Chapter Summaries

Emlyn hired Ian to investigate mysterious outsiders from the Southern Continent while suspecting Ian knew more about the Rose School of Thought and Sherlock Moriarty than he admitted. In Bayam, Cattleya recruited Sharif for the Future and discovered that his spirit body had become growing conjoined twins, prompting her to plan to contact the Queen; the chapter then shifted to Dawn Dantès and Macht arriving at a club in Backlund.

• Emlyn paid Ian fifty pounds to gather information about furtive outsiders from the Star Plateau and Paz Valley, with further payment for valuable findings.
• After leaving the Bravehearts Bar, Emlyn suspected Ian knew about the Rose School of Thought and might have met Sherlock Moriarty, and wondered where the Wraith had gone.
• Heath Doyle reported that a stranger with three gold studs in each ear had visited Sharif, but his surveillance had revealed no other suspicious activity.
• Cattleya visited Sharif with Frank Lee and persuaded him to join the Future temporarily, while Frank eagerly welcomed Sharif's powerful urge to reproduce as a useful trait for his experiments.
• Cattleya saw that Sharif's spirit body had become rapidly growing conjoined twins and decided she needed to write to the Queen and remember Gehrman Sparrow's request for a meeting.
• Dawn Dantès and Macht arrived at the East Balam Veteran Officers Club in Backlund.

Dawn Dantès met Colonel Calvin at the East Balam Veteran Officers Club and learned that Admiral Amyrius had returned to the Ministry of Defense and wanted to play Texas hold’em with him. At the table, Klein recognized Qonas Kilgor and noticed the demigods’ tactics, while Amyrius appeared to sense that Dawn was a Beyonder.

• Colonel Calvin congratulated Dawn Dantès on his work in Mesangyes’s territory, and Dawn shared what he had learned about Mesangyes’s secret allegiance.
• Calvin told Dawn that Admiral Amyrius had been reinstated and would need to approve future cooperation, then warned him to lose money during their card game.
• Dawn entered the card room and recognized Amyrius Rieveldt and Qonas Kilgor, one of his targets in Backlund.
• Dawn folded several hands while observing Amyrius’s aggressive play and Qonas’s apparent use of Beyonder abilities to influence the game.
• Amyrius looked at Dawn and pushed out chips, and Klein suspected that the admiral had detected he was a Beyonder.

Klein used a Texas hold'em game with Admiral Amyrius and Qonas Kilgor to draw the Military Intelligence demigod’s attention. By secretly switching places with Enuni the Winner, he won the final hand and nearly 1,000 pounds, and Qonas approached him after the game.

• Klein divined that a lucky moment would come soon and folded several hands before Qonas Kilgor lost 20 pounds to Admiral Amyrius.
• Klein placed a chip over his unseen hole cards and called Amyrius’s repeated raises alongside Qonas as the betting climbed to hundreds of pounds.
• Amyrius revealed a spade flush, while Qonas showed a full house of nines and kings.
• Klein revealed four of a kind twos, beating both men, while the others reacted in surprise.
• Klein recalled that he had switched places with Enuni the Winner and had chosen to win money to attract Qonas’s attention; after the game, Qonas approached him with a smile.

Klein used a card game to establish contact with Major General Qonas Kilgor and arranged to hear about suitable hunting manors. Elsewhere, Derrick consulted Colin Iliad about the darkness needed to advance, while Xio began tailing Ernes Boyar, who noticed the bounty hunters.

• Klein asked Qonas Kilgor to watch for a manor with woodland for hunting, and Qonas agreed to send word to Böklund Street.
• Klein reassured Calvin and Macht that they had kept their original stakes, and they accepted his explanation after their losses at the table.
• Derrick asked Colin Iliad whether he needed pure darkness or lightless darkness to advance to Light Priest, and Colin explained the distinction.
• Derrick recalled the dangers of darkness beyond the round tower and decided to confirm which kind his advancement required.
• Xio began following Ernes Boyar in disguise, and the Sanguine Viscount noticed the bounty hunters tailing him.

