Recaps

Shade helped expose a bomb planted at the Third National Mechanical College and drew suspicion toward Gray Gloves, while Military Intelligence Section Six tasked him with protecting Princess Margaret. He kept his Gray-headed Eagle identity from Leisha and promised to explain it after Margaret left.

• Shade imitated a cat and planted a note warning of the bomb, then identified himself as Hamilton of Leijed and urged the guard to evacuate the lecture hall.
• Princess Margaret ordered the hall evacuated, and the bomb exploded after the crowd escaped, prompting an investigation and the cancellation of the Academy visit.
• Director Anlos took Shade from Ridgewich Field, questioned his account, and suspected Gray Gloves had warned them; he ordered Shade to stay close to Margaret and retrieve the note if possible.
• Shade returned home and told Dorothy and Leisha about the incident while concealing his Gray-headed Eagle identity from Leisha.
• Leisha guessed Shade had withheld a secret, and Shade promised to reveal it after Princess Margaret left.

At Princess Margaret’s banquet, Doctor Schneider searched for the wounded Demon hiding in a human host, and Shade helped him locate it. They found the Demon possessing a manor servant and speaking with Sir Legenes Presia, where the chapter ended as the Demon asked what great power Presia possessed.

• Shade warned Iluna about Miss Pawo’s appearance, and The Church sent more Ring Arcanists to Canary Manor.
• Princess Margaret asked Shade about the note left at Ridgewich Field, but he said he had not seen who dropped it.
• Shade discovered Doctor Schneider at the banquet, and the Doctor explained that he suspected the Demon was hiding in someone’s body.
• The Doctor found the Demon possessing a male servant, and Shade followed him into the manor garden to help mark it.
• Shade and the Doctor overheard Sir Legenes Presia confronting the servant, and the Demon asked Presia what great power he possessed.

Legenes Presia rejected a demon’s offer to serve him, despite its attempt to tempt him with secret knowledge and a Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone. After the demon escaped, Doctor Schneider pursued it while Shade disguised himself and stepped out to delay Sir Prisha.

• Shade and Doctor Schneider watched Legenes Presia reveal his five-ring Destiny Ring and gain three Spirit Runes by fusing with a book.
• The demon offered to serve Legenes Presia and revealed a Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone, but Legenes refused to accept its power.
• The demon threatened to expose Legenes’s secrets and left the Glimmerstone behind before vanishing amid the Multi-Headed Gear Mechanical Dragon’s attack.
• Doctor Schneider decided to pursue the demon and asked Shade to hold Legenes back.
• Shade used Rita Swift’s Disguise Rune Stone, then emerged from the grass with another unfamiliar figure as Legenes watched the Glimmerstone.

Shade helped Doctor Schneider mark the Demon and stopped Sir Prisha from interfering while Miss Danist's mirror collected the Guiding Moon's glimmer. After Shade reported his success, Miss Danist summoned him to the Library's underground restricted area, where he realized he could ask her about the final stone slab he sought.

• Shade confronted Sir Prisha and used Miss Danist's mirror to collect the glimmer while the two men tested each other's moonlight Thaumaturgy.
• Sir Prisha took the Demon's Glimmerstone and left, while Doctor Schneider emerged from the bushes pleased that he had marked the Demon.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider returned to the banquet, where the Witches questioned Shade about the Demon and expressed concern for his safety.
• Shade sent Miss Danist a tactful letter about his progress, and she summoned him to project himself to the Library that night.
• Miss Danist praised Shade for collecting the glimmer, promised to help him skip a grade, and explained that they were in the Library's underground restricted area.
• Shade realized he could ask Miss Danist for the final stone slab now that he knew exactly what it looked like.

Shade arranged for Miss Danist to search the Academy Library for a time-related stone slab, then handed Associate Professor Lyon the hazardous rabbit corpse under the cover of an Academy bounty. He spent a quiet Saturday with Dorothy and Doctor Schneider and looked forward to the new Time Key opening the next morning.

• Shade described the yellow-cornered stone slab to Miss Danist, who agreed to search the library records and the Keeper of Secrets Hall.
• Associate Professor Lyon collected the rabbit corpse from Shade, gave him a receipt and strawberries, and left to deliver the hazardous item.
• Dorothy identified the strawberries’ healing effects, and she and Shade shared them with Little Mia before collecting their photographs.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider discussed the demon’s likely capture the next day, and Shade bought the spells Flash Mark and Feather Fall Spell.
• Shade visited the Steam Bird Daily with Little Mia, where the cat raced with the office cat while Shade and Dorothy answered readers’ questions.
• Shade anticipated the next Time Key opening on Sunday morning after his adventure with the eight Witches.

