Recaps

Ye Yan’s group exposed Sampo’s fake injuries and persuaded him to lead them to Wildfire. At the Great Church of Eternity, Blake learned of Antimatter Legion activity and prepared to set out against them.

• Ye Yan and his companions returned to Natasha’s clinic, where Sampo said Bronya had beaten him after waking up.
• Dan Heng asked Sampo to take them to Wildfire, and Ye Yan tore off Sampo’s bandages to reveal that his injuries had healed.
• Sampo agreed to introduce the group to Wildfire as an apology to Natasha.
• Blake learned that the Intelligence Department had detected faint Destruction-related fluctuations near the Xianzhou Luofu and discussed the possibility of trouble there.
• The priestess reported a new Antimatter Legion signal, and Blake announced that he would set out at dawn to fight them.
• Blake had the priestess recite the Eighth Article of the Creed: kill the Antimatter Legion and beat up Destruction.

Sampo led Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Ye Yan through Boulder Town, where they encountered Seele and Bronya arguing over the Underworld’s plight. After Bronya apologized for her remarks and recognized the group’s power, she thanked Ye Yan for helping Belobog’s defenders, leaving March 7th surprised that something had happened the previous night.

• Blake and a priestess discussed striking back against those who slandered their god before a patrol knight announced that another oracle had descended.
• Sampo led the group to find Wildfire, where they saw Seele rescue Bronya from vagrants and then argue with her about the Underworld.
• Seele told the group that Wildfire’s chief was busy at the Great Mine and said they could find her at its entrance.
• Bronya apologized for insulting the Supreme Guardian in front of the group and explained that she had been ordered to arrest them.
• Bronya thanked Ye Yan for giving the front lines in the Restricted Zone a brief respite the previous night, surprising March 7th.

Bronya explained why Cocolia had accused Ye Yan and his companions of serving the Aeon of [Eternity], then agreed to work with them to uncover the truth. After meeting Oleg and arranging a visit to Svarog the next morning, the group returned to the Goethe Grand Hotel, where Ye Yan volunteered to keep watch overnight with Dan Heng.

• Bronya told Ye Yan and his companions that Cocolia had accused them of spreading [Eternity]'s influence and committing atrocities, and explained that she wanted to join them to find answers.
• The group met Oleg after helping resolve tensions between the vagrants and [Wildfire], and agreed to visit Svarog at the Mechanical Settlement the next morning.
• Svarog treated Ye Yan and his companions warmly, surprising [Wildfire], and left with Clara after the discussion.
• Oleg sent the group back to town to rest, while Ye Yan reflected on his shop and drank milk tea.
• At the Goethe Grand Hotel, Dan Heng proposed keeping watch, and Ye Yan agreed to share the duty with him.

Bronya volunteered for the night watch, and Ye Yan confronted Aha before speaking with her about Belobog's crisis. The chapter left Ye Yan offering the troubled Bronya a bedtime story as she struggled to understand Cocolia's decisions.

• Bronya volunteered to take the night watch, saying she had learned too much from Oleg to sleep.
• Ye Yan caught Aha's mask and punished the Aeon of Elation before sending it away with a cup of milk tea.
• Ye Yan met Bronya outside the Goethe Grand Hotel, where she asked him about the Stellaron and whether he could stop the Eternal Freeze.
• Bronya confessed that she doubted what Ye Yan had told her and questioned Cocolia's choices after seeing the Underworld's condition.
• Ye Yan offered Bronya milk tea, urged her to rest, and suggested telling her a bedtime story.

Ye Yan transported Bronya into memories of an elven planet devastated by the Swarm and introduced her to its surviving holy maiden. The memories ended with the royal city in ruins and the girl alone, while Ye Yan hinted that he had later raised her.

