Recaps

Shade and Tifa reached the heart of the Darkness Domain, where Daknis was absorbing the power of an ancient demon to complete the Dark Chosen One’s ritual. As Daknis unleashed another wave of crystallization, Mr. Pilot prepared to fight him while Shade and the others struggled to resist.

• Shade poured Holy Water No. 3 over Tifa and used his light to halt her crystallization before they crossed the Crystalline Forest into the Darkness Domain’s core.
• Shade and Tifa found Miss Galina and identified the survivors gathered beneath the black pillar, while Daknis absorbed darkness through the Demon's Mouth and wielded the Darkness Sword.
• Miss Galina explained that Daknis’s ritual involved devouring darkness and drawing power from the past, and Daknis revealed that the pillar was the corpse of an ancient demon.
• Daknis plunged his hand into the ground and unleashed a new wave of crystallization, sealing the Nature Church sorceress, the Blood Spirit School arcanist, Professor Gelis, and the Bloodkin.
• Mr. Pilot freed himself from the Bloodkin, ordered Iluna not to interfere, and confronted Daknis as Shade and Tifa remained trapped with their feet crystallized.

Ivan Daknis began his ritual to become a Chosen One while Miss Galina and Mr. Pilot tried to stop him, but he survived their attacks and fought Iluna. Shade joined Iluna and used the Weak Angel Potion against Daknis, leaving the two of them ready to continue the battle together.

• Miss Galina halted the darkness and Mr. Pilot struck Daknis with Steam City’s power, but Daknis used a demon and a relic to redirect the attack and send Mr. Pilot away.
• Daknis began his ritual, and Iluna fought him with the Sunlight Greatsword, but his demon arm blocked her strike and sent her flying.
• Daknis declared that he was not alone and attacked Iluna, but she answered that she was not alone either.
• Shade revealed himself and clashed swords with Daknis, who recognized him from Coldwater Port and Yodel Palace.
• Shade sprayed the Weak Angel Potion into the Demon's Mouth, then helped Iluna recover with Dorothy’s leaf.

Shade, Iluna, and Tifa faced Daknis as he began a Chosen One ritual, while the Darkness Box went out of control and engulfed them in Black Mist. Shade resisted Daknis’s attempt to devour him by draining power through the Great Sin Chains, but Priest Augustus’s blessing was exhausted as it purified the darkness he absorbed.

• Iluna and Shade attacked Daknis with the Sunlight Gun and Moonbeam Greatsword, but he feigned weakness and knocked them away.
• Daknis invoked the Ancient God Crawling Darkness and began a Chosen One ritual, while Tifa’s strike failed to reach him through its protection.
• Tifa and the Darkness Box were swallowed by Black Mist as the relic containment went out of control, engulfing Shade, Iluna, and Tifa.
• Daknis bit Shade’s shoulder and began draining his spirit while his demonic hand pulled Black Mist into the wound.
• Shade regained control, bound Daknis’s arm with the Great Sin Chains, and began absorbing power from him and the Black Mist.
• Priest Augustus’s blessing purified the negative emotions in the absorbed darkness and turned it into spirit, but the blessing was completely exhausted.

Shade and his allies failed to stop Daknis from completing the Chosen One Ritual, but Iluna’s gaze restrained his newly awakened power and the loss of his Fish Training Ring left him weakened. As Daknis began spreading Pus of Man through the Darkness Domain, Shade prepared to reveal what was inside God's Gift Box and hinted at a power beyond a Mystic Lock.

• Shade severed Daknis's demon-hosting right hand with the Chaotic Time Blade, but Daknis reattached it and chose to merge with the demon again.
• Daknis completed the Chosen One Ritual and became the second Chosen One, while Iluna's gaze briefly restrained him.
• Iluna used the Golden Scales to protect Shade, Tifa, and herself as Daknis spread Pus of Man and began merging with the black pillar.
• Iluna explained that Daknis's power was temporarily limited and that they needed to stop Pus of Man from helping him devour the ancient demon corpse.
• Shade opened God's Gift Box and found Mia inside with Daknis's Fish Training Ring, which prevented Daknis from transforming into his half-demon form.

