Chapter Summaries

In Styxia, Cipher defeated the Purger assassins, examined their notes, and prepared to face the approaching Flame Reaver. Ye Yan watched Cipher, Phainon’s group, and Stelle’s battle unfold across three fronts as the show began.

• Cipher explained how she had brought Kephale’s Core Flame to Styxia and lured the Purgers into following her, then discovered Canis was absent and already dead.
• Cipher searched the defeated Purgers and found contact notes detailing White Armor’s defensive changes, a planned assassination, and the group’s interest in Aegle’s Core Flame.
• Cipher concluded that the World-Saving kid and his companions had taken Aegle’s Core Flame, leaving only one threat to the Journey of Flame-Chase.
• A tremendous crash sounded from the horizon, and Cipher faced the figure approaching Styxia’s main gate.
• Ye Yan watched Cipher in Styxia, Phainon and his companions escaping the Dome Stronghold, and Stelle fighting the Flame Reaver.

Cipher lured the Flame Reaver through Styxia with Kephale’s Core Flame, using tricks and disguises to keep him chasing her. She wondered whether she could finally shake him by leading him higher.

• Ye Yan told Silver Wolf that the Astral Express would defeat Iron Tomb with Eternity.
• Cipher taunted the Flame Reaver in Styxia and claimed she had Kephale’s Core Flame, then fled using the Flipping Coin.
• Blake, acting as the Flame Reaver, caught up with Cipher, who tricked him with a porcelain jar disguised as the Core Flame.
• Cipher continued the chase and changed into Ciphainon, but the Flame Reaver ignored her performance and fell for the floating platform’s mechanism instead.
• Cipher escaped again and decided to lure the Flame Reaver higher.

Stelle blasted the Flame Reaver into the sea near Styxia with the full force of her Wings of Preservation, believing she had driven him off. She then spotted Cipher being hunted by another Flame Reaver and rushed to help, realizing the enemy’s clone might be just as powerful as his original.

• Stelle compressed the power of her iridescent wings into a strike and hurled the Flame Reaver toward Styxia.
• The Flame Reaver crashed into the sea, and Stelle found no sign of his aura as she arrived above the ancient city.
• Stelle spotted Cipher fleeing from a Flame Reaver whose appearance and power matched the one she had just struck away.
• Stelle realized the Flame Reaver’s clone could be as strong as the original and, despite her exhaustion, sped toward Cipher to intervene.

Cipher struggled to escape the Flame Reaver in Styxia until Stelle crashed into the plaza and rescued her. Blake watched them disappear and concluded that the Trailblazers had grown too strong for him to defeat as the Flame Reaver, so he considered a final performance.

• Cipher used the Flipping Coin to evade the Flame Reaver across the ruined clock tower plaza, but he continued to pursue her without attacking.
• The Flame Reaver abruptly turned toward Styxia’s ancient walls, momentarily losing his composure.
• Stelle descended like a rainbow comet and landed between Cipher and the Flame Reaver, blasting a crater into the plaza.
• Stelle carried Cipher away on her rainbow wings while the Flame Reaver stood down and did not pursue them.
• Blake observed their escape and decided that the Flame Reaver could no longer defeat the Trailblazers, prompting him to consider a perfect curtain call.

The Flame Reaver grew skeletal wings and flew to the Dome Stronghold to seize the Sky Core Flame from Hyacine. Phainon used Stelle’s mimetic bat to transform it into an Eternity-infused staff and confronted the Flame Reaver.

• The Flame Reaver sprouted enormous skeletal wings and flew toward the Eye of Dawn and Dusk, intending to target the Sky Titan corrupted by the Black Tide.
• The Flame Reaver landed at the Dome Stronghold and silently nullified Dan Heng’s spear, Phainon’s greatsword, and March 7th’s ice arrows.
• The Flame Reaver fixed his attention on Hyacine and the Sky Core Flame she held, then began approaching her.
• Stelle’s mimetic bat hummed, and Phainon recognized it as the weapon Stelle had used against Aegle.
• Phainon distracted the Flame Reaver, grabbed the bat, and transformed it into an Eternity-infused battle staff.

Phainon broke through the Flame Reaver’s defense with the rainbow war club, while the chapter recounted how Cipher had lured the Flame Reaver away to buy the others time. Cipher’s clones vanished when the Flame Reaver revealed a strange bar of soap, and she prepared to retreat.

