Chapter Summaries

Alger returned to the Church of Storms and learned he might be selected to advance during the war, while Derrick introduced mushrooms to the City of Silver and confirmed they could feed its people. After hearing Derrick’s report, Klein finished digesting his Bizarro Sorcerer potion and prepared to advance to Scholar of Yore.

• Alger arrived at the Church of Storms’ headquarters, where Sians told him the Council of Cardinals might organize Wind-blessed to advance to Sequence 5.
• Derrick received the Ancient Alchemist potion formula and used the ritual to obtain the mushrooms in exchange for the City of Silver’s offerings.
• Derrick brought the mushrooms to Colin Iliad, who tested their rapid growth on monster corpses and deemed their traces of impurity tolerable.
• Derrick roasted and ate a mushroom while Lovia watched for harmful effects, and she confirmed that nothing had gone wrong.
• The City of Silver residents gathered around Derrick to share the mushrooms, while Klein heard his report and realized he was ready to advance to Scholar of Yore.

Klein questioned Arrodes about Sefirah Castle and Dark Angel Sasrir, gathering ancient-history clues for his Scholar of Yore ritual. After recording the information, he and his marionettes teleported to the Southern Continent to prepare for his advancement away from Backlund.

• Klein combined two vials of blood with his stored samples and noted that he still needed blood from the Prisoner, Devil, and Witch pathways.
• Klein summoned Arrodes and learned rumors that Sefirah Castle was one of eight places or objects linked to the original Creator, alongside the Chaos Sea, the River of Eternal Darkness, the Shadow World, the Wilderness of Knowledge, and the Brood Hive.
• Arrodes relayed a myth that Ancient The Sun God created Dark Angel Sasrir from His darkness and a rib, leading Klein to suspect Sasrir had colluded against Him and that Sasrir's fall might explain his slumber in the Giant King's Court.
• Klein asked Arrodes about Sasrir's current state, but Arrodes said it could not see or know what had happened to him.
• Klein recorded Arrodes's answers among his Scholar of Yore materials, then teleported with his two marionettes to the Southern Continent to avoid detection by Amon and Zaratul.

Klein concocted and drank the Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore potion, then traced his way through history to keep his identity from dissolving. He returned to the real world able to see Sefirah Castle, while Amon and others sensed its presence.

• Klein prepared the Scholar of Yore potion on a barren island in the Raging Sea, using the required ingredients and authentic historical records.
• Klein drank the potion, and his consciousness entered the Gray Fog, where his memories and past experiences threatened to overwhelm his sense of self.
• Klein found the cocoon containing the original Zhou Mingrui and realized that tracing known history could establish his position and identity.
• Klein followed historical fragments deep into the Gray Fog, accompanied by spectral hounds, before returning to the real world and seeing Sefirah Castle.
• A postman in Backlund recognized Sefirah Castle, while figures in a rented room and Leonard Mitchell heard its name in their minds.

After advancing to Scholar of Yore, Klein escaped the reef island and returned safely to Backlund, where he recovered and examined his new abilities. He leaves to inspect the changes in Sefirah Castle above the gray fog.

• Klein sensed a deeper connection to Sefirah Castle as the advancement caused strange phenomena, then had Qonas and Enuni collect valuables and destroy the rest.
• Klein used a Paper Figurine Substitute to interfere with divination and tracking, then teleported away from the reef island with his marionettes and returned to Backlund.
• Klein confirmed he was safe above the gray fog, controlled his spirituality, and slept for several hours.
• Klein concluded that most of the potion had been digested and considered how to act as a Scholar of Yore by studying ancient history.
• Klein experimented with his new powers, including borrowing strength from his past self, summoning images from the Historical Void, and improved marionette control.
• Klein finished examining his abilities and prepared to enter the space above the gray fog to inspect Sefirah Castle.

Klein explored Sefirah Castle, tested his new abilities as a Scholar of Yore, and established a restricted honorific name that let him receive prayers in Backlund. He then summoned the Master Key from the Historical Void and left to meet Miss Sharron and Maric.

• Klein found that Sefirah Castle let him form a temporary Sequence 2 angel, and he examined the increasingly tangible Door of Light.
• Klein concluded that Sefirah Castle had enabled his resurrection and considered the limits of his powers, his anchors, and the dangers surrounding the Door of Light.
• Klein wrote and tested an honorific name for Gehrman Sparrow, adding a Backlund restriction so his marionette Enuni's prayer reached him.
• Klein summoned Roselle Gustav's historical projection and then called the Master Key from the Historical Void, where it could remain for ten minutes.
• Klein put away the Master Key, dressed for the evening, and left to meet Miss Sharron and Maric.

