Chapter Summaries

Klein read three of Emperor Roselle’s diary pages and learned that potions could be digested through acting, then collected ammunition and equipment from Old Neil. On his way out, he met Leonard Mitchell, a Sequence 8 Midnight Poet, who said Klein had a special air about him before privately concluding that he seemed ordinary.

• Klein read Roselle’s diary entries, including his claim that potion digestion depended on acting, and wondered about the people and places mentioned.
• Klein joked with Old Neil about protecting magical creatures, then received pistol rounds, demon-hunting bullets, a shoulder holster, and a Special Operations Department Team Seven badge.
• Klein left without asking Old Neil about Sequences and potions, then recalled that Sequence 9 might be Sleepless.
• Leonard Mitchell introduced himself as a Sequence 8 Midnight Poet and told Klein that surviving the recent incident without immediately accepting protection made him special.
• After Klein left, Leonard turned back and murmured to the empty air that there was nothing special about Klein.

Klein asked Rozanne about the Church’s Beyonder sequences and learned that its complete pathway began with Sleepless, while Old Neil was a Mystery Pryer and Madam Daly was a Spirit Medium. After receiving his pay, he left the Nighthawks headquarters planning to treat his sister to dinner.

• Rozanne warned Klein about the dangers of becoming a Beyonder and explained that the Church’s complete pathway began with Sequence 9 Sleepless.
• Rozanne described the Sleepless abilities and named the higher sequences as Midnight Poet and Nightmare, identifying Dunn Smith as one of Tingen’s two Sequence 7s.
• Klein asked about other pathways, and Rozanne named Mystery Pryer as Old Neil’s Sequence 9 and Spirit Medium as Madam Daly’s Sequence 7.
• Klein said goodbye to Rozanne, took out his twelve pounds in pay, and decided to treat his sister to a good meal.

Klein bought a sturdy cane and returned home, where he loaded his revolver with Demon Hunting Bullets and practiced drawing it. He told Melissa he had found a well-paid antiquities consulting job and suggested moving, but she urged him not to spend his salary on better housing.

• Klein entered the Vircuel Clothing Store to get change and chose a silver-inlaid water-sunken wood cane as a self-defense weapon.
• After testing the cane and checking his change, Klein took a public carriage home and counted his money.
• Klein loaded five Demon Hunting Bullets into his revolver, kept one chamber empty, and practiced drawing the gun until evening.
• Melissa returned home and said she would cook leftovers, but Klein suggested they eat at the Silver Crown Restaurant to celebrate his new job.
• Klein told Melissa that an antiquities security company had hired him as a professional consultant for three pounds a week and paid four weeks in advance.
• When Klein said they could move to a larger place with their own bathroom, Melissa argued that their current home was good enough and reminded him how much worse off others were.

Klein persuaded Melissa to celebrate his new salary modestly and visited Tingen University to withdraw from an interview after finding a job. There, he told Professor Cohen and Azik about the Antigonus notebook and learned the deaths of Welch and Naya had been reported as a burglary, while Azik reacted to the family name as if it were familiar.

• Klein convinced Melissa to use leftover money for fruit and lemon cake while she prepared a modest celebratory meal.
• Klein went to Tingen University and told Havon Stone he would not attend the interview because he had found a job.
• Klein met Cohen and Azik, explained that he would work as an antiquities consultant, and Cohen praised him for notifying the university.
• Azik asked Klein about Welch and Naya's deaths, and Klein said they had been studying a notebook tied to the Antigonus Family of the Fourth Epoch's Solomon Empire.
• Cohen murmured about the Fourth Epoch, while Azik said the name Antigonus felt familiar but he could not remember why.

After learning the newspaper had misrepresented Welch and Naya’s murders, Klein sensed someone following him and tried to evade the watcher. He reached Saint Selena Cathedral and secretly contacted the Nighthawks, asking to see Dunn Smith.

• Azik and Cohen said they had no memories or materials about the Fourth Epoch but agreed to write to Klein if they found anything.
• Klein read the newspaper’s account of Welch and Naya’s deaths and realized the report had been altered to cover up the truth.
• Klein sensed an unseen watcher, avoided going directly home or to the Nighthawks, and took a carriage to Champagne Street.
• When the watcher’s presence returned, Klein went to Saint Selena Cathedral and waited until Mass ended.
• Klein showed his badge to the bishop in the confessional and asked to see Dunn Smith.
• A priest guided Klein through a concealed door inside the cathedral.

