Chapter Summaries

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.

Elliot asked Flora whether she wanted a Ghoul transformation, but she refused because she feared becoming a monster. After he advanced her Thing of Immortality, Elliot discovered that Flora had reached Fourth Rank and met the hidden condition Dominate History, leaving him to wonder whether the Difference Engine itself had shaped history and whether Flora’s Thing of Immortality was counterfeit.

• Elliot took control of Vanessa and asked Flora whether she wanted to become a Ghoul.
• Flora refused the transformation, and Maeve angrily objected when Flora called Ghouls ugly.
• Elliot respected Flora’s choice and inserted the Thing of Immortality Card into her Fourth Rank slot.
• The Difference Engine advanced Flora to Fourth Rank and revealed that she had met the hidden condition Dominate History.
• Elliot considered how several people had dominated history and wondered whether the Difference Engine had done so, then suspected Flora’s Thing of Immortality was counterfeit.

Elliot investigated the growing hole in Flora’s chest and learned that the Thing of Immortality inside her was only a replica. When he prepared her Ascension, the Difference Engine showed three disturbing Cards, including one depicting Elliot tearing out Flora’s heart.

• Vanessa asked Flora whether the Thing of Immortality inside her was real, and Flora explained that it was a replica because the Mourning Poetry Society had lost the original.
• Vanessa noticed that Flora’s chest hole had grown larger, and Flora feared that she had become emotionless again.
• Flora could not explain how the Thing of Immortality had been lost because she had not reached middle rank and could not hear Secret History.
• Elliot suspected that hidden conditions such as dominating history restricted advancement, then considered completing the Thing of Immortality through Flora’s Ascension.
• The Difference Engine showed Cards depicting Flora with no hole, with another heart inside the hole, and with Elliot pulling her beating heart from her chest.
• Elliot kicked the Difference Engine in frustration, then began analyzing what the hole might represent.

Flora showed Vanessa the imitation Thing of Immortality embedded in her spine and explained Emperor Trist’s achievements and the Mourning Poetry Society’s reverence for him. Elliot reconsidered the clues about the hollow and began investigating what Dream Power was.

• Elliot had Vanessa ask Flora about the Thing of Immortality, and Flora revealed the black Spike embedded in her spine.
• Flora explained that Emperor Trist had created the Three Artifacts and the Path system, begun the First Industrial Revolution, and been assassinated before humanity could continue its progress.
• Flora said the Mourning Poetry Society mourned Emperor Trist rather than the lost artifacts, while Elliot resolved to search his family’s library for records about the emperor.
• Elliot concluded that the Thing of Immortality was the Spike in Flora’s spine, not something in her chest, and reconsidered the Difference Engine’s three Cards.
• Elliot noticed that reaching the Third Rank let him slowly absorb Dream Power during Dream Entry and wondered what Dream Power was.

Elliot chose Faith Ascension for Flora and selected a talent that would strengthen her Thing of Immortality over time. When Vanessa tried to sacrifice more Lords of Dreams to test the altar, it stopped accepting offerings.

• Elliot chose Faith Ascension for Flora, and the Difference Engine produced a card depicting her carving her own gravestone.
• Elliot considered Flora’s three Fourth Rank talents and selected Completion, which would strengthen her future Thing of Immortality talents.
• Elliot had Vanessa offer more Lords of Dreams to the altar to test how sacrifices affected middle-rank believers.
• The altar stopped accepting the corpses, leaving Elliot puzzled.

Elliot raised the ranks of the Communion’s believers by processing their sacrifices through the Difference Engine, discovering a new talent for Allen and a separate form for Sia. Sia became a forge and planned to make herself a new body while staying behind to craft items for the believers.

• Elliot set aside questions about sacrifice progress and ordered the believers to advance, then spent days allocating their points through the Difference Engine.
• Elliot chose [Rampage] for Allen, letting him move at extreme speed and use [Flash Blade] without its usual cost, though the talent quickly drained his Spirituality.
• Elliot discovered that [Believer Sia] could select talents separately from Dorothea and chose [Forge], allowing Sia to transform into a massive forge.
• Sia told Dorothea that they could still share a body and that Dorothea could draw on her abilities and Spirituality while they did.
• Sia planned to forge herself a new body from suitable materials and stayed behind at Lady Vanessa’s request to make things for the believers.

Elliot discovered that the Courtyard’s corpse supply had dwindled because Maeve had eaten most of it, leaving advancement and food supplies in jeopardy. Vanessa learned from Lillian that she could open a passage to the Sea of the Moon, prompting plans for an expedition to hunt Dream Creatures.