Shade and his companions faced Ivan Daknis after he fused with the Human Pus Demon, transforming into thousands of demons. With darkness closing in, Shade threw Dice of Destiny while suspecting that Mia had once restored him from a doll.

• Shade reclaimed the Fish Training Ring from Mia and learned that the Demon was trying to take over Daknis's body.
• The Demon offered to help Daknis absorb the Darkness Domain in exchange for control of his body, but Shade chose to stay rather than flee and abandon Miss Galina.
• Daknis accepted the Demon as another self, and their fusion unleashed thousands of demons through the Darkness Domain.
• Shade protected Iluna and Tifa as the demons closed in, then threw Dice of Destiny while noticing Mia's strange golden glimmer.

Shade opened the Academy’s Snuff Bottle during Daknis’s attack and encountered his teacher, Miss Falianna, across time. Her guidance helped him inherit the Witch Light of the Fifth Epoch and gain a new Thaumaturgy, leaving him ready to confront the Demon horde.

• Shade received Saint Byrens Comprehensive College’s Dream and opened the Snuff Bottle as Daknis and the Demons closed in.
• Scarlet-gold mist stopped time, and Miss Falianna asked Shade to recall her final lesson in Thousand Tree Forest.
• Shade answered correctly, and Miss Falianna appeared in the present, bathing the group and the Darkness Domain in golden light.
• Miss Falianna joined Shade in a lesson that connected their fingertips and let him touch the light she had left across history.
• Shade gained the Witch Light Spirit Rune and Feliana’s Witch Light Thaumaturgy, then called its power against the Demons.

Shade and his allies destroyed the Darkness Domain and cornered Daknis, but Daknis killed himself to trigger the Demon’s plan and bring Pus of Man back. With Feliana’s help, Shade ascended to Third Ring and prepared to face the returning threat.

• Shade used Feliana’s power to spread Witch Light across the Darkness Domain, melting its crystals and freeing the trapped Ring Arcanists.
• Shade trapped the wounded Daknis with Luvia’s demon-sealing ritual, but Daknis declared he had not lost.
• Daknis bit off his own head, allowing Pus of Man to consume his body and restore the darkness as the Demon’s plan unfolded.
• Feliana told Shade that a small amount of divine power could stop the recovering threat and urged him to ascend.
• Feliana resonated Shade’s four Second Ring Spirit Runes and guided him through Sublimation, advancing him to Third Ring with Vibration infused by divinity.
• Shade landed with renewed strength as moonlight broke through the weakened Darkness Domain.

Shade used the Mystic Lock—Tree's Kiss to suppress Pus of Man and Daknis, then Iluna and Shade struck down Daknis as the Demon tried to escape. Miss Feliana gave Shade and his companions parting gifts before transforming into the Fifth Epoch Witch Mana Falianna beneath the Sixth Epoch's sky.

• Shade fused his Tree's Kiss and Little Match Girl Mystic Locks, then dragged Pus of Man and Daknis into the scarlet-gold campfire to suppress them.
• As the Darkness Domain receded, Daknis tried to escape, but Shade and Iluna struck him with Sunlight Guns and killed him while the Demon escaped its body.
• Miss Feliana gave Shade the Witch Echo Feliana, returned his Metamorphosis Ring, and bestowed gifts on Tifa and Iluna.
• Miss Feliana vanished into white mist and transformed into the Fifth Epoch Witch Mana Falianna, while Shade's Pendant burned against his skin.

After Ivan Daknis’s death, Miss Feliana appeared in the Darkness Domain, destroyed the escaping Pus of Man, and gave Tifa a powerful gift before departing. Shade, Tifa, and Miss Galina escaped to the manor, where Shade recounted the battle and Miss Galina struggled to believe that Mana Falianna had appeared.

