no less than those in Fourth Epoch Trier.
• After the initiation ended, Lumian boarded the Breeze Ballroom’s carriage and saw Supervisor Olsen sitting opposite him.

Lumian learned more about Olsen and the Iron and Blood Cross Order before avoiding a covert watch by spending the evening at the Breeze Ballroom. Meanwhile, Franca taught Jenna about Magic Mirror Divination and divined that their planned search of Deep Valley Quarry carried some danger.

• Olsen told Lumian to report any problems with Gardner Martin by leaving information in the basement of 13 Market Avenue, then warned him not to trust appearances or others' words and said they would all eventually enter Fourth Epoch Trier.
• Olsen left in the darkness with his mysterious suitcase, and Lumian went to the Breeze Ballroom rather than return to his usual rooms and risk attracting surveillance.
• Franca told Jenna that they would search Deep Valley Quarry instead of entering Deep Valley Monastery, and explained the preparations and risks involved in Magic Mirror Divination.
• Franca demonstrated the divination by asking whether exploring Deep Valley Quarry would be dangerous, and the mirror's voice answered that there was some danger.

Franca and Jenna broke into Deep Valley Quarry, found its entrance and interior strangely unremarkable, and hid when someone else arrived. They saw a monk of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery enter, leaving his purpose unknown.

• Franca interpreted the divination as warning of manageable danger, then she and Jenna reached Deep Valley Quarry at night.
• Franca used knockout drug on the sleeping gatekeeper, but none of his keys opened the quarry door.
• Franca made an ice key with her Witch powers, opened the door, and gave Jenna the Ring of Punishment.
• Franca and Jenna searched the quarry’s small, dilapidated interior but found nothing suspicious.
• They heard the main door open and hid as a monk of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery entered carrying a carbide lamp.

Jenna and Franca discovered the hidden cavern in Deep Valley Quarry and escaped without being spotted. At the Breeze Ballroom, Lumian met Lucano Toscano, a Planter who had provoked the Savoie Gang to seek a job and earn money for a Doctor potion.

• A monk from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery opened a concealed cavern in Deep Valley Quarry, revealing human limbs embedded in the walls.
• Franca and Jenna left the quarry after confirming there were no other monks outside, and noticed the gatekeeper had been knocked unconscious again.
• Louis told Lumian that bounty hunters were causing trouble at the Mill Ballroom, so Lumian ordered them to choose between becoming his enemies or his dogs.
• Lucano Toscano came to Lumian and explained that he was a Sequence 9 Planter hoping to become Lumian's assistant and earn money for Sequence 8 Doctor potion ingredients.

Lumian gave Lucano a chance to manage the Mill Ballroom, then reported his initiation into the Iron and Blood Cross Order to Madam Magician. Franca and Jenna visited him to discuss the missing gatekeeper at Deep Valley Monastery, and the three concluded that investigating further could draw them into dangerous church conflicts.

• Lumian appointed Lucano to manage the Mill Ballroom alongside Louis for two months, hoping to assess his motives and benefit from his medical skills.
• Lumian wrote to Madam Magician about the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s initiation ritual and asked how non-Hunter members passed the night vigil; she warned him to tell Two of Cups to bring her ancient mirror if she took the test.
• The Doll Messenger confirmed that nobody was secretly monitoring Lumian, and Madam Magician replied that the Order might use Assassins or other methods of corruption.
• Franca and Jenna visited Lumian late at night and recounted their discoveries at Deep Valley Quarry while asking what to do about the missing monastery gatekeeper.
• Lumian and Franca reasoned that the client’s request might conceal an internal conflict at Deep Valley Monastery, making further investigation dangerous, though Jenna questioned how the sinister body parts fit that explanation.

Lumian warned Jenna about the dangers of losing control, then explained how he had survived his test at No. 13 Market Avenue and advised her and Franca about future vigils. The next day, he explored Lavigny Docks before entering a bar near Mr. Fool’s church, where a striking man drew the sailors’ deference.

• Franca proposed informing the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun about the hidden cave and telling her client, while also arranging to pay Lumian the remaining money from the Harvest Sacrifice sale.
• Lumian told Franca and Jenna about his test at No. 13 Market Avenue, then admitted that he had received information beforehand and warned them to bring a mirror for future vigils.
• Franca and Jenna left the Golden Rooster Inn and returned to White Coat Street with mysticism magazines.
• Lumian arrived at Lavigny Docks to hear Mr. Fool’s bishop preach, surveyed the area, and located the church without entering.
• Lumian went to the Sea Breeze bar, noticed a man whom the sailors treated with awe, and asked the bartender who he was.

