Chapter Summaries

[Evergreen Tree] and his students tested the effects of their newly awakened plant abilities in the underground space. [Dawn Ah] appeared unable to control his rose until [Backstabbing Expert] provoked him, and the chapter ended with their plants clashing.

• [Dawn Ah] felt hungry after the announcement, and [Evergreen Tree] explained that the volunteers should record anomalies and repeat their experiments.
• A morning glory in [Evergreen Tree]'s pot appeared to pant and sprayed pollen onto [Dawn Ah] after [Evergreen Tree] silently thought “ptooey.”
• [Evergreen Tree] told a morning glory to spray [Backstabbing Expert], but a pothos in [Backstabbing Expert]'s arms shot up to shield his face in response to his fear.
• [Dawn Ah] tried to make his rose move, but it showed no response until [Backstabbing Expert] taunted him.
• [Dawn Ah]'s thorny rose branch lashed toward [Backstabbing Expert]'s mouth, and the pothos stems rose to intercept it.

The volunteers underwent testing to control their mutated plants while officials debated how to use them safely. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man in black learned that the Theocracy faced a strong rebel delegation demanding surrender.

• The base sealed off the underground area after discovering that a Source of Disorder had been born, then separated the volunteers for examination.
• Lü Yang struggled to control his lazy pothos, while the professor easily directed his morning glory and Li Yu practiced boxing with his rose.
• The middle-aged man in black told his assistant that volunteers would first encounter Sources of Disorder and later be sent into the field, then left for the military over developments in the World of Disorder.
• Cardinal Sailesi learned that the rebels had sent eight people to High Bank City to demand the Stained Ones be handed over, taxes stopped, and the province reorganized; the delegation included four musicians.

Cardinal Sailesi summoned the Holy City’s clergy to a council meeting after an outburst that left his attendant uncertain what was real. Samuer reported to Cardinal Luxiusi that the Second Holy See had captured Fir City using flying soldiers and tunnels, and that it enslaved Blood Corpses for labor.

• Sailesi ordered a Holy City council meeting and invited Luxiusi and Geliwusi, while his attendant struggled to distinguish illusion from reality.
• Samuer told Luxiusi that the Second Holy See’s flying soldiers and tunnels had helped it capture Fir City.
• Samuer reported that Antiya Lisi had died after fighting a powerful Blood Corpse identified as belonging to Antos.
• Samuer said his investigation found that the Second Holy See enslaved Blood Corpses, using Soul Returners’ resistance to Blood Poison to capture them.
• Luxiusi was relieved that the Second Holy See was not cooperating with Blood Corpses, but worried about the consequences of enslaving them.

Samuer returned to the Holy City and resumed his post as Luxiusi’s personal attendant as Sailesi gathered bishops for a meeting. Luxiusi prepared to oppose Sailesi’s plans and told Samuer to watch for his escape route, while Geliwusi declined Sailesi’s invitation.

• Luxiusi accepted Samuer’s return as his personal attendant after hearing about his journey and agreed that enslaving Blood Corpses could be preferable to killing them.
• When Sailesi invited Luxiusi and Geliwusi to a meeting, Luxiusi refused and warned Samuer that Sailesi’s gathering would consist of Stained Ones.
• Luxiusi told Samuer to record the attendees’ names and explained that the Son of God had entered the high tier, causing Luxiusi and other powerful figures to lose some Authority.
• Luxiusi ordered Samuer to place people along Sailesi’s suspected escape route into the empire to gather information and help track him.
• Geliwusi told Sailesi’s attendant that he was too unwell to attend the meeting.

Ed’s plans across the world continued to advance as he prepared to bring the Theocracy under his control, while Xilǐ'er reported that the Holy City was playing dead. Meanwhile, [Epic-Level Giant] fought to land an enormous Claw Fish, only to realize his net might be too small and his strength was running out.

• Ed reviewed the steady progress of his plans across the Wilderness of Chaos, the Swarm, the Eternal Domain, the Graycast Corridor, and the border between the Starlight Empire and the Skeleton Alliance.
• Xilǐ'er returned to Valhalla with a fifteen-person delegation and reported that the Holy City was playing dead.
• Two guests Ed had nearly forgotten arrived in Valhalla.
• [Epic-Level Giant] complained about online posts while fishing and hooked a large Claw Fish.
• [Epic-Level Giant] drew the fish close enough to see its immense size, then realized his landing net was barely large enough and he might be too exhausted to use it safely.

