Recaps

Klein covertly pursued Qonas Kilgor and used the Sea God Scepter to observe the dangerous area the demigod had marked out. Elsewhere, Trissy escaped Katarina Pelle’s attack through an illusory mirror, while Xio and Fors received a mysterious message announcing their opportunity.

• Klein followed Qonas Kilgor upstream using marionettes, then retreated when the demigod began surveying his surroundings.
• Klein used divination and the Sea God Scepter to confirm that Qonas Kilgor had created a perilous area where pursuers could be exposed.
• Trissy projected herself through an illusory mirror to escape Katarina Pelle’s petrifying attack, while Katarina’s figure appeared inside the mirror’s ruined room.
• Viscount Stratford questioned Shermane about Trissy’s plan, and Shermane asked how much of his promises had been true.
• Xio and Fors watched the warehouse from hiding and saw black flames form the message, “The opportunity you desire has arrived.”

Xio and Fors entered the warehouse to look for a chance to save Shermane, whom Viscount Stratford was purifying with a Radiant Cross. Fors struck Stratford with a tornado, disarming him and giving Xio an opening to attack.

• Xio and Fors decided to split up and draw the official Beyonders to the docks, but Xio turned back toward the warehouse, and Fors followed her.
• Fors and Xio agreed to observe first and retreat if they had no chance to help Shermane, then entered the warehouse through a Door Opening.
• They saw Viscount Stratford use a bloodied, verdigris-covered cross to reveal a Radiant Cross that erased the dark and sinister forces surrounding Shermane.
• Fors used Lemano's Travel Notes to unleash a tornado that hurled Stratford into the roof and knocked the Radiant Cross from his hand.
• As the Radiant Cross's light vanished, Xio rushed from hiding and prepared to use Spirit Piercing on Stratford.

Xio and Fors defeated Viscount Stratford, but Shermane lost control and asked Xio to kill her. After they escaped with Stratford and the bronze-green cross, they questioned him and learned Shermane had wanted to find out whom he truly served.

• Fors bound Viscount Stratford with Abyss Shackles, and Xio stabbed him with the Blade of Coldness and knocked him unconscious.
• Xio found Shermane losing control and, at Shermane’s request, shot and killed her.
• Fors discovered she could not touch the bronze-green cross, so Xio picked it up while Fors prayed to Mr. Fool for help.
• Fors used the Angel’s protection and a copied Travel power to take herself, Xio, Stratford, and Shermane’s corpse to the outskirts of St. George Borough.
• Xio used Lemano's Travel Notes to question Stratford, who said Shermane had investigated whom he was truly loyal to and that he served His Majesty the King.

Xio learned that her father, Mason Diel, had discovered a secret of the king and was executed after trying to inform the Churches, but Viscount Stratford died before revealing what the secret was. Fors teleported herself, Xio, and Shermane’s corpse to safety, while Klein concluded that George III was likely behind the Great Smog of Backlund.

• Xio questioned Viscount Stratford about Mason Diel, and he identified him as the former captain of the royal guards.
• Fors picked up the bronze-green cross, reflected on her growing strength as a Scribe, and listened as Xio asked how Mason Diel had died.
• Stratford revealed that Mason had discovered the king’s secret, tried to inform the three Churches, and was executed.
• Before Stratford could disclose the secret, he disintegrated in a burst of blood-colored fireworks.
• Fors teleported herself, Xio, and Shermane’s corpse to Bridge South Borough.
• Klein observed the encounter and suspected that George III was the true culprit behind the Great Smog of Backlund.

After tracing Qonas Kilgor to a secret teleportation point, Klein concluded that the king’s plans were likely hidden in underground ruins and asked the Evernight Church for help. Arianna arranged for Klein to ambush Qonas at Megro Manor, and Klein began preparing by asking Arrodes about Qonas’s abilities and Sealed Artifact.

• Klein watched Qonas use an object to teleport from a concealed location and inferred that the king’s secret was likely hidden in underground ruins.
• Klein decided to report Viscount Stratford’s confession and Qonas’s movements to the Church of Evernight, hoping to earn merit toward the Scholar of Yore potion formula.
• Arianna arrived and proposed that Klein capture Qonas when he returned, while she created a concealed world and provided assistance.
• Klein agreed to ambush Qonas inside Megro Manor, where Qonas would likely be relaxed after completing his secret mission.
• Klein changed into Gehrman Sparrow’s clothes and summoned Arrodes, which identified Qonas as an Earl of the Fallen who wielded the Sealed Artifact Concerto of Light and Shadow.

