Chapter Summaries

Elliot used the Judgment Angel to eavesdrop on Sidney, Victoria, and Michel as they discussed the Royal Family’s succession. Their conversation revealed that Victoria had become an Immortal of the Great Being but could still gather enough Radiance Power to take the Throne.

• Sidney and Victoria left to discuss the succession privately, while Elliot decided to prioritize Vanessa’s training and advancement over Elsa’s.
• Elliot used the Difference Engine to listen in on the three’s conversation aboard the Judgment Angel.
• Sidney asked Victoria whether she had become an Immortal of the Great Being, and she confirmed that she had accepted His invitation.
• Sidney asked whether Victoria could still gather enough Radiance Power to take the Throne, and Victoria said she could.
• Elliot was surprised to learn that taking the Throne also required Radiance Power.

Victoria, Sidney, and Michel discussed who should take the Imperial Throne and whether the Empire could survive its nobles’ growing independence. Elliot realized the Empire’s fragmentation was likely inevitable, though the Sterling Family’s lost factories had been preserved in the Abode.

• Victoria revealed that she could wield the power of Radiance, and Sidney and Michel considered her a possible candidate for the Imperial Throne.
• Sidney dismissed his twin brother Crawford as a hopeless case and said the missing Eighth Prince would have to be found before they could consider him.
• Sidney and Michel explained that the New Nobility did not know the Second Era was nearing destruction and that the Sterling Family’s strength had been badly weakened.
• Elliot realized the Sterling Family had retained its production lines in the Abode, where Communion Believers were learning to operate them.
• Sidney warned that the Empire was likely to fragment, and the group spent over an hour discussing the crisis without finding a solution.

Elliot learned that the Imperial Throne and Theresia’s statue were parts of a vast ritual that consumed corpses to suppress monsters beneath the Empire. Victoria revealed that the Bronze Angel Theresia had been created by the First Duke Sterling to slay those monsters, leaving Elliot stunned by his family’s hidden history.

• Elliot interrupted Sidney, Victoria, and Michel’s discussion and asked which of them would take the Imperial Throne.
• Sidney explained that the expedition’s spoils would be sacrificed in part and the rest sent to the Imperial Capital, while insisting that the Royal Family had no choice but to keep the Throne.
• Victoria told Elliot that the Imperial Palace was an enormous ritual site, and that corpses were fed to both the Throne and Theresia’s statue.
• Victoria revealed that the ritual used offerings to suppress monsters beneath the Throne.
• Victoria explained that the First Duke Sterling created the Bronze Angel Theresia to slay monsters, shocking Elliot.

Elliot learned that Theresia protected the Imperial Capital from monsters and that the Throne maintained order in the Empire. He agreed to give the Royal Family’s soldiers priority for the remaining sacrificial resources, while making clear he had not agreed to a political marriage with Victoria.

• Victoria explained that Theresia kept the monsters hidden in the Imperial Capital from reaching the sunlight.
• Michel told Elliot that the Throne embodied the order that had ended the First Era and continued to preserve order across the Empire.
• Elliot recognized how much the Royal Family had done to protect people and offered to support them.
• Sidney proposed a political marriage between Victoria and Elliot as compensation for the sacrificial offerings, and Victoria attacked him.
• Elliot agreed to prioritize resources for the Royal Family’s soldiers, clarifying that he had not meant to trade Victoria for them.

Elliot refused a political marriage with Victoria and instead accepted a formal IOU from the Royal Family for the resources. He then discovered that Dorothea had lost control during her Ascension attempt and went to investigate.

• Elliot rejected Sidney’s offer to arrange a political marriage with Victoria and asked the Royal Family to put its resource debt in writing.
• Sidney, Michel, and Victoria signed and sealed an IOU for the resources Elliot had given up.
• Elliot left Sidney and the others to plan their next moves and went to check on Dorothea, whose Card was labeled [Out of control].
• Vanessa entered the locked room where Dorothea had attempted Ascension, and Dorothea knelt in formal worship whenever Elliot revealed his presence.
• Elliot repeatedly withdrew and resumed control of Vanessa to test Dorothea’s reactions, then asked Flora how long the symptoms had lasted.

