Recaps

Shade and his allies ambushed a Fourth Ring Arcanist who came to meet the disguised Baron Kaming, only to discover that he was a Creation Church priest. They prepared to question Father Francois while trying to prevent the Church from tracking them.

• Shade and Miss Owl used a disguised suit of armor as Baron Kaming and hid nearby while Miss Bell's group took positions around the meeting site.
• A man arrived late by train, accepted an empty box from the disguised baron, and Shade knocked him unconscious with Mind Blast.
• Shade and the others searched the captive at a campsite and found a Silver Wrench Holy Symbol and a Creation Church scripture.
• Miss Bell recognized the captive as Father Francois of the Weilun Dai'er Diocese after Charlotte removed his disguise.
• Miss Winslet proposed using her own method to question Father Francois, explaining that she would summon death to block the Church contract's tracking effect.

Miss Winslet used her Thaumaturgy, Wall of Sighs, to compel Father Francois to answer Shade’s questions. Francois confessed to exploiting a Time Traveler and killing five people to prolong his life, leaving Shade to condemn his cowardice.

• Miss Winslet summoned the Wall of Sighs and bound the awakened Father Francois against it, where he could not lie.
• Shade confirmed that Francois had forced a Time Traveler fifty years earlier to carry potions across time.
• Francois explained that he learned about Time Travel after surviving an encounter with a Great Deer-Headed Monster in Creekwood and discovering a dead Nature Church Arcanist’s hidden materials and detection method.
• Francois admitted that he used the Time Sharing Potion to extend his life and had killed five people whose birth dates met the potion’s requirements.
• Shade contrasted Francois with someone he had met the previous day who had sacrificed himself to atone, and called Francois cowardly.

Shade and Flora Winslet uncovered evidence that the local Nature Church knew about Time Travelers, then a spell malfunction unleashed a Crown Skeleton Undead. Shade destroyed the wraith amid a forest fire, drawing the churches’ attention, and extracted Father Francois’s cowardice before the chapter ended.

• Shade learned that a Nature Church relic and Oak's Lucky Potion had helped Father Francois detect a Time Traveler, and he decided to use the man to bring other churches into the investigation.
• Flora Winslet lost control of the Wall of Sighs, releasing a Crown Skeleton Undead as Miss Bell led the other women away.
• Shade fought the wraith with Sunlight Ray, Silver Thunder, Greater Fireballs, and Great Sin Chains, deliberately making enough noise to draw rescuers.
• A joint squad of Dawn Church and Sun Church Ring Arcanists arrived and watched Shade annihilate the wraith with Praise Moon.
• Shade took Father Francois’s hair, extracted his sin into a paper figure, and gained insight into cowardice.

Shade fought off the Dawn Church and Sun Church Arcanists who tried to detain him after he captured Father Francois. He escaped into the Woodland, leaving the two teams to debate whether to interrogate the unconscious priest themselves.

• Shade gave the unconscious Father Francois a Time Sharing Potion and warned the Church Arcanists not to let the Creation Church or Nature Church interrogate him first.
• Shade repelled the five High- and Mid-Ring Arcanists with a golden shield, the Sunlight Greatsword, fire, and other thaumaturgies.
• Shade defeated the Tenth Ring Arcanist of the Dawn Church with Laguerre's Leap and Passionate Ice, then formed a Sunlight Gun and fired it into the forest fire.
• Shade flew into the Woodland with Miss Owl and vanished, leaving the Church Arcanists unharmed in the clearing.
• Howard and Ken disagreed over whether they had the right to interrogate Father Francois, and Howard decided they should question him before choosing what to do.

After escaping the burning forest, Shade agreed to let Miss Winslet learn more about his abilities during future operations. Back in Vesta City, he reunited with Sister Devlin, who came to examine Miss Bell’s curse, and introduced her to Miss Winslet and Miss Danist.

• Shade told Miss Winslet that he would gradually reveal his methods to her during future operations.
• Shade and Miss Winslet returned to Vesta City and found Sister Devlin in Miss Winslet’s room with Miss Bell.
• Sister Devlin picked up Shade while he was still a cat, and Miss Danist arrived as the group recognized the awkward scene.
• Shade transformed back into human form and greeted Sister Devlin, who smiled and said she had known him for a long time.
• Shade introduced Sister Devlin to Miss Winslet and Miss Danist, describing himself as the Hero of the Flame she had chosen.
• Miss Winslet asked whether Sister Devlin and Shade had been introduced by the old lady.

