Chapter Summaries

Lumian remained wary of April Fool's Day while Jenna helped ease his headache and discussed her progress digesting the Instigator potion. Elsewhere, a large golden dog uncovered I Have a Friend's appearance through dreams, and Madam Magician confirmed the lead before Madam Justice arranged a free clinic; Lumian received the portrait and was asked to help find him.

• Lumian explained that his fight with Loki had left him with lingering mental trauma, and Jenna massaged his head while they traded teasing remarks.
• Jenna described her Instigator acting principles, and Lumian asked where he could find chances to act as a Pyromaniac.
• A large golden dog searched dreams for the source of the human blood bread rumor and uncovered a warlock's true appearance.
• Madam Magician used divination to confirm that the warlock was I Have a Friend, while Madam Justice arranged a free clinic to help those seeking human blood bread.
• Lumian received a portrait of I Have a Friend and Madam Magician's request that he join Trier's Licensed Beyonders in searching for him.

Lumian and his allies searched for I Have a Friend, while Jenna visited her friend at Delta Insane Asylum. There, Jenna unexpectedly recognized I Have a Friend among the patients.

• Lumian showed Anthony Reid I Have a Friend's portrait, and Anthony reasoned that the man might not actually be a doctor and could soon stage another prank.
• Lumian discussed the search with Franca and Jenna, and they agreed to investigate without alerting I Have a Friend.
• On her way to Delta Insane Asylum, Jenna bought ice cream for a boy who claimed to be waiting to help a woman, then alerted the police that he was alone.
• Jenna visited the former Exaggerated Woman at the asylum and noticed a patient on the lawn who matched I Have a Friend's portrait.

Jenna found I Have a Friend at Delta Asylum after a mysterious boy granted her good luck, and Lumian confirmed the encounter was arranged by Madam Magician. Suspecting the asylum patient might be a double or a trap, Lumian, Franca, and Jenna headed there, while a silent figure entered a sleeping patient’s room.

• Jenna told Lumian and Franca that she had seen I Have a Friend at Delta Asylum and described helping a lost boy who said she would have good luck.
• Lumian suspected the boy had used Fate abilities to guide Jenna to I Have a Friend, then confirmed with Madam Magician that the boy was a hired helper.
• Lumian, Franca, and Jenna prepared to go to Delta Asylum, but Lumian suspected the person Jenna saw might be a double set out as bait.
• Lumian reasoned that I Have a Friend might be hiding nearby and asked Franca to help investigate the connection between him and the asylum patient.
• A black figure entered a sleeping patient’s room on the third floor of Delta Asylum and sealed the room off from sound.

Lumian discovered that the patient impersonating I Have a Friend was a dangerous trap, then used the patient’s maddening questions to expose suspicious activity across Delta Asylum. The chapter ended as he sent burning snakes through Franca’s surveillance webs toward three locations where I Have a Friend might be hiding.

• Lumian entered the ward, where the patient’s questions opened a vision of the Gate of the Unseen and began driving him toward madness.
• A bolt of lightning struck the patient, revealing his body as a supernatural trap; Lumian concluded that I Have a Friend had made him a stand-in.
• Lumian reasoned that Jenna’s encounter might have been good luck only if I Have a Friend was still inside Delta Asylum, and suspected the asylum itself was being overlooked.
• Lumian transformed into the patient and repeated his questions aloud, prompting Franca to report unusual activity in two first-floor work areas and a third-floor ward.
• Lumian ignited crimson flames that revealed Franca’s webs throughout the asylum, then sent three burning snakes toward the suspicious locations.

Lumian identified the psychiatric patient in Delta Asylum as I Have a Friend and fought him with Franca’s help. He exhausted himself subduing the fleeing Beyonder and approached the unconscious man.

• Lumian confirmed the western third-floor patient was a Sequence 6 Spectator pathway Beyonder after the man revealed his dragon scales, identifying him as I Have a Friend.
• Lumian teleported into the ward and attacked, but I Have a Friend’s Battle Hypnosis made him miss before Frenzy overwhelmed him with his emotions.
• I Have a Friend used the Bloodsucker’s Arrow to transform and flee, but he crashed into an ice wall and used Intimidation to expose the invisible Franca.
• Lumian evaded I Have a Friend’s Intimidation through repeated Spirit World Traversal and struck him down with the Heng-Ha Art.
• Franca criticized Lumian for exhausting himself, and Lumian approached the unconscious I Have a Friend.

Lumian confirmed that the unconscious Beyonder was I Have a Friend, then transformed him into a sheep and brought him to the asylum doctor for a lobotomy. The sheep fell silent after the doctor operated, leaving its fate unclear.

