Recaps

At the Laggson banquet, Shade reunited with Major Rades, who was now serving in the navy and assisting Military Intelligence Section Six. They discussed the danger around the Snow Mountain and their shared history before deciding to continue catching up over Rhodes Cards.

• Grand Duke of Laggson welcomed the guests and expressed his hope that the gathering would help ease tensions between the two nations.
• Shade left Miss Reinhart with the Marquise of Chomondley and went to the terrace, where he recognized Major Rades.
• Major Rades told Shade about his promotion, his naval service, and the fleet's arrival in Starfall Bay; Shade warned him to avoid the Snow Mountain and anything strange involving snakes.
• Major Rades mentioned that sailors had seen Mermaids and that a Steam Engine aboard his ship had stopped working, while Shade reassured him about the Mermaids.
• Shade and Major Rades discussed their past experiences, the threat of war, and Rhodes Cards, then agreed to find a place to play together.

At a banquet, Shade heard a gunshot and found Baron Jensen dead from a revolver that witnesses said had been emptied. The police sealed off the floor, but no one could explain how the ordinary gun had fired, leaving the apparent suicide an unsolved mystery.

• Shade left his card game with Major Rades after hearing a scream and gunshot from upstairs.
• Shade found Claire Reinhart among frightened women beside Baron Jensen's body and saw that the baron had been shot in the temple.
• Duke Ragson's guards sealed off the 2nd Floor, and the police identified the deceased as Baron Jensen of the Laggson Duchy.
• Miss Hanna Schmidt and the other women explained that Jensen had emptied his revolver before declaring his love and pulling the trigger.
• Shade questioned whether the revolver had truly been empty, but witnesses confirmed that Jensen had removed all its bullets.
• The police reconstructed the incident as an apparent suicide, but no one could explain how the revolver fired without ammunition.

After Baron Jensen’s murder, Shade followed Countess Waldeck because her pink earrings seemed to hold the power of an Unknown Level relic. At a rocky beach, he discovered that the Clown Troupe had confronted her, but she unleashed pink mist and began transforming the carriage horse.

• The police failed to find a second revolver and continued investigating while the banquet carried on; later, the suspected weapon vanished from the scene.
• Shade recognized Countess Waldeck’s pink earrings as resembling a familiar evil relic and decided to follow her with Miss Reinhart.
• Countess Waldeck left the banquet alone, and Shade and Miss Reinhart tracked her carriage to a rocky beach outside the city.
• The coachman joined three Clown-masked Ring Arcanists, including Mr. Mortis, who confronted Countess Waldeck and demanded to know where her earrings came from.
• Countess Waldeck released pink mist that forced the Clown Troupe to retreat, then threw something toward the horse, whose upper body began transforming into a human shape.

Countess Waldeck’s gun transformed into a growing Black Snake that absorbed attacks and copied their powers, while the Dawn Church and the Clown Troupe fought the Horse-Human. The Snake overwhelmed the Church’s defenses and raced toward the bound Horse-Human as everyone else retreated.

• Countess Waldeck sent the Horse-Human to attack the Clown Troupe, and Dawn Church Ring Arcanists emerged to help subdue it.
• Countess Waldeck fired the seemingly ordinary black revolver and spoke a truth that caused it to transform into a Black Snake.
• The Snake bit Countess Waldeck, who collapsed and stopped breathing as it grew larger.
• The Snake swallowed a Fireball and a stone spear, absorbing their properties and growing stronger.
• The Snake absorbed the light from the Church’s Sword of Light Sealing and struck Ring Arcanists with Dangerous Radiance.
• The Dawn Church captain ordered everyone to retreat, and the Black Snake rushed toward the bound Horse-Human.

Shade and the others fought the evolving Infinite Snake, whose transformations let it absorb powers and overwhelm the Church’s Arcanists. Claire and Mr. Mortis’s Serpent’s Sheddings exposed its weakness, but after it split into thousands of snakes, Shade stopped time to halt their escape.

