Chapter Summaries

Zhou Mingrui woke in an unfamiliar room beneath a crimson moon and realized he had entered the body of Klein Moretti, a recent history graduate in Tingen. He found a cryptic line in a notebook, blood on his hand, and a gruesome wound at his temple.

• Zhou Mingrui woke with a severe headache and found himself in a strange room filled with unfamiliar furnishings and a revolver.
• Zhou Mingrui saw the crimson full moon and suspected that he had transmigrated.
• Zhou Mingrui recalled Klein Moretti's family and education, then recognized the notebook's writing as Hermes.
• Zhou Mingrui read the notebook's message, “Everyone will die, including me,” and heard faint murmurs.
• Zhou Mingrui noticed blood on his hand and saw in the mirror that his temple had a scorched wound with exposed, moving brain matter.

Zhou Mingrui inspected Klein Moretti’s head wounds, cleaned up evidence of a gunshot, and realized Klein had likely shot himself. He recalled performing a luck enhancement ritual before his transmigration and decided to repeat it in hopes of returning home.

• Zhou Mingrui used a copper penny to start the gas lamp and saw that his head wounds were rapidly healing.
• Zhou Mingrui washed the blood from his face and shirt, then found blood spatters and a spent bullet in the room.
• Zhou Mingrui examined the revolver and concluded that Klein Moretti had probably shot himself.
• Zhou Mingrui remembered the luck enhancement ritual he had performed before dinner and suspected it had caused his transmigration.
• Zhou Mingrui decided to perform the ritual again the next day to see if he could return home.

Zhou Mingrui examined Klein’s fragmented memories and adjusted to life with Melissa after waking in Klein’s body. Melissa left for school after asking him to buy bread, lamb, and peas, while he turned his thoughts back to the luck enhancement ritual and his wish to return home.

• Zhou Mingrui reviewed Klein’s broken memories and recalled Klein’s upcoming interview with Tingen University’s history department.
• Melissa emerged from her room, and Zhou Mingrui hid the revolver before noticing that the wound on his temple had healed.
• Zhou Mingrui tried to wind their father’s pocket watch incorrectly, and Melissa repaired it and set the time.
• Melissa prepared breakfast, told Zhou Mingrui to buy eight pounds of bread, lamb, and peas, and left for Tingen Technical School.
• After Melissa left, Zhou Mingrui considered the world’s calendar and turned his thoughts back to the luck enhancement ritual.

Zhou Mingrui left home to buy bread and ingredients for a luck-enhancement ritual, carrying money and a revolver for protection. At a market square, he encountered a fortune-teller offering a free tarot reading and agreed to try it.

• Zhou Mingrui changed into old clothes, took two soli from Benson's hidden savings, and carried a revolver in case of danger.
• Zhou Mingrui walked through the poor neighborhood to Slin Bakery and bought sixteen loaves of rye bread from Wendy Slin.
• Zhou Mingrui headed toward the market to buy lamb and noticed clowns handing out flyers for a circus performance.
• A woman in a pointed hat offered Zhou Mingrui a tarot divination, and he recalled that Roselle Gustav had invented tarot divination in this world.
• The woman told Zhou Mingrui that his first divination of the day would be free, and he agreed to try it.

Zhou Mingrui performed a luck-enhancement ritual and was transported to a boundless expanse of gray fog, where he accidentally summoned Audrey Hall and Alger Wilson. The three found themselves together above the fog, with Audrey and Alger demanding to know where they were and what Zhou Mingrui intended.

• Zhou Mingrui received a tarot reading from an animal trainer pretending to be a fortune-teller, then declined to pay the real fortune-teller for an interpretation.
• Zhou Mingrui bought ingredients at the market and prepared a ritual, translating his incantation into local languages and placing four loaves of rye bread around his room.
• Zhou Mingrui walked a counterclockwise square while reciting the incantation, then endured painful whispers before opening his eyes in a vast gray-fog realm.
• Zhou Mingrui touched two crimson stars in the fog and accidentally caused Audrey Hall and Alger Wilson to be transported there from their separate locations.
• Audrey Hall and Alger Wilson saw Zhou Mingrui shrouded in the fog and asked him where they were and what he intended to do.

