Recaps

Shade offered demon remains and the Sun’s flame to the First Fire, gained greater resistance to cold and fire, and learned that the Fourth Chosen One’s ritual may take place in the Pantanal Great Swamp. He helped Grace and Helen establish a route to his home, then learned that Miss Danist had found the third slab he was seeking, though she had bad news to share.

• Shade and Sister Devlin fed demon remains and the Sun’s flame to the First Fire, and Shade received increased cold and fire resistance.
• Sister Devlin offered to teach Shade Manipulate Fire and lend him books and ritual materials to improve his perception of Moon Power.
• Shade brought Grace and Helen to 6 Saint Derain Square, where the twins used the Old Gods Statue to establish a route between his home and Middlesburg.
• Grace and Helen agreed to visit Shade once a month, and Helen secretly slipped a handkerchief into his pocket.
• Miss Danist summoned Shade to Saint Byron’s Library and showed him the third rune-marked slab, then told him she had bad news.

Miss Danist planned to bring the Wordless Black Book to Tobesk and have Shade arrange an experiment with Legenes Presia, while Shade postponed Red Butterfly Day with Dorothy and Leisha until the Year-End Festival. He began investigating the maid Princess Margaret had seen and narrowed her likely home to Nore Street.

• Miss Danist told Shade that she would travel to Tobesk with the Wordless Black Book and asked him to persuade Legenes Presia to release his spirit light for an experiment.
• Dorothy told Shade that Leisha had to organize reports at Yodel Palace, so they postponed Red Butterfly Day until the thirty-first day of the Month of Slumber.
• Dorothy kissed Shade goodbye, and Shade reflected that he needed to earn more money while listing his investigations and other pending tasks.
• Shade went to Regent Park to investigate the maid Princess Margaret had seen and reasoned that her route likely began near a nearby vegetable market.
• Shade compared market hours, rental costs, and routes around Regent Park and concluded that the maid most likely lived on Nore Street.

Shade searched Nore Street for a woman who might have been a maid, while an unexpected meeting with Sir Legenes Presia in an old bookstore raised new questions about the knight's interests. Shade left the bookstore still investigating the woman and reconsidering what he knew about Legenes.

• Shade lured two local young men into a garbage alley and pressured them to name nearby women matching his description; they gave him six possibilities.
• Shade questioned Mrs. Ragson and Ms. Lena, but neither was the woman he sought.
• Shade visited the Old Bookstore to find Miss Bella Brown and discovered that it also served as a firearms black market.
• Shade encountered Sir Legenes Presia browsing old books, and the two discussed reading and education before Legenes left.
• Shade used Library Retrieval to find three books Legenes had been reading and noticed that each had pages torn out recently.

Shade investigated Bella Brown and confirmed that the former Military Intelligence Section Six agent had returned to Tobesk to study art and build a new life. After confronting her in the kitchen, he heard her explain her decision, then startled her by tossing her a purple cabbage.

• Shade searched Bella Brown’s room and found signs of her former maid training and agent experience, along with paintings and a pistol.
• Using Echoes of the Past, Shade heard Bella discussing her wedding and her fear that her past might never disappear.
• Shade followed Bella into the kitchen and challenged her in two languages, asking why she had returned to Tobesk.
• Bella admitted that she had faked her death to escape Military Intelligence Section Six’s restrictions and pursue art, and said she planned to move to Artek City with her fiancé.
• Shade reassured Bella that her ambitions were not ridiculous, then tossed her a purple cabbage, leaving her staring at it in surprise.

Shade found Miss Bella Brown, the maid Princess Margaret had believed dead for eight years, and delivered her candid letter explaining that she had been a Military Intelligence Section Six agent who faked her death. Margaret learned the truth and, though hurt by the deception, felt relieved that Bella had survived and considered the old matter settled.

• Shade told Miss Brown that Princess Margaret had recognized her and asked her to write the princess a letter, promising to deliver it.
• Miss Brown wrote openly about her past as an undercover agent and her faked death, and said she would remain in Tobesk if Margaret wanted to see her.
• Shade brought Miss Brown's letter to Princess Margaret at Canary Manor and explained that she was alive.
• Margaret read the letter, reacted with a mix of anger and relief, and admitted she was glad nobody had died because of her willfulness.
• Shade reassured Margaret that she had been the victim in the affair, and Margaret said the matter from eight years ago had finally come to an end.

