Chapter Summaries

Kronos persuaded Gner to pursue his longing for military service by joining Alfred on the dangerous West Balam front. Gner passed Alfred’s test and left with the reinforcements, leaving Kronos a note as Kronos prepared to continue his journey alone.

• Kronos reconciled with Alfred over dinner, and Alfred revealed that he planned to seek military merits in West Balam.
• Kronos proposed that Alfred take Gner with him, and Alfred agreed to test Gner for enlistment.
• Kronos urged Gner to choose the battlefield and become someone who could act independently rather than remain his follower.
• Gner agreed to report to Alfred’s base the next day, and Alfred welcomed him as a potential battlefield brother.
• Gner passed Alfred’s test and departed for West Balam on a ship leaving at noon, while Kronos was away from the inn.
• Kronos returned to find Gner’s note wishing him safety and expressing hope that they would each achieve their goals.

Kronos traveled through Paz Valley, spreading belief in himself as a temperamental Lord Warlock while avoiding villages aligned with the Artificial God of Death. Meanwhile, Alfred and Gner patrolled the tense West Balam border, where Gner detected an approaching Feysac force and led their squad in retreat.

• Kronos bought a carriage and traveled toward Paz Valley, avoiding villages that worshiped True Gods as he searched for one that still followed the Death God.
• After observing a suitable village, Kronos entered it and began building belief in himself through rumors about a powerful, temperamental Lord Warlock.
• Kronos avoided villages converted to the Artificial God of Death and killed fanatical Beyonders who tried to proselytize to him, advancing his potion digestion considerably.
• Alfred, Gner, and their squad patrolled the West Balam border, where Alfred argued with Gner about being treated like a child.
• Gner heard an approaching Feysac main force, warned the squad, and led the thirty men toward the rear as the sound of hooves followed them.

Kronos was ambushed by four Rose School members while posing as a traveling Warlock in a village. He killed one attacker and disabled or weakened several others, leaving him to face the leader, a Sequence 6 Zombie.

• Kronos disguised himself as a Warlock and floated into a village he had judged safe.
• Four Rose School members surrounded Kronos and tried to recruit him into worshipping the Mother Tree of Desire.
• Kronos killed Colin with the Elf Charm, then used the Ninth Law to prevent two Werewolves from transforming.
• Kronos struck one Werewolf with his walking stick and burned another Werewolf and the controlled corpses with spell materials.
• The remaining Zombie charged Kronos, who raised his walking stick to meet the Zombie's punch.

Kronos fought a powerful Zombie and used his flight and attacks to wear him down, but the Zombie’s Sealed Artifact let him evade a fatal strike. Kronos finally killed him with an Arrow of Lightning and three shots, ending the threat before he could bring in more members of the Rose School.

• Kronos used the Wings of Darkness to lure the Zombie into repeated jumps, then struck him with a Time Ray that wounded his shoulder and destroyed part of his heart.
• The Zombie survived the injury and fixed his bloodshot gaze on Kronos, while Kronos realized he had only three powerful scrolls left.
• When the Zombie turned to flee, Kronos tore open Marquis Argel’s Arrow of Lightning scroll and struck the Zombie through the back of the head.
• The wounded Zombie asked why Kronos had rejected the Rose School’s preaching, and Kronos gave no explanation.
• Kronos kept his distance and fired three shots into the Zombie’s head, killing him and leaving his Beyonder Characteristic behind.

Kronos left the village after burying the dead and changed his route toward the coast, while the war in Balam escalated as Intis launched a surprise assault on the Paz Valley. Caught near the fighting, Kronos fled toward the valley’s edge.

• Kronos collected the Zombie’s Sealed Artifact, killed the wounded Werewolf, and buried the villagers and other dead before leaving.
• Kronos realized he had entered Intis territory and decided to travel north to the coast before returning to Gurain.
• Alfred, Gner, Pagni, and one other squad member survived the Feysac Empire’s surprise attack, and Alfred later returned to battle as a steadier leader.
• Loen sent reinforcements to West Balam, while Intis remained quiet and Feysac fought Loen to a stalemate.
• Intis revealed its true objective by attacking the Paz Valley by land and sea, with Vice Admiral Iron Blood-Achilles Trelawney leading its navy.
• A shell landed near Kronos as he crossed into East Balam, and he ran toward the edge of the Paz Valley to escape the fighting.

Kronos escaped the fighting in the Paz Valley, sent Gner a warning about the war, and hurried to the coast. After finding the ports deserted, he secured passage to Gurain aboard a military-escorted supply ship by presenting his Navy Major identification.

