Chapter Summaries

Klein explored an ancient underground hall whose architecture suggested it dated to the Fourth Epoch, finding two immense seats and seven black stone doors. Behind the leftmost door, he discovered a statue that appeared to depict the Evernight Goddess, leaving him unsettled and unsure what it meant.

• Klein counted the hall’s forty-one candleholders on the left and forty on the right, then found two enormous iron-black seats on its raised platform.
• Klein learned from the lady bodyguard that one seat bore the Tudor Family’s coat of arms, while she could not identify the other emblem.
• Klein and the lady bodyguard found seven black stone doors, and Klein chose to open the leftmost one.
• Klein recognized the door’s symbol as the Sacred Emblem of Darkness and opened it to reveal a statue of a beautiful woman beneath a starry dress.
• Klein and the lady bodyguard suspected the statue depicted the Evernight Goddess, and Klein considered several troubling explanations before suggesting they inspect the other doors.

Klein and the lady bodyguard explored a hall containing prayer rooms and statues for six orthodox deities before approaching its central chambers. When Klein discovered a room filled with glowing remains and bloodied doors, Azik's Copper Whistle warned him of an evil spirit, forcing them to flee back to safety.

• Klein and the lady bodyguard found a prayer room and statue dedicated to the Earth Mother.
• They inspected four more rooms containing the emblems and statues of the deities of Storms, the Sun, Combat, and Knowledge and Wisdom.
• The lady bodyguard sensed restrained danger behind the central door and warned Klein not to touch anything inside.
• After the passage ended in a collapse, the lady bodyguard scouted through the earth and confirmed that route was blocked.
• Klein peered into the remaining room and saw glowing skeletons and bloodied double doors as Azik's Copper Whistle turned deathly cold and black worms emerged from his arm.
• Klein and the lady bodyguard escaped the advancing darkness, and she identified the pursuing presence as an evil spirit.

Klein left the ancient underground hall without confronting the dangerous evil spirit, then began investigating the history of the house’s former owners. That night, he dreamed of a Dragon-slaying knight whose rotting face resembled the figure seated behind the blood-colored door.

• Klein decided against exploring the innermost room and told Miller Carter he would gather information before returning, warning him to keep the entrance shut.
• Miller told Klein that the house had belonged to the Pound family, which declined after its heirs died one by one and eventually lost its viscount title.
• Klein returned home, made dinner, and used a coin divination that advised him not to report the underground structure to the police that night.
• Klein became lucid in a dream and watched a gigantic armored knight defeat a Dragon with a barrage of spectral fighters and a lightning-like sword strike.
• The dream shifted to the blood-colored door, where Klein saw the same knight seated in armor, now normal-sized and visibly rotting, before he woke beneath crimson moonlight.

Klein tested whether he could use the Eye of All-Black to control a dummy above the gray fog, discovering that he could create a convincing fake Tarot Club member. Meanwhile, Benson encouraged Melissa to pursue technical studies in Backlund, and the lady bodyguard agreed to hear any clues Klein found about the Pound Family.

• Klein learned that his disturbing dream of a bloodstained door came from the evil spirit's aura and would fade over time.
• After the Unified Examination Bill passed, Benson urged Melissa to apply to Backlund Technical College and said he would resign to prepare for the government examination; Melissa agreed to consider leaving Tingen with him.
• Klein searched libraries for information about Viscount Pound but found no useful details, then arranged to share any clues with the lady bodyguard through Maric.
• Klein confirmed the lady bodyguard had left by touching Rosago's Eye of All-Black and seeing the fine black threads extending from his body.
• Above the gray fog, Klein used the Eye of All-Black to control a dummy with Marionettist abilities and made it choose the Tarot card The World.

Klein introduced The World as a new Tarot Club member and assigned Justice to have her candidates investigate Lanarvus. He then received six more pages of Roselle’s diary, including revelations about Roselle’s children and a dispute with Florent of the Sauron Family.

• Klein created The World as an alternate identity and left Rosago's Eye of All-Black above the gray fog.
• Klein held a Tarot Club gathering and introduced The World to Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.
• Klein told Justice that her two candidates remained under evaluation and asked her to commission them to find information about Lanarvus in Backlund.
• The World asked whether members could issue tasks and gather materials at the gathering, and Justice explained that Mr. Fool’s reading came first.
• The Hanged Man provided six pages of Roselle’s diary, which described the births and predicted futures of Roselle’s children, including Bernadette.
• Klein read Roselle’s account of Florent of the Sauron Family asking him to become a subordinate, and Roselle vowed to make Florent pay.

