Chapter Summaries

Klein decided to prioritize taking revenge on Ince Zangwill rather than wait for his potion to digest, and learned from Arrodes that it saw a “pillar, dominion” in him. He traded a one-use item for two drops of Will Auceptin’s blood and learned that charms made from it should be directed to the Empress of Misfortune and Horror.

• Klein asked Arrodes how to digest a potion faster, and it answered that he needed better acting.
• Klein chose to pursue revenge on Ince Zangwill as soon as an opportunity arose, then asked Arrodes what it saw in him; Arrodes replied that it saw a “pillar, dominion.”
• Klein passed Cattleya’s method for borrowing strength from his past self to The World and received a marked cane head as the one-use item required for the method.
• Klein visited the newborn Will Auceptin and offered him the cane head in exchange for a drop of umbilical cord blood.
• Will Auceptin gave Klein two drops of his blood, explaining that one was for the item and the other payment, and said charms made from it could be directed to the Empress of Misfortune and Horror.

Klein asked the newborn Will Ceres for advice about confronting the holder of 0-08, but Will answered with a wail, while Cattleya received a drop of fate-domain Mythical Creature blood. Meanwhile, Colin Iliad's expedition reached North City and encountered its silent inhabitants, and Alger found evidence that Rose Redemption had visited the ruins of Bansy Harbor.

• Klein realized the Goddess could answer prayers involving bad luck, learned Will Auceptin's full name was Will Ceres, and asked how to deal with the holder of 0-08; Will responded by crying.
• Cattleya collected a drop of silver blood from a Mythical Creature associated with fate and concluded Mr. Fool had formidable angelic support.
• Colin Iliad led Lovia, Rigg, Gunalun, and Derrick Berg to North City, where Derrick illuminated the streets and revealed figures staring silently at the expedition.
• Alger searched the ruins of Bansy Harbor and discovered a crude image depicting the Lord of Storms in Rose Redemption's distorted style.
• Alger inferred that a Rose Redemption member had visited Bansy Harbor after its destruction and left the image intact, then continued searching without revealing his discovery.

Klein confirmed that the entity possessing Ince Zangwill was likely the Red Angel Evil Spirit, while the Red Gloves investigated Ince’s movements and considered possession as an explanation. In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Colin’s team encountered a changed and dangerous North, and Lovia suggested exploring another entrance.

• Klein concluded that the Red Angel Evil Spirit likely possessed Ince Zangwill, then returned to sleep without making plans.
• Danitz met local contacts about the arms trade while Anderson performed a puppet show in the square.
• Cindy reported Ince Zangwill’s movements and purchases of Beyonder ingredients to Soest’s Red Gloves team.
• Daly Simone proposed that an Evil Spirit possessed Ince, and Soest agreed to report the possibility to the Eye of the Goddess.
• A pale-handed man wrote in a notebook about Daly, Leonard, and Soest’s investigation, questioning whether their expectations would prove true.
• In North, Colin and Lovia reacted painfully to the silent figures, and Lovia suggested exploring another entrance to the city.

Derrick used a Spirit World Plunderer's true soul body to lure Shapeshifters out of North City, where Colin and Lovia killed one and collected its blood. Elsewhere, Soest sent the Red Gloves to investigate possible Hunter pathway ingredient sales and disappearances, ordering them not to pursue anything beyond gathering intelligence.

• Colin and Derrick agreed that North City was too dangerous to enter and planned to lure a Shapeshifter out with an item Derrick carried.
• Derrick revealed the Spirit World Plunderer's true soul body, and Colin judged it could attract Shapeshifters.
• Ravens arrived at the camp, and one transformed into a Shapeshifter that attacked Derrick before Colin and Lovia killed it with their powers.
• Colin collected the Shapeshifter's blood and asked to exchange for its remaining ingredients; Lovia, Rigg, and Gunalun accepted.
• Soest told the Red Gloves to investigate Hunter pathway ingredient sales and related disappearances, while forbidding further investigation beyond gathering intelligence.