Klein told Dunn Smith that someone was following him, then practiced shooting at the Zouteland Shooting Club to improve his ability to protect himself. He returned home and told Benson Moretti about his new job, and the brothers joked about the kingdom’s confusing currency system.

• Klein visited Dunn Smith through the cathedral’s underground passage and reported that someone was following him.
• Dunn suggested the watcher might be connected to Welch’s death, the Antigonus Family Notebook, or another investigation, and told Klein to act normally without breaking the law.
• Klein reasoned that the watcher might fear the Church, then practiced firing his revolver at the Zouteland Shooting Club until he could hit the target consistently.
• Klein returned home and told Benson Moretti he had found a job paying three pounds a week.
• Klein and Benson agreed to celebrate with beef, then joked that the kingdom’s currency system was confusing because its designers could not count or understand decimals.

Klein spent the day preparing a celebratory dinner for Benson and Melissa, and the siblings shared a satisfying meal before going to bed. In a dream, Dunn Smith warned Klein that an intruder had entered his room, and Klein woke to find a thin stranger searching his desk.

• Klein joked with Benson, who explained the terms of their lease and planned to discuss moving with their landlord, Mr. Franky.
• Klein went shopping, sensed someone watching him, exercised, and studied his textbooks and notes.
• Klein cooked a large dinner, and Benson and Melissa praised the food as the siblings celebrated his new job.
• The siblings cleared the table, spent the evening studying, and went to bed at eleven.
• Dunn Smith appeared in Klein's dream and told him to take his revolver and force an intruder into the corridor.
• Klein woke and saw an unfamiliar thin figure searching his desk.

Klein survived an attempted intrusion by holding the attacker at gunpoint until Dunn Smith subdued him. Dunn identified the intruder as a member of the Secret Order, then offered Klein a choice of Beyonder paths and named Seer as the third available Sequence 9.

• Klein aimed his revolver at the intruder and persuaded him to raise his hands and leave the room slowly.
• The intruder escaped into the corridor, where a soothing poem lulled Benson, Melissa, and the others back to sleep as Dunn Smith confronted him.
• Dunn Smith told Klein that the intruder belonged to the Secret Order, which had been searching for the Antigonus Family's notebook.
• Dunn Smith offered Klein the choice of pursuing an incomplete Sequence or earning enough merit to become a Sleepless.
• Dunn Smith described the Mystery Pryer and Corpse Collector paths, then revealed that the third available Sequence 9 was Seer.

Klein weighed whether to become a Seer or a Mystery Pryer, then made his choice by dawn, while he and his siblings began looking for a better home. The chapter left them preparing to inspect a terraced house at 2 Daffodil Street.

• Dunn Smith explained the Seer potion's abilities and told Klein to decide by Monday morning, reassuring him that the Nighthawks would respect any choice.
• Klein reflected on the dangers and uncertainties of becoming a Beyonder, remembered his life on Earth, and settled on his decision by dawn.
• Klein bought rye bread, and Benson and Melissa discussed housing options before the siblings set out to find a new home.
• Benson explained the financial model behind housing improvement companies and described how strict charitable housing rules could exclude the poor.
• The siblings met Scarter at the Tingen City Housing Improvement Company and chose to inspect the terraced house at 2 Daffodil Street first.

Klein, Benson, and Melissa moved into a new home on Daffodil Street, and Klein began a new stage of life in a formal suit. He told Dunn Smith that he had chosen to become a Seer.

• Klein, Benson, and Melissa inspected a terraced house on Daffodil Street, and Benson negotiated the weekly rent down to twelve soli.
• The siblings signed the lease for No. 2 Daffodil Street, then Benson negotiated an early end to their old tenancy with Mr. Franky.
• Klein, Benson, and Melissa bought Klein a formal suit and moved their belongings into their new home.
• Klein wore his new suit to the Blackthorn Security Company and entered Dunn Smith's office.
• Dunn Smith asked Klein to state his choice, and Klein answered that he wanted to become a Seer.

