Funny / Cradle Series

aka: Blackflame

Book 1: Unsouled

• In the tournament where the different clans put their combatants against each other, Lindon, as an Unsouled, is technically considered to be on the same level as ten-year-olds despite being roughly sixteen. Without much shame, he uses his Empty Palm technique, denying them access to their potentially superior powers, before tossing the now powerless children out of the ring. Considering that Lindon winning was far from a guarantee, he's actually quite happy with how things go, and by the end is walking away from each round with a huge grin on his face.
• During Suriel's conversation with Lindon, every time she gives an estimation, her Presence chimes in with an exact number. She eventually snippily tells it that verbal corrections are unnecessary.
• There's something hilarious about the fact that Lindon's plan to win an impossible fight is to basically throw a jar of bees at his opponent. And it works.
• When Yerin collapses in Lindon's bed (because she's been fighting non-stop for several weeks), Lindon decides to pull off her shoes to be nice, but passes out from exhaustion himself before he can.

Book 2: Soulsmith

• In Fisher Gesha's introduction, she claims "If I want the words of a silly girl, I will reach back a hundred years and ask myself." Lindon quietly asks Yerin if she could actually do that. Yerin just gives him a look.
• One of Eithan's first scenes has him walk up to the Jai slavers and beg to be enslaved to atone for past sins. It's an obvious trick, but they put a power-dampening collar on him anyway. Later, Eithan is able to help Yerin and Lindon escape easily, and then snaps off the collar with ease.
• After Lindon reaches Iron, Eithan gives him pink and gold sacred artist robes that he happens to have on him. And then makes fun of the robes that he is now wearing.
  Eithan moved his hand back and forth. "Eh... I'd say he looks like an evil sect leader's rebellious son." He thought a moment longer and added, "Wearing his mother's robe."
• During the final battle where Lindon is fighting a man three levels of advancement above him, Eithan's biggest concern is that Lindon might ruin the robes he gave him. When he does ruin them, Eithan gives him a new set... which are blue with violet birds.

Book 3: Blackflame

• When Lindon realizes that Fisher Gesha decided to come with the team to the Blackflame Empire of her own volition, without coercion from Eithan, he bows and thanks her with tears in his eyes. This touching moment falls apart when he looks up and realizes she didn't hear a word of it, because she ran to the window and is puking over the edge of the skyship.
• Within minutes of meeting Cassius, Lindon deduces that he is basically Eithan's minder, making sure he doesn't do anything too crazy and cleaning up any messes he leaves behind. Lindon feels a great swell of pity for him.
• Yerin says something ignorant about the Empire, so Gesha gives a Dope Slap... to Lindon.
  Lindon: Ow! Why did you hit me?
• Eithan "suggesting" that Lindon take the Path of Blackflame. He lists off numerous possiblities, generally following each one with a very obvious reason Lindon should not take it, making it blatantly obvious that he's guiding him towards the Blackflame, but Lindon is tired of his antics and just wants to skip to the end when he takes whatever choice Eithan actually wants him to have. After having elimated all but two options, Lindon suggests the seemingly reasonable Path of Grasping Sky (the Path of the Imperial family), Eithan finally says that it's illegal. Lindon throws up his hands in defeat.
  • Made even funnier when it comes out that the Blackflame path is also illegal, and Lindon spends a chunk of the next book under arrest for it.
• Lindon meets Orthos, the last descendant of the legendary Blackflame dragons. It takes Lindon a moment to realize that he's a turtle.
• Lindon's way of telling Yerin about Orthos is vague and hilarious.
  Lindon: Not to ask too much of you, but if you happen to see a giant flaming turtle wandering around out here... please don't attack it.
  Yerin: [extreme confusion]
• Yerin is very unimpressed with the names the Path of Blackflame gives for its techniques. Mostly because they're genuinely awful.
  • She immediately renames the Enforcer technique, the "Fierce Burning Outer Robe" to simply the Burning Cloak, and threatens to cut Lindon every time he says the old name out loud. He immediately agrees to use the new name.
  • The striker technique is called something like the "Fierce River of Fierce Flowing Breath". It definitely says Fierce twice, though. They resolve to just call it Dragon's Breath.
  • The Ruler technique is the best of the bunch, which Lindon realizes after a moment is best read as "Void Dragon's Dance." Yerin's just surprised it didn't have Fierce in the name.
• When Lindon and Yerin are having a heart-to-heart moment, Eithan interrupts by literally dropping in on them while screaming at the top of his lungs, and promptly face-plants on the ground. When asked about his entrance, he says that he simply slipped.
• The Emperor is annoyed by Eithan randomly showing up in his palace, but not surprised. He spends the entire conversation making it clear that he's spent too long dealing with Eithan's crap.
  Eithan: He initiated an open attack against me in Serpent's Grave, and I was forced to take out the broom.
  Emperor: I've never heard that expression. I assume you mean an actual broom.
• Then there's Eithan's Not So Omniscient After All moment, which has some horrifying implications, but the Emperor is enjoying it too much to care.
  Emperor: Am I to understand that I just received accurate information before the Arelius Underlord? Let me just... [sighs happily] breathe it in. This is a good day.
  • Eithan's reaction is also hilarious. He pales, looking like "he killed his own mother." He staggers after the Emperor, who is gloating his way into the dining room, and then immediately goes for the wine.
    Emperor: You left an enemy alive. Do you know how to tell whether someone is dead? Would you like me to teach you?
    Eithan dropped the grapes, snatched the pitcher of wine away from Naru Huan, and started pouring it into his mouth. He only stopped to come up for air.

Book 4: Skysworn

• Jai Daishou trying to find an assassin willing to kill Eithan for him. None of them will do it, including the best assassins on the continent and a literal death god. At one point he travels for months to reach one only to find nothing there but a note from Eithan saying "nice try."
• The Skysworn move Lindon a dozen times to try to keep him isolated. Every time, they find Eithan has already infiltrated the new prison within a day, bringing with him not only Yerin, but also Fisher Gesha and all her soulsmithing tools and a turtle the size of a car. Without breaking anything.
• Some random idiot picks a fight with Lindon, who's used to having no choice but to go all out to even stand a chance in most fights. He lands a Burning Cloak empowered punch and is rapidly planning his next moves.... when he realizes that his punch broke several of the guys ribs and completely incapacitated him, leaving Lindon standing around with no idea what to do.
• Mercy's introduction. She gives the injured idiot a healing pill, but when he realizes she's an Akura, everyone either runs away or bows instantly. Orthos, who had provoked the fight by mocking everyone for being too afraid to just attack Lindon outright, has withdrawn into his shell and veiled his core to hide.
  Orthos: Is she gone?
• The Skysworn test is a race against the other applicants through an obstacle course that involves being shot at with metal balls, charging straight through a wall, and then running through a cloud that hinders vision. A few books ago, this would have been a huge problem that Lindon would have spent the entire book preparing for. Now, he bashes through it, but spends the entire time complaining that none of it has anything to do with actually enforcing the law.

