Chapter Summaries

Klein, Isengard, Kaslana, and Ikanser investigated Patrick Jason’s home and confirmed that he was the Apostle of Desire and a member of the Belial devil family, but they could not find him. Klein suspected Jason’s revenge was not the only reason he had liquidated his possessions, and went to reclaim his bail deposit before continuing the search.

• Ikanser led Klein, Isengard, and Kaslana to Patrick Jason’s house after tracing leaked information and finding evidence that pointed to him as the Apostle of Desire.
• The investigators discovered numerous murdered servants hidden throughout the property, and Carlson explained that Jason had sold off valuables and his business holdings before the killings.
• Ikanser reported that items in a secret room identified Jason as Jason Beria of the Belial devil family and showed that he had tried to summon a more powerful devil.
• The investigators found evidence confirming Jason’s identity but failed to locate him, while Klein secretly took a handkerchief from the summoning ritual for a future divination.
• Klein argued that Jason’s preparations to abandon his identity could not be explained by revenge for his Devil Dog, and Isengard agreed, noting that the Devil pathway’s Sequence 8 was called Cold-blooded.
• Klein suggested they pursue separate leads, then went to Hissack Police Station to retrieve his fifty-pound bail deposit.

Leonard learned that the blood on the strange armor belonged to an ancient god from before the Cataclysm. Klein arranged to buy Beyonder ingredients from Emlyn and asked him to investigate Patrick Jason Beria, then went above the gray fog to divine Jason’s whereabouts.

• Leonard removed the bloodstained armor and asked the voice in his mind about it; the voice identified the blood’s owner as an ancient god from before the Cataclysm.
• Klein met Emlyn at the Harvest Church and learned about the Sanguine’s beliefs and the origins of human-turned Sanguine.
• Emlyn offered Klein the Thousand-faced Hunter ingredients for 2,300 pounds, plus 150 pounds in compensation, and Klein agreed to delay the transaction until he could raise the money.
• Klein asked Emlyn to seek information about Patrick Jason Beria, offering payment for reliable details.
• Klein returned home and prepared to divine Jason’s whereabouts using his handkerchief above the gray fog.

Klein used dream divination to discover that Jason Beria wore a human skin to disguise his true identity, then learned that Jason had struck again as official forces converged on Backlund. Klein and Isengard suspected Jason's real objective was someone other than revenge, and Klein's conversation with Allen ended with a troubling detail about his wife's pregnancy.

• Klein divined Jason Beria's location and saw him change his appearance by putting on a human skin.
• Klein decided to wait two days before finding a safe way to pass his discovery to the Nighthawks.
• Isengard told Klein that the Apostle of Desire had killed two detectives' family members, drawing the Mandated Punishers and other powerful forces into the hunt.
• Klein and Isengard agreed to keep their suspicion quiet and considered that Jason might be using the hunt as a distraction from another target.
• At the Cragg Club, Klein learned Allen's wife was a little over a month pregnant and reacted with surprise.

Klein questioned Dr. Allen about his nightmares and his pregnant wife, suspecting the unborn child might be Will Auceptin, then learned the Mandated Punishers had found Patrick Jason Beria. After Klein warned Ikanser not to equate Beria with the Apostle of Desire, the story shifted to Duke Negan as his carriage arrived at his mistress’s house.

• Klein learned that Dr. Allen’s wife was expecting a child and suspected Will Auceptin had begun a new cycle of fate through the pregnancy.
• A fierce, unnatural wind swept through Backlund, and Ikanser told Klein that the Mandated Punishers had located Patrick Jason Beria, who escaped after killing two of them.
• Ikanser used the silver mirror to confirm that Jason Beria was fleeing Backlund, and Klein cautioned that the Apostle of Desire might not be the same person as Beria.
• Duke Negan discussed political reforms and workers’ bills with his secretary while traveling to visit his mistress, carrying a conch that could summon Ace Snake.

Klein warned Ikanser that the Apostle of Desire might not be Patrick Jason Beria, and Arrodes confirmed the real target was elsewhere in Backlund. As the Nighthawks prepared to hunt the Apostle, a woman discarded Patrick’s disguise while the real Apostle began his attack on Duke Negan.

• Klein advised Ikanser to ask Arrodes for the Apostle of Desire’s location instead of Patrick Jason Beria’s, and Ikanser left to consult the Nighthawks.
• Leonard asked Arrodes where the Apostle was, and its image showed a villa in Backlund, proving that the group had been misled about Patrick’s identity.
• Arrodes began questioning Leonard about a secret mark, but the question changed, and Leonard admitted that the mark existed in his memories.
• A woman disguised as Patrick Jason Beria removed the human skin, wrapped it around a stone statuette, and threw both into the river before moving to another cabin.
• Duke Negan arrived at a villa with his mistress while his Wind-blessed bodyguard and secretary searched the rooms; the real Apostle watched from the attic and clenched his hand to begin an attack.

