Recaps

Xia Xiu received approval and a share of the [Sword of Judgment]'s computing resources to pursue two proposals for researching the [Tide Call] and [Beat the Shark] meme viruses. After listening to the translated music, he suspected its style would be familiar to [Vortex Music].

• Professor Laugen approved Xia Xiu's [Anti-Meme Lock] proposal for [Tide Call] and granted him 0.25% of the [Sword of Judgment]'s computing resources, while withholding lethal functions.
• Laugen told Xia Xiu that Catherine Villa had been dispatched by the [Hunting Hall] to Brussels.
• Xia Xiu explained that he planned to broadcast [Beat the Shark Meme-Translated Music] through a [Frequency Fusion Network Device] to measure the original strain's range, then use the data to narrow down its location.
• Laugen gave Xia Xiu the cassette, and Xia Xiu played the translated song after confirming that they were both protected against its contamination.
• Laugen analyzed the song's lyrics as a record of humanity's enslavement by the Sea-born, while Xia Xiu focused on its musical style and suspected [Vortex Music] would recognize it.

Xia Xiu traced the unusual Beat the Shark meme music to Amelia Watson and traveled to Heaven’s Brussels containment site to investigate it and Tide Call. He presented Dr. Effie with his research proposals, including a request for a Siren Records pass and concert tickets, which he said were part of the plan.

• Xia Xiu learned from Quinn that Beat the Shark reflected the Gura Clan’s forbidden-song style and had likely been reworked by Amelia Watson of Siren Records.
• Xia Xiu left for the Brussels area and entered Heaven’s containment site after identifying himself as Xiu Abraham and explaining his research purpose.
• Xia Xiu met junior researcher Dr. Effie and confirmed that he wanted to study the local Tide Call and Beat the Shark meme viruses.
• Xia Xiu reassured Dr. Effie that he would not interfere with the site’s research and handed over proposals requesting resources and D-class personnel.
• Dr. Effie questioned Xia Xiu’s requests for a Siren Records internal pass and concert tickets, and Xia Xiu said they were part of the plan.

Xia Xiu used D-class personnel to measure the spread of [Beat the Shark] and uncovered clues linking two Gura Clan members to Amelia Watson. He then completed a lock for [Tide Call], whose prophetic songs pointed toward Amelia and left him determined to learn her secrets.

• Xia Xiu assigned Bru, Ben Jack, and Old John to marked positions and used repeated memory deletions to measure [Beat the Shark]'s infection radius at eight kilometers.
• Xia Xiu compared the spread data with [Siren Records] and concluded that two Gura Clan members had come inland to find Amelia Watson, rather than being sheltered by her on their journey.
• Xia Xiu tested [Tide Call] on the three D-class personnel and spent three hours creating a lock that stopped infected people from transmitting its contamination.
• Xia Xiu reviewed the music the D-class personnel had heard and found that A1 had heard Amelia Watson's album [Daylight Saving Time], including three frequently repeated tracks.

Xia Xiu tracked down deep-sea hunter Catherine Villa at Bersel Aquarium, where they fought mutated sea-born and found two Gura Clan members. After Catherine killed them, the Mark of Ya'en activated and time rewound, leaving Xia Xiu outside the signing venue at 11:00.

• Xia Xiu met Amelia Watson at her album signing and asked about Daylight Saving Time before leaving at 13:10.
• A Holy Spirit Dove led Xia Xiu to Catherine Villa at Bersel Aquarium, where he asked her to share information about the sea-born.
• Catherine explained the sea-born Lineage’s sequences and ranks as the aquarium’s sharks mutated and attacked.
• Xia Xiu and Catherine fought off the sharks and a juvenile Gluvida, then found two Gura Clan members hiding in the aquarium.
• Catherine killed the two Gura Clan members, and Xia Xiu felt a strange familiarity as the Mark of Ya'en appeared and time rewound.
• Xia Xiu opened his eyes outside the signing venue, where the clock showed 11:00.

Xia Xiu investigated the Brussels time loop and discovered that Amelia Watson’s pocket watch caused the resets, with Amelia seeking to escape to Atlantis alongside Gor Gula and Blup Gula. After disrupting her attempt to recover memories from the previous loop and killing her, Xia Xiu was reset to 11:00 beneath the Clock Tower.