Xio followed Ernes by tram and spotted Shermane, who had returned to his apartment and was being pressured by Trissy to continue inciting violence as part of his potion ritual. The chapter ended with Klein learning that a newspaper report about Dawn Dantès buying the Larve Steel Company was fabricated, before he went to investigate Hibbert and his family above the Gray Fog.

• Xio tracked Ernes by public carriage and spotted Shermane entering an apartment building in the Backlund Bridge Area.
• Trissy urged Shermane to continue inciting gang members, dismissing his guilt over his earlier killings and the harm caused by his schemes.
• Trissy promised Shermane that completing the ritual would let him become a woman and start a new life, and Shermane agreed to follow her instructions.
• Shermane noticed a newspaper report claiming Dawn Dantès was interested in buying the Larve Steel Company.
• Klein told Enuni that the acquisition report was fabricated, then went upstairs to use Enuni's prayer light to observe Hibbert and her family above the Gray Fog.

Klein concluded that Amon had stolen the rat Demigod’s fate and identity, then learned that Emlyn was searching for the Rose School of Thought on behalf of the Sanguine. Maric offered to act as bait to draw out the group’s important members in Backlund, pending approval from the Sanguine’s upper echelons.

• Klein watched Hibbert return home in good spirits and deduced that Amon had taken the rat Demigod’s identity and fate.
• Reinette Tinekerr delivered Sharron’s letter telling Klein that Emlyn was looking for members of the Rose School of Thought.
• Klein replied that Emlyn’s search was likely a Sanguine assignment and speculated about the Mother Tree of Desire and the Moon Primordial.
• Emlyn met Maric in a hired carriage, and Maric confirmed that he had learned of Emlyn’s interest through the Sanguine’s upper echelons.
• Maric offered to use himself as bait to lure important Rose School of Thought members, asked Emlyn to secure the Sanguine’s promise, and gave him a report from Ian’s bounty hunters about Ernes Boyar.

Emlyn White chose Saint Hilan Square for his planned action against Ernes Boyar, unaware that the Sanguine had prepared the location to test him. As Ernes’s carriage overturned, an unseen attacker put him to sleep, while a black-haired man rode away on a passing public carriage.

• Emlyn White studied Ernes Boyar’s routine and selected Saint Hilan Square as the site for the attack, then decided to ask Mr. Fool for a private gathering with Mr. Hanged Man.
• Earl Mistral and Ernes Boyar prepared for Emlyn’s arrival, using enchanted rings and other mystical items to protect Ernes and track Emlyn.
• Emlyn entered Saint Hilan Square and blended into the crowd as Earl Mistral warned the others to be alert.
• A horse pulling Ernes’s carriage panicked and overturned it, while a wolf-like ghost threw a rose at Ernes.
• Ernes escaped the carriage and restrained the ghost, but then fell into a deep sleep as a black-haired, green-eyed man rode past on a public carriage, reading a notebook.

A hidden demigod’s intervention thwarted Count Mistral’s attempt to probe Emlyn White, and Emlyn led Ernes Boyar to Harvest Church. There, a priest and another layer of hypnosis forced Ernes to throw his belongings at Emlyn, while a Justice tarot card fell from his newspaper.

• A mysterious newsboy used an angel-level ability to hypnotize Ernes and make him follow Emlyn, while Mistral recognized the threat of a hidden demigod and chose not to pursue them immediately.
• After the cathedral bells rang, Emlyn gave the coachman 100 pounds as compensation and told Ernes that everything was all right.
• Emlyn led Ernes through a winding route to Rose Street, then ran into Harvest Church with Ernes following.
• Mistral tried to stop them but arrived too late, and the church became unnaturally solid as a brown-robed priest stood at its front.
• A voice instructed Ernes to throw his belongings at Emlyn, and Ernes hurled his belt, watch, wallet, and other items before a Justice tarot card fell from the newspaper.