• Shade restrained the giant snake and used the Destiny rune shared by Long-Haired Luvia to stop it from growing stronger, but it severed its head and merged with the mass of flesh.
• The snake emerged as a beautiful snake-bodied woman, charmed the group, killed a Seventh Ring Arcanist, and attacked the others; Shade’s Thunderclap Wave repelled it without letting it absorb lightning.
• Claire discovered that her Serpent’s Shedding identified the monster as the Infinite Snake, and the glowing Sheddings held by her and Mr. Mortis let their attacks hurt it without being absorbed.
• As Claire and Mr. Mortis prepared finishing attacks, the Infinite Snake exploded into thousands of tiny red snakes that scattered toward the sea and across the reefs.
• Shade shouted “Time Stop,” freezing the red snakes along the shore.

Emilia sensed Shade and the others were in danger and raced to the western beach with Miss Larson, where she used her powers over Time and Destiny to defeat the snake creature. After destroying its transformed weapon, she left the battle’s immediate threat ended, though the group still faced the aftermath.

• Emilia glimpsed Shade and a witch fighting a strange snake on a beach, then hurried with Miss Larson and Ellie to help them.
• Emilia accelerated Ellie with Time Acceleration, and they reached the coastal battle just as the snake person burst into a swarm of red snakes.
• The Serpent's Shedding appeared beside Emilia, and she froze the snakes with Time Stop.
• Emilia used Divine Art: Return to Origin to reverse the snake person's transformations until it became a black revolver.
• Emilia reversed the revolver one final time, causing it to explode into fragments and lose all function.

After Emilia helped destroy the Infinite Snake, Shade and his companions pieced together how the Calamity of Fate had emerged and discussed the serpent sheddings. Emilia’s shedding promised her a gift at the end of a story that was not hers, while the group anticipated more impossibilities on Snow Mountain Island.

• Emilia returned to Snow Mountain Hall with Miss Larson, and Shade praised her for using the Power of Time to destroy the snake and shatter the gun.
• Shade explained that Countess Waldeck had accidentally triggered the Calamity of Fate by firing a gun that should have been unloaded, creating the Infinite Snake.
• Miss Reinhart reported that the snake had bitten and killed Countess Waldeck, and that the bite resembled the mark of Ouroboros.
• Shade shared the recovered gun fragments with Miss Reinhart for the Council and planned to send the others to Luvia and Daniste for research.
• Miss Reinhart wondered whether Emilia was a Chosen One, but Emilia denied it and pointed out that she was only a Major Supporting Character.
• Emilia’s serpent shedding revealed that she would receive a gift at the end of a story that did not belong to her, and that she would bring unexpected turns of Destiny to it.

After Emilia gained a Gift of Fate during the events on Fatumonst Island, Shade and his companions were targeted by a stronger attempt to interfere with their destinies. Back in the city, Daniste reassured Emilia about her status as a Chosen One, while Luvia and the others discussed the Calamity of Fate as a knot in Destiny that gave rise to impossibilities and snakes.

• Emilia said resolving Infinite Snakes had improved her role and her control of time, and Shade guessed she had received help because of her luck, role, strength, or timing.
• Shade and Emilia sensed another attack on Destiny, and the Dice of Destiny protected the linked fates of Shade, Emilia, Miss Reinhart, and the Sun's Great Witch.
• Shade comforted Miss Reinhart after the banquet, and she kissed his cheek before he left with Emilia.
• At 6 Saint Derain Square, Emilia gave the Serpent's Shedding to Luvia, who had come after it vanished from beside her.
• Daniste told Emilia that, as the New Tree, Elf Queen, and inheritor of time, she did not need to fear being questioned about visiting Fatumonst Island, then kept her behind to hear what had happened.
• Shade recounted the night's events to Galina, Leisha, and Luvia, and Luvia said the Calamity of Fate arose from Destiny tangling into a dead knot that produced impossibilities and snakes.

