Chapter Summaries

Lumian accepted Giorgia’s secret commission to kill a creature in her family’s basement and went to inspect it immediately. He destroyed the humanoid lizard with fire and returned upstairs, telling Giorgia the problem was dealt with.

• Giorgia asked Lumian to eliminate an evil creature in her home and offered him fifteen thousand riso for his silence.
• Lumian questioned Giorgia about the creature, then agreed to inspect the scene and requested dinner for himself, Ludwig, and Lugano.
• Giorgia led Lumian and his companions to her villa, where bodyguards guarded the basement door behind which the creature was locked.
• Lumian opened the basement door and faced a humanoid lizard whose supernatural pressure hindered movement.
• Lumian broke free of the creature’s restraints, struck it with a flaming punch, and blasted it apart with fireballs.
• Lumian returned upstairs, and when Giorgia asked about the situation, he told her the creature had been dealt with.

Lumian investigated the Paco Family after learning its matriarch, Marta, had been a Sea Maiden, then received Hella’s invitation to a Society gathering. At the gathering, he asked Franca to seek a way for him to understand the Highland Language, and she described her and Jenna’s discovery in the Catacombs before “007” approached them.

• Lumian killed a humanoid lizard in the Paco Family’s basement, received 15,000 riso from Giorgia, and noticed that the family’s “old grandmother” had not appeared.
• Lumian sent Lugano to ask about Giorgia’s family, and Lugano learned that Giorgia was married to Fishing Guild committee member Ruvio Paco and that the family matriarch, Marta, had been a Sea Maiden.
• Hella invited Lumian to a gathering, and he attended the Society meeting in the Night Kingdom after asking his messenger who had sent the letter.
• Lumian asked Franca to find a potion, charm, or item that could help him understand the Highland Language without others realizing it.
• Franca told Lumian how she and Jenna had obtained another Mirror World Fragment in the Catacombs, and “007” strode toward them.

Franca told 007 about a newly discovered Mirror World Fragment in the Catacombs, giving him a reason to stay in Trier, while Lumian warned her that Society members might have been replaced by People in the Mirror. At the Academy group's gathering, several Warlocks described sharing a strange dream that began after the rainstorm in Trier, and Lumian suggested investigating whether Generalists had experienced it too.

• Franca told 007 that the Society had found a Mirror World Fragment in a tomb chamber near the Mad Mushroom Cave and asked him to identify the tomb and its former owners.
• 007 explained that mushrooms had filled the naturally formed cavern within weeks of the Catacombs' completion and the relocation of ancient remains.
• Lumian urged Franca to consider that Society members in Trier might have been replaced by People in the Mirror, and she agreed to raise the risk with the Review Committee.
• Franca bought three low-tier and one middle-tier language comprehension charms from Bear.
• Professor said that she, Associate Professor, and several Warlocks had repeatedly dreamed of a wilderness with indistinct wandering figures since the night of Trier's terrifying rainstorm.
• Lumian connected the dreams to the events at Deep Valley Monastery and suggested asking Generalists whether they had experienced them too.

Lumian discussed strange wilderness dreams affecting Warlocks with members of the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society and suspected they stemmed from a disaster that had released high-level powers. That night, a strange creature tried to intimidate him into revealing Giorgia's commission, but escaped after a pale blue star subdued Lumian; the next morning, Lugano reported that Combat Nuns were looking for him.

• Stonemason described dreams of wilderness and blurry fragments of ancient civilization, prompting Lumian to connect them to the voices and the name "Celestial Master" he had encountered with the Eye of Truth.
• Lumian proposed that a disaster had released high-level powers that affected Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer and Generalist pathways, with the effects fading more quickly outside Trier.
• Franca asked about the ancient tomb chamber near the Mad Mushroom Cave and later questioned Lumian about his reaction to Stonemason's dreams; Lumian said he would ask Madam Magician whether he could share what he knew.
• Hella asked Lumian about tracking Ultraman and Wandering Poet, and offered help if he needed it.
• A demon-like shadow demanded that Lumian reveal what Giorgia of the Paco Family had commissioned him to do; Lumian fought its creator in shadow form, but a pale blue star froze him and let the creature escape.
• Lugano returned with breakfast the next morning and told Lumian that Combat Nuns were looking for him.

Lumian met Noelia and the Combat Nuns of the Order of Abundance, agreed to Santa Port’s rules for Wild Beyonders, and told them about a monster’s warning. He then informed Giorgia and met her husband Ruvio, who offered him a commission concerning his ill mother Marta and revealed that Sea Maidens needed the Governor of the Sea’s permission to seek Church treatment.

