Chapter Summaries

Wilt and Trissy fought a tracking Beyonder creature in a warehouse, but Trissy betrayed Wilt during their attack. After Wilt destroyed the creature, he abandoned his plan to kill Trissy when he sensed the Nighthawks and escaped, leaving her behind in the black mist.

• Wilt blamed Trissy for attracting the Beyonder creature and pressured her into helping him fight it.
• Wilt used a psychological suggestion to stop Trissy from fleeing, and she agreed to cover him with Ice Manipulation.
• Trissy released her ice restraint as Wilt approached the creature, leaving him exposed to its scythe, but Wilt used Steal to close the distance and strike it with his Merit-infused sword.
• A black, many-eyed spider emerged from the creature and tried to parasitize Wilt, but he destroyed it with Merit.
• Wilt considered killing Trissy, then sensed Dream Infiltration from the Nighthawks, warned her to run, and escaped through Dream Traversal.

After the warehouse operation, Klein used Sefirah Castle to investigate the golden light surrounding Wilt Mirage and discovered a gigantic Buddha before exploding and reassembling. He recognized Wilt through a new golden star but chose to observe him before contacting him, while Wilt sensed Klein spying and the Sarira blocked it.

• Klein told Dunn and Leonard that Tris had become Trissy by taking the Witch potion and that she had cursed Mr. Joyce, but he withheld the clues he had divined about the rescuers.
• Klein returned home to rest, entered Sefirah Castle, and dreamed of Wilt Mirage carrying a Sarira that suppressed silver-black energy.
• Klein focused on the Sarira and saw a thousand-meter-tall Buddha, then exploded as Buddhist chants and golden light filled Sefirah Castle.
• Klein reassembled, found a new golden star, recognized Wilt Mirage, and decided to watch him for a few days before summoning him.
• Wilt sensed someone spying on him and suspected Klein was divining him through Sefirah Castle, but the Sarira stirred and ended the feeling.

Wilt extorted potions and money from Darkwill by threatening to expose his identity and pretending to know his teacher. Meanwhile, Lanevus met Earl Corodo, who rejected the iron mine investment before hearing his proposal.

• Wilt entered Darkwill's herbal shop, identified him as a Sequence 8 Beast Tamer, and threatened to report him to the Church of Evernight.
• Wilt claimed to know Darkwill's teacher and teacher's teacher, then bought six Spirituality-restoring potions on credit.
• Wilt pressured Darkwill into lending him ten pounds and left without paying for the potions.
• Darkwill realized he had not asked Wilt's name and decided it was time to leave Tingen City.
• Lanevus met Earl Corodo after waiting until evening, and Earl Corodo said he was not interested in Lanevus's iron mine.

Lanevus persuaded Earl Corodo to consider helping Wilt Mirage protect a gold mine from the Rorsted Archipelago governor and military in exchange for a share of its profits. After Lanevus left, Corodo decided to investigate the matter and arrange a meeting with Tingen City's mayor.

• Earl Corodo admitted Lanevus after testing his patience and investigating him, then listened as Lanevus brought up Baron Mirage.
• Lanevus persuaded Corodo to dismiss his staff and gave him documents about Wilt Mirage and the gold mine.
• Corodo read the documents, questioned Lanevus about his connection to Wilt, and agreed to consider helping in exchange for meeting Wilt.
• After Lanevus left, Corodo weighed the danger of opposing Duke Negan's family against the potential profit.
• Corodo ordered Glaint to contact his former comrades in Backlund and arranged to visit Tingen City's mayor the next afternoon.

Wilt used divination to investigate why the True Creator and the Hidden Sage had drawn attention to him, then followed his suspicions to Old Neil’s home. After studying Old Neil’s Life Alchemy notes, Wilt concluded that completing the resurrection ritual could help digest his Cryptologist Potion and began studying the books in the basement.

• Wilt entered the Key of Light to divine why the True Creator had sent an oracle and saw visions of the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Lanevus, and the Giant King's Court.
• Wilt divined why the Hidden Sage had appeared and saw Old Neil’s resurrection ritual, his own Dance of Attraction, and Amon feeding him a Cryptologist Potion.
• Wilt suspected the Hidden Sage had given him Life Alchemy knowledge in exchange for knowledge about Outer Deities, and decided to visit Old Neil despite worrying about offending the Evernight Goddess.
• Wilt found Old Neil’s home by divination, climbed through a window, and searched the basement.
• Wilt read Old Neil’s Life Alchemy notes and guessed that using his Cryptologist abilities to complete the resurrection ritual would digest most of his potion.
• Wilt picked up a book in the basement and began studying Beyonder knowledge while waiting for Old Neil to return.