• Miss Feliana manifested in the sky, erased the fleeing black pus with Feliana's Witch Light, and healed Shade and Tifa before leaving; Tifa received the power to advance in the Witch ranks.
• Shade told Miss Galina that Daknis was dead and that the Church forces were approaching, and the three of them fled with the Cat and the relics.
• Miss Feliana warned through the Metamorphosis Ring that a wisp of the Demon's main-body pus had escaped, while Shade said he had collected some pus to track it.
• Shade, Tifa, and Miss Galina watched a meteor shower that Miss Galina explained was the world seeing off the dead second Chosen One.
• Shade and the Cat stayed at Miss Galina's manor, where he told her how he had entered the Darkness Domain to help Iluna Bayes and how Miss Feliana had appeared.
• Miss Galina examined the now-spent dream snuff bottle and warned Shade that relics could have unknown properties and that the Fish Training Ring would lose control if placed on a corpse.

Shade explained his time travel and Toy Making thaumaturgy to Miss Galina, who offered him Time Keys and examined Mia. After Shade revealed that he had reached the Third Ring and learned Feliana's Witch Light, Miss Galina warned that the thaumaturgy was normally learnable only by women.

• Shade told Miss Galina that he could bring trusted living creatures into the past by turning them into toys, and she tested the thaumaturgy on herself and Mia.
• Miss Galina offered to buy Shade Time Keys that could take him to Miss Feliana, and she concluded that Mia’s strange abilities might come from an activated magical-creature bloodline.
• Shade and Miss Galina agreed that Tifa would accompany him when they pursued Pus of Man the next day, while Miss Galina cautioned him to keep his role in the recent events secret.
• Shade showed Miss Galina his Third Ring and explained that he had learned Feliana's Witch Light from The Mad Light Chaser and Miss Feliana’s light.
• Miss Galina identified Feliana's Witch Light as a high-ring area attack and said that, in the Sixth Epoch, only women could learn it, with Witches having the best chance.

Shade showed Miss Galina that he could enter the ancient corridor associated with Witches, though he could not enter the Witch Council through her necklace. After testing him and confirming his sincerity, Galina sent him to rest and warned that the Chosen Ones’ power would intensify the struggle over the remaining eleven.

• Shade explained that Miss Mana Falianna had passed down a Witch-related power to him, then sang a Fifth Epoch ballad to lead Miss Galina through the ancient corridor to the White Mist Gate.
• Shade tried to enter the Witch Council using Miss Galina’s Golden Necklace, but the White Fog did not let him in; Galina explained that only Witches with seats could use the council’s jewelry.
• Miss Galina had Tifa restrain Shade and kissed him to test his reaction, then accepted his own kiss as proof that he was not merely pretending to be sincere.
• Miss Galina teased Shade about Tifa’s affection, then told him that Luvia was recovering in a guest room and warned him against taking a low-level Ring Arcanist into the Darkness Domain.
• Shade asked Galina to inform the Dawn Church that he was safe, and Galina said she needed to report the events and prepare for the coming struggle over the remaining eleven Chosen Ones.

Shade reunited with Luvia at Galina’s manor after sharing a private moment with Tifa, then recounted the events in the Darkness Domain and showed Luvia the unusual Origin card. He ended by examining the Youthful Immortality Leaf containing the true information called Dark Dungeon.

• Tifa led Shade to a secluded corridor, explained that her offer was her own choice, and shared an intimate moment with him before knocking over the candlestick.
• Shade visited Luvia, who noticed Tifa’s perfume on him, and the two went for a walk in the courtyard.
• Shade recounted how Pus of Man imprisoned the High-Ring Arcanists, how he and Iluna were thrown by the Weak Angel Potion’s effects, and how he devoured darkness inside the runaway Darkness Box.
• Shade told Luvia that Mia had stolen the Fish Training Ring and showed her the unusual Origin card he had obtained after killing Daknis.
• Shade revealed the Youthful Immortality Leaf containing the true information Dark Dungeon and studied it beneath the night sky.

