Chapter Summaries

Dorothea reported to Elliot while he posed as the Great Being and led the Lords of Dreams through the Courtyard. After the Believers welcomed him, a lone girl noticed that the hollow beneath her collar was beginning to recover again.

• Dorothea saw the Lords of Dreams obediently follow the Great Being and wondered why the Lord always descended through Elsa's corpse.
• Dorothea reported that seventy-five Believers were ready for combat and handed over their supply inventory, which Elsa approved.
• Elsa took spiritually imbued mirrors from Dorothea's makeup bag before leaving with the Lords of Dreams.
• A girl in a secluded corner felt the hollow beneath her high collar recovering and wondered why.
• Elliot led the Lords of Dreams away, pleased that they had followed his simple instructions with precise coordination.

Elliot planned to use the dream passage to return to the seabed and reunite with Sidney and Michel, but discovered Elsa’s spirit body in the Courtyard. He found that [Hypnosis] could control her and even let her possess other things, then headed back toward the fissure with her.

• Elliot decided to return to the seabed and seek the expeditionary army, hoping to reunite with Sidney and Michel and recover access to the Difference Engine.
• Elliot noticed Elsa’s spirit body in the Courtyard and realized she had only just arrived, since the Lords of Dreams’ fading power was gathering around her.
• Elliot tried [Hypnosis] on Elsa’s spirit body and successfully commanded her to approach him.
• Elliot ordered Elsa to control a Lord of Dreams, then watched her possess his pistol and operate its cylinder and safety.
• Elliot led the Lords of Dreams toward the fissure, intending to bring Elsa’s spirit body back to the seabed and test what she could control there.

Elliot returned from the dream Courtyard to the seabed, where he found Elsa’s corpse and unusual glowing bloodstains. He preserved the traces to investigate with Maeve and tried to make Elsa’s hypnotized Spirit Body control her corpse.

• Elliot crossed back through the rift to the seabed and confirmed the passage to the dream Courtyard remained open.
• Elliot found Elsa’s corpse beside white-glowing bloodstains and noticed that another Lord of Dreams made the traces scatter when it approached.
• Elliot recalled similar glowing bloodstains at the Mansion in New Scandinavia and realized Maeve might be able to track their owner.
• Elliot ordered the Lords of Dreams to cut out and store the bloodstained rock for Maeve to test later.
• Elliot examined Elsa’s corpse and Spirit Body, then ordered her Spirit Body to control her corpse.

Elliot used a hypnotized Spirit Body to control Elsa's corpse and tested an ascent from the Seabed, discovering that rising injured both living creatures and spirits. He then discovered that lights in the seawater healed the Lords of Dreams, which could pass the healing on to him, opening a possible way to continue upward.

• Elliot commanded the Spirit Body inhabiting Elsa's corpse to move and use Nightmare Form to kill a Lord of Dreams.
• Elliot led Elsa and the Lords of Dreams upward to test the damage caused by ascending from the Seabed.
• Elliot stopped around seventy meters above the Seabed with moderate injuries and suspected that ascending dealt damage by percentage.
• Elliot ordered the Spirit Body out of Elsa's corpse and discovered that it had also suffered severe damage, undermining his plan to send Elsa for help.
• Elliot activated [Spirit Vision] after noticing the Spirit Body recovering and saw lights in the seawater gathering into the injured Lords of Dreams.
• Elliot saw healing lights flow from a Lord of Dreams into his own body and reconsidered ascending.

Elliot discovered that the Lords of Dreams were helping him recover while Elsa absorbed motes from their corpses to become more solid. After considering their connection to the Worm, Elliot decided to swim upward and left Elsa’s corpse sinking near the opening to the Dream.

• Elliot realized he could recover health from motes given by living Lords of Dreams while taking damage as he ascended.
• Elliot watched motes pass through Elsa and then through his body before flowing back into Elsa’s Spirit Body.
• Elliot asked a Lord of Dreams to provide a corpse for an experiment, and it died; he found that Elsa absorbed motes from its body while he could not.
• Elliot concluded that the Lords of Dreams were actively giving motes to him and wondered whether their help was connected to the Worm.
• Elliot waited until he and Elsa had recovered, then left her corpse sinking toward the seabed and decided to swim upward.
• A girl appeared beside Elsa’s corpse near the opening that led to the Dream.