• Noelia introduced herself as a Combat Nun and told Lumian he could stay in Santa Port if he followed three rules; she tested his reactions with a sword before leaving.
• Lumian told Noelia that a little monster had disguised itself as a demon and warned him, and she told him to avoid involvement in the Fisheries Guild’s internal affairs.
• Lumian told Giorgia about the monster, then met her husband, Ruvio Paco, who spoke with him directly in Intisian.
• Ruvio offered Lumian a commission related to his ill mother, Marta, who wanted to return to Milo Village and seek treatment from the Church of the Earth Mother.
• Ruvio explained that Sea Maidens needed the Governor of the Sea’s permission to seek Church treatment, or their actions would desecrate the Sea-Praying Ritual.

Lumian negotiated with Ruvio Paco for a chance to observe the Sea-Praying Ritual’s folk performances, then uncovered surveillance of the Paco family and learned that Juan Oro had ordered it. Back in Trier, Lumian told Franca that the voices and visions he experienced in Fourth Epoch Trier were connected to Celestial Master.

• Lumian agreed to escort Madame Marta to Milo Village in exchange for watching the performances held during the Night-Watch Ritual, while Ruvio refused to let him witness its final stages or have Lugano treat his mother.
• Giorgia told Lumian that the Governor of the Sea must spend every night in the building where the Night-Watch Ritual takes place and cannot leave Santa Port.
• Lumian spotted a myna watching the Paco family, followed it to Sanchez, and learned that Juan Oro had hired him to monitor the family.
• Lumian found a message from Madam Magician warning him about ancient ruins and the Hidden Sage, then returned to Trier to speak with Franca.
• Lumian told Franca that the voices and scenes he had encountered in Fourth Epoch Trier were connected to Celestial Master.

Franca connected Lumian’s vision of the Celestial Master to her homeland and, after remembering a familiar-looking man from the catacombs, wondered whether people could travel bodily between worlds. Lumian used a Language Comprehension charm and reached Milo Village with the Paco family, where Lugano suspected Marta’s condition came from an injury rather than an illness.

• Lumian told Franca about his vision of the Celestial Master, and she theorized that the Celestial Master came from her world and was influencing this one.
• Franca gave Lumian four Language Comprehension charms, then later remembered that a man in the catacombs resembled someone from her homeland and wondered whether bodily transmigration or travel between worlds was possible.
• Lumian activated a charm to understand Highland Language and traveled with Ludwig and Lugano to Milo Village alongside Marta and Ruvio Paco.
• At the Governor of the Sea’s residence, Lumian asked Lugano to examine Marta, and Lugano concluded that her blood loss and weak vitality suggested an injury.

Lumian entered the Governor of the Sea’s residence and found the young Governor with Marta and Ruvio Paco, then left after Ruvio said Marta had been granted permission to receive treatment at the Church. As the carriage left Milo Village, Juan Oro stopped it, and Lumian pressed a revolver to his forehead.

• Lumian listened to children playing make-believe about the Governor of the Sea, then used the shadows to bypass the guards and enter the residence.
• Lumian found Marta and Ruvio kneeling before a young man surrounded by attendants, and Ruvio told him the Governor had approved Marta’s treatment at the Church.
• Lumian returned outside and rode away with Ruvio, Marta, and Lugano, speculating that the Governor might lack the sea’s gift.
• Lumian asked in Highland Language what would happen if the residence were blown up, and Lugano realized he was testing the coachman and the Pacos’ reactions.
• Juan Oro stopped the carriage as it left Milo Village, and Lumian pointed a revolver at him and demanded to know who had allowed him to approach.

Lumian provoked Juan Oro and his companion to test their strength and publicly signal his determination to investigate the Sea-Praying Ritual. After receiving news from Franca about a possible visitor from another world, he prepared to meet Noelia of the Order of Abundance.

• Lumian fired at Juan Oro, but the young man with him caught the bullet and redirected Lumian's fireballs; Ruvio Paco then allowed Juan to approach the carriage and speak with Marta.
• Lumian and Lugano returned to 21 Saint Lana Street, where Lumian reminded Ruvio of his promise before leaving with Ludwig.
• Lumian explained to Lugano that his public aggression was meant to test the Fishing Guild and attract information and support from those opposed to its influence and the Sea-Praying Ritual.
• Lumian received a letter from Franca reporting that she and Jenna had met a man on the Fourth Level of the Catacombs who might have come bodily from the Celestial Master's world.
• Noelia of the Order of Abundance arrived at Lumian's suite, and Lumian felt his Conspirer potion digest further.

Lumian learned from Noelia that Santa Port’s Sea-Praying Ritual had Church of the Earth Mother approval despite its dangerous supernatural effects, including creating powerful sea guardians and lizard-like descendants of Sea Maidens. Noelia offered the Church’s limited help as long as Lumian did not endanger the port, then warned that the ritual might require a Saint or a powerful Sealed Artifact to stop.