Klein learned the powers and dangers of Qonas Kilgor’s Sealed Artifact, Concerto of Light and Shadow, and planned to counter its random mutations by having Arianna inflict Misfortune on Qonas. As Qonas returned to his room at Megro Manor, a concealed world surrounded him and Gehrman Sparrow emerged from the crimson moon to attack.

• Arrodes explained Concerto of Light and Shadow’s abilities and Qonas Kilgor’s powers as an Earl of the Fallen, including the artifact’s random mutations in combat.
• Klein asked how to avoid the mutations, and Arrodes advised making Qonas unlucky; Klein considered using Enuni and Arianna’s help.
• Klein asked Arianna whether she could inflict Misfortune on Qonas before the battle, and she agreed.
• Qonas returned to his room at Megro Manor and began pouring wine, but his Spirit Intuition warned him as the surroundings turned into a strange world of black shadows and crimson light.
• Qonas drew Riveir’s Desperate Scream and Concerto of Light and Shadow as Gehrman Sparrow emerged from the crimson moon and rushed toward him.

Qonas Kilgor fought Gehrman Sparrow inside a concealed version of Megro Manor, using the Concerto of Light and Shadow to prohibit Teleportation and substitutes. After identifying the crimson moon as the likely exit, Qonas tried to escape, but Gehrman’s many forms appeared around the manor, revealing him as a Bizarro Sorcerer.

• Qonas Kilgor avoided immediately using a Prohibition, then fired at Gehrman Sparrow as Gehrman dodged and countered with a shot distorted off course.
• Qonas prohibited Teleportation, forcing Gehrman to merge into the shadows while Qonas searched the silent manor and realized escape was more important than defeating him.
• Qonas exploited the rules to leap into the air and used Disorder to reveal the crimson moon as the concealed world's exit.
• Gehrman pursued Qonas and fired a storm of bullets, but Qonas evaded it, dragged him close, and blasted him into scraps of paper.
• Qonas prohibited the use of substitutes, but multiple Gehrman Sparrows appeared around the manor, leading Qonas to recognize a Bizarro Sorcerer.

Gehrman Sparrow and Qonas Kilgor fought amid the Concerto of Light and Shadow’s random mutations, which repeatedly altered their attacks. Klein’s Deceit Bullet finally let Winner Enuni approach unnoticed and begin manipulating Qonas Kilgor’s Spirit Body Threads.

• Qonas Kilgor tried to use Distortion to limit which Marionettes Gehrman Sparrow could switch with, but the Concerto of Light and Shadow mutated the effect into summoning a flower.
• Klein, disguised as Winner Enuni, fired a Deprivation Bullet and a concealed Deceit Bullet while Gehrman Sparrow’s Marionettes attacked; another mutation turned the shots into fireworks.
• Qonas Kilgor’s Distortion took effect, restricting Gehrman Sparrow’s switching to two Marionettes, and Qonas Kilgor destroyed both with the flower.
• Qonas Kilgor prepared to attack Gehrman Sparrow, but his thoughts grew sluggish as Marionettization began.
• Qonas Kilgor realized that Winner Enuni had deceived him, entered Spirit Body Thread manipulation range, and established initial control over him.

Qonas Kilgor struggled to escape Gehrman Sparrow’s control over his Spirit Body Threads, using Riveir’s Desperate Scream and the Earl of the Fallen’s powers to fight back. After Qonas was wounded and briefly regained control, Klein used a Parasitize Bullet to take control of him again, leaving Qonas immobilized beneath the red moon.