Lillian traced Phoenix and Elsa’s corpse from the ruin near Saint Clair to a strange place beneath the sea. Surrounded by dream creatures, she fled into a hole, unaware that they pushed Elsa’s corpse in after her and sealed the entrance.

• Lillian found Phoenix’s lingering presence in the ruin and used her ability to follow his trail to the other side.
• Lillian appeared on the seabed and found Elsa’s corpse beside a large hole.
• Lillian sensed Phoenix’s aura spread throughout the area and realized dream creatures surrounded her.
• Lillian tried to return to the ruin but, unable to activate her ability, threw Elsa’s corpse at the monsters and plunged into the hole.
• The dream creatures pushed Elsa’s corpse into the hole, and the opening writhed shut.

Sidney and Cora maintained the pretense that Cora had Deep Diving Sickness while Michel handled an urgent report of Dream Creatures gathering in the deep sea. Sidney explained the Nobility’s sacrificial system and Elliot’s refusal to advance, then reminded Cora that Elliot had already caused upheaval across the Imperial Capital.

• Sidney reassured Cora that Duke Sterling had been told she had Deep Diving Sickness, and explained that the illness weakened the Spirit Body’s control of the physical body.
• A messenger brought Michel word that large numbers of Dream Creatures were gathering in the deep sea and rising, so Michel left to address the threat.
• Cora asked whether Duke Sterling’s people would expose her deception, and Sidney explained that the Sterling Family’s healing methods could not treat someone like Elliot who lacked mechanical modifications.
• Sidney told Cora that the Nobility’s advancement relied on sacrifices of will and flesh, often taken from other people without their knowledge, and said that Elliot rejected this practice.
• Cora questioned whether Elliot could accomplish much while remaining low-rank, and Sidney recalled that Elliot’s actions during the Frostmoon Uprising had affected the entire Imperial Capital.

Cora learned that Lady Camilla was arriving with Duke Sterling, raising the risk that she would expose Cora’s disguise. Sidney went to greet them while Cora prepared to face them and conceal her identity.

• Cora briefly asked about the Frostmoon Uprising, but forgot what she wanted to know, and Sidney explained that she could not remember an event she had not experienced.
• Sidney warned Cora that Duke Sterling would want to see her and said pretending to be unconscious would not keep her safe.
• An attendant told Sidney that Lady Camilla was coming too, and Cora admitted she had never met her or learned much about her.
• Sidney explained that Lady Camilla was close to Elliot, knew his personality well, and had helped him keep his status as heir.
• When another attendant announced that Duke Sterling and Lady Camilla had already arrived, Cora chose to meet them and try to keep her disguise from being investigated.
• Sidney promised to back Cora up, dismissed news about Michel, and went outside to welcome the visitors.

Sidney met Duke Sterling on the Expedition Frontline and learned that the duke had arrived in his heavily armored combat form. Duke Sterling warned that the Ascent Curse was complicating supply returns and that the Dream Creatures were growing stronger, leaving the frontline’s apparent progress in doubt.

• Sidney found Duke Sterling encased in heavy steel armor and grew wary, but greeted him warmly and presented the reinforcements and supplies he and Michel had brought.
• Duke Sterling said advancing toward the Abyssal Sea remained difficult because the Ascent Curse harmed anything with a soul, including machines, while ordinary machines risked corruption.
• Duke Sterling told Sidney that Dream Creatures had grown more than thirty percent stronger and were coordinating better, with reports of more powerful creatures appearing.
• Duke Sterling explained that the Dream Creatures were retreating as the expedition advanced, but their numbers in the deep sea had barely decreased and the fighting was becoming harder.

Duke Sterling arrived in heavy mechanical armor to see Elliot, while Sidney and Cora worried that Elliot might be an impostor. Michel had found the real Elliot on the front lines, and after the reunion Elliot was left alone with his father, who asked why he had not greeted his mother.

• Duke Sterling warned Sidney that the Dream Creatures’ strange behavior might mean they were setting a trap, then said he had brought his armor to see Elliot.
• Cora revealed herself to Sidney and explained that Michel had found the real Elliot on the front lines and brought him back.
• Sidney and Cora ushered Duke Sterling into Elliot’s room, where the real Elliot was eating bread and asked to speak with his father alone.
• Outside the room, Cora confirmed to Sidney that Elliot was no longer being impersonated, and both were relieved that they had switched him back before Duke Sterling arrived.
• Elliot ate while studying Duke Sterling’s mechanical armor, then explained that an accident at the Sea of the Moon had delayed his visit.
• Duke Sterling clarified that he was upset because Elliot had not greeted his mother.