Sister Devlin and Shade used the First Fire to purify the souls of Danist Gustav and Flora Winslet, temporarily suppressing their curses and restoring their strength. Sister Devlin explained that the complete First Fire—or another separated flame found with help from the Time Chosen Ones—could permanently remove the curse.

• Sister Devlin explained that she had shared the First Fire with Shade after finding him badly injured, and the group welcomed her chance to try lifting the curses.
• Sister Devlin examined Danist Gustav and told Shade to channel the First Fire through her soul.
• Shade and Sister Devlin used the First Fire to purify Danist Gustav, temporarily suppressing her curse and restoring her to the Eleventh Ring until midnight.
• Sister Devlin said the First Fire in its complete state could burn away the curse, and another separated flame found with help from the Time Chosen Ones could also resolve it.
• Shade and Sister Devlin repeated the procedure for Flora Winslet, who sensed a bright Silver Moon in Shade's right eye as the fire took hold.

Shade and his companions prepared to recover the Paradox Worm by drawing the Kaming father and son to a meeting point outside Vesta City. As James Kaming ran there under Miss Danist’s illusion, Shade and Danist walked through the forest discussing the Moon Dance Festival.

• Sister Devlin said she would spend the night camping in Vesta Woodland and asked Sylvia to open a Teleportation Gate to Wilundell the next morning.
• Miss Bell reported that James Kaming was at Maurice Mansion and Baron Kaming was at the Lumberjack Association, so Shade split the group to lure them to a forest meeting point.
• In a carriage, Miss Danist questioned Shade about his relationship with Sister Devlin and teased him about his other romantic connections.
• Shade and Miss Danist used a Red Moon Illusion to make James Kaming see Erica Kaming, and he left the mansion in a daze.
• Shade and Miss Danist followed James toward the meeting point while discussing the Moon Dance Festival and its origins in ancient offerings to the Moon God.

Shade and his allies located the Second Stage Paradox Worm inside James Kaming and drove it out, but the creature resisted Sister Devlin’s attempt to destroy it with Ashes. Sister Devlin proposed merging with Shade so they could combine his temporal stability power with the First Fire, and Shade prepared to do so with Charlotte Bell and Miss Danist present.

• Baron Kaming scolded James for pursuing Erica and reminded him of his engagement to Jane Bennett.
• Shade used the Youthful Immortality Leaf to locate the Paradox Worm inside James, then forced it out with the Ancient Elven Stability Principle and pinned it with the Yggdrasil Staff.
• Sister Devlin tried to strike the worm with Ashes, but it manipulated time and sprayed accelerating mist before Shade restrained it again.
• Sister Devlin suggested using Shade’s Mystic Lock to merge with him and combine their powers against the worm.
• Shade asked Charlotte Bell to stay, and Miss Danist protected her as the group prepared for the merging.

Shade and Sister Devlin fused their souls through the First Fire to create Shade’s Mystic Lock, transforming the forest into a sea of flames and empowering them to defeat the Paradox Worm. The Mystic Lock ended, leaving Shade and Sister Devlin beside the burning bug as a blond elf approached.

• Sister Devlin linked her soul with Shade’s using the First Fire, and their Destiny Rings fused into a crimson ring as the Mystic Lock formed.
• Shade became a towering Ashes Knight, took up the enlarged Ashes greatsword and Yggdrasil Staff, and advanced toward the Paradox Worm.
• Shade struck the Paradox Worm and pinned it beneath the Ancient Elven Stability Principle before slashing down with Ashes.
• The Mystic Lock dissolved, revealing Shade and Sister Devlin beside a bonfire where the Ashen Longsword pierced the burning bug.
• Miss Danist and Miss Bell recovered from watching the Mystic Lock, and a blond elf hurried toward Shade and Sister Devlin.

Shade and Sister Devlin defeated the Kaming family’s Paradox Worm, then returned to Vesta City as the Moon Dance Festival began. At the Accordion Hotel, Flora learned Shade had a Mystic Lock and discovered its name was Clock Tower Lovers before they set out for the concert.

• Shade and Sister Devlin used the First Fire to destroy the Paradox Worm, while Elf Miss collected its shell for the potion she was preparing.
• Shade and the others woke Baron Kaming and his son, then left the woodland after the Kaming family’s trouble was temporarily resolved.
• Sister Devlin told Shade that Elf Miss was fifty-six years old, and they tacitly agreed not to discuss her appearance beneath the blindfold in the city.
• Shade returned to Room 321 and Flora pounced on him, upset that she had missed seeing his Mystic Lock.
• Shade told Flora that his Mystic Lock was Clock Tower Lovers, and she concluded that his relationship with Sister Devlin was more complicated than he claimed.

Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival Concert in Vesta City with Miss Winslet, Miss Danist, and Miss Bell, where he felt unusually energized beneath the three full Moons and encountered acquaintances from Wilundell. The chapter left Shade watching the Bennett family from a distance and confirming with the Family Stabilizer that the three sisters were genuine.

• Miss Winslet explained the Golden Music Hall and its seating as the group arrived for the concert.
• Shade noticed that the three full Moons made his Spirit and Elements unusually active, then learned that Miss Winslet was known for piano performance and composition.
• The Follen Brothers recognized Shade but only nodded to him before greeting Miss Winslet and leaving.
• Shade spotted the Bennett family and used the Family Stabilizer to confirm that Jane, Phyllis, and Linda were genuine sisters.
• The witch explained that the Bennett family's youngest daughter was performing as a violinist and that their youngest son had been confined at home after breaking an antique vase.

Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival concert with Miss Danist and Miss Winslet, but an unusual premonition led him to leave during a performance and meet Eric Follen in a secluded corridor. Eric told him that his mother was safe and that the Dragon Devouring Order had gone into hiding after its defeat in Moon Bay.

• Shade learned from Miss Bell that Vesta Woodland had three military camps, then discussed military ranks with the ladies.
• Miss Winslet told Miss Danist about a sheer new fabric, and Miss Danist suspected Shade was involved with it.
• Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival concert and noticed his drowsiness and heightened awareness felt unusual.
• During the Starry Sky Aria, Shade left the hall and met Eric Follen in a secluded corridor.
• Eric told Shade that his mother was safe and that the Dragon Devouring Order had gone into hiding after its defeat in Moon Bay.

Shade warned Eric Follen that Creekwood Town might be connected to coming trouble, then told Miss Bell the story behind his expired Moon Dance Festival card. As he fell asleep during the concert, he entered a dream of an ancient moonlit sacrificial ritual, where a hooded figure appeared above the altar’s Silver Fire.

• Shade asked Eric Follen about York Bronte and warned the Follen brothers to leave if they wanted to avoid another major incident.
• Shade explained to Miss Bell how the souls of Mr. Wosente and Mr. Mason had blessed him with the Moon Dance Festival card, whose effect had expired.
• During the second half of the concert, Shade grew drowsy and fell asleep while the red-haired girl let him rest.
• Shade followed ancient dance music through his dream wilderness to a vast sacrificial ground where thousands danced around a bonfire beneath the Moon.
• Six silver-adorned girls invited Shade to dance, but he politely refused them before seeing a hooded figure appear above the altar as its Silver Fire burst skyward.

Shade dreamed of climbing a Silver Fire staircase toward the Moon, where a distant woman vanished before he could reach her. As Shade slept through a Dragon beast’s attack on the Golden Music Hall, Flora Winslet joined the fight, and a mysterious figure appeared behind the creature.

• Shade climbed the Silver Fire staircase toward the Moon, saw a woman standing on it, and watched her vanish when he called to her.
• A Dragon Roar sounded above the Golden Music Hall, but Shade remained asleep despite Miss Danist’s attempts to wake him.
• Flora Winslet left the hall and saw a twisted dragon beast attack the city with Dragon Breath and gray mist while Church Ring Arcanists fought it.
• Flora Winslet transformed into a Unicorn and wounded the beast with a projection of light, but its injuries quickly healed.
• A Twelfth Ring of Fate appeared behind the dragon beast, and a figure moving at nearly the speed of light emerged and attacked everyone.

Flora Winslet, the Church Arcanists, and Sister Devlin fought the Clockmaker and her time-cloned dragons above Vesta City during the Moon Dance Festival. As Shade emerged from the Golden Music Hall wrapped in silver flame, he carried the power of a dream in which he had encountered the Lady upon the Moon.

• The Clockmaker revealed herself as the Tree Hole Association’s Twelfth Ring Arcanist and used her power to create four time-cloned dragon beasts.
• Flora Winslet and the Church Arcanists struggled to hold off the dragons until Sister Devlin and three of her copies severed all four heads with Fated Death.
• The Clockmaker summoned another time-traveling dragon clone after the first four vanished, and the battle resumed beneath the approaching Full Moons.
• A dragon beam knocked Flora Winslet toward the Golden Music Hall, where Miss Danist caught her in owl form; Flora then saw Shade standing atop the Clock Tower in silver flame.
• Shade had left the hall after waking from a dream of the Lady upon the Moon, and he emerged carrying the lingering power and anger of that encounter.

Shade unleashed Moonlight Wheel: fourth form, killing the dragon beast and disrupting the Clockmaker’s magic before she fled. After the battle, he returned to the concert and later faced questions from Miss Danist and Miss Winslet about his power, which he attributed to seeing the Moon in a dream.