• Xia Xiu concluded that the Sea-born’s deaths triggered a narrative dead end and traveled to the Bersel Aquarium, where he met Catherine Villa and directed her toward Amelia Watson.
• Amelia Watson tried to lead Gor Gula and Blup Gula out of Brussels, but Catherine Villa attacked them; Amelia’s pocket watch then triggered a time reset.
• Xia Xiu confirmed that Amelia’s pocket watch controlled the loop and that Amelia needed to wind it and hear a particular song to recover memories from a previous timeline.
• After the reset, Xia Xiu disrupted the song and killed Amelia with a chainsword before the loop reset again, leaving him at 11:00 beneath the Clock Tower.

Xia Xiu tested Amelia’s time-loop memories, killed her, then used a new identity to help Gaul and Blupp escape while confronting Katherine. The chapter ended with time reversing as Xia Xiu relished his fierce battle with the Abyssal Hunter.

• Xia Xiu deduced that Amelia’s pocket watch restored memories at noon through songs, then sent his Holy Spirit Doves to search for her.
• Amelia woke after another reset, sensed Gaul and Blupp’s deaths, and headed toward Bersel Aquarium, but Xia Xiu shot her and took her pocket watch.
• At noon, Xia Xiu waited out the memory-acquisition period before returning to 11:00 and approaching the aquarium as a Church of the Flesh follower.
• Xia Xiu persuaded Gaul and Blupp to travel with him, learned about the Sea-born ranks and Half-breeds, and reunited them with Amelia.
• Katherine attacked the group near Attis Port, and Xia Xiu fought her with his abilities until time reversed during their clash.

In loop 4, Xia Xiu helped Amelia and the two Sea-born escape by ship, then discovered that their memories and identities were being shaped by supernatural forces. He killed them and Amelia again to trigger another rewind, ending with his suspicion that several Ether Lords and an Atlantean deity were involved.

• Xia Xiu repeated his escape with Gor Gula and Blup Gula, drove them and Amelia Watson to Attis Port, and boarded a whaling ship bound for Sicily.
• Amelia described her relationship with Gor, but Xia Xiu noticed contradictions in their memories and heard static obscure her account of leaving Atlantis.
• Xia Xiu recognized signs of [Fictional Event Assimilation] and [Persona Mask], then killed Amelia, Gor, and Blup to force another loop.
• After the rewind, Xia Xiu questioned Amelia about her identity and memories before shooting her with [Gorgon] and triggering another rewind.
• Xia Xiu identified [Ether Lord · Xinliezhi], [Ether Lord · Shalishi], and a deity from Atlantis as possible forces behind the events.

Xia Xiu identified the forces behind Amelia's time loop and secretly placed [BIO-006] inside her before letting events unfold. Amelia escaped with Gor Gula and Blup Gula aboard a whaling ship, where Catherine Villa confronted them, recovered memories of her sister, and was stabbed by Amelia with the [Dagger of Gemini] as a colossal presence rose from the deep.

• Xia Xiu concluded that [Ether Lord · Xinliezhi], [Ether Lord · Shalishi], and [Tairmisius] were involved in the incident, then sent [BIO-006] into Amelia as insurance.
• Amelia drove to Berser Street 12, picked up Gor Gula and Blup Gula without Mephistopheles, and raced toward Attis Port while the Abyssal Hunter pursued them.
• Amelia boarded a whaling ship with Gor and Blup, and Catherine Villa struck the departing vessel with a wave of sword energy before following them aboard.
• Catherine confronted the Sea-born after memories of her younger sister returned, while Blup revealed his hatred of the false memories and claimed Catherine and her sister were slaves of Atlantis.
• Amelia stabbed Catherine in the abdomen with the [Dagger of Gemini], and Catherine felt her power draining as the Sea-born bloodline surged and something enormous emerged from the deep sea.

Blup Gula revealed that Atlantis had engineered the events at Attis Port to summon an endless Sea-born swarm, while Xia Xiu called down Heaven’s space-based Divine Retribution Strike. The strike began raining fire on the swarm, leaving Blup and the Sea-born under judgment.