Book 5: Ghostwater

• One of the first things Ekeri does is get into a fight with a bunch of fish, yelling at them for defying her. Lindon thinks that maybe the fish are intelligent (since they're sacred beasts), and maybe they really are defying her. They're not.
• Recalling being injured by Longhook when meeting him the second time, Eithan is suitably embarrassed. Not by being injured, but at the fact that he was injured by someone with such a stupid name.
• Yerin and Mercy have to camp out in the wilderness. While Yerin is preparing to go to sleep in a tiny hollow between two tree roots, Mercy pulls out a magical tent covered in protective scripts to veil them. And she apologizes for it being too small.
  Yerin: If the heavens granted me one wish, it would be to be reborn as a Monarch's kid.
  Mercy: It's just a tent.
• When Dross completes the AI project, he is able to simulate a battle for Lindon in an awesome display of computational ability. Except at one point he accidentally simulates Lindon getting killed, and has to rewind to do something different.

Book 6: Underlord

• Mercy, Yerin and Lindon successfully crash landed their ship only to discover a group of Skysworn converging on them. Dross doesn't see the issue.
  Dross: Relax! They're from the same organization as you are. Nothing to worry about! We can take it easy and let them carry us home. And look, they're protecting us from every direction at once!
• Dross first meets Eithan when he notices him in the upper corner of the room, dusting the ceiling.
  [That is the most dedicated janitor I have ever seen. ... There was a janitorial staff in Ghostwater, but I've never seen anyone so committed to their job! Come to think of it, what happened to... oh, right, eaten. They were eaten.]
• Eithan swears on his soul that he is trying to raise Lindon and Yerin up for the good of the Empire, and that he will obey all lawful orders while with the Skysworn. But what finally gets Naru Gwei to agree? Eithan promises to stay away from him unless it's absolutely necessary.
  Naru Gwei: Done!
• Mercy spots some phoenixes. Dross pops in with Northstrider's information on them.
  Dross: [Phoenixes! Oh, would you look at that! They're rated as the number one pet that you should never, ever bring to an underwater facility! I have a presentation memorized for the Ghostwater workers called 'You Will Never See A Phoenix.']
• Just as Lindon is lamenting how he utterly failed to surprise Eithan with the elixirs from Ghostwater, Eithan starts talking about Lindon's "mental enhancement," and Lindon realizes he doesn't know about Dross. He pushes Dross out, and Eithan is, finally, stunned speechless.
  Lindon imprinted Eithan's expression of pure astonishment in his memory forever.
• When Eithan realizes exactly how valuable Dross is, he orders everyone in Gesha's foundry out. As she's complaining about him giving orders in her shop, he just starts throwing money at her—far more than what he had just used to commission some extremely rare and valuable constructs. Lindon estimates that the sack of natural treasures alone is probably worth as much as her entire business.
  Gesha's eyes bulged almost out of her head. "Right away! Never said I wouldn't do it, did I? All of you! Drop what you're holding! Drop it on the ground and get away!"
• Lindon manages to use Dross' simulations to soulsmith with more success than Fisher Gesha, who has about a hundred years of experience on him.
  Gesha: This is a cheat. You're cheating.
  Lindon: Apologies, I will—
  Gesha: No, no, cheat some more. [cackles] We're making another cannon.
• Lindon finally realizes his status as a high-ranking Truegold means he can get away with some stuff. He forces himself out of an unnecessary medical tent to find Yerin. The doctor at Yerin's tent tells him not to go in, he ignores her... and walks in on Yerin topless. He immediately leaves and apologizes to the doctor for ignoring her.
  • It get's funnier when we find out that the "doctor" was actually Akura Charity in disguise.
• Lindon and Yerin have a heart-to-heart where they promise to go back to Sacred Valley one day so she can meet his parents. Then Lindon remembers Eithan is still in the room.
  Lindon felt something and turned to see Eithan leaning over them, his fingertips pressed together, smiling like a madman. "Yes," he hissed. "Good, good, very good."
  [You know, it's nice to see someone with such a positive outlook on the world,] Dross said. [Positivity, that's what you need.]
• Lindon can occasionally get a bit too greedy.
  "I will add a gift of my own to the Blackflame Empire in compensation," the Sage said serenely. "I will also allow each of you to take all that you can carry from this place."
  Lindon's void key zipped open.
  Everyone looked at him.
  "Apologies," he said, cutting off the flow of madra. "Forgiveness, please."
  • As bad as Lindon can be, Dross is worse when he sees what Charity did to Daji and Meira.
    [Now, I'm not suggesting this is a good idea,] Dross began, [but do you think you could take a little sip of her madra for me? I promise I won't be mad if you cycle it to me.]
    You want us both to die?
    [I want to be able to do that to their minds! Look at that! They're completely senseless! Imagine if I could do that to someone, bam, just knock them out like that.]
    Lindon gave it more thought than he should have.

Book 7: Uncrowned

• Orthos being Orthos when meeting Wei Shi Jaran (who was blinded by the Heaven's Glory school).
  Orthos: No one in this camp is even Jade. You might as well all be blind. At least he has an excuse.
• Akura Justice administers a series of physical, spiritual, and mental tests to Lindon, telling him that he shouldn't get a swelled head just for being selected by Charity. Lindon blows them all completely out of the water, starting with his ridiculously powerful lifeline, then his incredibly deep cores, and finally Dross acing every single mental test. Charity finds Justice in his office after, drinking heavily.
• All the Akura candidates are eager to attack Lindon in order to unseat him, and rush forward as one... until Mercy happily waves at them, and they all flinch back.
• During an intermission at a play, Mercy asks Lindon how he feels about Yerin. He stalls for long enough for the intermission to end—but Mercy just holds up one hand, and the announcer awkwardly says the play will wait a little longer.
• Eithan has to intentionally buy time in the first round of the tournament and takes this time to harass the poor constructs running the stages with questions about life.
• During the tournament (after it has been announced that anyone who dies will be quickly restored), Lindon jumps in front of an attack meant for Pride. Dross is not impressed.
  Dross: [This is why I should be in charge of the body.]
  [Lindon is instantly killed]
• When Lindon and Yerin are both granted customizable cloudships for passing the first round, Lindon suggests they combine their prizes to make a double-sized ship. It takes him a moment to realize he just asked her to build a home with him. He doesn't rescind the offer, though.
  • The Ninecloud Soul's attempts to ensure Yerin isn't being coerced, forcing her to outright state that she accepts are also pretty funny.
    Ninecloud Soul: If you would perhaps let number ten leave, so that I can hear it from you without the possibility of coercion...
    Yerin: Did I say there was a need for that? Get it done.
• Throughout the book, Mercy's brother Pride takes every opportunity to heap scorn on Lindon, telling him he should not be there, he's just dragging Mercy down, and he should just give up. One especially bad moment is when Lindon respectfully calls him "brother," and Pride explodes. After the final battle in the book, Pride sighs and says that he will acknowledge Lindon as worthy of his sister.
  Mercy: Wait, what?

