Recaps

Shade explored Candlekeep Library, obtained a membership, and discovered that powerful anti-detection rituals limited his abilities inside. While searching for the Summer Night Collection, he heard a young woman coughing and offered to call a doctor; she declined, and Shade continued searching nearby.

• Shade registered at Candlekeep Library as John Watson and received a bronze membership badge.
• Shade toured the library, found Mr. Laibury's rare-plants book, and saw that its detection abilities were restricted by powerful anti-detection rituals.
• Shade searched the literature section for the Summer Night Collection, hoping to use it to surprise Leisha and Dorothy.
• Shade heard a young woman coughing badly and offered to call a doctor, but she said it was an old problem and declined help.
• Shade resumed his search near the woman and wondered whether the Summer Night Collection was shelved close to her.

Shade encountered a frail witch in Arcadia City's library, and their misunderstanding led to a dangerous chase and a random teleport. He recognized her as the ailing Great Witch of Chaos and ended up supporting her on a hill in the Outer City District.

• Shade found that someone had taken the library's only copy of Summer Night Collection and chose to leave without confronting her.
• The witch attacked Shade, but his touch stabilized her Chaos power, and he realized she was a witch whose illness and restraints were severely weakening her.
• The witch fled through the library using Chaos magic, while Shade pursued her and learned her constitution caused Four Elements Imbalance through touch.
• At a second-floor window, the witch used Random Teleportation, and Shade's Great Sin Chains bound them together as they vanished.
• Shade found himself in the Outer City District with the half-conscious witch and recognized her as the Great Witch of Chaos he had previously helped with Star Dew.

Shade treated the injured witch with Star Dews and protected her with thaumaturgies, then defeated two Arcanists who came after her. He discovered that her elemental imbalance was severe and began feeding her his blood to temporarily ease it.

• Shade summoned a camp, stabilized the witch with a Mystic Lock and False Immortality, and gave her Star Dews to restore her Life Force.
• Two female Ring Arcanists approached, and Shade incapacitated them with Crimson Moon moonlight and chains before binding them on the hill.
• Shade examined the witch and found that her chaotic Four Elements and an unknown force had badly damaged her body and soul.
• After learning that his blood could temporarily relieve her illness, Shade cut his palm and dripped blood onto her lips, which she unconsciously swallowed.

Shade revived the witch Wei Ge Valeria Astley with his blood, and she awakened, confessed her attraction to him, and apologized for attacking him. She identified the two captured men as members of the Emerald Alchemy Association and invited Shade to her home to explain their conflict and her history.

• Shade used his blood to restore the unconscious witch, but she awakened and bit his hand for more.
• Wei Ge Valeria Astley recognized that Shade’s appearance was an illusion, sensed his unusual gender, and asked to pursue him.
• Wei Ge introduced herself, apologized for attacking and biting Shade, and learned that he was using the false name John Watson.
• Wei Ge identified the two bound attackers as members of the Emerald Alchemy Association and said they had come to cause trouble over a complicated history and a powerful relic.
• Wei Ge invited Shade to her home to discuss his connection to the Council, explain her story, and compensate him.

Shade traveled with Wei Ge Astley to Fragrant Residence after rescuing her, learning about the wartime refugees and her plans to keep his abilities secret. The chapter ended as she explained her family’s rise through the spice trade and the origins of her home’s name.

• Shade followed Wei Ge Astley from the hill with two prisoners, hoping to learn more and recover the original manuscript of Wuthering Heights.
• Wei Ge Astley explained that refugees fleeing the war had gathered along the Outer City District, where jobs and shelter were scarce.
• Two carriages arrived, and Wei Ge Astley’s Witch Followers loaded the prisoners into one before taking Shade toward the city.
• In the carriage, Wei Ge Astley said she would keep Shade’s healing ability secret and asked what he wanted in exchange for continuing to treat her.
• Wei Ge Astley explained that wartime sentries checked carriages at district gates and that their destination was Fragrant Residence in the Upper City District.
• Wei Ge Astley told Shade that Fragrant Residence was her inherited home, named for the spice warehouses tied to her family’s trade.

Shade accompanied Wei Ge Astley to Fragrant Residence in Arcadia City, where they discussed her health, her plans for an apprentice, and the cause of her illness. She revealed that her mother had encountered an Unknown Level Relic called the Emerald Record while pregnant with her.