Leonard and Daly reasoned that Ince Zangwill and the Red Angel were manipulating the Church of Evernight’s investigation, while Ince’s notebook revealed his plan to kill Ilya and the avengers from Tingen. In Kukwa City, Ince approached Anderson and Danitz, but a priest appeared beside them and confronted him.

• Leonard told Daly that 0-08 might already know about their investigation and could use coincidences to evade them.
• Daly suggested the Goddess’s concealment might help, and she and Leonard worried that 0-08 had overheard their conversation.
• Ince’s notebook described how he and Sauron Einhorn Medici had staged the possession, misled the Church, and planned to use Ilya’s trap against her.
• The notebook revealed Ince’s real aim was to hunt Ilya for her Beyonder Characteristic, then kill Leonard, Daly, and the other avengers from Tingen.
• Anderson told Danitz he had found an ancient mausoleum by temporarily stealing the locals’ language abilities, and Danitz left him.
• Ince approached Anderson and Danitz with a quill, but a seemingly unnoticed priest appeared beside Anderson and raised a silver cross.

Anderson recovered his sealed memories and realized Adam had used him as part of a plan involving a crimson cocoon and 0-08. As Adam and Ince Zangwill confronted Ouroboros in a Corpse Cathedral, Klein sent warnings to Leonard and prepared to intervene from above the gray fog.

• Anderson remembered that a Demigod had arranged for him to absorb strange materials in an ancient coffin, then sealed his memories and sent him to West Balam.
• Danitz recognized the danger and prayed to Mr. Fool as Ince Zangwill identified the priest as Adam.
• Adam summoned a Corpse Cathedral, and Ince Zangwill used 0-08 to make Ouroboros descend; Ouroboros tried to escape, but a giant cross struck the cathedral and trapped them in its light.
• Klein sent a message to Leonard through Reinette Tinekerr and arranged for Enzo to telegraph the Church of Evernight about Ince Zangwill's appearance.
• Leonard received Klein's message and traveled with Daly to Kukwa City after she insisted on accompanying him.
• Klein entered the space above the gray fog, took up the Tyrant Card, Sea God Scepter, and a charm, then reached toward Danitz's point of light.

Klein used a divine calamity charm to trap Ince Zangwill in Resurrection Square and set his marionettes and allies upon him. Ince’s Red Angel spirit was pulled from his body, but it broke free and prepared to fight back as Ludwell invoked Fate.

• Klein answered Danitz’s prayer and drove people from Resurrection Square with a gale.
• Ince Zangwill escaped the Corpse Cathedral, but Klein struck him with a calamity charm that disrupted his Spirit World Traversal and made the Red Angel spirit argue with itself.
• Klein deployed Admiral of Hell Ludwell, while Winner Enzo prepared a ritual and Ince tried to flee the empty square.
• Ludwell and the arriving Leonard Mitchell and Daly Simone extracted the Red Angel spirit from Ince, and Daly opened a gate to the Underworld.
• The Red Angel spirit broke free, drew an illusory longsword, and tried to return to Ince as Ludwell invoked Fate.

Klein’s plan separated the Red Angel evil spirit from Ince Zangwill by sending it into the Underworld, while Leonard’s attempt to use a Fate Siphon charm was caught in Ince’s dream. Klein then summoned the Sea God’s lightning from above the gray fog, trapping Ince as he transformed into a Mythical Creature, but Ince used 0-08 to write that an unknown ally would rescue him through the Spirit World.

• Klein used a Fate Siphon charm to make Ludwell take the Red Angel evil spirit’s possession, and Daly widened the Gate of the Underworld so Ludwell and the spirit were pulled inside.
• Leonard tried to transfer a lightning strike’s fate to Ince Zangwill, but Ince revealed that Leonard was trapped in a dream and put Daly and Leonard to sleep as well.
• Ince used 0-08 to write that he was in excellent condition, then transformed into a Mythical Creature and spread the powers of evernight and death across the square.
• Klein entered the space above the gray fog and summoned the Sea God’s lightning, which trapped Ince in the square despite his attempts to flee.
• Daly and Leonard awakened and retreated for cover while Ince wrote that an unknown existence would take him away through the Spirit World.