Book 8: Wintersteel

• In the flashback to Yerin and the Sword Sage at Heaven's Glory school, Yerin finally manages to convince him to let her move around without him. To a point.
  "You've got me," he said at last. "Your chains are off."
  She gave him a fierce grin. "You going to burn my ear if I draw swords on some Jade?"
  "All right, then, not all your chains."
  Her face fell.
• The Sword Sage's death scene is mostly terrifying and sad, since we know what happens, but the fact that his initial reaction is pure bafflement is worth a chuckle.
  Half a dozen Jades staggered back, blood on their daggers. The locals had attacked him. A bunch of Jades had stabbed him. Successfully.
• For all of Fury's strengths, it's abundantly clear he can't lie worth a damn.
  "Is Sha Miara a Monarch in disguise?"
  Red eyes crawled away from Mercy.
  Fury shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He licked his lips. He looked up to the ceiling as though hoping heaven would give him the answer. Finally, he raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head.
  "Noooo...?"
  It was the least convincing cover-up Lindon had ever heard.
• Lindon is annoyed when Dross wakes him up in the middle of the night... until Dross says he managed to sort through some of Northstrider's memories and piece together a memory of his ascension to Monarch.
  Lindon instantly forgave Dross for waking him. And for everything he had ever done, would ever do, or might think about doing.
  "Dross, I have never been as grateful for you as I am now."
  [What about all those times I saved your life?]
  "Even then."
• Dross approves of Yerin and Lindon encouraging Eithan to go all out on Sha Miara:
  [This is a good plan,] Dross whispered. [Now we'll be able to train against a model of him. Our uprising will be swift.]
• Poor Therian Nills. He was the son of farmers, who has risen up to become one of the top sixteen Underlords of his age. His friend Calan Archer is psyching him up for the upcoming match, assuring him that he can advance and win more glory... and then they discover that he just happened to be placed against Ziel of the Dawnwing Sect, a man who before being crippled was called THE Dawnwing, and still retains a measure of his old power.
  Calan Archer: No shame in top sixteen.
• Mercy convinces Lindon to ask Yerin on a date, and foots the bill herself. When they arrive at the restaurant, they discover that the ludicrously expensive private room has been appropriated by a member of the Sha clan, the son of the owner. When they arrive, he's a drunken idiot, asking them to fight to see if they're worth spending time with... and then he realizes who they are. He practically throws all his friends out and then leaves himself as fast as he can.
  Yerin: He sobered up quick.
• Pride still doesn't realize that Lindon and Mercy aren't dating. He makes a comment implying that he expects Lindon to marry into the family soon before Mercy shuts him up.
• When Lindon rejects the engagement with Akura Grace because he's only interested in Yerin, Akura Charity encourages him to act on it soon as Yerin is now one of the most eligible young women in the world, after considering Yerin's reaction to a stranger asking her for a stroll in the moonlight, he decides that it wouldn't go well.
  Lindon: Pardon if this sounds too proud, but I don't think that's my greatest concern.
• The Blood Sage has been petitioning Northstrider to allow him to train and study Yerin since she made it to the top sixteen in the Uncrowned tournament much to the anger of Min Shuei, The Winter Sage. He finally gets an audience with Northstrider to make his case to train Yerin and Northstrider responds by punching him clear out of the city.
  Min Shuei: That was even more satisfying than I'd imagined.
  Northstrider: He thinks only in terms of life and death. He knew I would not kill him, so he thought he was safe. Fool.
• Leading up to the above scene, Northstrider has been ignorning Min Shuei whenever she spoke to him (like he does to most people). In response, she resorted to stalking him for almost a week.
• Charity finds out that Sha Miara is a Monarch in disguise... and that her father knew the entire time but didn't tell her. She drops him through a randomized portal. No one else so much as blinks.
• Eithan, while being dragged away to train by the Sage of Thousand Eyes, yells out a number of instructions to Lindon on how to advance his Pure Madra path, but right before being dragged through a closing portal he yells out instructions for Lindon to better take care of his hair.
  Eithan: Remeber, Lindon! Remember to visit a barber! A barber, Lindon! Your hair lacks volume and defin—
  The portal closed.
• While traveling with Akura Charity, Lindon encounters a "ten-foot tall ash monster" who promptly asks Lindon for a recording of his voice as it saw his performance in the Uncrowned Tournament.
• When Lindon goes slightly crazy while trying to amass points in Sky's Edge, to the point of getting Dross to assemble an incredibly complex construct instantly, that otherwise would have taken weeks to create, Naru Saeya notes something:
  Naru Saeya: You know, you should act like this more often, Yerin would love it.
  • "Points" then becomes a Running Gag in the Bloopers, with Lindon becoming the Points Sage and 'points' being the secret to killing the Dreadgods.
• Eithan, having been paid off by Reigan Shen to take a dive in the Uncrowned tournament, decides to not even try and hide his duplicity by riding into each round on progressively more flamboyant mounts and letting himself be one-shot. Knowing that his opponent would try to go easy on him in the second round, he strapped on a bomb vest to go off if her abilities so much as touched him.
• As punishment for the above dive, Northstrider as the judge of the tournament, teleports Eithan back to his staging area sans clothing. Eithan, being Eithan, takes this opportunity to admire how handsome he is and walks back to his room completely unfazed.
• The casual way that Akura Pride just stabs himself in the throat to demonstrate his Healing Factor to Lindon.
  • Even better is Dross' reaction.
    Dross: [If it helps at all, I remembered all that, but even I didn't know he could brush off a knife to the throat. It's good to remember for when we end up killing him.]
• Two of the Akura underlords on Lindon's team, Courage and Douji, hate and fear Lindon in equal measure when they see his Consume technique. Dross, for some reason, decides to whisper threats into their minds as they try to sleep.
• Eithan at one point annoys Akura Fury so much that Fury casually tosses Eithan off of his own cloudship.
• When Red Faith delivers her prize, Yerin gives him a reasons you suck speech.
  Yerin: Do people dress up like you to scare children? You look like you sleep under someone else's bed. Do mirrors break when you walk by? I figured why your Shadow left: it couldn't stand looking at its own face every day. Thanks for the jar. Now take a step back, then keep doing that until you freeze to death in the snow. Or else have mercy and cut my ears off so I don't have to listen to you talk.
  • Charity disapproves of what Yerin said, but not for the reason you'd think.
    "That was unwise," Charity said, picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip. " And not nearly as harsh as he deserved. Before we begin your training, let me help you work on some better insults for next time.
• Yerin's internal thoughts about Ruby's attachment to Lindon.
  She had been wary of the way the Shadow looked at Lindon for a long while now. Was that something Ruby developed on her own, or was it some embarrassing reflection of Yerin herself?
  Definitely on her own, she decided.
• Eithan Faking the Dead after his fight with Red Faith and Lindon not having any of it and essentially telling him to get up and stop playing.
  Eithan lay on the floor, bleeding with his breathing ragged. "I'm fine," he said as Lindon showed himself. "No tears for me, please. I'll be..." He coughed loudly. "...as good as new any sec..."
  The word trailed off. He gave a clear death rattle.
  Lindon stood over him. "What did I do?"
  Eithan opened one eye. "You have to have some guess."
• Yerin and Lindon's double cloudship is delivered, signalling the start of their romantic relationship. Eithan ruins the moment by slowly popping up from over Lindon's shoulder and then slotting his own cloudship into place right behind theirs.
  This one was a perfect rectangle, as though it was made to fill out exactly the maximum amount of space allowed. Its cloud base was the same dark blue as theirs, and as it settled into the back, its plot of land slid exactly into place.
  As though it had been designed to fit there all along.