• Qonas Kilgor amplified the effects of Riveir’s Desperate Scream, but the Concerto of Light and Shadow caused the screams to vanish.
• Qonas used Disorder to counter Gehrman Sparrow’s wind and fired Riveir’s Desperate Scream, but the wounded Gehrman Sparrow survived through the Flower of Blood ring and released luck.
• Qonas dropped the Concerto of Light and Shadow, then amplified the winds around Gehrman Sparrow into a tornado to try to widen their distance.
• The tornado caught Qonas as well, but he terminated his flight, fell away from Gehrman Sparrow, and used Distortion to block the pursuit.
• The Gehrman Sparrows below shot Qonas, breaking his Marionettization; he disordered the later shots and distorted his wounds, but landed gravely injured and was controlled again.
• Klein revealed himself on Megro Manor’s balcony and used a Parasitize Bullet made from a Worm of Time to seize control of Qonas Kilgor.

Klein captured Qonas Kilgor and, with Arianna, learned that the demigod had been transporting people and materials to underground ruins once owned by Blood Emperor Alista Tudor. Arianna planned to coordinate an assault on the ruins while Klein kept Qonas under control and concealed that anything was wrong.

• Klein completed Qonas Kilgor’s marionettization beneath the red moon, but Arianna appeared and separated Qonas’s soul from his body to question him.
• Qonas revealed that Number 1 Ruins lay deep beneath the Sterling section of the Tussock River and that he had delivered assorted materials there.
• Qonas said King George III had ordered his involvement and that Prince Grove and Duchess Georgina could also enter the ruins’ depths.
• Qonas identified representatives of the Demoness Sect and the Psychology Alchemists at the ruins, including Katarina and Herabergen Rambis, but could not say whether they had entered the depths.
• Arianna concluded that George III’s actions were suspicious and told Klein to keep Qonas under control while she sought help from the Churches of Storms and Steam to open the ruins that night.
• Arianna took the iron-sheet pocket watch, then ended the concealed world, leaving Klein and Qonas back in the manor with appearances unchanged.

Arianna and three Church archbishops investigated the royal family’s Blood Emperor ruins after uncovering Qonas Kilgor’s involvement in disappearances. They found Prince Grove and discovered the excavation was peaceful, while Klein made Qonas his servant and waited until dawn before studying his spoils.

• Anthony showed Leodero and Horamick Arianna’s account of her encounter with Qonas, revealing that Qonas was a demigod tied to a secret ruin.
• Arianna and the three archbishops entered the underground ruins, where Prince Grove met them and explained that the royal family had been excavating the site with help from the Demoness Sect.
• Grove denied responsibility for the Great Smog Incident and said the Demonesses had caused it after their plan involving Edessak was exposed.
• Arianna, Horamick, Leodero, and Anthony explored the ruins and found only orderly excavation work, rituals, and sealed areas.
• Klein turned Qonas Kilgor into a servant at his manor and waited until dawn instead of immediately sending his recovered items above the gray fog.

Klein concealed Qonas Kilgor’s disappearance while maintaining his bizarre performance at Megro Manor, and Xio and Fors planned to draw the woman watching Shermane toward the king’s secrets. After Arianna reported that the underground ruins held nothing special, Klein suspected that Adam had shown the Churches an illusion and that a high-ranking Church member had leaked their plans.

• Klein instructed Walter and Richardson to investigate Qonas Kilgor’s disappearance while telling the guests to continue their vacation; Enuni was revealed to have impersonated Qonas and was now following Klein.
• Xio confessed to Fors that she saw little hope of restoring her father’s reputation or taking revenge on the king, and Fors suggested using Shermane’s watcher to investigate George III.
• Fors and Xio agreed to plant a note claiming Viscount Stratford served George III, and Fors proposed sacrificing the greenish-bronze cross to Mr. Fool.
• Klein hosted a barbecue at Megro Manor while Enuni’s duplicate watched from the main building, and Arianna reported that the underground ruins contained nothing special.
• Klein questioned how the king’s faction learned of the Churches’ operation and suspected that a Hermit of Fate had leaked the secret or that Adam had created the ruins they saw.

Klein discussed the possibly envisioned underground ruins and the king’s faction with Arianna, who agreed to investigate while he pursued Katarina and Herabergen Rambis. After checking Megro Manor for Adam, Klein examined a verdigris cross and discovered its powerful purification ability and its danger to Beyonders.