[Epic-Level Giant] landed a giant fish with help from two travelers, who introduced themselves as the Schmidt brothers and claimed to be blacksmiths. After learning that anyone could fish freely near Valhalla, the brothers accepted fishing tackle from him, and they began fishing together as former Grand Foundry Masters Balund and Aiboke.

• [Epic-Level Giant] struggled to land a giant fish until two men helped scoop it into his net.
• [Epic-Level Giant] introduced himself to the men, who said they were brothers named Schmidt and blacksmiths from out of town.
• [Epic-Level Giant] offered the brothers half the fish's value or meat, but they asked whether fishing near Valhalla required permission.
• [Epic-Level Giant] explained that fishing was free and unrestricted, and the brothers decided to fish nearby.
• [Epic-Level Giant] gave the brothers fishing tackle, and the three began fishing together as Balund and Aiboke, former Grand Foundry Masters.

Balund enjoyed a fishing vacation with Aiboke and [Epic-Level Giant], while Nuowa arrived and met with Ed about spell formulas that prevented Soul Returners from sharing what happened underground in the Great Labyrinth City. Ed accepted the apology and asked Nuowa to explain how he had done it.

• Aiboke caught fish after fish while [Epic-Level Giant] and Balund struggled to catch any.
• Balund secretly carved a Psionic Energy Circuit into his fishing rod to electrocute the fish, but Nuowa caught him and greeted him.
• Nuowa told Balund he had come to meet the Son of God, and went with Liya to see Ed at the old castle.
• Nuowa and Liya apologized to Ed for the spread of spell formulas that kept Soul Returners from discussing what happened underground in the Great Labyrinth City.
• Ed said he did not consider their actions wrong and asked Nuowa to explain how he had managed it.

Nuowa explained that the elves had gathered on Elf Island after the Demonic Tide began and entered a shared dream to preserve their minds while their bodies remained untouched. Ed learned that Nuowa had devised Elf’s Dream, then asked how it related to the spell affecting him, and Nuowa began to answer.

• Ed failed to identify the spell that targeted a group and silenced them on certain subjects.
• Nuowa introduced Elf’s Dream, a secret project created after the Demonic Tide began.
• Nuowa explained that he summoned elves from across the world to Elf Island and placed them in a deep sleep.
• Nuowa described how elves shared a dream to maintain their convictions while resisting the Demonic Tide’s corruption.
• Ed praised Nuowa’s solution and asked how Elf’s Dream connected to the spell, prompting Nuowa to begin explaining.

Nuowa explained how he and Liya used Elf's Dream to influence minds and accidentally caused the Short-Eared Elf meme. After Ed cleared up the misunderstandings and asked what they wanted, Nuowa revealed that he and Liya were not actually elves, but Ed had already guessed.

• Nuowa told Ed that Elf's Dream let him maintain the dream and guide the elves' thoughts, including their secrecy about what happened beneath the Great Labyrinth City.
• Nuowa admitted that he and Liya had created the Short-Eared Elf meme, which grew distorted during the eighty years they were sealed away from Elf's Dream.
• Ed said he understood both mental alterations and asked Nuowa and Liya to state their demands and terms for serving or allying with him.
• Nuowa insisted he had a terrifying secret to share, then revealed that he and Liya were not elves.
• Ed told Nuowa that short ears were not part of the elven race's design, and Nuowa realized that their ears had exposed their disguises.

Nuowa revealed that he was a human prince and the rightful heir to the Starlight Empire, then began recounting the events that led to his exile. His story reached the moment his eldest brother, driven by rage and a secret drug, confronted the second prince over their father's suspicious death.

• Nuowa formally identified himself as the sixth son of Leo VI and rightful heir to the Starlight Empire, while Liya accidentally turned the introduction into a party with a reusable party popper.
• Nuowa confirmed that he and Liya were humans and showed Ed replicas of the Starlight Orb and Emperor's Scepter, explaining that the genuine treasures remained in the imperial capital with the false emperor.
• Nuowa agreed to tell Ed and the Soul Returners his story and began with his father's death in the imperial palace about 110 years earlier.
• Nuowa explained that the first prince suspected the second prince of murdering Leo VI, but a secret drug and his own rage drove him to confront his brother directly.

Nuowa recounted how he escaped the palace purge and spent ten years building wealth, influence, and an army to avenge his family and seize the empire. Just as he prepared to exploit the autumn harvest to launch his rebellion, the Demonic Tide broke out ahead of schedule.