Shade explained how he had obtained the door to the Dark Dungeon and reassured Luvia after she blamed herself for not doing more. They agreed to rest before pursuing the third Chosen One, and Luvia kissed Shade as he told her she had helped him find his path.

• Shade told Luvia that his card had absorbed the door to the Dark Dungeon and planned to place it in his basement.
• Luvia said she felt useless despite their victory, but admitted she was relieved by Ivan Daknis's death.
• Shade urged Luvia to rest and postpone her divination for the third Chosen One until after they found the Pus of Man.
• Shade reassured Luvia that he would stay with her through the Thirteen Chosen Ones and said she had helped him set foot on his path.
• Luvia rose onto her tiptoes and kissed the corner of Shade's lips.

Shade and Luvia confessed their feelings beneath the moon and renewed their promise to stay together to the end. The chapter left them alone in Luvia’s room as they gave in to their attraction.

• Shade told Luvia that he loved her and agreed to accompany her to the end, while Luvia accepted that he loved other women too.
• Shade restored Luvia’s cracked pendant with a spell that cost him some of his lifespan, then returned it to her.
• Luvia asked Shade to stay with her and teased him about what he had done with Mia before coming to her room.
• Shade sent Mia to be cared for by the maids, locked the door, and returned to Luvia.
• Luvia invited Shade to let her test the effect of the Unknown Grade Relic [Desire], then pulled him into bed.

Shade traveled into Tobesk with Miss Galina and Tifa to search for Demon Man's Pus, while learning more about Luvia’s unusual Another Me. After meeting Iluna, they discussed the Church’s victory and Galina offered to teach Iluna the path of balance.

• Miss Galina scolded Shade over what happened in her house, then warned him not to use Feliana’s Witch Light around High-Ring Arcanists.
• Shade learned from the voice accompanying him that Luvia’s Another Me was genuine, severely injured, and unusually autonomous.
• Shade met Iluna near the Sun Church and brought her along to help deal with the Pus of Man.
• Iluna reported that Hermons had escaped after being struck by Hogg Lundell, while the Church captured most of the other enemies and Saint Byron’s traded accusations with the Church.
• Miss Galina invited Iluna to study the path of balance and Decree thaumaturgies under her.

Shade tracked the weakened Pus of Man to Schneider Psychological Clinic and confronted Doctor Schneider alone. The Doctor confirmed that Pus of Man was with him and revealed that he had eaten it.

• Iluna agreed to study Balance under Miss Galina Cavendish while setting boundaries on their arrangement.
• Shade followed Pus of Man's trail through Tobesk and found that it led to Doctor Schneider's clinic.
• Shade told Iluna and Tifa to wait while he went to speak with the Doctor alone.
• Shade tested Doctor Schneider with the Demon Hunting Seal, and the Doctor recognized what it was.
• Shade asked whether Pus of Man was with him, and Doctor Schneider admitted that he had eaten it.

Shade learned that Doctor Schneider had coexisted with a demon for over ten years and had devoured the Pus of Man to gain strength for rescuing the souls of former companions. As the summer’s events ended, Doctor Schneider asked Shade to kill him if he ever lost control, while Shade gained new power and the story left his future path unresolved.

• Shade confronted Doctor Schneider about tracking the Pus of Man, and Schneider admitted he had captured and devoured it after Miss Feliana appeared in the Darkness Domain.
• Doctor Schneider revealed that he willingly coexisted with a demon to gain the power needed to reclaim the stolen souls of Mr. Shelf Tim and Miss Shana Aya.
• Schneider told Shade that he had devoured six evil spirit demons over more than ten years and asked Shade to kill him if he ever lost control.
• Shade agreed to keep Schneider’s secret but noted that the Pus of Man could eventually appear again as long as intelligent beings existed.
• Shade and Schneider watched the rain clear over Tobesk, and Shade called Schneider the true Devourer of Darkness.
• The Origin glowed in Shade’s pocket, a dark golden robe briefly appeared behind him, and a voice told him he had acquired new power.

