Recaps

After the attack at the Stone Masons Association, Margaret used the incident to advance peace talks between the royal family and the association, while Shade and the Witches continued investigating the cultists’ preparations for the Divine Advent Ritual. Luvia brought news of spreading Mad Earth sites and a new relic, but the Guardians and the spring gemstone remained missing.

• Margaret told Shade that the attack had strengthened her position and that she would use The Church’s newspaper reports to present the royal family’s peace talks with the Stone Masons Association as settled.
• Shade told Margaret he planned to resolve matters in Randall River Valley that week, and she kissed him before their next expected parting.
• Shade informed the Witches and Luvia that the petrification incident could be connected to the cultists’ Divine Advent Ritual and the old man’s final stone statue.
• Stone Osenfott wrote that he had obtained the Sapphire Earring and arranged to exchange it with Shade at a tavern outside the city the next evening.
• Luvia told Shade that seven Mad Earth sites had appeared near Randall River Valley and that The Church had found a Fallen Earth Elemental Giant Spirit in Delarion’s northern mountains.
• Luvia gave Shade two Thunder God’s Wrath coins, explaining that they could become powerful bolts of Thunder, while confirming that the Guardians and spring gemstone were still missing.

Shade used a Thunder God's Wrath coin to divine the location of the spring gemstone and learned it was in a local auction house warehouse. He met Stone Osenfott at the Sturgeon Tavern, returned the items Osenfott had commissioned, and discovered that Osenfott had Founding and wanted another favor in exchange for it.

• Shade and Luvia used a Thunder God's Wrath coin to locate the spring gemstone, which was in the Cassandra Auction House warehouse.
• Shade traveled to Sturgeon Village and went to the Sturgeon Tavern to meet Stone Osenfott.
• Shade gave Osenfott the Kasonlik Third Class Combat Hero Medal and the Sapphire Earrings, and Osenfott confirmed they were the items he sought.
• Shade demanded the promised clue about Founding, and Osenfott revealed that the card was now in his pocket.
• Osenfott offered to give Shade Founding if Shade agreed to do one thing for him, and Shade angrily questioned his renewed demand.

Shade examined Osenfott’s Founding card and agreed to meet him at his manor on Friday night to receive it. After Osenfott left, the Demon appeared, discussed Shade’s promised task and a backup weapon, then stopped time to warn him against tricks.

• Osenfott showed Shade a powerful Founding card and invited him to his manor on Friday night, promising to give it to him.
• Shade let Osenfott leave after receiving a pouch of coins to cover the tavern bill, and decided to call the Doctor on Friday.
• The Demon returned in Osenfott’s guise and asked whether Shade was ready to fulfill his commission after obtaining the card.
• Shade showed the Demon his telescopic sword, and the Demon offered him a relic dagger as a backup weapon.
• The Demon questioned Shade about the God Summoner and snapped its fingers, freezing time throughout the tavern.

After the Demon threatened Shade into dueling Osenfott at Osenfott Manor on Friday, Shade met Mr. Asmon in a tavern and agreed to hear about rumors of Demons while playing Rhodes Cards with him and magician Mark Winston. As the game began, Shade resumed an old story about a Demon and a boy who wished to seal it.

• The Demon threatened to kill increasing numbers of people unless Shade showed up Friday, dueled Osenfott, and stabbed him, then offered six possible rewards for compliance.
• After the Demon vanished, Shade met Mr. Asmon, who confirmed that rumors of Demons had drawn him to Randall River Valley City.
• Shade invited Mr. Asmon to share his story over Rhodes Cards, and Mark Winston joined them, offering a special card as a wager.
• Mark showed them the Circus Tragedy · Headless Clown card and explained that it commemorated the deaths at Jasmine Circus thirty years earlier.
• Shade proposed a three-player card game and began retelling Mr. Asmon's story about a Demon, a man who wished to seal it, and a boy who later made a wish of his own.

Shade played Rhodes Cards with Mr. Asmon and Mr. Winston while Mr. Asmon continued his tale of a youth who killed the girl he loved to free her soul from the Demon. The story paused before its conclusion, and Shade asked Mr. Asmon about local rumors concerning Demons.