After the Infinite Snake’s defeat, Luvia explained what the Association knew about the creature and Shade wondered whether his own existence made him an impossibility. Galina apologized for sharing private details about her relationship with Shade, while Angelina arranged a private midnight visit and left the chapter eagerly awaiting time alone with him.

• Luvia explained that the Association had records of the Infinite Snake but no solution available to her, and she believed Serpent’s Sheddings helped people resist its power.
• Shade wondered whether his origin made him an impossibility, and “She” joked that he might gain the snake’s power; he then reflected that the Calamity of Fate had begun its central struggle.
• Leisha pressed Galina about what she had told other women at a tea party, and Galina admitted she had described her relationship with Shade before apologizing for sharing too much.
• Angelina overheard Shade and the women during the night, had nightmares, and went to him in the washroom the next morning to ask for a private midnight visit.
• Shade agreed to Angelina’s request and kissed her, leaving her cheerful and eager for Leisha to visit him again.

Luvia proposed changing the Serpent's Sheddings to influence their holders' destinies, while Shade prepared to search for the Demon with Emilia the next day. The Doctor gave Shade a Sure Hit Handgun and a tracking method, and Daniste questioned whether their group could defeat the Demon.

• Luvia told Shade she believed the Serpent's Sheddings could be altered to change destiny and planned to test Dorothy's pen-type Relics and seek special ink from the Fatu People's tribe.
• Luvia divined Clock, Ice, and Unexpected Reunion for Shade's planned operation, then went to work.
• Shade visited the Doctor, who lent him the Sure Hit Handgun and gave him a rune-marking paper roll that would let the Doctor track a Demon struck by a bullet.
• The Doctor said he would stay behind to carry out a plan that would be difficult if the Demon saw him.
• Shade told Daniste he planned to search for the Demon with Emilia, and Daniste warned that it would be hard to repeat their previous success.

Shade and Emilia learned how the Infinite Snake emerged from impossible events and prepared to search for it on Fatumonst Island, while Daniste offered hidden support. In Snow Mountain Hall, the Fatu elders gave Shade a newly discovered Fate Serpent Shedding found at a remote altar.

• Daniste explained that past Infinite Snake incidents began when impossible events were recognized, and warned that unnoticed Errors of Fate could spread and damage the world's order.
• Shade and Emilia reviewed the academy's records, including the egg-laying rooster incident, and Daniste advised them to contain any object left behind when a snake reverted.
• Emilia brought special potions for Unicorn Ellie before she and Shade traveled to Kael-Todd Town, where they met the recovering Mr. Sargent and Shade asked him to arrange a meeting with Mr. Mortis.
• Elder Vilda told Shade that The Church had asked about local snake worship and ancient Serpent's Shedding, then Elder Harald gave him a piece they had found at an altar near a village on Snow Mountain's eastern foothills.

Shade explained his goals and Emilia’s royal connection to the Fatu Elders, then arranged the group’s departure to search for the Demon. The Elders supplied the expedition and gave Emilia a powerful defensive relic before the search began.

• Shade told the Elders he sought a chance to change fate for others and revealed that Emilia was closely related to the future Elf King.
• Shade asked the Elders not to draw attention to Emilia and proposed inviting the Church to follow the expedition from a distance.
• Shade said that Miss Reinhart, Emilia, and possibly Miss Larson and other high-ring companions would search for the Demon without Fatu People joining them.
• The Elders supplied Snow Mountain Water, rune stones, talismans, and Harald’s ancient staff for the operation.
• The Elders gave Emilia Lana's Star Ring Guardian, and she accepted the bracelet after Shade encouraged her.

Shade investigated how to recreate the ink used on ancient Serpent's Sheddings and learned its ingredients from Mr. Sargent. He left with a list of materials and the advice to consult a Diviner about the unknown preparation method.

