Recaps

Klein and the Future sailed through dangerous waters, surviving a deadly floating island and the onset of a night that forced the crew to sleep. In a shared dream, Klein found Cattleya gazing at a vast city of palaces and towers, and she told him they all shared the dream.

• Heath Doyle reacted painfully to a corpse's panting in some ruins, and Cattleya ordered the Future to steer clear.
• Klein ate breakfast, then watched the Future approach a floating island held aloft by enormous diamond pillars.
• Cattleya warned everyone to lower their heads as a golden chariot charged from the island, and a nearby pirate vanished into ashes when he looked.
• When darkness abruptly fell, Cattleya ordered the crew to sleep or disappear; Klein returned to his room and quickly fell asleep.
• Klein became lucid in a shared dream and found Cattleya on a mountaintop, staring across a cliff at a vast city of palaces and towers.

Klein explored a shared dream connecting the creatures in the dangerous stretch of sea and entered a black monastery, where he encountered members of the Future and a stranded man named Anderson. The chapter ended when Klein recognized Ouroboros in a monastery mural.

• Klein learned from Cattleya that the creatures in the area shared a dream, while she refused to leave the cliff and explore with him.
• Klein entered the black monastery and found Frank Lee cultivating hybrid bacteria intended to make bulls produce milk.
• Klein overheard Nina explain to Ottolov why she preferred life as a pirate to settling down.
• Klein spotted Bloodless Heath Doyle hiding in a shadow, then entered a dark hall and found a young man making a canoe.
• The man identified himself as unlucky Anderson and blamed his misfortune on a mural depicting Ouroboros, whom Klein recognized as the Angel of Fate.

Klein connected Anderson’s misfortune and the temple mural to Ouroboros’s pilgrimage toward the Forsaken Land of the Gods, then awoke from the dangerous dream. After confirming he could sleep during the day and warning Cattleya about Heath Doyle, he returned to the dream world and received a warning not to explore the nighttime dream because it contained dreams left by deities.

• Klein compared the mural with the one found by Little Sun and guessed that Ouroboros had led believers through the waters and into the Forsaken Land of the Gods, possibly toward the True Creator’s sanctuary.
• Klein questioned Anderson about the dark hall, and Anderson said explorers had vanished there or returned as monsters; Anderson then revealed he had explored farther into the dream before the scene vanished.
• Klein awoke at noon and asked Cattleya whether he could sleep during the day, then warned her about Heath Doyle; Cattleya said Heath’s Sealed Artifact limited what sounds he could hear.
• Klein fell asleep again, entered the dream world, and found a message warning him not to explore the dream after nightfall because it contained dreams left behind by deities.

Klein followed Will Auceptin’s warnings and avoided exploring the island or challenging the storm, but he encountered Anderson in the waking world. Cattleya recognized Anderson as the Strongest Hunter and stopped Klein from attacking him so they could hear his explanation.

• Klein read Will Auceptin’s advice, then left the dream and joined Frank Lee for lunch aboard the Future.
• Frank explained that his experiment let any creature produce milk, and Klein silently recoiled at the idea.
• Cattleya ordered the Future to shelter by an island until a dangerous noon storm passed, then allowed the pirates to walk on the beach within cannon range.
• Klein stayed on the beach and spotted Anderson rushing toward him, so he attacked with a Storm charm.
• Anderson surrendered and said he had only been joking in the dream and had wanted Klein to help him leave; Cattleya recognized him as the Strongest Hunter and asked him to explain what happened.

Anderson Hood recounted how a treasure-hunting expedition at a submerged temple brought misfortune and disaster upon his companions, then offered to guide Cattleya and Klein through the dangerous waters. Cattleya agreed to take him aboard the Future, but the island suddenly shook as a possible monster approached.

• Anderson told Cattleya and Klein that a silver-haired angel appeared to open its eyes in a temple mural, and Klein identified the figure as Ouroboros, the Tail Devourer.
• Anderson explained that his expedition split after some explorers entered the temple and vanished, while others gained control of themselves in the dream world and later transformed into monsters.
• Anderson described how his companions died after their ship sank, leaving him stranded on the island, and asked to travel aboard the Future.
• Anderson offered to help them avoid dangers, ruins, and mermaids' singing; Klein tested him with a gold-coin divination, and Cattleya agreed to take him aboard in exchange for half his belongings once they left the waters.
• Anderson warned that he might attract monsters, and the island suddenly shook as dust billowed from the primeval forest.