Klein chose the Seer pathway and went with Dunn Smith to the Nighthawks' alchemy room, where Old Neil prepared the potion. The chapter ended with Old Neil handing Klein the completed Seer potion.

• Klein confirmed to Dunn Smith that he wanted to drink the Seer potion, accepting the risks rather than waiting for another pathway.
• Dunn Smith took Klein underground and explained that mysticism knowledge came from exploration, divine gifts, and dangerous whispers, then warned that Klein would remain civilian staff while learning from Old Neil.
• Dunn Smith told Klein that the Nighthawks' findings linked the Secret Order to the Solomon Empire and its fallen nobles, and cautioned him to stay alert about the Antigonus Family Notebook.
• Old Neil brought the Seer formula and ingredients to the alchemy room, then explained the preparation while measuring and mixing them.
• Old Neil added the star crystal, producing a brief illusory mist, and poured the finished dark-blue Seer potion into a cup.

Klein drank the Seer potion, learned to control its effects through meditation, and began practicing Spirit Vision under Old Neil’s guidance. His first glimpse of auras revealed an unsettling pair of eyes behind Old Neil, who told him not to mind them.

• Klein drank the potion and endured distorted vision, whispers, and an urge to destroy until Old Neil taught him to focus on an imagined object.
• Klein meditated successfully, then followed Old Neil’s instructions and awakened his basic Spirit Vision.
• Old Neil explained the Spirit Body, Astral Body, Mental Body, and Ether Body, along with what aura colors revealed about health and emotion.
• Klein examined Old Neil’s aura and realized that he had truly become a Beyonder.
• Klein saw a pair of nearly transparent eyes behind Old Neil, and Old Neil told him not to mind them.

Klein learned to control Spirit Vision and returned home exhausted, then prepared for his Tarot Gathering. He entered the gray fog and established connections with two familiar crimson stars.

• Klein used Spirit Vision to examine the alchemy room, and Old Neil explained lingering spirituality, the strain of Spirit Vision, and how to switch it on and off.
• Klein practiced until he established a two-tap switch for Spirit Vision, then left to rest after Old Neil assigned him to search for clues about the Antigonus Family Notebook.
• Dunn Smith warned Klein not to investigate dangerous whispers or beings, and Klein returned home and slept.
• After waking, Klein reviewed history and prepared for the three o’clock Tarot Gathering with The Hanged Man and Justice.
• Klein entered the gray fog, recognized his indistinct form as an Astral Body, recreated the temple and Tarot table, and reached toward two familiar crimson stars.

At the Tarot gathering, Alger gave Audrey the Spectator potion formula, and Klein offered guidance on digesting potions through acting. He asked Audrey and Alger to collect pages from Roselle Gustav’s secret diary.

• Alger and Audrey arrived at the gathering, where Klein examined their auras and noticed a distinctive feature in The Hanged Man’s ether body.
• Audrey confirmed that Alger had received the Ghost Shark blood and asked for the Spectator potion formula.
• Alger recited the formula and explained precautions and meditation, while Audrey memorized the ingredients.
• Klein corrected Alger’s advice, saying potions were digested through acting and that a potion’s name was a key to digestion.
• Alger recognized the value of Klein’s guidance, and Klein asked both participants to collect Roselle Gustav’s secret diary, even a single page.

At the Tarot Club, Klein showed Audrey how to reproduce remembered writing and asked her and Alger to collect Emperor Roselle’s diary entries in exchange for payment. As the members shared news, Alger revealed that the Church of the Evernight Goddess had destroyed the Antigonus Family, making Klein realize the Church’s interest in the missing notebook ran deeper than he had thought.

• Audrey and Alger discussed Emperor Roselle’s secret diary, and Klein demonstrated how Audrey could reproduce remembered text on parchment by willing it to be written.
• Klein offered additional payment for more of Roselle’s diary entries, while Alger advised Audrey to remain detached and observe people as a Spectator.
• Alger said that Admiral Ludwell had sailed east to explore the Sonia Sea, and Klein shared that the Secret Order had lost an Antigonus Family Notebook.
• Alger explained that the Church of the Evernight Goddess had destroyed the Antigonus Family, prompting Klein to reconsider why the Nighthawks wanted him to become a Beyonder.
• Audrey said that the king, prime minister, and other gentlemen were under pressure to pursue change after the defeat in the war on the East Coast of Balam.