A Devil called the Apostle of Desire attacked Duke Pallas Negan and his secretary, manipulating fear to kill the duke before escaping. The secretary pursued the attacker but lost him, while the archbishop never arrived in time.

• The Apostle of Desire assaulted Duke Negan, while the blond secretary entered the attic and sealed the room to confront him.
• The secretary deflected the Apostle’s fireballs and partially turned his Words of Filth back on him.
• Duke Negan blew a conch to summon Archbishop Snake, and the Wind-blessed guarded him outside as they waited.
• Duke Negan’s mistress jumped from a window and died, heightening the fear among the duke’s guards.
• The Apostle of Desire magnified Duke Negan’s terror, causing the duke to die as the Wind-blessed cut down guards who fired wildly.
• The secretary rushed outside after sensing the duke’s death, but the Apostle of Desire escaped with his suitcase as a vast blood-red sea appeared before him.

Leonard used Sealed Artifact 1-42 to dismember the Apostle of Desire, Belial, but the Devil escaped as a shadow. Klein tracked the wounded Belial through Backlund’s sewers and pursued him, just as Leonard’s armor entered the sewer nearby.

• Leonard, wearing 1-42, dismembered Belial, who escaped by abandoning his body and becoming a shadow.
• Soest sent Leonard and a team to pursue Belial while he ordered Ikanser to investigate whether someone close to Duke Negan had helped the assassin.
• Klein divined Belial’s location and learned he was badly injured, fleeing through the sewers toward Hillston Borough and Queens Borough.
• Klein used a ritual, his remembered aura, and a dowsing rod to locate Belial’s route and began pursuing him through the sewers.
• Belial sensed Klein nearby as Leonard descended into the sewer in the bloodstained silver armor.

Klein killed the Apostle of Desire and learned that the assassination of Duke Negan had been commissioned by the Hermits of Fate, who sought to awaken the true Creator. Meanwhile, Lockhard Siakam concealed his apparent grief over the duke’s death and privately called it the choice of the times.

• Klein ambushed the Apostle of Desire in the sewers and destroyed him with holy light before a Red Glove arrived.
• Klein questioned the Apostle of Desire above the gray fog and learned that he had successfully assassinated Duke Negan for a promised Abyss Card of Blasphemy.
• The Apostle of Desire revealed that the ancient organization behind the mission was called the Hermits of Fate and aimed to resurrect or awaken the true Creator.
• Deacon Ikanser questioned Lockhard Siakam about the duke’s visit and the events surrounding the assassination.
• Lockhard approached Duke Negan’s body, apologized aloud, and privately declared that the death had been the choice of the times.

After Duke Negan’s assassination, Prime Minister Agusid and Earl Hall planned to blame the Aurora Order and later implicate the Feynapotter Empire. Klein learned that the Machinery Hivemind considered him safe, received news of a bounty and an offer to act as an informant, and finally digested his Magician potion.

• Agusid told Earl Hall that a Devil named Patrick Jason had assassinated Duke Negan and that the Black Emperor had killed Jason while he fled.
• Agusid and Earl Hall agreed to publicly blame the Aurora Order, then use the investigation to accuse the Feynapotter Empire once the kingdom was prepared for war.
• After spirit-channeling, Klein wondered whether the Hermits of Fate were the organization Emperor Roselle had joined and whether they sought to awaken the original Creator.
• Carlson told Klein that Jason had been killed, offered him a secret bounty of about 1,000 pounds, and asked him to pass information to the Machinery Hivemind.
• Klein read Isengard Stanton’s praise of his deductions and felt his Magician potion finish digesting in the final month of 1349.

After killing the Apostle of Desire, Klein considered the ingredients and money he needed to become a Faceless. Meanwhile, the churches investigated Duke Negan’s assassination, and Audrey learned that Klein had pursued the organization behind the attack: the Hermits of Fate.

• Klein reviewed his decision to kill the Apostle of Desire and weighed the cost and availability of the ingredients needed for his next advancement.
• Ikanser asked Arrodes who had ordered the assassination, receiving a sunset scene, while Carlson learned that the Apostle of Desire had two collaborators and endured Arrodes’s personal question.
• Soest assigned the Nighthawks to investigate other tarot-card cases, while Ace Snake ordered the Mandated Punishers to use Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts to find Duke Negan’s killers.
• Audrey heard from Susie that Duke Negan had been killed by an Apostle of Desire whom the Black Emperor had silenced, then asked the Fool whether his Blessed had been there.
• The Fool confirmed that his Blessed had been searching for the organization behind the Apostle of Desire and identified it as the Hermits of Fate.