• Madam Magician confirmed that the unconscious man was I Have a Friend after briefly pulling him through the void.
• Lumian wrapped I Have a Friend in ritual sheepskin, transformed him into a sheep, and bandaged his injured eyes.
• Lumian led the sheep through the asylum corridor amid flames, then returned with it to the duty doctor's office.
• Lumian asked the doctor to treat the sheep's violent behavior, and a hidden hand supplied the ice pick the doctor requested.
• The doctor stirred the sheep's frontal lobes with the ice pick, and the sheep stopped struggling.

After helping Franca and Jenna capture I Have a Friend, Lumian recovered and questioned him under Truth Serum. The captive revealed his identity and described the People of the Initiation, while showing that he knew nothing of Lumian’s connection to the Tarot Club.

• The doctor on duty watched Lumian’s fire-setting Demon leave Delta Asylum with the cured sheep, and later learned that someone had shot at the responding police officers.
• At Apartment 601, Lumian tied up I Have a Friend and rested while Franca and Jenna examined the Bloodsucker’s Arrow; Lumian told Jenna to keep it as a reward for her good luck.
• Franca explained that the Bloodsucker’s Arrow could grant powerful abilities but caused blood loss and mutations, and Jenna kept it rather than using it to repay her debt.
• After recovering, Lumian gave I Have a Friend Truth Serum, reversed his transformation, and learned that his name was Pierre Triot and that he had been a deputy editor-in-chief of Basic Medicine.
• Pierre Triot said he had stayed at Delta Asylum to study its patients and had encountered the People of the Initiation, who practiced Worship of Mitra and the Library to gain knowledge and abilities from beyond the Gate of the Unseen.
• Pierre Triot admitted that he had stayed in Trier to kill pursuers and watch them suffer, then asked what the Tarot Club had to do with Lumian, making Lumian laugh.

Lumian and Franca interrogated I Have a Friend about his role in tormenting Aurora-Muggle and uncovered the Samson family’s ties to the Sinners and the disaster in Cordou Village. He also revealed that the Celestial Worthy had prompted the Mandrake cure rumor, and Lumian ended by asking about other April Fool’s Day members.

• Franca joined Lumian’s interrogation, and Lumian suggested telling Jenna about their faith in Mr. Fool and offering her the chance to convert.
• I Have a Friend explained that he targeted Aurora-Muggle because Society members praised her, then used her trust and a Soul-Summoning Spell to worsen her split personality and revive Roche Louise Samson.
• I Have a Friend revealed that Roche’s family—Vazan, Constance, Bliss, Annette, and Athir—belonged to a Samson Family branch and were connected to the Sinners organization.
• I Have a Friend said the Sinners had not expected the Cordou Village disaster so early, and that Roche had not told them about the ritual in advance.
• I Have a Friend admitted that he spread the Human Blood Bread and Mandrake cure rumors, with the Mandrake rumor coming from a revelation by the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth.
• Lumian asked I Have a Friend to describe Madwoman, Ultraman, Hisoka, Loki, and Wandering Poet.

Lumian and Franca interrogated I Have a Friend about April Fool’s Day and the Celestial Worthy, then discovered his notes on a dangerous ritual called Miduoluo’s Worship. Lumian took I Have a Friend to the Rouvois General Execution Ground, burned him at the stake, and digested more of his Pyromaniac potion.

• I Have a Friend revealed what he knew about several Society members, including Loki’s influence over Peter Pettigrew and five other accomplices.
• He explained that Society members had turned to the Celestial Worthy either through reckless behavior or despair, but Lumian stopped him from revealing dangerous truths about the apocalypse.
• Franca showed Lumian papers from I Have a Friend’s double, and Lumian identified Miduoluo’s Worship as a spell for gaining knowledge through an evil god.
• Lumian took I Have a Friend to the Rouvois General Execution Ground and tied him to a stake.
• Lumian burned I Have a Friend to death and digested more of his Pyromaniac potion.

Lumian executed I Have a Friend, kept the Hypnotist Beyonder characteristic, and spent a quiet week recovering and digesting his potion. A special Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society gathering began with Lumian warning Professor that there was a traitor.

• Lumian burned I Have a Friend at the stake, preventing the corpse’s remaining mucus from merging with his head, and recovered the Hypnotist Beyonder characteristic.
• Lumian reported the outcome to Franca, then received Madam Magician’s reply that the characteristic was his to keep and that the Tarot Club would search for the other April Fool’s Day members.
• Lumian cooked himself breakfast and spent the next week resting, acting as a Pyromaniac, and reporting the newly discovered evil god organization to Mr. K.
• Hella’s silver skull delivered notices for a special gathering, and Lumian went to the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society’s palace that night.
• Lumian told Professor and the Academy group that there was a traitor as Gandalf and Hella approached the stone chair.

