Chapter Summaries

Yala and Annie led Atlantis into the war between the New and Old Continents, seeking territory, people, and a way to reduce the empire’s excess Legendaries. After heavy losses and a vast expansion of Atlantis’s territory, the empire stopped pushing into neighboring sea routes and began defending its gains as the other powers resumed peaceful coexistence with it.

• Annie forced Yala’s decree to send Atlantis into the war despite opposition from many of the empire’s Legendaries.
• In January, year 41 of the Calendar of the Gods, Yala and Annie led forces to seize the Boer Sea Route and then expanded into neighboring waters and islands.
• The New and Old Continents retaliated when Atlantis threatened their sea routes, and a massive three-way war broke out.
• Fighting in the New World and Old World waters killed more than twenty Atlantis Legendaries and over ten from the two continents combined.
• Atlantis expanded its territory nearly tenfold and gained over a hundred million people before abandoning further expansion and fortifying its gains.
• The New and Old Continents tacitly resumed peaceful coexistence with Atlantis after it stopped reaching for their sea routes.

After the war, Dunn learned that Yala had expanded Atlantis and judged his successor's campaign a success. In the Astral Plane, Dunn's thriving Divine Kingdom and its Petitioners inspired the deities to spread word of life after death, bringing a surge of new believers and faith to Dunn.

• Dunn sensed a massive surge of faith, checked on Atlantis, and approved of Yala's restrained expansion of the empire.
• Dunn tended to his Divine Kingdom, where tens of millions of Petitioners lived among abundant food and drink created with Devil Fruit abilities.
• Dunn's Petitioners outnumbered those of all the other deities combined, and at least a third of them were Fanatics, though none had become Saints.
• After learning how Petitioners came to exist, the deities secretly spread the news to the Material Plane and showed people images of Dunn's Divine Kingdom.
• Hope of a comfortable afterlife drew believers across the world, and Dunn gained a vast amount of faith that nearly matched the Atlantis Empire's current total.

The Gods exploited the war between the New and Old Continents to increase casualties and gather faith, but Banboer’s seizure of a Divine Kingdom shattered their alliance. After revealing divine portfolios as the path to greater strength, he sparked decades of advancement, while Dunn gained the portfolio of death and remained hidden.

• The Gods secretly intensified the war between the New and Old Continents, driving annual deaths into the hundreds of millions.
• Banboer killed the weak power whose Divine Kingdom had sheltered him, seized the kingdom, and revealed that he had advanced to intermediate power.
• Banboer explained that his war divine portfolio had fueled his rapid advancement and granted him new divine spells, quelling the Gods’ anger but leaving their alliance mistrustful.
• Over the following decades, the Gods developed divine portfolios and the number of intermediate powers rose to ten.
• Dunn acquired the divine portfolio of death, realized that some portfolios could enable advancement to greater power, and hid his Divine Kingdom while he watched events unfold.

As the war between the New and Old Continents fueled the Gods’ growing power and rivalry, Dunn hid in the Astral Plane Depths to avoid both the Gods and the Heaven’s Mandate figures. A gathering of divine projections began discussing how to handle wandering Deities after their attacks threatened the Gods’ divine kingdoms.

• Dunn recognized that the Gods’ strength had grown with their believers and that the war was being prolonged by divine interests.
• After learning that the Heaven’s Mandate figures had allowed events to unfold, Dunn left the region where the Gods resided and slipped into the Astral Plane Depths.
• A failed attempt by wandering Deities to seize divine kingdoms halted the Gods’ infighting temporarily and prompted a meeting of divine projections.
• The Gods argued over the threat posed by wandering Deities, while one blamed Banboer for starting the conflict.
• A God of Slaughter proposed winning over some wandering Deities and killing the rest as a warning.

The Gods debated how to handle wandering deities, and Banboer and the God of Intrigue secured agreement on a plan to sort potential enemies from those willing to join Divine Kingdoms under River Styx Contracts. Dunn recognized that the proposal was also a move by the two Gods to build a pantheon and recruit allies.

• The God of Intrigue proposed contacting wandering deities privately and using their responses to identify those who would oppose the Gods’ decision.
• Banboer proposed that wandering deities join the Divine Kingdoms of intermediate-power deities and sign River Styx Contracts, while weaker deities avoided taking them in.
• The Gods largely accepted Banboer’s proposal, and the God of Intrigue ended the gathering by urging them to contact wandering deities they knew.
• Dunn watched without objecting and considered the Gods’ limited influence on the material plane and their difficulties creating Legendary Priests.
• Dunn concluded that Banboer and the God of Intrigue were using the decision to coerce less ambitious wandering deities into joining a nascent pantheon.