• Bronya told Ye Yan that Belobog's war had left its people in endless despair, and Ye Yan explained that tragedies like it were common across the universe.
• Ye Yan snapped his fingers and placed Bronya inside fragments of past memories, where she found a silver-haired girl kneeling among the aftermath of a battle.
• Ye Yan explained that the girl was the Aria Elf Clan's holy maiden, whose people celebrated their once-in-a-millennium festival and followed the teachings of an Eternity Pathstrider.
• A Swarm invasion overwhelmed the elves, devoured their people, and brought down their sacred tree as a planet-sized Star-Eating Borer appeared.
• The royal city collapsed, leaving the holy maiden as its sole survivor, and Ye Yan recalled that he had later taken her in and helped her grow.

Ye Yan explained to Bronya how the Swarm had remained after Tayzzyronth’s fall, while Tingyun awakened in the Church of Eternity after escaping Phantylia. Tingyun met Blake, who recognized the power of [Eternity] within her and prayed to Lord Yite after being called a Riddler.

• Bronya reflected on the disasters caused by the Antimatter Legion and the Swarm, and Ye Yan told her that the great Amber Lord had brought down Tayzzyronth.
• Tingyun woke in a church bedroom and recalled how her power had blasted Phantylia and the Antimatter Legion grunts away before she arrived on the unfamiliar planet.
• A priestess brought Tingyun breakfast, and Tingyun left her room to find Blake staging a ceremonial welcome in the cathedral.
• Tingyun recognized the cathedral’s hourglass from Ye Yan’s earlier description of the Church of Eternity.
• Blake sensed the power of [Eternity] within Tingyun, then prayed to Lord Yite for forgiveness after the priestess said he sounded like one of the Riddlers.

Tingyun recalled overhearing foreign archaeologists argue about Yite and the Church of Eternity, then explained her ordeal to Blake at the Great Church. Blake recognized the signs of a real Destruction threat and pledged to escort her home and mobilize the Church to aid the Xianzhou Luofu, just as the church dome’s stained glass began to crack.

• Tingyun wondered why Yite had saved her and remembered stories about the Aeons from Mr. Xiyan and Ye Yan.
• At the Sleepless Earl teahouse, Tingyun and Mengming overheard masked archaeologists debate whether Yite existed and discuss supposed relics tied to the Church of Eternity.
• The archaeologists persuaded the brown-haired skeptic to visit the Church, then left without paying their bill.
• At the Great Church of Eternity, Tingyun told Blake about the attack and mentioned the title [Lord Ravager].
• Blake linked the attack to [Destruction], promised to escort Tingyun home, and vowed to send the Church’s forces to aid the Xianzhou Luofu.
• A crack appeared in the church dome’s stained glass as Blake spoke.

Blake summoned the elven priestess Fulisina, who welcomed Tingyun to her church before Blake resumed discussing an escort to the Luofu and support for the Xianzhou. On Jarilo-VI, the Astral Express crew gained Wildfire’s support, while Bronya’s visit to Rivet Town deepened her despair over her inability to help the Underworld or preserve anything.

• Blake summoned Fulisina, whose dramatic arrival and declaration of Eternity caused the priestess beside him to faint; she then introduced herself to Tingyun as an accomplished elven priestess.
• Blake ignored Fulisina and returned to discussing escorting Tingyun to the Luofu and bringing an army to support the Xianzhou.
• March 7th woke at the Goethe Grand Hotel, and Ye Yan explained that Bronya had gone out alone after his bedtime story failed to help her sleep.
• Seele relayed Oleg’s message that Wildfire would unconditionally support the Astral Express crew’s plan, despite his doubts about it.
• Bronya told herself that she had volunteered to accompany Seele to Rivet Town for medical supplies, but the trip and what she had learned about the Underworld left her despairing over her inability to help or serve as Supreme Guardian.

Bronya recovered from her self-pity after Seele confronted her, while Ye Yan’s group prepared to visit Svarog. At the Church of Eternity, Fulisina recognized the Aeon’s blessing in Tingyun and offered the Church’s support, while Sampo met Silver Wolf before Ye Yan’s group arrived.