Princess Margaret released Miss Brown from her anger over the past, and Shade agreed to deliver her letter. At the Old Bookstore, Shade discovered that Military Intelligence Section Six had raided the shop, then tracked the wounded Miss Brown to a hiding place and confronted her.

• Princess Margaret told Shade she would not punish Miss Brown and wrote a letter for him to deliver.
• Princess Margaret invited Shade to lunch and told him that Miss Sylvia had been receiving invitations from Duchess Galina.
• Shade found police and Director Anlos at the Old Bookstore after a gunfight, and learned that Miss Brown had fled while injured.
• Shade used Blood Echo to follow Miss Brown through a safe house and into Long Ear Lane, where she took refuge in an empty house.
• Shade entered the house and found Miss Brown pointing a gun at his forehead.

Shade delivered Princess Margaret’s reply to Miss Brown, who asked him to take a farewell letter to her fiancé, Mr. Feringa. After learning that Mr. Feringa still wanted to marry her and flee with her, Shade agreed to pass along his decision and left their reunion uncertain.

• Shade found Miss Brown recovering from a gunshot wound and gave her Princess Margaret’s letter, which she burned after reading.
• Miss Brown asked Shade to deliver a letter to her fiancé, and he accepted 30 pounds for the errand.
• Shade found Mr. Feringa at his workplace and told him that Miss Brown had been exposed.
• Mr. Feringa said he still wanted to marry Miss Brown and had money and luggage ready for them to escape together.
• Shade told Mr. Feringa to hide in the sewers and wait for word from him before deciding whether to flee or surrender.

Shade tried to help Miss Brown and Mr. Feringa escape Tobesk, but failed to find his usual allies. Princess Margaret refused to forgive Miss Brown, yet secretly gave Shade a letter that could secure the couple passage out of the city.

• Shade told Miss Brown that Mr. Feringa wanted her to join him, and she asked Shade to deliver a final letter because she believed they could not escape.
• Shade searched for Dorothy and Leisha, but both were unavailable, leaving him without a trusted ally who could arrange a safe route out of Tobesk.
• Shade told Princess Margaret about Miss Brown and Mr. Feringa's love and asked for medicine, explaining that he wanted to help them.
• Princess Margaret condemned Miss Brown for her betrayal but revealed that her cargo ship would leave that night and wrote Shade a letter for its captain.
• Shade took the letter and left to help Miss Brown, while Margaret watched him go and privately admired his chivalry.

Shade guided Miss Brown across Tobesk to meet Mr. Feringa, then led the couple through the sewers toward the Terrarell River and Princess Margaret’s waiting ship. They reached the dock and began boarding as the ship prepared to sail.

• Shade and Miss Brown left her hiding place and crossed Tobesk, evading police and other dangers along the way.
• Shade helped Miss Brown enter the sewers, where they reunited with Mr. Feringa and learned he knew a route to the dock.
• Shade, Miss Brown, and Mr. Feringa traveled through the sewers, aided by Wild Cats that drove away rats.
• The three emerged near the Terrarell River and hurried toward the cargo ship, where Princess Margaret and her maid were waiting.
• The sailors urged Miss Brown and Mr. Feringa aboard as Princess Margaret watched silently and the ship prepared to sail.

Shade helped Miss Brown and Mr. Feringa escape Delarion, then reunited with Princess Margaret as the ship departed. After Margaret thanked him and invited him to use her name, “She” revealed that Shade had touched the Anchor of Civilization by connecting with princesses from both Kingdoms.

• Shade accepted sixty pounds and the sewer maps from Mr. Feringa and urged him and Miss Brown to board the ship before Military Intelligence Section Six arrived.
• Shade convinced Director Anlos that Margaret was inspecting smuggled tobacco, and Anlos continued his search without approaching the ship.
• After the ship departed, Margaret told Shade that seeing Miss Brown leave brought mixed feelings, thanked him, and permitted him to call her by name.
• Shade asked Margaret to arrange a meeting with Sir Prisha, and she agreed to attend; she then kissed Shade on the cheek before leaving in her carriage.
• “She” told Shade that he had touched the Anchor of Civilization by becoming connected to princesses from both Kingdoms, while Shade said he preferred pursuing strength over power.