• Kronos sent Gner a letter describing the situation in the Paz Valley through the messenger lady.
• Gner showed Kronos's warning to Alfred, and Loen's military leaders sent several naval fleets toward East Balam's northern coast while the Army remained in place.
• After nearly three days, Kronos reached a small port and learned that the boats had fled, so he went to town to find another way to Gurain.
• Kronos learned that a supply ship was due that evening and waited for it after washing up and restoring his original appearance.
• Kronos flew onto the arriving ship, identified himself as Navy Major Kronos, and asked the man in charge for passage to Gurain.

Kronos left the harbor aboard a supply ship just as the Intis Redfire Fleet approached to seize the town’s strategic harbor. After a failed luck check left him cursed with bad luck, he survived the fleet’s bombardment with two protective scrolls but fell unconscious into the sea.

• Kronos boarded a supply ship, which unloaded its cargo and quickly departed the harbor.
• The Redfire Fleet approached the town under Vice Admiral Iron Blood’s guidance, intending to capture the harbor and withdraw before the Sonia Fleet could respond.
• Achilles Trelawney’s crew worried that revealing their identities would end their life as pirates, but they agreed to stand by their captain.
• Kronos spotted the fleet, used the Eye of Time to foresee the transport being destroyed, and accidentally triggered a failed luck check with the Lucky One Cane.
• As the Redfire Fleet fired, Kronos used scrolls for Armor of Guardianship and Starlight Guardianship to shield himself from the shells.
• After three shells struck nearby, the concussive force knocked Kronos unconscious, and he fell into the sea.

Kronos survived the Redfire Fleet’s bombardment but drifted unconscious for several days before Marquis Argel’s messenger rescued him and delivered a letter. After assuring his family he was safe, Kronos discovered he was stranded on a tiny, deserted island in or near the Beluga Whale Sea, with no supplies and an urgent need to find fresh water.

• The Loen military prepared to counter the Redfire Fleet, while Amyrius sent ships to reinforce the Sonia Fleet and planned attacks on Berens Harbor and the fleet’s retreat.
• Marquis Argel grew increasingly anxious when Kronos stopped sending messages and wrote to him on the fifth day after the attack.
• The messenger lady pulled Kronos from the sea, carried him to an island, and left Marquis Argel’s letter beside him.
• Kronos woke on the island, realized he had been unconscious for at least five or six days, and sent a message home assuring his family he was safe.
• Kronos identified a whaling house and explored the coastline, concluding that the island was uninhabited and probably in the Beluga Whale Sea.
• With no supplies and no clear source of fresh water, Kronos entered the jungle to search, but found no animals.

Kronos survived on an isolated island until the Ghost Empire appeared offshore and drew him aboard. He reached the ship’s bow, where he found an armored skeleton and asked what he should do next.

• Kronos caught fish, drank coconut water, and wrote Marquis Argel to reassure his family that he had supplies and was seeking a way off the island.
• Kronos fell asleep behind a Wall of Spirituality, then woke after his spirituality sensed something nearby.
• Kronos saw the enormous ship he recognized as the legendary Ghost Empire and hesitated over whether to approach it.
• An armored figure sent a beam of black light that formed a path to the ship, and Miss Messenger pushed Kronos onto it.
• Kronos was carried to the Ghost Empire’s bow, where he recognized a pyramid mausoleum and asked the jade-white armored skeleton what to do.

Kronos entered Trunsoest’s mausoleum and learned that he could attempt four increasingly difficult trials for the Night Emperor’s rewards. He began the low-Sequence trial against an armored skeleton soldier and discovered that his magic could barely scratch the soldier’s armor.

• The skeleton general sent Kronos into Trunsoest’s mausoleum, and the Ghost Empire sailed away after the Messenger Lady exchanged bows with the general.
• A voice explained the four trials, their dangers, and the terms for leaving; Kronos chose to attempt the first trial.
• An armored skeleton soldier appeared as Kronos’s opponent, and the chapter explained that corruption from the Nation of Disorder had turned the Ghost Empire’s inhabitants into skeletons.
• Kronos attacked with Holy Light, then retreated while bombarding the soldier with spells, and inferred that his opponent was likely a Sequence 7 Nightmare.
• Kronos found that his mental fortitude blunted the soldier’s abilities, but his spells could not penetrate the soldier’s armor; he considered targeting its exposed face with Time Ray.