Vanessa confronted Dorothea’s loss of control and recognized that her rigid Rationality concealed guilt and grief over failing to save Elsa. Vanessa used Spirituality Pressure to force Dorothea to face her buried feelings, leaving Dorothea scorched and reaching toward the light as her Rationality made one final decision.

• Flora explained that Dorothea’s Rationality had not fulfilled the Ascension requirement because she treated it as a tool rather than fully surrendering herself to it.
• Vanessa realized Dorothea had never escaped the childhood guilt of hiding while Cultists took Elsa, and told her she had lost control because she could no longer find her own heart.
• Dorothea remembered following Vanessa into the Communion because Vanessa never abandoned her companions, and she recognized her own fear and shame had kept her trapped in the past.
• Vanessa held Dorothea in place and struck her with Spirituality Pressure, burning away the crow feathers as Dorothea cried out and cursed her.
• Dorothea reached toward Vanessa despite the pain, and her still-active Rationality helped her make one final decision.

Dorothea survived Vanessa’s Spirituality Pressure by entering Dawn, then uncovered what her Rationality Ascension required. After facing and accepting her own past and emotions, she completed her Ascension.

• Dorothea entered the Enlightenment State and used her Radiance Talent, Dawn, to recover from Vanessa’s Spirituality Pressure.
• Dorothea escaped Vanessa’s grasp and scolded her for nearly burning her to death; they discovered her Black Feathers had burned away.
• Dorothea explained that Rationality had magnified her guilt and that Ascension required her to accept herself and face the parts of her past she avoided.
• Dorothea realized she had remained in Rationality Mode without suppressing her emotions, and Vanessa and Flora recognized the change.
• Dorothea switched off Rationality Mode and completed her Ascension.

Dorothea completed her ascension ritual and became a fourth-rank supernatural person. Elliot chose the Mirror Secret Art specialization for her, leaving her next stage of development set around the ability she used most.

• Dorothea realized that ascension required accepting her past and desires, then told Vanessa and Flora she had completed it.
• Vanessa prepared the sacrifice ritual, and Dorothea stepped onto the altar as Allen organized the believers to bring the offerings.
• Dorothea's ascension completed immediately, and Elliot saw that she had fulfilled the Control Rationality and Dominate History conditions.
• Elliot examined three ascension cards representing radiance, the monocle, and the Mirror Secret Art.
• Elliot chose the Mirror Secret Art card because Dorothea used it often and could combine it with other abilities.

Elliot chose Sovereign Ascension and the Frenzied Crow Assault talent for Dorothea, weighing their strengths against their risks. After ending her sacrifice, he considered how he and the Difference Engine would leave the Sea of the Moon.

• Elliot selected Sovereign Ascension, whose Card depicted Dorothea seated on the Bone Crow Throne.
• Elliot chose Frenzied Crow Assault for Dorothea, accepting that the ability could reduce her intelligence when her crows were killed.
• Elliot ended Dorothea’s sacrifice after she reached the fourth rank and decided to prioritize Vanessa’s points later.
• Elliot recalled that his Original Body had to leave with the Expedition Army and wondered whether he could leave the Difference Engine in the Abode.

Elliot used Elsa as a [Vessel] to test whether [Compliance] could operate the Difference Engine from the dream, and confirmed that it could. Meanwhile, Xixi searched the Sea of the Moon and dug up a gigantic snail.

• Elliot realized he could use [Compliance] to control a [Vessel] and operate the Difference Engine without risking being trapped in the dream.
• Sidney arranged for Elliot's group to learn the ritual for creating [Vessels], and Elsa made several, including one from her own body.
• Elsa asked Elliot to control her like Vanessa, and Elliot used [Compliance] to make her eat in the canteen before quickly relinquishing control.
• Elliot controlled another of Elsa's corpses to put Vanessa's Card in the Difference Engine, confirming that a [Vessel] could operate it.
• Xixi wandered along the seabed of the Sea of the Moon and dug up a gigantic snail.

Xixi broke Lillian out of her giant snail shell, and Lillian fled after transforming into a mothlike creature. While Xixi headed toward the [Primordial Blood] and the [Worm], Elliot and Sidney prepared to sacrifice the [Primordial Blood]'s gathered flesh and discussed returning to the Imperial Capital.