Elliot discovered that his mother, Lady Camilla, was the Old Duke’s mech, and struggled to hide his confusion while greeting her. After explaining that a Dream Creature had swallowed her birthday gift, he was left alone with the mech and tried to find a way to communicate.

• Elliot realized Lady Camilla was not visibly present and concluded she must be the mech surrounding the Old Duke.
• Elliot greeted the mech as his mother, and the Old Duke said Camilla was happy to hear from him but sad he had stopped sending telegrams.
• The Old Duke asked whether Elliot had brought Camilla a birthday gift and reminded him that she had treasured the machine oil he gave her as a child.
• Elliot claimed a Dream Creature had swallowed the gift he brought, and Camilla’s reaction prompted the Old Duke to stop scolding him.
• The Old Duke left Elliot alone with the mech, and Elliot placed a hand on it to try to communicate.

Elliot felt Lady Camilla’s affection through the steel mecha and realized she could see Elsa’s spirit body. After Lady Camilla implied something about Elsa that stunned him, she detached a mechanical arm, and Elliot asked Elsa to control it.

• Elliot touched Lady Camilla’s steel body and felt her love and concern, easing his fear that he would need to deceive her.
• Elliot realized Elsa’s spirit body had followed him from the Sea of Dreams, unseen by Michel and the Royal Family’s soldiers.
• Lady Camilla pointed at Elsa, and Elliot confirmed that she could see the spirit body.
• Lady Camilla conveyed a message that made Elliot question what he knew about Elsa, then detached one of her mechanical arms.
• Elliot failed to lift the arm himself and told Elsa to control it.

Elliot discovered that Elsa could enter the mechanical arm but could not operate it, and he realized Evan might be able to control such machines. Troubled by the uncanny coincidences that had brought him here, Elliot recovered from a disturbing vision, while the Old Duke told him to prepare to command the expeditionary army against Dream Creatures.

• Elliot tested Elsa's ability to operate the mechanical arm, but she could not control it and Lady Camilla reattached it.
• Elliot remembered Evan's skill with war machines and considered using him to control the machines indirectly.
• Elliot became unsettled by the coincidences that had shaped his path and felt as if unseen eyes were watching him beyond the Veil.
• Lady Camilla agreed to keep Elsa's existence secret, and Elliot lay down to recover.
• The Old Duke gave Elliot two days to recuperate and prepare for the Ritual, then ordered him to take command of the front line.
• Elliot asked in disbelief whether he was expected to command the expeditionary army against Dream Creatures.

Elliot learned that the Old Duke planned to leave him in command of the front line with a Techno-Priest’s help. The Old Duke explained that Difference Engines could calculate possible futures in the Sea of the Moon, and Elliot realized why the Empire had brought so many of them there.

• The Old Duke offered Elliot command authority over the front line while he and Lady Camilla were away, with a Techno-Priest to assist him.
• Elliot asked what the Difference Engines were used for, and the Old Duke explained that the Sea of the Moon let them gather information from both the Present World and dreams.
• The Old Duke told Elliot that dream history contained past, present, and future simultaneously, causing Elliot pain as he heard the [Secret History].
• The Old Duke revealed that Difference Engines could calculate the future in the Sea of the Moon, but their accuracy remained below one percent and their results could be contaminated.
• Elliot considered the Engines’ low accuracy and suddenly said he understood.

Elliot impressed the Old Duke by guessing how multiple Difference Engines could identify the true future, and he was told to prepare for his upcoming Enlightenment Ritual. After Sidney and Cora arrived, Elliot learned about seawater erosion and was asked what he knew about the Ascent Curse.

• Elliot explained that enough Difference Engines could filter out incorrect futures and reveal the correct one, surprising the Old Duke.
• The Old Duke told Elliot to study battlefield command materials, avoid seawater, and prepare for his Enlightenment Ritual in two days; he also gave him a [Relic] for communication.
• Elliot told Elsa to study mechanical principles with him when the materials arrived.
• Sidney and Cora entered, and Cora wiped the blood from Elliot's face as he explained that he had heard some [Secret History].
• Sidney asked how Elliot had reached the Sea of the Moon, and Elliot said Michel had rescued him from Dream Creatures after he woke there.
• Cora explained that prolonged exposure to the seawater could transform people into Dream Creatures, and Sidney began explaining the Ascent Curse by asking Elliot what lay above them.