Lumian learned that Flame Danitz had become an envoy of the Church of The Fool, then attended its evening sermon and heard that Gehrman Sparrow was one of The Fool’s eight angels. As the sermon described The Fool’s power, Termiboros asked Lumian whether he believed it.

• Lumian asked a bartender about Flame Danitz and learned that the former pirate was now an envoy of the Church of The Fool.
• Flame Danitz left the Sea Breeze bar, followed in silence by the sailors who had been drinking and socializing there.
• Lumian explored the dockside streets, noticed troops and heavy weapons stationed at commanding heights, then visited the Church of The Fool.
• Lumian studied the church’s murals and attended the six o’clock sermon, where the bishop described The Fool and his eight angels.
• Lumian was shocked to hear Gehrman Sparrow named as the Angel of Redemption, while Termiboros asked whether he believed the sermon.

Lumian learned about the Church of The Fool and enjoyed its unusual communion before killing a mermaid that attacked him near the docks. After the sailors who had captured it took away its body, “Flame” Danitz praised Lumian’s fighting skills and offered him a place on his team.

• Lumian heard a bishop explain the Church of The Fool’s origins and ate its Tiana juice and Tiatiwa communion.
• A dark-green-scaled mermaid charged at Lumian, and he defeated it with a series of fiery punches.
• The mermaid’s pursuers, a group of sailors, claimed they had caught it and carried away its body as patrolling soldiers approached.
• Lumian pointed the soldiers toward the fleeing sailors, then continued toward the public carriage stop.
• “Flame” Danitz appeared atop nearby cargo crates, praised Lumian’s combat instincts, and invited him to join his team.

Lumian reported his infiltration of the Iron and Blood Cross Order to Mr. K, who praised his piety and assigned him further investigation in exchange for a promised reward. Later, a broad-shouldered stranger confronted Lumian on Messy Street and demanded to know who led the Savoie Gang.

• Lumian refused Danitz's offer to join his team and left Lavigny Docks with the Seven of Wands tarot card in hand.
• Lumian told Mr. K he had joined the Iron and Blood Cross Order and recounted the events at No. 13 Market Avenue, including his prayer for divine guidance.
• Mr. K celebrated Lumian's piety, gave him instructions to investigate the Order's abnormality and planned unrest, and promised a mystical item or Beyonder characteristic in three days.
• Lumian spent the night at the Golden Rooster Inn, then headed toward the Breeze Ballroom after the patrons dispersed.
• A wild-looking man blocked Lumian on Messy Street, identified him as Charles Dubois, and demanded to know who led the Savoie Gang.

Lumian was confronted by a Werewolf seeking the identity and location of the Savoie Gang boss, Gardner Martin. After revealing Gardner’s address, Lumian ambushed the attacker with a concentrated fireball, but the Werewolf survived and pursued him as Lumian fled.

• Lumian concluded that someone had targeted the Savoie Gang and pretended to be frightened when the stranger demanded the boss’s identity.
• Lumian told the stranger that Gardner Martin lived at Number 11 Springwater Street and warned that Gardner belonged to a secret organization.
• The stranger revealed that he belonged to an ancient secret organization and lunged at Lumian, who blasted him with a compressed, blazing-white fireball.
• The injured stranger transformed into a Werewolf and began healing, while Lumian attacked him with Fire Ravens.
• The Werewolf endured Lumian’s attacks and charged through the spreading darkness, so Lumian covered himself in flames and ran.
• The Werewolf quickly caught up behind Lumian as he fled.

Lumian used his knowledge of Messy Street to outmaneuver and kill a Werewolf who had tried to make him a puppet. He delivered the corpse and its Beyonder Characteristic to Gardner Martin, who promised to handle the investigation and offered Lumian a reward.

• Lumian lured the pursuing Werewolf through the streets, using obstacles and Fire Ravens to wear him down before killing him with a flaming spear.
• Lumian searched the Werewolf, found little of value, and later collected a strange blackish-green fang from the corpse.
• Lumian brought the body bag to Gardner Martin’s villa and explained that the Werewolf had tried to control him.
• Gardner Martin said he would arrange the investigation and asked whether Lumian wanted the Werewolf tooth or something else as a reward.
• Lumian asked what his options were.

Lumian chose the Lucky One Beyonder characteristic as his reward from Gardner Martin, then traded the offer of an Artisan’s service for help tracking Guillaume Béné. Gardner agreed to help find the priest, who might appear in the Red Princess District next week.