Daly Simone disrupted the creature trying to carry Ince Zangwill away, but Ince turned on her and Leonard Mitchell as the lightning weakened. With Pallez Zoroast still asleep, Leonard prayed to The Fool, located Ince, and attacked him with the Fate Siphon charm.

• Daly Simone drank a Spirit Flower concoction and used spirit channeling to persuade an unknown creature to leave Resurrection Square instead of taking Ince Zangwill.
• Reinette Tinekerr arrived in the nearby Spirit World, drove away its creatures, and left after glancing at Ince.
• A lightning strike destabilized Ince Zangwill, and he attacked Daly Simone and Leonard Mitchell while dodging the dwindling bolts.
• Leonard Mitchell called for Pallez Zoroast, received no answer, and prayed to The Fool for help locating Ince.
• Leonard used the Fate Siphon charm against Ince Zangwill and shouted for him to die.

Klein Moretti and his allies defeated Ince Zangwill, while Adam revealed that Klein had completed digesting his potion through the battle. As Daly Simone neared losing control, Klein reunited her with Dunn Smith in a vision, then drank the potion made from the battle’s ingredients.

• Leonard Mitchell used the Fate Siphon charm to take on the lightning storm’s fate, and Ince Zangwill survived the repeated strikes but was badly burned.
• Leonard resisted Ince Zangwill’s attack with a recorded Tornado, but Ince Zangwill cursed him and enveloped him in deathly darkness.
• Klein Moretti arrived with Death Knell and fired at Ince Zangwill, naming those he avenged before killing him with a final shot to the head.
• Adam collected the dim quill and told Klein that he had completed digesting his potion, then disappeared from the ruined square.
• Klein comforted Daly Simone by telling her Dunn Smith had liked her; she saw Dunn and danced with him as her mutations receded.
• Klein gathered the ingredients that flew from the scene, made a potion, and drank it.

Klein completed his advancement to Bizarro Sorcerer by holding on to his identity through the ritual's spiritual fragmentation, then left Leonard and Daly behind and explored the gray fog's highest stairway. He found a door of light suspending cocoons that contained people from Earth, including three that had already opened.

• Klein endured the potion's division of his spirit and used memories of his experiences, along with Adam's attention, to reassemble his identity and complete the advancement ritual.
• Klein restored Daly to her human form and laid her body before Leonard, telling him she had returned to the Goddess's kingdom.
• Klein asked Leonard to take Daly back to East Balam and explain that she died during Ince Zangwill's attack, then told Leonard he could no longer return to the Church.
• A black-haired woman from the Church of Evernight arrived at Resurrection Square and looked down at Ince Zangwill's remains beneath The Star card.
• Above the gray fog, Klein reviewed his new Bizarro Sorcerer abilities and climbed the six steps to the clouds.
• Klein saw a brilliant door of light with transparent cocoons hanging from black threads, containing people from Earth; three cocoons were empty and broken open.

The author reviewed Part Four’s themes, pacing, and creative choices, then announced a three-day break before Part Five, “Red Priest,” began. The chapter ended with book recommendations and a request for monthly votes.

• The author described Part Four’s central theme of undying as both blessing and curse, highlighting the image of modern Earthlings trapped in cocoons.
• The author assessed the part’s weaknesses, including slow pacing, a lack of change, and rushed sections such as Calderon.
• The author explained choices made to balance revenge, advancement, urgency, and the emotional impact of the ending.
• The author discussed Daly’s character and explained their experimental approach to word choice and imagery.
• The author announced a three-day break and said updates would resume next Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. with Part Five, “Red Priest.”
• The author recommended two books and asked readers to send monthly votes.

Inspector Calis and the police investigated a ritualistic murder in East Borough while Audrey read about it before returning to the gray fog to treat Gehrman Sparrow. Gehrman revealed that he had awakened after centuries to find his family gone, and Audrey asked whether they had left him any words about how he should live.

