Recaps

Lillian tried to save herself in the Courtyard by invoking V, whom she believed was connected to the Great Being she followed. She then recognized the mysterious being from her dream, who greeted her and asked whether she disliked his Abode.

• Lillian remembered that the Great Being who had visited her belonged to the Raven Parliament and had mentioned V.
• Lillian called out V's name, and the Courtyard fell silent as the Immortals reacted.
• Lillian praised V's power and said he had no fingers, while the crowd looked toward Vanessa.
• Lillian began to boast that another being was as great as V, but recognized the familiar voice of the mysterious being from her dream.
• The being identified Lillian Ross and asked whether she disliked his Abode.

Elliot used his [Dream Memory] Cards to rebuild the Abode instantly, terrifying Lillian into accepting that she would stay. After taking on Vanessa’s appearance, he asked Lillian whether she could return to the Present World.

• Lillian realized the masked man was a Great Being and admitted she did not know his name.
• Elliot asked why Lillian wanted to leave, and she claimed she wanted to stay and build a residence in the Abode.
• Elliot instantly created a wooden tower and restored the Courtyard, leaving Lillian astonished by his power.
• Elliot revealed that his [Dream Memory] Cards had built the tower and renewed the Abode to frighten Lillian.
• Elliot changed into Vanessa, and Lillian offered to answer questions about Winnie and others.
• Vanessa asked Lillian whether she could leave the Abode and return to the Present World.

Vanessa explored the renovated Courtyard and found Victoria in the library, mourning what she thought was Vanessa’s transformation into a dog. Victoria realized she had mistaken Vanessa for Xixi, though she still suspected the dog might be unusually intelligent.

• Vanessa saw that the renovated Courtyard had a garden, Lillian’s tower, and a vast library built around Victoria’s webs.
• Vanessa used [Spirit Vision] to follow Victoria’s aura through the library and found her speaking to a dog.
• Victoria vowed to save Vanessa, then was startled when Vanessa appeared and asked whether she had gone mad.
• Victoria explained that she had thought the Great Being turned Vanessa into a dog after Vanessa disappeared and Xixi appeared beside her.
• Vanessa questioned why Victoria had mistaken her for a dog, and Victoria admitted she could not tell whether Xixi was intelligent.

Vanessa reassured Victoria about her new Library residence and discussed the Dream’s changes and the possibility of escaping with Lillian’s help. Vanessa left to prepare a Sacrifice Ritual, while Victoria hinted at the reason she was wearing trousers.

• Vanessa told Victoria that the Great Being’s gift of a Library might mean Victoria was free to choose whether to stay.
• Vanessa said Lillian might be able to help them leave the Dream, and Victoria warned that the Dream Creatures and the Dream itself were changing in dangerous ways.
• Vanessa planned to return to the palace and use Dream Creature corpses in a Sacrifice Ritual to raise the Believers’ ranks.
• Vanessa prepared to leave, then asked Victoria why she had changed from her usual long dresses into trousers.
• Victoria pointed upward to explain, and Vanessa looked up.

Vanessa visited Victoria in the Library and suggested she use her hair as threads to hang from the ceiling, but Victoria objected and threatened to tie her up. After secretly returning to her usual appearance in the Palace Hall, Vanessa met Dorothea, who asked whether the two people they had discussed could be trusted.

• Victoria objected to Vanessa's suggestion that she hang from the Library ceiling by her hair, worried that her skirt would expose her, and threatened to make Vanessa swing in the Library.
• Victoria wondered whether Xixi was a supernatural dog, but Xixi only licked her face.
• Vanessa left the Library, concealed her identity from the believers in the Courtyard, and returned to her original appearance in the Palace Hall.
• Dorothea appeared through a mirror and explained that she had infused mirrors throughout the Palace Hall with her spirit.
• Dorothea asked Vanessa how her conversation had gone and whether the two people could be trusted.

Vanessa and Dorothea traveled to the wood where the Lords of Dreams’ corpses were piled, hoping the bodies could serve as sacrifice offerings. There, they discovered Maeve had been eating the corpses and accidentally buried herself in the pile.