Dunn avoided the coming war among the Gods and hid in his Divine Kingdom, where Gunara, the Darkness God, arrived seeking refuge. After learning she could locate his concealed domain through her darkness divine office, Dunn decided to take her in and coveted the office’s powers.

• Dunn recognized that the Gods’ growing pantheons would strengthen them, while the wandering Deities learned of the plan and began choosing sides as war approached.
• Dunn stayed out of the conflict and watched over his hidden Divine Kingdom, where he had spent decades shaping an enormous bat-like divine body.
• Gunara appeared outside Dunn’s Divine Kingdom, greeted him respectfully, and said she had come to seek refuge under him.
• Gunara explained that her darkness divine office let her see through concealment, and Dunn decided he would take her in and obtain the office if he could.

Dunn accepted Gunara, who had acquired the Darkness Divine Office, into his pantheon under a three-thousand-year River Styx Contract and gave her a place in his divine kingdom. As wandering deities attacked and captured several divine kingdoms, the Astral Plane’s first divine war began.

• Gunara explained why she had sought Dunn and offered a contract with favorable terms in exchange for protection and a small territory in his divine kingdom.
• After Dunn questioned Gunara about her motives, she revealed that she hoped to become his divine queen, and Dunn signed the contract.
• Dunn gave Gunara territory for her followers and a residence beside the Devil Fruit Tree, and they used their powers to conceal his divine kingdom more thoroughly.
• Nearly half the wandering deities settled elsewhere, prompting the remaining wanderers, led by two intermediate-power deities, to launch surprise attacks on several lesser-power divine kingdoms.
• The wandering deities captured all but one of the targeted divine kingdoms, and divine kingdoms gathered near intermediate powers as the first war of the divine realm began.

Dunn and Gunara watched the gods’ prolonged war and Dunn explained how the God of War was manipulating both sides to gain power from divine conflict. The chapter ended with Banboer announcing his ascension to greater power as the War Overlord.

• The gods with divine kingdoms gathered around intermediate deities while the wandering deities used captured kingdoms as bases, and their war dragged on for years.
• Gunara asked Dunn why the gods had failed to defeat the wandering deities, and Dunn explained that the gods fought cautiously with avatars while the wandering deities risked their true bodies.
• Dunn revealed that the God of War and his allies had prolonged the fighting to control its scale and harvest power from the war divine portfolio.
• Dunn told Gunara that those who held Heaven’s Mandate could intervene in the Astral Plane, but had allowed the conflict to continue.
• Banboer declared that he had ascended to greater power as the War Overlord.

Banboer ascended to greater power, led the gods in destroying the wandering deities, and left the Main Plane’s Destiny Legendaries waiting for a response. Months later, Dunn answered an urgent prayer from Evelyn and discovered that Monet’s career card identified her as a Child of the Ancient God.

• Banboer’s divine power shook the world, while the Elf Empress, Bahamut, Yi, the Wizard Speaker, and others watched from the Main Plane.
• The Wizard Speaker told Mystra that Banboer was not their concern, but he worried about the silent Death Overlord.
• Banboer led the gods in wiping out the wandering deities, and the Divine Realm fell quiet for several months.
• Evelyn urgently summoned Dunn, who sent a divine projection to the Death Cult’s central church in Atlantis’s Imperial Capital.
• Annie explained that something had happened to Monet, and Dunn examined her career card.
• Dunn found the unfamiliar designation “Child of the Ancient God” in Monet’s talent field.

Dunn investigated Monet’s new Child of the Ancient God designation and learned from the Eye of the Firmament that it marked her as a beacon for the return of beings beyond Heaven’s Mandate. The Eye warned Dunn to ascend to Greater Power soon and asked him to protect an Apotheosis Ritual he was preparing.

• Annie told Dunn that Monet’s Career Card had changed from Child of Mystery to Child of the Ancient God after Banboer’s announcement.
• Dunn summoned the Eye of the Firmament, who examined Monet and identified the designation as a mark for a return.
• The Eye theorized that Ancient Gods had once been driven from the Main Plane and left marks behind as beacons for their return.
• Dunn suggested Banboer’s ascension might have broken a restriction, and the Eye confirmed that an Ancient God or similar being was slumbering in the East Sea.
• The Eye urged Dunn to ascend to Greater Power and asked him to protect the Apotheosis Ritual he was preparing.

After Banboer resumed war and attacked deities across the Astral Plane, Dunn concluded that an overwhelming influx of faith had warped the War Overlord’s personality. Dunn examined himself and found faith had affected him only slightly, but he realized the other gods might soon change as well.