Lumian and Hella exposed Loki's group to the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society, leading to the creation of a Review Committee to investigate remaining threats. Afterward, 007 questioned Franca, Sleeve Sword, and Lumian about the terrifying aura and a missing Marionettist, and Lumian asked what the Eighth Bureau believed had happened.

• Lumian recounted how Aurora had been harmed by the Soul-Summoning Spell and how he and Hella investigated Loki, I Have a Friend, and Madwoman.
• Hella and witnesses described Loki's and I Have a Friend's plots, while Gandalf presented evidence and revealed that Peter Pettigrew had committed suicide.
• Gandalf proposed a Review Committee, and the Society approved a five-member committee comprising Gandalf, Hella, Apollo, Sleeve Sword, and Principal.
• Lumian declined Hella's suggestion that Muggle join the committee because he was an impostor, then overheard Franca, Sleeve Sword, comment on how the Society had accepted the proposal.
• 007 guessed that Madam Hella, Sleeve Sword, Muggle, and others had dealt with Loki and I Have a Friend, and Lumian asked what the Eighth Bureau thought had happened to its missing Marionettist.

At the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society gathering, Lumian learned that Loki’s disappearance had drawn Eighth Bureau scrutiny and helped the Society establish a contract that exposed several infiltrators. The next day, Christo asked Lumian why the Trier Cave Association had invited him to join.

• 007 told Lumian and Franca that rumors linked the missing Marionettist and confidential documents to a treasure, while Eighth Bureau supervisor Antoine was investigating Loki’s disappearance.
• Professor warned Lumian that the Hidden Sage’s whispers had grown more aggressive and made advancement riskier for Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer pathway.
• The Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society finalized a contract protecting members from secret investigations and private judgments, while allowing the Society to vote on suspected members’ guilt and punishment.
• The Review Committee exposed four infiltrators during the contract signing; one confessed and was expelled after having relevant memories erased, while the others became Beyonder Characteristics.
• Lumian identified two Artisans at the gathering but decided to wait for Anthony Reid before entrusting one with the Hypnotist Beyonder Characteristic.
• At the Breeze Ballroom the next day, Christo told Lumian that the Trier Cave Association had invited him to join and asked why they would approach him.

Lumian learned that the Trier Cave Association had invited Christo to join, then refused the association’s own invitation to join. As its representatives tried to leave, Lumian stopped them and prepared to confront them.

• Lumian suspected the Trier Cave Association had leaked a detailed map of Underground Trier and asked Christo why it had invited him.
• Christo admitted he wanted to join the association to broaden his connections, while keeping the move hidden from Gardner Martin.
• Lumian urged Christo to work for Gardner Martin’s rewards, then pretended to be angry that the association had threatened a Savoie Gang leader.
• Sakota announced that two Cave Association liaisons, Joseph and Layan, had arrived to invite Lumian to join.
• Lumian rejected the invitation despite the liaisons’ warnings, then asked who had given them permission to leave.

Lumian confronted Joseph and Rayan at the Breeze Ballroom, forcing them to explain why the Trier Cave Association had invited him and Christo to join. After learning they were investigating an Earthblood ore specimen and his unusual behavior at the Catacombs, Lumian decided to report the matter to Gardner Martin.

• Lumian stopped Joseph and Rayan from leaving, using his revolver to make them answer his questions.
• Joseph explained that the Cave Association had invited Christo because he knew hidden underground routes, and Lumian because he had possessed an Earthblood ore specimen.
• Lumian pretended the ore had been stolen and reasoned that the Cave Association might be following a lead connected to the fallen Blood Emperor, Alista Tudor.
• Joseph added that Kendall had told them Lumian seemed able to notice unusual things at Flamang's burial in the Catacombs.
• Lumian let Joseph and Rayan leave, then told Christo he would report the complicated situation to Gardner Martin.

Lumian explained his connection to the Earthblood ore and the Trier Cave Association to Gardner Martin, while suspecting that his boss was testing him. After Lumian mentioned recovering a debt from the Different from the Rest Dance Hall, Gardner Martin and Olsen discussed whether Lumian was unusually compatible with calamities, while Franca learned that the vetting had uncovered a suspected Bliss Society member.

• Lumian told Gardner Martin how Flamang’s belongings had left him with the Earthblood ore specimen and explained his involvement with the Cave Association.
• Gardner Martin told Lumian that Puyfer would keep testing and using him, and Lumian suspected Gardner Martin wanted to keep him under scrutiny.
• Lumian asked to buy the Conspirer potion formula, and Gardner Martin offered it for sixty thousand felkine or promised the potion itself as a reward for uncovering the Sauron Family’s decline.
• Lumian revealed that he had collected a debt from the Different from the Rest Dance Hall, prompting Gardner Martin to warn him to watch for anything abnormal.
• After Lumian left, Olsen said he was not yet loyal enough to join Gardner Martin’s team, and they decided to keep watching him.
• Franca asked Bruns Soren when the vetting would end, and Bruns said they had found someone suspected of belonging to the Bliss Society.