Sidney explained how the Sea of the Moon connected the Present World and the Dream World, and why the expedition sought to stabilize the lunar phase as a Blood Moon. After Elliot left to play on the Difference Engine, Lillian was swept into a cave on the seabed and spat onto a spiderweb.

• Sidney told Elliot that the Sea of the Moon was a flowing dream bounded by the vacuum of space, and that its erosion could turn soldiers into Dream Creatures.
• Sidney explained that the expedition aimed to prevent the Dream World and the Present World from drawing too close by fixing the lunar phase as a Blood Moon.
• Elliot questioned the Blood Moon goal, but Sidney refused to explain what success would bring and told him he was too injured to hear more Secret History.
• Elliot got up despite his injuries and led Sidney out to play on the Difference Engine, while Cora followed with the bloodstained handkerchief.
• Lillian reached the seabed as monsters attacked, escaped into a cave with Elsa's corpse, and was tossed around before being spat onto a spiderweb.

Victoria mistook Elsa's soulless corpse for the dead Great Being when it fell into the Courtyard alongside Lillian. She eventually concluded that the corpse was only an incarnation, while Lillian remained confused about her arrival.

• Victoria withdrew her webs and feared punishment when the Great Being appeared, but felt insignificant when He left without acknowledging her.
• Victoria resumed spinning silk until a rift reopened and dropped Lillian and Elsa's corpse into the Courtyard.
• Victoria caught Elsa's corpse, mistook it for the Great Being, and panicked that His Immortals would blame her for His death.
• The Immortals casually recognized Elsa's corpse and discussed her repeated deaths while Victoria begged Lillian to witness her innocence.
• Lillian found herself caught in spider silk and identified it with the Mad Queen Trapped in the Web.
• Victoria realized that the intact Abode meant the Great Being had not died and concluded that she held an incarnation's corpse.

Victoria returned Elsa’s corpse to Dorothea and withdrew, while Lillian escaped the web by shedding a succession of bodies and skins. After examining the people in the Abode, Lillian asked Dorothea whether she had a friend named Winnie.

• Victoria handed Elsa’s corpse to Dorothea, who thanked her without showing surprise or anger.
• Vanessa recognized the veiled Lillian, but Victoria did not know who she was.
• Lillian escaped the web by stepping through it and casting off a series of skins and bodies.
• Lillian emerged as a stately noblewoman and surveyed Victoria, Vanessa, Dorothea, the armed Believers, and Flora.
• Lillian asked Dorothea whether she had a friend named Winnie.

Lillian entered the Abode, mistook it for Victoria’s creation, and told Vanessa that Winnie was a key node in history. Lillian escaped through the Dream Entry Card, but someone grabbed the Card and forced it back into the slot.

• Dorothea recognized Winnie’s name and questioned Lillian about who she was.
• Lillian identified the Courtyard as an enormous Abode and assumed Victoria had found its fragments and used them to build the Grand Library.
• Vanessa asked why Lillian had mentioned Winnie, and Lillian told her to seek the truth beyond the Veil.
• Lillian said Winnie could influence history, then vanished from the Abode in flames.
• Lillian’s Dream Entry Card began to leave its slot, but an unseen hand grabbed it and shoved it back in.

Lillian repeatedly tried to leave the Courtyard but was mysteriously returned each time, while Victoria and Vanessa watched. Trapped and fearing the Great Being behind it, Lillian tried to invoke the name of the mysterious figure she had encountered in the Abode, but she could no longer remember it.

• Victoria told Vanessa that Lillian was powerful enough to exist outside history, and Vanessa grabbed Victoria's hand as Lillian left the Abode.
• Lillian returned to the Courtyard after attempting to leave, then announced that she would meet the others beyond the Veil before disappearing again.
• Lillian reappeared repeatedly, and Victoria chose not to intervene while the people below began cheering.
• Lillian invoked her membership in the Hollow Cathedral and the recognition of [Old Shell], but the Courtyard's master gave no response.
• Lillian decided to name the mysterious figure she had met in the Abode, then realized she had forgotten His name.