• Elliot learned that Maeve had consumed most of the Courtyard’s corpse stockpile, while the Dock’s supplies were also running low.
• Elliot kept Maeve’s food quota because she supplied ingredients for the Communion and meat that helped Victoria recover spirituality, but he banned Dorothea from cooking.
• Vanessa proposed an expedition against the Lords of Dreams, and Dorothea questioned how they would find any.
• Vanessa revealed that Lillian had recovered and could open a passage to the Sea of the Moon, though she could not reopen a passage to the present world without a historical record linking it to the Courtyard.
• Lillian explained that she could open a passage to the place she had come from and was shocked when Vanessa told her it had been the seabed of the Sea of the Moon.

Elliot suspected the Old Duke’s ritual was a trap and decided to send Elsa’s disguised corpse in his place. As they sailed toward the Sterling Family’s base, he learned the preparations were supposedly complete and that both the Old Duke and Duchess would preside, deepening his suspicions.

• Lillian wondered whether Elliot’s lord could control the moon, but warned that opening a passage to the Sea of the Moon could let Dream Creatures into the Courtyard.
• Elliot postponed opening the passage and decided not to attend the Old Duke’s ritual himself, sending Elsa’s corpse under his disguise instead.
• Elliot told Allen to accompany him to the Sterling Family’s base, and they departed by ship after saying goodbye to Sidney and Michel.
• Cora told Elliot that the Expedition Frontline was advancing well, but that the Old Duke had restrained the troops so the princes could earn more impressive records.
• A Machine Priest said the Old Duke had assembled war machines, soldiers, and priests for Elliot’s inspection, then revealed that the Old Duke and Duchess would preside over the ritual.
• Elliot questioned why he had never been told that the ritual required two presiding figures.

Elliot learned that the ritual to gain the Sterling Family's recognition was simple but required the Old Duke's approval, then arrived at the family's base and saw the expedition's immense military strength. He discovered that the family had three mobile fortress-class War Titans, including the Undying Fire, which was staying behind as the princes headed into the Abyssal Sea.

• Elliot learned that the recognition ritual would let him safely access the Secret Library and that the Old Duke had to authorize it.
• The Machine Priests brought Elliot to the Sterling Family's base, where he saw a vast fortress surrounded by fleets of ships.
• Cora identified the fortress as the Undying Fire, one of three fortress-class War Titans deployed by the family.
• Cora explained that the Undying Fire would remain at the base while the other two Titans accompanied Sidney and Michel into the Abyssal Sea.
• Elliot realized the family's power was far greater than he had known and felt more confident in the princes' expedition.

Elliot arrived at the fortress and saw the forces the Old Duke had assembled to welcome him, then discovered that the Old Duke had removed nearly all his mechanical modifications. As Lady Camilla demanded to touch his bare hand, Elliot feared she would detect his deception and prepared an excuse.

• The Gear Hymn entered the fortress, where soldiers, warships, and machines bowed as Elliot passed.
• Elliot saw the Old Duke waiting with Lady Camilla and noticed that the Old Duke had removed nearly all his steel modifications.
• Elliot used [Spirit Vision] and found that the Old Duke's life force was still vigorous despite his aged appearance.
• Lady Camilla held out her steel arm and insisted that Elliot place his hand on it.
• Elliot removed his glove and reached toward Lady Camilla, hoping she would believe his explanation about controlling Elsa's body.

Elliot completed the simple Ritual that transferred the Sterling Family’s authority to him, only to learn the Old Duke planned to abandon this layer of history. As the Old Duke entered the great machine’s flames, Elliot was left to safeguard the family and its flame amid the approaching end of the Era.

• The Old Duke gave Elliot a badge and told him to pour his Spirituality into it, completing the Ritual that made him head of the Sterling Family.
• The Old Duke announced before the soldiers and Believers that Elliot would become Duke Sterling and inherit the family’s power.
• Elliot protested that he was unprepared and accused the Old Duke of abandoning the family and the Empire to escape the collapsing history.
• The Old Duke urged Elliot to protect the Sterling Family and the flame of Indomitability, then entered the machine’s flames, declaring that he would save this layer of history and Era.

After the Old Duke entered the Forge and was consumed by its flames, Elliot struggled against the spiritual harm of hearing Secret History and faced the Sterling Family as its new head. He used [Mother of Concealment] to overwhelm the crowd with Spirituality Pressure, leaving those who defied him crushed beneath the vision of a burning sun.