• Miss Astley brought Shade to Fragrant Residence and arranged for two prisoners to be taken to its underground cells.
• At lunch, Shade offered to treat Miss Astley again, but she declined and explained that his earlier treatment had briefly restored her health.
• Miss Astley told Shade that Eve was her follower and that she hoped to recommend her as an apprentice to the Great Witch of Knowledge and Wisdom.
• Miss Astley explained that she was recording her knowledge for a potential Chaos apprentice in case she died from her illness.
• Miss Astley revealed that her mother, a Ring Arcanist from the Emerald Alchemy Association, had encountered the Unknown Level Relic called the Emerald Record while pregnant with her.

Shade learned how Wei Ge Astley’s mother had been tied to the Emerald Alchemy Association and how the search for the Emerald Record had shaped Wei Ge’s life and illness. After agreeing to let Wei Ge deal with the captured Alchemists, Shade met her apprentice Eve MacDonald.

• Wei Ge told Shade that her mother had belonged to the Emerald Alchemy Association, had apparently found the Emerald Record or a vital clue, and died after being gravely injured while pregnant with her.
• Wei Ge explained that the relic’s influence had affected her body and soul since before her birth, and that the Association had been searching for her and her mother’s clues for years.
• Wei Ge said her magic had failed and she had fainted after Shade appeared, allowing the Alchemists to track her; Shade agreed that she could interrogate and later release the two men he had knocked unconscious.
• Wei Ge offered Shade a room in her house, but he declined and urged her to take his blood to help her weakness; she refused, expecting to recover as the world’s elemental balance stabilized.
• Eve MacDonald returned carrying books, and Wei Ge introduced her as her apprentice while asking her to keep Shade’s visit and identity confidential.

Shade discussed how to obtain three manuscripts with Wei Ge Astley, who offered to use her family’s influence and connections to help him. After agreeing to meet her again, Shade left with a path toward completing his search for the books and reaching the local Space Labyrinth.

• Miss Eve MacDonald corrected the Great Witch of Chaos for using a masculine pronoun, and Shade confirmed that he was male and could resist the Witch Curse.
• Wei Ge asked Shade to keep her existence from the other witches, and Shade agreed to say that he had healed her and she wanted to help him.
• Shade asked Wei Ge to accept his blood before he explained his need for three books from the Blue Ink Library quest.
• Wei Ge offered him the original manuscript of Wuthering Heights and proposed using her family’s influence to obtain the Blue Ink Library and its books, but Shade chose to obtain them himself.
• Wei Ge arranged for Shade to collect Wuthering Heights the next day and meet Baron Ramsay at a Friday banquet, and she promised to find a way to obtain the rare-plant book from Candlekeep Library.
• Wei Ge asked Shade to call her Wei Ge, and he agreed on the condition that she accept his blood.

Shade brewed Blood Brew from his blood, and Wei Ge Astley found that it eased her illness enough to support normal activity. She commissioned him to investigate powerful outsiders connected to the Emerald Alchemy Association, and he planned to visit her injured follower the next morning before exploring Arcadia City's black market.

• Shade used Blood Brew to fill several crystal bottles, and Wei Ge tasted it in tea and felt her health improve.
• Shade told Wei Ge he was searching for someone in Arcadia City but did not yet need her help with that search.
• Wei Ge commissioned Shade to investigate powerful outsiders who had contacted the Emerald Alchemy Association and agreed to introduce him to her injured follower the next morning.
• Shade accepted the commission and asked Wei Ge to direct him to the local black market.
• Wei Ge marked the black market's location in an Arcadia Exploration Guide and warned Shade to avoid the Outer City District's edge near Grey Rock Pass.

Shade visited Wei Ge Astley, who became fascinated by his unusual nature and planned to pursue him despite Eve MacDonald’s concerns. He then entered Candlekeep Library’s black market, bought a dangerous relic, and asked the merchant about recent events in the city.

• Shade declined Wei Ge Astley’s offer of a carriage and left Fragrant Residence after agreeing to visit her again the next morning.
• Eve MacDonald told Wei Ge Astley that she had investigated Shade, and Wei Ge explained that she sensed both order and chaos within him and intended to pursue him.
• Shade walked to Candlekeep Library, entered its underground black market, and bought the [Flesh Compensation] relic from the Black Market Merchant.
• Shade bought local materials and paid the Black Market Merchant three crowns to ask whether anything new had happened in the city.

Shade investigated Arcadia City’s unusual situation and learned that three Thirteenth Ring Warlocks had gathered at the Creation Church headquarters, while the city’s birth rate had risen abnormally. After returning home, he told Winnie about the Emerald Record, and she explained its potentially extraordinary power to create life.