• Klein asked Arianna whether the underground ruins had been envisioned, and she suspected the Psychology Alchemists’ involvement and agreed to verify the ruins.
• Klein told Arianna about traces of Katarina near Viscount Stratford and said he would search for her, while Arianna also agreed to pursue the lead.
• Arianna told Klein that Herabergen Rambis had disappeared and suggested he could pray to the Goddess for a bestowal once the matter was over.
• After Arianna left, Klein considered the risks of being watched, inspected Megro Manor from above the Gray Fog, and found nothing unusual.
• Klein divined the verdigris cross’s properties and learned that it could purify corruption but would gradually strip Beyonders of their characteristics and powers.

Klein examined the bronze-green crucifix, confirmed it was the Unshadowed Crucifix, and divined its origins despite fearing the attention of powerful beings. The vision revealed a man who brought light to a dark valley and a being whose gaze reached Klein above the Gray Fog, ending with Klein's thoughts exploding.

• Klein assessed the crucifix's powers and negative effects, then considered whether Adam or the Ancient The Sun God might be connected to it.
• Klein reviewed the mystical items taken from Qonas Kilgor and returned to the bonfire dinner, where Macht, Hibbert, and Portland Moment were gathered.
• After returning to Böklund Street, Klein confirmed the crucifix corresponded to Sequence 4, Unshadowed, and named it the Unshadowed Crucifix.
• Klein divined the crucifix's origins and saw a black-robed man retrieve it from a grayish-white building in darkness.
• The man declared, “Let there be light!”, illuminating a deep valley, before a vision of golden blood and a figure looking toward Klein ended with Klein's thoughts exploding.

Klein investigated the Unshadowed Crucifix and learned the City of Silver's Creator's Sequence 4 recipe, while suspecting Adam had arranged for the artifact to reach the Tarot Club. Audrey learned that King George III had colluded with the Demoness Sect and the Psychology Alchemists to bring about the Great Smog of Backlund, and was left shaken by the revelation.

• Klein recovered from the Creator's attack on the gray fog, reflected on the vision, and recorded the Sequence 4 Unshadowed recipe and other potion information.
• Klein placed the Unshadowed Crucifix in the junk pile and suppressed it with the gray fog's power.
• A postman delivered a letter addressed to Xio, but black flames rose from the mailbox and consumed it.
• Audrey learned from Earl Hall that Herabergen Rambis had disappeared and was wanted as a cultist, then reported the news to The Fool.
• The Fool showed Audrey a report linking King George III, the Demoness Sect, and the Psychology Alchemists to the Great Smog of Backlund and warned her to beware of Herabergen Rambis.
• Audrey thanked The Fool and Mr. World, then sat silently as she absorbed the revelation about the king.

Fors and Xio settled into a new apartment and completed their errands before joining the Tarot Club, where the members noticed a verdigris cross and learned Cattleya had become a demigod. Cattleya presented a page from Roselle’s diary, whose first entry revealed that the second Blasphemy Slate was incomplete.

• Fors wrote to Dorian Gray Abraham warning him to change his address and possibly his identity, then went out to mail the letter and buy supplies.
• Xio mailed a letter about Viscount Stratford and Shermane’s watcher; an unknown resident collected Sea News and read articles about Gehrman Sparrow.
• At the Tarot Club meeting, the members noticed the verdigris cross, and Derrick sensed its pull as a possible Sun-pathway artifact.
• The Fool told Cattleya that the manifested glasses could seal her Eye of Mystery Prying, and the members inferred that she had advanced to demigod.
• Cattleya offered a page of Emperor Roselle’s diary and saved her question for the next meeting; the entry said the second Blasphemy Slate was incomplete.

Klein learned from Roselle’s Diary that the Spectator’s apotheosis ritual might involve shaping the course of the times to match one’s vision, making his investigation of King George III and the Great Smog more dangerous. At the Tarot Club, he explained the Unshadowed Crucifix’s abilities and offered to lend or exchange it, then Audrey requested several Beyonder materials.

• Klein read that Mr. Door had seen the complete second Blasphemy Slate alongside powerful figures of the Fourth Epoch, and he suspected Adam was guiding events toward his own apotheosis.
• Klein decided to learn King George III’s secret before deciding whether to continue investigating, then invited the Tarot Club members to begin.
• Audrey asked about the crucifix, and Klein identified it as a relic of the Ancient The Sun God that could remove corruption, expel excess characteristics, or help someone leave the world of mysticism.
• Derrick asked to obtain the crucifix, Alger asked whether it could be rented, and Klein agreed that both were possible for a sufficient price.
• Klein considered asking Danitz to offer the crucifix to Anderson, whose foreign substance remained a danger, while Audrey requested a Dream Catcher’s heart, a Mind Phantom’s crystal, or an adult Mind Dragon’s complete brain.