• Shade swung four giant light wheels at the dragon beast, cutting off its wings and killing it.
• The Clockmaker tried to restore the dragon beast, but Shade’s Thunder Spear and Ancient Elven Stability Principle stopped her; her attempt to copy his Thaumaturgy also failed, and she fled.
• Church Ring Arcanists explained that they had come to investigate a suspected Time Tunnel and Tree Hole Association members at the Golden Music Hall.
• Shade left the tower with the red-haired girl and the Owl, then returned to watch the concert’s closing piece with his companions.
• At the Accordion Hotel, Miss Danist and Miss Winslet asked Shade to explain his power, and he said he had seen the Moon in a dream.

After gaining new moonlight powers during his dream, Shade revealed Moon Fire to Miss Danist and Flora Winslet, who recognized it as a legendary power of the ancient Moon God. He then visited Sister Devlin in Vesta Woodland to discuss the city's dragon attack and her plans to leave.

• Shade explained that his Moonlight Wheel had gained three additional halos after his dream of the Original Moon splitting in three.
• Shade revealed Moon Fire, and Miss Danist identified it as the legendary Secret Fire once bestowed by the ancient Moon God.
• Flora Winslet questioned Shade's extraordinary powers, while Miss Danist defended her student's abilities and urged her to keep observing him.
• Shade returned home briefly, then went to the elf's Tree House in Vesta Woodland and found Sister Devlin staying there with the Nuns.
• Sister Devlin explained that the dragon beast's unusual strength came from a Time Curse, and the elf warned that those who toyed with time would face its consequences.
• Shade reminded Sister Devlin not to tell The Church too much about the incident and asked about her plans to leave.

Shade learned that the silver Moon Fire he gained in a dream was Secret Fire, a divine power, and let Primordial Fire absorb it to strengthen his abilities. After spending the night at home, he awoke on Monday to find Galina, Luvia, and Siris arriving early in the rain.

• Shade showed Sister Devlin his Moon Fire, and she identified it as Secret Fire, a power once bestowed by the Moon God that could heal injuries and souls.
• Sister Devlin touched the Secret Fire, which healed her burned hand but rapidly consumed Shade's spirit, and explained that the power was still only a basic spell.
• Shade and Sister Devlin clasped hands as Primordial Fire absorbed the Secret Fire, strengthening Shade's fire spells, self-healing, and resistances.
• Emilia explained that Shade could weaken abnormal time effects by enchanting his staff with the Stability Principle and driving it into the ground.
• Shade returned home, spent the night with Dorothy and Vanessa, and woke on Monday to find Galina, Luvia, and Siris already at the house.

Shade learned that God's Gift Box could contain the Distorted Tree Hole and entered the Time Corridor to return to Black Sand Dock. There, he found Mr. Nelson and Ms. Brooke waiting beside a new young witch, and brought Little Mia and the sin of cowardice with him.

• Shade showed the women Moon Fire and told them about the previous day's events and his new spell.
• Shade learned from the Elf Girl that God's Gift Box could safely contain the Distorted Tree Hole, then borrowed Sister Devlin's eye patch.
• Shade entered the Time Corridor, where the Ancient God of Time gave him a trial to wait with mortals for someone about to depart.
• Shade arrived at Black Sand Dock with Little Mia and found Mr. Nelson and Ms. Brooke beside an unfamiliar young witch.
• Shade told the group he had brought back the sin of cowardice and asked the young witch who she was.

Shade met Peggy McConaughey, who had come to the shore after accidentally breaking the key to her Teacher’s sealed sleeping place, and learned that an unknown force had conceptually destroyed it. He and Ms. Brooke paid the Boatman’s fare and sailed into the Dark Waters, entering thick White Fog as their journey toward death continued.

• Ms. Brooke introduced Peggy McConaughey, who explained that she had shattered the key to her Teacher’s Hidden Space and feared her Teacher was lost.
• Shade used Breath of Time to reconstruct the key, but it immediately shattered again, revealing that its destruction had been conceptual.
• Ms. Brooke suggested traveling to the past to learn what Peggy had encountered, and Shade and Ms. Brooke prepared the Boatman’s fare using their cards.
• Shade and Ms. Brooke bid farewell to Peggy and Mr. Nelson, then boarded the Boatman’s small boat with Little Mia.
• As the boat crossed the Dark Waters, Shade summoned First Fire to comfort the frightened Ms. Brooke, and they eventually entered dense White Fog.