Emlyn, Leonard, and Audrey completed their operation against Ernes Boyar, while Klein watched from nearby and intervened only as a safeguard. After the others returned to their routines, Klein sensed something unusual when a gray rat watched his residence from a passing carriage.

• Ernes Boyar remembered his fear of Father Utravsky and volunteered to spend a month at the church, while Emlyn examined the items he had collected.
• Count Mistral returned to his restaurant, and Klein continued monitoring the square from above the Gray Fog without needing to intervene.
• Leonard discussed the operation and Lemano's Travel Notes with Pallez Zoroast as he rode away from Saint Hilan Square.
• Audrey returned to the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation and found Susie had impersonated her; after the hypnosis ended, she reviewed what she had learned from the operation.
• Klein returned to 160 Böklund Street, sensed something unusual, and saw a gray rat watching the street from a passing carriage.

Klein discovered Amon at Member of Parliament Macht’s residence and warned Leonard, but Amon had already found Klein. The chapter ended with Amon confronting Klein in the form of his marionette Enuni.

• Klein used the gray fog and the Sea God Scepter to identify Amon approaching 39 Böklund Street, then warned Leonard through The World.
• Amon followed Hibbert into the Macht residence unnoticed and spread his transparent worms throughout the house.
• Amon’s influence affected Hibbert’s maid and parents as they behaved strangely and gathered for afternoon tea.
• Leonard relayed Klein’s warning to Pallez, who urged him to continue the operation before Amon discovered the abnormalities around Dawn Dantès.
• Klein lost control of Enuni, who entered his bedroom wearing Amon’s monocle and revealed that he had found Klein.

Klein used Marionettes and the Evernight emblem to draw Leonard and Pallez toward Amon, while Amon manipulated the neighborhood’s fate and exposed his control over its residents. The chapter ended as Klein launched a paper crane at Amon during a new attack.

• Klein evaded Amon’s attempted Parasitism by swapping places with a Marionette, while Amon revealed he had stolen the servants’ Spirit Body Threads.
• Amon explained that he had tampered with Klein’s fate to prevent anyone from noticing or responding to his calls for help.
• Klein revealed he had been waiting for Leonard, then activated the Evernight emblem and set a tree ablaze to signal him.
• Pallez redirected Leonard from 39 Böklund Street to 160 Böklund Street, and Amon recognized Pallez’s involvement.
• Amon made Macht, Liana, and the servants at 39 Böklund Street put on monocles, terrifying Hibbert and drawing the attention of passersby.
• Klein’s attack with Creeping Hunger failed when Amon made the glove vanish, but Klein appeared beside Amon and threw a paper crane at him.

Klein, Leonard, and Will Auceptin used the Snake of Fate's Restart and Leonard's power to defeat Amon's avatar and draw in his parasitized Worms of Time. Klein planned to have the affected people purified, while another monocled young man in Pritz Harbor received a letter warning him about Pallez Zoroast.

• A paper crane from Klein burst into flame, but Amon stole six of Klein's Beyonder powers.
• Will Auceptin sent the Snake of Fate's Restart to Böklund Street, reversing Amon's state and disrupting his control over the block.
• Klein shot Amon's exposed Worm of Time with a Spirit Control Bullet, and Leonard used the ancient clock's power to draw it and other Worms of Time into the clock.
• The clock's effects briefly aged Klein before restoring him, while Leonard said the affected people could pray for purification and might retain a fondness for monocles.
• Klein decided to handle the aftermath, and a monocled young man in Pritz Harbor found a letter warning that Pallez Zoroast might be near Böklund Street if the Backlund group lost contact.