Klein proposed a public examination system to keep skilled civil servants in government regardless of which party won power, then returned from the gray fog and considered how to act as a Seer. Audrey recorded the Spectator potion formula and planned to gather its ingredients, while Alger remained unable to understand The Fool’s summoning and examined the “7, Navigator” scroll.

• Klein explained to Audrey and Alger how public examinations and gradual recruitment could keep government administration functioning across changes in political leadership.
• Klein ended the Tarot Club meeting, realized he could summon another person, and chose not to risk bringing in someone unknown.
• Klein returned to his room, opened the curtains, and resolved to go out and begin acting as a Seer.
• Audrey wrote down the Spectator potion formula, disguised it among scientific notes, and decided to search her family’s treasure vaults for ingredients.
• Audrey praised Susie as a capable assistant, while Alger examined the “7, Navigator” parchment and admitted he could not understand The Fool’s summoning.

Klein searched for the Antigonus Family Notebook and experienced the oppressive emotions lingering over Iron Cross Street. After failing to find clues, he discovered a Divination Club and asked about getting a reading.

• Klein walked through Iron Cross Street, where Mrs. Wendy Slin offered him sweet iced tea and cheered him up.
• Klein used Spirit Vision and Spirit Intuition to sense the accumulated gloom among the street’s residents and found no spirits or clues in his old apartment building.
• Klein walked to Welch’s residence but decided not to search it, then headed toward a carriage stop to visit Blackthorn Security Company.
• Klein noticed the Divination Club, entered, and asked the receptionist about membership before asking what a divination would cost.

Klein visited the Divination Club and used a tarot reading to investigate the Antigonus Family notebook, then returned to the Blackthorn Security Company, where Leonard questioned why he had survived the incident. Leonard left the question unresolved, asking why the unknown entity had not simply made Klein destroy the notebook.

• Klein chose beginner Glacis to divine whether the Antigonus Family notebook could still be found, and the first card, The Fool reversed, indicated it could not be recovered.
• Klein asked whether someone else had obtained the notebook, and Glacis interpreted The Star reversed as a sign that nobody had picked it up.
• Klein warned Glacis that his lungs might be unwell, paid him two pennies, and left the Divination Club intending to save money to become a member and act as a Seer.
• Klein reached the Blackthorn Security Company and found Leonard at the reception desk instead of Rozanne.
• Leonard asked why Welch and Naya had committed suicide while Klein had gone home, then questioned why the unknown entity had not made Klein destroy the notebook.

Klein considered what the notebook and the suicides might mean, then trained with his gun and persuaded Melissa to use public carriages so she could save time for schoolwork. The next morning, Old Neil began another mysticism lesson by promising to teach Klein an interesting trick.

• Klein suggested that the unknown existence had wanted the notebook hidden for another round of sacrifices, while Leonard proposed that it had carried or nurtured evil and questioned whether Klein had been involved.
• Klein collected his bullets from Rozanne and Brett, practiced shooting, and exercised at the Shooting Club.
• Klein persuaded Melissa that the family could afford public carriage fares and encouraged her to eat well and focus on her studies.
• The next morning, Old Neil took Klein to the armory and said he would teach him an interesting trick with the silver chain and crystal on his wrist.

Klein learned the Spirit Pendulum Method and the basics of mysticism from Old Neil, including symbolism, astrology, and potion practice. Old Neil encouraged him to request a pendulum and join the Divination Club as part of his Nighthawks duties, while reacting with disgust after Klein revealed what he had put in the bad coffee.

• Klein put dirt from his boot into one of two cups of coffee, and Old Neil used a spirit pendulum to identify the bad cup.
• Old Neil taught Klein how the Spirit Pendulum Method worked and said Klein could apply to borrow a citrine or pure silver pendulum from the armory.
• Old Neil explained symbolism and basic mysticism, including constellation signs, astrological charts, crystal balls, and incantations.
• Klein said he wanted to practice divination at the Divination Club, and Old Neil advised him to request reimbursement by treating the membership as a work requirement.
• Klein told Old Neil that the bad coffee contained mud from his boot, and Old Neil urgently told him to pour it away.