• Shade won the first round against Mr. Winston after their final cards gave Shade twenty-nine points and Winston twenty-eight.
• Mr. Asmon told how the youth fell in love with a village girl, then rejected her and killed her so the Demon could not claim her soul.
• Mr. Asmon won the second round after Mr. Winston’s Headless Clown card pushed his total over twenty-one.
• Mr. Asmon explained that the youth feared the Demon would return to the girl after his death, and said the youth continued toward the distant horizon after freeing her soul.
• Mr. Winston gave Shade the Stars 3 Circus Tragedy · Headless Clown card and left the tavern.
• Shade asked Mr. Asmon whether he would discuss local rumors about Demons.

Shade exchanged information about Randall River Valley’s Demon legends with Xiao En Asmon and warned him to avoid traveling outside the city for now. On Wednesday morning, Shade received a letter and a heavy package from Mia San Goode, leaving its contents unknown.

• Shade and Xiao En Asmon traded information about the Stoneville Kingdom, Saint Perry’s Cemetery, and the Demon’s sealed location.
• Shade warned Asmon about the plague, cultists, and the dangers of investigating local Demon legends, and Asmon said he would wait until spring before deciding whether to continue.
• Shade accepted Asmon’s request for the withered black rose, then left the tavern and reflected that the Demon affair would end on Friday.
• On Wednesday morning, Shade signed for a letter and heavy package sent by Mia San Goode, then carried the box inside with ease.

Shade discovered a golden armor set sent by Miss Goode and planned a spring visit to her. He then discussed his Friday meeting with Osenfott and the Soul-Sucking Demon Blade with Doctor Schneider, who warned that the Demon was manipulating him.

• Shade opened Miss Goode’s crate and found a golden cat-shaped display holding a complete set of armor, which he tried on and planned to maintain.
• Shade wrote back to Miss Goode, thanked her for the gift, and said he planned to visit with Mia in late March or early April.
• Shade told Doctor Schneider that he would meet Osenfott on Friday and arranged to use the disappearance of the Origin card as a signal.
• Shade planned to have allies wait outside Osenfott Manor with the Demon Hunting Seal and Night Watchman, while Doctor Schneider watched the Origin card from Magician’s Escape Box.
• Doctor Schneider identified the dagger as the Soul-Sucking Demon Blade and warned Shade that Gothe was misleading him by making him focus on the weapon.

Shade made final preparations to kill Stone Osenfott on Friday night and coordinated with Marylin Handel and Sister Devlin. Sister Devlin revealed that the Witch Council wanted Miss Lathers to become a Chosen One, while Shade and Luvia suspected something was wrong with the Guardians; he asked what The Church thought.

• Shade confirmed to Doctor Schneider that he would banish Stone Osenfott's soul after killing him and outlined his safeguards for Friday night.
• Shade met Marylin Handel and Joey Barton as they sent away an evil spirit, whose memories revealed that Osenfott's allies had arranged the arson that killed a merchant's family.
• Shade arranged for Marylin Handel and Joey Barton to enter Osenfott Manor when Joey Barton's Origin card disappeared on Friday night.
• Shade met Sister Devlin at Snake Heart Hospital, where she told him Sivie Aurora had delivered the Witch Council's request to let Miss Lathers become a Chosen One if possible.
• Shade said he trusted the Guardians' intentions but remained cautious about their condition, and Sister Devlin said Luvia shared her concerns before Shade asked what The Church thought.

Shade coordinated plans with Sister Devlin for the Demon and Chosen One matters, then met with the witches at Miss Benanis’s estate. Miss Swift found the final green Hexagonal Gemstone Shade needed and revealed that her good mood came from meeting Princess Margaret.

• Shade asked Sister Devlin to wait outside the Demon’s estate on Friday and enter when she received his signal, while she warned him that Randall River Valley felt like a sign of the world’s decay.
• Sister Devlin examined Shade with flames, found nothing wrong with his body, and urged him to be careful when confronting the Demon.
• Shade joined Miss Aurora, Luvia, and the witches at Miss Benanis’s estate, where he confirmed he planned to handle the Demon while the others focused on the Chosen One Ritual.
• Miss Swift gave Shade the final green Hexagonal Gemstone after tracing it to a diviner who had brought it to Randall River Valley more than a century earlier.
• Shade thanked Miss Swift with a kiss, and she told him she was cheerful because she had met Princess Margaret.