After Amon’s Restart restored Winner Enuni and Klein returned to the real world, Klein asked Audrey to help treat Hibbert, who was traumatized by Amon’s parasitism. Audrey hypnotized Hibbert into temporary calm and began helping the other victims, while Klein arranged for them to seek purification from the Evernight Goddess.

• Klein discovered that Winner Enuni had become a marionette again after Amon’s Restart and inspected the neighborhood from above the Gray Fog.
• Klein saw that Hibbert was terrified and close to losing control, then teleported to Audrey and asked for her help.
• Klein brought Audrey to the house at 39 Böklund Street and explained how Amon had parasitized Hibbert’s family and servants.
• Audrey used Placate and Hypnosis to calm Hibbert, hide her traumatic memories, and plan further treatment to help her accept them gradually.
• Klein asked Audrey to hypnotize the other victims against adopting Amon’s habits and have them pray to the Evernight Goddess for purification.

Klein and Audrey visited the parasitized people on Böklund Street, where the Amon avatars were purged and their Worms of Time recovered with Arianna’s help. Afterward, Klein sought advice on using the worms, while Leonard and Pallez planned to pursue a Jacob Family treasure and warned him that Amon might suspect them.

• Klein asked Audrey whether she would leave the mystical world, and she said she would not; he offered her a demigod-level Fate Siphon charm as payment for her help.
• Klein warned Audrey that Amon’s avatars could steal fate and identity, and told her to pray for help if she encountered one.
• Macht, Liana, Hibbert, and the other parasitized people on Böklund Street coughed up Worms of Time as the parasites were removed, though they retained hazy memories and Hibbert felt withdrawn.
• Klein gave Arianna two of the nine recovered Worms of Time in thanks for helping eliminate Amon’s avatars in Backlund.
• Klein sent Leonard a letter asking about other uses for Worms of Time, and Reinette offered to answer such questions in exchange for a share of the spoils.
• Pallez told Leonard to avoid Böklund Street while Amon might suspect them, then proposed finding and dividing the Jacob Family treasure at a gathering near the end of the year.

Leonard learned that the Snake of Fate was one of Mr. Fool’s angels, while Emlyn revealed his advancement to viscount and planned what to do with the spoils from the punitive operation. Klein attempted to create an item that could borrow power from the past, but his Worm of Spirit burned to ash.

• Pallez Zoroast told Leonard that the giant snake phantom belonged to the Snake of Fate, a Sequence 1 angel and speaker of the School of Life.
• Emlyn told Ernes Boyar he had become a Sanguine viscount after obtaining a Sequence 5 characteristic from an artificial vampire.
• Emlyn decided to sacrifice most of the operation’s spoils to Mr. Fool, while keeping the Rose's Vow ring to exchange with Marquis Nibes.
• Klein accepted the sacrificed spoils and tried to inscribe a symbol on a Worm of Spirit to replicate an item that could briefly borrow power from the past.
• Klein’s Worm of Spirit spontaneously combusted during the attempt, leaving him frustrated.

Klein received Cattleya’s update about Frank Lee’s experiments and noticed the Death Knell’s reduced aftereffects. At the Tarot Club, Emlyn distributed the spoils from the punitive operation, and Klein appeared at Backlund Bridge for his meeting with the Mystery Queen.

• Reinette delivered Cattleya’s letter, which said Frank Lee expected preliminary results from his experiments within three to six months and that the Mystery Queen had confirmed their meeting for Wednesday at eleven.
• Klein realized using Death Knell had left him unusually concerned about cleanliness, though the effect was far milder and shorter than before.
• Emlyn presented the punitive operation’s loot to Justice, The Star, Judgement, Magician, and The Hanged Man, then explained that the Sanguine had agreed to pursue Rose School of Thought members after September.
• Xio took 335 pounds, Fors chose the Moon Paper Figurine, Audrey selected Alcohol Nemesis, and Leonard accepted the Moon Ribbon.
• Emlyn paid Alger a thousand pounds as a consulting fee and offered to cover the coachman’s compensation.
• Gehrman Sparrow appeared at the southern entrance to Backlund Bridge on Wednesday night.

