Recaps

Shade learned more about Miss Galina, Sister Devlin, and the Murmuring Chapters over lunch with Grandma Cassandra, then went to Middlesburg Mechanical College to seek Professor John Dunn. There he unexpectedly met Captain Rades, whom he asked for help finding the Academy’s folklore professors while posing as John Watson.

• Grandma Cassandra told Shade that Miss Galina’s teacher was a royal and shared stories about Miss Galina and Sister Devlin, whom she had once considered as a successor.
• Shade asked Grandma Cassandra about Ring Arcanists skilled in death, but she said she would investigate the Murmuring Chapters herself and warned him not to get involved.
• Shade traveled to Middlesburg Mechanical College to look for Professor John Dunn.
• Shade met Captain Rades, who recognized him despite his disguise, and asked him to use the alias John Watson.
• Shade told Captain Rades a cover story about investigating an illegitimate son and asked where the Academy’s folklore professors could be found.

Shade investigated the theft of a Bronze Jar from Middlesburg Mechanical College for Cassandra Auction House and identified student Henry Val as a suspect. He discovered an evil spirit clinging to Henry and asked Captain Rades to watch him while Shade pursued another lead.

• Captain Rades told Shade that Lieutenant Shuton had recently won a large sum gambling and smoked cigars during night shifts.
• Professor John Dunn explained that the Bronze Jar had been stolen but was likely still inside the Academy, and named Henry Val as a suspicious student.
• Shade and Captain Rades found Henry Val in the library, where Shade saw an evil spirit clinging to him.
• Henry admitted seeing the jar in Professor Dunn's office and mentioning it at Barbara Jerin's party.
• Shade asked Captain Rades to keep Henry under observation, question students about the jar, and find out whether there had been any recent murders at the school.

Shade learned that the female student murdered at Middlesburg Mechanical College was one of five women killed in a serial murder case, with an organ removed from each. Suspecting Henry Val was responsible and had hidden the Bronze Jar in the castle, Shade followed the victim’s blood trail to a broom closet on the fifth floor.

• Shade asked Professor Dunn about the murdered student and learned the case had not been made public or solved.
• Shade showed Deputy Director Gurus Leisha’s pendant, reviewed the case file, and learned that five women had been killed and had organs removed.
• Shade learned that Bane Bennett had died in police custody, the shooting victim’s body had been tampered with, and the killer’s fountain pen had gone missing.
• Shade returned to the Academy and discovered that Henry Val and Captain Rades had disappeared while he was away.
• Shade asked Professor Dunn about secret rooms, then traced blood from the murder scene through the castle to a fifth-floor broom closet.

Shade found Henry Val’s hidden room and stopped him after discovering that he had murdered people to make a life-extending medicine. He freed the victim’s spirit and realized a boy had predicted Henry Val’s death, leaving Shade to consider whether to kill him before the foretold winter death.

• Shade followed the prayer into a concealed passage and broke into Henry Val’s secret room.
• Henry Val admitted to killing people for a medicine after a boy predicted he would die of a brain disease during the winter’s First Snow.
• When Henry Val tried to shoot him, Shade severed his trigger finger and knocked him unconscious with Mind Blast.
• Shade opened a passage to the Land of Death, allowing the evil spirit on Henry Val’s back to depart.
• Shade realized his attack might cause Henry Val to die as predicted and learned that a boy in Middlesburg could foresee death.
• She suggested that Shade test the prophecy by killing Henry Val immediately.

Shade stopped an accidental entrance to the Interstice, searched Henry Val’s secret room, and discovered a relic mirror. He let Captain Rades take credit for solving the serial murder case and left with most of the reward.

• Shade used Space Stabilization Aura to close the Interstice entrance triggered by Unfortunate One’s Long Hair.
• Shade searched Henry Val’s secret room, found his diary and a book promoting cannibalism, and discovered a note advertising death predictions.
• Shade uncovered a hidden compartment containing evidence, a pistol, and a silver-framed mirror that he recognized as a relic.
• Shade woke Captain Rades and let him take sole credit for solving the murder case in exchange for ninety pounds of the reward.

Shade learned from Professor Dunn that Twin Worship was an ancient belief tied to prehistoric ruins and local customs, then received an address for Professor Tiris Manning in Tobesk. He visited Manning that night to ask about the Twins God, leaving the professor surprised by his sudden question.