• Blup Gula told Gore Gula that the Ether Sovereigns had corrupted his memories and that Amelia and Katherine had been used in Atlantis’s plan to summon the swarm.
• Blup explained how the Prince of Joy’s Dagger of Gemini and the Fate Weaver’s scripts had staged the events leading to the swarm’s arrival at Attis Port.
• The Sea-born swarm multiplied, attacked the port, and began marching inland toward Brussels as Xia Xiu watched.
• Xia Xiu overclocked the Red Book and received temporary sword-bearing authority over the space-based weapon Sodom.
• Xia Xiu activated the Divine Retribution Strike, and Sodom opened thousands of portals that sent cross-shaped flames raining down on the Sea-born swarm.

Xia Xiu used Heaven’s divine punishment and his temporary sword-bearing authority to rescue Katherine and strip the blessing from Amelia’s heart. After the Sea-born assault collapsed, he carried Katherine to Attis Port and faced the kneeling Gor Gula, uncertain what to do with him.

• Heaven’s heavenly fire devastated the Sea-born swarms and turned the water near Attis Port into a burning road.
• A Holy Spirit Dove distracted Blup Gula, allowing Xia Xiu to free Katherine from the pillar of flesh and wound the Gluvida with heavenly fire.
• Xia Xiu released sixty-four Holy Spirit Doves to attack Blup Gula while Akulos devoured the blue vortex in Amelia’s heart, draining her divinity.
• Xia Xiu mocked and kicked the ruined Blup Gula away, then carried Katherine along the burning road toward the port as she briefly woke and fell asleep again.
• At Attis Port, Xia Xiu found Gor Gula kneeling before the burning pillar of flesh and wondered what to do with him.

The Thirteen Resolution Assembly reviewed the Brussels Sea-born Swarm Incident, approved measures involving the surviving Gor Gula and an investigation into Atlantis, and discussed Yahweh’s selection process for the fourth orbital weapon. After Catherine Villa returned the Daylight Saving Time Clock and promised Xia Xiu a favor, Xia Xiu discovered that he had gained a Heaven-given Key and possessed two Key Slots, leaving room for the Solomon Key he had planned to inherit.

• The Thirteen Resolution Assembly examined the Brussels Sea-born Swarm Incident archive and passed resolutions to contain Gor Gula, conduct a Chaos Sea military exercise, and locate Atlantis.
• The Assembly discussed Yahweh’s intervention in selecting a Swordbearer for the completed Sword of Damocles, with Xiu Abraham appearing on the candidate list.
• Obadiah told Xia Xiu that Gor Gula had reached the Central Containment Room and that witnesses at Attis Port had undergone memory erasure or rehabilitation.
• Catherine Villa thanked Xia Xiu for helping with the Sea-born, returned the Daylight Saving Time Clock, and offered to help him in the future.
• Xia Xiu discovered a Heaven-given Key symbol on his hand and realized he had two Key Slots, preserving the possibility of inheriting the Solomon Key.

After receiving confirmation that Brussels had adopted his Tide Call proposal and Eden had reimbursed his expenses and awarded him Gospel Points, Xia Xiu advanced to the Manifestor stage. With Number Two guarding him, he completed his Manifestation Projection in the Ether Sea and left behind a new star.

• Xia Xiu learned that the Brussels Peacekeeping Force had adopted his Tide Call proposal and that Eden had reimbursed his Overclocking costs and awarded him 10,000 Gospel Points.
• Xia Xiu inspected his completed first-stage profile and prepared to use Manifestation Projection to advance to Manifestor.
• Xia Xiu used the Rainbow Bridge to travel to the Wisdom Tree island, where Number Two agreed to protect him.
• Xia Xiu began Manifestation Projection as Ether Sea creatures and Hounds of Tindalos attacked, and Number Two destroyed the threats with his Railguns and lion-faced roar.
• Xia Xiu completed his projection, advanced to Stage Two: Manifestor at 1%, and left a star in the Ether Sea.

After advancing to Principality and linking to Heaven’s [Proverbs] Lineage, Xia Xiu set his sights on rising to the pinnacle of Heaven. At Deer College, Professor Laugen accepted his graduation application and sent him to Hieronymus for a task involving [Red Branch] as Three Portlands approached Berlin.

