Chapter 31

Carl's inventory forces the crystallized sex doll head to materialize in the safe room. The head is revealed to be possessed by Psamathe, a minor deity who had split herself trying to escape the Nothing and had been manipulating Ghazi the entire time. After determining she cannot leave the safe room without potentially summoning an angry god, the party reluctantly agrees to hire her as a trainer to keep her contained. Carl then questions Mordecai extensively about the structure of the ninth floor, the faction wars, and the sixth floor hunting grounds.

A forced inventory purge ejects the crystallized sex doll head into the safe room. Carl discovers it is still possessed and can speak. Katia identifies that Psamathe, a minor deity banished to the Nothing, had been split into two halves during her escape attempt—one half trapped in the sex doll, the other accompanying Ghazi. She had deceived Ghazi into opening the Nothing to reunite herself, but Ghazi's spell-casting froze her vessel, and Mongo's earlier collision shattered her second half into pieces now scattered in the ocean. Mordecai explains that Psamathe is now a withering spirit, split between a vessel and lacking full power. The group debates what to do with her. After Samantha (as Carl renames her) demands they retrieve her scattered pieces and threatens Carl's mother repeatedly, Mordecai suggests hiring her as a trainer to keep her confined in the safe room, preventing her from summoning a vengeful god. Despite Katia's reservations, they agree. Carl deposits her in the training room with her mouth forced closed. Later, after resting and resetting buffs, Carl asks Mordecai detailed questions about the ninth floor's geography, faction structure, and the relationship between the sixth floor hunting grounds and the faction wars. Mordecai reluctantly explains the layout, mercenary systems, and that hunters start at level thirty and can freely travel to the sixth floor until it officially opens. Carl's line of questioning suggests he is planning something regarding the hunters or the faction war dynamics.