Zhou Mingrui used the gray-fog gathering to present himself as its mysterious host while Audrey Hall and Alger Wilson discussed becoming Beyonders. The chapter ended with Zhou Mingrui naming himself the Fool and agreeing to witness Audrey and Alger’s exchange.

• Zhou Mingrui told Audrey and Alger that their arrival was an experiment and offered to send them back if they formally requested it.
• Audrey asked how to become a Beyonder, and Zhou Mingrui transformed the gray-fog space into a grand hall with a bronze table and ten chairs.
• Alger explained that Beyonders could join Churches or seek other organizations, then offered two Sequence 9 formulas: Sailor and Spectator.
• Audrey chose the Spectator formula and agreed to seek at least 100 milliliters of Ghost Shark blood in exchange for it.
• Audrey and Alger asked Zhou Mingrui to witness their transaction and asked how to address him, and he told them to call him the Fool.

Zhou Mingrui accepted Audrey and Alger’s proposal to hold regular gatherings, where they could exchange resources and information under tarot code names. After the gathering ended, he returned to his apartment, concluded that he would not attempt to return home soon, and accepted the name Klein.

• Audrey and Alger asked Mr. Fool to witness their transaction, and Alger gave Audrey instructions for delivering Ghost Shark blood and receiving the potion formula.
• Audrey and Alger proposed holding more gatherings and offering help in exchange for equivalent benefits, and Zhou Mingrui agreed to meet every Monday at three in the afternoon.
• Audrey chose the title Justice, Alger chose the Hanged Man, and they called themselves the founding members of the Tarot Club.
• Alger explained that tarot could aid divination and that Emperor Roselle’s secret deck concealed the twenty-two Divine Pathways.
• As his headache worsened, Zhou Mingrui ended the gathering and returned to his apartment, where he found that time had passed at a one-to-one ratio.
• Zhou Mingrui decided he would not attempt the luck enhancement ritual until he understood mysticism, called himself Klein, and joked that the gathering resembled an online social platform.

Alger destroyed the captain of a Tudor-era ghost ship, then watched the ship sail itself through the storm and declared that a new era had begun. In Backlund, Audrey celebrated her return before witnessing the launch of the ironclad Pritz, whose firepower prompted the government to proclaim the age of great warships.

• Alger's strange bottle shattered, and a snowflake mark disappeared into his palm as he returned to the ghost ship's cabin.
• Alger strangled the middle-aged captain and threw him through the cabin wall into the waves, then told his yellow-haired companion that the captain had escaped with some Beyonder powers.
• Alger realized the ghost ship had no living crew and was steering itself, then said that a new era had begun.
• Audrey found her bronze mirror shattered and a crimson star-like mark fading from her hand, then prepared to attend the naval ceremony with Earl Hall.
• Audrey watched the royal family arrive by airship and saw King George III name the new ironclad Pritz.
• The Pritz sailed out and fired its main guns at an uninhabited island, and Prime Minister Agusid announced that ironclads would end the pirates' age.

After recovering from the ritual, Klein ate and studied the original owner’s diary to investigate his suicide. As he weighed whether to visit Welch and inspect the Fourth Epoch notebook, someone urgently knocked at his door.

• Klein rested, woke hungry, and cooked potatoes and rye bread before deciding he would seek mystical knowledge and become a Beyonder.
• Klein read the diary and learned that Welch had obtained a Fourth Epoch notebook connected to the Antigonus family, the Black Emperor, Tudor, and the Nation of Evernight.
• Klein found the June 27 entry, “Everyone will die, including me,” and considered visiting Welch despite fearing the notebook might lead him into danger.
• Someone pounded urgently on Klein’s door, making him sit up and listen.

Klein learned that Welch and Naya had died by apparent suicide after investigating a mysterious notebook. The police questioned him and searched his room, then warned him to stay in Tingen as an officer remarked that everyone involved usually died.

• Klein hid his revolver in the stove before letting Bic Mountbatten and three other policemen into his room.
• The gray-eyed officer told Klein that Welch and Naya had died in Welch’s residence, apparently by suicide.
• Klein said he had last seen Welch and Naya on June 26, and the young green-eyed officer searched his notebook and found the sentence, “Everyone will die, including me.”
• Klein claimed he had woken with gaps in his memory, and the gray-eyed officer said an expert would arrive to help him recover it.
• The police told Klein not to leave Tingen without notifying Mountbatten, and the young officer said it was fortunate Klein was alive because everyone involved usually died.

