Chapter Summaries

Crawford used the Contract’s power to seize the Throne and slaughter nobles at his coronation, leaving Elliot to suspect that Xi and Crawford had worked together to turn the Throne’s constraints into a weapon. Elliot concluded that the [Holy Scripture] may have hidden Crawford’s actions from the Prophecy and decided the Tyrant’s conflict with the nobles could buy him valuable time.

• Crawford sat on the Throne with the Scepter and Longsword as bloodshed brought the coronation Ritual to a hasty end.
• Elliot fled the Imperial Palace with the nobles and returned to the Mansion, reasoning that Crawford lacked the strength to kill every noble and that their struggle would continue.
• Elliot suspected the Throne had once pinned emperors in place, while Xi’s suppression of it had let Crawford use the Contract to slaughter nobles; he also wondered how Crawford had evaded the Prophecy.
• Elliot examined the paper he had found in the Imperial Palace and asked whether the [Holy Scripture] could block the Prophecy, but it did not respond.
• Elliot decided that Crawford’s campaign could delay the nobles, making the Tyrant a useful ally, though he remained uncertain about the Contract’s restrictions.

Elliot took Allen, Dorothea, and Vanessa into the Sea of the Moon to advance Allen using the manhole-cover sacrifice method. After Allen reached fifth rank, Elliot chose [Damage Immunity], which briefly made Allen immune to attacks after using [Breakthrough] and [Flash Blade].

• Elliot chose Allen, Dorothea, and Vanessa for the Deep Sea expedition because Elsa was busy in the Hearthfire District.
• Dorothea confirmed that she could use Maeve's location to open a mirror gate at this distance, though her spirituality limited how far she could reach.
• Allen held up a manhole cover and used it to bore into [Primordial Blood], with Vanessa's [Philosopher's Stone] creating a waterproof shield so he could complete the sacrifice.
• Allen's sacrifice filled the progress bar and raised him to fifth rank, revealing that dream power could prevent dream erosion during Dream Entry.
• Elliot considered how heart and spirit developed through Ascension and Advancement, then chose Allen's fifth- and sixth-rank talent, [Damage Immunity].

Elliot raised Dorothea to the fifth rank and chose the new talent [Radiance Inscription], which let her stack invisible marks on a target. Dorothea and Vanessa discovered that her crow doubles could apply many marks at once, then tried using a mirror to reach the Cult Leader’s office.

• Elliot reviewed Dorothea’s three new talents and chose [Radiance Inscription] after considering how it could be used.
• Dorothea tested the talent in crow form and found she could stack inscriptions while transformed.
• Vanessa suggested that Dorothea create more crows, and the flock stacked dozens of inscriptions on [Primordial Blood] at once.
• Vanessa prompted Dorothea to try using a mirror, and a mirror appeared in the Cult Leader’s office, startling Elsa.

Elliot advanced Dorothea to the sixth rank and weighed her new talents, favoring the ability to resurrect instantly at no cost. Before choosing, he used Spirit Vision on the seemingly useless Beachcomber Crow and discovered that history had a physical existence of its own.

• Elliot spent two points on Dorothea's rationality and advanced her to the sixth rank.
• Elliot considered Dorothea's three new talents and was drawn to Concentration, which boosted her attributes and allowed her single crow to resurrect immediately at no cost.
• Elliot used the Difference Engine to transfer Dorothea's belongings, including her Chef badge and Monocle, into Vanessa's pocket.
• Elliot activated Spirit Vision and saw an additional description for Beachcomber Crow: theft could not affect concepts, but history had a physical existence of its own.

Dorothea demonstrated that [Beachcombing Crow] could steal body parts and belongings without harming their owners, and the Communion hurriedly sent its first fleet to sea to investigate Holly. Twenty-five minutes after the ships departed, Elsa learned that contact with the fleet had been lost.

• Dorothea used [Beachcombing Crow] to take and restore Vanessa’s appendix, fingernail, and wisdom tooth without leaving injuries.
• Dorothea discovered Vanessa had stolen her belongings during the sacrifice and angrily confronted her.
• Elliot arranged for Dorothea and Vanessa to join the fleet, with Vanessa serving as his high-rank body and searching for clues about the Overflowing Garden.
• Elsa held a launching ceremony, and the Communion’s first fleet set sail despite incomplete preparations.
• An engineer reported to Elsa that the fleet had lost contact just twenty-five minutes after departure.