• Dunn urged Annie to complete her Apotheosis Ritual, then left while warning that the world would soon be thrown into turmoil.
• In year 103 of the Calendar of the Gods, Banboer resumed war after growing impatient with the lack of action from Heaven's Mandates in the Main Plane.
• Banboer attacked nearby Divine Kingdoms, killed three deities in one day, and declared war on all the gods.
• Banboer tore apart a deity in his own pantheon who tried to dissuade him and absorbed their Divine Kingdom.
• Gunara questioned Banboer's apparent madness, and Dunn suspected that his personality had changed after he ascended to greater power.
• Dunn reasoned that faith could reshape a deity's thoughts, examined himself, and found that the influence on him remained limited.

Dunn hid his Divine Kingdom and entered seclusion to find a way to resist the influence of faith before advancing to Greater Power, while the War Overlord’s expanding war engulfed the world. When Emperor Lane unexpectedly attained Deification as the Emperor of the Gods and threatened to control the gods, Dunn interrupted his research and intervened.

• Dunn instructed Gunara to conceal his Divine Kingdom and keep watch while he researched how to reduce the influence of mortal thoughts in the power of faith.
• The gods failed to stop the War Overlord’s forces, and his war spread across the Main Plane as he searched unsuccessfully for Dunn’s Divine Kingdom.
• Dunn told Atlantis to protect its citizens and observe events, while Yara Moore led the empire into battle beyond its borders to shield its homeland.
• Emperor Lane suddenly attained Deification as Lyon I, declaring himself the Emperor of the Gods and imposing an unseen restraint on the gods.
• Dunn recognized the threat posed by Lane’s potential Divine Portfolio, ended his seclusion, and left his hidden Divine Kingdom to mediate the divine war.

Dunn gathered the Astral Plane’s Gods and provoked the near-mad War Overlord into leading a campaign against Lyon I. As the Gods prepared to strike Lyon’s Empire, the Elf Empress and Wizard Speaker encircled it with a massive force, prompting the War Overlord to send a powerful clone into the battle.

• Dunn united the Astral Plane’s Gods and decided he needed to divert the War Overlord before they could act against Lyon I.
• Dunn entered the War Overlord’s Divine Kingdom and baited him by calling Lyon I the God Emperor.
• Dunn persuaded the War Overlord to lead a war against Lyon I, and the Gods prepared to send down clones to attack him before he could gain a divine portfolio.
• Half a month after Lyon I’s deification, the land around the Lyon Empire shattered into islands as the Elf Empress and Wizard Speaker led dozens of High Legendaries to encircle it.
• The War Overlord declared Lyon I his prey and sent a clone comparable to a Destiny Legendary onto the battlefield.

As Lyon I battled the Wizard Speaker and the Elf Empress, the Eye of the Firmament seized the distraction to become the Fate Overlord and ascend to the Astral Plane. Dunn discovered that the new god had spread his faith across nearly the entire world, apparently by intercepting other deities’ faith, and watched to see how they would react.

• The War Overlord descended and fought indiscriminately, giving Lyon I a reprieve against the Wizard Speaker and the Elf Empress.
• Sterling Carvel, revealed as the Eye of the Firmament, achieved Deification as the Fate Overlord and hurriedly raised his Divine Kingdom into the Astral Plane.
• The Wizard Speaker, furious at the Eye of the Firmament’s escape, intensified his attacks, and the Wizard Speaker and the Elf Empress killed Lyon I.
• Dunn investigated the Fate Overlord’s Lines of Faith and found them spread throughout the world, except across Atlantis, suggesting he had intercepted other gods’ faith.
• Dunn decided to watch for the other deities to discover the Fate Overlord’s scheme.

The Fate Overlord siphoned half the Gods’ faith and escaped into the Astral Plane Depths, provoking their fury and suspicion of Dunn. Dunn defied the Gods and later met the Fate Overlord in his true body, who revealed that the meeting was meant to show his trust in their alliance.

• As the Fate Overlord’s divine kingdom entered the Astral Plane, the Gods discovered he had stolen at least half of their faith.
• The Gods prepared to surround and kill the Fate Overlord, but he fled into the Astral Plane Depths while they hesitated.
• The Gods questioned Dunn about why Atlantis Empire’s faith had not been siphoned, and Dunn insulted them before flying away with Gunara.
• In Dunn’s divine kingdom, Dunn praised the Fate Overlord’s scheme, and the Fate Overlord explained that he had come in his true body to show sincerity to his ally.