• Phainon drove the rainbow war club through the Flame Reaver’s eternal-night defense and wounded him, halting his charge.
• Stelle reached Styxia with Cipher, checked that she was unharmed, and asked what had happened.
• Cipher recalled Aglaea’s farewell a thousand years earlier, then explained that she had lured the Flame Reaver away to give the others time.
• Cipher confronted the Flame Reaver in Styxia and attacked him with a swarm of clones.
• The Flame Reaver produced a strange bar of soap, causing Cipher’s clones to vanish, and Cipher decided to make a strategic retreat.

Cipher told Stelle how she had used Phoros’s final words to inspire the people of Amphoreus, while Stelle realized the prophecy’s “mere coin” might refer to Cipher’s Flipping Coin. At the Dome Stronghold, Phainon gained the upper hand against the Flame Reaver, who collapsed the platform to distract everyone and turned toward Dawncloud Cliff.

• Cipher recounted how, disguised as Atticus, she announced Phoros’s death and presented the Heavenly Father’s final words as a reason for a hundred-day feast.
• Stelle suspected the prophecy’s “mere coin” referred to Cipher’s Flipping Coin and worried about Dan Heng, March 7th, and the others.
• Phainon wounded the Flame Reaver with the iridescent staff and forced him back, leaving him at a disadvantage.
• The Flame Reaver struck the Dome Stronghold’s foundation, opening a fissure and threatening to send the ruins crashing down onto Okhema.
• Dan Heng, March 7th, and Phainon worked to stabilize the collapsing platform as the Flame Reaver silently turned toward Dawncloud Cliff.

The Flame Reaver destroyed the Dawn Machine, plunging Okhema into eternal night, but silver starlight calmed the city’s residents. Recognizing that a hidden power had intervened, he vanished into the darkness to pursue the unknown opponent.

• The Flame Reaver flew to Dawncloud Cliff and attacked the Dawn Machine on Kephale’s back.
• The Dawn Machine’s core shattered, extinguishing Okhema’s veil of dawn and exposing the city to eternal night.
• Silver starlight spread throughout Okhema and soothed its residents, preventing panic.
• The Flame Reaver sensed a powerful hidden presence behind the starlight and vanished into the darkness.

After the Sky Core Flame warned Hyacine that the Dawn Machine had gone out, the Flame Reaver appeared before High Priest Fulisina in Okhema and fought her in the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace. As their battle began, Fulisina laughed and announced that they would unveil part of the war of the gods.

• March 7th and Mimi used their powers of Eternity and Remembrance to stabilize the platform after the Flame Reaver left.
• Hyacine told Phainon that the Sky Core Flame had lost much of its heat and sent her a message that the Dawn Machine had gone out.
• The Flame Reaver appeared in the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace, where High Priest Fulisina was waiting for him.
• Fulisina attacked with a miniature black hole and a strike of starlight, while the Flame Reaver blocked her attacks with his bone wings and a bone spike.
• Fulisina laughed and said they would unveil a corner of the war of the gods.

Fulisina and Blake staged a destructive battle in the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace while secretly cooperating to eliminate the lurking Black Tide creatures and outside watchers. They reunited in the Church of Eternity’s Vortex of Genesis, where the show ended and they prepared to proceed with delivering the Core Flames.

• Silver Wolf watched Fulisina and the Flame Reaver battle from the Eternity spectator seats.
• Fulisina and the Flame Reaver secretly coordinated their attacks to destroy the Black Tide creatures that ambushed them.
• Fulisina and the Flame Reaver unleashed a massive clash that shattered the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace and erased the remaining hidden creatures.
• Fulisina and Blake appeared in the Church of Eternity’s Vortex of Genesis after the staged battle ended.
• Blake revealed his true appearance, and he and Fulisina silently acknowledged each other as the play concluded.

After learning that Okhema had lost the Dawn Machine’s protection, Hyacine chose to return Aegle’s Core Flame and remain in the sky to protect the people. A flashback showed her preparing to leave the Duskglow Courtyard and asking Tribbie to teach her the words for returning a Core Flame.