• Nuowa escaped the palace after his second brother murdered their father and brothers, then fled the capital with Liya.
• Nuowa and Liya settled in Nors Port, where Nuowa used his talents to make money, win the elves' support, and build a criminal and political network.
• Nuowa spent ten years assembling loyal troops, weapons, intelligence, noble scandals, and control over the region's stock market.
• Nuowa prepared to invade the imperial capital during the autumn harvest, when few could answer a military summons.
• The Demonic Tide erupted before Nuowa could begin his planned rebellion.

After the Demonic Tide devastated the empire and destroyed Nuowa’s plans, he and Liya returned to Elf Island and helped the elves create a private server to survive. The elves unexpectedly elected Nuowa Elf King, and he accepted the role and began working for them.

• The Demonic Tide turned the empire’s eastern coast into desert, shattered the northern kingdom, and destroyed Nuowa’s city, army, and plans.
• Nuowa and Liya gathered surviving elves and crossed the continent to return to Elf Island.
• Nuowa completed his plan for Elf’s Dream, and the elves helped turn it into a private server where they could escape the Demonic Tide.
• The elves secretly elected Nuowa Elf King and surprised him with a coronation ceremony.
• The elves sealed themselves in crystals to live on the private server, while Nuowa accepted his new duties and set to work.

Nuowa and Liya maintained Elf's Dream, traveled the world seeking a way to resist the Demonic Tide, and eventually joined the fight against the vampires' Corpse Tide. Their carefully prepared plan collapsed after unforeseen events, leaving them to perish with Hall until the Soul Returners broke the seal and fate began moving again.

• Nuowa used the elves' surplus mental energy to strengthen himself and Liya, then kept Elf's Dream stable enough to extend its maintenance interval to several years.
• Nuowa studied Stral's astrology, and he and Liya traveled widely, meeting allies and searching unsuccessfully for a way to overcome the Demonic Tide.
• Nuowa and Liya received a letter asking for help against the vampire alliance and the spreading Corpse Tide, so they set out for the main continent.
• After learning that their knight and White Dragon friends had died and that Aeldra was their enemy, Nuowa and Liya hid in the northern continent and devised a plan to seal the vampire grand dukes and cripple Aeldra.
• Three grand dukes' unexpected actions disrupted Nuowa's plan, and he and Liya were forced to perish with Hall after defeating Aeldra, wounding Vanessa, and sealing Antos and Adelaide.
• The Soul Returners broke the seal, setting the gears of fate in motion again.

Nuowa explained that his ancestor Stral’s coded notes had guided his rise and revealed why he sought Ed’s help. He proposed cooperating to aid the empire and the elves, believing Ed was the fallen star foretold in the notes.

• Ed questioned how Nuowa had achieved so much, and Nuowa credited his ancestor Stral’s notes for his knowledge and the instructions that helped him escape.
• Nuowa explained that Stral’s astrology could glimpse the future and that the notes had predicted a descendant might face hardship.
• Nuowa asked Ed to cooperate in helping the empire and the elves, offering their strength in return.
• Nuowa said his astrology showed Ed in future visions and matched him to the fallen star described by Stral.
• Nuowa concluded that carrying out someone else’s plans was easier than making plans, then pointed to Liya as someone who seemed happy while executing them.

Nuowa asked Ed to save the elves from their Demonic Tide mutations and help depose the emperor, offering the elves’ service and even the Empire’s union with the Theocracy in return. Ed agreed and ordered Nuowa and Liya to join the forces fighting the Skeleton Alliance, then reveal Nuowa’s imperial identity and lead a rebellion.

• Nuowa explained that the elves’ bodies had developed monstrous traits after nearly a century of exposure to the Demonic Tide, and asked Ed to give them new bodies once the crisis ended.
• Ed agreed to reshape the elves’ bodies, and Nuowa offered to return the Elven King’s crown and have the elves serve Ed.
• Nuowa said he would accept the Empire’s dissolution if his second brother were deposed and his father and brothers avenged.
• Ed recognized that Nuowa’s imperial lineage could give the Soul Returners’ rebellion legitimacy and agreed to help save the Empire and elves.
• Ed ordered Nuowa and Liya to join the fighting against the Skeleton Alliance, build ties with the Soul Returners and imperial soldiers, then reveal Nuowa’s identity and raise his banner.