The Future’s crew fought a Stone Giant, and Klein learned more about the strange waters and their possible connection to the ancient gods’ war. That night, Klein awoke in a prison cell in the dream world and stayed inside despite hearing approaching footsteps.

• Cattleya tested the Stone Giant with cannon fire and freezing magic before Anderson used its weakness to destroy it.
• Anderson found no loot in the vanishing rubble, then introduced himself to Gehrman Sparrow and warned him about his bad luck.
• The Future continued through the waters, with Anderson helping it avoid hidden whirlpools and floating palace ruins.
• Klein woke in a dark prison cell, used a match and Holy Light to inspect it, and decided to wait inside rather than explore.
• Klein heard slow, distant footsteps drawing closer through the darkness outside his cell.

Klein fled a black-armored knight through a prison and met Leomaster, an ascetic who worshipped the original Creator and feared the Saint of Darkness. After Klein destroyed a mirror-born copy of himself, he learned Leomaster belonged to the Aurora Order, and the approaching knight was Leomaster’s exact double.

• Klein divined that the black-armored knight was extremely dangerous and escaped his cell through a locked set of iron doors.
• Klein found Leomaster hiding in a storeroom, and Leomaster explained that the Saint of Darkness had captured his pilgrims.
• Leomaster revealed that he worshipped the original Creator and belonged to the Aurora Order.
• A sinister copy of Gehrman Sparrow crawled out of the mirror, and Klein destroyed it with lightning from the Sea God Scepter.
• The Saint of Darkness approached the storeroom, and Klein saw that the knight’s face matched Leomaster’s exactly.

Klein woke from a dream battle with the Saint of Darkness, then returned to the dream and found himself in a library inside the black monastery, where he studied a book of charms. After reasoning that Leomaster might be the good half of the Saint of Darkness, Klein learned that Anderson had heard unseen footsteps in the dream, leaving the dream world's mysteries unresolved.

• Klein woke after his clash with the Saint of Darkness destabilized the dream, then quickly fell asleep again to avoid disappearing into the night.
• Klein entered a library in the black monastery, found a book of charms containing unfamiliar knowledge, and began studying it before waking at sunrise.
• Klein concluded that Leomaster might be the good half of the Saint of Darkness, split from his evil self by the monastery's ruins or an item.
• Anderson asked Klein why they had appeared in different places in the dream, then reported hearing a door open and footsteps in a hall without seeing anyone.

Klein prepared for danger after Anderson joined the Future, but Frank Lee’s experimental organisms mutated and transformed the ship into a milk-spewing forest of vines. Cattleya blamed lingering traces of the Earth Mother’s aura, and the chapter ended as a gigantic hand rose from the sea and struck the Future.

• Klein questioned Anderson about the person who opened a door in the dream world, then prepared emergency items in his room because Anderson’s bad luck could bring danger to the ship.
• Frank Lee discovered that his experimental organisms had rapidly multiplied, mutated, and burrowed into the Future, causing milk to erupt from the deck and gun muzzles.
• Nina kicked Frank and ordered him to stop the creatures, while Klein used a Levitation Charm to rise above the deck as Frank tried to contain them with vines.
• The vines mutated as well, and Cattleya warned Frank to stop, explaining that traces of the Earth Mother’s aura might linger nearby before burning away the vines with colorless flames.
• A pirate broke open a watermelon that had grown from his head and died after revealing a strange brain-like interior; then a gigantic hand rose from beneath the sea and struck the Future.

Klein and the Future were attacked by a monstrous mass of corpses in waters where the Earth Mother's influence caused mutations. After the crew fought back and Klein stole the monster’s Poisonous Mist, Admiral of Hell Ludwell’s flagship appeared, leaving the danger unresolved.

• A corpse monster climbed aboard the Future, spreading poisonous gas and causing the sailors’ hair to grow uncontrollably as Cattleya protected the ship with starlight.
• The monster trapped the Future and blocked the wind, while Cattleya imprisoned it in a Starlight Cage and Anderson cut it into pieces with blazing flames.
• The severed flesh attacked again, and Heath Doyle swallowed a piece that threatened Cattleya.
• Klein used the Kindling glove to steal the monster’s Poisonous Mist, losing his Damage Transfer power in exchange and weakening the monster’s poisonous influence.
• Cattleya pinned on a golden brooch as a black ship bearing a blooming black tulip sailed toward the Future; it was Admiral of Hell Ludwell’s flagship, the Black Tulip.

Klein and the Future faced an attack from Admiral of Hell Ludwell as Cattleya’s crew fought off a monster’s flesh. Klein flew aboard the Black Tulip and used Azik’s Copper Whistle to draw away Ludwell’s undead forces, leaving the two men face-to-face.