Shade prepared to help Witch Chloe on the Snow Mountain while pursuing the Water of Wisdom rune and planning for his next advancement. He returned to the Fifth Epoch and learned that Chloe and the others had already completed two-thirds of the climb.

• Shade learned that the Church had captured a Pantanal Voodoo Society Ring Arcanist and uncovered clues that the Fourth Chosen One's ritual would take place farther south.
• Shade agreed to host the Study Group's year-end exams and decided to pause his dates with Dorothy while seeking his fourth-ring Enlightenment Spirit Rune.
• Shade collected Sun Fire and, after Mia insisted on coming along, turned the cat into a toy and entered the Time Corridor.
• Shade arrived on the Snow Mountain, where the Father of Infinite Tree tasked him with helping the Winter Maiden escort the lost people to the summit.
• Shade estimated that Witch Chloe and the others had completed two-thirds of the journey and would reach the summit if they kept their pace.

Shade encountered the Winter Maiden, received a bottle of water from the Spring of Clarity for Chloe, and rejoined Chloe and her companions at their snowy camp. Chloe drank the water without noticing any change and explained that an unknown presence had been stalking them in the forms of lost or dead companions.

• Shade found the Winter Maiden beside a relic spring, and she told him to bring its water to Chloe before Chloe reached the summit and remembered what she had forgotten.
• The Winter Maiden touched Shade's forehead, permanently enhancing his powers related to ice and snow, and Shade collected a limited amount of Spring of Clarity water in a glass bottle.
• Shade found Chloe, Mrs. Marcus, and the timid man sheltering in a snow-buried tent, then warmed himself by their fire and gave Chloe the bottle.
• Chloe drank the water but said she felt no different and insisted she was clear-headed.
• Chloe told Shade that something had been following and harassing them by taking the forms of companions who had disappeared or died on the mountain.
• Shade summoned Little Mia's Cat, which burrowed into his coat as the group settled around the fire.

Shade gave Miss Chloe a flame of Sun Fire, then helped her repel a creature that appeared as a dead companion outside the tent. After learning the creature could be confronted by attacking its true body and illusion together, Shade went out alone to face it.

• Shade gave Miss Chloe a flame of Sun Fire, which she absorbed into her body.
• A woman outside the tent claimed to be Wanda, but Miss Chloe recognized her as someone who had died in the Silver Mountain Range.
• Shade opened the Gate of Death to threaten the creature, and it vanished from outside the tent.
• Miss Chloe explained that the creature fed on positive emotions and could be countered by attacking its main body and illusion at the same time.
• Shade handed Little Mia to Miss Chloe and stepped outside to confront the creature, using memories of losing Little Mia to kindle his anger.

Shade and Miss Chloe fought a deathly shadow in the Silver Mountain Range and discovered that defeating it had yielded an incomplete Witch Echo of Chloe. The journey remained full of unexplained anomalies as they returned to the tent.

• Shade used Moonlight Slash against the death shadow, but Miss Chloe froze in fear and did not attack with him.
• Little Mia’s cries helped Miss Chloe recover; she summoned a swarm of cats with Thousand Cat Curse, and she and Shade destroyed the shadow with Thunder Spear and an explosive spell.
• The explosion triggered an avalanche, which the ancient Winter God stopped before it reached them.
• Shade found black particles in the crater and obtained the incomplete Witch Echo: Chloe by touching the heated snow.
• Shade questioned how the Eleventh Rank Miss Chloe could leave a Witch Echo, then noticed that Mrs. Marcus and the silent man seemed strangely easy to overlook.

Shade returned from his encounter with Miss Chloe in the Silver Mountain Range, then received the final stone slab from Miss Danist and discussed his time investigation with her. The chapter left Chloe’s identity unknown and Shade poised to uncover the mysteries of time once he unsealed the Red Moon Spirit Rune.

• Shade encouraged Miss Chloe to keep climbing toward the summit, and she swore to reach the highest point before he disappeared back to the Sixth Epoch.
• Shade returned home, warmed himself by the fireplace, and later visited Miss Galina’s estate, but neither she nor Tifa was there.
• Miss Danist arrived at Shade’s home and gave him the final stone slab, which he put away without examining it.
• Miss Danist warned Shade that Mr. Shelf Tim and Miss Shana Aya were connected to a terrifying incident that had also cast suspicion on Bill Schneider.
• Shade described Miss Chloe to Miss Danist, but she said her common name and limited surviving records made it difficult to identify her.

