Chapter Summaries

Lin En entered a Genius Invokation TCG tournament in Sumeru City, where Cyno defeated him in the third round. He returned to the inn with Ronava, who said they would leave for Mount Damavand the next day, and watched her plan an unusual lunch.

• Lin En registered for the Genius Invokation TCG tournament and won his first two matches.
• Lin En faced Cyno in the third round, made a costly mistake, and lost decisively.
• Cyno told Lin En a joke and called after him about the tournament prizes, but Lin En left.
• Ronava told Lin En she had watched his match and criticized his play before they walked back to the inn.
• Ronava confirmed they would leave for Mount Damavand the next day and planned to cook lunch by combining the ingredients in unexpected ways.

Lin En endured Ronava’s disastrous cooking while they prepared for their journey to Mount Damavand. The next morning, he made her honey-filled bread for breakfast, and she approved of it.

• Ronava combined undercooked potatoes, tomatoes, beef, and eggs into two unappetizing dishes, while Lin En tried to reassure her and ate them.
• Lin En offered to cook for Ronava from then on, and she asked whether he thought her food tasted bad.
• Lin En packed supplies for Mount Damavand and bought more provisions and honey at the market.
• The next morning, Lin En made honey-filled bread with leftover tomatoes and beef, and Ronava said it was delicious.

Lin En and Ronava reached Caravan Ribat, where Ronava stopped two hostile desert caravans from fighting inside the inn. They shared a room for the night and slept beside each other before continuing toward Mount Damavand.

• Lin En and Ronava crossed the desert to Caravan Ribat and rented a room at its inn.
• Lin En offered to cook for Ronava after she said his food tasted better than the inn's meal.
• Abdul and Hassan's caravans argued over the inn and began fighting, damaging furniture and drawing weapons.
• Ronava knocked Hassan's scimitar away with a ray of black light and silenced both caravans with a threat.
• After the caravans camped outside, Ronava invited Lin En to share her bed, and he eventually fell asleep beside her.

Lin En and Ronava crossed the desert to Mount Damavand and found a vast network of excavated tunnels inside. After resting, they prepared to choose a passage, with Lin En picking one based on his luck.

• Lin En woke beside Ronava at the inn, and they checked out and headed west from Caravan Ribat.
• Lin En and Ronava walked through the desert and reached the foot of Mount Damavand.
• Ronava found a narrow fissure in the mountain, and they followed it into a huge underground maze of passages.
• Ronava noticed the tunnels had been excavated but had no memory of the place, so she and Lin En rested while she kept watch.
• Ronava told Lin En to choose a passage, and Lin En picked one just left of center.

Lin En and Ronava confronted Apep’s substitute beneath the desert, where the Dendro Dragon was sealed by the Nail of Retribution. They defeated its body by severing the cavern’s glowing vines, but Apep’s voice returned as the cavern began to shake.

• Lin En and Ronava reached the cavern and found Apep’s dark green substance enveloping the Nail of Retribution.
• Ronava told Apep she intended to take some of Phanes’s power to fight Phanes, but Apep rejected her explanation and attacked.
• Ronava fought Apep’s regenerating substitute while Lin En discovered that the glowing vines throughout the cavern sustained it.
• Lin En cut through the vines as Ronava attacked the substitute, weakening its regeneration.
• Ronava struck the substitute with a blast of black energy, and its body crashed to the ground as the vines went dark.
• Apep’s voice returned, declaring that the fight was not over as the cavern began to tremble.

Ronava and Lin En escaped Mount Damavand as Apep attacked, but Nahida’s phantom intervened and persuaded Apep to stop fighting. After Ronava drew power from the nail, she told Lin En their next destination was Fontaine for a vacation.

• Apep emerged in its true form and attacked Ronava and Lin En, forcing them to flee the collapsing cavern.
• Ronava confronted Apep outside Mount Damavand while Lin En retreated, and Nahida’s phantom appeared from the green leaf.
• Nahida told Apep that Ronava was not its enemy and had lost her authority and been gravely injured.
• Apep stopped attacking and sank into the sand, agreeing that the nail’s removal could benefit it.
• Ronava and Lin En returned to the cavern, where Ronava drew power from the nail and recovered somewhat.
• Ronava told Lin En they would go to Fontaine for a vacation.

After reaching Vourukasha Oasis, Lin En received a system quest to prepare a feast for Ronava and completed it by grilling pork. The reward gave him a third wisp of the Authority of Death and a cultivation technique, leaving him with new abilities as they continued their journey.

• Lin En ran out of water on the way to Vourukasha Oasis, and Ronava shared hers with him.
• Lin En and Ronava reached the oasis, drank from its stream, and Lin En heard the system issue a quest to prepare a feast for Ronava.
• Lin En found mushrooms and caught a moss-covered pig, then prepared grilled pork chops beside the stream.
• Ronava tasted the pork chops and said they were delicious, completing the system quest.
• The system granted Lin En a third wisp of the Authority of Death and the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones technique, which Lin En realized could return part of an enemy's attack but required lengthy preparation.