Elsa and the crew of the Dawn discovered that crows were dying whenever people used Formless Arts and abilities, and Vanessa ordered everyone to stop. Back at the Hearthfire District, Elsa had Dorothea sealed in amber while Simon searched for a way to tell whether she was still alive, and Clara arrived.

• Elsa tried to contact Dorothea through her crow, but the crow froze and began bleeding from its eyes and mouth.
• Aboard the Dawn, Dorothea used the Mirror Secret Art, then froze and died as Vanessa watched.
• A sailor reported that crows across the ship were dying, and Vanessa broadcast an order for everyone to stop using Formless Arts and abilities.
• Crows across the Hearthfire District fell dead, and Elsa used her Amber ability to solidify Dorothea as her vitality faded.
• Simon told Elsa he did not know whether Dorothea was alive but had a way to check, just as Clara appeared at the door.

Elliot and the believers investigated Dorothea’s condition and the Dawn’s mysterious crisis, using Clara’s possession ability to confirm Dorothea was alive. After Elsa’s corpses failed to find the warship, Elliot concluded the Dawn had vanished.

• Clara possessed Dorothea inside the amber, confirming that Dorothea was alive.
• Elliot sent several of Elsa’s corpses into the sea to search for the Dawn and investigate what had happened to it.
• On the Dawn, the believers found that the Dorothea crows had died simultaneously, while Vanessa reassured them that Dorothea in the Hearthfire District was still alive.
• Flora offered to explore outside, but Vanessa refused, and Elliot rejected Allen’s suggestion to surface after realizing Holly was now above them.
• Elliot asked the Dawn about its condition and learned that the ship and its equipment seemed normal, despite the crew’s predicament.
• Hours later, Elsa’s corpses lost contact in the Deep Sea, and Elsa found no warship at the Dawn’s location.

Elliot guided the Dawn through the disorienting Misty Sea and ordered it to keep diving despite the rising pressure. The ship unexpectedly surfaced near the Imperial Capital, and Elliot revealed that he had been prepared to save the believers by drawing them into a dream.

• Elliot asked Elsa about Misty Sea legends, including ships that emerged far away or returned after years and people who vanished after falling into the sea.
• Elliot took control of Vanessa and directed the Dawn downward, while Flora realized they could use the Dawn to judge their direction through water pressure.
• After the Dawn confirmed they were diving, Elliot refused to turn back and ordered the crew to continue despite the ship nearing its limits.
• The Dawn burst through the water and surfaced beneath morning sunlight, with the Imperial Capital visible nearby.
• Elliot revealed he had held the believers’ Cards by the [Dream Entry] slot, ready to pull them into a dream if the ship failed.

Elliot realized that the Misty Ocean’s seawater distorted perception and made people mistake the surface for the deep sea, while the Difference Engine could still guide the Dawn. After examining the rescued Believers and considering Dorothea’s fate, he ordered the ship to dive again to find Holly.

• Elliot used the Difference Engine to direct Elsa’s corpses toward the surface, but they lost contact, confirming that the Misty Ocean confused their sense of direction and prevented them from reaching it.
• The Dawn surfaced, and Elliot concluded that the seawater caused the distortions; he also suspected that Saint Clair protected nearby waters and wondered why the Empire kept the danger secret.
• The Doctor and the Path of Radiance Supernatural people examined the rescued Believers and found them healthy, while Elliot learned that Dorothea’s confused crows had torn her existence apart when she opened a passage.
• Elliot decided to continue searching for Holly and ordered the Believers to prepare the Dawn to dive again.
• The crew and the Dawn became disoriented as soon as they submerged, but they followed the Difference Engine’s guidance without hesitation.

After retrieving Holly in an egg, Elliot brought her back to the Harbor District and focused on how to save Dorothea, Victoria, and Xi from the amber that held them at the instant of death. He realized Clara might be able to affect them from inside the amber, so Elsa brought Clara to perform a sacrifice in hopes of gaining a healing ability.

• Elliot used an empty [Vessel] as a beacon to guide the Dawn back to the Hearthfire District with Holly's egg.
• The Difference Engine showed Holly's hatching countdown, and Elliot told the believers to wait for her to emerge naturally.
• Elsa explained that healing could not reach Flora through [Amber], and that releasing someone frozen at the instant of death meant they died immediately.
• Elliot ruled out advancing Dorothea through sacrifice because she was sixth rank and her Ascension mission was incomplete.
• Elliot realized Clara's [Possession] could affect people inside [Amber] and proposed that she gain a healing or resurrection ability.
• Elsa brought Clara to the Courtyard, where Vanessa prepared the sacrificial ritual and Clara stepped onto the altar.