• Xia Xiu advanced from Great Angel to Principality, linked with [Proverbs], and gained protection for his star projection and new Lineage modules.
• Xia Xiu planned to return to Heaven and pursue positions at its highest levels, including the rank of [Seraphim] and the title of [Vicegerent of Heaven].
• Professor Laugen praised Xia Xiu’s research, noticed his graduation application, and learned that he had reached Stage Two.
• Xia Xiu greeted Professor Laugen as Principality Xiu Abraham, and Laugen assigned him to see Hieronymus for his graduation task involving [Red Branch].
• Professor Laugen promised that Xia Xiu would receive the Great Demon Hound before Three Portlands reached the Berlin Region.

Xia Xiu received a graduation assignment to help the [Thirteenth Department] suppress radical anomalous artists in Berlin, where escalating violence had made a clash seem inevitable. After learning that O'Brien held [Cú Chulainn], Xia Xiu headed to the Berlin Region, where the [Thirteenth Department] issued sweeping controls on anomalous artists.

• Professor Nimus gave Xia Xiu files about the conflict between Berlin's anomalous artists and the [Thirteenth Department], asking him to help eliminate the radicals.
• Xia Xiu read accounts of the '9.29' killing of inspector Thorn and the subsequent '10.04,' '10.07,' and '10.10' attacks, and concluded that bloodshed was likely.
• Xia Xiu learned that O'Brien possessed [Cú Chulainn] and decided to seek him out in the Berlin Region.
• On 1589.10.28, Three Portlands docked in the Berlin Region, and Xia Xiu read the [Thirteenth Department]'s notice imposing artist registration, monitoring, regulations, and penalties.

Xia Xiu joined Wendell to investigate the anomalous communities after the September 29 Massacre and learned how Thorn’s death had hardened Wendell against them. At a briefing, the Thirteenth Department identified Eliyan and his ties to [Red Branch] as targets, and Xia Xiu refocused the team on capturing them.

• Wendell told Xia Xiu about Thorn’s past, his faith in the anomalous communities, and his death at the hands of anomalous artists.
• Wendell asked Xia Xiu to hunt Thorn’s killers, and Xia Xiu agreed that this was why he had come.
• At the Thirteenth Department briefing, Wendell identified Eliyan as Thorn’s killer and described his human sculptures and the disappearances of young women.
• Wendell explained that Eliyan’s works had gained admirers among anomalous artists and had provoked conflict in the community.
• Xia Xiu urged Wendell to set aside the wider grievances and focus on apprehending Eliyan and [Red Branch].

Xia Xiu learned that Rat King O'Brien was tied to Eliyan and went to Linden Tree Street to investigate O'Brien's Reality-Projection Writing business. He intimidated a local troublemaker into revealing which businesses were famous, though Bryce had not yet answered.

• Wendell told Xia Xiu that Rat King O'Brien accompanied Eliyan and explained that O'Brien used the Doublethink Module to control people and create lifelike combat dolls.
• Wendell directed Xia Xiu toward Linden Tree Street, where young anomalous community members might know O'Brien's whereabouts.
• Xia Xiu arrived on Linden Tree Street and confronted Bryce after Bryce mocked his Emoticon Mask and threatened him.
• Xia Xiu used his intimidating gaze to make Bryce submit, then took him to have his mohawk dyed green.
• Xia Xiu asked Bryce which Reality-Projection Writing business was most famous, and Bryce had not yet replied.

Xia Xiu visited Linden Tree Street’s Realistic Doll Shop to investigate O’Brien and learned that the [Thirteenth Department] had cut off [Qingling Meme Cleanser] supplies while restricting departures from the Berlin Region. Peluoqi described O’Brien’s horrific human-transmutation work, leaving Xia Xiu with a clearer sense of the threat he was pursuing.

• Bryce told Xia Xiu about the Realistic Doll Shop and complained that the [Thirteenth Department] had halted [Qingling Meme Cleanser] supplies and imposed strict exit checks.
• Xia Xiu warned Bryce to leave the Berlin Region before vanishing, then found Lili assembling a dismembered ragdoll cat in an alley.
• Xia Xiu restored the cat with [Flesh Sculpting], sent it away, and entered the Virtual Songstress Sales Outlet.
• Peluoqi introduced herself as the shop’s owner and explained how she created realistic dolls through detailed character settings and connections.
• Xia Xiu asked Peluoqi where to find O’Brien, and she described him as a lunatic who turned people into dolls by removing and modifying their souls.
• Xia Xiu recalled O’Brien’s reputation and his [Six-Round Massacre], in which he killed over a thousand innocent people.