• Gardner Martin described the Shadow Bracelet, a Spirit Medium Beyonder characteristic, and a Lucky One Beyonder characteristic, along with their abilities and dangers.
• Lumian rejected the Shadow Bracelet and weighed the other options before choosing the Lucky One characteristic, wary of the Werewolf characteristic’s potential to make him lose control.
• Gardner Martin wrapped the mercury-colored eyeball in black cloth and gave Lumian instructions to store it in a dark space and change its jar every seven days.
• Lumian asked to exchange the free Artisan service for help finding Guillaume Béné, explaining that the wanted priest might appear in the Red Princess District next week.
• Gardner Martin agreed to help Lumian track Guillaume Béné and praised him for learning to rely on the organization.

Lumian reconsidered the Werewolf’s disappearance and returned to the Breeze Ballroom, while Jenna was recruited by Imre and Valentine as an informant for the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Jenna reported finding a hidden cavern full of human limbs, and Franca told Lumian that Mr. Fool’s Church was one of the two factions containing nearly all Prisoner pathway Beyonders.

• Lumian considered whether the secret organization behind the Werewolf would investigate and returned to the Breeze Ballroom without showing concern.
• Jenna encountered Imre and Valentine, who offered to recruit her as an informant rather than arrest her.
• Jenna agreed to cooperate and reported that monks with mechanical prosthetic eyes had opened a secret cavern containing human limbs.
• Imre and Jenna signed an agreement, which Imre notarized with a flash of sunlight-like radiance.
• Franca told Lumian that a follow-up investigator might be a Living Corpse or Wraith, then revealed that Mr. Fool’s Church was one of the two main factions of the Prisoner pathway.

Franca explained the Rose School’s history and split between the Indulgence and Temperance factions to Lumian and Jenna, while warning them about the dangers of its advanced members. After Jenna discussed her new informant role, Madam Magician arrived to take Lumian to meet the friend who would interpret his symbolic elements.

• Franca told Lumian that the Rose School had split into the Indulgence and Temperance factions, and that the Indulgence Faction had attacked and hunted the Temperance Faction until Mr. Fool’s Church sheltered its survivors.
• Jenna arrived, and Franca explained the Werewolf’s connection to the Rose School and described the abilities of Living Corpses and Wraiths.
• Jenna told Franca and Lumian that she had been recruited as an informant and was providing information about Deep Valley Monastery.
• Lumian advised Jenna to show devotion to the Eternal Blazing Sun around the Purifiers, then returned to his office at Breeze Ballroom.
• Madam Magician arrived and offered to take Lumian to meet her friend, who had finished his work and could interpret Lumian’s symbolic elements.

Lumian met with Mr. Poet, who interpreted the symbolism in his dream of Cordou Village and identified the owl as a Fate blessed monitoring him. Mr. Poet also linked the Lizard-like Sprite to concealed corruption and a faction that sabotaged the Angel of Fate’s descent, leaving Lumian to reconsider Aurora’s behavior and the ritual’s failure.

• Madam Magician transported Lumian to a forest cabin, where he met a veiled figure who called himself Mr. Poet.
• Lumian recounted his nightmare about Cordou Village, the traces he found in its ruins, and what he had learned since.
• Mr. Poet explained that the dead Warlock represented both the sealed Power of Fate and, on a second layer, Aurora, who had accepted a Gift of Fate and died.
• Mr. Poet interpreted Lumian’s other self as corruption and Termiboros’s influence, and the owl as a Fate blessed monitoring him who could circumvent the seal.
• Mr. Poet said the Lizard-like Sprite represented concealed corruption and change, noting that it emerged from Aurora and Assistant Parish Priest Michel Garigu in the dream.
• Mr. Poet concluded that the Sprite’s faction acted as a saboteur of the descent ritual, and Lumian realized Aurora’s loss of focus might have been connected to it.

A poet interpreted Lumian’s dream, revealing that outside factions may have protected him and interfered with the ritual in Cordou Village, while the empty cradle represented a child of the Great Mother. After waking on the Stars Plateau, Lumian learned that Mother Tree of Desire organizations had begun preliminary cooperation, including members of Demon Families.

• The poet told Lumian that the lizard-like sprite’s faction likely sought to exploit the sacrifice without allowing Termiboros to descend, and that the dream itself symbolized protection from outside interference.
• The poet interpreted the empty cradle as the hidden child of the Great Mother escaping Cordou Village and Aurora’s intact home as a sign of her attachment and regret.
• Lumian awoke in a marketplace in Rhaps on the Stars Plateau and realized his conversation with the poet had taken place in a realistic dream.
• Madam Magician told Lumian that Mother Tree of Desire organizations often acted chaotically but had recently begun cooperating, with members of Demon Families involved.