• Klein spotted the Black Tulip approaching, and Anderson recognized Ludwell as a dangerous threat with a 55,000-pound bounty.
• Cattleya sent sun Wraiths to destroy the monster’s flesh while Heath protected Frank, Nina, and the other sailors.
• Ludwell’s Black Tulip fired at the Future, and Anderson intercepted its cannonballs with fire ravens before Ludwell sent undead creatures toward the ship.
• Klein used a Storm charm to fly toward the Black Tulip, then threw Azik’s Copper Whistle onto its aft deck.
• The Black Tulip’s undead crew and Spirit World creatures abandoned Ludwell and rushed toward the whistle, leaving Klein alone with him on the foredeck.

Klein fought Admiral of Hell Ludwell aboard the Black Tulip, using Distortion and Holy Light against Ludwell’s deadly powers while hoping Anderson would join him. After Ludwell’s ring turned Klein’s Spirit Piercing against him and the language of death began pulling his spirit from his body, Klein stole a power that stopped Ludwell from speaking, though he had not obtained the power that created the bronze doors.

• Anderson Hood noticed the charm at his feet and realized Gehrman Sparrow had left it for him to use.
• Klein attacked Ludwell with Poisonous Mist, then distorted the bronze doors’ suction to drag the Black Tulip’s undead into the crack instead of himself.
• Ludwell’s Wraith-like hand turned Klein into a paper figurine, but Klein reappeared and struck the doors with Holy Light, weakening them.
• Klein’s Spirit Piercing was reflected by Ludwell’s ring, leaving him in pain as Ludwell used the language of death to pull his spirit from his body.
• Klein stole a pale, sinister-green power with the Kindling glove, preventing Ludwell from continuing to speak the language of death.

Klein and Anderson fought Admiral of Hell Ludwell aboard the Black Tulip as Ludwell opened a giant bronze door to escape into another world. Klein recovered the Azik Copper Whistle but lost his Merfolk Cufflink, then returned to the Future, where the Faceless potion finished digesting.

• Klein used Words of the Dead against Ludwell, but Ludwell's ring restored his spirit and he attacked with a rapier.
• Klein escaped the rapier with a paper figurine and unleashed Sea God charms, while Anderson arrived and struck the bronze door with a blazing spear.
• Ludwell removed his mask and used deathly stillness to enlarge the bronze door, which swallowed the Black Tulip as Klein and Anderson escaped its darkness.
• Klein teleported onto the Black Tulip's aft deck, grabbed the Azik Copper Whistle, and escaped the undead creatures, but fell into the sea and discovered his Merfolk Cufflink was gone.
• Cattleya sent a bridge of starlight from the Future, and Klein and Anderson returned aboard as Frank Lee and the pirates praised Klein.
• Klein felt the Faceless potion finish digesting.

After the Future escapes the corrupted sea, Klein searches for his lost Merfolk Cufflink and prepares to continue looking for mermaids. When he returns to the library in his dream, he notices Roselle’s Notes 3 but avoids it, then hears someone approaching.

• Heath Doyle vomited corrupted flesh, and Cattleya purified it with a Sun Wraith.
• Klein divined that his Merfolk Cufflink was embedded in a Living Corpse aboard the Black Tulip and decided to delay contacting Azik until the Future left the dangerous sea.
• Klein prepared protections against divination and went to the deck to search for signs of mermaids.
• Nina led a funeral for Riveir, and Anderson later told Klein that mermaids might be found beyond nearby ruins.
• After night fell, Klein returned to the library in his dream, avoided Roselle’s Notes 3, and heard footsteps approaching.

Klein met the Mystery Queen in a dreamlike library, where she revealed how much she knew about his identities and recent actions. She asked him to decipher Emperor Roselle’s script and left him with a clue about his destiny before the library vanished.

• Klein recognized the Mystery Queen as the demigod he had encountered at the Kingdom Museum and on the forest path, but she identified him as the chivalrous thief Black Emperor.
• The Mystery Queen linked Nast Solomon’s Black Emperor appearing in the Rorsted Archipelago to the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and confirmed Klein’s identity through his response.
• Klein asked whether she had secretly boarded the Future and appeared in the Saint of Darkness’s dream, and she confirmed both while revealing that he had taken Kavithua’s relic.
• The Mystery Queen revealed that many people called her that and asked Klein to share his method for deciphering Emperor Roselle’s script in exchange for fulfilling most of his requests.
• After Klein asked for High-Sequence potion formulas, the Mystery Queen told him his destiny lay on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountain Range and departed, causing the library to collapse.
• Klein returned to the mural hall, where Anderson asked where he had come in from.