Book 9: Bloodline

• Akura Fury teleports into the room where Mercy and Pride are having a conversation. Because he has only just learned how to teleport, he arrives screaming at the top of his lungs.
  Fury: Sorry, sorry! Not used to doing that yet. I thought I was about to fling myself into the center of the earth.
• The context is sad (Pride was injured in an assassination attempt), but Mercy's babying him despite the fact that Charity used her Sage powers to heal him perfectly is still worth a chuckle.
  Mercy: I just don't want him to strain himself.
  Fury: ...by standing up?
• When the Ninecloud Soul is being especially obstinate, Dross pops and repeats something it said when Lindon was weaker.
  Dross: ["quoting" the Soul] [Lindon Arelius, if you don't stop, I will ruin you. I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth! I swear I will destroy you, and even if you become some kind of Sage, I will never be satisfied until my vengeance shreds you to pieces!]
  Dross' form shifted, and he returned to his usual form of a round, purple, one-eyed creature. He stroked his bottom lip with one of his pseudopod arms and spoke in his normal voice. [Yeah, that sounds about right.]
  For a moment, the Ninecloud Soul was stunned speechless.
  "...is that how you remember my words?"
  [I'd say I captured the core essence. The spirit of the message, you know. Better than you did, even. Not to brag.]
• At Fury's going away party, he gives Yerin a madra-empowered high-five. Mercy is too horrified to stop him, but Yerin just slaps his hand so hard that some of the weaker people in the room collapse.
• Another Dross gem:
  Dross: [I'm just savoring the moment. You know, if I didn't open the door, he couldn't get in? That means I, and I alone, have the power to determine his fate. It feels good. What do you call that?]
  Eithan: Megalomania?
• Lindon and Yaren proudly tell everyone that, after hours of discussion, they have decided to name their cloud fortress Windfall.
  Ziel: Eh.
• Lindon has been looking for an excuse to geek out about the protections he had installed on Windfall, and jumps at the opportunity when Eithan asks about them... right before a flock of monsters attacks, interrupting him. Everyone but Ziel immediately runs off to deal with them.
  Ziel stood motionless next to Lindon. The edges of his cloak fluttered in the wind. "I'd like to hear about the scripts," he said.
  Lindon sighed. "Thanks."
• Eithan's vanity knows no bounds:
  Eithan: I've always preferred that people look beyond who I am on the inside and really appreciate my gorgeous exterior.
• When Lindon's group enters Sacred Valley, they are immediately attacked by Heaven's Glory Iron-rank disciples, who send countless Striker techniques at them. The group ignores them like rain. Ziel casually pushes over the tree a bunch are hiding in while Lindon is arguing with the elder.
• While in the Heaven's Glory school, Lindon revisits the Lesser Treasure Hall that he visited all the way back in book 1, he tries to look positively on the contents and tries to remember why he was so amazed but then Ziel cuts through with his typical bluntness.
  Ziel: This is junk.
• During Eithan's explanation of how Icons work, Lindon begins to see the potential.
  "If it's all a matter of perspective, then I can do anything," Lindon continued, letting his thoughts guide his words. "I could move the mug by emptying the shelf of the mug. Could I heal someone by emptying them of injuries?"
  That sounded ridiculous, but maybe that was how Sages worked.
  "That sounds ridiculous," Eithan said, and once again Lindon wondered if the man was reading his mind.
• Jai Long spends the entire book convinced that Lindon is going to murder him and his sister in revenge at any moment. Jai Chen, on the other hand, spends most of the book just being like "haven't you scanned them? They're stupidly powerful and could have killed us in a heartbeat" and playing with Little Blue.
  At that moment, he was glad for the strips of cloth covering his face. He didn't want anyone seeing his face turn bright red.
• During Ziel's serious discussion with the Kazan clan about evacuating, the patriarch's young son is crawling over Ziel, pulling at his hair, and playing with his horns. His parents are horrified, but Ziel ignores him completely.
• Jai Long assumes that Eithan is still an Underlord. Eithan corrects him—not by just telling him, but by inviting over one of the Akura servants and saying she can address him by rank "just once." She calls him "Archlord," and tries to get permission to call him that all the time. Eithan dismisses her while Jai Long freaks out.
• Eithan is surprised at something Lindon did, and mentions he usually knows everything, because he spies on Lindon all the time.
  Jai Long felt an unexpected pang of sympathy for Lindon.
• Jai Long tries to needle Eithan by suggesting that Lindon might soon surpass him.
  Eithan: Haven't you heard? Lindon's a Sage.
• Suriel contacts Lindon to give him some much-needed advice. This manifests as her Presence kicking Dross out of Lindon's head.
  Dross: [What is this? What's happening? Hey, get out of here! Shoo! No, you can't kick me out! I live h—]
• After the important plot discussion with Suriel, Lindon comes back.
  Dross: [—here! You're just a guest! You—Lindon! Where did you go? Wait, are you back? Is it really you? Say something that only the original you, and not an exact, perfect copy of yourself, would ever say.]
• When Dross contacts Orthos for his part in the final battle, Orthos is annoyed that Dross already knows he advanced to Underlord. Dross points out that everyone knew, especially Lindon, since they can sense it.
  "There is nothing wrong with a little celebration," Orthos said with great dignity.
  [N-no! No, and in fact, I can make it even better than a surprise! A huge event! You'll really, ooohhh, you'll really show them. They'll say, 'Underlord Orthos is so great, I can't believe that we ever cared about him before. I really hate who he used to be. Compared to now, I mean. Just... just hate him.']
  That was possibly the worst sales pitch Orthos had ever heard.
  But he was still intrigued.
• Jai Chen claims to be part of the Twin Stars sect to keep Jai clan wanderers from killing them. Then Eithan comes up, confirms her story, and unfurls the sect banner: A blank, grey stretch of cloth.
  Eithan: [sighs] You didn't give me time to get it sewn yet, but imagine how amazed you would have been if I did have a banner ready. Pretend that's what happened.

