Chapter Summaries

Klein and the Future faced an attack from Admiral of Hell Ludwell as Cattleya’s crew fought off a monster’s flesh. Klein flew aboard the Black Tulip and used Azik’s Copper Whistle to draw away Ludwell’s undead forces, leaving the two men face-to-face.

• Klein spotted the Black Tulip approaching, and Anderson recognized Ludwell as a dangerous threat with a 55,000-pound bounty.
• Cattleya sent sun Wraiths to destroy the monster’s flesh while Heath protected Frank, Nina, and the other sailors.
• Ludwell’s Black Tulip fired at the Future, and Anderson intercepted its cannonballs with fire ravens before Ludwell sent undead creatures toward the ship.
• Klein used a Storm charm to fly toward the Black Tulip, then threw Azik’s Copper Whistle onto its aft deck.
• The Black Tulip’s undead crew and Spirit World creatures abandoned Ludwell and rushed toward the whistle, leaving Klein alone with him on the foredeck.

Klein fought Admiral of Hell Ludwell aboard the Black Tulip, using Distortion and Holy Light against Ludwell’s deadly powers while hoping Anderson would join him. After Ludwell’s ring turned Klein’s Spirit Piercing against him and the language of death began pulling his spirit from his body, Klein stole a power that stopped Ludwell from speaking, though he had not obtained the power that created the bronze doors.

• Anderson Hood noticed the charm at his feet and realized Gehrman Sparrow had left it for him to use.
• Klein attacked Ludwell with Poisonous Mist, then distorted the bronze doors’ suction to drag the Black Tulip’s undead into the crack instead of himself.
• Ludwell’s Wraith-like hand turned Klein into a paper figurine, but Klein reappeared and struck the doors with Holy Light, weakening them.
• Klein’s Spirit Piercing was reflected by Ludwell’s ring, leaving him in pain as Ludwell used the language of death to pull his spirit from his body.
• Klein stole a pale, sinister-green power with the Kindling glove, preventing Ludwell from continuing to speak the language of death.

Klein and Anderson fought Admiral of Hell Ludwell aboard the Black Tulip as Ludwell opened a giant bronze door to escape into another world. Klein recovered the Azik Copper Whistle but lost his Merfolk Cufflink, then returned to the Future, where the Faceless potion finished digesting.

• Klein used Words of the Dead against Ludwell, but Ludwell's ring restored his spirit and he attacked with a rapier.
• Klein escaped the rapier with a paper figurine and unleashed Sea God charms, while Anderson arrived and struck the bronze door with a blazing spear.
• Ludwell removed his mask and used deathly stillness to enlarge the bronze door, which swallowed the Black Tulip as Klein and Anderson escaped its darkness.
• Klein teleported onto the Black Tulip's aft deck, grabbed the Azik Copper Whistle, and escaped the undead creatures, but fell into the sea and discovered his Merfolk Cufflink was gone.
• Cattleya sent a bridge of starlight from the Future, and Klein and Anderson returned aboard as Frank Lee and the pirates praised Klein.
• Klein felt the Faceless potion finish digesting.

After the Future escapes the corrupted sea, Klein searches for his lost Merfolk Cufflink and prepares to continue looking for mermaids. When he returns to the library in his dream, he notices Roselle’s Notes 3 but avoids it, then hears someone approaching.

• Heath Doyle vomited corrupted flesh, and Cattleya purified it with a Sun Wraith.
• Klein divined that his Merfolk Cufflink was embedded in a Living Corpse aboard the Black Tulip and decided to delay contacting Azik until the Future left the dangerous sea.
• Klein prepared protections against divination and went to the deck to search for signs of mermaids.
• Nina led a funeral for Riveir, and Anderson later told Klein that mermaids might be found beyond nearby ruins.
• After night fell, Klein returned to the library in his dream, avoided Roselle’s Notes 3, and heard footsteps approaching.

Klein met the Mystery Queen in a dreamlike library, where she revealed how much she knew about his identities and recent actions. She asked him to decipher Emperor Roselle’s script and left him with a clue about his destiny before the library vanished.

• Klein recognized the Mystery Queen as the demigod he had encountered at the Kingdom Museum and on the forest path, but she identified him as the chivalrous thief Black Emperor.
• The Mystery Queen linked Nast Solomon’s Black Emperor appearing in the Rorsted Archipelago to the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and confirmed Klein’s identity through his response.
• Klein asked whether she had secretly boarded the Future and appeared in the Saint of Darkness’s dream, and she confirmed both while revealing that he had taken Kavithua’s relic.
• The Mystery Queen revealed that many people called her that and asked Klein to share his method for deciphering Emperor Roselle’s script in exchange for fulfilling most of his requests.
• After Klein asked for High-Sequence potion formulas, the Mystery Queen told him his destiny lay on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountain Range and departed, causing the library to collapse.
• Klein returned to the mural hall, where Anderson asked where he had come in from.