Shade and Miss Danist failed to decipher the Black Book because they still needed a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune, so Shade asked her to return that evening with a possible alternative. Princess Margaret invited Shade to her Tuesday banquet before leaving for home, and Sir Prisha asked him to help contain a Relic on Monday; the chapter ended with Luvia arriving to invite Shade to dinner.

• Miss Danist, Shade, and Sir Prisha used their spiritual lights on the Black Book, but the marks remained too blurry to read without a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune.
• Shade asked Miss Danist to return at eight that evening while he prepared another possible method.
• Princess Margaret told Shade she would leave the following Wednesday and invited him to her Tuesday banquet; they exchanged a tender farewell.
• Sir Prisha revealed that he was a Fifth Ring Arcanist and invited Shade to help contain an uncontained Level 4 book Relic on Monday.
• Luvia arrived as Shade saw Sir Prisha off, and she invited Shade to have dinner with her.

Shade activated the Yellow Moon Stone Slab and discovered that it helped clarify a mysterious book when used alongside Miss Danist’s Core Ling Rune. He proposed substituting a sufficiently pure Yellow Moon relic for the missing Core Ling Rune, and Miss Danist began listing possible relics as they sought a way to open the book.

• Luvia told Shade that Miss Pawo was Second in Line for the Fourth Chosen One and had divined friendship for Shade, so they agreed Miss Pawo was a greater threat than Sir Prisha.
• Shade invited Luvia to accompany him to Tuesday’s Farewell Party before she went upstairs to stargaze and work on her paper.
• Shade activated the Yellow Moon Stone Slab, learned another third of its knowledge, and watched it resonate with the Silver Moon Stone Slab.
• Shade used the Yellow Moon Stone Slab with Miss Danist’s Core Ling Rune to make the writing in the black book clearer.
• Shade explained that a pure relic might substitute for a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune, and Miss Danist named several possible relics, including the Shattered Moonstone and Moon in the Water.

Shade gave Miss Danist Moonlight Water in exchange for a potion formula, then joined Sir Prisha to reclaim the Fool’s Book from collector Mr. Booker. The chapter ended with Shade quietly putting on his ring as Sir Prisha distracted Booker in his underground collection room.

• Shade gave Miss Danist a vial of Moonlight Water, and she agreed to send him a potion formula.
• Luvia came downstairs, and Shade invited her to stay the night while she asked about the missing girl.
• Shade went with Sir Prisha to meet Mr. Booker and contain the Fool’s Book, a relic that revealed knowledge and could drive readers mad.
• Sir Prisha arranged to see Booker’s private collection, and the three entered its heavily secured underground room.
• As Booker proudly displayed his books, Shade put on his ring while Sir Prisha kept him occupied.

Shade and Sir Prisha contained Fool's Book after rescuing Mr. Booker, and Sir Prisha gave the Relic to Shade as payment. On the ride home, Shade discovered that the book contained information about the Sage Level Relic Source of Chaos.

• Shade distracted Mr. Booker with the Mind Crystal Ring while Sir Prisha fought the man under Fool's Book's control.
• Shade used Library Retrieval and traces of the Whisper Element to locate Fool's Book sewn inside a chair in the library's reception room.
• Shade restrained the book with red thread, antelope hide, and holy water, then helped Sir Prisha erase Mr. Booker's memories and treat him.
• Sir Prisha gave Fool's Book to Shade, who accepted it and paid him additional money for the Relic.
• Shade read the book in the carriage and learned the properties and dangers of Source of Chaos, also known as the Pearl of the Yellow Moon.

Shade discussed the pursuit and dangers of knowledge with Sir Prisha, then learned from Doctor Schneider that Legenes Presia had an exceptionally powerful thirst for knowledge. The chapter left Shade considering the danger of unrestrained desire while Little Mia studied the open Fool's Book.

• Shade read Fool's Book and learned the Love Potion formula and how to learn Love Charm, then discussed the book and knowledge with Sir Prisha.
• Shade described Professor Drake's fear of forbidden knowledge, and Sir Prisha argued that people must keep exploring despite the risks.
• After Sir Prisha left, Shade spent the day reading and reviewing his finances, while Little Mia secretly examined Fool's Book and its pages filled with text and illustrations.
• Doctor Schneider visited Shade and reported that Legenes Presia's desire for knowledge and wisdom was unusually intense.
• Doctor Schneider told Shade that Legenes could accomplish something extraordinary if he lived, provided he kept his desire under control.