Book 10: Reaper

• Purest Black Comedy, but we finally get an explanation for Eithan's claim in Soulsmith that he was descended from the Sage of Brooms. Yes, Ozriel did manifest the Broom Icon. He did it to demonstrate that his understanding of soulfire was so great that he could manifest whatever Icon he wished. Three scholars promptly committed suicide out of sheer embarrassment for how he turned their disciplines into a joke.
• Lindon is now the leader of the Twin Stars Sect, which is already growing into a powerful political force in the Desolate Wilds and expected to be even stronger in the Blackflame Empire. Lindon is the last person in town to find this out.
  Lindon: Eithan, what's the sect of Twin Stars?
  Eithan: I feel like you've already pieced it together accurately.
• Lindon thanks Eithan for bringing the cloudship with his family on it back from Moongrave. Eithan looks awkward.
  Eithan: As... eager as I am to claim credit for that, it actually crawled out of a shadow without warning or explanation. I begin to wonder if Malice has some kind of grudge against me.
  Lindon: Why? Sending the fortress back was a favor.
  Eithan: It was my shadow that it popped out of.
• Naru Huan, the Blackflame Emperor, comes to personally greet Lindon and Yerin. Only Lindon and Yerin. He very pointedly does not look at Eithan until he is forced to.
  Eithan: I can't help but feel like someone is being intentionally excluded.
• Huan goes on to rant about how Eithan didn't contact him at all during the Uncrowned King tournament—his sister kept him updated as best she could, and even the Akura clan congratulated him (though they didn't bother explaining what they were congratulating him for), but not a word from Eithan. He says flat-out that while he considers Eithan a friend, he hates how sneaky the man is. Eithan offers him anything in return to make up for this and Yerin recommends that Eithan let Huan kick him. So Huan does so, kicking him so hard that Eithan disappears over the horizon, and the joy it provides him is enough that he immediately has it recorded to a Dream Tablet so he can relive it at will.
  • This becomes a running joke through the book with Eithan being kicked multiple times by various members of the party when he does something annoying and/or cryptic.
    Kicking Eithan. Lindon would have to try that.
• In Bloodline Orthos' advancement to Underlord increased his size to what Lindon describes as a "baby Dreadgod". For Orthos to continue to travel with the party he would need to decrease his size, but he overshot and went from the size of a small mountain down to the size of a baby turtle. Little Blue is overjoyed because he's now almost as small as she is. His voice and power remain the same though, so imagine a baby turtle with an insanely deep voice that can level cities.
  Orthos: Transformation is exhausting. And you can keep me in your void key while we're flying, so I won't feel it.
• Now that Orthos is so small he decides the best way to travel is to ride around on Lindon's shoulder.
• In a call back to Blackflame Lindon, like his master before him, hates being referred to by his title or as "Master" by his students. So he tells them that his title is in fact "Lindon". His sister disagrees at first till he reminds her why he's her instructor.
• Wei Shi Kelsa required a sparring partner during training and as nearly everyone in Lindon's contingent is so far above her he decided to have her spar with Little Blue. The tiny creature proceeds to trounce Kelsa at every step.
• Lindon is surprised that given even more resources than he had that his sister Kelsa isn't able to advance as fast as he did.
  Yerin had stared at him for five minutes straight when she heard him say that, while Eithan laughed himself sick then stored the memory in a dream tablet to share with others.
  Lindon still didn't see why it was funny.
• Eithan ripping away the veil on a sneaking man while on a casual stroll.
  Cassias: Thief?
  Eithan: He dined without paying. Not in my town!
• Eithan interrupts Yerin and Lindon's dinner; Lindon complains they could have been busy. Eithan points out that he knows when and when not to be watching Yerin and Lindon; much blushing occurs.
• Wei Shi Kelsa finally reaches Lowgold after binding a remnant that Lindon prepared for her. She hates her Goldsign since it amounts to a cute, glowing, fuzzy, fox tail. She'd rather have something more intimidating.
• Jai Long interrupts his own advancement to Underlord, a very dangerous thing to do, in order to run out to rescue his sister and Kelsa, who are trapped beneath the Emperor's Overlord-level fight, running through a forest filled with cultists. By the time he gets there, the Stormcaller Golds are trying to escape Yerin, Mercy, and Eithan, while Yerin mutters about how she didn't know the cultist she splattered was an Underlord (it's against proper etiquette in war to murder someone too far below you). Mercy says she needs an opponent of her level, and suggests the Overlord the Emperor is fighting. Yerin one-shots him, then sighs. Mercy suggests looking for Archlords.
  Jai Long had walked up to join Kelsa and his sister, and they watched the exchange together. For such a frightening display, it had been disturbingly casual.
  He looked to his squad. "I came to save you," he said.
  Kelsa nodded seriously. "Gratitude."
• Akura Malice, one of the most powerful entities on Cradle and Mercy's mother, blatantly flirts with Lindon.
  "It's always best to suppress your appetites if you want to have a rational conversation," Malice murmured. "After all, whatever would I do if you tried to devour me?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.
• The Mad King demands to know how Ozriel knew he would be coming to Cradle. Ozriel thinks that he didn't know, it was pure coincidence... and then, in order to cement his reputation as The Omniscient, says "I always know."
• Yerin's reaction to the reveal:
  "Did you really...you...bleed and bury me, you let me think were finally going to catch up to you."
• Lindon tried to Consume a small portion of Eithan/Ozriel's power with his new Dreadgod arm. Let that sink in, Lindon tried, failed, and joked about trying to steal some of The Reaper's power.
  Lindon: Apologies, it's a....new arm.
• Ziel's reaction to the Mad King, Eithan's reveal and the rest of the Abidan is wonderfully in character:
  "We have stared into the abyss and lived to tell the tale," Ziel said. "I'm going to sleep."