• Mimi sensed countless streams of memoria rising from beneath the fortress and heard the memories wailing.
• Hyacine asked Dan Heng to use Fagina’s Spiritwater to open a path to the Vortex of Genesis so she could return Aegle’s Core Flame and protect the surface from the sky.
• March 7th and Mimi offered to accompany Hyacine, but Hyacine said she would stay behind while they returned to their companions and home.
• Hyacine said goodbye to the group and vowed to cherish and protect ordinary people’s lives and stories.
• Several days earlier, Hyacine reassured Clementine that she could lead the Duskglow Courtyard after Hyacine’s departure.
• Hyacine asked Tribbie to teach her the words for returning a Core Flame, and the two began reciting them together.

Blake and Fulisina discussed preparing Amphoreus’s rising stars to fight Iron Tomb, then Fulisina restored the Dawn Machine in Okhema. The holy city regained its protective light as Fulisina finished her mission.

• Fulisina conjured taro bubble milk tea in the Vortex of Genesis and discussed sharpening the Chrysos Heirs through trials with Blake.
• Blake said Phainon’s trial of Eternity had to be fierce and noted that Yite had his own plans for another rising star.
• Fulisina described the theft of the Core Flames as a way to temper rising stars and advance the Flame-Chase, while Blake cut off her speech and transformed into the Flame Reaver.
• Fulisina went to the damaged Dawn Machine atop Dawncloud Cliff and invoked the power of Eternity to repair its core.
• The Dawn Machine reignited, restoring Okhema’s light and sealing everlasting night outside the holy city.

Hyacine placed the Sky Core Flame in the Tides in the Basin and received the sky’s authority after speaking with Senios, whose will had merged with Aegle. At the Dome Stronghold, Phainon questioned the Flame Reaver’s motives while the others waited anxiously for news of Okhema and Stelle.

• Hyacine placed the Sky Core Flame into the Tides in the Basin, and Sorabis and Lunabis appeared to thank her for freeing them from their vigil.
• Senios spoke through the sky, apologized for failing to see the people’s resilience, and found relief in Hyacine’s recognition of the courage he had shown against a god.
• Hyacine said she could not forgive Senios on behalf of the exiled people, but praised the courage he had passed on to the Flame-Chasers and accepted the authority of the sky.
• At the Dome Stronghold, Dan Heng, March 7th, Mimi, and Phainon waited as Stelle remained absent and Okhema lay shrouded in darkness.
• Phainon questioned whether the Core Flame was truly the Flame Reaver’s priority and suspected the attack had been part of a larger plan.

Phainon, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Mimi escaped to Okhema on Lunabis and Sorabis, who sacrificed themselves to bring them safely to the city. The Dawn Machine restored Okhema’s light, but the Black Tide’s unexplained darkness and the mystery surrounding Phainon remained as the group prepared to descend the mountain.

• March 7th spotted Lunabis and Sorabis, whose dissolution had been slowed by her ice bow’s power of Eternity.
• Lunabis and Sorabis carried Phainon, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Mimi toward Okhema, then dissolved into starlight as they reached the city.
• The winged beasts’ starlight flowed into the Vortex of Genesis, and the repaired Dawn Machine restored light to Okhema.
• Phainon and the others questioned the darkness and the Black Tide’s power, while Mimi feared Okhema was facing doomsday.
• March 7th noticed damaged structures turning insubstantial, and the group set out down the mountain to check on Kephale’s Core Flame.

Stelle and Cipher raced toward the last Worldbearing Core Flame after the Flame Reaver destroyed the Dawn Machine and unleashed the Black Tide, while Mydei and Castorice held the creatures back. At Dawncloud Cliff, Phainon and his companions prepared to return Kephale’s Core Flame to the Vortex of Genesis if the end was imminent, and wondered whether Hyacine had succeeded.

• The Flame Reaver pierced the Dawn Machine, extinguishing it and allowing Black Tide creatures to surge toward Okhema.
• Stelle and Cipher prepared to defend the residents, but Mydei arrived and Castorice used the power of Death to help contain the Black Tide.
• Mydei told Stelle and Cipher to leave the battle to him and Castorice and pursue the Flame Reaver.
• Stelle carried Cipher toward the place where the final Worldbearing Core Flame lay.
• Phainon and his companions found Kephale’s Core Flame at Dawncloud Cliff and discussed returning it to the Vortex of Genesis if the end was near.
• March 7th and the others wondered whether Hyacine had succeeded in healing the world.