Shade visited a Lookout Tower by Nidlan Lake to investigate a rumor about where the Demon had once been sealed, but found that the Church had already searched it and uncovered nothing. Before leaving, he accepted Margaret’s invitation to a banquet where she planned to negotiate with the Stone Masons Association.

• The flaxen-haired girl told Shade that Margaret’s appearance had restored her confidence, wished him success, and offered him access to the local auction house.
• Margaret invited Shade to Thursday’s banquet, where she intended to pursue a preliminary peace agreement with the Stone Masons Association and might use the gold mine as a bargaining chip.
• After Margaret kissed him, Shade set out alone to investigate Mr. Xiao En Asmon’s clue about the Demon’s former seal near Nidlan Lake.
• Shade found signs that a Dawn Church Ring Arcanist Squad had searched the Lookout Tower that morning and left without finding anything.
• Shade waited for the squad to depart, searched the tower’s four floors, and found only the Church’s investigation traces and a still-warm fire basin.

Shade met the Osenfott Manor maid, who asked him to help free her and the Butler and revealed that Stone Osenfott’s contract involved a heart. After searching the lake, Shade recovered a Demon Hunting Seal and brought the fragments to Benanice Manor, where he showed them to the others.

• The Osenfott maid told Shade that she and the Butler wanted him to make Stone Osenfott declare them free, and she explained that his contract with the ancient evil involved a heart.
• The maid said the ancient evil had once been sealed in the lake and suggested Shade search its bottom for clues.
• Shade searched underwater for four hours and recovered stone fragments containing a Demon Hunting Seal, a Keeper of Secrets Level relic.
• At breakfast, Shade explained the relic’s powers and how he had obtained another Demon Hunting Seal in Tobesk.
• Miss Sylvia examined the stone fragment and remarked on the skill of the Ring Arcanists who had established the seal.

Shade discussed the Demon’s concealment ability and gave Iluna the ring before attending Margaret’s banquet alone. At the manor, he spotted Stone Osenfott outside and found him threatening a fallen man in the stables.

• Shade explained that a damaged stone slab warned that the Demon could hide by taking the form of anything it reflected.
• Shade gave Iluna the ring, and she decided to keep it with her while declining to attend the banquet.
• Miss Aurora and Miss Galina planned to survey the Black Night Spirit Temple, while Iluna stayed at the church to rest.
• Shade arrived alone at Margaret’s banquet and spotted Stone Osenfott moving through the garden shadows.
• Shade followed Osenfott to the stables, where he found him holding a pitchfork over a fat man crawling toward the door.

Shade interrupted Shi Dong Osenfott as he prepared to kill a man at the banquet manor, then discussed Osenfott’s immortality and possible heart condition with him. Mr. Lathers warned Shade that a catastrophic fourth-stage earth distortion was approaching and said reaching the Heart of the Earth for the Chosen One Ritual might be impossible.

• Shade entered the stable and learned that Osenfott intended to kill a man who had used legal usury to force one of Osenfott’s friend’s younger sisters into selling herself.
• Shade argued that Osenfott should not kill the man on someone else’s estate, and Osenfott petrified him and buried the statue beneath the stable floor.
• Shade questioned Osenfott about his immortality and the pain he could still feel, but Osenfott left after inviting Shade to his manor the next night to take Founding.
• Mr. Lathers emerged from the stable shadows and warned Shade that a major earthquake would strike north of Randall River Valley City early Saturday, advancing the earth’s distortion to its fourth stage.
• Mr. Lathers explained that he could no longer leave the Heart of the Earth and cautioned Shade that the distortion there might prevent him from reaching it to perform the Chosen One Ritual.

Shade refused to sacrifice Siris La Ses to restore the Guardians, promising instead to purify the Earth and find another way to help them hold the ritual. He took a fragment of the Heart of the Earth for guidance, then stayed hidden in the stable to learn why Mr. Enriques had returned.