Shade learned that Miss Galina planned to fake an illness so she could secretly travel with Miss Sylvia and the Kassenric delegation to investigate the Chosen One. He accompanied the Witches into the Council to search its records for information about a Fifth Epoch Witch named Chloe.

• The Doctor told Shade that Sir Prisha had a faint demon stench but had not accepted a demon's power, and suggested that his hunger for knowledge might explain his actions.
• Miss Galina revealed that she would pretend to be sick while she and Miss Sylvia traveled with the delegation to Kasonlik to observe the suspected Chosen One; the Council had ordered them not to intervene.
• Shade asked Miss Galina and Miss Sylvia about Chloe, a silver-haired Witch and Council member who had visited a Snow Mountain around Fifth Epoch 903, but neither recognized her.
• Miss Galina offered to search the Council's incomplete records and used her Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace to reveal a hidden passage behind the Moon seat.

Shade and the witches searched the Witch Council’s archives, where touching an ancient fingerprint summoned a message from Miss Blaine Olanode. Her phantom revealed what little she knew about That Lady and directed Shade to seek more information at the Guiding Light Hermitage before she vanished into his heart as a complete Witch Echo.

• Miss Sylvia and Miss Galina explained that the Council’s five ancient bookcases represented an archive whose records only Council members could retrieve.
• Shade touched a fingerprint on the central bookcase, awakening a Moon-lit message from Miss Blaine Olanode, whom he had met during his travels into the past.
• Miss Olanord told Shade that Chloe’s records had been lost, and that That Lady had helped found the Zalas Society before becoming a demigod; she directed him to the Guiding Light Hermitage for further information.
• Miss Olanord’s phantom disappeared into Shade’s heart, granting him the complete Witch Echo: Olanord.
• Miss Sylvia questioned Shade about time travel, while Miss Galina explained that he truly visited and participated in events in the past; Shade said he had only one chance left to see Miss Chloe.

Shade brought Miss Sylvia to the Space Labyrinth, where she was astonished by the Ancient God’s statue and its mysteries. He then ran errands for Old John and commissioned Mr. Edmund to investigate a witch from the early Fifth Epoch, hoping to learn more by Saturday night.

• Miss Sylvia kissed Shade in the carriage and became increasingly interested in him before he showed her the hidden passage to the Space Labyrinth.
• Shade helped Miss Sylvia approach the Ancient God’s statue and establish a landmark in the labyrinth, where she marveled at the ancient secrets and kissed him.
• Shade visited Old John, who said he was leaving for the Great Swamp Region and asked Shade to deliver an order sheet to Kops before Friday.
• Shade traveled to Coldwater Port City and asked Mr. Edmund to have the Guiding Light Hermitage investigate a witch from the early Fifth Epoch before Saturday night.

Shade sought records about Chloe, a Fifth Epoch Demigod Witch, then attended Princess Margaret’s farewell banquet with Luvia. Before Margaret’s departure, she and Shade slipped away from Canary Manor to take a private walk through Tobesk.

• Edmund discussed the scarcity of records about Chloe and the decline of supernatural power with Shade.
• Shade returned to Tobesk and went with Luvia to Princess Margaret’s farewell banquet at Canary Manor.
• Luvia met Miss Sylvia while Shade was summoned to speak with Margaret in a private study.
• Margaret told Shade she was leaving the next morning and said the delegation’s elders had discouraged further contact between them.
• Shade suggested a private walk, and he and Margaret disguised themselves in cloaks and escaped the manor into foggy Tobesk.

Shade and Margaret shared a snowy walk through Tobesk, where he told her a tragic shipwreck story and they reflected on parting. Their evening was interrupted by Miss Pawo, who asked Margaret for a private conversation and a simple answer.

• Shade and Margaret encountered Iluna and the police pursuing an invisible blue creature linked to the new Keeper of Secrets.
• Margaret asked Shade about his story with Princess Leisha Cavendish, and he told her a shipwreck tragedy.
• As they walked through the snow, Margaret said she believed the sad story reflected the reality of people who could not stay together.
• Miss Pawo appeared beneath a Gas Street Lamp and asked to speak with Margaret alone.
• Miss Pawo reminded Margaret that they had met in Huntington and asked whether the Princess could answer her simple question.