At the Tarot Club, members discussed Beyonder materials, potion formulas, and plans, while Gehrman Sparrow asked Leonard to find out whether someone had seen the second Blasphemy Slate. Leonard agreed, leaving the other members curious about his connections.

• Derrick said the City of Silver might have an adult Mind Dragon brain and agreed to check for its blood for Audrey.
• Xio asked the Tarot Club to look for the Judge and Punisher Knight potion formulas, and Cattleya offered to seek them and provide a Judge-pathway mystical item.
• Emlyn planned to rent Fors's travel notes and said the Sanguine would soon finalize its operation against important Rose School of Thought members; Gehrman offered to advise him.
• Gehrman asked Leonard to question someone about whether they had seen the second Blasphemy Slate, and Leonard agreed.

At the Tarot Gathering, The World revealed that George III was secretly excavating the Blood Emperor’s ruins and warned members to watch for suspicious coincidences. After The Hanged Man reported on the Feynapotter officers from the Battle of Conot, Leonard learned from Pallez that Adam had taken the second Blasphemy Slate.

• The World told the Tarot Club that George III had colluded with the Demoness Sect and Psychology Alchemists, and warned members to report an unusual number of coincidences.
• Justice offered to track Herabergen Rambis, while Judgement described her investigation into the king’s secret and Shermane’s watcher.
• The Sun announced that he would join an expedition to Afternoon Town that might enter the Giant King’s Court, and The Hanged Man advised him to follow his Chief’s orders and pray to Mr. Fool.
• The Hanged Man gave Mr. Fool information on five Feynapotter colonels from the Battle of Conot, and Mr. Fool ordered him to investigate the three survivors’ histories.
• After the gathering, Leonard asked Pallez about the second Blasphemy Slate and learned that Pallez’s great-grandfather had seen it and that Adam had likely taken it.

Derrick told Colin Iliad that he had discovered a relic of the Creator, prompting the Chief to offer him access to the City of Silver’s Saint-level Sealed Artifacts once Derrick mastered his abilities. In Backlund, Klein planned his investigation into the Demoness Sect and met Audrey outside the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation.

• Derrick visited Colin Iliad and revealed that he had found a relic corresponding to the Sun pathway’s Sequence 4, Unshadowed.
• Colin acknowledged Derrick’s revelation and promised to show him the City of Silver’s Saint-level Sealed Artifacts after he mastered his spirituality and divine spells.
• Klein returned from above the Gray Fog and decided to focus his investigation on Katarina and Trissy while avoiding Herabergen Rambis.
• Klein went with Qonas Kilgor, disguised as Enuni, to pray at Saint Samuel Cathedral before heading to the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation.
• Audrey rode up on her bicycle with her golden-haired dog and told Klein that riding around had lifted her worries.

Klein and Audrey discussed how bicycles were changing life in Backlund before Portland Moment proposed a machinery laboratory for the university. Elsewhere, Danitz questioned Anderson about the dangerous options for handling the item in his stomach, and Klein received a letter from Sharron.

• Audrey told Klein that she was a major shareholder in the Backlund Bicycle Company and described how riding helped her see the city and its people.
• Audrey and Klein met Portland Moment at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation, where he proposed a machinery laboratory and asked them to consider investing.
• Danitz asked Anderson how the item in his stomach was affecting him, and Anderson explained that he could seek its removal or try to accommodate it and become a demigod.
• Danitz decided to ask the captain how to obtain items connected to Vice Admiral Ailment.
• Reinette Tinekerr delivered Klein a letter and told him that Sharron did not like nicknames.

Klein met Sharron and Maric at the Bravehearts Bar, where they asked him to serve as backup for a joint operation with the Sanguine against the Rose School of Thought. After learning that Sharron was Reinette Tinekerr’s student and hearing how her teacher fell to Suah and the Rose School’s higher-ups, Klein warned that their plan could provoke a devastating response and asked if they intended to trigger a divine descent in Backlund.