• Inspector Calis and the police found a man drained of blood and bound to a bed in an East Borough apartment, then ordered reporters away from the crime scene.
• Audrey read a report of the murder in the Backlund Evening News and later entered the gray fog to meet Gehrman Sparrow for a requested treatment.
• Audrey sensed Gehrman's gloom, used Placate, and invited him to talk as a friend; he asked what she hoped for in the future.
• Audrey spoke about her family, charitable work, and disappointment in romance, which eased Gehrman enough to ask how she would react if her loved ones were only imagined.
• Gehrman explained that he had awakened from a deep sleep after at least three hundred years, perhaps a thousand or more, and discovered his family and former life were irretrievable.
• Audrey recognized the grief behind Gehrman's story and asked whether his family had left him any words about what they hoped he would do after waking.

After Audrey counseled Gehrman Sparrow through his despair, Klein reconsidered the transmigrators sealed in cocoons above the gray fog and the possibility that he could never return to his original home. He began seeking new questions to pursue, but remained uncertain about the purpose of the cocoons and who the third broken one had represented.

• Audrey asked Gehrman Sparrow whether he had searched for his family or investigated why he had fallen asleep, and he admitted he had not yet done so.
• Audrey used Placate and encouraged Gehrman Sparrow to seek meaning in life, keep an open mind, and avoid hiding behind a thick mask.
• Gehrman Sparrow thanked Audrey for her treatment, and she recommended medicine, sweets, and another consultation the following week.
• Klein returned to the seat of The Fool, examined the cards and Creeping Hunger, and lamented the ten thousand gold coins he owed Miss Reinette Tinekerr.
• Klein theorized that transmigrators had been sealed in cocoons and sent into different eras, and that he and Emperor Roselle might have transmigrated at the same time.
• Klein resolved to seek clues and consider reaching Sequence 2, then wondered who the third broken cocoon had represented.

Klein considered whether the Elf King Soniathrym and the Ancient The Sun God had been transmigrators, and identified ways to investigate their pasts through figures in Groselle's Travels. He studied the Red Priest pathway and set his next goal as uncovering who had planned the Great Smog of Backlund, while Emlyn learned that an important Sanguine figure wanted to meet him.

• Klein suspected Soniathrym might have been a transmigrator and considered asking Miss Justice to help explore Siatas's subconscious, but judged the investigation too dangerous for now.
• Klein grew more suspicious of the Ancient The Sun God and identified Snowman, who had served him, as another possible source of clues.
• Klein studied the Red Priest pathway on the Card of Blasphemy and decided to resume his arms deal before returning to Backlund to investigate Viscount Stratford and Major General Qonas Kilgor.
• Klein asked Emlyn to prepare a week's supply of psychological medicine, and Emlyn accepted the small order despite having little cash left.
• Emlyn told Kasimi that he had obtained a Sequence 5 Scarlet Scholar Beyonder Characteristic and asked about becoming a viscount; Kasimi said the ritual could begin at the next full moon.
• Kasimi told Emlyn that an important figure would soon come to Backlund and wished to meet him.

Emlyn prepared to fulfill The World’s potion request while Fors and Xio set out for Delaire Forest, where they encountered a senior Nighthawk. In Backlund, Crestet Cesimir learned the details of Ince Zangwill’s death and began organizing a search for an underground ruin, while Leonard was unexpectedly summoned by crimson light.

• Emlyn learned that an unnamed figure would contact him, then left the Odora family villa and planned to prepare the potions The World had requested.
• Fors read that Gehrman Sparrow had killed Admiral of Hell Ludwell, then learned Xio had accepted Military Intelligence Section 9’s mission to investigate his origins.
• Fors and Xio left for Delaire Forest and saw Crestet Cesimir at a subway station, but kept their eyes down.
• Cesimir told Saint Anthony Stevenson that Madam Arianna had learned Ince Zangwill’s history from his remnant spirit and that Cesimir had been tasked with finding an underground ruin near the Tussock River.
• Cesimir revealed that Klein Moretti had killed Ince Zangwill and that the Church had ordered its leaders not to investigate Klein; Saint Anthony assigned Soest’s returning team to assist Cesimir.
• After Soest told Leonard the team would return to Backlund, crimson light suddenly engulfed Leonard.

