Chapter Summaries

Lumian and his companions investigated the death of Satipo El, whose corpse Ludwig ate before Lumian took him to the sea to feed. A Tudor gold coin found in Satipo’s apartment led Lumian’s divination to reveal its previous owner: Zarathustra.

• Lumian, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony found Satipo El dead in his apartment, and Ludwig ate part of the corpse after they searched it and empowered Winter Is Coming with its remaining gift.
• Franca found a Tudor gold coin in a desk drawer, and Satipo’s spirit said it had fallen from a mirror after the God of Disease told him to wait before one.
• After eating, Ludwig’s body nearly transformed, so Lumian took him to the Sea of Fog, where he devoured enormous numbers of fish and shrimp and stirred up a whirlpool and towering waves.
• Lumian prayed for Mr. Fool’s assistance and used Magic Mirror Divination on the Tudor coin, seeing dark, lightless eyes and identifying their owner as Zarathustra.

Lumian and his companions traced a dangerous Tudor gold coin to Fourth Epoch Trier and discussed getting Julian out of danger. That evening, Madam Hermit asked for their help with Mr. Fool’s plan to hunt the Hidden Sage.

• Lumian’s divination revealed that the Tudor gold coin came from Fourth Epoch Trier, after the mirror nearly burned away despite Mr. Fool’s protection.
• Lumian told Anthony to seek the Marionettist potion formula and discussed searching for Zaratul and the Society of the End of All Things.
• Jenna decided to use hypnosis to persuade Julian to leave Trier for three years, while also considering teaching him mysticism and helping him become a Beyonder.
• Lumian considered his upcoming duties and the need to find a Weather Warlock characteristic, then received Madam Hermit’s request to visit.
• Madam Hermit arrived at Lumian’s villa and revealed that Mr. Fool was preparing to hunt the Hidden Sage.

Lumian used a dream-woven phone to gain the Information Shredder ability by praying to the God of Steam and Machinery. Meanwhile, Franca recruited six Warlocks from the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society to support a planned hunt for the Hidden Sage, leaving them wary but tempted by the chance to end His knowledge infusions.

• Lumian entered the God of Steam and Machinery's cathedral disguised in a bonnet and veil, then prayed while holding a dream-woven phone from the Dream City.
• The phone became tangible and functional after Lumian prayed for the Information Shredder ability, though it had no network connection.
• Franca and Hella met Professor, Associate Professor, Isotope, Periodic Table, and two other Warlocks, who asked for help resisting the Hidden Sage's knowledge infusions.
• Franca proposed killing the Hidden Sage and explained that the Warlocks would provide support while demigods handled the fighting.
• Franca said the Warlocks were needed because they were Warlocks, transmigrators, and carried the aura of gray fog, while Muggle had a more important task.

Franca led Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype through the Mirror-Behind Region toward the operation against the Hidden Sage, while Cattleya entered the Moses Ascetic Order’s hidden headquarters, Utopia. There, President Toriope’s masked statue foresaw her betrayal, and Cattleya prepared the Hermit card.

• Professor agreed to join Franca’s operation, and Professor chose to go while Associate Professor stayed behind with the children and dependents.
• Franca led Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype through a mirror and onto an eerie sailing ship, then pointed them west toward their destination.
• Cattleya recited Utopia’s 365-digit entry code, boarded an uncrewed boat, and entered the Moses Ascetic Order’s headquarters.
• Cattleya passed through Utopia and saw Warlocks suffering from the Hidden Sage’s increasingly frenzied knowledge infusions.
• At the spire’s top floor, a masked statue declared that it had foreseen Cattleya’s betrayal, and she produced the Hermit card.

Madam Magician and the Tarot Club’s allies launched an assault on the Moses Ascetic Order’s hidden headquarters while Mr. Fool confronted the Hidden Sage. Lumian pressed deeper into Utopia as Jenna fought the depraved warlocks, and Madam Magician confronted Toriope, who unleashed a spell called Loss of Control Gaze.

• Madam Magician used the Hermit card to enter Utopia, then destroyed the palace above the Warlock Tower with a Twilight Greatsword and opened the way to its hidden interior.
• Madam Magician sent Lumian and Jenna into a chamber where warlocks were using infant corpses in their rituals, and Lumian left Jenna to deal with them.
• Jenna froze and impaled the warlocks, then let her mystical plague make them suffer and despair.
• Madam Magician pursued Toriope across Utopia, where He used Mystical Reappearance to create a figure whose falling flesh became evil eyes and cast Loss of Control Gaze.

Toriope waited in the wilderness as the Magician vanished, while the Blue Avenger sailed through the Sea of Fog toward the Moses Ascetic Order’s headquarters. After the ship survived attacks from sea monsters, The Hanged Man told Franca that Madam Hermit could enter the headquarters, where she encountered Ledia Austin.