• Shade asked Professor Reinhart about the ancient ink, and he identified Snake Scale Stone from the Snow Mountain as its main pigment.
• Mr. Sargent gave Shade a piece of Snake Scale Stone and agreed to analyze an ancient Serpent's Shedding text.
• Mr. Sargent found eighteen ink components, including human blood, Snow Mountain Water, Tear Gland Fern extract, and genuine Philosopher's Stone fragments.
• Mr. Sargent could not determine how the ink was made and advised Shade to seek help from a Diviner.
• Shade declined Mr. Sargent's offer to introduce him to local Diviners because he wanted to avoid getting involved with them.

Shade prepared with the Church for an operation against the Demon and its Angel Level Relic, scheduled for the following afternoon. He returned home with Emilia, then told Grace and Helen he would keep them out of the island’s unfolding Fated Story until he understood the ritual’s play.

• The Church agreed to join Shade’s operation with twenty-seven official members and reserve teams, and Emilia accepted the plan to begin in the afternoon after her classes.
• Shade revealed his name to Claire Reinhart, who agreed he could call her Claire after the operation was over.
• Shade returned home with Emilia and the Serpent’s Shedding, then sent Emilia back to the Academy after she greeted Grace and Helen.
• Shade reunited with Helen and Grace, and Helen said Emilia was fortunate to be protected rather than forced to grow through hardship.
• Shade told the sisters he would keep them out of the Fated Story until he and Luvia understood the Chosen One Ritual, while promising to call on them if danger arose.

Shade and his companions prepared to confront a powerful Demon on Fatumonst Island, while Grace and Helen advised him not to let destiny change who he was. Before the group departed, Shade gave Stella Larson the Serpent's Shedding, which revealed her role as an important supporting character and left her questioning her place in the story.

• Grace and Helen told Shade that fate could bring both good and bad outcomes, and urged him to trust his companions' advice without changing himself for destiny.
• Shade found Galina, Vanessa, Sylvia, Megan, Luvia, Dorothy, and Tifa gathered at his home to help prepare for the Demon hunt; the group agreed to support him from Sylvia's High Tower while Vanessa accompanied him.
• Shade and the others traveled through Snow Mountain High Tower to meet Miss Reinhart's group on Victoria Avenue before departing for Fatumonst Island.
• Shade gave Stella Larson the new Serpent's Shedding, and she used it to reveal a story identifying her as an important supporting character.
• Stella questioned why her story made her seem like a background figure or guide despite her local knowledge and power.

Shade, Emilia, Miss Reinhart, Miss Larson, and Unicorn Ellie entered a hidden region of Fatumonst Snow Mountain in search of Ellie’s home. They found the Ice and Snow Castle, but the Witches Detection Badge stopped working near it, and frozen figures appeared in their path as they approached.

• Elder Harald, Elder Vilda, and Elder Solin saw the group off, and Elder Harald urged Shade to protect Ellie.
• Ellie led the group through a hidden passage in the Snow Mountain that she opened with her horn, bringing them to the mountain’s eastern foothills.
• Ellie guided everyone through the snowy mountains into a valley containing a vast ice canopy and the Ice and Snow Castle.
• Shade noticed that his Witches Detection Badge had lost its warmth, warned the group that their enemy might be nearby, and waited for reinforcements to catch up.
• The group advanced toward the castle, melting snow with summoned flames and discovering ice sculptures, including figures of people frozen inside.

Shade and his companions were frozen by the Ice and Snow Castle’s trial, and Shade awoke alone among the courtyard’s ice sculptures. The Ice Maid explained that his friends were imprisoned and invited him to face the castle’s trial, leaving Shade poised to enter.