Elliot discovered Clara’s powerful Fourth Rank abilities and chose Domain Ascension for her. He then selected Sovereign Vision, which would let him observe a battlefield from above while possessing Clara and switch possession among nearby teammates.

• Elliot found that Clara had reached the Fourth Rank, with talents that combined Spirit Vision and Rationality to support teammates and hinder enemies.
• Elliot chose Domain Ascension for Clara, adding a powerful area ability.
• Elliot reviewed the Fourth Rank talents Steadfast Conviction, Rationality Domain, and Sovereign Vision, and wanted all three.
• Elliot selected Sovereign Vision, gaining the ability to oversee an area and switch possession between teammates within it.

Elliot advanced to Fifth and Sixth Rank, gaining [Deep Thought] and [Solidification] but finding no healing Talent for Dorothea. He realized Clara could use [Deep Thought] with the Rationality of the Communion’s Believers to seek a way to save Dorothea, and arranged a festival to gather them.

• Elliot chose [Deep Thought] as Clara’s Fifth Rank Talent after realizing nearby allies could supply Rationality to increase her thinking speed.
• Elliot reached Sixth Rank and chose [Radiance Breath], reluctantly passing up [Solidification], the only recovery ability he found.
• Elliot and Clara’s attempt to complete her Ascension task by staring at each other failed, and Elliot concluded that he did not count as Clara’s Fate.
• Elliot proposed having Clara use [Deep Thought] to figure out how to save Dorothea with the Believers’ Rationality.
• Elliot told Vanessa to gather the Believers under the pretext of a Communion festival, while Vanessa left to find Clara.

Clara used the rationality gathered from praying believers in the Hearthfire District to activate [Deep Thought] and find a way to save Dorothea. She concluded that Clara needed to gain a healing ability from Crow’s cooking, leaving Elliot to wonder whether Crow could still cook while dead.

• Elsa declared the Communion’s first Food Festival and led its believers in a Mass in the Hearthfire District square.
• Clara activated [Deep Thought], drawing in the believers’ rationality and rapidly considering thousands of ways to save Dorothea.
• The believers experienced a moment of immense rationality, mistook it for the Lord’s presence, and praised the Communion and its Food Festival.
• Clara told Elliot that the best plan was to obtain a temporary healing ability by eating Crow’s cooking.
• Elliot realized Crow was gone and wondered whether a dead person could still cook.

Zell learned that the Communion’s crow meals were chopped by a steam-powered machine containing Dorothea’s remains, while Elliot explained how he had used the Difference Engine to equip her with the Chef’s Knife. The chapter ended with Dorothea still spinning on the factory-built steam engine and the canteen serving crow meals again.

• Phoebe explained to the new believer Zell that Dorothea’s death had not ended the crow meals, which were now being served several times a day.
• Zell realized the vegetable chopper’s amber component contained Dorothea’s remains, and Phoebe confirmed that the machine used her body to make the meals.
• Phoebe reassured Zell that the Communion members would get used to eating crow meals and offered him Elsa-stir-fried Maeve.
• Elliot explained that he had placed the Chef’s Knife in Dorothea’s equipment slot so the Difference Engine could make her pick it up.
• Elliot had a steam engine built to keep Dorothea spinning, restoring crow meals to the canteen.

Phoebe obtained a healing ability from eating Crow rice and used it with Clara to try to heal Dorothea, who was trapped in amber. Clara fed the hair attached to Dorothea Simon’s healing honey, and the hair turned green as the attempt began.

• Phoebe announced that she had gained a healing ability, prompting the believers to carry her and the Crow rice chopper to Simon’s hospital.
• Simon exposed a disguised spy for the nobility after the man failed to recognize the fully automatic rotating Crow steam vegetable chopper.
• Clara arrived at the hospital and learned that Phoebe’s ability, [Hair Transplant], let her send hair onto another person and channel healing through it.
• Clara possessed Dorothea, and Phoebe’s transplanted hair passed through the amber and pierced Dorothea’s body.
• Simon fed Clara a spoonful of [Honey], and Phoebe’s and Clara’s hair turned green as the healing took effect.