• Shade questioned a Black Market Merchant, who reported three Thirteenth Ring Warlocks at the Creation Church headquarters and offered several possible reasons for their unusual redeployment.
• The merchant told Shade that Arcadia City’s birth rate had been unusually high for three years and that rumors of local Mother of Venom cultists remained unconfirmed.
• Shade returned home and learned that Luvia, Dorothy, and Miss Galina would not visit that evening, while Margaret needed more time to investigate the Gray Gloves.
• Shade told Winnie about meeting Wei Ge and the Great Witch of Chaos, his investigation, and the Emerald Record.
• Winnie explained that the Emerald Record held thirteen ultimate secrets of alchemy and might be able to create life from nothing if it unleashed its full power.

Shade learned that only divine power was likely to cure Wei Ge Astley’s congenital condition, then entered a new Time Corridor mission in the Fifth Epoch. The mission tasked him with helping the One-armed Prince complete a birth at the Foul Blood Factory, and Shade recognized the god as the Lord of Flesh Aberration.

• Shade asked Winnie how an Unknown Level Relic could cause congenital problems and concluded that he would seek Long-Haired Luvia’s help to save Wei Ge Astley.
• Winnie joined Shade in the bath, and they kissed while the cat waited outside for its late-night snack.
• Shade brought Winnie’s food to Luvia at the Seer Association, where Luvia told him she would be working late and sleeping there.
• Shade returned home, entered the Time Corridor with his Time Key, and learned that his mission was set in autumn of Year 3030 in the Fifth Epoch.
• The Father of Infinite Tree assigned Shade to assist the One-armed Prince with the birth of new life at the Foul Blood Factory, and Shade recognized the god as the Lord of Flesh Aberration.

Shade entered the Foul Blood Factory, escaped a blood-soaked operating room where a tumor-like entity was forming, and found three Witches sheltering in an adjoining room. He recognized none of them, but the oldest Witch was identified as Melody Gustav.

• Shade reviewed the mission involving the One-armed Prince and confirmed that he had no known connection to the ancient evil god.
• Shade entered the Foul Blood Factory and found himself bound to an operating table among rows of corpses being drained of blood and crushed bones.
• A blood-colored tumor began forming a face on the ceiling, and Shade sensed that his flesh was slipping from his control.
• Shade broke free, ran through a red metal door, and shut out the factory's strange sounds behind him.
• Shade found three Witches sheltering in a small room and identified the pink-haired Witch as a likely Ruby Dragon and the black-haired Witch as a halfling.
• The golden-haired human Witch was revealed to be named Melody Gustav.

Shade encountered three witches trapped in the Foul Blood Factory and persuaded them that he was human by answering their questions and using Dark Moon Grace to restore their strength. They introduced themselves and explained how strange letters had brought each of them to the factory.

• Melody Gustav, Gina Rosa, and Linor Bladewei threatened Shade and questioned him because the factory created humanlike monsters.
• Shade answered their tests, recognized that they were trying to detect whether he had been born in the factory, and explained his reasoning.
• Shade used Dark Moon Grace to restore the witches’ strength and offered the Silver Light as proof of his identity.
• Melody Gustav explained that a blank registration parchment had invited her to help a new life be born before she appeared in the factory.
• Gina Rosa and Linor Bladewei said that strange letters bearing the same invitation had led them to the factory.

Shade met three Witches in the Foul Blood Factory, learned how its shifting rooms and Blood Mist worked, and used his flesh-reshaping thaumaturgy to heal their scars. The Witches explained that completing four Life Furnace rooms might reveal a way out; they had finished one and were seeking the others.

• Shade entered the Witches’ sanctuary and introduced himself as Shade Hamilton, a detective and travel writer.
• Old Witch Melody Gustav, Miss Bladewei, and Miss Gina Rosa explained that the Foul Blood Factory produced Flesh Creations and contained shifting rooms filled with harmful Blood Mist.
• The Witches described how exposure to the Blood Mist caused flesh buds and showed Shade scars left by removing them.
• Shade used Thaumaturgy—Active Mud to replace the scarred flesh on Miss Gina Rosa’s hand, then offered to treat the other Witches’ injuries.
• The Witches said the sound of a crying child guided them to Life Furnace rooms, where they had to add requested flesh material to reach safe resting rooms.
• The Witches had completed one Life Furnace and believed that completing three more might lead to the factory’s end.