• Seele reminded Bronya of the Underworld’s hardships, and Bronya thanked her for helping her regain her resolve.
• March 7th questioned Ye Yan about screams the group had heard, but Seele led everyone onward to meet Svarog.
• Fulisina sensed the power in Tingyun and declared that the Church of Eternity would support the Xianzhou.
• Tingyun realized that the Aeon of [Eternity] might be on the Xianzhou, while Blake eagerly anticipated seeing THEM again.
• Silver Wolf discussed Blake and Ye Yan with Sampo, then disappeared shortly before Ye Yan’s group arrived.
• Sampo greeted March 7th and the others, complaining that they had not thought of him after he helped them the previous day.

Ye Yan took the Astral Express crew to the Mechanical Settlement, where they found he had brought Clara plenty of milk tea. On the Xianzhou Luofu, Blake realized Ye Yan had not rejected him, only to learn that Ye Yan had already left.

• Sampo offered to guide the group through the Mechanical Settlement, but Ye Yan opened a portal and took them there himself.
• Stelle recalled finding the trash-can-shaped Curio called the Gate of Myriad Paths in the Simulated Universe.
• Blake and Fulisina admitted that they knew Ye Yan was on the Luofu, and Tingyun revealed that he had left several days earlier.
• Blake realized Ye Yan's closed milk tea shop had not meant that Ye Yan had rejected him, and he celebrated.
• At the Mechanical Settlement, the group found milk teas arranged for Clara and commented on how much Ye Yan had given her.

At the Mechanical Settlement, Svarog gave the group access to records about the Stellaron while Ye Yan and Sampo discussed Sampo’s promised reward. On the Xianzhou Luofu, Blake and Fulisina learned that Ye Yan had joined the Astral Express and fought over who would get to see him.

• Natasha revealed to the group that she was Wildfire’s real leader and that Oleg had acted as her representative.
• Svarog approved the retrieval of the highest-encryption Stellaron records as Bronya and Seele prepared to hear the truth.
• Ye Yan asked Sampo whether he could become the god of fun, and Sampo praised his potential as a candidate for the Aeon of [Elation].
• Blake told Tingyun and Fulisina that Ye Yan had defended the surrounding planets from the lord of [Destruction] and likely traveled with the Astral Express.
• Blake and Fulisina argued over who would accompany Tingyun and claim the sole chance to meet Ye Yan.

Tingyun tried to prevent Blake and Fulisina from fighting, but their soap-flipping ritual ended with a strange miracle that convinced them fate had chosen their path. Blake invited Tingyun to travel with the Church, while the Astral Express crew discussed the uneventful mission on Jarilo-VI and discovered a bar of soap in the parlor car.

• Tingyun left the church when Blake and Fulisina insisted on settling their dispute privately, then returned and found them flipping soap to decide who would accompany her.
• Ye Yan's voice spoke to Tingyun, and an unseen force made the soap stand upright, which Blake and Fulisina took as a sign from Lord Yite.
• Blake invited Tingyun to travel with the Church, and Fulisina agreed to accompany her back to the Xianzhou Luofu as a Church representative.
• Himeko and Welt discussed the reduced Fragmentum activity on Jarilo-VI and how Ye Yan had made Stelle's mission free of setbacks.
• A bar of soap rolled onto the floor of the Astral Express parlor car, catching Himeko and Welt's attention.

Blake Hale and Fulisina boarded the Astral Express, where Himeko and Welt learned they were seeking Ye Yan. Blake tried Himeko’s coffee and struggled to drink it, while Fulisina genuinely liked it.

• Welt shielded Himeko when the soap exploded, and Blake appeared amid the smoke with a powerful surge of Imaginary Energy.
• Himeko and Welt questioned Blake, who introduced himself as the sole Chair of the Church of Eternity and revealed Fulisina from hiding.
• Fulisina sensed Ye Yan’s traces aboard the Express, and Blake explained that they had come to find and invite him to visit the Church.
• Blake praised Himeko’s coffee despite nearly spitting it out, while Fulisina said it tasted good and suggested taking some back to the Church.