Ed explained why he wanted Nuowa to become emperor of the Starlight Empire: Nuowa’s lineage and High Tier strength could stabilize the Empire and make it an ally of the Second Holy See. Nuowa accepted, and Ed proposed that they travel to the Holy City and publicize Nuowa’s plans among the Soul Returners.

• Ed told Nuowa that the Second Holy See needed allied powers rather than annexing the Graycast Corridor or the Starlight Empire.
• Ed argued that Nuowa’s imperial bloodline could calm unrest and his High Tier strength could keep the Empire stable.
• Nuowa agreed to become emperor and shook hands with Ed.
• Ed proposed that they go to the Holy City together, then asked how many people Nuowa’s teleportation spell could transport and how far it could reach.
• Nuowa said he could potentially teleport over ten thousand people and span the Wilderness of Chaos if he had visited the destination before.
• Ed decided to publicize Nuowa’s plans among the Soul Returners and suggested Nuowa use Elf’s Dream to prevent them from leaking the information.

Ed used Nuowa’s memories to create a promotional video showcasing his life and contributions, while Cardinal Sailesi prepared the Holy City for the approaching army. The chapter left Sailesi’s followers under his control and ordered to defend the city’s perimeter.

• Ed gained Nuowa’s permission to extract memories of his past century and turn them into an information stream.
• Ed’s game account released a promotional video titled “The Adventures of the Short-Eared Elf.”
• Cardinal Sailesi told the College of Cardinals that the approaching army would falter and ordered preparations for a final battle.
• Holy Crusader officers increasingly considered surrendering, while Sailesi’s imprisonment of wavering officers failed to stop the defections.
• Sailesi assigned his former students to command the Holy Crusaders and defend the Holy City’s outer perimeter.
• Vines and spider lilies appeared on the gathered bishops as Sailesi asked whether they understood their orders.

Sailesi used a terrifying illusion to send the Stained Ones out to carry out his orders, while the Soul Returners prepared a campaign against the Tree Worship Church. Three days after they took control of the Holy Crusaders, a vast army appeared outside the Holy City, where its defenders faced an unprecedented threat.

• Sailesi dismissed the Stained Ones after making them see blood-red mandrakes growing from their flesh, leaving them too frightened to consider betraying him.
• A vast army appeared on the plains outside the Holy City, shattering the defenders’ confidence as its leader counted the troops after their arrival.
• Ed announced the end of the first phase of the [The Only Holy Church] quest on July 25, 909.
• Soul Returners took charge of towns that surrendered, while in resisting towns they harassed the Stained Ones with insults, rumors, leaflet campaigns, and low flights on Soldier Bees.

Ed’s campaign against the Stained Ones spread across the Theocracy as he announced the next phase: an army would gather in Valhalla and march on the Holy City. Players then saw Nuowa Stral and Liya beside Ed, after a promotional film had made their story famous.

• Civilians spread rumors about the Stained Ones, while their leaders struggled to suppress public dissent and their forces lost morale.
• Some towns under Pure Ones’ control negotiated respectful terms for joining the Second Holy See, as Ed’s plan reached settlements across the Theocracy.
• Ed announced that the second phase of the quest would assemble the army in Valhalla before it marched on the Holy City.
• The promotional film “The Adventures of the Short-Eared Elf” recounted Nuowa Stral and Liya’s hardships, exile, and eventual sealing of the evil dragon and Vampire Progenitors.
• Soul Returners recognized Nuowa and Liya beside Ed and speculated that the two would join a faction in the game.

Ed gathered nearly a hundred thousand Soul Returners and a handful of NPCs in Valhalla, then had Nuowa teleport them to the Holy See’s drill grounds outside the Holy City. After moving the army closer to the walls, he ordered the Soul Returners to attack, beginning the battle for the Holy City.

• The Soul Returners organized into units by their abilities and equipment, while the Adrian Imperial Guard proclaimed its loyalty to Ed.
• Ed assembled his rare character cards and other allies at the front of the army, and Nuowa teleported nearly a hundred thousand Soul Returners to the Holy See’s drill grounds.
• Ed had Nuowa teleport the army again, bringing it to within two hundred meters of the Holy City walls.
• Nuowa explained that she could not teleport the army directly into the city, and Ed drew his sword and ordered the Soul Returners to attack.
• The Soul Returners charged the walls as their musicians played, and the battle for the Holy City began.