Shade treated the Halfling Witch and agreed to travel with the three Witches through the Foul Blood Factory, where they planned to find a way to restrain whatever the Life Furnaces might create. After Gina hypnotized him, Shade dreamed of the Dragon Maids at afternoon tea, but a shrill cry suddenly shattered the scene.

• The three Witches told Shade that the Factory was connected to a god forging an evil Flesh entity and that they planned to add something to a Life Furnace to restrain its creation.
• Shade learned that earlier groups had entered the Factory, then agreed to accompany the Witches and warned them he could stay for only eighty minutes.
• Shade asked Gina to hypnotize him so he could listen for the mysterious crying, and he fell asleep to her lullaby.
• Shade dreamed of Fiona, Miss Wilde, Illustrious Miss, Gina, and an unfamiliar Black Dragon gathered for afternoon tea.
• A shrill cry shattered Shade's dream.

Shade and the three Witches prepared to leave their temporary sanctuary and continue searching the Factory for Life Furnaces. After Gina Rosa confirmed Shade’s identity as Teacher Feilianna’s student, the group set out with instructions for navigating the dangerous rooms.

• Shade gave the Witches Star Dew crystals to restore their spirits, and they packed their supplies, including an iron bucket that could store flesh organs from the Factory.
• Gina Rosa told Shade that Emilia Sinode had recognized his connection to Mana Falianna, and they introduced themselves as Teacher Feilianna’s student and an official Dragon Maid, respectively.
• Gina said she could not contact Feilianna or Blaine Olanode because the Factory disrupted her communication methods.
• Madam Gustav told Shade to stay close to the group and explained how they would explore rooms and follow the crying toward the Life Furnace.
• Madam Gustav drew a platinum-colored Spiritual Weapon staff as the four prepared to leave.

Shade and his companions entered a Blood Supply Room, collected glowing blood, and learned that it could revive the dead at the cost of their original race. While searching the room, Shade gained a new idea for caring for the Moon Egg and detected a faint trace of Firstborn Flesh in the blood.

• Old Madam Gustav led Shade, Gina, and Miss Bladewei through a door into the Blood Supply Room and warned them about the room's dangers and the rules governing doors.
• Old Madam Gustav and Miss Linolbredy collected glowing blood from the middle Blood Pump while Shade and Gina searched the room.
• Gina told Shade that Feliana, Olanord, and Fiona were away on a confidential mission, then suggested burying the Moon Egg and caring for it like a seed.
• Shade killed a Human-faced Blood-red Spider, and Gina destroyed its remains with her bubbles.
• After the group secured the glowing blood, Shade explained Firstborn Flesh and identified a faint trace of its power in the liquid.

Shade and the Witches entered a sewing room in the factory, where a chained skeleton tailor demanded to see beautiful clothing designs before it would let them pass. Shade used his Mystic Lock to transform Gina’s outfit, and the tailor accepted his inventive designs as the group continued its attempt to reach the source of the crying.

• Shade sensed that the factory contained something connected to an ancient Creator God, and the group entered the next room.
• The group met a chained ruby-colored skeleton that demanded they present a pleasing clothing design before it would let them leave.
• Old Madam Gustav, Miss Bladewei, and Gina admitted they could not make clothes, so Shade offered to demonstrate his clothing-changing Thaumaturgy.
• Shade used his Mystic Lock, Cinderella, to transform Gina into an evening gown and then a cat-themed maid outfit, but the tailor asked to see something more original.
• Shade transformed Gina into an elegant ruqun, impressing the Witches and making him remember his homeland.

Shade and the Witches learned more about the Flesh Aberration workshop and crossed into the Blood Prison Warehouse, where they were attacked by creatures from the cages. The group fought back, but the battle remained unresolved as Gina pinned a relic-bearing monster in place.

• A bloody skeleton told Shade the group could escape the workshop and that remembering their original forms could help reverse bodily changes, then gave cloaks to the three Witches to suppress Flesh Aberration.
• The four entered the Blood Prison Warehouse, where Linor Bladewei described fighting three apparent copies of herself after escaping her cage.
• Madam Gustav led the group between the cages while Shade and the Witches prepared for attacks.
• Blood-red Vines attacked from ahead as a pink Flesh creature emerged from Cage No. 8 and froze Gina with its pocket watch.
• Gina used Explosion Bubbles and a Bubble Mirror Wall against the creature, while Linor identified its Magic Eye as the Relic Face of the Ghost Eye.
• Gina pinned the creature in place with Space Bubbles as it tried to retreat into its cage.