Shade entered Fifth Epoch 903 in the Silver Mountain Range, where he encountered a deadly blizzard and a colossal ancient snow-mountain creature. After the Winter Maiden drove the creature back and signaled him onward, Shade ate the glowing snow and began climbing barefoot toward the mountaintop.

• Shade entered the Time Corridor and received a trial to assist the Winter Maiden in escorting a lost person to the mountaintop.
• Shade arrived in the Silver Mountain Range, sank into deep glowing snow, and teleported onto a rock to escape it.
• A colossal ancient creature approached over the ridge, and the Winter Maiden cast Light Spell to drive it back.
• The Winter Maiden pointed toward the snow at her feet and walked toward the highest peak.
• Shade ate the glowing snow, gained the ability to walk barefoot on the snow without sinking, and followed her up the slope.

Shade found three survivors sheltering from the blizzard on the Silver White Mountain Range and joined them as they searched for a Demon said to possess one of their group. He shared supplies and learned about their expedition, but the God of Winter he was following was nowhere to be seen.

• Shade reached a crude shelter and met Witch Chloe, Mrs. Marcus, and an unnamed exile beside a fire fueled by Spiritual Power.
• Chloe explained that one of the three survivors might be possessed by a Demon and that their original party of nineteen had dwindled to three.
• Mrs. Marcus said she was carrying on her dead mistress’s wish to reach the mountain’s highest peak, while Chloe sought solid ice for her experiments.
• Shade asked whether they had seen a barefoot woman in white carrying an Oak Staff, and Chloe said they had not.
• Chloe examined Shade’s wrist and concluded he was not a man, while Shade recognized that she was an Eleventh-Rank Witch.
• Shade gave the survivors warm clothes and household supplies, then wondered whether Chloe might be the God of Winter in disguise.

Shade helped Miss Chloe, Mrs. Marcus, and a timid man investigate which of them was possessed by the Snow Mountain Evil Spirit. When the Demon revealed itself through Mrs. Marcus and destroyed their shelter, Shade summoned his radiant Destiny Ring to face it.

• Shade gave the three survivors Holy Water No. 4, but none of them showed signs of possession.
• Miss Chloe proposed calling for the God of Winter’s gaze, and the ritual’s sudden disruption injured everyone except Shade.
• Shade attacked Mrs. Marcus after suspecting her, and black smoke emerged from her body to reveal the Demon.
• The Demon destroyed the Sanctuary and attacked Shade with tentacles of black mist as he fought back with his moonlit sword.
• Shade summoned his Four-Colored Destiny Ring, bathing the snowfield in spiritual radiance as the battle continued.

Shade and Miss Chloe survived a Demon’s attack and encountered the Winter Maiden, who granted Shade a new thaumaturgy and urged them to climb the mountain. Shade prepared to leave the past, promising to return, while Chloe turned into a silver-white cat to warm herself against him.

• Shade used a Thunder Spear, a golden shield, and Silver Moonlight to drive back the Demon, but the Winter Maiden appeared and destroyed the remaining black mist.
• The Winter Maiden urged Shade and Miss Chloe to climb the mountain, and Shade learned her Miracle and gained the thaumaturgy Summon Great Snowball.
• Miss Chloe summoned snowmen to build a shelter, while Shade repeatedly cast Snowball to create a windbreak and help the group endure the storm.
• Shade helped Miss Chloe treat Mrs. Marcus and explained that he would leave soon, offering supplies and promising to return.
• Miss Chloe turned into a silver-white cat and curled up on Shade’s lap to recover warmth.

Shade questioned Miss Chloe and her companions in their snowy camp, where he discovered that the nameless man carried a Life Card Game card from the future. After returning to the present, Shade warmed himself by the fireplace and was embraced by Leisha.

• Shade learned that Mrs. Marcus had brought a missing witch's boot toward the summit and that the nameless man had been exiled for stealing a card.
• The man showed Shade a Myriad Aspects of Impermanence: Darkness card whose rules belonged to the Life Card Game, and Shade made it fly through the air.
• Shade discussed the Winter Maiden's intervention and Chloe's ambitions in the Zalas Society, then promised to return and help her before departing through the White Fog.
• Shade returned to the present freezing and hurried to the fireplace, while Little Mia noticed an unusual scent on him.
• Leisha recognized Shade had returned from the past, embraced him to warm him, and remarked on his success with ancient witches.