Xia Xiu learned that the House of Hohenzollern supported anomalous artists, then rushed to St. Thomas Church after O'Brien's dolls attacked the [Thirteenth Department]. He killed O'Brien No. 1 with a giant of light, while the remaining dolls invoked a strange phrase.

• Peluoqi told Xia Xiu that the House of Hohenzollern funded anomalous artists, and he commissioned a blank female doll from her.
• Wendell urgently informed Xia Xiu that a new victim had appeared at St. Thomas Church and that the [Thirteenth Department] was fighting twelve of O'Brien's dolls.
• Wendell reported that six [Cornflower] constructs had been killed and explained that O'Brien projected his abilities into the dolls.
• Xia Xiu went to the church roof and fought six dolls, using [Aether Manifestation · Mimicry] to kill O'Brien No. 1 with a giant punch.
• The five surviving dolls looked up at Xia Xiu and spoke in unison: “War Is Peace!”

Xia Xiu tested the O'Brien Dolls' composite module and discovered how to bypass its rule-based protection, then killed the dolls and demolished St. Thomas Church. At Eliyan's exhibition site, 002 encountered a holy woman who questioned her freedom of choice, leaving her shaken despite Wendell's warning and offer of a Meme Cleanser.

• Xia Xiu isolated Number Four and tested the O'Brien Dolls' abilities, identifying their spoken commands as triggers for protection, mind control, and a burst of power.
• Xia Xiu inferred that [War Is Peace] protected dolls only when an enemy had locked onto them with hostility, then used concealment and a crystal javelin to kill the remaining dolls.
• Xia Xiu confirmed the dolls' deaths with his boltgun and realized he had wrecked St. Thomas Church.
• Wendell's [Cornflower] troops surrounded Eliyan's exhibition site, where 002 became entranced by a woman bound to a cross and encountered a holy woman identical to her.
• The holy woman questioned whether 002 had the right to choose and compared her to a bird in a cage; Wendell roused 002, warned her not to believe the experience, and gave her a Meme Cleanser.

Wendell and Xia Xiu investigated Eliyan’s Meme-contaminated artwork at St. Thomas Church while [Thirteenth Department] personnel tried to control the crowd. After 002 fought a hooded attacker and exposed herself to civilians, O'Brien emerged at the West District Factory and hinted that his church attack had been a gift connected to Eliyan.

• Wendell brought Xia Xiu to inspect Eliyan’s crucifix artwork after explaining that [Cornflower-002] had been cleansed of its Meme contamination.
• Wendell sent 002 to help control the growing crowd of Thaumaturgists outside St. Thomas Church, while he and Xia Xiu left to retrieve Eliyan’s victims’ files.
• A hooded attacker struck a [Thirteenth Department] member and fled into a shopping street, where 002 dodged his lightning attack and shot through his arm with her EVE Pulse Gun.
• [Thirteenth Department] personnel used [Memory Erasure Grenades] on the witnesses, then received a report that the crowd outside the church had formed a human wall and was pushing through the perimeter.
• O'Brien emerged from a silkworm cocoon at the West District Factory and told Eliyan that his attack had delivered a gift, while admitting he had lost puppets to a powerful opponent.

Xia Xiu planned to use a genuine flesh-and-blood creation to deceive O'Brien and asked Wendell to arrange an identity for it. After joining Moles Instant Messaging, he learned that the Berlin Region’s anomalous community was under growing pressure and feared the situation might worsen.

• Wendell told Xia Xiu that the Thirteenth Department’s artificial doll had failed to lure Eliyan because O'Brien could sense that it was not made of flesh.
• Xia Xiu decided to turn Peluoqi’s unfinished product into a temporary BIO Species and asked Wendell to create a mundane identity for the doll.
• At Variety Bar, Xia Xiu confronted Bryce about his role in the protest at St. Thomas Church and persuaded him to share access to Moles Instant Messaging.
• Xia Xiu asked Bryce to watch the Thirteenth Department’s movements, especially anything involving the House of Hohenzollern.
• Xia Xiu read forum messages about arrests, censorship, construct units surrounding the anomalous community, and people fleeing Berlin before the meeting room was closed.
• Xia Xiu hoped the situation would not take a turn for the worst.