Book 11: Dreadgod

• Lindon desperately goes through Eithan's quarters, looking for any hints or notes he might have left behind. The most interesting thing he finds is some sort of potion with a note "for Lindon's hair."
• It's darkly funny that the Silent King didn't even bother to threaten Ziel. When Ziel finds out that, because of this, Lindon didn't make him a protective construct, he is annoyed.
  "You're going to make me one. Later. Instead of giving me the one right here."
  Lindon winced. "The Silent King mentioned Mercy, so I can't help but feel that she's in more danger."
  "Couldn't the Sage of the Silver Heart make her something like this? And if she can't, wouldn't her family provide you with the materials?"
  Lindon's face heated. He hadn't thought of that.
  Dross slipped his voice into Lindon's mind. [I thought of it. But I was hoping for this moment.]
• Lindon acting like a mother hen to his team before sending them off, stuffing them all with enough weapons and backups that they can barely fit them in their Void keys.
• Akura Pride comes to visit Lindon and basically just repeatedly yells at him "what did you do, stupid?"
  Lindon could literally kill Pride with a word. Strangely, he was less irritated now that he knew Pride would keep the same attitude no matter how advanced Lindon was.
• Little Blue trying to carry around a Hunger spear bigger than she is. It's noted that she could grow big enough to carry it normally, but she's grown attached to the "Little" part of her name.
• Lindon catching his sister and Jai Long together, "practicing cycling."
• Malice senses Lindon coming to Moongrave, so she teleports him to the city and has Akura Justice invite him in. Then has Akura Justice keep him out. Then has Akura Justice invite him in. All while she sits on a roof with her daughter and teases Mercy about how maybe Lindon's here for her... personally.
  Malice raised an eyebrow. "He has quite the impressive physique for a Sage."
  "Mother!" Mercy didn't like the look on Malice's face.
  "Don't worry, he's too young for me." She glanced to the side again. "But not for you..."
  "Mother!"
• To delay Lindon further, Justice awkwardly takes Lindon on a mandatory tour of Moongrave. Lindon is especially annoyed because he is genuinely interested in the cultural history of the city. When Mercy is finally ready, he's having an animated discussion with Justice about how a rare species of tree is cultivated.
• The Blood Sage finally gets a chance to demonstrate his true passion to Yerin: Science. Unfortunately, since he feels she doesn't have the proper education to appreciate his genius, he treats her as a particularly stupid child in a remedial class that he is teaching against his will.
  "What do you mean saying I have an aspect deficiency and a madra imbalance?"
  The Blood Sage gave a heavy sigh. "When something is deficient, that means it is lacking. There isn't enough of it. An imbalance—"
  "Scraped that together myself."
• Orthos is getting impatient with the pace at which he and Ziel are exploring the ruins. The turtle's internal monolog complains that they are moving like a couple of... snails.
• Charity almost rescues the Winter Sage from the Silent King's control, but Lindon grabs the halo and consumes it (and apologizes for being late) before jetting off. It takes the Winter Sage a moment to realize what happened.
  Min Shuei gasped and looked around as she realized the technique on her mind had faded. Her eyes landed on Charity's face and widened in awe.
  "That was... I mean, I sensed..."
  Charity let her armor fade to essence. The situation was urgent, but she wanted to hear the Winter Sage acknowledge that she owed Charity a debt.
  "...he saved me!" the Winter Sage cried. She waved after Lindon. "Thank you!" Then she turned back to Charity, looking pleased. "Maybe I was wrong about him."
  Charity stared at her.
• Dross provides a simulation for how to kill the Silent King... only for the Silent King to interrupt that, show Lindon how he will defeat them and conquer the continent. It's horrifying, and Lindon nearly breaks again. Then Dross coughs and interrupts that simulation for a new one: Emriss Silentborn is here.
  Dross: [Well, see, if we're being technical, I did say there were reinforcements on the way. I didn't say there were only two.]
• Our first look at how Emriss and the Silent King interacts is more akin to a cat that doesn't like its owner than two deadly rivals.
  Here kitty kitty kitty, Emriss Silentborn says.
  Even trapped as a passenger in a vision, Lindon can feel the Silent King's horror.
  No...
• Emriss Silentborn's actual arrival on the battlefield reveals that she was hitching a ride... in the mobile headquarters of the dreadgod's own cult.
• Reigan Shen tries to goad Yerin into attacking him and the way she responds is pure comedy.
  "Put away your toy before I break it," Lindon said.
  "You already took one of mine away, I had prepared the labyrinth for myself. It's only fair that I take a toy of yours in return," the Monarch said.
  His eyes moved to Yerin and he gave a lazy, feline smile.
  "Oh no, he called me a toy, I'm so angry that I'm stupid enough to hurl myself at a Monarch," Yerin said in a flat voice.
• Lindon's conversation with Shen in front of Redmoon Hall is awesome and terrifying, as he basically acts like part of a Dreadgod glaring down at a kitten. It becomes significantly less scary when Dross admits to Yerin that Lindon was practicing the act on the way over.
• In the middle of this extremely dramatic conversation, Little Blue demands a hug from Dross. It doesn't take much for him to give in, manifesting in the middle of a staring contest between two of the most powerful entities on the planet to hug his friends.
  The strained tension between Lindon and the Monarch had grown somewhat awkward. Reigan Shen looked regally displeased.
• It has been years since Fisher Gesha has appeared in the story and Lindon is several stages above her now, so she desperately kneels before him and begs him not to punish her family, only her, for her impudence. Once he convinces her that he's not seeking revenge, she immediately starts laying the guilt on him like a grandma who's grandson forgot to write or call for a long time.
  Fisher Gesha: Years it's been! Two years at least! And now you can walk through space, whoosh, like that, and still you never came to see me. Not until after the world ends, hmmm? The sky fell before you came to visit! It really fell! I saw it!
  Lindon: [bows] My humble apologies, honored Fisher.
  Fisher Gesha: No, no need to apologize. You're the mighty Sage. I'm just an old woman who once thought of you like one of my grandsons.
  Dross: [I've run a thousand simulations. I've cross-referenced every memory you have of this woman, and I've built a model of her personality. I think she does want you to apologize.]
• Orthos sums up his haul from his assignment:
  Orthos grunted at them. "I have one Archlord black dragon remnant, two Overlords, six Underlords, and fifteen Golds. And one cowardly Herald."
  From behind the others, Noroloth's Remnant peeked a head up. "May I say something?"
  "No," Orthos said.
• While raiding Northstrider's facility, Yerin makes to grab everything, but Lindon desperately stops her, as there's no time.
  She stared at him like he'd sprouted a second head until his serious expression cracked.
  Yerin gave a relieved breath. "Whew, thought for a second you'd been replaced."
  "Ha, no, of course we're taking everything."
• Larian of the Eight-Man Empire is hired to guard one of Reigan Shen's major properties, the White Lion Bank. She watches Lindon, Yerin and Dross robbing the place and has a nap, though not before acting out a mock battle.
  "Oh no, we're under attack," Larian muttered. With one finger, she plucked the string of the bow lying next to her. "Eat my best techniques, robbers! Pchew, pchew!" She clapped a hand to her armored chest. "Ack! They got me! I'll tell my grandchildren of this battle. Let us part with mutual respect."
  Then she yawned and leaned back, pillowing her head on her hands.
• She then proceeds to lie to Reigan Shen's face about it.
  "You fought a mighty battle, did you?" Reigan Shen asked.
  Larian nodded seriously. "Top ten of my life. Maybe top three."
  "And yet—" Shen glanced down at a sacred instrument in his hand, then back up. "—it seems my city is still intact."
  "I'm proud of my delicate touch."
• Ozriel treating Lindon's plight on Cradle as reality TV. He and Suriel are out repairing a world, and while he could be using this time to access the Abidan's network for education, or catching up on the world-spanning war with the Mad King he missed, he's instead watching Lindon and company fight Malice.
  Ozriel: Yes! Get her! Stab her once for me!"
  • Suriel's Presence offers to block sound for Suriel so she doesn't hear spoilers... because it too wants to watch.
    Her Presence turned to her and folded its arms. [Permission to seal your hearing temporarily, for the purpose of having a private discussion with Ozriel?]
    “Hurry up!” Ozriel insisted. He was looking off into the distance. “Malice is about to try transporting Mercy away.”
    • Suriel also wants to watch, but she's busy repairing the broken world below them. She's the only one of the three happy when the "temporal synch" is broken and the show cuts off, meaning she can finish her work and not miss out.
      Ozriel made a disappointed sound. "Never mind, temporal synch is broken. Have to wait for time to catch up." He shook a black-gauntleted fist at the planet floating beneath them. "Curse you, Vesper! Fix your time!"
      "That's what I'm trying to do," Suriel said, but she was relieved.