• Toriope watched Loss of Control Gaze fade and saw the Magician return, remaining in the wilderness because he had no time to escape.
• The Hanged Man explained to Franca, Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype that the Sea of Fog’s greatest danger was its dense, disorienting mist.
• A whale-like sea monster attacked the Blue Avenger, and The Hanged Man and Franca defeated it and a Gatekeeper lurking beneath the water.
• The Hanged Man explained that new sea monsters had appeared after the God of Combat’s defeat and the collapse of part of his Divine Kingdom.
• The Blue Avenger sailed deeper into the fog, and The Hanged Man told Franca that Madam Hermit could enter the Moses Ascetic Order’s headquarters.
• Madam Hermit stopped among broken stone pillars in the Warlock Tower’s dark-side tunnel and encountered Ledia Austin.

Leticia confronted Cattleya on Utopia’s dark side and transformed into a dragon, while Lumian faced the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact Fated Madness. At sea, Franca’s team reached the target area after enduring illusions and knowledge that pursued them.

• Leticia revealed her dragon-like Mythical Creature Form and attacked Cattleya, who used Fairy Tale Magic to manifest an incomplete swan-like Mythical Creature Form.
• Sydis wielded Fated Madness against Lumian, sending manifestations of knowledge after him, and Lumian answered with petrification.
• Franca prayed to Mr. Fool to notify Cattleya that the operation could begin, while The Hanged Man warned Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype about illusions ahead.
• Professor resisted visions of her companions acting strangely and tentacles reaching from the sea by remembering The Hanged Man’s warning.
• The Hanged Man announced that the Blue Avenger had reached the target area, and Franca took patterned yellow papers from her Traveler’s Bag.

Lumian escaped Sydis’s assault with the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact while the battles across Utopia continued to shift. Franca’s group used the yellow papers to draw the Hidden Sage’s attention, allowing a black-coated figure to follow the connection into the Mysterious Unknown Land and confront Him.

• Sydis used the silver flask to overwhelm Lumian with knowledge and burning sunlight, but Lumian escaped through successive Mirror Substitutes and Teleportation.
• A monk-robed figure gathered from pale steam as Sydis continued pursuing the Witch of Unaging, while Bernadette reassembled near Cattleya as Leticia suppressed her.
• Toriope evaded Madam Magician’s attacks, then rushed toward a hidden escape passage opened by the Hidden Sage.
• Franca gave Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype yellow papers to burn, causing bluish smoke to rise and intensifying the knowledge assault on them.
• The Hidden Sage sensed danger through the connection, but a black-coated figure followed it into the Mysterious Unknown Land and appeared before Him.

The Fool, the Crimson Moon, Madam Magician, and Lumian stopped Toriope from reaching the secret passage, and Madam Magician used the Information Shredder to kill him and recover his Beyonder Characteristics. In Utopia, Ohaiz put on Solomon's Mask to support the Order, then saw a barefoot figure appear before him.

• The Fool attacked the Hidden Sage as the Crimson Moon prevented the Deities from intervening in the battle.
• Madam Magician trapped Toriope in a spatial maze, while Lumian's phone briefly forced her to become fixed in place.
• Madam Magician used the Information Shredder to absorb Toriope's information and kill him, then returned his Beyonder Characteristics to the phone.
• Ohaiz took Solomon's Mask from the sealed Mystical Items and put it on to support the Moses Ascetic Order.
• A barefoot figure in a simple robe appeared in Ohaiz's sight.

Franca’s team completed its operation against the Hidden Sage’s knowledge infusion, while Cattleya joined Lumian and Fors after Toriope’s death. The Fool destroyed one of the Hidden Sage’s information forms, but another backup appeared and attacked him with a flood of useless knowledge.

• Franca and The Hanged Man helped Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype recover from the knowledge infusion, then returned the Blue Avenger to port after their part of the mission succeeded.
• Cattleya left the Queen of Mysteries’ battle with Leticia and reached Lumian and Fors, who confirmed Toriope was dead and his Beyonder Characteristics had been sealed.
• Leonard and the old man discussed the Great Mother’s lack of action and concluded that the Hidden Sage had become less important to the Evil Gods’ plans.
• The Fool pierced and destroyed one of the Hidden Sage’s information forms, then sealed and annihilated the crimson traces that tried to gather for its rebirth.
• A second Hidden Sage backup emerged across the ocean and poured vast quantities of useless knowledge into The Fool’s mind.

The Fool destroyed the Hidden Sage’s digital refuge and used Lumian and an Information Shredder Mini Program to capture the evil god’s disintegrated information. Lumian died after luring the Hidden Sage into the phone, and The Fool forced the captive back inside as the unknown land continued to collapse.