Shade and Doctor Schneider prepared to hunt the Demon hiding as Victor Fanni in the Royal Festival Concert Hall. They infiltrated the hall through an abandoned sewer and reached its corridors in disguise, ready to search for the Demon.

• Doctor Schneider told Shade that he had located the Demon at the Royal Festival Concert Hall, and Shade prepared relics and spellcasting materials for the hunt.
• Miss Writer mentioned that Leisha and Princess Margaret would also attend a concert at the hall that night.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider met at the Green Grass Tavern, where they noticed two High-Ring Arcanists, including a professor from Saint Byron's Mechanical College, and left to avoid them.
• Doctor Schneider led Shade through a sealed sewer entrance and melted an opening into a backstage storeroom beneath the music hall.
• Doctor Schneider gave Shade a plant leaf to remove the sewer stench and an alchemical mask that disguised his appearance.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider stepped into the music hall's corridor in disguise.

Shade and Doctor Schneider searched the Royal Festival Concert Hall for a Demon during a performance, while Shade discovered Iluna was preparing to go onstage. Shade found the Demon disguised as an old musician, who offered him a Victor Box that could duplicate money.

• Doctor Schneider and Shade split up to search six possible rooms for the Demon, using a straw doll to help locate it.
• Shade recognized Iluna in the public dressing room and learned she was preparing to perform while The Church and others waited for the Bard to appear.
• Shade searched the musicians’ resting room, where the straw doll trembled near a violinist scheduled to perform at 8:46.
• The disguised Demon questioned Shade about his desires, and Shade admitted that he wanted Gold Pounds.
• The Demon produced a Victor Box and offered it to Shade, claiming it could duplicate an endless amount of money.

Shade and Doctor Schneider cornered the Old Musician, who revealed that its true body waited on the concert hall roof with a Sage Level Relic. There, Victor Fanni confronted them beside the Crying Angel, setting the stage for a fight between demon and demon hunter.

• The Old Musician offered Shade supernatural gifts for his desires, but recoiled after sensing the power of Desire within him.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider captured the Old Musician’s corpse body, and the doctor learned that its main body and a Sage Level Relic were on the roof.
• Doctor Schneider and Shade climbed to the roof, where they found Victor Fanni waiting amid falling snow.
• Victor Fanni revealed the Sage Level Relic Crying Angel and challenged Doctor Schneider to a hunt, while the statue moved on its own.

Shade pursued the injured Demon of Proliferating Desire to the backstage area of the Main Concert Hall and fought it with the Moonbeam Greatsword, First Fire, and Night Watchman. He pinned and chained the Demon beneath the moonlight, then demanded to know what it had said to Legenes Presia.

• The Doctor explained that the Crying Angel was a deadly relic, but it activated before she could finish telling Shade how to stop it.
• Shade escaped the Crying Angel, followed the injured Demon’s blood trail to the Main Concert Hall’s backstage area, and confronted it.
• The Demon attacked Shade with black mist and summoned figures, while Shade countered with the Heaton Seal, Moonlight, and Feliana’s Witch Light.
• Shade lured the Demon close, then used Night Watchman and the Great Sin Chains to pin and bind it.
• Shade opened the curtains to expose the Demon to moonlight and asked what it had said to Legenes Presia.

Shade pursued the escaped Demon into the concert hall, where it attacked the assembled Church forces and he joined the fight with Iluna and two high-ranking Arcanists. The battle continued in darkness as the Demon used illusions and amplified desires to try to break Shade’s resistance.

• The Demon broke free of the Great Sin Chains, escaped into the music hall, and turned the performance into an eerie song that overwhelmed the people inside.
• Bard Ryan introduced himself to Shade as a Keeper of Secrets Relic and told him to defeat the Demon before receiving a trial.
• Shade entered the darkened concert hall and found Victor Fanni controlling the orchestra as the Demon grew into a towering shadow.
• Iluna, Miss Green, and Mr. Pietro arrived and attacked the Demon, but its wounds quickly healed.
• Shade used the Heaton Seal to destroy one of the Demon’s illusions as it attacked him with Whispers and visions of his friends.
• The Demon’s illusions shifted to wealth, power, and women while Shade felt his desires intensify.

Shade and his allies fought a demon that threatened Leisha and Princess Margaret, and Shade unleashed the final form of Moonlight Slash to pierce its main body. Doctor Schneider contained the demon’s outer shell, but Victor Fanni escaped from it, while the Crying Angel remained only temporarily trapped.