Shade and Ms. Brooke summoned her deceased elder sister, Jessica Bullock, beneath the Underworld Moon and reunited the sisters. Jessica shared some of her power with Shade and asked him to touch her darkness.

• Shade and Ms. Brooke reached the Underworld Moon and called for Jessica Bullock with the Mithril Blindfold.
• Jessica appeared among the souls, and Ms. Brooke confronted her for concealing the truth about her fate and their inability to meet after death.
• Jessica explained that she had deceived Anya Bullock to spare her worry, and the sisters embraced after Jessica told her not to live for her sake.
• Anya vowed to become the Great Witch of Death so she could meet Jessica again after death.
• Jessica asked Shade about the First Fire of the Sixth Epoch and shared part of her soul's power with him.
• Jessica asked Shade to touch her darkness, identifying herself as a Fire-Holding Sister.

Shade gained the Direction Spirit Rune and marked Little Mia with Eternal Fire Mark while returning from the Underworld Moon with Ms. Brooke. After receiving a soul-warming potion formula and learning to row the boat, Shade reached the dock and asked the Boatman about traveling to the moment Peggy McConaughey broke the key.

• Sister Bullock bestowed the Direction Spirit Rune on Shade before departing toward the Underworld Moon.
• Shade used Eternal Fire Mark to mark Little Mia with Moon Fire so he could sense her direction.
• Ms. Brooke gave Shade the formula for a potion called warmth and warned him against letting the Great Witch of Death use it too often.
• The Boatman let Shade row, and Shade guided the boat through the fog back to Black Sand Dock.
• Shade saw Neilson and Peggy McConaughey by the bonfire and asked the Boatman for round-trip passage to the moment Peggy broke the key.

Shade and the two Witches revisited Miss McConaughey’s past and learned that a Nightsong Elf settlement had saved her after an attack by a monster wielding ancient death magic. Back at Black Sand Dock, Shade learned that no tickets would be needed to take the others to the Reality World, and planned to investigate the Elves and the Deathbringer Angel before the key’s final use.

• Shade and Ms. Brooke persuaded Miss McConaughey to return to the past, and the three took a boat from Black Sand Dock.
• They witnessed Miss McConaughey flee a black mist, get struck by a death ray, and fall into the river despite a crystal shield protecting her.
• Miss McConaughey told Shade and Ms. Brooke that Nightsong Elves had rescued her and that she had recovered in their settlement.
• Shade and Ms. Brooke recognized the attack as resembling the primal death power of Camael, the First Angel, the Deathbringer Angel.
• The Boatman told Shade that no tickets would be needed to take the stranded people back to the Reality World.
• Shade planned to seek the Nightsong Elves and investigate the Angel, with the Philosopher’s Stone as a possible way to restore the key.

Shade escaped the haunted waters, returned to the Elf Miss's Tree House, and learned that the Fifth Epoch Sister had given him a Spirit Rune and a thaumaturgy. After leaving Vesta Woodland, he visited Miss Danist and found her first oil painting depicting the events above the Golden Music Hall.

• Shade saw countless corpses floating across the water before escaping the strange spacetime in white fog.
• Shade told Sister Devlin that a Fifth Epoch Fire-Holding Sister had given him a Spirit Rune and a thaumaturgy, and Sister Devlin sensed the gift and explained the duties of past generations of nuns.
• Sister Devlin sensed the lingering warmth of an ancient flame and told Shade that there seemed to be fire in Vesta Woodland.
• Shade and the Elf Girl escorted the three nuns out of the woodland, where Miss Sylvia greeted them through a Teleportation Gate and hugged Shade.
• The Elf Girl explained where Nightsong Elf communities lived, and Shade later found an oil painting in Miss Danist's room depicting a young man holding up the Moon above the Golden Music Hall.

Shade visited Flora Winslet and Daniste, received news about the churches’ confrontation over the Nature Church, and revealed that he had gained a new Spirit Rune. The group prepared to meet the Hermit Order, while Flora considered using Shade’s gift to treat her hidden ailment.

• Flora Winslet showed Shade her first oil painting and received a Fifth Epoch potion formula from him, which Shade said was intended to treat her hidden ailment.
• Daniste and Flora told Shade that four churches had surrounded the Nature Church overnight, and that Gerald Delong had arrived from Wilundell as the churches tried to contain the situation.
• Shade recognized Gerald Delong as the Thirteenth Ring Warlock he had encountered during the Coldwater Port incident.
• Daniste noticed Shade’s new Spirit Rune, and Shade explained that the Fire-Bearing Sister had given him Enlightenment-Direction.
• Flora offered to teach Shade Transformation Spell before they went to meet the Hermit Order.