The Academy summoned Shade and his companions to answer questions about Miss Feliana’s appearance and demanded the return of the relic Dream. The group gathered at Doctor Schneider’s clinic, where Academy professors began projecting in to question them.

• The Academy ordered Doctor Schneider’s group to assemble within two hours, and Shade set out to retrieve Luvia while the others went to find their companions.
• Shade received a separate notice demanding that he return Saint Byrens Comprehensive College’s Dream within half an hour, so he returned it from Miss Galina’s manor before collecting Luvia.
• On the way to the clinic, Shade told Luvia about the Academy’s suspicion and showed her his ability to control the Origin card; Luvia decided to begin preparing for her advancement to the fourth ring.
• Shade and Luvia arrived at Doctor Schneider’s clinic with Mia, who recognized that Dorothy had exchanged places with Leisha.
• Doctor Schneider began the projection ritual, and Academy vice principal Hames Sanchez and Professor Wiya Mirall arrived to question the group.

Professor Sanchez questioned Shade and the other correspondence Ring Arcanists about their whereabouts during the previous day's incident, then Professor Mirall began divining whether they had been tainted by demonic power. Shade chose a card, leaving its result unrevealed.

• Professor Sanchez questioned Doctor Schneider about rumors surrounding Mana Falianna and announced an investigation into the group's movements.
• Priest Augustus, Doctor Schneider, Dorothy, and Luvia each described where they had been during the previous day.
• Shade said that Miss Galina Cavendish had visited him and that he had stayed at home until traveling to her estate in the evening.
• Professor Sanchez confirmed that Shade had kept the Dice of Destiny with him and asked Professor Mirall to divine whether the group had been tainted by a Demon's power.
• Doctor Schneider drew the Lucky One, Priest Augustus drew Death, Dorothy drew a Red butterfly, and Luvia drew Broken Fate.
• Shade selected a card and wondered whether he would draw the Moon, but its face was not revealed.

Shade and his Study Group discussed their plans to advance and postpone their departure for Saint Byron's, while Miss Danist's letter revealed that she had erased records linking him to the relic. Shade then told Leisha he had already reached the third ring, prompting her to question how he advanced so quickly.

• Professor Sanchez concluded the Academy's inquiry into Miss Mana Falianna, approved Priest Augustus's planned assignment near Sikar Mountain, and gave Shade a letter from Miss Danist.
• The Study Group discussed their advancement rituals and agreed to delay applying to Saint Byron's for several years, though they expected to leave within five years.
• After the meeting, Luvia returned to the Seer Association, while Shade left with Dorothy, who wanted to hear his account of the previous day's events.
• Shade read Miss Danist's letter, which said she had erased records of the relic and warned him to avoid drawing attention to troublesome matters; he learned the Sleeping Spirit Rune relic could no longer be borrowed.
• Leisha offered to help Shade with the Sleeping Spirit Rune, but Shade revealed that he had already reached the third ring, leaving her astonished at his rapid advancement.

Shade recounted his recent adventure to Leisha, then shared a romantic farewell with her while admitting that he also cared for Luvia. Leisha accepted his feelings but warned him not to become involved with Galina, leaving Shade to wonder when his growing romantic entanglements would bring trouble.

• Shade told Leisha about his adventure, including Little Mia's role in the Darkness Domain, and said he planned to ask Mia Goode for the cat next spring.
• Shade lent Leisha a Youthful Immortality Leaf, but she recognized it was not the original and confronted him for deceiving her.
• Shade admitted that he liked other young ladies, and Leisha guessed he meant Luvia and accepted their relationship.
• Leisha told Shade not to sleep with Galina before she permitted it, and Shade agreed to wait until their relationship was settled.
• Leisha departed in Dorothy's body after discussing Shade's future Spirit Rune, and Shade wondered when his romantic luck would turn against him.