Leonard learned from Pallez that Sefirah Castle was one of nine mysterious things said to have been left by the original Creator, while Klein tested his Scholar of Yore abilities and collected Sharron’s blood for a dangerous task. He left Sharron and Maric waiting for a chance to restore their teacher’s body as he continued preparing to stop George III.

• Leonard asked Pallez what Sefirah Castle was, and Pallez said it was likely one of nine things left by the original Creator and might be connected to the Sefirah on the second Blasphemy Slate.
• Klein entered a historical projection of himself and tested how a Scholar of Yore could inhabit the Historical Void and summon recorded figures.
• Klein asked Sharron and Maric for help collecting Wraith-pathway blood, and Sharron filled and severed the connection to a glass tube of her blood.
• Klein asked Sharron about her Puppet potion digestion, and she said she expected to finish in another year or two.
• Sharron and Maric said they hoped to restore their teacher’s body, and Klein urged them to wait for an opportunity while he planned to stop George III and leave Backlund.

Alger advanced to Ocean Songster and received orders to ambush Feysac ships, while Audrey learned the war’s true cost and warned Klein about George III’s planned national speech. Klein prepared to gather the remaining blood needed for his plans, and Derrick received the Devil blood from the returning Chief.

• Alger attended Pope Gad II’s sermon after advancing to Sequence 5, then received orders to ambush ports, supply fleets, and Feysac merchant ships near Sonia Island.
• Earl Hall told Audrey that the war had caused severe losses despite public claims of success, and that George III would address the nation in gatherings across the country on Saturday.
• Audrey recognized the planned mass gathering as a possible sacrificial ceremony and sent Klein the warning.
• Klein wrote to Trissy about the speech and asked for the ritual to contact Mr. Door, while considering ways to obtain the remaining Assassin and Criminal pathway blood.
• Trissy read a letter and prepared Shermane’s blood as a possible medium for a curse.
• Derrick received a vial of Devil blood from the returning Chief’s messenger.

Klein prepared to converse with Mr. Door but divined that doing so would be too dangerous, so he turned to other preparations. He eventually used Groselle's Travels to summon the quill 0-08 from the site of Ince Zangwill's death.

• Klein gathered the ingredients he needed and began setting up a ritual to converse with Mr. Door, using the Master Key and Sharron's Crimson Moon Corona.
• Klein realized that his attempt to substitute gemstone images from the Historical Void was being disrupted, and his divination warned him that speaking with Mr. Door was currently dangerous.
• Klein abandoned the conversation and considered other preparations, including meeting the Mystery Queen, aiding his allies, and improving his Scholar of Yore abilities.
• Klein tried repeatedly to summon an unknown item, but even a promise of ice cream to Will Auceptin did not make the attempts succeed.
• Klein used Groselle's Travels to carefully summon 0-08, the quill that had lain beside Ince Zangwill's corpse before Amon's brother picked it up.

Klein summoned a projection of “0-08” and wrote an indirect influence on George III’s plans, then went out despite the danger to keep his promise to Will Auceptin. Meanwhile, Benson and Melissa walked toward the municipal square, reflecting on neighbors and soldiers lost to the war as crowds gathered for the King’s speech.

• Klein summoned “0-08” with Groselle's Travels and wrote that George III would use his speech to lure enemies while pursuing his own advancement if events went smoothly.
• Klein put the passage away, returned Groselle's Travels above the Gray Fog, and decided to go out for ice cream for Will Auceptin.
• Benson and Melissa left home and learned that their neighbor Mrs. Daniel’s eldest son, Larry, had been confirmed killed in action.
• Benson described the death-benefit lists he had been handling, while he and Melissa discussed the King’s upcoming speech.
• Melissa explained that Mr. Thomas was going to a relief station because his wife was ill and money was scarce; Benson revealed that their son, Little Thomas, had also been killed in action.
• Benson and Melissa joined the growing crowd moving toward the municipal square.

As George III delivered a Memorial Day speech in Backlund, Klein discovered the king was only an envisioned double and realized the real George III had gone to a secret mausoleum to attempt his advancement. Klein summoned Bernadette to draw the enemy’s attention and brought Arianna to conceal him and protect the city, leaving the confrontation about to unfold.

• Melissa noticed the strange speaking device as George III’s speech began, while Audrey watched the ceremony with her family and felt the crowd’s genuine grief.
• Klein observed the three-minute silence, expecting George III to use the Black Emperor ritual, but the king continued speaking afterward without appearing to act.
• Klein investigated through the Gray Fog and discovered the king on the platform was an envisioned substitute while a vast Black Emperor pathway power gathered underground.
• Klein summoned Bernadette, who was to open and attack one of the secret mausoleums to draw the angels’ attention.
• Klein summoned Arianna and asked her to conceal him and protect Backlund; she agreed, and he became undetectable to the outside world.