• Shade and his companions were engulfed by a supernatural blizzard and frozen, while the First Fire Embers briefly revealed the castle’s power came from the Winter Maiden, a demigod-level Witch Emperor, and a powerful artifact.
• After about twenty minutes, Shade broke free of the ice and found himself in the castle courtyard among thousands of ice sculptures, with his companions nowhere in sight.
• An Ice Maid descended the castle steps, identified herself as its Head Maid and steward, and told Shade not to damage the courtyard decorations.
• The Ice Maid explained that powerful visitors faced a trial for the castle’s treasures, while those who failed became decorations; she also said a Demon was inside the castle seeking the master’s secret treasure.
• The Ice Maid revealed that Shade’s friends, Ellie, and the Church’s group had been confined in different places, and invited Shade to follow her and undertake the trial.

Shade freed Delia A. Sabelle from an ice sculpture and invited her to join him in the Ice and Snow Castle trial. They passed through the castle gate, where Shade warned Delia of the extreme cold beyond it.

• Shade used Hungry Kiss and flames to thaw a yellow-haired woman from an ice sculpture, discovering she was a powerful Ring Arcanist.
• The woman identified herself as Delia A. Sabelle but had lost her memories after being frozen in a blizzard.
• Shade explained the trial and offered to help restore Delia’s memories; she agreed to accompany him and asked to hold his hand.
• The Ice Maid led Shade and Delia to the castle gate and passed through its solid ice, after which Shade followed and warned Delia to prepare for the cold.

Shade and Miss Sabelle entered the frozen castle, where Shade used Soul’s Warmth to help her withstand the cold. After the maid led them to a dining room, Shade identified several emblems on the wall and explained what they revealed about the castle’s former owner.

• Miss Sabelle used thaumaturgy to adapt to the cold, but the castle’s freezing air left her struggling to breathe and stay alert.
• Shade held Miss Sabelle’s hand and supplied Soul’s Warmth, which she crystallized into a heat-giving crystal and enclosed in a silver ornament.
• Miss Sabelle wore the crystal beneath Shade’s scarf, and the pair examined the castle’s grand hall and its early Fifth Epoch defensive design.
• The maid escorted Shade and Miss Sabelle to a dining room, where they sat beside a wall covered in emblems.
• Miss Sabelle recognized the Winter Maiden’s holy emblem, and Shade explained the meanings of the Frozen Fortress, Zalas Society, and Friends of Unicorns emblems.

Shade and Miss Sabelle faced the first test in Chloe Marcus Marcus's castle, where drinking enchanted teas sent them into dreams. Shade entered Miss Sabelle's nightmare and urged her to wake, but learned that her fear came from doubting her own ability to meet her responsibilities.

• The Ice Maid explained that Shade and Miss Sabelle had to taste three teas to proceed, and Miss Sabelle and Shade chose the clear and ice-blue cups.
• Shade recognized the ice-blue drink, while Miss Sabelle fell asleep after drinking Nightmare Dew; the Ice Maid told Shade he could enter her dream by drinking the remaining tea and holding her hand.
• Shade drank the final cup and entered Miss Sabelle's dream, where he found her bound to a burning pyre and surrounded by accusing figures.
• Shade used Adele's Time Stop to freeze the figures, but his power could not extinguish the flames or free Miss Sabelle.
• Miss Sabelle told Shade that she feared being incompetent and failing to live up to the trust placed in her.

Shade freed Miss Sabelle from the dream by confronting the Black Robed Ladies’ doubts and embracing her, then she woke with him and chose to drink the final cup. After they evaluated the drinks, Miss Sabelle asked whether Shade’s Time Stop came from another Ring Arcanist or was his own creation.

• Shade answered the Black Robed Ladies’ objections to Miss Sabelle’s qualifications and embraced her, causing them to vanish and freeing her from the cross.
• Shade and Miss Sabelle awakened before the Ice Table, and she stopped him from drinking the final cup, which proved to be cold hot chocolate.
• Miss Sabelle drank the hot chocolate and evaluated the Nightmare Dew and the cold drink while Shade praised the Ice Crystal Butterfly tea’s refreshing mint flavor.
• The Ice Maid explained that the Ice Crystal Butterfly had been declared extinct in Fifth Epoch 3500 and that the castle’s ingredients had been specially preserved.
• Shade told Miss Sabelle he was a powerful time-based Ring Arcanist who had encountered remnants of past eras.
• Miss Sabelle, who also had a talent for time, asked whether Shade had learned his Time Stop from a famous Ring Arcanist or created it himself.