Book 12: Waybound

• The team builds a pocket reality, similar to Ghostwater, out of everything they stole from the Monarchs. Before they get started training, Mercy insists they need to name the world. They spend far too long on it.
  • Dross suggests "Drosswater". While he does provide some surprisingly compelling arguments for it, it's still rejected.
  • Ziel suggests "Training Chamber Number One." Lindon thinks that's a fine name, but everyone else hates it.
  • Mercy suggests "The Room of Spirit and Time." This gets "eh" reactions.
  • They end up going with "Ghostwind Hall," partly because Yerin thinks it doesn't have enough history to be a "hall," meaning it would piss off the Monarchs.
  • The Bloopers section adds additional suggested names including "The Hyperbolic Time Chamber", "The Danger Room", "The Room of Requirements", "The Matrix", until agreeing on "The House of Blades".
• When Lindon fights off an attack on Sacred Valley, he summons six of the people from the Valley so he can explain himself. He does this with exactly one second's of warning, so Fisher Gesha yells at him for trying to give her a heart attack. Then proceeds to casually shame Jaran for being a terrible father.

  Lindon: Apologies to all of you for the abrupt transfer. I am very limited on time. I will answer your questions, after which I hope you will spread explanations to the others.

  Gesha: How can we explain anything if we die of fright, hmmm? *Gesha turns to Lindon’s father* What did you teach this boy?

  Jaran: Apologies on behalf of my son, Fisher.

  Gesha: Tch. Quiet. I know you didn’t teach him anything.