Old Neil discovered Wilt in his basement, where Wilt explained the Acting Method and offered help with the resurrection ritual and Neil’s growing corruption. Neil agreed to keep the Nighthawks uninformed for now, and Wilt proposed that he reveal the plan and his own involvement to the Evernight Goddess.

• Old Neil returned home, found evidence of an intruder, and entered the basement with his revolver drawn.
• Wilt used a Sealed Artifact to disguise himself, identified himself as Vincent, a Sequence 7 Cryptologist, and explained the Acting Method to Old Neil.
• Old Neil verified Wilt’s explanation with divination, and Wilt said the Hidden Sage had given him knowledge of Life Alchemy and sent him to help.
• Wilt warned Old Neil that the Hidden Sage had corrupted him and that the resurrection ritual had almost no chance of succeeding, then offered to improve it and treat his mental state.
• Old Neil refused to let the Nighthawks stop the ritual, and Wilt soothed him with the Sealed Artifact.
• Wilt suggested that Old Neil cooperate with him and tell the Evernight Goddess about Wilt, the ritual, and his decision.

Wilt urged Old Neil to confess his Life Alchemy research and grief to the Evernight Goddess, then left him to consider Wilt’s offer of partnership. In East Borough, Wilt stole money from a noble’s carriage and witnessed a dead worker’s Wraith pursue it, prompting him to put on his monocle and act as a Monster.

• Wilt explained that the Evernight Goddess had watched over Old Neil and was waiting for him to speak to her about his fiancée and Life Alchemy.
• Old Neil asked whether Mr. Vincent was a Blessed of the Goddess, but Wilt denied it and offered to return the next morning for his answer about partnering.
• Wilt used Dream Traversal to leave Old Neil alone in the basement and appeared in a secluded alley in East Borough.
• Wilt stole 30 pounds, 7 soli, and 4 pence from a noble’s carriage as it passed through the street.
• A young worker fell dead near Wilt, and her Wraith emerged and rushed after the carriage.
• Wilt put on his monocle and decided to act as a Monster.

Wilt freed Hailiye Walker’s spirit and enlisted her help to avenge her death, then met Earl Corodo, who tested Wilt’s account of his family and gold mine. Corodo promised to help Wilt keep the mine, leaving Wilt with an apparent ally as the dispute continued.

• Wilt chose to act as a Monster in Tingen City’s East Borough and restored the mind of the vengeful spirit he had confined.
• The spirit identified herself as Hailiye Walker, and Wilt recognized Sir Deville’s wallet as evidence that he had found the scene of Hailiye’s death.
• Wilt promised Hailiye revenge on Sir Deville, compensation for her parents, and reincarnation in exchange for her obedience and power; Hailiye agreed and entered his body.
• Madam D told Wilt that Earl Corodo wanted to see him, and Lanevus explained that Corodo had insisted on meeting despite the plan having only recently begun.
• Wilt told Earl Corodo a fabricated account of his family, military service, and discovery of the gold mine, asking him for help.
• Earl Corodo promised to help Wilt and said the gold mine would not be taken away.

Wilt let Earl Corodo believe he was grateful for his help against the Negan Family, while Corodo planned to profit from the gold mine. Corodo proposed rallying the New Party and took Wilt to prepare for a charity auction where he would meet its members.

• Earl Corodo described the Negan Family's political power and claimed he could not solve Wilt's problem alone.
• Corodo proposed using the New Party to attack the Conservative Party over the Negan Family's actions.
• Wilt offered the New Party ninety percent of the gold mine's profits in exchange for help.
• Corodo called for Wilt to be fitted with a suit and announced he would take him to a charity auction that night.

Wilt and Earl Corodo secured Mayor Dennis’s support in their dispute with the Negan Family, while Georgina Augustus arranged for the mayor and his bodyguard to assist them. Afterward, Corodo took Wilt to a charity auction to meet influential New Party and Conservative Party members.