Klein read Roselle’s diary and learned more about the Sauron Family, Roselle’s dealings with the Eternal Blazing Sun, and an ancient organization that worshiped the original Creator. Roselle’s final entries revealed that he had created the Cards of Blasphemy and discovered the truth about Sequence 0 and the true gods.

• Klein considered the Sauron Family’s long history and wondered whether it had declined before Roselle overthrew its rule in Intis.
• Klein read Roselle’s account of reconciling with the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun through legal reforms and commercial development, then questioned why Roselle was later assassinated.
• Klein learned that Florent’s resemblance to a High-Sequence ancestor could make advancing easier because of the Beyonder Characteristic’s lingering mental imprint.
• Klein read that an unnamed ancient organization worshiped the original Creator, expected an inevitable apocalypse, possessed the second Blasphemy Slate, and restricted members to certain pathways.
• Klein discovered that Roselle planned to hide the twenty-two Cards of Blasphemy for his children and revealed that each pathway had a Sequence 0, the position of a true god.

After reading Roselle’s revelations about Sequence 0 and the Divine Pathways, Klein heard Audrey settle the remaining payment for the Bakerland assassination. The World sought rare Beyonder materials and received offers from the Tarot Club members, while The Sun and The World agreed to pursue a weapon exchange.

• Klein read Roselle’s diary entry about Sequence 0, true gods, and the Divine Pathways, then concealed his reaction and praised Audrey for dealing with Bakerland.
• Audrey offered to pay the remaining 5,000 pounds owed for the Qilangos bounty, and Klein accepted the delayed payment.
• The World requested Mist Treant roots and sap, Elven Spring marrow crystals, and Evil-patterned Black Panther spinal fluid.
• The Sun offered to help obtain the Mist Treant materials after advancing and asked for a weapon to improve his combat ability; The World agreed to find one.
• Audrey offered the Psychiatrist potion formula and materials, while Alger offered the Wind-blessed formula in exchange for the requested materials.
• The World said he had another request.

At the Tarot Club, The World traded knowledge of the Demoness pathway for Justice Audrey’s promise to gather information on fallen Loen nobles, and asked Mr. Fool about the Sauron Family. After the gathering, Klein rested and prepared to test the Azik Copper Whistle at a cemetery after dark.

• The World asked Justice Audrey to compile detailed information on fallen nobles in the Kingdom of Loen, and offered knowledge of Beyonder pathways in return.
• The World explained that Sequence 7 of the Assassin pathway was Witch and described its effects and acting requirement, then revealed Sequence 6 was Pleasure; Audrey accepted the exchange and arranged to deliver her information through Mr. Fool.
• The World asked whether the Sauron Family of Intis still had High-Sequence Beyonders and offered a Sequence 7 formula for Mr. Fool’s answer.
• Klein ended the Tarot Club gathering, dismissed The World, and returned to the real world after recovering some spirituality.
• Klein decided to go to a cemetery on Backlund’s outskirts and test the Azik Copper Whistle after dark.

Klein tested the Azik Copper Whistle on graves and hospital corpses, discovering that it affected only recently deceased bodies that had not received requiem rites. He escaped the hospital morgue unnoticed and left eager to attend the upcoming Beyonder gathering for a weapon that could help him obtain a main ingredient for the Magician potion.

• Klein tested the Azik Copper Whistle on an old grave and a body buried that day, but neither reacted after a requiem ritual.
• Klein infiltrated Saint Einhorn Hospital’s morgue and found that the corpses showed no reaction while his spirituality covered the whistle.
• Klein withdrew his spirituality, causing a corpse to sit up and the bodies in the iron cabinets to pound against them.
• Klein used Requiem Charms to quiet the corpses, then evaded the elderly watchman and escaped the morgue.
• Klein concluded that the whistle affected recently deceased corpses without requiem rites and that spirituality could suppress the effect.
• Klein walked through Backlund, looking forward to the Beyonder gathering and considering how to trade his potion formulas for a weapon.

Audrey hired Xio and Fors to find the fugitive fraudster Lanarvus and asked Fors to bring her to a gathering where she could investigate the Psychology Alchemists. Meanwhile, Klein waited for Audrey’s information and met Talym at the Cragg Club, where Talym hinted at a potentially violent commission.

• Audrey showed Xio and Fors wanted notices for Lanarvus and offered them a hundred pounds to find him in Backlund.
• Fors told Audrey she suspected a member of a new Beyonder gathering belonged to the Psychology Alchemists and offered to request permission to bring Audrey along.
• Audrey found no leads for Glaint’s Apothecary formula, then rode away with Susie.
• Klein left home to pass the day at the Cragg Club while waiting for information from Audrey.
• Talym told Klein that Mary and Doragu were negotiating a divorce, then asked to assess Klein’s shooting and fighting skills for a friend’s problem.