  • Kelsa agrees to take over the Twin Stars sect while Lindon is gone, but demands he make her a weapon as payment. He agrees, and sends her off. Then Jai Chen asks for help with advancement, and he gives her a Hunger spear. Dross dryly notes that he just gave her everything his sister ever dreamed of. Lindon winces.
  • Jaran was just trying to get Lindon's attention to make sure he was all right. It's a heartwarming culmination of everything Lindon has ever done that his father, his harshest critic his entire life to the point of almost being delusional, finally acknowledges his power and shows concern for him. Lindon has no idea how to react to this.
• Eithan hid the scythe of Ozriel in Oversight, the home base of the Hounds. Not just in Oversight, under Makiel's fortress. That's twice now he has hidden something or someone from Makiel and the Abidan by putting it in plain sight and trusting that no one would expect him to be insane enough to do it.
• Lindon tells Ziel they stole a particular elixir from the Beast King. Dross clarifies that vulture in his service "accidentally" dropped it on them.
• Lindon hesitantly says that he has a gift for Yerin, one that would motivate her... then he takes out a small scripted box. Cue Yerin mentally panicking until Lindon opens the box to reveal... an echo construct that looks like a diseased organ. Yerin's not good a disguising her disappointment and Lindon has no idea about the implications of what he did.
  • Called back to later when Lindon does give Yerin a ring and Eithan says that in some cultures giving someone a ring is done when you propose... a duel.
• Makiel sacrifices himself to let Suriel resurrect Ozriel, atoning for his crimes and betting everything on a hope that maybe Ozriel was right all along. And, in a moment of intense pettiness, notes that Ozriel is going to hate it, because Ozriel will now owe him the greatest debt possible that he can never repay. He fades out of existence with a smile on his face.
• Mercy is very worried about her Herald advancement. It could be even more dangerous than Yerin's, as Mercy remembers stories of Malice's advancement: Her Remnant went out of control, killing and torturing thousands of people. She advises Ziel and Orthos to lock down the area with their most powerful techniques, including their new Sage abilities. She manifests her Remnant... and it's a cutesy version of herself that just wants to help. It offers to merge back into Mercy immediately and easily, to the point that even Mercy is surprised. When they do merge, it's as easy as slipping on a new coat.
  When she was finished, Mercy stood up and brushed off her knees. "Well, uh... I made it!"
  Orthos and Ziel watched her with flat looks.
  Little Blue cheered.
• Mercy confronts Malice with the truth that no one is willing to tell her: She sounds evil. She's not even complaining about morality, Malice just sounds silly. Even Malice bursts out laughing after a moment.
  Mercy: Are you listening to yourself? "I should have taught you a more lasting lesson," "You should have begged for my forgiveness," talking about how no one should stand up to you... Mother, I feel like you're going to toss me into an active volcano. I'm afraid the next words out of your mouth are going to be "Guards, seize her!"
• Lindon's meeting with his family, after the death of the Dreadgods.
  • Kelsa is still in charge of the sect. She hates it.
    "I don't know how to run the Training Hall!" Kelsa said irritably. "Where is Ziel? He could have stayed behind! Every day, the students ask me, 'Where is Lord Ziel?' 'Why did Lord Ziel leave us behind?' 'Lord Ziel would have given me the biggest room.'"
    From his spot over Lindon's shoulder, Dross sent a message down. [I could send them an illusion of Ziel if you'd like. My model of him is good, though he mostly hits people with hammers.]
    Kelsa burst into the door at the top of the stairs, scowling in Dross' direction. "Perfect. That's exactly what they deserve. Some of these people are sixty-year-old Truegolds!"
  • Jaran claims that everyone wants to talk to Lindon about "new weapons, sick children, and sacred arts."
    Lindon: Wait, there were sick children?
    Kelsa: That's... We don't need Lindon for that, we have medical care.
    Jaran: No, that's just the sort of thing they say.
    Seisha: If people are sick—
    Jaran: No one's sick, all right? Everybody's healthy, it was a bad example.
    • Before continuing the conversation in earnest, Lindon does a quick scan of the valley to make sure there really aren't any sick children around.
  • Kelsa claims that the students are carving Lindon's advice into stone. Lindon says that's an exaggeration... and then he looks outside and realizes no it's not.
    Lindon: We should put a stop to that.
    Dross: [Yes. At least until we figure out how to phrase it better.]
    Lindon: Exactly.
  • The drudge Lindon made for his mother is, apparently, fully capable of conquering a significant chunk of the planet by itself.
  • Kelsa rather pointedly brings up the fact that Jai Chen is advancing rapidly, because Lindon gave her a Hunger spear. Apparently the Valley is already telling legends about her.
  • Kelsa still wants a weapon, even though Lindon isn't up for real soulsmithing. She brings it up multiple times in the conversation.
    Dross: [Pride. It is the downfall of many a sacred artist. You should humble yourself to create her a pathetic weapon that will embarrass you and bring shame to the name of your family for generations.]
    Kelsa: Yes! You should!
• After ascending, Yerin finds herself facing Kiuran of the Hounds (due to all the chaos, he's the only one around to greet them). She tries calling for Eithan, but Kiuran hurriedly shuts it down, telling her she is literally calling for Death. She tries again, and he gears up for a fight... until a black-armored hand lands on his shoulder.
  "Thank you for taking such good care of my adopted daughter," Ozriel said.
  The pressure from the Hound disappeared as he dropped to one knee. "Yes, sir."
• Eithan refers to Miara as "my old friend from the Uncrowned King tournament."
  Sha Miara's back stiffened, and Yerin suspected the young Monarch had been hoping Eithan wouldn't bring that up.
• Eithan takes the team to the new headquarters of the Reaper division. It's a dilapidated space station that was cobbled together from other dilapidated space stations, used as an early Abidan outpost, failed, and everyone died. Eithan, of course, thinks it's great.
  "It is often called the Grave."
  Yerin looked between the Grave and Eithan's self-satisfied expression. "Who named—"
  "I did, just now."
  Yerin had thought so.
  • Serves as a Stealth Pun: Eithan took them all from the Cradle straight to the Grave.
• The entire meeting between the Eight Man Empire and Lindon.
  • Larian's first words are "Lindon! Do you have my bow?" She really regrets giving up the Silent King bow, and tried to steal pieces of the Dreadgods multiple times, despite everyone warning her off, from Dross to her comrades to Lindon's friends.
    "They were just sitting there!" she protested. "Rotting!"
    "I warned her," Del'rek said.
    [Yerin also warned her,] Dross added. [And I warned her too. There were lots of warnings.]
    Larian put on an offended look. "I was trying to preserve these unique pieces of Cradle's history! For you!"
    [If I didn't like you, I would have let Lindon's unconscious body kill you.]
    That was a story Lindon had heard months ago. Apparently, in the day or two after losing consciousness while killing the Dreadgods, Lindon had attacked anyone who got too close. The only one who had tried more than once was Larian.
    "I learned my lesson," Larian said humbly.
    "She didn't," Del'rek said. "We had to stop her two more times."
  • Lindon did, in fact, make a bow for Larian. She throws aside her current bow, which she's had for over a hundred years, to cradle the Dreadgod weapon like it's a newborn baby.
    "Sssshhh," she whispered to the bow, "it's okay, the scary man is gone. You're with Mama now."
    "Why am I the scary man?" Lindon asked.
    [You should be more disturbed that she referred to herself as 'Mama.']
  • Del'rek chastises Larian for abandoning her weapon... until Lindon reveals he made something for him. He drops Larian's bow to pick up his new spear. He looks like he's going to cry.
  • Lindon made six more weapons, one for each of the Eight Man Empire, but since Larian and Del'rek were the only ones to show up (the rest declared him "too scary"), he's keeping the rest for his own sect. Apparently the meeting was too spiritually loud, because the rest of the Empire shows up when they realize there are presents.
    The blue-white edges of the space trembled and a human man in golden armor staggered through. He had red hair, a wide smile, and a greenish cloud hovering over his head. "Whew, sorry I'm late, it's amazing all the... traffic. You don't happen to have a sword left, do you?"
• In a post-ascension montage, we see each of Yerin, Mercy and Ziel saving a world.
  • Yerin speed runs an Isekai plot, as she's summoned to kill the Dark Lord. She cuts a portal to the Dark Lord's throne room and, once she confirms he's the problem, blows him into small chunks with a single attack. She immediately creates a portal off world and leaves. She's spends so little time there they remember her as the Mighty Warrior Heron, since no one even had a chance to ask her name until she's already leaving, and her response was distorted by the portal closing behind her.
  • Mercy, on the other hand, is dealing with a Cold War about to go hot, as both sides prepare to launch their superweapons. The end result if they use them is the Fire Giant's second sun leaving the earth a burrned wasteland, populated only by the scientific society's experimental self-replicating undead zombie soldiers. She ends up giving the Giants replacment Giant Buffalo for the ones that were lost, and massive World Trees to cleanse the enviornment and heal the people on the other side from the plauge that was killing them, while also taking away both their superweapons. All the while brightly promising to kill anyone who destroys these gifts or mess up the newfound peace. As Dross says, "Their legends of you are going to get... weird."
  • Finally, Ziel is summon to a world suspiciously like Final Fantasy VII where the Worldline which represents the life energy of the world got used to power their technology until it was almost entirely drained, resulting in ecological collapse, and only a few survivors on a Lunar Colony. Ziel brought the means to restore Worldine which will eventually make the planet habitable again, but it’s made clear it's a short term solution as the people will end up draining the Wordline again. What they really need are rules restricting use of the Worldline, and leaders who will be willing to proritize maintaining it. So instead of fighting Dark Lords or stopping global war, Ziel ends up.... interviewing canditates and writing tax codes.
    "Do you have a monster I can fight?" Ziel asked.
    She offered him a pen. "Sorry."
    "...do you think you could find one?"
    "Are there monsters on your planet?" she asked excitedly.
    Ziel heaved a sigh and picked up the pen.
• After Fury saves Lindon, the first thing he does is tell him which of the Abidan are good for a fight.
• As fury saves Lindon and heads towards the Abidan portal, he mentions that he was able to find Lindon because of Suriel's marble, but that Eithan was the one to send him. He then asks Lindon what the story is with Eithan, anyway? Meaning that in all the time he's been ascended, and in the time since Eithan went back to being the Reaper, nobody has informed Fury what actually happened.
• Fury takes Lindon to the Grave, and is clearly still unimpressed with Eithan (despite now knowing he's the Reaper). When Lindon questions if Eithan named the place after Serpent's Grave, Fury points out that Eithan might have named Serpent's Grave in the first place.
• Eithan cries tears of joy when he sees Lindon again... because Lindon used the shampoo Eithan left for him. (It's probably really because Lindon said he missed him, but being Eithan he immediately converts it to a joke.)
• Lindon opens up his Void Key and lets out everyone's family. Including Pride, who Mercy nearly kills when she tackles him. She has to use Sage authority to restore him.
  Pride: Did you just forget you were a Monarch?
• Eithan is disappointed in Pride's advancement.
  Eithan cupped his chin and peered at Pride. "Underlord? But that can't be right; you were an Underlord when I left you."
  "Just because the rest of you advance every ten seconds doesn't mean everyone can. Or should."
  "Nonetheless, the standards of the heavens are high. Don't worry, though! You'll be all right with just a bit of training."
  Off to the side, Fury brightened as though he'd opened a thousand presents at once.
  "No," Pride said, "hold on. Wait."
  Fury grabbed his half-brother in excitement. "You won't believe the training facilities they have here! You're going to love it!"
  "Uncle Fury, st—"
  Fury leaped away, toward the planet.
  [Have you seen what happens to a person on reentry to an atmosphere?] Dross asked curiously. [Come to think of it, neither have I. Make sure you watch closely.]
  "Bye, Pride!" Mercy called.
• Lindon brings out the Winter Sage, who tearfully hugs Yerin.
  Yerin looked as though a cat had leaped onto her face out of nowhere, and Lindon reflected that his original plan had been better. He had meant to save this for later, when he could prepare her.
• The Epilogue features Lindon and Yerin's seven year old son, Lirin, running around the Grave holding a small gift box. He's intercepted by Yerin, who checks the gift. While we don't see what's inside (Lirin is too short to see), Eithan's voice comes out dramatically shaming her for opening Lirin's gift, and it gets cut off as soon as she closes the box again. The moment itself is funny, but becomes even better with the knowledge that Eithan is firmly in Wacky Uncle territory for Linon and Yerin's child.
  As soon as the package opened, a pleasant, familiar voice drifted out. “For shame!” the gift said. “Don’t you think he’s old enough to open his own presents? I taught you better than th⁠—” His mother shut the box again, grumbling to herself. She held it up to Lirin. “Give this back to you after I see what other tricks, traps, and trouble he left in here."

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