• Earl Corodo explained the West Family’s influence and brought Wilt to meet Mayor Dennis, where Wilt sensed that the mayor’s bodyguard was a Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin and spotted Georgina Augustus, a demigod.
• The Disciplinary Paladin used an authoritative Beyonder ability to question Wilt about his identity and gold mine, then escorted him to Mayor Dennis.
• Mayor Dennis promised to support Wilt against the Negan Family, and Wilt recounted his prepared story about what had happened.
• The Disciplinary Paladin reported to Georgina, who arranged for MI9 teams to assist him and promised royal support for his advancement to Sequence 4 Imperative Mage.
• Earl Corodo told Wilt that Dennis would contact the New Party and took him to a charity auction, warning him to pay particular attention to Maynard.

At a charity auction, Wilt met Selena Wood and learned that her occult teacher Vincent had disappeared before Madam Sharon approached him. Wilt fought Sharon in a lounge, then stopped attacking and asked her to speak with him properly.

• Wilt used Spirit Vision to inspect Sir Deville and the other auction guests, seeing resentment around them and faint merit around Sir Deville.
• Selena Wood thanked Wilt for rescuing her from the Khoy River, and Wilt learned that she could no longer find her teacher Vincent.
• Madam Sharon asked Wilt to speak with her alone, and Wilt agreed after placating Selena.
• Wilt followed Sharon to a lounge and attacked her with a shortsword and Frenzy, while she retaliated with black flames and an ice-crystal spear.
• Wilt protected himself with golden light, struck Sharon with the spear, and then hypnotized her before asking to talk properly.

Wilt fought Sharon after she tested his strength, then stopped when she surrendered and asked to talk. He revealed that Trissy was the Primordial Demoness’s Divine Descent Vessel and blessed, while Sharon struggled to explain why she had summoned him.

• Sharon used invisibility to keep fighting, but Wilt spotted her with Spirit Vision and stole her spider silk ability.
• Wilt bound Sharon with spider silk, burned away the ice arrows she sent at him with a charm, and used Dream Infiltration to make her drowsy.
• Sharon escaped Wilt’s cocoon with Staff Substitution, then surrendered when he prepared to attack again.
• Sharon tried to appease Wilt with flirtation, but he asked why she had called him and ignored her advances.
• Wilt told Sharon that Trissy was the Primordial Demoness’s Divine Descent Vessel and blessed, shocking her.
• Sharon admitted she had come after seeing Wilt’s portrait at a charity event, leaving Wilt unimpressed.

Wilt recruited Sharon to help with his gold mine company and explained that working with him could protect her from Ince Zangwill. After using a Sealed Artifact to suppress her madness for a week, he returned to the hall, where Selena warned him that his association with Sharon could cause trouble.

• Wilt explained that Ince Zangwill had manipulated Sharon's fate and offered to save her if she helped stir conflict between the Conservative Party and the New Party.
• Sharon doubted Wilt's claims, but agreed to cooperate after he described her danger and threatened to leave her to her fate.
• Wilt told Sharon to recruit nobles to invest in his gold mine company, then used Placate and a thread of golden light to suppress her madness for a week.
• Wilt returned to the hall, where Selena warned him that nobles had fought over Sharon and advised him to keep his distance from her.
• The charity auction was about to begin, and Selena left to rejoin her father.

Wilt attended a charity auction with Earl Corodo, then separated from him to avoid bringing danger to his uncle. That night, Wilt infiltrated Sir Deville's dream and began tormenting him.

• At a charity auction, Wilt watched Sir Deville spend about fifty thousand pounds on relics and other lots.
• Earl Corodo explained the interests behind the Conservative Party and the New Party, and told Wilt that they needed to win over major capitalists.
• Wilt refused to stay with Earl Corodo, citing the assassins pursuing him and his encounter with someone from the Rose School of Thought.
• Wilt went to Sir Deville's home, used Psychological Invisibility to enter his bedroom, and sent Hailiye into Sir Deville's body.
• Wilt entered Sir Deville's dream and woke him by ordering him to get up and work.

Sir Deville dreamed that he lived as an exploited farmhand and factory worker bearing his own name, then woke and ignored a poisoned woman outside his carriage. After dying in old age, he found himself in a gloomy afterlife being taken to face a judge by an ox-headed and a horse-faced figure.

• Deville awoke in a crowded hut and learned from Vincent that they were farmhands on Earl Corodo's cotton estate.
• An overseer whipped Deville for eating too slowly and not knowing how to pick cotton, and Deville endured the harsh work alongside Vincent.
• Earl Corodo sold the farmhands to a philanthropist, and Deville spent years working in a lead factory while sick, refusing to leave because he had a family to support.
• Deville collapsed from lead poisoning and saw the factory owner was Sir Deville, who looked exactly like him; he then woke from the nightmare in his carriage and drew the curtain on a poisoned woman outside.
• Sir Deville later died in old age and awoke in a frightening afterlife, where two strange figures told him he was going to see the Judge.