Klein and Bernadette used Mr. Door’s symbols to enter separate secret mausoleums as William Augustus I and other powerful figures descended. The chapter ended with Klein reaching another mausoleum while Trissy opened a door into the Number 1 Ruins.

• Bernadette entered the secret mausoleum in East Chester County and wished the Wishing Lamp would grant her the strength of a Knowledge Emperor for one day.
• Klein summoned a historical projection of Azik Eggers, used a vial of blood to open the Awwa County mausoleum, and entered with Azik’s projection.
• Delrick Augustus recognized Azik as a historical projection and entered the mausoleum himself as Azik transformed into a Feathered Serpent and attacked.
• Klein returned from the Historical Void, teleported to another secret mausoleum downstream along the Tussock River, and entered with Qonas and Enuni.
• Trissy reached the Number 1 Ruins near Backlund and used the blood in a vial to open an illusory door.

Trissy was exposed while infiltrating George III’s mausoleum, while Klein was trapped in a dreamlike church controlled by Zaratul and faced Roselle’s projection and other angelic threats. Will Auceptin’s power helped Klein escape, but after destroying a mausoleum, Klein realized the apparent success had happened inside someone else’s real dream.

• Prince Grove revealed Trissy at the entrance to the secret mausoleum and blocked her infiltration.
• Klein entered a raven-haunted church instead of George III’s mausoleum, lost Qonas and Enuni to its hanging corpses, and recognized Zaratul’s presence.
• George III completed his potion ritual, believing his defenses were secure and that he would become the Black Emperor within minutes.
• Roselle’s projection overwhelmed Klein with knowledge, but Klein called on Will Auceptin, whose Snake of Fate used Restart to free Klein and his marionettes.
• Klein escaped the church, entered another mausoleum, and blasted his target apart with the Sea God Scepter’s lightning.
• Klein realized the apparent escape and destruction had taken place within a real dream woven by someone else.

Klein summoned powerful allies and drew angels into a battle around the secret mausoleum, hoping their clash would destroy it. As Sefirah Castle appeared above the ruins, the disturbance also affected Backlund, where the wounded Trissy used a Yesterday Once More charm.

• Klein rejected the real dream and confronted Hermes, an ancient angel of the Spectator pathway, as Reinette Tinekerr joined the fight.
• Hermes transformed into a giant rabbit and fought Reinette, while Klein descended toward the mausoleum and summoned a projection of the Angel of Concealment using the Evernight Goddess's honorific name.
• The Angel of Concealment began pulling the mausoleum into the concealed world, but God's Abomination Suah attacked Klein and Reinette.
• Zaratul's projections of Emperor Roselle, William Augustus I, and an abstract angel arrived, and Klein used the chaos to make the mausoleum shake and crack.
• Klein made Sefirah Castle appear above the ruins, causing disturbances in Backlund, where the gravely wounded Trissy activated a Yesterday Once More charm.

Trissy used the sapphire ring to borrow the Primordial Demoness’s power and attacked George III’s secret mausoleum while Klein and his allies disrupted the advancement ritual. The mausoleum collapsed, and George III exploded during his speech at Memorial Day Square.

• Trissy summoned a sapphire ring from her past and used it to unleash petrifying power, then headed toward George III’s secret mausoleum amid disasters she caused.
• Klein divided the battles across the ruins and borrowed spirituality from his past self as the Angel of Light and Emperor Roselle attacked him.
• A thunderclap stunned the combatants, allowing the Angel of Concealment to direct their residual power into George III’s secret mausoleum.
• Klein and his Worms of Spirit fired Air Cannons at the damaged mausoleum, destroying it and destabilizing George III’s advancement ritual.
• Trissy attacked the now-exposed mausoleum, and George III exploded while delivering his speech at Memorial Day Square.

George III’s Black Emperor ritual failed, but Klein’s escape from the ruins led him into Zaratul’s trap. He fled into Groselle’s Travels and reached the Hall of Honesty, where Adam appeared and asked whether he could accept the war’s consequences.

• George III’s ritual collapsed, and Trissy engulfed his transformed body as the No. 1 Ruins crumbled and flooded.
• Katarina and the Red Angel Evil Spirit watched the destruction, and the Red Angel blamed Evernight for interfering with his search for Trissy.
• Klein escaped Suah and the other threats by entering Groselle’s Travels, then used Herabergen Rambis’s power to reach the Hall of Honesty.
• Klein summoned 0-08 to alter the book’s world, but the quill vanished when he saw Adam praying before a towering cross.
• Adam told Klein that George III’s fall had drawn Loen into devastating war and asked whether he could accept that outcome.