In a dream, Klein analyzed how much the Mystery Queen knew about his identities and questioned Cattleya about her conspicuous actions, learning she had meant to make him a clue if she developed problems. He woke aboard the Future and heard mermaids singing in the distance.

• Klein gave Anderson the Mystery Queen’s prophecy that the deadliest dangers hid in ordinary life, and Anderson connected it to the Future’s tainted liquor.
• Klein reasoned that the Mystery Queen had linked Gehrman Sparrow to the chivalrous thief Black Emperor but had not uncovered his deeper identities or secrets.
• Klein asked Cattleya whether she had revealed the bridge of stars to draw attention to him, and she admitted she had wanted someone to notice if she showed serious problems or abnormalities.
• Cattleya said she had been banished, but Klein woke before he could ask more.
• Klein went onto the deck to watch for mermaids, then heard their distant singing nearly an hour later.

Klein reached the mermaids and used their song to complete the ritual for advancing to Sequence 5, Marionettist. He left the chapter having successfully advanced and regained control of his body.

• Klein extracted the True Creator's corruption from the Eye of All-Black with the Kindling glove and used the purified characteristic to prepare the Marionettist potion.
• Klein left the Future in a small boat and approached the mermaids, whose song nearly lured him into the sea.
• The mermaids fled when they saw Klein, so he used a Sea God charm to make them feel friendly and continued toward those still singing.
• Klein drank the Marionettist potion and endured its stiffness, intrusive worms, and intermittent murmurs while the mermaids' singing helped him recover.
• Klein calmed himself with Cogitation as his body changed, then returned to normal and completed his advancement to Marionettist.

After advancing to Sequence 5, Klein examined his Marionettist powers and returned to the Future, where Cattleya set sail for home. He then explored the space above the gray fog and saw something near its suspended mass.

• Klein learned how his Spirit Body Thread powers worked, including their limits on control, range, and the number of marionettes he could command.
• Klein thanked the mermaids for helping him withstand the potion’s corruption, then returned to the Future and was startled by their sharp teeth.
• Anderson Hood teased Klein about seeking mermaids for a ritual, and Cattleya congratulated him on his advancement and asked about his dream.
• Cattleya ordered the Future to set sail for home after Klein entered his room.
• Klein sent Creeping Hunger above the gray fog, stored the ruined Kindling glove in the junk pile, and climbed the luminous stairway, which now had five steps.
• At the top of the stairway, Klein looked toward the gray fog and vaguely saw something.

Klein reflected on reaching Sequence 5 and planned to rest before pursuing his next advancement, while Derrick’s exploration team entered Afternoon Town and encountered signs of its ancient past. The chapter left Derrick alone in a basement after he discovered three names carved on an altar and realized Heim and Joshua had vanished.

• Klein considered his progress toward revenge, planned to digest the Marionettist potion and seek a Sequence 4 formula later, and decided to relax for a few days.
• Colin Iliad led the City of Silver exploration team into Afternoon Town and warned them that strange monsters lurked in its darkness.
• The team destroyed a transparent-faced monster embedded in a stone house, and Colin ordered the explorers to split into smaller groups.
• Derrick, Joshua, and Heim searched an alley and entered a basement where Derrick found signs of ancient sacrificial rituals.
• Derrick deciphered the names Ouroboros, Medici, and Sasrir on an altar, then turned to find Joshua and Heim missing.

Derrick vanished from the altar in Afternoon Town and found himself in a version of the city where its residents seemed to still be living. He prayed to The Fool, and Klein pulled him above the gray fog just as Colin Iliad and the others found him again.

• Derrick found the altar’s inscriptions clearer and read the names Ouroboros, Medici, and Sasrir alongside the phrase “Rose Redemption.”
• Derrick saw candlelit buildings and residents in Afternoon Town, while Heim and Joshua discovered that he had disappeared from the altar.
• Heim and Joshua lit a candle to protect Derrick, then summoned Colin Iliad and told him what had happened.
• Derrick realized the strange situation had affected him and prayed to The Fool for help.
• Klein saw darkness and watching eyes around Derrick, struggled to pull him above the gray fog, then successfully brought him into the space.
• Colin Iliad entered the basement with Heim and Joshua as Derrick’s figure reappeared in the candlelight.