After learning that the Stellaron caused Jarilo-VI’s disaster, Bronya struggled with the collapse of her beliefs while the crew urged her to face the truth. Meanwhile, Blake and Fulisina arrived in the Administrative District seeking Ye Yan and the Church’s followers, but someone warned them that the Silvermane Guards were searching for them.

• Svarog’s records confirmed that Jarilo-VI’s leaders and its Guardians had concealed the Stellaron’s role in the disaster, and Dan Heng wondered why Cocolia had changed so drastically.
• Bronya questioned whether her beliefs had been lies, while Seele and March 7th comforted her and encouraged her to trust the crew.
• Ye Yan recalled how Aha and Akivili had sparked a civil war in the Church of Eternity, leading its believers to accept their differences as family, before he spotted two black meteors falling from the sky.
• Himeko and Welt confirmed that Ye Yan was on Jarilo-VI, and Blake gave them Church-made soap that could also be used as bombs.
• Blake and Fulisina entered the Administrative District in disguise; Fulisina sensed Ye Yan near the Goethe Hotel and felt drawn to the Perpetual Motion Workshop.
• Someone interrupted Fulisina and warned her that the Silvermane Guards were searching the city for her.

Blake and Fulisina took refuge in Serval’s workshop after learning the Silvermane Guards were searching for their companions, while Blake condemned Cocolia for slandering Eternity. In Boulder Town, the Astral Express crew prepared to search for the Stellaron, and Stelle revealed that she had been having dreams.

• Serval hid Blake and Fulisina in her workshop and explained that the wanted notice targeted their companions.
• Blake and Fulisina reacted with anger when Serval described the notice calling them “vile disciples of Eternity.”
• Serval said the wanted companions might be in the Fragmentum or the sealed Underworld, then offered Fulisina work at her workshop; Blake declined to help there.
• The Astral Express crew met at the Goethe Grand Hotel and discussed their plan to find the Stellaron, noting that its location and Cocolia’s changed attitude remained unexplained.
• Stelle told the group that she had also been having several dreams.

Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Ye Yan discussed Stelle’s dreams and the Stellaron before returning to Boulder Town without a clear answer. Meanwhile, Blake searched Rivet Town for Ye Yan, where he secretly overheard Seele and Bronya talking about Seele’s past.

• Dan Heng reasoned that Stelle’s dreams might be connected to the Stellaron and concluded that the Aeon of [Eternity] had not cast it down.
• Ye Yan urged the group to rest and think about the dreams the next morning, while March 7th complained that he avoided helping unless a crisis demanded it.
• Silver Wolf vented to Ye Yan about losing games, and Ye Yan praised her self-reflection as one of his Eight Virtues of the Aeon of Permanence.
• Blake arrived at the abandoned orphanage in Rivet Town, destroyed the Fragmentum Monsters around him, and hid when Seele and Bronya approached.
• Seele told Bronya about growing up in Rivet Town, being taken in by Chief Oleg, and learning from Natasha; Bronya called her difficult childhood wonderful before apologizing.

Bronya and Seele bonded over their hopes for reconciliation between the districts, while Bronya resolved to confront Cocolia about the hidden truth of the Stellaron. Blake introduced himself as the Church of Eternity’s chair, offered help against the Fragmentum, and departed as Bronya prepared to return to the Upper District.

• Bronya told Seele how constrained her upbringing had been, and Seele agreed to help her build a bridge between the Upper and Lower Districts.
• Bronya decided to ask Cocolia directly why she had concealed the truth and ordered outsiders who knew about the Stellaron to be hunted.
• Blake appeared before Bronya and Seele, introduced himself as Chair of the Church of Eternity, and gave them soap as a token of goodwill.
• Blake said he would not attack Cocolia and offered to clear the Fragmentum Monsters from the streets before leaving through a portal.
• Bronya gave Seele a letter for the outsiders and returned to the Upper District, while Seele promised to risk her life to save her if she faced danger.