• Shade told Professor Dunn that the Bronze Jar had been used to boil corpses, and Dunn worried about damage to the antique before paying Shade and explaining Twin Worship.
• Professor Dunn described legends of the Twins God blessing a black-and-white pair of twins and said the ancient faith still shaped local customs around Middlesburg.
• Professor Dunn gave Shade the address of Professor Tiris Manning, an archaeologist who had taken part in the Sikar Mountain excavation.
• Shade shared part of his payment with Captain Rades, left the House of the Blind as his mailing address, and returned to Saint Derain Square.
• Shade brought Mia home after dinner, discovered Luvia had already fed the cat, and then went to visit Professor Manning in Tobesk.
• Shade asked Professor Manning about the Twins God and Twin Worship, and Manning questioned why he had brought up the subject.

Shade questioned Professor Manning about Twin Worship and learned that its Red Butterflies poem was associated with twins separated by distance. He then had Old John identify a silver mirror as the Corpse-Hiding Mirror and learned that it allowed its bearer to enter other mirrors, though its mirror space carried dangers.

• Shade asked Professor Manning about Twin Worship’s connection to death and learned that Middlesburg had once held a rumor about killing one twin to save the other.
• Shade learned that Twin Worship’s Red Butterflies poem was believed to carry meanings of sacrifice and twins, and that it might describe a way to cross the distance between separated twins.
• Shade visited Old John’s pawnshop, where Old John identified his silver mirror as a Level 4 relic called the Corpse-Hiding Mirror.
• Old John explained that the mirror could store corpses, which might turn into low-level undead, and let its bearer enter another mirror with objects that had no soul.
• Shade learned that a mirror entered this way could not be moved, that breaking it could trap its occupant, and that mirror space reduced mental and soul contamination from outside.

Shade appraised a dangerous mirror, bought old blood, and commissioned Old John to make an Alchemy Item from a folk song before purchasing materials from Mr. Corps and learning Guiding Death. He returned home with the finished butterfly pendants and learned that Luvia and Iluna had plans in Tobesk, while the Seer Association had found nothing about the Order of Spiritual Cultivation.

• Shade learned that the mirror could pull nearby people and objects into a hard-to-escape mirror world, then declined Old John's offer of 1,200 Pounds for it.
• Shade bought Bolbo Brando's deteriorated blood for 39 Pounds and commissioned Old John to make a possible Alchemy Item from a folk song about the Twins God.
• Shade traveled to Mr. Corps's cemetery shop, bought materials for Guiding Death, and heard Mr. Corps offer high prices for plants gathered in Boundary Lands.
• Shade learned Guiding Death near a cemetery and returned to Old John's, where he collected two magnetic red Butterfly Pendants and asked about the Order of Spiritual Cultivation.
• Shade returned home near midnight, found Luvia gone, and read her letter about her and Iluna's plans and the Seer Association's lack of progress on his inquiry.

Shade used the red butterfly pendant to help Dorothy and Leisha meet across their body-swapping barrier. The two women saw each other from opposite sides of Yodel Palace Street, leaving Dorothy overwhelmed with emotion as Shade sheltered her from the rain.

• Shade visited Dorothy and told her about the red butterfly pendant and the legend of the Twins God.
• Shade proposed that Dorothy and Leisha use the pendant to try meeting by looking toward each other across Yodel Palace Street.
• Shade gave half of the pendant and a letter for Leisha to Angelina's maid at Mary Jane Flower Shop.
• At ten o'clock, Shade and Dorothy passed Yodel Palace and saw Leisha and another red-haired figure at a window.
• Dorothy dropped her umbrella and stared at Leisha through the rain, while Shade stood behind her and shielded her.

Shade helped Dorothy and Leisha see each other from a distance using the Red Butterfly Pendant, and Leisha thanked him before asking for his help with a warehouse matter. The chapter left Shade surprised when Dorothy switched in during Leisha’s kiss and gave him a kiss of her own.

• Shade recorded what he had learned about the Twins God and Twins Faith for Leisha, then recognized her when Mia identified her in Dorothy’s body.
• Leisha thanked Shade for helping her and Dorothy meet, and he suggested she ask Old Dad John to make a better Red Butterfly Pendant.
• Shade told Leisha that Lieutenant Shuton had been spending heavily, and she concluded that he had betrayed her by reselling her goods.
• Leisha asked Shade to secretly count the crates in her warehouse at 19 Punjab Avenue in Middlesburg on the first day of the Month of Withered Leaves, and he agreed.
• Leisha offered Shade autumn clothes instead of Gold Pounds, then embraced and kissed him while Dorothy had agreed to switch with her.
• Mia’s reaction made Shade realize Dorothy had switched in, and Dorothy reproached him before giving him a brief kiss as her own thanks.

Shade received Demon blood from Grandma Cassandra, learned that the Council would send Sivie Aurora to Middlesburg, and arranged a visit to the boy who could see deaths. After finding a lost cat and attending the Study Group, he learned that Devourer Sakato had once encountered the Great One who appeared in Tobesk during the summer.