• The Old Duke entered the Forge, and its flames surged until Lady Camilla shielded Elliot with her mechanical arm.
• Elliot realized that listening to the Old Duke’s Secret History had harmed his spirit and struggled to stand before the watching Sterling Family and Reforging Flame believers.
• Lady Camilla pointed out the crowd, and Elliot steadied himself, pinned the family-head badge to his collar, and handed the scepter to Cora.
• Elliot intensified his presence with [Mother of Concealment], causing more of the crowd to kneel as Cora called on them to pledge loyalty to Sterling.
• Elliot gathered and compressed his spirituality until those who resisted saw a blazing sun above them and were crushed by his Spirituality Pressure.

Elliot became the Duke after Lady Camilla vanished during the Forge ceremony, then sought answers about the ritual and the fortress. As Elsa’s spirit moved toward him, Elliot noticed something unusual about the family Emblem, and Cora said Lady Camilla would answer their questions in the Secret Library.

• Elliot completed the ceremony, and Lady Camilla’s soul dispersed from her steel body after she helped him become Duke.
• Elliot ordered Cora to gather information about the ritual, the Forge, and the soldiers at the front.
• While Elliot operated the Difference Engine, Elsa’s spirit formed the Sterling Family head’s Emblem and passed through his locked cabin door.
• Elliot later examined the Emblem as he walked through the fortress with Cora and asked what the priests had said.
• Cora used a device behind her ear to recall that the priests had directed them to the Secret Library, where Lady Camilla would answer their questions.

Elliot used the Emblem to enter the Sterling Family’s Secret Library, where Cora struggled to process its machinery and records. When Elliot touched a Difference Engine, it overloaded and kept moving even after he cut its power and removed its core, before displaying a message from Lady Camilla.

• Elliot learned that the Emblem transferred Secret Library access through its holder’s spirituality and used it to open the library door.
• Elliot brought Cora inside, but she became overwhelmed by the library’s vast data and could not locate Lady Camilla right away.
• Elliot touched a machine and felt a familiar emotion within its mechanical structures, triggering the Difference Engine to roar into overload.
• Elliot cut off the Difference Engine’s power and pulled out its core, but its Brass Dials continued turning without power.
• The Brass Dials stopped and displayed a message addressed to Elliot: “At last, I see you again.”

Elliot learned that Lady Camilla had joined him through the Difference Engine to help him secure the Sterling Family and lead the Sea of the Moon expedition. After the Veil blocked a mysterious being’s gaze, Camilla explained that the family’s wives became Mechanical Spirits by sacrificing their flesh, and that she had preserved her emotions within the Old Duke.

• Elliot questioned whether the presence in the Difference Engine was really Lady Camilla, and she told him to establish himself as family head before Michel and Sidney’s expedition began.
• Lady Camilla said she would help Elliot take control of the family and complete the expedition, while admitting she had deliberately deleted memories before leaving her armor.
• Elliot asked whether his father’s attempt to save a layer of history involved a being beyond the Veil, triggering the Veil’s power and stopping the Difference Engine’s Brass Dial.
• Elliot realized the Veil had blocked the being’s gaze and that Lady Camilla was afraid of it, so he avoided discussing the subject further.
• Lady Camilla explained that the Sterling Family’s wives sacrificed their flesh to become Mechanical Spirits and assist their husbands, and that she had preserved her emotions within the Old Duke.

The Courtyard ran out of food, and Vanessa used a Sacrifice Ritual to summon a mountain of Dream Creature corpses before visiting Victoria. Vanessa then confirmed to Lillian that she wanted to open a passage to the Seabed of the Sea of the Moon, leaving Lillian to obey despite the danger of flooding the Abode.

• The Courtyard’s food supply ended, and Vanessa said she had contacted Lillian and Victoria about opening a passage to the Sea of the Moon, but Victoria had warned against it.
• Vanessa performed a Sacrifice Ritual and summoned a mountain of Dream Creature corpses, prompting Dorothea to pray and open a Mirror passage to Victoria’s Library.
• Vanessa asked Victoria about the consequences of opening a passage to the Sea of the Moon, and Victoria warned that seawater and Dream Creatures could flood the Abode.
• Victoria trapped Vanessa in a cocoon of hair, but Vanessa vanished, and Victoria concluded that the Great Being had used Vanessa’s form to deliver a hint.
• Vanessa met Lillian, proved her identity by producing a hair clip that released Lillian’s pinned-up hair, and ordered her to open the passage to the Seabed.