Ye Yan and the others met with Seele and Sampo to discuss returning to the Upper District, where Bronya had gone ahead to confront Cocolia. Bronya left Stelle a letter explaining her decision and asking the group to contact the Landau siblings if anything happened to her.

• Ye Yan offered to take Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng back to the Upper District, while Seele explained that Bronya had already returned there.
• Seele said a blond man called the Church Chair had opened a portal and helped Bronya leave, alarming Sampo and confirming Dan Heng’s suspicions about Chair Blake.
• Ye Yan said he and Chair Blake got along well when Stelle asked if he knew him.
• Seele gave Stelle the letter Bronya had left for the group.
• March 7th read Bronya’s explanation that she planned to speak with Cocolia and her request that the group seek the Landau siblings’ help finding the Stellaron if anything happened to her.

Dan Heng’s group split up to meet the Landau siblings, with Dan Heng and Sampo heading toward the Restricted Zone and March 7th, Stelle, and Seele going to the Administrative District. Meanwhile, Bronya returned to Cocolia to explain what had happened and prove her resolve.

• Sampo told Dan Heng and March 7th what he knew about Gepard and Serval Landau, including Serval’s estrangement from her family and her workshop.
• Seele reported that Blake planned to clear out Fragmentum Monsters, and Ye Yan said he was on the front lines of the Restricted Zone.
• Dan Heng proposed splitting into two groups: he and Sampo would meet Gepard, while March 7th, Stelle, and Seele would meet Serval.
• Ye Yan opened Gates of Myriad Paths to the Restricted Zone and the Administrative District and gave the group an invisibility buff before they set off.
• Bronya recalled how Cocolia had comforted her the previous night, then entered the Guardian’s room the next morning, determined to explain herself.

Bronya confronted Cocolia about the Stellaron and the suffering in the Underworld, then followed her toward the truth as strange voices spoke to them. Meanwhile, Ye Yan’s group returned to the Upper District and entered the Neverwinter Workshop, where Ye Yan came face-to-face with Fulisina.

• Bronya challenged Cocolia’s orders and demanded to know why she had abandoned the Underworld and sent Silvermane Guards into the Fragmentum.
• Cocolia agreed to show Bronya the truth, and Bronya heard the Stellaron’s voice before a bell silenced it and an unfamiliar voice spoke of Eternity.
• Ye Yan, March 7th, Stelle, and Seele returned to the Administrative District and decided to visit the Neverwinter Workshop to investigate the cold.
• The group entered the workshop, where Ye Yan and Fulisina stared at each other in stunned silence.
• At the Restricted Zone’s front lines, Dan Heng recognized Blake.

Ye Yan reunited with Fulisina at the Neverwinter Workshop, where she revealed herself as the Emanator and founder of the Church of Eternity and tried to recruit Stelle. At the restricted-zone front, Blake confronted Dan Heng and Sampo with a bar of soap while Gepard and the Silvermane Guards watched in confusion.

• Ye Yan found Fulisina at the Neverwinter Workshop, where March 7th and Stelle mistook her for a possible Astral Express companion.
• Fulisina recognized Ye Yan as an Emanator of [Eternity] and praised him as resembling Lord Yite.
• Stelle's bat flew toward Fulisina, who caught it and declared Stelle qualified to join [Paradise] because she sensed the powers of [Destruction] and [Eternity] in her.
• Fulisina announced that she was the Emanator of [Eternity] and founder of the Church of Eternity, then insisted Ye Yan call her a holy maiden rather than a priest.
• Blake faced Dan Heng and Sampo at the restricted-zone front while holding a bar of soap, and Gepard and the Silvermane Guards struggled to understand their cryptic exchange.