Elsa and the others restored Dorothea with Phoebe’s healing, and the crow’s resurrection proved that the living dead sealed in [Amber] might be saved. Elliot discovered that the treatment had also cured Dorothea’s madness, leaving the Communion racing to use Phoebe’s temporary ability to save Victoria and Xi.

• Elsa kept Dorothea sealed in [Amber] while vitality flowed into her, until a green baby crow emerged and multiplied after falling into Phoebe’s honey.
• Vanessa gathered spirituality to quiet the chaotic room, and the crows settled enough for Dorothea to speak again, though they were left dizzy from their rapid multiplication.
• The Canteen held a grand ceremony welcoming Dorothea’s resurrection, which gave the Hearthfire District hope for saving Victoria and Xi.
• Elliot examined Dorothea’s Card and the Difference Engine’s records, discovering that her treatment had removed her madness status as well as her injuries.
• Elliot realized Phoebe’s temporary healing ability might cure Victoria, and the Communion’s core members began urgent preparations to act before it expired.

Elsa and her allies began a dangerous operation to cure Victoria’s madness while she remained sealed in [Amber]. The Dawn reached the Imperial Palace ruins, where Clara possessed Simon as the assault team prepared to move.

• Elsa decided to attempt the cure before Phoebe’s ability expired, setting a three-hour limit and ordering the team to abort if they ran out of time.
• Elsa and the believers boarded the Dawn, carrying the spinning fan and coordinating with Dorothea through Simon’s scouting bugs.
• Simon flew above the Imperial Capital with Dorothea attached to a rope, guiding the Dawn toward the Imperial Palace ruins.
• Simon saw the Dawn reach its position and watched the team prepare to move into the palace ruins.
• Clara used [Possession] on Simon as the operation began.

Clara and the Dawn crew used Phoebe’s vitality to restore Victoria while she remained trapped in [Amber], but the nobles discovered the operation. As the crew debated whether to retreat, Vanessa chose to go with Elsa and told her that the decision was her own, though the Lord agreed.

• Clara possessed Victoria and connected to her through strands of hair while Dorothea watched from above.
• Dorothea ordered the crew to feed Phoebe [Honey], sending Phoebe’s vitality through Clara’s hair and turning Victoria’s hair green as her madness faded.
• A noble scout approached Victoria, but Evan Sterling’s war machine blocked him and claimed it detected no abnormalities.
• The nobles’ agents gathered after an Illumination Flare exposed the operation, and the Dawn’s crew argued over whether Elsa should enter the ruins and dispel [Amber].
• Vanessa held Elsa’s hand and said they should prepare to go, telling Elsa, “This is my will,” and adding that the Lord agreed too.

Elliot arrived at the Imperial Palace and confronted the nobles as Elsa and Vanessa emerged from Dorothea’s mirror. Vanessa disguised herself as Lillian to intimidate the nobles, but Tobias saw through the disguise and rallied them to attack.

• Elsa accepted Vanessa’s resolve, and Dorothea opened a mirror through which they entered the palace gathering.
• Evan warned the nobles not to approach, but Elliot arrived and asserted his presence, causing them to retreat.
• Vanessa took on Lillian’s appearance and claimed to be the Lord’s Immortal, frightening the nobles who recognized the Hollow Cathedral figure.
• Vanessa faltered when asked to name her Lord, and Tobias realized she was disguised.
• Tobias drew his sabre and urged the nobles to stop retreating and attack the impostor, while Elsa worried about leaving Elliot behind.

Victoria recovered from Permanent Madness, strengthening Elliot’s position as the nobles considered attacking him. Phoenix and Lillian revealed they served an unknown Great Being, and Crawford arrived to invoke the Empire’s laws against the nobles, declaring Willa a rebel and striking with his sword.

• The [Amber] melted, and Victoria collapsed but appeared to have escaped Permanent Madness.
• As Tobias weighed whether to attack Elliot, Phoenix emerged through a rift and said that he and Lillian were both His Immortals.
• Tobias realized an unknown Great Being was shielding Elliot and hesitated to face the forces gathered around him.
• Crawford arrived and ruled that Elliot and his attendants were innocent under Xi’s special permit.
• When Willa fled after disputing the palace’s authority, Crawford declared him a rebel and slashed downward with his ceremonial sword.