The Gaslight District

In the decaying, godforsaken world of The Gaslight District, a prophecy haunts the Rotlings—degenerate immortals clinging to their "golden age of never-ending life." The legend speaks of "the beast whose blood flows black", a human born from an angel's egg who threatens their twisted paradise. As the narrator declares, Abandoned by God, the denizens of this land are left to rot, fester, scab... and peel for all eternity, until the prophesied human emerges.

The chapter opens with Melancholy Hill, the hidden human, orchestrating a bloody charade to protect her identity. Her adoptive father, Ken the Butcher, leads the Smiling Dead gang in brutal rituals—like drowning the Rotling Jack in cement after he discovers Mel's secret. Meanwhile, the Virtues (Diligence and Temperance) patrol Paradise Lost, their mechanical voices condemning Rotlings as "filthy, rancid" abominations.

The tension crescendos as Mel manipulates her gang into stealing what she claims is the human egg from the angels. In reality, it’s a lie to cement her place among the Rotlings. The heist descends into chaos when the Angel Mother confronts Mel, revealing she "sees all" and recognizes the black-blooded human. The chapter ends with a grotesque "ceremony"—Mel and Ken smashing a fake egg before a mob of cackling Rotlings, only for the Virtues to expose their deception, screaming Liars and cheats! as the crowd turns violent.

"The ship of family now unrigg'd adrift... conceals a cargo of unspoken shame." — Final choir verse

Themes of betrayal, identity, and cycles of violence dominate this chapter, set against a backdrop of steampunk grotesquerie and dark humor—where angels shriek, limbs are interchangeable, and loyalty is sealed with blood or cement.

The grotesque heart of the Smiling Dead's operations is revealed in this visceral chapter, set in Ken the Butcher's floating abattoir—a rusted, blood-stained ship where the gang "processes" both meat and enemies. As the narrator sneers, Welcome to the Gaslight District... where everyone has skeletons to hide, the butcher shop becomes a metaphor for the district's rotting soul.

The chapter opens with BreadHead gleefully operating bone saws while Mud drunkenly sews mismatched limbs onto himself—a darkly comic display of the gang's "crusty, musty, and rusty" existence. Ken enforces his rule through brutal rituals, like forcing new recruits to sleep on meat hooks, growling This ain't a charity, maggots! Meanwhile, Mel secretly tends to her black-blooded wounds, the camera lingering on purple stains seeping through bandages.

Tensions explode when Joshua, Mud's long-hated Virtue guard rival, is captured during a raid. In a standout scene, Mud screams I'll never forgive you! before Ken "processes" Joshua into sausage meat—the gang feasting while Diligence's robotic voice ironically announces We are pleased over stolen Virtue loudspeakers. The chapter climaxes with Mel discovering Ken's hidden ledger, revealing his dealings with the Angel Mother—and the shocking truth that he knew she was human all along.

"The weight of family bonds cementing still... the secrets that our fathers chose to keep." — Choir's lament during the feast

This chapter deepens the father-daughter tragedy between Ken and Mel, framed by disgusting yet darkly poetic imagery: whale oil dripping like tears, meat grinders roaring like the district's hunger for violence, and the constant drip-drip-drip of blood through the ship's floorboards—way worse than death at the ocean's bottom.

Themes of cannibalism (literal and societal), toxic family bonds, and the commodification of flesh dominate, with the butcher shop serving as a microcosm of the Gaslight District's endless cycle of consumption and rot.

The deadly con game reaches its crescendo as Mel executes her riskiest gambit yet—a staged heist for the mythical angel egg. The chapter opens with her whispering Triple-checked, sources confirmed... and then silenced to Ken, her plan already smelling of betrayal. The Smiling Dead gear up in stolen Virtue armor, their rusty blades clanking against polished steel as BreadHead giggles Pretty bird love yummy bread!—a dark punchline before the carnage.

The raid on Paradise Lost unfolds like a grotesque ballet: Mud deliberately triggers angel storms as distraction, howling Hup-hup-hup-hup! while Diligence's mechanical voice booms Contain the storm! through crumbling marble halls. Mel slips away during chaos, but Ken—sensing her deception—intercepts her at the egg vault. Their confrontation turns visceral when he severs an angel's wings mid-flight, snarling You pull stunts like today, you never see sunlight again!

The scheme implodes when the Angel Mother awakens, her shrieks warping reality: You belong to the angels! Her revelation that the prophecy is a loop—We restart the cycle every 10,000 years—sends Mel reeling. The chapter's brutal climax sees the gang smashing a decoy egg before the district's roaring crowd, only for Temperance to expose them with a single sentence: That's not a human. As the mob turns, Ken shields Mel—his cleaver biting into Virtue metal—while the choir's distorted hymn warns: The veil between worlds begins to lift...

You can't silence me, black blood! — Jack's final words echoing through Mel's nightmares

This chapter masterfully ties together the themes of performative lies (Mel's fake egg), cyclical violence (the Angel Mother's prophecy), and broken paternal bonds (Ken choosing Mel over his gang). The Gaslight District's steampunk grotesquerie peaks here—angel feathers fuse with broken gears, Virtue blood sprays like oil, and Mel's nosebleeds form black roses on the cobblestones.

By the end, the Smiling Dead are fractured, the Virtues are hunting, and Mel stands alone—her humanity no longer hidden but weaponized, as the district chants Spike! Spike! Spike! beneath a sky cracking with divine fury.

The Gaslight District erupts into a frenzy of violent revelry as Ken and Mel stage their most audacious performance yet—a fake ritual execution of the prophesied human. The chapter opens with the district's twisted choir chanting Cement! Cement! Cement! while Rotlings drag a bound prisoner to the town square, their laughter echoing like cawing angels drunk on bloodlust. Mel, clad in Virtue robes stolen during the heist, declares with false solemnity: Let us restart the cycle! Praise the Black Hand for another ten thousand years!

The ceremony quickly spirals into chaos. BreadHead—now wearing a stolen angel's wing as a cape—giggles as he sharpens the ceremonial spike, while Mud forces the crowd to kneel, screaming Kiss the damn floor if you wanna keep your tongues! The tension peaks when the Angel Mother's holographic visage materializes above the crowd, her distorted voice shrieking Foolish blind human!—exposing Mel's ruse. In a heartbeat, the mob's adoration turns to rage, their chants of Spike! Spike! becoming Liars! Cheats! as they surge forward.

"The ship of family now unrigg'd adrift... conceals a cargo of unspoken shame." — Choir's final hymn warping into static

The chapter's brutal climax sees Ken's brutal last stand—his cleaver severing Rotling limbs in great arcs as he bellows She's MINE to kill!—while Mel is forced to reveal her black blood to survive. The revelation triggers the prophecy's final stage: the ground splits open as thousands of angelic corpses rise from the district's foundations, their combined shrieks You belong to the angels! shattering every window in the Gaslight District.

Key revelations explode in rapid succession:

• The "ceremonies" were never real—just Ken's way to control the district
• Mel's blood is the key to breaking the immortality curse
• The Virtues arrive en masse, their mechanical voices chanting Purge the unclean!

Themes of mass delusion, paternal sacrifice, and the cost of eternity collide as the district literally collapses under the weight of its sins. By chapter's end, Mel stands alone amidst the ruins—her black blood mixing with Ken's as the choir's final warning echoes: Eventually, all things rise to the surface.

Visual motifs reach their peak: angel feathers burn like parchment, Virtue armor melts into Rotling flesh, and the ceremonial spike—now lodged in Ken's chest—gleams with black blood under the dying gaslights.