Kronos defeated the Skeleton Soldier in the Ghost Empire and claimed its armor, Nightmare Beyonder characteristic, and token. He received the Marionette Illustrated Compendium as his reward, then arranged to leave for Toscarter Island while keeping the option to return to the Ghost Empire.

• Kronos used the Ninth Law to increase the Skeleton Soldier's armor weight tenfold, then struck it down and destroyed its head with a Time Ray.
• Kronos stripped the Skeleton Soldier's armor, secretly took its Nightmare Beyonder characteristic, and pocketed its token.
• Kronos entered the next hall and collected the Marionette Illustrated Compendium, a Perfect Grade Beyonder item that could store marionettes but caused severe delays in thought and movement when used.
• The Ghost Empire's voice told Kronos that he could return by sensing the mark of Night Emperor Trunsoest and could choose where to disembark.
• Kronos chose to disembark at Toscarter Island after Bayam proved too far away.

Kronos reached Toscarter Island, arranged a place to stay, and was approached by his messenger about trading the ship token. In the Amanda Mountains, a warning bell alerted the Sanguine settlement to the approach of a powerful being, and its people prepared for battle.

• Kronos chose Toscarter Island to avoid suspicion in Feysac and used Carlson Norman's identity document to withdraw five hundred pounds.
• Kronos arrived on Toscarter, bought clothes, and checked into an inn.
• The messenger lady appeared and asked to trade for the token that could let outsiders board the ship.
• A warning bell rang in the Sanguine settlement in the Amanda Mountains, waking its inhabitants and two sleeping dukes.
• The Sanguine armed themselves, formed up behind the two grand dukes, and waited for the approaching enemy.

Kronos's Messenger arrived at the Sanguine settlement seeking an exchange for the Ghost Empire's key, and Olmer recognized her as someone long lost to the clan. She left with a Justiciar Blasphemy Card, while Olmer promised to retrieve a Hand of Order Beyonder Characteristic and hold it until she returned.

• Kronos's Messenger appeared before the Sanguine, and Cecil prepared the clan to attack until Olmer ordered everyone to stand down.
• Olmer recognized the Messenger and welcomed her back, while she said she would return once she had fully come back to life.
• The Messenger asked for something to exchange for the Ghost Empire's key, and Olmer led her and Cecil to the Sanguine treasury.
• The Messenger selected a Justiciar Blasphemy Card, which she said could help complete her resurrection and might be important to the Night Emperor's return.
• Olmer agreed to retrieve the Hand of Order Beyonder Characteristic from the Ghost Empire and keep it safe until the Messenger returned.

Miss Messenger traded Kronos the Justiciar Blasphemy Card for a token that could locate the Ghost Empire, giving him a new way to improve his spells and advance his acting. Olmer reached the Ghost Empire with the token and was brought aboard by Guard Commander Kaust, whose stillness made Olmer suspect something was wrong.

• Miss Messenger gave Kronos the Justiciar Blasphemy Card and explained that she needed his token to send someone into the Ghost Empire.
• Kronos agreed to the trade, and Miss Messenger left with the token while he began studying the card’s knowledge for ways to perfect his family’s spells.
• Olmer took the token from Miss Messenger and flew over the sea until he located the Ghost Empire.
• Olmer recognized Guard Commander Kaust, who brought him aboard but remained motionless after Olmer patted his shoulder.

Olmer spoke with the being inside the Night Emperor's mausoleum and learned how the Ghost Empire's crew had been transformed after Trunsoest was corrupted. The being explained how Olmer might reach the Hand of Order characteristic and agreed to endure until His Majesty was resurrected.

• Olmer confirmed that Kaust had lost his mind, then approached the Night Emperor's mausoleum and spoke with the voice inside.
• Olmer told the voice that Trunsoest had returned and explained that the empire's enemies had divided the victory after the War of the Four Emperors.
• The voice recounted how the Ghost Empire's rules became chaotic, forcing its crew to choose between becoming mindless skeleton soldiers or short-lived wraiths.
• Olmer learned that the voice was a monster formed from the consciousnesses and memories of the wraiths, and that Duke Kohler had chosen to be devoured first.
• Olmer urged the being to keep the ship safe for Trunsoest's resurrection, and the being agreed to hold on.
• The being told Olmer that only chosen people could take the trial for the Hand of Order characteristic, but pointed him toward a passage that might lead into the mausoleum.

Olmer found Kohler imprisoned behind a door and discovered that he had become an undead creature by devouring his former companions. When Kohler tried to possess Olmer and escape, Olmer prepared to seal him and struck him with the Power of Creation.