Mydei defeated the Black Tide at Dawncloud Cliff, but the Flame Reaver appeared and effortlessly overpowered him. The Flame Reaver sent Mydei elsewhere and left behind the "Strife" Core Flame as spoils of war.

• Mydei cleared the battlefield of Black Tide creatures with his divine flames and war hammer.
• The Flame Reaver appeared behind Mydei after the battlefield fell silent.
• Mydei charged the Flame Reaver while Castorice sent death crystals to restrain him, but the Flame Reaver shattered them.
• The Flame Reaver caught Mydei's golden fist and extinguished the lion phantom's flames.
• The Flame Reaver snapped his fingers and made Mydei vanish, leaving behind the "Strife" Core Flame.

Phainon and his companions found Canis imprisoned in an ice coffin and discovered that Kephale’s Core Flame had been replaced with a clay pot. Phainon trusted Cipher to have secured the real Core Flame and led the others toward the Vortex of Genesis, determined to survive the encirclement and meet Stelle.

• Phainon, March 7th, and Dan Heng encountered the deranged Canis inside an ice coffin near Kephale’s Core Flame casket.
• Phainon recited the words Teacher Anaxa had taught him, and March 7th and Mimi opened the casket’s arcane lock.
• Phainon found a clay pot in place of the Core Flame, and Canis revealed that she had taken it.
• Phainon recalled asking Cipher to protect the Core Flame and concluded she had moved it to fulfill her duty.
• Phainon’s group continued toward the Vortex of Genesis, trusting Cipher and Stelle to meet them as they fought to escape the encirclement.

Canis awakened and unleashed a Black Tide army at Dawncloud Cliff, blocking Phainon and Dan Heng from reaching the Vortex of Genesis. March 7th raised an enormous ice wall to hold back the creatures while they pressed on, leaving her alone to defend the pass and buy time for Okhema.

• Canis opened her pupil-less eyes and sent out a black pulse that spawned Black Tide creatures across Dawncloud Cliff.
• Phainon, March 7th, and Dan Heng fought the creatures as they tried to reach the Vortex of Genesis before the Black Tide could threaten Okhema.
• March 7th told Phainon and Dan Heng to go, then unleashed Remembrance · Wall of Eternity and froze the narrow pass behind a towering ice wall.
• March 7th reinforced the cracking wall while the Black Tide creatures battered it, insisting that she would earn her share of the credit when Re-Creation came.
• Phainon and Dan Heng left March 7th behind and charged toward the entrance to the Vortex of Genesis.

As Phainon and Dan Heng fought the Flame Reaver on the road to the Vortex of Genesis, the enemy’s overwhelming speed and power left them close to defeat. Just as the Flame Reaver prepared to kill Phainon, Stelle arrived in a blazing charge.

• Ye Yan brought Silver Wolf from the ice-crystal coffin to join the others heading toward the Vortex of Genesis.
• The Flame Reaver appeared and insisted that the world had to be reset, refusing Phainon’s attempts to reason with him.
• Phainon and Dan Heng fought the Flame Reaver, but his shadow blade and near-teleportation overwhelmed their defenses.
• The Flame Reaver knocked Dan Heng away and aimed a lethal strike at Phainon.
• Stelle arrived from the sky with the Wings of Preservation blazing and targeted the Flame Reaver.

Stelle used the iridescent battle bat to stagger the Flame Reaver and carry her companions to safety in Okhema. After learning that the Holy City was burning and that Trinnon waited at the Vortex of Genesis with Kephale’s Core Flame, Phainon and the others continued toward the Chrysos Heirs’ Baths, leaving Hatonus to fight the Black Tide.

• Phainon threw Stelle the battle bat, and Stelle struck the Flame Reaver with the full power of Preservation before rescuing Dan Heng, Phainon, Mimi, and March 7th.
• Stelle brought the group to the Abyss of Fate in Okhema, where Hatonus reported that the Holy City was burning and the guards were evacuating its citizens.
• Hatonus told Phainon that Trinnon was waiting at the Vortex of Genesis and that Kephale’s Core Flame was safe, then stayed behind to face the Black Tide creatures.
• Phainon and the others left for the Chrysos Heirs’ Baths, where Mimi sensed that the memories held by the buildings were slipping away.