After the Darkness Domain operation, Shade, Iluna, and Luvia met to discuss what they had gained from confronting Daknis and the second Chosen One. Iluna revealed a new power tied to her Balance talent, while Luvia described how the experience had strengthened her divination; the group left Luvia’s plans for the third Chosen One for after the Rhodes Cards Tournament.

• Shade healed the marks on his neck, then considered whether Mia could use the Fish Training Ring and Metamorphosis Ring before Iluna’s arrival interrupted him.
• Iluna arrived first and complained about her Church duties, while Luvia arrived later after a Seer Association meeting and praised the success of their operation.
• Shade reported gaining the Enlightenment Spirit Rune, advancing to the Third Ring, and learning another Mystic Lock; Iluna said she had acquired a small amount of Daknis’s Darkness knowledge.
• Iluna revealed her new Miracle—Darkness Vortex Spirit Rune and demonstrated how it could connect to another location, briefly pulling Mia into her lap.
• Luvia said the operation had deepened her sense of the Trajectory of Destiny and improved the accuracy and results of her divinations.

Shade installed a special entrance to the Dark Dungeon in his basement and explained how the space recorded living beings’ shadows and could help Ring Arcanists recover from losing control. When Luvia and Iluna explored their own dungeons, Shade’s door crumbled, and he learned that sacrifices could grant access to the dungeon’s dangerous depths.

• Shade placed Origin against the basement wall and opened a special entrance to the Dark Dungeon with an incantation.
• Shade explained that the dungeon contained recorded versions of living beings, could help Ring Arcanists recover from losing control, and might allow visitors to meet others if they possessed identifying traces.
• Shade tried to open his own trapdoor, but it crumbled into dust; Luvia and Iluna opened their doors and found stairways marked with murals of a woman holding an infant.
• Luvia and Iluna descended into their own dungeons, while Shade learned that sacrificing divinity or a powerful dark-tainted soul could grant access to the dungeon’s depths.
• Shade left the dungeon, wondered whether more doors would appear in his basement, and went upstairs to close the windows as rain began.

Shade enjoyed a quiet day after the events with Daknis, then visited Military Intelligence Section Six to collect his pay and learned that Director Anlos had a tournament-related mission for him. The office suspected the Sete Duchy of secret ties to Kasonlik and introduced Shade to Virgil Cameron, the Grand Duke’s influential lover.

• Iluna and Luvia left together after kissing Shade goodbye, and Shade hoped he could finally enjoy a peaceful period.
• Shade opened God's Gift Box, found air-dried sausages, and learned he had to take a household pet for two walks of at least half an hour each.
• Shade read that Sachs Cavendish had been executed for treason, then spent the morning doing laundry while Mia watched.
• Shade visited the Sixth Office to collect his salary and met Director Dak Anlos, who asked whether he would enter the Great City Player tournament.
• Anlos told Shade that the Sixth Office suspected the Sete Duchy of secret ties to Kasonlik and showed him a photograph of Virgil Cameron, the Grand Duke’s lover.

Shade accepted an assignment to watch Virgil Cameron during the Great City Player tournament and spent time with Dorothy and Mia. A letter from Miss Goode revealed that her illness and family troubles continued, leaving Shade uncertain about Mia’s future.

• Director Anlos asked Shade to monitor Virgil Cameron for suspicious meetings if they both reached the Great City Player finals, and Shade accepted.
• Shade treated Mia to a meal, then met Dorothy at the newspaper office and offered to store her readers’ letters in his attic.
• Dorothy invited Shade to dinner, and he noticed she paid with the name of Leisha’s personal maid.
• Shade received a letter from Miss Goode saying she remained ill and could not come to Tobesk for Mia this year.
• Shade wondered whether he could eventually buy Mia from Miss Goode, then prepared a reply and hoped she would recover.