• Vanessa warned Dorothea that Lillian could not be trusted, said Victoria was a trustworthy friend, and agreed not to approach her unless the Lord acted first.
• Vanessa proposed sacrificing the Lords of Dreams’ corpses, and Dorothea used her ability to bring them to the wood where the bodies were piled.
• Vanessa sensed powerful residual spirituality and realized Dorothea had visited the wood before and brought someone there.
• Vanessa and Dorothea saw Maeve emerge from the corpse pile, and Maeve asked if they had run out of ingredients.

Vanessa and Dorothea sacrificed monster corpses to strengthen the cult, while Maeve worried about losing her food. Elliot used the offerings to advance Vanessa to the fourth rank, where she gained an Ascension and faced a choice of cards.

• Maeve explained that eating her own meat could restore her during combat, and complained that Vanessa and Dorothea might sacrifice all the corpses she wanted to eat.
• Vanessa and Dorothea drew an altar and began sacrificing the monster corpses, with Maeve adding meat to the offering.
• Elliot used the Difference Engine to allocate Vanessa's points and discovered that she met both the [Spirit Vision] prerequisite and the hidden [Dominate History] requirement.
• Vanessa advanced to the fourth rank and gained an Ascension, prompting Elliot to choose among three cards.

Elliot chose Dominion Ascension for Vanessa and selected Compliance as her new talent. Vanessa tested whether she could control Maeve, Dorothea, or a chunk of flesh, but the ability only infused spirituality into the flesh and did not make it move, leaving its limits unclear as Dorothea urged Elliot to help her advance.

• Elliot examined the three ascension options and chose Dominion Ascension for Vanessa.
• Elliot chose Compliance over Dissociation of Personality and Spirituality Infusion as Vanessa's new talent.
• Vanessa tried to use Compliance on Maeve and Dorothea, but neither obeyed.
• Vanessa infused spirituality into a chunk of flesh, but it remained motionless.
• Dorothea asked Elliot to help her advance.

Elliot noticed that the Difference Engine seemed to steer Dorothea toward [Eclosion], and he experienced a disturbing distortion before detecting a powerful probe. As he searched for help, the Great Being’s will descended through Vanessa, who asked for a mirror so she could hypnotize herself.

• Dorothea advanced to the Third Rank, and Elliot discovered her [Eclosion] talent and noticed that her Card depicted her as a monocled crow.
• Elliot questioned whether the Difference Engine was guiding his choices, then found that its three talent slots all showed [Eclosion] before they changed back to three distinct options.
• Elliot sensed no spiritual disturbance and considered the incident a hallucination, but [Veil] activated when someone probed him in the Sea of the Moon.
• Elliot decided he needed someone trustworthy to examine him and began considering an idea.
• Dorothea waited nervously at the altar as the Great Being’s will descended upon Vanessa, who asked for a mirror so she could hypnotize herself.

Elliot used hypnotic commands written with his Spirituality to investigate whether he had been manipulated and whether the Difference Engine had misled him. The test revealed that he had hypnotized himself before, leaving him to suspect that his own past actions were behind the strange incidents.

• Elliot tested whether Vanessa could respond to commands written in a mirror while she was hypnotized, and confirmed that his Spirituality made the commands work.
• Elliot hypnotized himself and learned that he had not been hypnotized by anyone else, though his self-hypnosis could not keep him lucid.
• Elliot used self-hypnosis to perform Psychological Analysis and found that his mental state was normal despite the earlier disturbances.
• Elliot considered that the Difference Engine might have misled him, but his intuition still reassured him about it.
• Elliot asked whether he had hypnotized himself before that day, and the mirror answered, “Yes.”

Elliot discovered that he could no longer hypnotize himself after learning he had done so before, suggesting he had deliberately placed restrictions on his own investigation. As he questioned the reliability of his memories, he began to suspect that his hypnosis and memory erasure predated his arrival in this world.