• The demon conjured Leisha and Princess Margaret and threatened to kill them, but Leisha and Margaret repelled its giant hand as Shade rushed to protect them.
• Shade and Iluna attacked the demon, and Shade explained that they had to strike its main body with a powerful blow before it regenerated.
• Shade used his anger to perform the fourth form of Moonlight Slash, piercing the demon’s towering body and weakening it.
• Doctor Schneider arrived and swallowed the demon’s shell with the Pus of Man, while Shade learned that the Doctor had only temporarily trapped the Crying Angel.
• Victor Fanni burst out of the demon’s shell and escaped onto the terrace, as Shade and Doctor Schneider turned toward the demon’s hidden main body.

Shade saved Princess Margaret and Leisha from the Crying Angel, but the relic petrified and began merging with him. Shade absorbed its power and gained the Miracle Spirit Rune Wrath, leaving him one rune short of reaching five rings.

• Shade told the Doctor to confront Victor Fanni while he and Iluna tried to stop the Crying Angel from reaching the Princesses.
• The Crying Angel vanished past Shade’s defenses and targeted Leisha and Princess Margaret, while the Match Girl, the Sleeping Princess, and Killer Jack disappeared after it touched them.
• Shade embraced the Angel to stop it reaching the Princesses, and the relic began turning his body to stone and merging with him.
• Shade resisted assimilation with the First Fire and divinity, absorbing the relic’s Spirit as his body consumed the statue.
• Shade’s Destiny Ring manifested, and the Crying Angel granted him the Miracle Spirit Rune Wrath, bringing him within one rune of advancing to five rings.

Shade devoured part of the Crying Angel’s power, gained the Calm Stance thaumaturgy, and helped contain the Music Hall incident while the Church arrived. After Leisha and Princess Margaret reached safety, Shade trapped the fleeing Demon of Proliferating Desire with Great Sin Chains.

• Shade emerged unharmed from his petrified shell, linked the wrath rune to Great Sin Chains, and gained Calm Stance by devouring part of the Crying Angel’s power.
• Leisha embraced Shade, and Iluna used her Witch Secret Art to deepen the darkness while Leisha and Princess Margaret left the stage area.
• Miss Sylvia returned Leisha and Princess Margaret to their seats as the Church Ring Arcanists tried to dispel the darkness around the Music Hall.
• Shade gave Doctor Schneider Night Watchman to carry away, then faced Victor Fanni as the Demon escaped into the sky.
• Shade used Great Sin Chains to lock the fleeing Demon in midair.

Shade defeated the Demon with Dragon Breath while the Bard revealed a trial asking for the Yellow Moon in Tobesk. Legenes Presia encountered a Crying Angel statue in an alley and received the bloodline power of the Intellect Angel.

• Shade used the Higgs Dragon Head Stone to unleash Dragon Breath, striking the Demon and scattering its sludge as Doctor Schneider waited below.
• A Snowball blocked the Church Ring Arcanists while Shade escaped as Red Butterflies, and the Bard performed a song revealing his trial.
• The Bard said he would appear when the Church brought him what he wanted, and Miss Green inferred that plucking the Yellow Moon was a metaphorical task.
• Legenes Presia encountered a Crying Angel statue in an alley and invoked an Angel form, but the statue remained before him.
• The Crying Angel identified the bloodline power of the Intellect Angel, sent a beam of light to Legenes Presia, and vanished.

After defeating the Demon, Shade returned to Saint Derain Square and received a mischievous reward from the Sage Level Relic, while Luvia encountered the Crying Angel and heard an accusation about a curse. On Monday, Dorothy decided to move back to her apartment, and the approaching third Red Butterfly Day came into view.

• Luvia encountered the Crying Angel, which called her a cursed one and said no one could forgive her sins, then vanished before she could divine what it meant.
• Shade returned home, reunited with Dorothy, and told her the Demon matter had been resolved.
• The Mischief Boy offered Shade an additional reward, then fired ink at him and left an Ink Mark on his face and wall.
• Leisha embraced Shade as his reward for defeating the Demon and rescuing the Princess, while Little Mia ran nearby.
• On Monday, Dorothy proposed moving back to her apartment and noted that the third Red Butterfly Day would arrive that Wednesday.

Shade, Luvia, and Iluna investigated the conditions for the Chosen One Ritual and prepared for the approaching threat from the Truth Society. After Luvia and Iluna parted from Shade, they discussed his relationship with Leisha, while Luvia was left unsettled by a sense of sorrow about reaching the end together.