• Shade learned from Captain Rades's letter that Rades had received public credit for solving the serial killer case and invited Shade to Sikar Mountain next Thursday.
• Grandma Cassandra gave Shade the blood of Devourer Sakato, told him the third Chosen One was likely connected to death, and said Sivie Aurora would arrive in Middlesburg next month.
• Shade visited the Raven Club as John Watson and paid a deposit to book an appointment with the boy who could see dates and manners of death for next Sunday.
• Shade found the Drax family's runaway cat the morning after accepting their case and collected his thirteen-pound commission.
• At the Study Group, Dorothy arranged with Shade to help with her advancement ritual, and Doctor Schneider told Shade that Devourer Sakato had disappeared after encountering the Great One who appeared in Tobesk during the summer.

Shade collected a bottle of mixed magma-creature blood from Sister Devlin for the gathering in the Fifth Epoch and agreed to accompany her to meet a boy who could see when things would die. Sister Devlin warned that disaster would come to Middlesburg and that Shade would become involved, advising him to head toward flames when danger arose.

• Shade helped Dorothy prepare her attic for her advancement ritual and learned that Leisha had paid Old John three thousand pounds for a new Red Butterflies pendant.
• Shade traveled to Middlesburg with Mia and collected Sister Devlin's bottle of blood from magma-dwelling creatures.
• Sister Devlin asked Shade to accompany her to meet the Raven Club's boy who could see the date of death, and Shade agreed to meet her at the House of the Blind the following weekend.
• Sister Devlin examined Mia and told Shade that nothing was wrong with either the cat or him.
• Sister Devlin warned Shade that Middlesburg faced an approaching disaster, its seals would eventually fail, and he should move toward flames if he encountered danger.

Shade returned to the God of Vampires’ wine party with three new kinds of blood, and the saint began its final challenge. The party would end only after the five mortals each chose a bottle from thirty identical bottles, including the six hidden kinds of blood.

• Shade returned to Night Manor for the final stage of the wine party and presented blood from a lightning-struck mortal, Devourer Sakato, and a Magma Colony.
• The God of Vampires identified the lightning-struck blood as connected to Raging Storm and called the Magma Colony blood the most valuable of the six kinds.
• The saint transformed the banquet hall and announced that the final stage would be a game involving all five mortals and the god.
• The god hid the six kinds of blood among thirty identical bottles and told the mortals to choose their wines before the party could end.

Shade found the correct Blood Brew by choosing a bottle that had been on the table before the banquet began, then helped the middle-aged witch survive her choices and earn a dangerous Ninth Order breakthrough. The witch and the old man departed with gifts and warnings, leaving the twin girls to face the remaining bottles with only two correct choices among them.

• Shade chose the preexisting bottle and drank the Blood Brew made from Devourer Sakato's blood, accepting the danger of Demon's Blood.
• The middle-aged witch survived several dangerous wines with Shade's help, then drank the Abyss-Eyed Dragon Squid Blood Brew and received a crimson Ninth Order step with the risk of Blood Thirst Syndrome.
• The witch gave the twin girls her address and left Night Manor after thanking Shade and the Saint.
• The old man found the correct Rhine Fiend Blood Brew and received a Bloodkin Ring to help him search for Feng Ke Liqing's murderer, at the cost of Blood Thirst Syndrome.
• The old man departed, and the Saint told Shade that most guests would lose their memories and written records of the wine party.
• Shade saw that twenty-one bottles remained and only two correct choices were left for the twin girls.

Shade gave up the boon promised to him so Grace and Helen could finish the banquet with fewer choices, and the Saint gave them a way to seek help escaping their ancient duty. After the twins left, the Saint explained why Shade was safe in the past and sent him away with a new ability for Blood Echo.

• Shade gave up his chance to receive a Blood Moon-related boon so Grace and Helen could face fewer bottle choices, then rolled a one and ended the banquet for them.
• The Saint gave Grace and Helen a red butterfly that could delay their fate and guide them to the Twins God for help with their ancient contract.
• Grace and Helen introduced themselves, gave Shade their joined black-and-white ribbons, and left Night Manor holding hands.
• The Saint told Shade that the Father of Infinite Tree's power protected him from being killed by gods in a time that was not his, and enhanced Blood Echo so he could identify Bloodkin.
• The Saint told Shade that the other four banquet guests were dead, and Shade left through the White Fog after reflecting on the Phoenix blood in the Magma Colony.