After the police left, Klein hid his revolver and cooked lamb stew for Melissa, who was delighted by the meal. Melissa offered to take over cooking so Klein could focus on preparing for his interview and finding work.

• Klein doubted the policemen’s behavior, returned to his room, and waited anxiously until the residents came home.
• Klein hid his revolver beneath the lower bunk and decided to cook lamb stew before Melissa returned from school.
• Klein prepared lamb stew with peas, potatoes, carrots, and onions, using cooking methods he had learned from Welch McGovern.
• Melissa came home, tasted the stew, and ate it with Klein, praising his cooking.
• Melissa offered to handle cooking from then on, and Klein told her to focus on her interview preparations and work.

Klein dreamed that Dunn Smith investigated him and took him into custody, prompting him to flee before waking in a cold sweat. In the corridor afterward, he encountered the real Dunn Smith standing by the window.

• Dunn Smith told Klein that a coachman had confirmed his visit to Welch's residence on the day Welch and Naya died, and Klein acknowledged the visit while saying he had lost his memories.
• Klein revealed that he had awakened beside a revolver after an apparent suicide attempt, and Dunn said an expert would assess him at the police station.
• Klein left a note for Benson and Melissa, then fled from Dunn and the other officers during a street disturbance.
• Klein hired a carriage to escape, but the coachman revealed himself as Dunn and said they were going to Welch's residence.
• Klein woke from the nightmare, went into the corridor, and saw Dunn Smith standing by the window.

Klein learned that Dunn Smith had entered his dream to question him and confirmed that Klein had lost memories connected to the deaths at Welch’s residence. Dunn took him there to meet an expert because the Antigonus Family Notebook was missing, and the chapter ended as Dunn revealed that the expert was a true Spirit Medium.

• Dunn Smith introduced himself as a Nighthawk and explained that he had entered Klein’s dream to guide him.
• Dunn confirmed that Klein had lost memories of the incident and said he had to meet an expert because the Antigonus Family Notebook was missing.
• Klein agreed to accompany Dunn to Welch’s residence after realizing that fleeing would be futile.
• On the carriage ride, Dunn described a former cult informant who later strangled himself despite having been cleared of supernatural effects.
• Dunn arrived with Klein at Welch’s residence and revealed that the expert’s public identity was a spirit medium and her true identity was a Spirit Medium.

Klein accompanied Dunn Smith to Welch's residence, where Spirit Medium Daly tried and failed to uncover his memories or find traces of the force behind Welch and Naya's suicides. Dunn offered Klein a chance to join the Nighthawks, then warned him that Beyonders often lost control, including their own teammates.

• Klein felt unseen spirits watching him as he entered Welch's residence with Dunn Smith.
• Daly used fragrance and spirit-channeling techniques to probe Klein's memories, but he concealed his clear thoughts and gave her nothing to discover.
• Daly confirmed Welch and Naya had died by suicide and found no traces of the power that influenced them.
• Dunn told Klein he could go home but must keep the incident secret, and suggested joining the Nighthawks to watch for warning signs.
• Dunn explained that Klein could become a Beyonder but could not choose a safe pathway, and warned that many Beyonders lost control, including Nighthawk teammates.

Dunn Smith invited Klein to join the Nighthawks as civilian staff and explained the dangers of Beyonders, the secrecy surrounding supernatural incidents, and the job’s terms. Klein withheld his decision until he could consider the offer, then returned home shaken by the night’s events.

• Klein asked why Beyonders faced hidden dangers, and Dunn said he could learn the secrets by joining the Nighthawks as civilian staff.
• Dunn explained that Klein’s survival, history degree, and prior exposure to the Welch incident made him suitable for recruitment.
• Dunn warned that publicizing supernatural dangers could cause people to imitate them and shared the saying that belief and fear bring trouble.
• Dunn invited Klein to join as civilian staff, and Klein asked for time to decide by Sunday.
• Dunn described the salary, contract, work schedule, and secret method for contacting the Nighthawks, then dropped Klein off near home.
• Klein watched Dunn’s carriage depart and realized his shirt was soaked with cold sweat.