• Elliot found that his hypnotized self left the mirror blank when asked whether he had willingly forgotten memories, then failed to hypnotize himself twice.
• Elliot confirmed that Vanessa could still use Hypnosis and concluded that he had placed a restriction preventing himself from using the ability after discovering his past self-hypnosis.
• Elliot reasoned that he had erased memories and left clues through Hypnosis because the information might be dangerous to know, like Secret History.
• Elliot concluded that he had likely imposed the restrictions before recently acquiring Hypnosis, raising the possibility that he had used the ability before arriving in this world.
• Elliot noticed that his past left almost no personal traces and that the Frostmoon Uprising was the only remnant, despite having been erased from history.
• Elliot questioned whether he had really come from the year 1208 of the Second Era.

Elliot realized that his past self may have erased his memories after the Frostmoon Uprising and left clues for him to find. While completing Dorothea's Sacrifice, he defied the apparent guidance to choose [Eclosion] and selected [Radiance] instead, leaving him wondering whether the choice marked an important historical node.

• Elliot connected the odd gaps in his history to the Frostmoon Uprising and identified Victoria as his best lead, though she was trapped in a Dream while he remained in the Sea of the Moon.
• Elliot considered following his past self's guidance to choose [Eclosion], then decided that any plan made by his past self would have anticipated his resistance.
• Elliot inserted [Radiance] into Dorothea's talent selection, causing the Difference Engine to run at full power and nearly turning the Brass Dial's important historical node counter.
• The Difference Engine installed [Radiance] on Dorothea's talent tree and printed a revised card depicting two girls labeled [Doro; Sia].

After choosing [Radiance], Elliot saw that Dorothea’s Card now named both Doro and Thea, and realized another advancement route might have erased Sia and left him a controllable body. Sidney then summoned him, and Elliot questioned the nervous Cora about her role in impersonating him.

• Elliot noticed that choosing [Radiance] had changed the back of Dorothea’s Card to [Doro; Thea], and wondered whether [Eclosion] would have erased Sia as a negative condition.
• Elliot reasoned that Sia’s soul might have vanished while her body became a shell he could control, potentially changing history through his connection to the Sea of the Moon.
• Elliot recognized the choice as a possible important historical node involving Sidney, though the node had not yet arrived.
• Cora told Elliot that Sidney had invited him to speak, and Elliot agreed to go after destroying the Cards and checking the room for traces of blood.
• Elliot asked Cora what Sidney and Michel had promised her, and she dropped to her knees and admitted they had offered her an estate.

Elliot learned how the Sea of the Moon affected people and joined Michel and Sidney in their reception compartment. Sidney was using a Stage-Play Difference Engine to calculate the future when a Dream Creature appeared in its model.

• Cora told Elliot that people risked irreversible spiritification after spending too long in the Sea of the Moon, though Elliot showed no signs of it.
• Elliot corrected Cora about how she should address him and met Michel in the reception room.
• Elliot noticed Sidney playing with a Stage-Play Difference Engine and joined him to see how it worked.
• Sidney said he was calculating the future, and an octopus-like Dream Creature burst into the Difference Engine's model of their compartment.

Elliot watched Sidney dismiss the Difference Engine’s apparent attack on the docks, but he secretly saw an enormous Nightmare and countless Lords of Dreams outside the porthole. When Sidney began explaining the expedition’s interest in ore, Cora interrupted, and Elliot’s sudden headache prompted Sidney to treat him in his Rationality state.

• The Difference Engine showed Dream Creatures attacking the docks, but Sidney cleared the tabletop and called the scene an erroneous deduction.
• Elliot saw an enormous Nightmare and a host of Lords of Dreams outside the porthole, though they vanished before Sidney could see them.
• Sidney reassured Elliot that the docks were safe, and Holly reported that everything was normal.
• Elliot changed the subject to ore, and Sidney began explaining why they had come to the dream.
• Cora interrupted Sidney, and Elliot clutched his head as a slight pain and trembling came over him.
• Sidney realized Elliot had not undergone the ritual, entered his Rationality state, and calmed his symptoms.

Elliot learned that the expedition mined supernatural material and that Dream Creature corpses helped restore the balance between the Present World and the Dream. Michel and Sidney then revealed plans to push the offensive deeper into the Abyssal Sea to gain richer ore deposits.