Klein practiced firearms and fighting at the Cragg Club before meeting Daily Observer reporter Mike Joseph, who sought protection while investigating a victim in the serial murders. After consulting his divination, Klein prepared to answer Mike’s offer.

• Klein demonstrated his marksmanship and defeated Talym Dumont in a brief fight at the Cragg Club.
• Talym introduced Klein to Mike Joseph, a reporter investigating the serial murders of women whose internal organs had been removed.
• Mike told Klein that ten victims had once worked as streetwalkers and that the youngest victim, Shermane, had still been working as a prostitute.
• Mike asked Klein to protect him while he investigated the Golden Rose, offering one pound or five pounds if a fight occurred.
• Klein went to the washroom, tossed a coin, and received an affirmative answer.

Klein accompanied reporter Mike Joseph to the Golden Rose to investigate Shermane’s death, where they discovered the owner, Lopez, was hiding something and heard her mention Capim. After escaping the brothel, Klein met Isengard Stanton, a detective assisting the police, who asked to speak with him.

• Mike Joseph took Klein to the Golden Rose and questioned one of the girls who had known Shermane, but learned that Lopez had forbidden the women from discussing her.
• Mike confronted Lopez about Shermane, and Klein noticed from her behavior that she was lying.
• Mike paid Klein to help him follow Lopez; Klein knocked out two enforcers and entered a side corridor with Mike.
• They overheard Lopez tell someone not to send anyone over from Capim for the time being, then fled the building.
• Mike left to investigate who Capim was, and Isengard Stanton introduced himself to Klein as a detective assisting the police and invited him to talk.

Klein met detective Isengard Stanton, then suspected that Isengard might be a Beyonder and that Maric and Miss Bodyguard were being hunted. After confirming no one followed him, Klein decoded an advertisement that invited him to a Beyonder gathering the next evening.

• Isengard paid Klein two pounds for what he learned while following Ms. Lopez, and Klein told him that she had warned a subordinate not to send anyone else to Capim for the time being.
• Isengard discussed Capim’s reputation and asked Klein his name; Klein introduced himself as Sherlock Moriarty, while Isengard privately noted that Klein’s appearance seemed deliberately mismatched.
• Klein sensed that Isengard’s emotional state remained unusually consistent and wondered whether he was a Beyonder.
• Klein went to the Bravehearts Bar to ask for Maric, but Kaspars said Maric had not appeared, and Klein noticed someone seemed interested in Maric’s whereabouts.
• Klein left without seeking information about other gatherings, checked above the gray fog that he was not being followed, and returned home.
• Klein decoded an Ernst Firm advertisement in the Backlund Morning Post as instructions for a Beyonder gathering the next evening.

Klein disguised himself and sold the Bard and Light Suppliant potion formulas at a Beyonder gathering, then watched as another member offered two weapons with Beyonder effects. The chapter left Klein considering whether one of the weapons might suit his promise to find The Sun a combat aid.

• Klein disguised himself as a worker and attended the gathering without revealing that he had been there before.
• Klein offered the Bard and Light Suppliant formulas, and a hooded man agreed to buy them for 600 pounds on the condition that he would not resell them at the gathering.
• Eye of Wisdom used a ring to verify the formulas, and Klein completed the sale and received the cash.
• The Apothecary offered sedatives, asked again for elven spring medullary crystal, and wondered whether a missing member had died.
• A hooded woman announced that she had two weapons with Beyonder effects, and Klein considered them as possible choices for The Sun.

Klein bought a Hurricane Axe at the gathering and arranged for Mr. Fool to bestow it on Derrick Berg. Derrick performed the ritual and discovered that the weapon sent to him was an axe.

• Klein outbid another attendee for the Hurricane Axe at 560 pounds, and the elderly Eye of Wisdom had it appraised before Klein took possession of it.
• Someone bought the Whip of Slowing, the Feathered Man's Heart went unsold, and a Sequence 9 Corpse Collector formula was purchased.
• Klein asked the gathering for the spinal fluid of an Evil-patterned Black Panther, but no one responded; the Apothecary then admitted he had not returned to the sewers to investigate the dangerous beast.
• After the gathering ended, Klein took the Hurricane Axe to East Borough, sealed his room, and sent it above the gray fog for Derrick Berg.
• Derrick prepared and performed the ritual to request the weapon, then saw that the bestowed weapon was an axe.