Audrey and Alger learned more about the aftermath of Duke Negan’s assassination, while Klein received the Machinery Hivemind’s bounty and met Emlyn to arrange their transaction. The chapter left Klein ready to obtain the two ingredients he had paid for.

• Audrey concluded that the Hermits of Fate were a secretive organization opposing the Aurora Order and resolved to advance her Sequence to protect her family.
• Alger learned that a Sequence 5 Devil had assassinated Duke Negan and that the Church of Storms was investigating the Black Emperor and tarot-related incidents.
• Klein collected 1,000 pounds from the Machinery Hivemind and decided he could now complete his transaction with Emlyn White.
• Klein greeted Starling Summer as she prepared to travel with her family for the new year.
• Emlyn showed Klein information about Jason Beria, but Klein explained that the newspapers had already identified Jason as Duke Negan’s assassin and reported the Aurora Order’s claim of responsibility.
• Klein told Emlyn that he had raised enough money for the two ingredients and asked when Emlyn could provide them.

Klein arranged for Emlyn to buy two Beyonder ingredients through a safer church-based exchange, then learned why Emlyn feared praying to the Moon Primordial. As Klein planned to pursue new leads, Dorian asked Fors whether she wanted to become a Beyonder.

• Klein gave Emlyn a 1,000-pound advance and asked him to bring the ingredients to the Harvest Church for verification and payment.
• Emlyn asked Klein about The Fool and the Moon Primordial, explaining that prayers to the latter could turn Sanguine into monsters.
• Klein warned Emlyn against blindly praying to unknown secret existences and left the Harvest Church to plan his search for ingredients and contacts.
• Fors visited the graves of Lawrence, Anlisa, and others with Dorian while worrying about finding a Spirit Eater's stomach pouch.
• Dorian called Lawrence's epitaph ironic, then asked Fors whether she wanted to become a Beyonder.

Fors accepted Dorian Gray as her teacher, and he summoned his contracted creature Marmot to retrieve the Apprentice potion ingredients before giving her the potion. Meanwhile, Klein met Freja and Daisy in East Borough, then encountered a man asking whether he had heard of the Primordial Creator.

• Fors agreed to become Dorian Gray’s student, and he demonstrated his ability to pass through a tree.
• Dorian summoned Marmot, who produced the Apprentice potion ingredients it had been storing.
• Fors drank the Apprentice potion despite privately wishing she had already become a Beyonder.
• Klein met Freja and Daisy, learned Daisy was using her lunch break to help deliver laundry, and encouraged her to teach Freja what she learned at school.
• After changing into workers’ clothes, Klein was approached by a middle-aged man who asked if he had heard of the Primordial Creator.

Klein investigated reports of the original Creator’s believers, learned that Kaspars Kanlinen had died, and met Ian, who had taken over as an information broker and arms dealer. Sharron unexpectedly reappeared, confirmed the High-Sequence Beyonder had left, and told Klein she knew where to find a Human-skinned Shadow characteristic.

• Klein heard a preacher in East Borough promote the original Creator’s faith, refused to listen, and decided the situation should be reported to the Machinery Hivemind.
• Klein visited the Bravehearts Bar to buy ammunition and learned that Kaspars Kanlinen had died under suspicious circumstances.
• Klein met Ian, who said he had no information about believers of The Fool and revealed that Military Intelligence Section 9 had posted a bounty for Azik Eggers.
• Sharron appeared in Klein’s carriage, confirmed the High-Sequence Beyonder had left, and warned that the Moon Primordial and the Chained God were suspected mortal enemies.
• Klein asked Sharron where he could find a Human-skinned Shadow characteristic, and she said she knew.

Klein asked Sharron about leads on Human-skinned Shadows and learned of a dangerous tomb belonging to the Amon family and a bounty to uncover the chivalrous thief Black Emperor’s identity. He recognized the bounty-giver as the female demigod he had encountered before, but told Sharron he would only keep an eye out for her.

• Sharron told Klein that Maric’s friend had died inside an unexplored Amon family tomb near Whitecliff Town, and warned that exploring it required a Sequence 4 Beyonder or an equivalent Sealed Artifact.
• Sharron described a High-Sequence woman’s offer to fulfill a reasonable request in exchange for investigating the chivalrous thief Black Emperor’s true identity.
• Klein recognized the woman from her chestnut hair and black leather boots as the demigod he had encountered at the Kingdom Museum and suspected she was pursuing the Black Emperor card.
• Klein told Sharron he would keep an eye out for the woman, then asked about her and Maric’s curse and Steve’s corrupted Beyonder Characteristic.
• Sharron said Whitecliff Town lay south of Bridge South Borough and gave Klein permission to tell others about the tomb before vanishing from the carriage.