• Xixi chased down the giant snail, repeatedly biting chunks from its shell until it shattered.
• Lillian emerged from the broken shell transformed with moth wings, then fled from Xixi into the sea.
• Xixi ate the shell and licked up Lillian's black slime before heading toward the battle between the [Primordial Blood] and the [Worm].
• Elliot and Sidney gathered the [Primordial Blood]'s scattered flesh beside the sacrificial runes and agreed to perform the sacrifice in the Sea of the Moon.
• Sidney said the ruins' passage to the Imperial Capital remained unopened, and proposed that the Expedition Army return by force and charge straight into the capital.

Sidney prepared the Expedition Army to return to the Imperial Capital, expecting a political confrontation or a battle if their arrival went badly. After the Royal Family’s soldiers completed a sacrifice and gained new powers, Sidney invited Elliot to a banquet before their march.

• Sidney warned Elliot that their return could lead to fighting and said he would take command, with Elliot assuming command if he died.
• Elliot reflected on becoming Duke Sterling and asked Sidney for a deed to the ruins, but Sidney reminded him that Elliot already owned the surrounding land from a childhood wager.
• Sidney explained that the Royal Family’s sacrifice was being held on the seabed because the War Fortresses were destroyed and the Judgment Angel could not be repaired.
• The Royal Family’s soldiers quickly completed the sacrificial ritual and returned to their ships with newly acquired powers.
• Sidney invited Elliot to an all-night banquet before they fought their way back to the Imperial Capital.

At an all-night banquet, Sidney and Elliot drank the last of the soldiers’ homemade liquor, marked with the names of those who had brewed it. Sidney remembered the dead and missing soldiers and gave Elliot a bottle to save for the day Sidney became emperor, before drinking and falling asleep.

• Sidney explained how soldiers brewed liquor, exchanged bottles, and wore the brewers’ name slips on their helmets when they returned to battle.
• Sidney told Elliot he remembered every soldier’s name, including Flynn Morrison, whose fate he did not know.
• Sidney said Morrison had probably died unnoticed and that remembering the soldiers’ names was all he could do for them.
• Elliot saw Machine Priests pour their liquor into their fuel tanks, and they said it would make their furnaces burn hotter.
• Sidney gave Elliot a bottle labeled with his name and the date, telling him to save it until Sidney became emperor.
• Sidney toasted Sterling, the Empire, the Second Era, and fine liquor, then drank with the soldiers and fell asleep.

Elliot and the Expedition Army returned from the Sea of the Moon to the present world, where a blood moon hung beside the Sun. Sidney planned to lead the army straight to the Imperial Palace, and Elliot chose to join him as the conflict over the throne reached its decisive point.

• Sidney arranged the Expedition Army’s formation and led Michel and the Court Guards through the passage first.
• Elliot waited until the army had passed through the narrow passage, then returned to the present world in his original body.
• Elliot saw the blood moon hanging beside the Sun and noted that the dream travelers, including Victoria and Vanessa, had not come with the army.
• Sidney told Elliot that he and Michel would charge into the Imperial Palace and asked whether Elliot would join them or go home first.
• Elliot chose to go with Sidney, recognizing that his support for the Royal Family had put him at odds with the other nobles.

Sidney gave Elliot a pendant granting him access to the Imperial Palace, then led the Expedition Army toward the palace to seize the throne before the Great Nobility could act. He addressed his soldiers about their reasons for joining the expedition and reminded them that they had expected to die in the Sea of the Moon.

• Sidney gave Elliot his pendant and promised him permission to carry weapons anywhere in the Imperial Palace.
• Sidney ordered the Expedition Army to move out and charged ahead with Michel to seize the palace and install a new emperor.
• Sidney led the soldiers in white-and-gold robes and reminded them of the Empire’s founding and its decline.
• Sidney questioned Spencer, Elias, and Ezra Boone about why they had joined the Expedition Army.
• Sidney told the soldiers, “Yes, we should have died in the Sea of the Moon,” and watched the light fade from their eyes.

Sidney led the Expedition Army into Saint Clair to seize the Imperial Palace before the Sacred Blood Nobles could act. As the army charged through the cheering streets, Elliot sensed that something was wrong.