Klein learned that the Pound Family had discovered an ancient underground structure decades earlier and found the current address of Baronet Pound. Meanwhile, Xio searched for Lanarvus, and Klein checked on his bicycle investment before receiving Audrey’s research.

• Xio paid Williams to search East Borough for Lanarvus and stopped a tavern brawl with her Arbiter authority.
• Klein visited Leppard’s bicycle workshop, tested the prototype, and suggested improvements before promising the next investment installment.
• Klein accepted Mrs. Summer’s invitation to a Sunday luncheon and considered arranging for her maid to clean his home.
• Audrey sent Klein her research on fallen nobles, and he found the Pound Family’s history and Baronet Pound’s address at 29 West Balam Street.
• Klein inferred that the Pound Family had discovered the ancient underground structure about thirty years earlier and planned to contact Baronet Pound without revealing his identity.

Disguised as a clown, Klein questioned Baronet Macht Pound about the Pound family’s past and searched his dream and spirit for clues about the people who had once watched him. He found no further information and returned to the gray fog to divine Macht Pound’s future, hoping it would help verify the past.

• Klein entered Macht Pound’s bedroom and questioned him about his childhood and the strangers who had searched the family home.
• Macht described how the strangers replaced the household staff and asked about the deaths of the old viscount’s children, but Klein suspected he knew little.
• Klein used a Sleeping Charm, entered Macht’s dream, and found that the memories caused him severe psychological distress.
• Klein performed spirit channeling and confirmed that Macht’s answers about the old viscount and the searchers were consistent with what he had said earlier.
• Klein cleaned the scene, disrupted divination with the Azik Copper Whistle, and escaped through a window; Macht later woke with burst capillaries around his eyes.
• Back at 15 Minsk Street, Klein went above the gray fog and began divining Macht Pound’s future.

After divining that Macht Pound had ties to the Tudor Family, Klein decided to seal the underground ruins by collapsing their entrance and leave the mystery alone. Elsewhere, a hooded figure killed Williams after learning that Xio Derecha was searching for Lanarvus, then arranged a gas explosion to destroy the evidence.

• Klein dreamed that Macht Pound emerged from a narrow opening and wore a badge bearing the Tudor Empire's coat of arms, then considered how the Pound Family might be connected to the Tudor Family.
• Klein concluded that the evil spirit remained sealed underground and planned to buy explosives from Kaspars to collapse the entrance, while avoiding further investigation into Macht Pound.
• At the Cragg Club, Klein met Mary Gale, Talym Dumont, and Mike Joseph; Mike said his report would identify Shermane's death as a copycat crime and arranged an interview with Mary about Backlund's air pollution.
• A hooded figure confronted Williams in his East Borough apartment and learned that Xio Derecha was looking for Lanarvus.
• The hooded figure killed Williams with a snap, broke the gas pipe, and left a candle to ignite the gas and cause an explosion.

Klein hired Sharron to help demolish the entrance to the underground structures beneath 8 Williams Street and arranged for Maric's living corpses to pose as assistants. Meanwhile, Xio learned that Williams had died in an explosion and resolved to investigate, as Klein arrived with his helpers to begin the work.

• Klein told Kaspars he wanted explosives, and Sharron appeared and offered to handle the demolition for free because she wanted the entrance sealed.
• Klein explained his suspicions about Macht Pound and the underground structures, then asked Sharron to lend him several of Maric's discreet subordinates for his meeting with Miller Carter.
• Xio read that Williams had died in an explosion at 1 Dharavi Street and decided to warn Fors, disguise herself, and investigate the killing.
• Klein and Sharron surveyed the area around 8 Williams Street and prepared to begin the demolition with Miller Carter.
• Klein arrived at 8 Williams Street with three living corpses disguised as assistants and assured Miller that they could drive away snakes.

Klein and Sharron sealed the underground structure with explosives, and Klein convinced Miller Carter that an accidental collapse had blocked its entrance. On his way home, police stopped Klein after their dog barked at him, and he was taken in for questioning with his lawyer requested.

• Sharron set explosives in the underground structure, and the blast collapsed its entrance while Klein checked that the Azik Copper Whistle showed no sign of the evil spirit escaping.
• Klein told Miller Carter that the structure had collapsed while they were driving out snakes, and Miller paid him the rest of his fee, including five gold coins.
• Klein left Miller's house, parted from the three Living Corpses, practiced shooting, and then headed home after dinner.
• Two police officers stopped Klein with a police dog, which barked at him, and Klein claimed he had found a revolver on the street and was bringing it to them.
• An officer took Klein's revolver and ordered him to come to the station, and Klein agreed while asking them to notify his lawyer, Mr. Jurgen Cooper.