Leonard met Mr. Fool above the gray fog and joined the regular gathering under the code name The Star, while Klein used the Tarot Club to help him grow beyond Pallez Zoroast’s influence. Klein also sent Danitz a Conspirer potion formula and told him to return to the Golden Dream, where Danitz found Anderson preparing to stab himself.

• Mr. Fool told Leonard that joining the gathering would require him to inform Pallez Zoroast, explaining that deterrence could be more useful than combat.
• Leonard joined the regular gathering, learned that Klein’s code name was The World, and drew The Star as his own card.
• Klein revealed that he had pulled only Leonard’s Astral Body above the gray fog to avoid bringing Pallez Zoroast into the mysterious space.
• Klein sent Danitz the Hunter Sequence 6 Conspirer potion formula and instructed him to leave the Southern Continent for the Golden Dream.
• Danitz went to say goodbye to Anderson and found him holding a short blade over his own belly.

Danitz learned that Anderson had a strange cocoon inside him and agreed to take him to the captain for help. Klein then collected Danitz’s token and visited General Mesangyes’s residence, where he met Haggis and discovered a connection to Alfred Hall.

• Anderson told Danitz that a cocoon formed inside him after he was soaked in peculiar blood plasma, and that it attracted High-Sequence Hunters.
• Anderson asked Danitz to contact Gehrman Sparrow, but Danitz instead offered to seek the captain’s help, and Anderson eagerly agreed to leave with him.
• Danitz packed his belongings and left the golden-veined leaf behind as Gehrman Sparrow had instructed.
• Klein, disguised as Dawn Dantès, retrieved the leaf and traveled to General Mesangyes’s residence in Kukwa City.
• Klein met Haggis and learned that Haggis’s friend Colonel Alfred Hall was the second son of Earl Hall.
• As Klein entered the residence, he noticed that the colored glass above the side entrance seemed to glitter like shifting gazes.

Klein negotiated an arms deal with Mesangyes, while Luca’s prophecy and dream revealed that Dantès was tied to a powerful demigod. Elsewhere, Fors and Xio were caught by another blood moon, and Fors realized Xio had witnessed her reaction.

• Klein discussed West Balam’s customs with Haggis and met General Mesangyes at his residence.
• Klein agreed to sell Mesangyes enough weapons for three or four thousand men, with Haggis to bring the payment and a team the next day.
• After Klein left, Luca told Mesangyes that his prophecy had pointed to a person who could resolve his future predicament, then entered a dream to learn more about Dantès.
• In Luca’s dream, Dantès and everyone around him transformed into Dantès, prompting Luca to declare that he needed to meet Dantès and the demigod behind him.
• Fors woke in an inn near Delaire Forest during a blood moon and saw that Xio was awake and watching her.

Fors and Xio explored an ancient, vine-covered castle in Delaire Forest and discovered a strange underground hall with a sealed bronze door. As they approached it, the water on the floor turned to blood, and Fors saw Xio transformed into a horrifying figure.

• Fors and Xio reached the castle after a difficult seven-hour trek and wondered why it had been built in a remote forest and abandoned.
• Xio identified the castle's architecture as unusually defensive and possibly older than the late Fourth Epoch, and Fors used Lemano's Travel Notes to enter through an intact wall.
• Fors and Xio descended a narrow spiral staircase, following cold drafts to a large underground hall containing a bronze double door covered in mysterious symbols.
• Xio and Fors found no murals to explain the castle, but noticed discarded silver-black longswords and increasing moisture near the door.
• As Xio approached the door, Fors saw the water between the floor tiles turn into blood and noticed Xio's face had become pale and distorted.