• Sidney treated Elliot’s headache and explained that the expedition sought ore from the Sea of the Moon to refine into supernatural material.
• Sidney said Dream Creatures attacked ore shipments and stores, while Michel explained that killing them corrected the Present World’s displacement because their corpses added weight to the Dream.
• Elliot learned that corpses also added weight to the Present World and resolved to investigate where the Empire’s corpses went after the Blood Feast.
• Michel told Elliot that he and Sidney were preparing an offensive into the deeper Abyssal Sea to seize richer mineral deposits and increase the Empire’s fuel supply.

Elliot learned that the Emperor was already dead and that the princes wanted him to help keep the Imperial Throne from falling to the noble houses. He realized the Sterling Family had already chosen the Imperial faction and that he had been drawn into its struggle.

• Michel declared that victory in the expedition would let the Empire recover, while Elliot questioned whether the offensive could fail.
• Sidney explained that the Dream Creatures had dwindled and retreated, leaving the expedition well positioned to advance and build docks.
• After Cora left and the room was sealed, Michel revealed that the Emperor was dead and Sidney said the Empire still depended on what remained on the Throne.
• Michel urged Elliot to help ensure that either he or Sidney took the Throne rather than the nobles, and Elliot realized the Sterling Family had committed to the Imperial faction.
• Sidney confirmed that Duke Sterling had chosen Elliot to lead their cooperation, and Elliot confronted the princes for concealing their plan and arranging for someone to impersonate him.

Elliot agreed to support Sidney and Michel’s campaign to reclaim the Imperial Capital and reform the Empire, while the princes planned to lead their troops against the Abyssal Sea. They left Elliot in charge of the docks, mines, and Difference Engines, giving him a chance to use the Stage-Play Difference Engine to search for deposits.

• Elliot considered Sidney’s warning about the nobles and decided that supporting Sidney would benefit both himself and the Empire.
• Elliot pledged to help Sidney and Michel return to the Imperial Capital and rid the Empire of corrupt nobles.
• Sidney and Michel revealed that they would lead the troops themselves to attack the Deep Zone.
• Michel assigned Elliot to guard the docks while the princes took the troops to the front.
• Sidney asked Elliot to coordinate mine garrisons, exploration teams, and the Difference Engines, which Elliot realized could help him locate deposits.

Elliot gained permission to use the Difference Engines and wondered whether their conflicting predictions represented possible histories that could be changed. He left Sidney and Michel to prepare the Expedition and returned to ask Cora about mining and Dream Creatures.

• Michel gave Elliot access to the Difference Engines and the docks, while Sidney said the machines’ predictions were unreliable.
• Elliot asked whether the Difference Engines calculated other possible histories, and Sidney wondered whether the future could be chosen.
• Michel sent Sidney to mobilize soldiers and planned to contact the Sterling Family; Elliot declined extra troops for guarding the docks and exploring mineral deposits.
• Elliot told Sidney and Michel he needed a day to visit his father, who was preparing a Ritual to grant him access to the Secret History, but Michel said it could be performed in five minutes.
• Elliot returned and asked Cora whether killed Dream Creatures left corpses behind.

Elliot investigated why Dream Creature corpses disappeared in the Sea of the Moon and learned that humans had once sacrificed themselves there to balance the worlds. At the warehouse, he used [Spirit Vision] on the corpses and saw a galaxy of lights.

• Cora explained that Dream Creature corpses slowly dissipated, and Elliot wondered whether something in the Sea of the Moon was absorbing their light to resurrect itself.
• Elliot asked Cora to take him to a warehouse where the corpses were stored.
• As they traveled, Cora described how the Empire had expanded the docks over many years and how early warriors died in the sea to correct the World Shift.
• Elliot connected the sacrifices, Theresia's purification, and the disappearance of corpses, and feared that the world itself required death to survive.
• Elliot and Cora reached the warehouse, where Elliot questioned why so few corpses were stored and whether Dream Creatures had special abilities.
• Elliot activated [Spirit Vision] while looking at the corpses, and an entire galaxy of lights appeared before him.

Elliot discovered that white light spots from Dream Creature corpses sank into the Abyssal Sea and suspected they were connected to resurrection and the Lords of Dreams. He arranged for Elsa to act in his place at the dock, where she began preparing the Communion for sacrifices and advancement, then disguised herself as Elliot and moved among the soldiers.