Shade and the three Witches fought through flesh monsters and a Blood Collection Workshop, then crossed into a room divided by a wide Blood River. Shade’s hand recovered from the Mutated Flesh curse, and the group stood before the challenge of reaching the door across the river.

• Madam Gustav disintegrated the flesh vines while Shade and the Witches defeated the remaining monsters and recovered a Magic Eye and a red-glowing intestine.
• Miss Linolbredy assembled a scrap-metal shield and safely embedded the Magic Eye in its center.
• Shade and the Witches fought through a Blood Collection Workshop filled with Dried Corpses and reached a handleless door with an octagonal recess.
• Shade opened the door with Door Key and suffered the Mutated Flesh curse, but the First Fire Embers restored his right hand.
• The group entered a room with a scorching Blood River nearly a hundred meters wide, with the next door on the opposite side.

Shade and the Witches crossed the Blood River’s gravity-defying chamber with Gina’s help. After Shade rescued the exhausted Dragon Maid, they regrouped on the far shore and prepared to continue toward the Life Furnace.

• Madam Gustav tested the room’s restrictions and confirmed that objects fell into the Blood River while Gina warned that changing bodily forms could be dangerous.
• Shade transformed into a small snake, and Miss Bladewei made two anti-gravity devices as Gina prepared to carry him across the ceiling.
• Gina slowly crossed above the Blood River with Shade and the chains, but she ran out of strength after throwing him to the opposite platform.
• Shade used Blood Moon Return and the Great Sin Chains to pull Gina away from the Blood River, then gave her Star Dew.
• The Witches crossed the river using Shade’s chains, and the group continued toward the Life Furnace while Gina remained unconscious.

Shade and the Witches reached the Life Furnace, where they learned what organs and fuel were needed to activate it. While resting, Shade asked Madam Gustav about treating Wei Ge Astley’s illness, and she shared possible ways to alleviate it.

• Madam Gustav led the group into the Life Furnace room, where they found a living-seeming dodecahedral furnace connected to a Blood Pool.
• Gina woke up feeling better, and the group explained that activating the Furnace required twelve specific Flesh Organs and [Blood Essence of All Things].
• Miss Bladewei said powerful Flesh monsters in the factory could provide the required fuel, then urged everyone to rest inside Gina’s protective bubble.
• Shade asked Madam Gustav about the [Emerald Record] and Wei Ge Astley’s congenital illness; she said [Blood Essence of All Things] could not cure it but that Fourth Epoch research offered ways to alleviate its symptoms.
• Madam Gustav began writing down the alleviation methods, while Shade brought out supplies and Miss Bladewei happily accepted his normal white bread.

Shade discussed how the Witches could alter the Life Furnaces to weaken the life they were creating, and learned more about their abilities while they recovered. When the group opened the door to explore another room, a blood tentacle burst from Old Madam Gustav’s eye and attacked them.

• Old Madam Gustav and Gina explained how they planned to modify the Life Furnaces with hidden spells and bubbles, while Shade considered bringing materials such as [Active Metal] and [Blood Essence of All Things].
• Miss Linolbredy described the Mechanical Creation knowledge inherited from her grandfather, and Gina explained how she developed her bubble abilities.
• Gina taught Shade the basics of Carrier Bubble, and Old Madam Gustav wrote down the Bubble Spell for him.
• With ten minutes left in the adventure, Shade joined the three Witches to open the room’s door and explore another part of the Factory.
• Old Madam Gustav shut the door after seeing what was inside, then collapsed as a blood-colored tentacle protruded from her eye; Shade cut it off, and the Witches destroyed it.

Shade treated Old Madam Gustav after a tentacle injured her eye, then opened a door into what appeared to be a laboratory. The disguised room turned out to be a living Flesh monster, and Shade fought it as the chapter ended with him transformed into a Moonlight Dragon.

• Shade removed the tentacle from Old Madam Gustav’s eye socket and used soil to reshape her eyeball and optic nerves.
• Miss Bladewei described sensing something beneath the Blood River, and Shade reassured the witches before preparing to open the door again.
• Shade and Gina found what seemed to be a laboratory, but its walls and equipment revealed themselves as a living Flesh monster and sealed the entrance.
• Shade attacked the monster with moonlight, fire, ice, and Corrupt Blood Mist while Gina and Old Madam Gustav helped blast open the door.
• The monster formed a wall of flesh and launched spikes at Shade, who used Chloe’s Time Freeze and Moonlight Slash before transforming into a Moonlight Dragon and bursting through the flesh.