• Sidney rallied the Expedition Army by recalling their fallen companions and the nobles who meant to take their spoils and send them back into danger.
• Sidney ordered the soldiers to advance on Saint Clair, and they set out with the names of the dead attached to their flag.
• The Expedition Army rushed toward the unwalled Imperial Capital, betting that the Sacred Blood Nobles would not have time to organize a defense.
• Patrol Officers fled and changed out of their uniforms as Sidney and Michel's forces entered the city, while commoners cheered from the windows.
• Sidney ordered the soldiers to hurry and seize the Imperial Palace, while Elliot used [Spirit Vision] and sensed that something was missing from the streets.

Elliot realized the Night Watch Bureau had failed to appear during the Expedition Army’s advance and discovered that one of its members was guarding the Imperial Palace. He warned Sidney and ordered preparations in the Hearthfire District as Sidney called for heavy firepower to breach the Palace’s wards.

• Allen told Elliot that no one from the Night Watch Bureau had appeared, so Elliot used [Compliance] to control his [Vessel] and inspect the Difference Engine’s records.
• Elliot found that Eleanor Bennett was on guard duty in the Imperial Palace, despite the Bureau not normally being responsible for Palace security.
• Elliot sent Dorothea to warn Sidney about the Bureau’s presence in the Palace, and Sidney began making arrangements.
• Elliot sent crows to alert the Hearthfire District and scout the situation, while Dorothea relayed Sidney’s request for the Machine Priests to prepare heavy firepower.
• Elliot learned that the Imperial Palace had wards and asked whether its gates had already been sealed.

Elliot and Sidney discovered that the Imperial Palace’s wards barred the Night Watch Bureau, raising the possibility that the palace had been breached. On the road back, Tobias Helms appeared with a ceremonial cavalry unit, and after he spotted Elliot through a mirror, Sidney drew his sword.

• Crow relayed that only the Emperor, Michel, Victoria, and Sidney could authorize entry to the Imperial Palace, and Sidney suspected it might have been breached.
• A crow warned Elliot that a cavalry unit was ahead, and Elliot used a mirror to see the approaching riders.
• Elliot and Sidney recognized Tobias Helms, a leader of the Old Nobility and a member of the family devoted to the [Prophet in the Urn].
• Tobias said he had come to congratulate Sidney on his return, while Michel and Dorothea found no sign of anyone else nearby.
• Tobias looked through the mirror at Elliot, and the crow on Elliot’s shoulder exploded.
• Sidney drew his longsword and slashed toward Tobias’s cavalry.

Sidney, Michel, and Elliot continued toward the Imperial Palace after Tobias warned them of eternal slumber in the light, while Elliot suspected Tobias could sense imminent attacks. The Expedition Army reached the center of the eerily ordinary Imperial Capital, where Elliot spotted the Sterling Family mansion and nearby noble residences.

• Sidney attacked Tobias, but Tobias avoided the blow and noticed Elliot's disguised crow preparing to strike.
• Tobias insisted he meant no harm, welcomed the returning royals and Duke Sterling, and warned Sidney to prepare for eternal slumber in the light.
• Tobias ordered the cavalry to clear the road, and the Expedition Army continued toward the Imperial Palace.
• Sidney worried that Tobias's foresight meant the nobles knew about their operation, but resolved to press on and rely on his own trump card.
• Elliot sensed something wrong as the Expedition Army crossed the unnaturally normal Imperial Capital and saw the Sterling Family mansion near the other nobles' residences.

Elliot and Sidney’s Expedition Army reached the Imperial Palace after discovering the Great Nobility had gathered there, but the palace’s restrictions concealed a catastrophe within. Elliot saw that the Throne had exploded and released what it had sealed, leaving the army and nobles confronted by a vast, monstrous presence.

• Elliot and Dorothea found the Great Nobility’s residences undefended and their family heads missing, while Michel’s investigation had uncovered the same absence.
• Sidney guessed that the Great Nobility had gathered inside the Imperial Palace and warned that the Expedition Army lacked the firepower to storm a fortified position.
• Dorothea’s Split Crow could not spy inside the Imperial Palace, so Sidney and Elliot led the Expedition Army to its entrance.
• Sidney entered the palace, and Elliot used her Pendant and his spirituality to see through a disguised crow.
• Elliot saw the Great Nobility gathered before the Palace Hall and a vast vortex above the palace, with a crown embedded in a mass of putrid flesh beneath it.
• Sidney identified the sight as Throne Fragments and said the Throne had exploded, freeing everything sealed beneath it.