Lin En and Ronava crossed from Sumeru into Fontaine, where they rode a cargo ship to the Court of Fontaine. After Charlotte interviewed them as a couple and took their picture, Ronava led Lin En toward the elevator to find a place to stay in Fontaine City.

• Lin En practiced circulating the Authority of Death overnight, then continued north with Ronava toward the border between Sumeru and Fontaine.
• Ronava carried Lin En down the towering cliff in a jump, and they paid a cargo ship captain to take them across the river.
• Lin En admired Fontaine’s scenery as the ship sailed to a harbor on the outskirts of the Court of Fontaine.
• Charlotte approached Lin En and Ronava for an interview about couples’ first impressions of Fontaine, and Ronava agreed to answer her questions.
• Charlotte photographed them together, and Ronava kept the picture before heading with Lin En toward the harbor elevator to find lodging.

Lin En and Ronava arrived in the Court of Fontaine and went out to eat despite a sudden downpour. They met Neuvillette, who invited them to the Palais Mermonia, where Ronava told him she was vacationing.

• Lin En and Ronava rode an aquabus into the Court of Fontaine and found an inn near the station.
• Lin En and Ronava went to a restaurant under one umbrella after rain began falling across the city.
• Lin En and Ronava encountered Neuvillette in a square, and he apologized for bringing the rain.
• Neuvillette invited Lin En and Ronava to the Palais Mermonia and served them hot tea.
• Neuvillette asked Ronava why she had come to Fontaine, and she replied that she was on vacation.

Lin En and Ronava spent a rainy day exploring the Court of Fontaine, visiting the opera house and museum and sharing a brief kiss. As they walked back beside the canal at sunset, Ronava said she had enjoyed the day.

• Lin En and Ronava toured the opera house, where Ronava said she had met Egeria and that the mural did not resemble her.
• After the rain stopped, Ronava helped a child in a plaza, and Lin En kissed her; she took his hand and led him away from the curious crowd.
• Lin En and Ronava tried desserts at a shop, where Ronava said she disliked overly sweet food.
• Lin En and Ronava visited the museum, and Lin En considered buying a Kamera to take pictures during their travels.
• As they walked back along the canal at sunset, Ronava told Lin En she had enjoyed the day.

Lin En and Ronava spent another day together in Fontaine, buying a Kamera and visiting the aquarium. As they walked back to the inn, Lin En told her he had enjoyed the day because she was with him.

• Ronava led Lin En to a Kamera shop, where he bought an older model for 100,000 Mora.
• Lin En photographed Ronava outside the shop, and Ronava took a picture of him in return.
• Ronava took Lin En to the aquarium, where they watched the sea life and took more photographs.
• Lin En shared food with Ronava by the harbor, and she asked whether he had enjoyed the day.
• Lin En said he had enjoyed it because she was with him, and they walked back beneath the sun.

Lin En and Ronava won a place on a Fontaine canal night cruise, where Lin En received a mission to spend the night cruising with her and gain Hydro affinity. Their answers in a compatibility challenge revealed what each feared most.

• Lin En received a system mission to take a night cruise on the Fontaine canal with Ronava, and he persuaded her to enter the lottery.
• Lin En lost the draw, but Ronava won first prize and brought him aboard as her guest.
• Lin En and Ronava boarded the pleasure boat and watched the nighttime scenery of the Court of Fontaine from a private VIP room.
• The pair answered questions about each other's preferences and fears for a two-person compatibility challenge.
• The staff revealed that Ronava feared Lin En dying before her, while Lin En had answered that she feared parting.

Lin En and Ronava confronted their fears about mortality and separation, then exchanged Fontaine rings on the pleasure boat. They returned to the inn with their feelings closer to the surface, and Lin En fell asleep after promising to remember Ronava’s answers and keep her from worrying.

• Lin En read Ronava’s answer that he would die first, and Ronava admitted she feared he would one day be gone.
• Lin En promised Ronava he would not leave, and they exchanged the handcrafted Fontaine rings.
• Lin En and Ronava left the boat and walked back to the inn, where Lin En wondered what Ronava meant about understanding her heart.
• Lin En told Ronava he remembered her three answers so he could keep her from worrying, and she told him to keep his word.
• Lin En and Ronava went to bed, and Lin En soon fell asleep beside her.

Lin En and Ronava encountered Arlecchino, who delivered the Tsaritsa’s offer to cooperate and hinted at an interest in Lin En. Ronava rejected the approach, then continued their outing to Fontaine’s great waterfall, where she explained that the Tsaritsa had been probing them.

• Lin En and Ronava walked through the Court of Fontaine and met Arlecchino, who gave Ronava a letter inviting her to speak with the Tsaritsa.
• Arlecchino said Snezhnaya would no longer be Ronava’s enemy if she cooperated, and suggested the Tsaritsa was curious about Lin En.
• Ronava refused to cooperate, and Arlecchino left the letter behind before departing with her companion.
• Ronava told Lin En not to leave her sight, then continued their planned trip to the waterfall.
• At the waterfall, Ronava explained that the Tsaritsa was uncertain about Lin En’s origins and her recovery, so Arlecchino’s visit had been a probe.
• Lin En reassured Ronava that he would not remain ordinary, and the two held hands before heading back.