Deville dreamed that he was judged after death and sentenced to experience the suffering of the workers harmed by his businesses. He awoke in the mortal world, where the same ghost and Vincent from his dream appeared before him.

• Two monsters brought Deville before a giant judge, who sentenced the wicked Corodo to hell and reincarnation as a beast.
• The judge ruled that Deville’s charity was mostly self-serving and sentenced him to a hundred years experiencing the workers’ suffering before reincarnation into an ordinary, well-off family.
• Deville endured repeated illnesses and deaths in the Hell of the Sinful Mirror until the monsters released him.
• Deville awoke in a carriage and saw a gravely ill young woman with lead poisoning, whose resentful spirit struck him with an invisible shriek.
• Deville woke again, drenched in sweat, and found Vincent and the ghost beside him; he screamed for help.

Dunn investigated Sir Deville’s dream and suspected an unknown Beyonder had tampered with it, while Klein wondered who had planted unfamiliar ideas in Deville’s mind. Wilt began studying mysticism with Old Neil, then found a Werewolf inside Rosen’s herbal medicine shop.

• Dunn pulled Sir Deville into a dream, found signs of tampering, and decided to seek Daly’s advice while the Nighthawks continued investigating strange incidents.
• Klein asked whether Emperor Roselle had said the phrases from Deville’s dream, then resolved to divine who was responsible once he returned to the Gray Fog Space.
• Wilt visited Old Neil, who agreed to partner with him and teach him mysticism in exchange for Life Alchemy knowledge and help with a resurrection array.
• Wilt studied ritual magic with Old Neil through the morning, then went to Rosen’s shop and found a Werewolf inside after sensing an evil, frenzied aura.

Wilt killed the out-of-control Werewolf with four powerful charms, then demanded payment from Darkwill and asked for potions to help a friend who was close to losing control. After Darkwill fled and the official Beyonders arrived, Klein used the golden star to try to discover Wilt Mirage’s true identity.

• Wilt used his Frenzy ring on the Werewolf, causing him to lose control, then blasted him with four charms until he died.
• Wilt demanded three hundred pounds from Darkwill for saving him, and Darkwill protested the price before agreeing to pay with potions.
• Darkwill said he had no potion that could help someone losing control, and Wilt took thirteen potions from him toward the debt.
• Wilt warned Darkwill that official Beyonders would arrive soon, so Darkwill gathered a few important things and fled to Backlund.
• Dunn, Leonard, and Klein arrived at the scene ten minutes later, and three hours afterward Klein used the golden star to try to see who Wilt Mirage really was.

Klein divined that Wilt was behind Sir Deville’s nightmare, the attack at the folk herbal shop, and the strange incidents in Tingen City. He pulled Wilt into the Gray Fog Space and told him that signs showed his fate had been manipulated.

• Klein divined that Beyonder factors were behind Sir Deville’s dream and saw Wilt enter the dream after a wraith and black gas emerged from him.
• Klein saw Wilt save Darkwill from a rampaging Werewolf with charms at the folk herbal shop in Rosen.
• Klein’s divination showed Wilt making a contract with an unknown existence and acting as a Monster to frighten people.
• Klein decided to question Wilt and pulled him into the Gray Fog Space.
• Wilt stopped resisting the pull, arrived in the ancient palace, and became frightened when Klein said his fate showed signs of manipulation.

Klein summoned Wilt into the Gray Fog Space, where the Gray Fog stripped away several influences attached to him. As Klein questioned him about recent events in Tingen City, Wilt revealed that he had been corrupted by an existence in the starry sky and forced to become a Beyonder of three Pathways.

• Klein struggled to pull Wilt into the Gray Fog Space before succeeding, then saw multiple strange manifestations surrounding Wilt’s spirit body.
• Klein told Wilt that someone had been manipulating his fate and that many influences on him had disappeared in the Gray Fog Space.
• Wilt thanked Klein and agreed to answer questions in exchange for Klein’s help.
• Klein asked where Wilt had learned about the Eighteen Levels of Hell, the judge, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Wilt attributed the knowledge to the Holy Monk.
• Wilt said he had created the strange incidents in Tingen City to digest his Monster Potion.
• Wilt revealed that an existence in the starry sky had corrupted him, forcing him to become a Beyonder of three Pathways at once.