In a dream, Klein analyzed how much the Mystery Queen knew about his identities and questioned Cattleya about her conspicuous actions, learning she had meant to make him a clue if she developed problems. He woke aboard the Future and heard mermaids singing in the distance.

• Klein gave Anderson the Mystery Queen’s prophecy that the deadliest dangers hid in ordinary life, and Anderson connected it to the Future’s tainted liquor.
• Klein reasoned that the Mystery Queen had linked Gehrman Sparrow to the chivalrous thief Black Emperor but had not uncovered his deeper identities or secrets.
• Klein asked Cattleya whether she had revealed the bridge of stars to draw attention to him, and she admitted she had wanted someone to notice if she showed serious problems or abnormalities.
• Cattleya said she had been banished, but Klein woke before he could ask more.
• Klein went onto the deck to watch for mermaids, then heard their distant singing nearly an hour later.

Klein reached the mermaids and used their song to complete the ritual for advancing to Sequence 5, Marionettist. He left the chapter having successfully advanced and regained control of his body.

• Klein extracted the True Creator's corruption from the Eye of All-Black with the Kindling glove and used the purified characteristic to prepare the Marionettist potion.
• Klein left the Future in a small boat and approached the mermaids, whose song nearly lured him into the sea.
• The mermaids fled when they saw Klein, so he used a Sea God charm to make them feel friendly and continued toward those still singing.
• Klein drank the Marionettist potion and endured its stiffness, intrusive worms, and intermittent murmurs while the mermaids' singing helped him recover.
• Klein calmed himself with Cogitation as his body changed, then returned to normal and completed his advancement to Marionettist.

After advancing to Sequence 5, Klein examined his Marionettist powers and returned to the Future, where Cattleya set sail for home. He then explored the space above the gray fog and saw something near its suspended mass.

• Klein learned how his Spirit Body Thread powers worked, including their limits on control, range, and the number of marionettes he could command.
• Klein thanked the mermaids for helping him withstand the potion’s corruption, then returned to the Future and was startled by their sharp teeth.
• Anderson Hood teased Klein about seeking mermaids for a ritual, and Cattleya congratulated him on his advancement and asked about his dream.
• Cattleya ordered the Future to set sail for home after Klein entered his room.
• Klein sent Creeping Hunger above the gray fog, stored the ruined Kindling glove in the junk pile, and climbed the luminous stairway, which now had five steps.
• At the top of the stairway, Klein looked toward the gray fog and vaguely saw something.

Klein reflected on reaching Sequence 5 and planned to rest before pursuing his next advancement, while Derrick’s exploration team entered Afternoon Town and encountered signs of its ancient past. The chapter left Derrick alone in a basement after he discovered three names carved on an altar and realized Heim and Joshua had vanished.

• Klein considered his progress toward revenge, planned to digest the Marionettist potion and seek a Sequence 4 formula later, and decided to relax for a few days.
• Colin Iliad led the City of Silver exploration team into Afternoon Town and warned them that strange monsters lurked in its darkness.
• The team destroyed a transparent-faced monster embedded in a stone house, and Colin ordered the explorers to split into smaller groups.
• Derrick, Joshua, and Heim searched an alley and entered a basement where Derrick found signs of ancient sacrificial rituals.
• Derrick deciphered the names Ouroboros, Medici, and Sasrir on an altar, then turned to find Joshua and Heim missing.

Derrick vanished from the altar in Afternoon Town and found himself in a version of the city where its residents seemed to still be living. He prayed to The Fool, and Klein pulled him above the gray fog just as Colin Iliad and the others found him again.

• Derrick found the altar’s inscriptions clearer and read the names Ouroboros, Medici, and Sasrir alongside the phrase “Rose Redemption.”
• Derrick saw candlelit buildings and residents in Afternoon Town, while Heim and Joshua discovered that he had disappeared from the altar.
• Heim and Joshua lit a candle to protect Derrick, then summoned Colin Iliad and told him what had happened.
• Derrick realized the strange situation had affected him and prayed to The Fool for help.
• Klein saw darkness and watching eyes around Derrick, struggled to pull him above the gray fog, then successfully brought him into the space.
• Colin Iliad entered the basement with Heim and Joshua as Derrick’s figure reappeared in the candlelight.