• The Hidden Sage tried to turn the unknown land into nothing with his powers over numbers, but The Fool collapsed the barrier, fog, and land before he could escape.
• The Fool stopped time without including the Hidden Sage, and Lumian entered the scene through a passage grafted onto the unknown land.
• Believing Lumian carried the Great Mother’s aura, the Hidden Sage rushed toward him as Lumian activated his protections and held out the phone.
• Lumian ran the Information Shredder Mini Program, drawing in the Hidden Sage’s information, then burned himself to ashes with the Flames of Destruction; his mirrored self died as well.
• The Fool arrived and pushed the Hidden Sage’s struggling information back into the phone, refusing his plea for mercy.

The Fool and his allies destroyed the Hidden Sage, ending the threat to Warlocks, and Lumian awoke safely in the Night Kingdom before returning to the Luxury Villa. At an impromptu gathering, Mr. Fool confirmed the hunt’s success and distributed the spoils, while saying the Hidden Sage’s death was the reward he wanted most.

• The Fool used the Information Shredder to locate and destroy the Hidden Sage’s backups, and the Hidden Sage’s final scream reached Warlocks across the world.
• The Fool’s phone exploded and released an illusory eye before its remnants and the Fool disappeared; Lumian later awoke in the mirror-behind region and confirmed the Hidden Sage was dead.
• Lumian returned to the Luxury Villa, where Jenna reported that she had eliminated fallen Warlocks and turned the others over to Madam Hermit for reform.
• Mr. Fool summoned the Major Arcana and confirmed Dragon Scholar Leticia had a possible resurrection spell, but that the hunt had achieved its main objectives.
• Mr. Fool assigned the Hidden Sage’s Uniqueness to the God of Steam and Machinery, the Knowledge Emperor characteristic to Bernadette, and Fated Madness and Sydis’s characteristic to the Church of the Evernight.
• Hermit Cattleya chose the Sage characteristic, Lumian chose the Weather Warlock formula and the Book of Post-Apocalypse, and Mr. Fool gave Solomon’s Mask to Madam Magician, saying the Hidden Sage’s death was his greatest reward.

The Fool distributed the spoils from the hunt among the Major Arcana and the Seven of Cups, and Lumian received the dangerous Grade 0 Sealed Artifact known as the Book of Post-Apocalypse. The book then prophesied that crimson would descend from the sky at the end of July 1360, leaving Lumian alarmed by how soon that date was.

• Miss Magician, The Hanged Man, Miss Justice, Miss Temperance, and Mr. Stars chose their respective spoils, while The Fool assigned the remaining artifacts and characteristics to the Seven of Cups and the Church of the Fool.
• The Fool gave Lumian Ohaiz's Mysticism Scholar characteristic and related materials, along with the Book of Post-Apocalypse.
• Lumian learned the Book of Post-Apocalypse's abilities, dangers, and sealing method, then considered ways to manage its misfortune and prophecies.
• The Book of Post-Apocalypse opened and first prophesied that crimson would descend from the sky at the end of July 1368, then changed the date to the end of July 1360.
• Lumian realized the revised prophecy pointed to a date just over a year away, since it was already spring 1359.

Lumian learned the Weather Warlock ritual and discussed how to use the battle’s spoils to obtain a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact for Franca and Jenna. Franca then presented Professor and the others with three Beyonder characteristics, leaving them stunned as they prepared to distribute the rewards.

• Mr. Fool returned Lumian’s enlarged Traveler’s Bag, provided potion formulas and a Mythical Creature’s blood for the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society, and gave Lumian the Weather Warlock formula.
• Lumian considered ways to perform the Weather Warlock advancement ritual and learned from Mr. Fool that the Hidden Sage’s connection to the Great Mother involved the Western Continent.
• Franca and Jenna discussed exchanging some spoils for a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, favoring the Coffin Bearer but planning to ask Mr. Fool whether it was safe for their pathways.
• Franca brought Lumian to the house where Professor and the other Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society members were gathered, then displayed one Mysticism Scholar and two Astrologer characteristics.
• Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype stared at the three characteristics as they asked when they could go home.

Franca persuaded the Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype to accept advancement rewards after revealing that the Moses Ascetic Order had been destroyed and offering them protection. Back at the Luxury Villa, Franca exchanged Beyonder spoils with Mr. Fool for the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact Mystery’s Face.

• Franca told the Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype that the operation’s participants would receive resources to advance by one Sequence.
• Franca revealed that the Moses Ascetic Order had been destroyed, leaving the three Warlocks without its protection, and offered them help through her honorific name.
• Franca disclosed that she and Muggle were Sequence 3, while Lumian advised the Professor to draw on myths and legends from before transmigrating if she became a Mysticism Scholar.
• Franca distributed sealed Beyonder characteristics, potion ingredients, and a drop of mythical-creature blood to the three Warlocks.
• After celebrating the Hidden Sage’s death, Franca prayed to Mr. Fool and exchanged Beyonder characteristics and Mystical Items for Mystery’s Face, a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.

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.