Dunn told the Fate Overlord that faith was poisonous and that cleansing its toxins could take ten thousand years, leaving both Overlords trapped between madness and vulnerability. As they considered the approaching threats, eight powerful streaks of light entered the Main Plane, one destroying a deity's Divine Kingdom on the way.

• The Fate Overlord asked Dunn why he had not advanced to Greater Power and urged him to do so, citing their need for strength against Heaven's Mandate and the Ancient Gods.
• Dunn explained that he had withheld his discovery about poisonous faith because it could discourage the Fate Overlord from advancing, weakening their alliance.
• Dunn revealed that faith contained toxins that would need to be cleared before safely reaching Greater Power, and the Fate Overlord admitted he had felt dread just before attempting the advance.
• Dunn warned that cleansing the toxins could take at least ten thousand years, even though their enemies might attack within a hundred years.
• Several immense streaks of light swept through the Astral Plane toward the Main Plane, and one shattered a Weak Power's Divine Kingdom and killed its deity.
• Eight streaks of light entered the Main Plane.

The Natural Ancient God returned to the Main Plane and joined the Elf Empress and the Wizard Speaker to seal the War Overlord's avatar. In Dunn's Divine Kingdom, the Fate Overlord explained that the Ancient Gods had been weakened by thirty thousand years in the Astral Plane, while the War Overlord had grown stronger than others of his rank.

• The Natural Ancient God reunited with the Elf Empress, then restrained the War Overlord's avatar and learned why the Elf Empress and the Wizard Speaker could not defeat it.
• The Natural Ancient God, Elf Empress, and Wizard Speaker used the Natural Divine Domain to seal the War Overlord's avatar on an island.
• Dunn and the Fate Overlord watched the sealing and wondered why the Natural Ancient God seemed weaker than the War Overlord.
• The Fate Overlord explained that nine Ancient Gods had been expelled from the Main Plane thirty thousand years ago, and that one had died and formed the Storm Sea.
• The Fate Overlord told Dunn that the returning Ancient Gods were not at their peak, and that the War Overlord had grown too powerful for even other greater powers to match.

After the Eight Ancient Gods returned, the War Overlord’s sealed clone weakened him enough to restore a sliver of reason, and peace settled over the world. A new wave of deification followed, and Annie became the Weather and Travelers God, joining Dunn’s Pantheon.

• The return of the Eight Ancient Gods helped the Main Plane’s powers end the long war, while the War Overlord’s losses and fear of the Ancient Gods forced him into silence.
• The Ancient Gods stayed quiet as they focused on restoring their strength, and peace lasted for several years.
• Legendaries increasingly pursued deification as deaths mounted and the eight dormant Ancient Gods made the Main Plane feel unsafe.
• Annie achieved deification as the Weather and Travelers God and ascended to the Astral Plane with Dunn’s guidance.
• Annie established her Divine Kingdom near Dunn’s, while Green became the Legendary Priest of her Weather Church.

Aruoshi completed her apotheosis and became the God of the Elves, while the Natural Ancient God studied the ritual and the Elf Empress watched her title overshadow the throne. As Aruoshi prepared to ascend, the Elf Empress attacked her with Legendary spells and hurled her into the Underdark.

• The Natural Ancient God warned the Elf Empress that the Main Plane still rejected Ancient Gods and asked to study the new deification method.
• The Elf Empress arranged for Aruoshi, the Elf Race's only demigod, to undergo deification while she and the Natural Ancient God observed.
• In Year 124 of the Calendar of the Gods, Aruoshi declared herself the God of the Elves and ascended to weak power.
• Aruoshi remained in the mortal world for a year as the Natural Ancient God summoned her for research and the title Goddess of the Elves spread among the elves.
• The Elf Empress confronted Aruoshi near the entrance to the Underdark, then blasted her with Legendary spells and knocked her into it.

After the Elf Empress nearly killed her, Aruoshi chose to fall into the Abyss in hopes of surviving, but a spider demon swallowed her. The Abyss transformed her into Lolth, the Spider Demon Queen.

• The Elf Empress watched Aruoshi disappear into the Underdark while the Natural Ancient God embraced her.
• Aruoshi awoke near death in the Underdark and blamed the Elf Empress for destroying her divine body and soul.
• Remembering that Yeenoghu had grown stronger after falling into the Abyss, Aruoshi considered following his example.
• A spider demon emerged through a Spatial Rift and swallowed Aruoshi, who resolved to take revenge on the Elf Empress.
• The Abyssal Will empowered Aruoshi as she burst out of the spider demon, and she declared herself Lolth, the Spider Demon Queen.