Shade and Miss Sabelle faced the second floor’s deadly cold and its test of elegant dancing. After rescuing Sabelle from freezing again, Shade refused the Ice Maid’s offer to dance with him instead and formally invited Sabelle to be his partner.

• Miss Sabelle froze upon entering the second floor after attempting to warm herself with magic, and Shade thawed her with his soul’s warmth.
• Shade promised to keep Sabelle with him despite the danger, and the pair continued through the second floor’s banquet hall and corridors.
• Maid explained that they had to dance elegantly for ten minutes to earn passage to the third floor.
• Maid offered to dance with Shade if he abandoned Sabelle, but Shade refused.
• Shade formally invited Miss Delia A. Sabelle to dance, and she accepted.

Shade and the amnesiac Miss Sabelle danced through the ice-filled banquet hall while sharing warmth and fending off attacks from Ice Sculptures. As the ten-minute trial neared its end, they kept weaving through the hall, and Miss Sabelle offered to teach Shade about the Power of Time.

• Shade and Miss Sabelle began dancing among the Ice Sculptures, and she recovered fragments of memories about her noble upbringing and dance lessons.
• Miss Sabelle rested her head on Shade's shoulder, then spotted an Ice Sculpture scattering glittering ice dust at them.
• Shade used Chloe's Time-Space Freeze to stop the ice dust, and Miss Sabelle praised his distinctive use of the Power of Time.
• Four pairs of Ice Sculptures attacked with ice blades, so Miss Sabelle deflected them while Shade lifted her clear of the blades and moved them elsewhere with Space Movement.
• After the ice numbed Miss Sabelle's legs, Shade continued leading her through the hall as she praised his temporal control and offered to teach him.
• Shade used Space Movement to weave among the closing Ice Sculptures as the dance entered its sixth minute.

Shade and Miss Sabelle passed the second-floor trial by surviving the Ice Sculptures’ final attack, and Maid led them to a room to rest before the third floor. As Shade recovered, he remembered something and had Miss Sabelle retrieve a pocket watch from his coat.

• The Ice Sculptures attacked Shade and Miss Sabelle with weapons and magic while they danced, then launched a powerful sphere of ice at them.
• Shade used the Return to Original Nature Principle to redirect the ice attack, and Maid ended the trial before his counterattack struck.
• Maid declared that Shade and Miss Sabelle had passed the second-floor trial and allowed them to rest for twenty minutes before proceeding to the third floor.
• Shade searched for a potion to restore his Spirit, but the potions froze; he instead chewed tea leaves while Miss Sabelle offered to help him recover.
• Shade suddenly remembered something and asked Miss Sabelle to search his coat, where she found a pocket watch.

Shade and Miss Sabelle shared a warm meal in the frozen castle while discussing the Demon of Weapons and the mysterious gifts Shade carried. They reached the third floor, where the maid announced a search for three hidden badges as the final trial.

• Shade used a gemstone to summon heated stoves and food, and the maid served him and Miss Sabelle.
• Miss Sabelle explained that a matching Spirit Rune and a powerful Spiritual Weapon might briefly resist the Demon of Weapons’ control.
• Shade discovered that the gemstone Miss Reinhart had given him was heating up as they climbed toward the third floor.
• The maid said the castle had five main floors, that the Demon occupied a corridor on the Fourth Floor, and that she had blocked its perception of Shade.
• On the third floor, the maid started the final trial: Shade and Miss Sabelle had to find three hidden badges before an ice hourglass ran out.