Lin En tested his new Hydro affinity and discovered that it could slowly heal old injuries, then drew a talent card that increased his strength when his health was critically low. When three masked attackers ambushed him by the river, he recognized them and began fighting back, ending the chapter as the skirmish continued.

• Lin En secretly left the inn and used Hydro to raise a small column of water, discovering that it soothed and gradually healed the lingering pain in his left arm.
• Lin En used his prize draw and received a talent card that increased his strength as his health fell, up to three times its normal level below 1%.
• An arrow struck toward Lin En, and he blocked it with a rock wall before spotting an archer and two armed figures closing in.
• Lin En drew Ronava's longsword and dodged the greatsword wielder's swing, then knocked aside a fast sword thrust.
• Lin En caught an arrow with his bare hand and recognized that the three attackers were testing him, so he prepared to teach them a lesson.

Lin En fought Arlecchino in a riverbank duel, and his Hydro healing and other powers grew stronger as the battle continued. Arlecchino left after they exchanged blows, and Ronava told Lin En that his final strike had injured her wrist.

• Lin En defeated the masked men's coordinated attack, knocking down the greatsword wielder and driving off the archer while the swordsman hesitated.
• Arlecchino emerged from the alley and challenged Lin En with a dark red scythe as Ronava watched from the inn balcony.
• Lin En defended against Arlecchino's increasingly powerful strikes, while Hydro healed his wounds and his strength rose during the fight.
• Lin En and Arlecchino clashed in a final exchange, then both stepped back; Arlecchino put away her scythe and left.
• Lin En changed his damaged clothes upstairs, and Ronava told him his last sword strike had injured Arlecchino's wrist.

Lin En and Ronava spent their last day in Fontaine strolling along the canal, taking photographs together, and preparing to leave for Natlan. They ended the night holding hands, with their journey set to begin at daybreak.

• Lin En and Ronava walked through Fontaine, shared a sweet, and took a photograph together with the help of a flower shop owner.
• Lin En and Ronava rested at the opera house plaza and talked about their upcoming journey through Sumeru to Natlan.
• Lin En and Ronava made extra copies of their photograph and put them in their separate photo albums.
• Lin En restocked their provisions while Ronava waited outside, and they packed their belongings at the inn.
• Ronava said that going out with Lin En was better than being alone, and they fell asleep holding hands.

Lin En and Ronava traveled from Fontaine through the Vourukasha Oasis and Mount Damavand to reach Natlan. They arrived at the Children of Echoes during a tribal event and saw a young woman defeat a larger competitor.

• Ronava woke Lin En before dawn, and they boarded a ferry from Fontaine Harbor to the Vourukasha Oasis.
• After arriving at the oasis, Lin En and Ronava walked south past Mount Damavand toward Natlan.
• Ronava carried Lin En across the shallow water marking Natlan's border, and they continued to the Children of Echoes.
• A resident asked whether they had come for the Trillion Trinket Trawl event, and Ronava explained that the tribes held competitions around this time each year.
• Lin En and Ronava watched a young woman in a red headscarf take down a much larger man in the settlement's central clearing.

Lin En and Ronava met Mavuika in Natlan, where Ronava said she was seeking the Celestial Nail and warned that the Abyss might be operating in the region. They found lodging near the pilgrimage warrior selection, while Ronava admitted she was using Mavuika’s hostility toward the Abyss to help their investigation.

• Lin En and Ronava watched a warrior match before Mavuika arrived with Xilonen and learned that her bike would take three days to repair.
• Mavuika confronted Ronava, who said she had come to borrow some of the Celestial Nail’s power.
• In a stone chamber, Ronava told Mavuika that a supply line from an Abyssal formation on Tsurumi Island pointed southwest, though she did not know where it led.
• Mavuika questioned Ronava’s motives, met Lin En, and warned them not to cause trouble during the Children of Echoes’ pilgrimage selection.
• Ronava privately told Lin En that the supply line’s destination was uncertain and that they could use Mavuika’s hatred of the Abyss.
• Lin En and Ronava rented a room overlooking the selection grounds, where Mavuika and Xilonen watched another match.

After Kachina won the Children of Echoes' selection tournament, Ronava called the fighters weak and accepted Mavuika's challenge. Ronava defeated Mavuika in their sparring match, and Mavuika invited her to dinner to discuss her plans, but Ronava refused.

• Kachina defeated a burly opponent with Turbo Twirly and won the selection tournament.
• Ronava criticized the tournament and said Kachina was still too weak, provoking Mavuika into challenging her.
• Ronava agreed to fight Mavuika and told Lin En she would only teach her a lesson.
• Mavuika attacked Ronava with a series of punches, but Ronava dodged them and briefly numbed her arm with a strike to her elbow joint.
• Ronava outmaneuvered Mavuika and tapped the back of her neck, ending the fight; Mavuika acknowledged her skill and invited her to dinner.
• Ronava advised Mavuika to observe more before striking, then declined her invitation.