Fulisina revealed herself as the Church's Holy Maiden, while Stelle introduced Ye Yan as the Milk Tea Aeon. Serval believed the crew's account of the Underworld and explained how her research into the Stellaron had led to her expulsion, leaving her to wonder whether Cocolia was still herself.

• Fulisina claimed the Holy Maiden's title, and Ye Yan explained that an Emanator of Eternity could become one.
• Stelle introduced Ye Yan as the Milk Tea Aeon, prompting Fulisina to take offense at the nickname.
• Serval arrived at the workshop and listened as the crew described the Underworld, the Stellaron, and Bronya's letter.
• Serval said the Architects had discovered the Stellaron's connection to the Fragmentum but concealed their findings.
• Serval explained that Cocolia had expelled her before she could investigate the Stellaron in person.
• Serval recalled that Cocolia had changed after becoming Supreme Guardian and wondered if the real Cocolia had disappeared.

Serval joined the group as they planned to reach the Stellaron, while Ye Yan revealed he had already won Gepard over. As the group prepared to head for the restricted zone, Silver Wolf arrived and overheard a familiar voice.

• Serval noticed Dan Heng was missing, and March 7th explained that he had gone to find Gepard on the front lines.
• Ye Yan told Serval that he had improved Gepard's weapon, and Serval explained that the Stellaron was likely in the northern snowfields beyond the restricted zone and Fragmentum.
• Ye Yan offered to teach March 7th a derivative of the Gate of Myriad Paths, while Fulisina accepted his milk tea.
• Stelle revealed that a Stellaron was inside her body, and the group decided to find the Stellaron before confronting Cocolia.
• Silver Wolf entered the restricted zone to fight Fragmentum Monsters and overheard a familiar voice talking about soap and the Church's kindness.

Blake captured Silver Wolf, Sampo, and Dan Heng, then tried and failed to recruit Silver Wolf into the Church of Eternity. Meanwhile, Ye Yan’s group crossed the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone toward the Fragmentum, with Ye Yan preparing to open a Gate of Myriad Paths.

• Blake bound Silver Wolf, Sampo, and Dan Heng with invisible threads after Gepard left, and Silver Wolf angrily admitted she had come to play on her own.
• Blake invited Silver Wolf to join the Church of Eternity, but she refused, prompting him to drop to his knees in sorrow.
• Ye Yan, Fulisina, Stelle, March 7th, and Serval passed unseen by the Silvermane Guards, while Fulisina obeyed Ye Yan after he stuffed red sausages into her mouth.
• Serval explained that the route north crossed a mechanical bridge leading into the Fragmentum, which the group would have to pass through.
• Ye Yan said he would use his Gate of Myriad Paths instead of searching for the bridge’s control terminals, and Stelle recalled losing to him in games despite his poor skills.

Ye Yan and Fulisina discussed visiting Paradise and Fulisina explained how a mysterious book had inspired her holy-maiden persona. At the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone, Gepard agreed to help the group reach the snowfields, and Fulisina invited him to join the Church of Eternity.

• Ye Yan told Fulisina the Astral Express would reach the Church in three jumps, and promised to see the Paradise she and Blake had prepared.
• Fulisina recounted how a book with chuuni instructions had led her to recite grandiose phrases to Ye Yan, and Ye Yan told her to send Tingyun safely back to the Xianzhou Luofu.
• March 7th and Stelle discussed their expectation of negotiations turning into fights while Serval and Seele talked about resisting Cocolia and saving Bronya.
• At the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone, Serval told Gepard she would stand with the others, and March 7th showed him Bronya's letter.
• Gepard explained that he would not oppose the group and offered the Silvermane Guards' help crossing the corrupted Fragmentum, though he refused to rely on outsiders for strength.
• Fulisina praised Gepard's spirit and invited him to join the Church of Eternity.