After weighing the risks and benefits, Klein decided to become a civilian employee of the Nighthawks and set out to find Dunn Smith. Following Dunn’s directions, he reached the Blackthorn Security Company, where the Nighthawks were based.

• Klein returned home and found Melissa awake; she showed him a clockwork doll she had built before going back to bed with an upset stomach.
• Klein weighed the dangers of joining the Nighthawks against the protection and mystical knowledge they could provide, then decided to accept Dunn Smith’s invitation as a civilian employee.
• Melissa told Klein that she compared the good and bad points of troubling decisions, and Klein agreed that it was a useful habit.
• Klein traveled by public carriage to Besik Street and found a tavern where patrons bet on dogs catching rats.
• Klein asked the bartender for Mr. Wright and said Dunn Smith had sent him; Wright directed him to 36 Zouteland Street.
• Klein reached the second floor of 36 Zouteland Street and saw the sign for the Blackthorn Security Company.

Klein visited the Nighthawks’ headquarters beneath Saint Selena Cathedral and accepted Dunn Smith’s offer to join the team. After learning about the squad’s duties and structure, he asked Dunn why Beyonders lost control.

• Klein arrived at Blackthorn Security Company and met Rozanne, who led him downstairs toward Chanis Gate.
• Rozanne explained that the Nighthawks operated beneath the cathedral and introduced Klein to the underground headquarters.
• Klein met Dunn Smith, read and signed a five-year contract, and became a member of the Nighthawks.
• Dunn explained the team’s cover as the Seventh Team of the police department’s Special Operations Department and described its jurisdiction and civilian staff.
• Klein asked Dunn why Beyonders lost control.

Dunn explained the creation myth and how humanity developed Beyonder potions and Sequence pathways from the shared origins of all things. He warned Klein about the five forms of losing control, leaving him with the Nighthawks’ grim duty to resist danger and madness.

• Dunn recited the creation myth with Klein and explained that the gods and all living things shared the Creator as their origin.
• Dunn described how humanity developed potions from supernatural ingredients and established Sequence chains after learning the dangers of consuming unsuitable potions.
• Dunn explained that people born with spiritual perception could only follow a fixed Sequence pathway, while switching pathways risked madness or death.
• Dunn warned Klein that advancing before mastering a potion’s powers could cause accumulated mental influences to trigger loss of control.
• Dunn described how heightened spiritual perception exposed Beyonders to mysterious temptations and quoted Archbishop Chanis calling the Nighthawks guardians who constantly fought danger and madness.

Dunn explained the dangers and ranks of Beyonders, then described Klein's duties as a Nighthawk and the Chanis Gate's Sealed Artifacts. Klein was assigned to search his former route for the missing Antigonus Family notebook and was warned about the fugitive Ince Zangwill, who had stolen Sealed Artifact 0-08.

• Dunn warned Klein that Beyonders faced constant danger and explained that becoming one required merit and approval from superiors.
• Dunn assigned Klein to revisit routes between Welch's residence and his home in hopes of recovering memories or finding the missing Antigonus Family notebook.
• Dunn told Klein to study documents and books in the armory on days he was not searching, and introduced the Chanis Gate and its guarded contents.
• Dunn explained the four grades of Sealed Artifacts and warned Klein never to approach the Chanis Gate casually.
• Dunn showed Klein a notice identifying Ince Zangwill as a fugitive who had stolen Grade 0 Sealed Artifact 0-08, and told him to report any sighting without confronting him.
• Dunn sent Klein to the armory to meet Old Neil and arrange his reading materials.

Klein received a salary advance and equipment instructions from Dunn before meeting Mrs. Orianna and Old Neil. At the end, Klein recognized the symbols in a diary attributed to Roselle Gustav as simplified Chinese.

• Dunn repeatedly remembered details for Klein, arranging a twelve-pound salary advance, Demon Hunting Bullets, ordinary ammunition, shooting practice, and a range badge.
• Rozanne escorted Klein to Mrs. Orianna, who gave him the advance and revealed that she had once been a potential victim of the Bloody Butcher.
• Klein met Old Neil, who explained that the Nighthawks were studying coded pages from Roselle Gustav's diary.
• Neil showed Klein the diary pages, and Klein recognized their symbols as simplified Chinese.