After returning from the Time Key in 3014 of the Fifth Epoch, Shade used two Youthful Immortality Leaves to learn the Silent Moonbeam Thaumaturgy and extensive information about elves. He reflected on the ribbon souvenir from Grace and Helen and hoped their fate and the danger they were meant to seal could be resolved.

• Shade returned to the present with two leaves and the black-and-white ribbon, while his cat greeted him from the bed.
• Shade used one leaf to learn Silent Moonbeam, a Thaumaturgy that muted sounds, weakened non-moonlight, and improved recovery for selected Ring Arcanists.
• Shade used the second leaf and received extensive knowledge about elves, their customs, and their communities with the Three Great Arcane Academies.
• Shade recognized the ribbon from Grace and Helen as another souvenir from a Time Key mission and recalled the God's Gift Box from Hope Town.
• Shade hoped Grace and Helen would escape their fate and that the danger they were meant to seal would be resolved.

Shade helped Dorothy prepare for her advancement ritual from the Fourth Ring to the Fifth Ring, using moonlight, starlight, and The Little Match Girl to support her. The ritual began smoothly, and Dorothy entered Matchstick’s Dream Illusion, but its outcome remained unknown.

• Shade bought a Moonstone ring from Old John and received more than twenty sets of clothes sent by Leisha.
• Dorothy grew anxious about her ritual, so Shade took her for a walk beneath the stars to help her relax.
• Dorothy prepared the attic with ritual objects and dressed as the Match Girl, while Shade set up moonlight and a Mystic Lock.
• Dorothy’s handwritten copy of The Little Match Girl burned, and the ritual matrix and all 365 Matches lit up.
• Dorothy ignited a match that revealed a snowy street in the mirror, then entered Matchstick’s Dream Illusion and began the next stage of the ritual.

Dorothy’s middle-ring sublimation ritual was interrupted by a Mirror Ghost, and Leisha unexpectedly appeared inside the mirror, linking her soul to Dorothy’s. Shade entered the mirror to rescue Leisha and joined the two women’s hands as they continued the ritual, leaving them in the midst of their declarations.

• Dorothy began the ritual to advance from a low ring to a middle ring, but her hand became stuck to the mirror when a Mirror Ghost interfered.
• Shade struck the Mirror Ghost through the mirror, and Dorothy warned him that the spirit was immune to physical attacks and resistant to curses.
• Dorothy’s Another Princess rune lit up, and Leisha appeared inside the mirror in an identical Match Girl outfit; the two women suffered agony from their close contact.
• Shade entered the mirror with his vanity mirror, healed Leisha with Cindyia’s Silver Moon Gift, and asked her to summon her Destiny Ring.
• Shade guided Leisha and Dorothy to touch their respective mirror surfaces and led them through the ritual’s declaration, which they began while enduring intense pain.

Shade helped Dorothy and Leisha complete the ritual that advanced Dorothy to the Fifth Ring, then rescued Dorothy and captured the Mirror Ghost. Dorothy recovered at Shade’s home, where she reflected on her new status as a Mid-Ring Arcanist.

• Shade used the four matches and the Ritual Matrix to complete the ritual, and Dorothy became a Fifth-Ring Arcanist as Leisha vanished into the mirror.
• Shade found the Mirror Ghost attacking Mia, and Mia struck it with her tail, causing its spirit body to collapse.
• Shade pulled the Mirror Ghost out of the mirror and sealed its remaining soul in a wine bottle before pouring the soul brew into the Land of Death.
• Shade secured the unstable Corpse-Hiding Mirror in God's Gift Box and settled Dorothy in his bed to recover.
• Dorothy thanked Shade, kissed his cheek, and reflected that she had finally become a Mid-Ring Arcanist.

After Dorothy advanced to the Fifth Ring, Shade learned that an earthquake in the Sikar Mountain Area might signal a change in the Life and Death Limbo. Luvia sent him to locate a Murmuring Chapters fragment in a dead collector’s home, where Shade encountered Tifa before he could begin his search.

• Dorothy returned home after advancing to the Fifth Ring, and Shade read about the previous evening’s earthquake in the Sikar Mountain Area.
• Shade visited Luvia, who suspected trouble in the Life and Death Limbo and told him not to go to Middhir Fort City.
• Luvia asked Shade to infiltrate Simir Passolo’s home and record the inscription on the base of a stone figurine containing a Murmuring Chapters fragment.
• Shade set out for Simir Passolo’s address and recognized that it was on the same street as Miss Black’s home.
• Tifa opened the window of a carriage that stopped beside Shade and greeted him.

Shade accompanied Tifa to collect antiques from the late Simir Passolo’s home, where the inheritance dispute delayed the sale. The stone figurine they sought had been buried with Simir, and Shade left with the antiques while asking maid Lina about Miss Black.