• Shade received a Coin of Wisdom from God's Gift Box, and its weekly task was to record his income and expenses for three days.
• Shade, Luvia, and Iluna discussed Sir Legenes Presia's Chosen One abilities, the Glimmerstones, and the unknown item that could represent the Yellow Moon.
• Luvia used the Cat and Dog Coin to divine the ritual conditions: it required five Wise Man's Gleaming Stones, a unique secret about the world, understanding of Wisdom and Knowledge, and an object with Ancient God power.
• Luvia and Iluna said they would seek information from the Seer Association and the Church as the ritual drew near, while Iluna noted the Church expected it before year's end.
• Luvia told Iluna that Leisha was Shade's lover, and Iluna accepted that she and Luvia would stay with Shade until the end.
• Luvia felt an inexplicable sorrow as she looked up at the snowy sky, sensing that people had said words like theirs in the distant past.

Shade celebrated Doctor Schneider’s victory over the Demon of Proliferating Desire and learned about the powers and spoils the doctor had gained. Shade left with several items, including relics for Dorothy and himself, while the Plague Doctor Ring’s negative trait remained unexplained.

• Doctor Schneider told Shade that he had gained new abilities and Spirit Runes after devouring the Flame Demon and Fanni, bringing him close to seven rings.
• Doctor Schneider gave Shade Fanni’s remains and a Desire Crystal, explaining their uses and warning Shade about the crystal’s contamination.
• Shade identified the Itrayan Pen, a relic that could create vivid reading illusions but might summon entities through certain stories, and decided to give it to Dorothy as a Year-End Festival gift.
• Shade learned that the Plague Doctor Ring could protect its wearer from many ordinary and occult diseases, though its negative trait was still unknown.

Shade kept the Plague Doctor Ring, asked the doctor to investigate Sir Legenes Prisha, and visited Canary Manor, where Miss Sylvia invited him to invest in new industries. He considered the offer but worried that accepting it would make him dependent on her in much the same way he feared relying on Miss Galina.

• The doctor advised Shade to keep the Plague Doctor Ring and explained how to contain it, and Shade asked him to assess Sir Legenes Prisha without approaching or entering his dreams.
• Shade returned home, let Mia play with the Plague Doctor Ring, and then traveled to Canary Manor to see Princess Margaret.
• Miss Sylvia told Shade that she and Miss Galina wanted to discuss the Fourth Chosen One and his Glimmerstone at the Duchess's estate the next morning.
• Miss Sylvia showed Shade four investment plans, and he offered advice about the industries and inventions.
• Miss Sylvia invited Shade to invest in and help manage factories with her, and Shade weighed the prospect of stable income against becoming dependent on her.

Shade considered Miss Sylvia’s investment proposal, promised to investigate one of Princess Margaret’s former maids, and collected the alchemy crossbow he had ordered. He left Old John’s pawnshop with the weapon, readying himself for the events ahead.

• Miss Sylvia invited Shade to invest in her work and became interested in his suggestion about synthesizing artificial fiber from coal tar, water, and air.
• Shade reassured Princess Margaret that he was unharmed, admitted that he was Princess Leisha Cavendish’s lover, and asked for Sir Legenes Presia’s public schedule.
• Princess Margaret asked Shade to find her former maid Joia Nicholas, whom she thought she had recently seen in Tobesk, and gave him a photograph.
• Shade learned that the Gray-headed Eagle who had left a note foiling the bombing had not been found, and suspected Joia’s reappearance was part of Military Intelligence Section Six’s plan to draw the Eagle out.
• Shade visited Old John’s pawnshop and collected the alchemy crossbow he had ordered, explaining that he intended to fire a Relic Arrow with it.

Shade discussed a possible new crossbow and met with Miss Galina and Miss Sylvia to review new information about the Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom’s ritual. After lunch, he traveled with Sister Devlin to the ancient Sacrificial Ground in the Rommel Mountain Range.

• Old John advised Shade to invest in a powerful Alchemy Weapon, but Shade decided to use his small crossbow for now and consider a custom weapon later.
• Shade told Miss Galina and Miss Sylvia that he had obtained two Glimmerstones, and Miss Galina revealed that the Speaker had restored another Poem Chapter Fragment through time reversal.
• Miss Galina said the Chosen One’s ritual would take place on an island in a lake somewhere in the Central Old Continent, and the Witches discussed the Truth Society, Apna Library, and the likely involvement of the Pantanal Great Swamp.
• Shade told the Witches that he planned to use a resonance ritual to investigate the Bard’s trial and its reference to the Yellow Moon.
• After lunch with the Witches, Shade traveled through Middlesburg and joined Sister Devlin in passing through a painting to the Sacrificial Ground in the Rommel Mountain Range.