Derrick returned from the strange Afternoon Town and explained what he had found to Colin, while Klein pondered the dangers of the darkness and entered a changed dream. There, the Mystery Queen warned Klein that his confidence in his protective items could endanger him and revealed that the ravings in the waters came from the True Creator.

• Derrick told Mr. Fool about the altar and the names of the Angels before returning to his body.
• Derrick described his disappearance and discovery of the complete altar inscription to Colin, who confirmed that the altar's power had ended its mission.
• As the group left the basement, Derrick's companions kept their distance, and candle flames appeared throughout the darkening Afternoon Town.
• Klein considered the similarities between the darkness in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and his current surroundings, then entered a dream in a new location.
• The Mystery Queen warned Klein that he trusted his copper whistle and paper crane too much and said Cattleya's Sealed Artifact could not always protect the ship's crew from the ravings of the True Creator.

Klein explored the black monastery with the Mystery Queen, learning that the waters held remnants of divine dreams and secrets tied to the Forsaken Land of the Gods. He identified the queen as Bernadette before the dream ended, while Derrick and the others found Afternoon Town had come alive in the real world.

• The Mystery Queen told Klein that the waters' ravings came from the True Creator and that a projection of the Giant King's Court stood across from the monastery.
• Klein realized the Mystery Queen was likely Bernadette Gustav, and she said rumors placed the route to the Forsaken Land of the Gods inside the projection.
• The Mystery Queen explained that the monastery's doors led to different dreams, including one belonging to an Undying who sought traces of the former Death.
• The Mystery Queen opened a door to a sea filled with golden sunlight, then shut it when the building began shaking under the power within.
• Klein asked about activating the Black Emperor card and called the Mystery Queen Bernadette; she said the dream was ending and departed.
• In Afternoon Town, candles lit in the houses, and Colin declared that they were in the real world because the altar's power had leaked out.

Derrick and Colin’s team encountered monsters that copied their shadows in Afternoon Town and discovered that bright light destroyed them. They found a surviving cleric praying about the town’s coming calamity, while Klein woke aboard the ship and heard Frank had caught something strange.

• Colin sent a signal for the scattered exploration teams and led Derrick, Joshua, and Heim toward the nearest group.
• A shadow resembling Heim attacked Derrick, and Colin identified the attackers as their own shadows and destroyed them with bright light.
• The group reached a collapsed church, where a cleric prayed about Sasrir, secret rituals, and a great calamity; two exploration-team members then died when the dawn light exposed their shadows.
• Klein woke from a dream and went to the pirates’ dining hall, where Frank told him he had caught something strange while fishing.

Klein learned that a Rose Bishop’s fingers had carried a plea for help, while Colin’s questions in Afternoon Town revealed three Angel Kings before the informant destroyed himself. In the dream world, Cattleya admitted that the woman aboard the Future had been a mother figure to her.

• Heath Doyle identified the fingers in Frank Lee’s fish as belonging to a Rose Bishop, and the flesh and blood spelled “Help!”
• Klein connected the plea to Leomaster’s kind personality and warned Frank Lee to leave the matter alone.
• Frank Lee asked Heath Doyle to remove the mental imprint from the flesh and blood so he could use it in experiments.
• Colin extinguished the church candles, defeated the clergyman, and learned that the kings included Sasrir, Ouroboros, and Medici before transparent flames consumed the clergyman.
• Monsters attacked the church, and Colin, Derrick, Heim, and Joshua prepared to fight them.
• In the dream world, Cattleya told Klein that the woman aboard the Future had raised her and was her captain, teacher, and mother figure.

Klein watched the Saint of Darkness’s two personalities flee through the black monastery and learned that Bernadette had arranged the encounter to reveal a possible route into the Forsaken Land of the Gods. The chapter ended with Klein separating the personalities with pea vines while Derrick’s exploration team survived another battle in Afternoon Town and prepared to camp.

• Klein spoke with Frank and Anderson in the black monastery before Leomaster’s kind-hearted personality and black-armored main personality raced through the mural hall.
• Klein and Anderson initially hid from the pursuing Saint of Darkness, but Klein followed the pair when they left the monastery.
• Klein watched the kind-hearted Leomaster pray to the Creator before the Giant King’s Court projection, but the attempt to open a passage failed.
• Klein saw Bernadette observing from a window and deduced that she had guided Leomaster there to reveal how the Giant King’s Court might connect to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
• Klein used pea vines to separate Leomaster’s two personalities as Cattleya stood up from the boulder.
• Derrick and the exploration team defeated the monsters in Afternoon Town, losing six members, and Colin Iliad ordered them to rest and establish camp.

Klein and the Future escaped the dangerous sea after discovering a deserted ship whose blood-written clue pointed to the Fountain of Youth. They encountered Agarito’s flagship, the Black Death, but it fled before Klein could act.