• Lumian welcomed Noelia and sent Lugano and Ludwig out so they could speak privately.
• Noelia explained that the Church had eventually allowed Santa Port’s Sea-Praying Ritual to continue because it brought prosperity and was usually contained to its participants.
• Noelia described the ritual’s effects, including controlling the sea, preventing disasters, increasing reproduction and harvests, and influencing the fortunes of families connected to Sea Maidens.
• Noelia revealed that criminals who transformed into lizard-like monsters were children of Sea Maidens, giving Lumian a possible connection to the Paco family case.
• Noelia offered limited assistance but warned that the Church would expel Lumian if his actions endangered Santa Port.
• Noelia warned that stopping the ritual could require a Saint or a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, then asked Lumian whether he wanted to leave behind a child; he declined.

Lumian received a hidden message revealing that Norfie was the child of a fugitive Sea Maiden, then went out to draw out people connected to the Sea-Praying Ritual. The Governor of the Sea approached him in disguise and begged him for help.

• Lumian found a concealed note in Travel Around Feynapotter explaining that Norfie's mother was a Sea Maiden who had fled Santa Port and that the Fishing Guild's powers weakened beyond the region.
• Lumian ordered Lugano to find Batna Conte and went out for a stroll to invite approaches or an attack from the Fishing Guild.
• Ludwig caught and ate a shadowy, bristled creature that tried to attack him in the washroom.
• At a café, Lumian recognized a veiled, cross-dressed visitor as the Governor of the Sea, who asked him to save him.

Lumian met the disguised Governor of the Sea, who revealed that he was an impostor and that the real Governor had died after last year’s Sea-Praying Ritual failed. After learning about the Fishing Guild’s threats and the mysterious fate of past governors, Lumian later heard that Batna and Norfie had vanished and decided what help to seek from the Knight of Swords.

• Lumian pretended not to understand Highland Language and gave the disguised Governor of the Sea paper so he could write his request for help.
• The impostor wrote that the real Governor had died during last year’s failed Sea-Praying Ritual and that Juan Oro and the Fishing Guild had forced him to impersonate the dead man.
• The impostor explained that he feared being killed after the handover ceremony, described Juan Oro’s power, and said he knew nothing about where previous Governors of the Sea had gone.
• Lumian burned the written pages and considered whether the impostor’s story was true or a trap, while connecting the failed ritual to April Fool’s Day’s suspected ring substitution.
• Lugano told Lumian that adventurers and Bounty Hunters had not seen Batna or Norfie since they arrived in Santa Port, and Lumian resolved to ask the Knight of Swords for help.

Lumian summoned the Knight of Swords’ Half-Fairy messenger and sent a letter, while Franca told “007” she suspected a man in her portrait had come from their world. The chapter left Lumian in Santa Port as the Knight of Swords’ card appeared in his room.

• Lumian waited for more contacts about the Sea-Praying Ritual, then summoned the Knight of Swords’ Half-Fairy messenger and asked it to deliver his letter.
• Franca met “007” in Trier and gave him a portrait of a black-robed man, asking him to discreetly search for the target.
• Franca told “007” she suspected the man had come from their world and said she had encountered him on the Fourth Level of the Catacombs.
• After breakfast at the Solo Hotel, Lumian saw the Knight of Swords tarot card appear out of thin air on his desk.

Lumian asked the Knight of Swords to find Batna Comté and Norfie, then used Lugano as bait to test whether the Fishing Guild would attack his companions. As Lugano returned to the Solo Hotel, three disguised vagrants suddenly shot at him.

• The Knight of Swords agreed to search for Batna Comté and Norfie and said he might need Lumian’s help later in the Southern Continent.
• Lumian sent Lugano to collect identity documents from Valerio while secretly following him through the shadows, expecting a possible attack.
• Lugano collected the documents without incident and returned toward the Solo Hotel after changing back into his usual appearance.
• Lumian spotted three unnaturally stiff vagrants springing up and firing pistols at Lugano from three directions.

Lumian and Lugano survived an attack by vagrants controlled by strange insects, and Ludwig identified the creatures and turned one into a supernatural drink. After sending Lugano and Ludwig to report the assault to Noelia, Lumian headed to the Santa Port Fishing Guild.

• Three vagrants shot at Lugano, but Lumian emerged from the shadows and incapacitated them while stopping the black insects that controlled them.
• Lugano treated his gunshot wound, and Lumian used Lie to transfer most of the injury from Lugano to himself.
• Lumian ordered Lugano to collect the guns, speak to the police, and then seek help from the Order of Abundance.
• Ludwig identified the insects as Batins Black Insects, ate two, and prepared a drink from the third that granted supernatural effects.
• Lumian sent Ludwig and Lugano to tell Noelia about the attack, then went to the Santa Port Fishing Guild.

Lumian forced his way into the Fishing Guild and fought Juan Oro’s grandson Fernandez, drawing Noelia’s intervention before learning more about the mysterious disappearances of past Governors of the Sea. That night, the Knight of Swords reported finding clues to the two targets’ whereabouts.