Klein met Bernadette on Backlund Bridge, where she explained why she believed Roselle might have prepared a way to return and shared his warning to beware of the Spectator. Their conversation ended with Bernadette planning to seek an answer from Mr. Fool later, while Klein hoped Backlund would remain safe.

• Klein met Bernadette among the towering pea vines, and she said she believed Roselle might not have completely fallen because his ninth secret mausoleum had never been found.
• Bernadette revealed she had spent over a century investigating Roselle’s possible return and planned to ask Mr. Fool about Klein’s interest through Cattleya.
• Bernadette recalled that Roselle had warned her to beware of the Spectator, and Klein suspected the warning concerned a particular being or matter.
• Bernadette explained that the blood of a Snake of Fate would help Cattleya advance, and that she had come to Backlund because of a prophecy.
• Bernadette departed in a burst of bubbles, and Klein left Backlund Bridge after hoping the city would not be destroyed.

Klein wrote to Azik about his life in Backlund, his new Megro Manor, and his experiments making charms and bullets from Worms of Spirit and Worms of Time. After using a Yesterday Once More charm to glimpse his past and confirm his connection to the Gray Fog, he prepared to host a countryside hunt, while Leonard arrived at the rebuilt building in Tingen.

• Klein wrote Azik about Backlund, his purchase of Megro Manor, and the Magic Mirror's recovery and strange behavior.
• Klein completed a Yesterday Once More charm and used it to trace scenes from his past, seeing the images end in grayish-white fog.
• Klein decided to make more charms for Will and Beyonder bullets using Worms of Time, then made two Yesterday Once More charms, a Parasitize Bullet, a Deceit Bullet, and a Deprivation Bullet.
• Klein loaded the three new bullets and told Walter to invite guests to hunt in the countryside that weekend.
• Leonard arrived at the rebuilt building at 36 Zouteland Street in Tingen and stared at it with a complicated expression.

Leonard returned to the Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen and met its new captain, Frye, while Frank continued his mushroom experiments aboard the Future and Cattleya became a demigod. Emlyn then met Maric, who said they were ready to discuss their plan.

• Leonard visited the Blackthorn Security Company, where Rozanne congratulated him on avenging the captain and urged him to stay alive.
• Frye told Leonard he had become captain and explained that he intended to remain in Tingen to protect the area.
• Frank examined a giant mushroom experiment with the Artisan Sharif, who tried to escape but was caught by the mushroom's hyphae.
• Cattleya returned to the Future after completing her ritual and becoming a Sequence 4 Mystic, but decided to keep her advancement secret.
• Maric appeared in Emlyn's carriage and told him they were ready to discuss their detailed plan of action.

Emlyn, Fors, Xio, Alger, and Derrick each advanced their plans or abilities, while Klein watched the Tarot Club members’ progress from above the Gray Fog. The chapter ended with Klein anticipating that Audrey would soon face Herabergen Rambis again.

• Emlyn returned to the Harvest Church, where Father Utravsky explained that Ernes had completed a month of volunteer work and was not being forced to change his faith.
• Fors digested the Astrologer potion, drank the Scribe potion, and learned how to record Beyonder powers, while Xio left to pursue commissions and save for the Judge formula.
• Xio watched Viscount Stratford arrive at a Hillston Borough restaurant with a woman wearing a dark red cloak.
• Alger reflected on advancing to Sequence 6 and his efforts to digest the Ocean Songster potion as sailors aboard the Blue Avenger discussed strange singing at sea.
• Derrick prayed to The Fool, entered a pile of ice, and received a potion from Colin Iliad; a radiant light appeared as Colin fought monsters in the darkness.
• Klein observed that Derrick had reached Sequence 5 and that Audrey could soon obtain the Dreamwalker formula and face Herabergen Rambis again.