• Olmer flew through the abandoned army passage and forced open the door after Kohler told him he could use some force.
• Kohler attacked Olmer as soon as the door opened, but Olmer deflected the fire and revealed that he had suspected Kohler was lying.
• Olmer deduced that Kohler had devoured his undead companions, with each pair of eyes and mouth on his body representing one of them.
• Kohler explained that he planned to possess a challenger and escape, then demanded that Olmer let him live and attacked him again.
• Olmer became insubstantial to withstand Kohler's attacks, brought out the Coffin of Death, and moved to stop Kohler from fleeing.
• Olmer drove a concentrated burst of the Power of Creation into Kohler after he tried to retreat through the door.

Olmer retrieved the Golden Coffin from the Ghost Empire and used the Coffin of Death to keep the ship from disintegrating. Meanwhile, Kronos studied the Justiciar card and, after days of work in Bayam, successfully optimized the Arbiter spell “Intimidation.”

• Olmer defeated Kohler and found the Golden Coffin in the Ghost Empire’s hall.
• When removing the Golden Coffin threatened to make the Ghost Empire disintegrate, Olmer put the Coffin of Death in its place and confirmed the ship had stabilized.
• Olmer carried the Golden Coffin out of the Ghost Empire and headed for the Sanguine’s base.
• Kronos studied the Justiciar card on Toscarter Island, using Emperor Roselle’s framework of order and rules to guide his spell research.
• Kronos traveled to Bayam, where Sharf hosted him and studied the Beyonder items Kronos handed over.
• Kronos completed his first optimized spell, the Arbiter ability “Intimidation.”

Kronos completed his Intimidation spell and found a path toward advancing, then met with Admiral Amyrius to discuss his plans. Amyrius offered him a chance to join the hunt for Vice Admiral Iron Blood and gain an official reputation as a navy informant.

• Kronos completed his Intimidation spell, which greatly advanced the digestion of his potion, and decided to return to Backlund before advancing.
• Kronos visited Sharf, bought clothes, and sent his family a telegram saying he would be home within a month.
• Lieutenant Colonel Lü Er'an summoned Kronos to meet Amyrius, who explained that Kronos's intelligence had helped the navy respond to the attack on Berens Harbor and might earn him a promotion.
• Kronos told Amyrius that he planned to return to Backlund and wait until he reached Sequence 5 before exploring the sea again.
• Amyrius offered Kronos an official identity as a navy informant and invited him to help target Vice Admiral Iron Blood, whose location and duel plans had been leaked.

Kronos prepared for the Sonia Fleet’s operation against Vice Admiral Iron Blood, arranging a revenge story for his navy-informant identity and choosing to optimize Whip of Affliction. Aboard the fleet’s flagship, he met General Salandon and began reviewing possible opponents for his debut battle.

• Kronos asked Amyrius to have people spread the story that he joined the navy to avenge being shelled on the Southern Continent, and Amyrius agreed.
• Kronos chose to optimize Whip of Affliction before the operation and, five days later, took Sharf’s Beyonder Items after knocking him unconscious.
• Lü Er'an brought Kronos aboard the Sonia Fleet’s main battle fleet and explained the operation, its commander, and the cost Kronos would pay if he lost a chosen duel.
• Kronos met General Salandon, repeated his agreed-upon cover story, and said he would choose an opponent from the Iron-Blooded Pirate Group that afternoon.
• Salandon suggested Kronos stay in the command room during the battle, but Kronos insisted on taking part; Salandon privately recalled that he envied Beyonders rather than despising them.

Kronos chose Yodsen, a Sequence 6 Fire Thief in the Iron-Blooded Pirate Group, as his target and prepared to capture him as a marionette. The Sonia Fleet reached its planned position to ambush Vice Admiral Iron Blood, while Sallandon arranged for Kronos to join the attack squad once the fleet began moving.

• Kronos learned that General Sallandon had joined the Twilight Hermit Order in exchange for the chance to become a healthy Beyonder.
• Kronos selected Yodsen as his opponent and decided to capture him as a marionette for his Error Pathway abilities and potential access to the Hermits of Fate.
• Sallandon warned Kronos about Yodsen's tricks, then agreed to assign him a squad and pointed out that a Ninth Law charm would help counter the Fire Thief.
• After two days at sea, the Sonia Fleet reached the position where the Church of the God of Wisdom predicted Vice Admiral Iron Blood would pass.
• Sallandon deployed the fleet to form an encirclement, then told Kronos to wait in his room until the fleet began moving and his adjutant could lead him to the target.