After accepting Adam’s terms, Klein escaped Zaratul’s pursuit through the Fog of History with Arianna’s help and returned to Backlund to hide. As he prepared to go above the Gray Fog, his lost marionette Enuni appeared and revealed that Klein could be tracked through his marionettes.

• Klein accepted Adam’s price and promised to reduce the harm caused by the war while he remained alive.
• Adam expelled Klein from the book world, and Klein fled Zaratul through the Fog of History as Zaratul’s tide of maggots and tentacles pursued him.
• Klein failed to contact Will Auceptin, then returned to reality and escaped Zaratul with Arianna’s intervention.
• Klein used Angel’s Embrace to hide his traces and secretly returned to Backlund, where he rented a hotel room under an altered appearance.
• Enuni appeared in Klein’s hotel room, warned him that his marionettes could be used to track him, and put on a crystal monocle.

The author reviewed Part Five’s pacing, character arcs, and themes, then introduced Part Six, “Lightseeker,” as a crucial stage of the story. The author announced a three-and-a-half-day break to prepare an outline, with updates resuming Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., and asked readers for monthly tickets.

• The author explained that Klein’s lack of motivation and the growing number of plotlines had weakened Part Five’s pacing, while discussing the need for advancement and change to keep the story moving.
• The author described Part Five’s war theme and its atmosphere of characters struggling against the torrent of the times, and noted that subscriptions had recovered after Klein questioned himself.
• The author introduced Part Six, “Lightseeker,” as a pivotal part that would complete the world framework and deliver the story’s envisioned peak.
• The author announced a three-and-a-half-day break to prepare a more detailed outline for Part Six, with updates restarting Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
• The author asked readers to cast monthly tickets and promised bonus chapters for taking first place in November’s rankings.

Amon trapped Klein through deep-level parasitism and tried to persuade him to surrender Sefirah Castle in exchange for freedom from his burdens. When Klein refused, Amon prepared to take him to meet his main body, while treating their confrontation as an entertaining game.

• Amon used Klein’s ritual to seek entry to Sefirah Castle, but Klein’s lack of permission kept him out.
• Amon revealed that he had used the ritual to confirm Klein was The Fool and explained that he had already expected it to fail.
• Amon offered to take Sefirah Castle and Klein’s burdens, promising to keep Klein’s organization running and make him a Blessed, but Klein refused.
• Klein learned that Amon had more avatars in the City of Silver and asked whether Amon could not take his fate directly; Amon confirmed it and threatened to take him to meet His main body.
• Amon asked for the fourth line of Klein’s Scholar of Yore honorific name, recited the line himself, and again invited Klein to become His Blessed; Klein answered, “Just kill me.”

Amon took Klein from Backlund to the Ruins of the Gods' Battle and brought him into a dream entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods. As they approached the Black Monastery, Amon explained the meaning of Sequence 0 of the Marauder pathway: Error.

• Klein realized that Amon might be deceiving him about their peaceful deal and resolved to stall until Monday, hoping his messenger could find him.
• Amon gathered nearby insects to raise his strength to that of an angel, then teleported with Klein from Backlund to the entrance of the Ruins of the Gods' Battle.
• Amon told Klein that the Forsaken Land of the Gods would block his messenger's contractual connection, extinguishing Klein's hope of rescue.
• Amon and Klein entered the Ruins of the Gods' Battle, where the True Creator's murmurs overwhelmed Klein, and Amon stole daylight to protect him from the madness.
• Amon brought Klein into a dream and pointed out the entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods at the Giant King's Court projection.
• Amon explained that Sequence 0 of the Marauder pathway was called Error, a name his father associated with a bug, a loophole in rules, and the embodiment of all errors.

Amon used a loophole in the dream world to take Klein through the Ancient The Sun God's final dream and into the Ruins of the Gods' Battle. They reached a twilight passage leading toward the Giant King's Court, and Amon leaped in with Klein following.

• Amon explained that he could exploit chaos between dreams to travel quickly through the Black Monastery and bring Klein with him.
• Amon asked Klein about the monocle on his marionette, then revealed that the monastery's black door opened onto his father's final dream, where the Ancient The Sun God had fallen.
• Amon opened the door, and he and Klein entered a dream of a golden sea that threatened to dissolve them; Amon shattered the dream by returning stolen daylight.
• Amon moved them through the dream world to a cliff overlooking the Giant King's Court, then opened a dark fissure and filled it with twilight to create a passage between the peaks.
• Amon jumped from the cliff onto the orange-red passage, and Klein followed him.