• Shade met Tifa, who explained that Duchess Galina had sent her to purchase antiques, and joined her trip to Simir Passolo’s home.
• Shade presented Galina’s contract to Simir’s children, Bick and Jenny, and learned they disputed their father’s will, which left most of his property to Lina, his longtime maid.
• Shade urged the Passolos to honor the will and offered Galina’s help with legal support, after which the heirs agreed to complete the antique sale.
• Shade and the others found that the stone figurine was missing because Simir had chosen it as one of six objects to be buried with him.
• Shade completed the handover of the remaining antiques, then asked Lina privately about Miss Black, whom Lina said she knew well.

While investigating the missing Helen Black, Shade learned that she and Grace White were not twin sisters and realized they might be the same women he had encountered in the past. He and Tifa continued investigating the estate and planned to question the recently deceased Simir Passolo through Spirit Communication.

• Shade learned from the maid that Miss Black had visited only for summers and that Grace White, about ten years older, had died in 1842.
• Shade discovered that the missing woman was named Helen Black and that the deceased Miss White had been named Grace White, prompting him to suspect a connection to the women from his past.
• Shade accepted that the fourth Time Key linked the past to the present and welcomed the chance to learn the women’s story.
• Shade and Tifa set out to question the old man who had delivered Miss Black’s letter, while Shade noted that Lina had lied about the will.
• Shade planned to use Spirit Communication to ask Simir Passolo about the inheritance and the stone idol in the Graveyard.

Shade investigated the mysterious Blake sisters, found Simir Passolo’s lingering soul in his tomb, and recovered the stone figurine bearing a Murmuring Chapters fragment. Passolo’s memories confirmed Helen Blake’s connection to the Black Skirt Girl, while the fragment warned that the burden of death would fall on the one who possessed the Eye of Death.

• Shade learned from Helen Blake’s neighbor that Simir Passolo had known the most about her and Grace White, then received a letter at Grace’s address saying she had gone to Middlesburg and would pay his fee next month.
• Shade continued investigating despite the letter and went with Tifa and two Sorceresses to Passolo’s tomb to retrieve the stone figurine.
• Shade spoke with Passolo’s soul, learned that he had left no will and that his maid had tried to take advantage of his death, and arranged for Tifa to record his wishes before taking the figurine.
• Passolo told Shade that Grace White had died at twenty-two and hinted that he knew the secret of her elders, but refused to reveal more before Shade guided his soul to death.
• Shade saw a memory of Helen Blake wearing half of a Red Butterfly Pendant and recognized that she looked almost exactly like the Black Skirt Girl he had met in a previous era.
• Shade read the figurine’s fragment, which said that the burden of death would fall on the person who possessed the Eye of Death.

Shade, Iluna, and Luvia discussed clues about the third Chosen One and learned that the earthquake near Sikar Mountain had triggered a coming Death Outbreak. Iluna was preparing to travel to Middlesburg for a Divine Ritual, while Shade planned to investigate several suspects and warned that old acquaintances from the past might also be involved.

• Shade listed Sister Devlin, a boy who could foresee deaths, and Priest Augustus as possible matches for the Eye of Death clue.
• Iluna reported obtaining the Dragon Blood Treasure Coin and applying for the Diviner's Silver Coin, bringing their total to four coins.
• Iluna explained that the earthquake had been caused by the Unknown Level Relic Life and Death Limbo, and that stronger undead and more Relics would soon appear around Sikar Mountain.
• Iluna said The Church would send her to Middlesburg by airship to help with a Divine Ritual and the coming Death Outbreak.
• Shade planned to visit the boy who could see death and contact Priest Augustus, while Luvia offered to use coins to divine whether he met a Chosen One.
• Shade warned that old friends he had met in the past might be part of Middlesburg's troubles, prompting Luvia to ask if another witch would forcibly kiss him.

Shade received a one-use Universal Key from the Gift Box, then bathed Mia and traveled to Middlesbrough to inventory Leisha’s warehouse. He discovered that the crates held restricted weapons and was heading back to report when he collided with a stranger.

• Shade received a Poet Level Universal Key and let Luvia keep it, while Iluna explained its effects and risks.
• Shade completed the weekly task by bathing Mia, then handled his monthly expenses and collected his Military Intelligence Section Six salary.
• Shade went to Warehouse Number 19 on Punjab Avenue to count the goods Leisha had asked him to inspect.
• Shade found disassembled steam-and-gunpowder-powered machine guns hidden in crates and recorded the inventory.
• Shade left the warehouse and bumped shoulders with a stranger as he headed back to report to Leisha.