Franca learned that Bruns Soren suspected an art dealer named Teresa of being a Bliss Society impostor and agreed to help observe her meeting with Adina. That evening, Franca and Lumian watched the two women at a concert hall, trying to gauge Teresa’s abilities before deciding how to act.

• Bruns told Franca that Teresa had impersonated a real art dealer, seduced Adina, and was suspected of belonging to the Bliss Society.
• Bruns said she planned to punish the male lover of another girlfriend, while Franca defended experimenting with pleasure and realized that pleasure could also mean enjoying herself.
• Franca warned Bruns that Adina might behave unnaturally when meeting Teresa and suggested arranging help from a Psychiatrist or Spectator Beyonder.
• Franca and Lumian disguised their appearances and went to Deland Concert Hall to observe Adina and Teresa on their date.
• Lumian watched for signs of Teresa’s Sequence and considered whether the Heng-Ha Art would work against her if she had become a Fallen Dryad.

Lumian used his knowledge of the Mother Tree of Desire’s Gift pathway to identify the false Teresa as a likely Sequence 6 Awarded, then lured her into a trap and captured her with Franca’s help. As Lumian waited for Franca to join him, Bruns Soren grew anxious while watching the operation from next door.

• At the concert, Lumian arranged for the conductor to invite the most beautiful woman onto the stage, then watched the false Teresa’s disappointment reveal her strong desire for recognition.
• Lumian and Franca went to a vacant apartment opposite Adina’s, where they waited for Adina and the false Teresa to return.
• After Adina and the false Teresa began kissing, Lumian used Spirit World Traversal to appear behind the false Teresa and knocked both women unconscious with the Heng-Ha Art.
• Lumian struck the false Teresa behind the ear, gave her knockout drug, and signaled Franca that the target was under control.
• Bruns Soren watched from next door and wondered why Lumian and Franca had not acted yet.

Lumian and Franca confirmed that the fake Teresa, Beatrice Ankoul, was a core member of the Bliss Society and killed her before questioning her spirit. Beatrice revealed that Maip Mayer had planned to return secretly to the Market District, leaving Lumian and Franca with a new lead.

• Lumian suspected that the fake Teresa had replaced Adina, and he and Franca checked that Adina was still herself.
• Franca used Magic Mirror Divination to confirm that the fake Teresa was a core member of the Bliss Society.
• Lumian killed Beatrice Ankoul, and Franca used Magic Mirror Spiritism to question her spirit.
• Beatrice said she did not know Lumian Lee or Charles Dubois, and that Suzanne Mathis had wanted to awaken the Great Divine Tree.
• Beatrice revealed that Maip Mayer had planned to sneak back into the Market District weeks earlier, but she had not seen him since.

Franca questioned Beatrice Ankoul about Maip Mayer and the Bliss Society, learning that Hibel was its new High Priest and that no one knew Maip’s plans. After Bruns Soren joined them, Lumian found a note about collecting a painting, and the group noticed a change in Beatrice’s corpse.

• Lumian considered why Maip Mayer might be acting alone and feared the Awarded could be hiding nearby to attack him.
• Franca learned from Beatrice Ankoul that Hibel was the new High Priest, but Beatrice did not know Hibel’s real identity or Maip Mayer’s whereabouts and plans.
• Bruns Soren entered the apartment and asked Franca whether the situation was dealt with; Franca told her what they had learned about the Bliss Society.
• Lumian searched Beatrice’s corpse and found 1,500 felkine in money and a note ordering someone to collect a painting from a hostel within three days.
• Lumian, Franca, and Bruns noticed that the light around Beatrice’s corpse dimmed and that the body had subtly changed.

After Beatrice Ankoul’s corpse began mutating, a hidden Witch intervened and the resulting corruption transformed her diamond necklace into a dangerous Beyonder object. Lumian and Franca then searched the underground altar for clues to Maip Mayer and found fresh traces linking several mysteries to Underground Trier.

• Beatrice Ankoul’s corpse developed wooden growths as a strange presence seemed to watch Lumian, Franca, and Bruns Soren.
• The apartment’s windows turned into dark walls, cutting off the corpse’s supernatural connections and halting its mutation.
• A hidden observer wiped a strange mirror, restoring the building and leaving Beatrice’s diamond necklace changed.
• Franca removed the necklace, which stirred powerful desires in Lumian when he touched it, and the pair left with the object.
• Lumian persuaded Franca to search the underground altar where Suzanne Mathis had worshiped the Shadow Tree for clues about Maip Mayer.
• Lumian found fresh traces near the altar and realized that the Shadow Tree, the Samaritan Woman Spring, and the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s plans all pointed toward the dangers beneath Trier.