• Elliot observed white light spots from the corpses sinking through the warehouse floor into the Abyssal Sea and decided to follow them to the seabed.
• Elliot gave Cora his ring as a token of authority for Elsa and returned to his cabin.
• Elliot used the Difference Engine to awaken Elsa from a concealed box and sent her to manage dangerous work at the front line.
• Elsa learned that the Communion had thirty-seven supernatural members, then told Allen to compile their desired development paths in preparation for sacrifices and advancement.
• Elsa disguised herself as Elliot, greeted soldiers at the dock, retrieved the ring from a cabin door, and stopped when Sidney opened another cabin.

Elliot used Elsa’s disguise to meet Michel and Sidney, obtaining an official ring and a clue about a mysterious room in Sidney’s palace. After successfully fooling them, he prepared to use the ring to transfer the storeroom guards and advance believers on both sides.

• Elliot controlled Elsa while she posed as him and asked Michel for Dream Creature corpses, the dock supply inventory, and information about the mines.
• Michel gave Elsa a ring that served as an official deployment order, while Sidney questioned her about the scent of women’s perfume.
• Sidney told Elliot that if he died on the expedition, Elliot could visit a pitch-black room in his palace, but he did not explain how to enter it.
• Elliot confirmed that Sidney and Michel had not detected the disguise, then controlled Elsa to bring Allen and selected believers to the storeroom.
• The guards accepted the ring and began handing over their duties to Allen’s group, while Vanessa felt Elliot take control of her again.
• Elliot prepared to add points to believers on both sides.

Elliot used the corpses in the warehouse to advance Allen to Second and then Third Rank, choosing powerful talents that expanded Allen’s combat abilities. He left convinced that Allen’s new, permanent Spirituality Mark could help him defeat stronger opponents.

• Allen and the Believers prepared a hidden sacrifice ritual in the warehouse while Elsa set it up and Elliot watched.
• Elliot used the first Lord of Dreams corpse to advance Allen to Second Rank, then chose [Breakthrough] from the talent cards.
• The Believers brought another corpse, and Elliot advanced Allen to Third Rank by raising his Sharpness and Vitality.
• Elliot chose [Spirituality Mark], deciding its permanent marks could build up through repeated attacks and combine with Allen’s other talents.
• Elliot reflected that Allen’s abilities and backstory made him seem suited to be a protagonist.

Elliot unexpectedly advanced Allen to fourth rank and discovered that Allen had fulfilled the hidden condition Dominate History, raising questions about how the Difference Engine selected protagonists. After Dorothea also met a hidden advancement condition, Elliot summoned Flora to test his theory.

• Elliot maxed out Allen's third-rank talents and unexpectedly advanced him to fourth rank.
• Elliot discovered that Allen had completed Dominate History and questioned whether it meant Allen had once been chosen as a protagonist.
• Vanessa arranged Dorothea's sacrifice, and Elliot's attempt to advance Dorothea revealed that she had met a hidden condition but lacked the prerequisite.
• Elliot compared Dorothea, Allen, Vanessa, and Maeve as potential protagonists and considered how Dorothea's mirror abilities could complement the Stage-Play Difference Engine.
• Elliot chose Flora as a candidate to test his theory, and Vanessa had Dorothea bring Flora through a mirror.

Elliot used a sacrifice to advance Flora from first rank to third rank, choosing successive talents from the Thing of Immortality series. The chapter ended with him weighing another talent, Ghoul Transformation, against his plans for her.

• Vanessa pushed Flora onto the altar so Elliot could offer her as a sacrifice and open her Tree of the Supernatural.
• Elliot discovered that Flora’s scattered points had made her stronger than her rank suggested, then advanced her to second rank.
• Elliot chose Thing of Immortality; I, which would stop Flora from aging and revive her after her lifespan ran out.
• Elliot advanced Flora to third rank and chose Thing of Immortality; II, which would revive her after she sustained fatal damage.
• Elliot noticed the Ghoul Transformation talent and hesitated over whether to choose it.