• Klein watched the Mystery Queen and Leomaster’s personalities vanish, then traveled with the Future through dangerous waters toward the sea’s exit.
• Nina spotted an abandoned three-masted ship near the ruins, and Cattleya used her powers to inspect it.
• Cattleya’s vision revealed portraits of a burly Feysac adventurer and the blood-written words “Fountain of Youth...” beside a trail leading away.
• Klein connected the ship’s fate to the King of Immortality’s pursuit of a young adventurer and chose not to investigate the ruins without more information.
• Cattleya ordered the Future to leave, and the crew sailed out of the strange waters onto an azure sea.
• Klein recognized Agarito’s flagship, the Black Death, but the ship turned and fled before he could attack.

Klein learned that King of Immortality Agarito’s Fountain of Youth story was a scam tied to his Demon pathway, then left the dangerous waters aboard the Future. He reached Toscarter Island with Anderson Hood, who immediately borrowed money from him.

• Klein realized Agarito had fled after sensing danger and suspected that Slaughterer Gillschies could detect threats in advance.
• The Mystery Queen Bernadette told Klein that the Fountain of Youth was a scam and might be part of Agarito’s Sequence 4 advancement or potion digestion ritual.
• Klein shared that Emperor Roselle had faced a grave predicament in his later years, and Bernadette vanished from his room.
• Cattleya told Klein that the Future had emerged near Toscarter Island, and Klein chose to disembark there rather than return to Nass.
• Klein paid Cattleya the remaining 1,300 pounds, while Anderson Hood paid for passage with a button artifact that could attract the attention of powerful enemies.
• Klein left the Future and gave Anderson one pound after Anderson asked to borrow money for food, drinks, and lodging.

Klein gave Frank Lee the ritual for summoning his messenger and agreed to ask for help with Anderson’s curse of bad luck. After consulting Will Auceptin in a dream, he learned that Ricciardo could resolve the curse and that Seer’s Sequence 4 was Bizarro Sorcerer.

• Klein gave Frank Lee the ritual for summoning his messenger, then agreed to stay at the same inn as Anderson.
• Anderson nearly choked to death from drinking water, but a straw doll he had bought absorbed the danger and melted away.
• Anderson asked Klein for help changing his luck, and Klein promised to seek an answer by morning.
• Klein wrote to Mr. Azik about his journey, Admiral of Hell Ludwell’s ring, the Artificial Death project, and the dangers in the eastern Sonia Sea.
• Klein summoned his skeletal messenger to deliver the letter, then dreamed of Will Auceptin’s reply.
• Will Auceptin told Klein that Ricciardo could resolve Anderson’s curse and named Seer’s Sequence 4 potion Bizarro Sorcerer.

Klein and Anderson Hood negotiated a deal to lift Anderson’s bad-luck curse in exchange for money and a lead on a powerful revolver. As they went to breakfast, an inn waiter attacked Anderson and the innkeeper fired at him, leaving their safety uncertain.

• Klein decided to seek a relatively normal demigod of the Secret Order for the Bizarro Sorcerer potion formula and considered asking Ricciardo to improve Anderson’s luck.
• Anderson repaid Klein one gold coin, and Klein offered to arrange a luck-enhancement ritual on Oravi Island.
• Anderson offered 1,500 pounds and a lead on a revolver whose attacks could exploit weaknesses, inflict lethal damage, and cause slaughter, but which gave its user a temporary new weakness after each use.
• Klein accepted the deal, took 300 pounds upfront, and told Anderson to buy two tickets to Oravi for the next day.
• As Klein and Anderson headed to breakfast, a waiter suddenly stabbed at Anderson’s throat with a teaspoon, and the innkeeper shot at Anderson as he dodged.

Klein and Anderson survived a coordinated attack on Anderson by manipulated inn patrons, then met the hidden demigod behind it. After the demigod spoke privately with Anderson, the pair stayed on Toscarter Island while Klein prepared for the Tarot Club and tested his new Marionettist abilities.

• Klein realized the inn patrons attacking Anderson were being influenced and helped him escape upstairs.
• Klein inferred that a hidden demigod connected to the Psychology Alchemists had orchestrated the attacks, and Anderson loudly apologized to summon him.
• The demigod’s mental influence sent Klein back to his room, and Anderson later said he had been asked to do something secret and could not remember the demigod’s appearance.
• Klein and Anderson ate breakfast; Anderson left to collect bounties and make preparations while Klein practiced his Marionettist powers.
• Klein rehearsed a warning for The Hermit Cattleya above the gray fog and gained complete control over The World, including access to the puppet’s senses.