Klein bought the Thousand-faced Hunter’s mutated pituitary gland and blood from Emlyn, while Fors and Xio approached a damaged Aurora Order gathering site. The next day, Klein gave Carlson a lead about a Fourth Epoch noble’s mausoleum.

• Klein confirmed Emlyn’s two Beyonder ingredients, paid him 1,450 pounds, and took the suitcase before vanishing from Harvest Church.
• Fors explained to Xio how Beyonder ingredients and potions differed as they traveled to Mr. A’s gathering, then noticed the gathering house had been badly damaged and diverted their carriage.
• Klein read that the Aurora Order had suffered a major blow and stored the Thousand-faced Hunter ingredients above the gray fog.
• Klein visited Carlson at the Bravehearts Bar, reported that people in the East Borough were spreading faith in the Primordial Creator, and offered a lead about a Fourth Epoch noble’s mausoleum.

Klein negotiated with the Machinery Hivemind for a share of the finds from the Amon Family mausoleum in exchange for revealing its location. After leaving the bar, he considered the danger posed by the Hermits of Fate, then witnessed Talym Dumont suddenly collapse and die.

• Klein asked Carlson for one item from the mausoleum's discoveries as compensation for his intelligence, and Carlson sought approval from Ikanser Bernard.
• Ikanser accepted Klein's request on the condition that cursed items and those with powerful side effects were excluded, and Klein told him where the mausoleum was and warned that it required High-Sequence strength to explore.
• Klein suspected that writing or speaking the name Hermits of Fate could alert the organization, and he decided to warn Miss Justice at the next Tarot Club meeting.
• At the Cragg Club, Klein greeted Talym Dumont, who spoke excitedly about liking someone and thanked Klein for introducing him to Mr. Franky Cagg.
• Talym suddenly collapsed, convulsed, and died before Klein could help him.

Klein investigated the sudden death of his friend Talym Dumont, whose death appeared to involve a curse, and sought help from official Beyonders. He learned that the royal family had taken over the case, leaving the identity of Talym’s killer unknown.

• Talym Dumont suddenly died at the Cragg Club, and Klein saw fading black energy on his chest with Spirit Vision.
• Klein reported Talym’s suspected curse to Carlson, who explained that the Mandated Punishers had jurisdiction because Talym was a believer in the Lord of Storms.
• Klein read an obituary attributing Talym’s death to a sudden heart condition and visited Isengard Stanton to ask whether it might conceal a trap.
• Isengard sent Klein word that the Mandated Punishers were not handling the case because the royal family had taken it over due to Talym’s noble descent.

Sherlock Moriarty was summoned to Red Rose Manor by Prince Edessak Augustus, who wanted him to investigate Talym’s death. Their conversation was interrupted by news about a woman Edessak had forbidden to leave, though he allowed her to walk around the manor.

• Klein burned Isengard Stanton’s letter and prepared for the day.
• A butler invited Klein to meet his master, explaining that the man was Talym’s friend and wanted to discuss his death.
• Klein learned that the butler’s master was Prince Edessak Augustus and traveled to Red Rose Manor, where guards confiscated his revolver.
• Edessak asked Klein to uncover the truth about Talym’s death, citing reports that Klein had found traces of a curse.
• A maid reported something to Edessak, who ordered that a woman could not go out but could walk freely around the manor.

Prince Edessak hired Klein to investigate Talym Dumont’s death, and Klein accepted despite fearing the danger. At the Tarot Gathering, Audrey gave Mr. Fool three pages of Roselle’s diary, the first of which mentioned Mr. Door.

• Klein suspected that Prince Edessak was the nobleman in Talym’s story and listened as Edessak explained his feelings about romance and his reasons for hiring a private detective.
• Edessak agreed to provide Talym’s hair or bodily remains and belongings, arrange a secret way to contact him, and pay Klein for his work.
• Klein returned to Minsk Street, worried that investigating could put Sherlock Moriarty in danger, and decided he could not wait for the Machinery Hivemind to obtain a Human-skinned Shadow characteristic.
• Klein prepared for the Tarot Gathering, where Audrey observed the members and offered Mr. Fool three new pages of Roselle’s diary as payment for an earlier answer.
• Klein read the first diary page, which recorded that Roselle had established stable contact with Mr. Door.