• Lugano told Noelia that he had been attacked and said Louis Berri had sent him to the Order of Abundance’s base.
• Lumian entered the Fishing Guild and fought Fernandez, using his abilities to defeat him and blast a hole through the building.
• Noelia stopped the fight and confronted Juan Oro, who denied knowing about the Aquinas Street shooting before returning to the guild.
• As Noelia escorted Lumian away, she revealed that previous Governors of the Sea had mysteriously disappeared, and Lumian asked what the Earth Mother’s Church hoped to achieve.
• The Knight of Swords told Lumian that he had found clues to the whereabouts of the two targets.

Lumian investigated Norfie and Batna’s boat-rental inquiry and suspected they were seeking the secret waters where Santa Port’s Sea Sacrifice took place, possibly to seize or destroy something there. In Trier, Franca found a connection between the Tamara Family tombs and her companions’ recent mission, while Lumian prepared to secretly watch Louis Berri in Santa Port.

• The Knight of Swords told Lumian that Norfie and Batna had asked the Balansat Ship Rental Company about renting a fishing boat, then vanished from the available records.
• Lumian theorized that Norfie might know the location of the Sea Sacrifice from her Sea Maiden mother and could be seeking whatever lay in those waters; he also wondered whether April Fool’s Day had tried to steal it.
• The Knight of Swords agreed to investigate the boat-rental company further, then disappeared, leading Lumian to suspect he was a spirit-type creature.
• Franca collected 007’s notes and learned that the ancient tomb containing the Mirror World Fragment belonged to the Tamara Family, as did the Thorns and Shield Wall Tomb Chamber tied to Jenna’s task.
• Franca decided to report the Tamara Family connection to Madam Judgement, while Lumian took up a disguised position across from the Solo Hotel to watch Louis Berri.

Lumian caught a man sent by Ruvio Paco to watch him and learned that Santa Port’s tensions had temporarily quieted. In Trier, Franca and Jenna learned more about the Tamara family, while the Knight of Swords later found a suspect in Norfie and Batna’s kidnapping and Lumian agreed to investigate with him.

• Lumian dodged a poisoned dart fired by a man watching Louis Berri, knocked him unconscious, and used Truth Serum to learn that Ruvio Paco had commissioned him.
• The Chazot Rabbit asked Jenna for a custom revolver in place of payment for five deliveries, and Jenna agreed.
• Franca and Jenna read Madam Judgement’s letter explaining the Tamara family’s history, its divisions, and its ties to the Gnosis Society and Witch families.
• Lumian, Lugano, and Ludwig went several days without being attacked as the watchers in Santa Port remained inactive.
• The Knight of Swords told Lumian he had found a suspect in Norfie and Batna’s kidnapping, and Lumian agreed to go with him.

Lumian and the Knight of Swords captured Lato Giaro and questioned him about Norfie, Batna, and the Sea-Praying Ritual. Lato revealed that the Fishing Guild had set a trap for Lumian and that the ritual was meant to marry the sea, leaving Lumian with a clearer picture of the danger awaiting him.

• Lumian met the Knight of Swords and followed him to the Giaro Family residence, where they found Lato Giaro in his bedroom.
• The Knight of Swords took control of Lato, and Lumian subdued him with sedative before administering Truth Serum.
• Lato confessed that Norfie and Batna were imprisoned in his basement and that he planned to use them to lure Lumian to the Sea-Praying Ritual site.
• Lato revealed that Juan Oro would be waiting at sea to kill Lumian, and Lumian inferred that the Fishing Guild had arranged the lead as a trap.
• Lato explained that the Sea-Praying Ritual granted the Guild its power and involved marrying the sea, with the Governor of the Sea serving as both sacrifice and chief officiant.

Lumian questioned Lato about the Sea-Praying Ritual, learning how it was meant to bind the sea to the Governor of the Sea and how last year’s rite failed. He suspected that someone from “April Fool’s Day” had stolen and replaced the ritual ring, and began investigating the surviving participants and Juan Oro’s abilities.

• Lato explained that the sea possessed four Sea Maidens and joined with the Governor of the Sea, while the Night-Watch Ritual altered the Governor’s body and prepared a specially empowered gold ring.
• Lato described the ring being thrown into the water with a wedding vow, but Lumian doubted that Lato understood the ancient language in which the vow was spoken.
• Lato said the four Subdeacons who handled the ring died when last year’s ritual failed, while the Sea Maidens and sailors survived under close watch.
• Lumian reasoned that an infiltrator among the sailors could have stolen and replaced the ring during the handling of sacrificial offerings, then asked Lato about last year’s Sea Maidens and sailors.
• After learning that participants were inspected and Juan Oro monitored them with his powers, Lumian asked what abilities Juan possessed.