Xia Xiu created the doll Rachel and tracked the kidnapper Eliyan to the Hohenzollern Grand Theater, where he discovered a connection to O'Brien. Meanwhile, Professor Nimus confronted his former student Young Werther and then set out for the theater after receiving Xia Xiu’s report.

• Peluoqi delivered an unfinished homunculus doll to Xia Xiu, who sculpted her face, shaped her mind, and named her Rachel.
• Rachel attended C.C University, missed her bus, and was deceived and abducted by Eliyan.
• Xia Xiu followed Eliyan to the Hohenzollern Grand Theater, where an EVE Particles suppression field stopped him from entering, and Bryce’s message led him to identify O'Brien.
• Professor Nimus confronted his former student Young Werther, a follower of the Ether Sovereign, and defeated his doll body with Epicurus’s Four Remedies of Philosophy.
• After receiving Xia Xiu’s report that the target was linked to President Joachim Friedrich of the Hohenzollern Group, Professor Nimus headed to the theater.

Wendell’s forces cornered Eliyan at the Hohenzollern Grand Theater, but he escaped their first attack by using a translocation sigil to take Friedrich hostage. 002 shot both men, and while Eliyan was subdued, Friedrich collapsed in critical condition; Charlotte Corday said the incident had merely detonated a pawn before the coming show on Linden Tree Street.

• Wendell led the [Cornflowers] to surround the Hohenzollern Grand Theater while Professor Nimus confronted Charlotte, who summoned Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils against his [dominion avatar].
• Wendell’s team attacked Eliyan in the parking lot, but Eliyan used a shadow decoy and a translocation sigil to appear beside Friedrich and take him hostage.
• 002 fired her EVE pulse rifle, striking Friedrich in the waist and Eliyan in the abdomen, and the operatives subdued Eliyan after a three-minute fight.
• Friedrich collapsed in cardiogenic shock, and Wendell realized 002’s shot had caused a catastrophe.
• Charlotte Corday told a bandaged man that the Hohenzollern incident was a pawn detonated ahead of schedule and that the show on Linden Tree Street was about to begin.

Xia Xiu tracked O'Brien to an abandoned factory, destroyed the EVE Extraction Engine, and forced him into an exile space. After O'Brien unleashed the Rat King Module, Xia Xiu used deception and an imitation of War Is Peace to stab him through the heart.

• Xia Xiu transformed into a giant of light and destroyed the EVE Extraction Engine, revealing O'Brien and Cú Chulainn.
• O'Brien used Cú Chulainn to destroy Xia Xiu's light giant, but Xia Xiu severed their connecting cord and subdued O'Brien.
• Xia Xiu activated Meta Field and transported himself and O'Brien into an exile space.
• O'Brien activated the Rat King Module and flooded the battlefield with multiplying rats, while Xia Xiu fought back with successive light giants.
• Xia Xiu disguised his position and imitated War Is Peace, then pierced O'Brien's heart with his chainsword.

Xia Xiu killed O'Brien, returned to the burning West District Factory, and forcibly bound [Gáe Bolg] by sacrificing [Cú Chulainn], triggering his rank advancement. After reading urgent messages from Wendell and Bryce, he realized Berlin was facing an upheaval, as [Cornflower] personnel massacred abnormal residents on Linden Tree Street.

• Xia Xiu finished O'Brien with [Stheno] and returned to the present world as the collapsing [Rat King Module] ended.
• Xia Xiu forcibly bound [Gáe Bolg] and used Flesh Divine Descent to devour [Cú Chulainn], settling the 50,000 Shaping Point debt and beginning rank advancement.
• A tentacle retrieved the scarlet one-eyed monster into the [Ether Sea] after it consumed [Cú Chulainn].
• Xia Xiu read dozens of messages from Wendell and Bryce and concluded that Berlin was in for an upheaval.
• At 20:00, [Cornflower] personnel entered Linden Tree Street and slaughtered its abnormal residents, including Lili and her mother.