• Reinette Tinekerr delivered Sharron’s invitation to meet at the Bravehearts Bar, and Klein arranged to meet her that evening.
• Sharron and Maric asked Klein to observe their planned operation with the Sanguine and extract them if anything went wrong.
• Klein confirmed that Sharron had advanced to Sequence 4, Puppet, and learned that Reinette Tinekerr was her teacher.
• Sharron explained that Reinette had once led the Rose School of Thought’s Temperance Faction before Suah and other leaders drove them into exile and defeated her.
• Klein warned Sharron and Maric that the Rose School knew about their ties to Reinette and could send overwhelming force, then asked whether they were trying to trigger a divine descent in Backlund.

Klein agreed to help Sharron and the Sanguine draw out the Rose School of Thought’s Backlund leader, while learning more about Sharron’s teacher and the Mutant pathway. Emlyn then briefed the Tarot Club on the plan and revealed the Sanguine also intended to recover a relic from the Rose School of Thought, leaving him uncertain about his own role.

• Maric explained that the Sanguine planned to attack a Rose School of Thought member and follow the chain of communication to identify the group’s leader in Backlund.
• Klein agreed to participate in exchange for free assistance from Reinette Tinekerr and first choice of spoils if he had to intervene; Sharron said Reinette was avoiding the Sanguine’s notice.
• Sharron said the Rose School of Thought sought to bring the Mother Tree of Desire into reality and named Mutant Sequence 2 Ancient Bane and Sequence 3 Silent Disciple.
• Emlyn summoned a Tarot Club gathering and described the operation, revealing that the Sanguine hoped to seize a sacred relic left by their Ancestor from the Rose School of Thought’s headquarters.
• Alger questioned the plan’s risks, and Emlyn said Duke Omer would oversee it; Audrey then asked what Emlyn himself was expected to do, leaving him unsure of his importance.

Klein learned that Vice Admiral Ailment had disappeared and that Anderson could eliminate the foreign object in his body by advancing to Iron-Blooded Knight, so he arranged for Danitz to take Anderson to Seros Island. Trissy contacted Gehrman Sparrow to propose joining forces against Katarina, but his messenger’s arrival left her terrified.

• Audrey advised Emlyn to prioritize his safety during the Sanguine hunting operation, and Klein later examined the Unshadowed Crucifix and Severed Finger before separating them when the latter began praising the sun.
• Danitz told Klein that Vice Admiral Ailment had last been seen near Seros Island and that Anderson favored absorbing the foreign object through advancement; Klein decided to have Danitz search for Ailment and offer Anderson the Iron-Blooded Knight ingredients and ritual.
• Danitz recruited Anderson to search for Vice Admiral Ailment and gather Conspirer ingredients, offering the Iron-Blooded Knight advancement ritual and supplementary ingredients as a reward; Anderson eagerly agreed.
• Trissy wrote to Gehrman Sparrow, offering to cooperate against Katarina while investigating King George III’s plans, then summoned Gehrman’s messenger before leaving her hiding place.
• Gehrman Sparrow’s messenger appeared carrying four blonde, red-eyed heads, and Trissy stared at it in terror.

Trissy summoned Klein’s angelic messenger and asked him to deal with Katarina, but the encounter frightened her and left Klein unable to contact her. Xio deliberately concealed part of her investigation into Viscount Stratford to draw suspicion and hoped Gehrman Sparrow would help her uncover the king’s secret.

• Trissy emerged from a mirror shaken after Reinette Tinekerr delivered her letter, and Klein learned that the messenger had sensed Primordial’s aura on her.
• Klein read Trissy’s request to deal with Katarina, the Saintess of White, but failed to contact Trissy afterward.
• Xio told a Military Intelligence Section 9 officer about Viscount Stratford’s activities while withholding that she had followed him to a warehouse.
• The officer warned Xio to abandon her investigation, explained his past connection to her father, and offered to help her obtain a Judge potion formula.
• After Xio left, an unseen observer reported her lie, and the officer ordered further investigation.
• Xio revealed that she had deliberately left out her visit to the crime scene so the suspicion might bring Gehrman Sparrow into the matter, and that she had prayed to Mr. Fool to pass along her thoughts.