Derrick returned from the strange Afternoon Town and explained what he had found to Colin, while Klein pondered the dangers of the darkness and entered a changed dream. There, the Mystery Queen warned Klein that his confidence in his protective items could endanger him and revealed that the ravings in the waters came from the True Creator.

• Derrick told Mr. Fool about the altar and the names of the Angels before returning to his body.
• Derrick described his disappearance and discovery of the complete altar inscription to Colin, who confirmed that the altar's power had ended its mission.
• As the group left the basement, Derrick's companions kept their distance, and candle flames appeared throughout the darkening Afternoon Town.
• Klein considered the similarities between the darkness in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and his current surroundings, then entered a dream in a new location.
• The Mystery Queen warned Klein that he trusted his copper whistle and paper crane too much and said Cattleya's Sealed Artifact could not always protect the ship's crew from the ravings of the True Creator.

Klein explored the black monastery with the Mystery Queen, learning that the waters held remnants of divine dreams and secrets tied to the Forsaken Land of the Gods. He identified the queen as Bernadette before the dream ended, while Derrick and the others found Afternoon Town had come alive in the real world.

• The Mystery Queen told Klein that the waters' ravings came from the True Creator and that a projection of the Giant King's Court stood across from the monastery.
• Klein realized the Mystery Queen was likely Bernadette Gustav, and she said rumors placed the route to the Forsaken Land of the Gods inside the projection.
• The Mystery Queen explained that the monastery's doors led to different dreams, including one belonging to an Undying who sought traces of the former Death.
• The Mystery Queen opened a door to a sea filled with golden sunlight, then shut it when the building began shaking under the power within.
• Klein asked about activating the Black Emperor card and called the Mystery Queen Bernadette; she said the dream was ending and departed.
• In Afternoon Town, candles lit in the houses, and Colin declared that they were in the real world because the altar's power had leaked out.

Derrick and Colin’s team encountered monsters that copied their shadows in Afternoon Town and discovered that bright light destroyed them. They found a surviving cleric praying about the town’s coming calamity, while Klein woke aboard the ship and heard Frank had caught something strange.

• Colin sent a signal for the scattered exploration teams and led Derrick, Joshua, and Heim toward the nearest group.
• A shadow resembling Heim attacked Derrick, and Colin identified the attackers as their own shadows and destroyed them with bright light.
• The group reached a collapsed church, where a cleric prayed about Sasrir, secret rituals, and a great calamity; two exploration-team members then died when the dawn light exposed their shadows.
• Klein woke from a dream and went to the pirates’ dining hall, where Frank told him he had caught something strange while fishing.

Klein learned that a Rose Bishop’s fingers had carried a plea for help, while Colin’s questions in Afternoon Town revealed three Angel Kings before the informant destroyed himself. In the dream world, Cattleya admitted that the woman aboard the Future had been a mother figure to her.

• Heath Doyle identified the fingers in Frank Lee’s fish as belonging to a Rose Bishop, and the flesh and blood spelled “Help!”
• Klein connected the plea to Leomaster’s kind personality and warned Frank Lee to leave the matter alone.
• Frank Lee asked Heath Doyle to remove the mental imprint from the flesh and blood so he could use it in experiments.
• Colin extinguished the church candles, defeated the clergyman, and learned that the kings included Sasrir, Ouroboros, and Medici before transparent flames consumed the clergyman.
• Monsters attacked the church, and Colin, Derrick, Heim, and Joshua prepared to fight them.
• In the dream world, Cattleya told Klein that the woman aboard the Future had raised her and was her captain, teacher, and mother figure.

Klein watched the Saint of Darkness’s two personalities flee through the black monastery and learned that Bernadette had arranged the encounter to reveal a possible route into the Forsaken Land of the Gods. The chapter ended with Klein separating the personalities with pea vines while Derrick’s exploration team survived another battle in Afternoon Town and prepared to camp.

• Klein spoke with Frank and Anderson in the black monastery before Leomaster’s kind-hearted personality and black-armored main personality raced through the mural hall.
• Klein and Anderson initially hid from the pursuing Saint of Darkness, but Klein followed the pair when they left the monastery.
• Klein watched the kind-hearted Leomaster pray to the Creator before the Giant King’s Court projection, but the attempt to open a passage failed.
• Klein saw Bernadette observing from a window and deduced that she had guided Leomaster there to reveal how the Giant King’s Court might connect to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Klein used pea vines to separate Leomaster’s two personalities as Cattleya stood up from the boulder.
• Derrick and the exploration team defeated the monsters in Afternoon Town, losing six members, and Colin Iliad ordered them to rest and establish camp.