• The Guardians explained that their corruption could be reversed if the Heart of the Earth returned to normal, or temporarily eased if a new soul joined them, and named Stone Osenfott and Siris La Ses as candidates.
• The Guardians gave Shade a small fragment of the Heart of the Earth and said it could guide him toward the main body; Shade refused to put Siris in danger and promised to keep his word to purify the Earth.
• The Guardians departed by turning into soil, and Shade resolved to seek the Heart of the Earth’s divinity and prepare for the evil god’s descent.
• Shade encountered Mr. Enriques waiting near the stable, then watched as Aunt Louise gave him a letter containing the results of her investigation in Wilundell.
• Shade slipped back into the stable and pretended to be inspecting horses when Mr. Enriques arrived to read the letter.

Shade helped Mr. Enriques confront his doubts about his wife Maggie’s past and deliver a letter asking her to meet him. After reading her husband’s message, Maggie reconciled with him, and they began rebuilding their marriage.

• Mr. Enriques told Shade that he had investigated Maggie’s past in Weilun Dai’er City and would decide whether to remain married after reading the results.
• Mr. Enriques read the report, burned it, and wrote Maggie a letter asking her to meet him by the fountain.
• Shade delivered the letter to Maggie in the banquet hall and walked outside with Miss Lathers to watch the couple meet.
• Mr. Enriques told Maggie that he still loved her and would move back into their bedroom, while warning her not to give him another reason to doubt her.
• Maggie apologized, promised to love him for the rest of her life, and embraced and kissed Mr. Enriques beneath the moonlight.

Shade told Siris that the Guardians intended for her to die and become part of them, but promised to seek another way and agreed to accompany her to the Forgotten Church the next day. Back at the banquet, the group discussed the settlement with the Stone Masons Association, while Vanessa clung to Shade to disguise the Witch Council’s involvement.

• After Shade and Miss Lathers watched the couple leave, Shade revealed that a Guardian’s Clay Avatar had warned him that the Heart of the Earth was in danger and gave him a golden pebble meant to grant Siris Earth Power.
• Siris refused the pebble and guessed that the Guardian wanted her to die and join him; Shade put it away and told her not to accept the Guardians’ chosen fate.
• Siris asked Shade to accompany her to the Forgotten Church on Friday to understand her father’s final thoughts, and Shade agreed after hearing the Fate Divergence Point warning.
• Back at the manor, Miss Sylvia explained that Princess Margaret had negotiated compensation in installments and that Prince William had contributed toward the settlement with the Stone Masons Association.
• Shade and Miss Lathers discussed how the royal family could pay for the Royal Mausoleum repairs indirectly, preserving the appearance that the association was working for free.
• Vanessa clung to Shade so onlookers would mistake their closeness for an ordinary relationship, while Siris told Miss Sylvia that Vanessa had only become so bold recently.

Margaret announced a reconciliation between the Royal Family and the Stone Masons Association, then revealed plans for a memorial and joint mineral development. Shade learned he would receive an eight-percent share in the gold mine, while Margaret’s bold move stirred interest among the Witches.

• Shade explained that his Witch-detecting badge would not burn his skin when several Great Witches were nearby.
• Margaret and Prince William announced that the Royal Family would pay its outstanding construction debts and the Stone Masons Association would finish the Royal Mausoleum work.
• Prince William revealed plans for a joint mineral project, and Margaret returned the association’s historic Share Contract as a gesture of friendship.
• Miss Benanis told Shade that Margaret would give him eight percent of the gold-mine shares and her seven percent.
• Miss Sylvia observed that Margaret’s initiative could carry major political significance, while the Witches discussed her ambition.

After an aurora appeared over Randall River Valley during an earthquake, Shade learned that the fourth stage of Mad Earth would arrive in about thirty hours. He prepared to return to Osenfott Manor for the coming disaster, then woke from a strange nightmare about Mia.

• Margaret Anjou completed her task for Vanessa Benanis and became her apprentice, resolving the dispute between the Anjou Royal Family and the Stone Masons Association.
• An earthquake shook the manor, and the guests saw an aurora that Vanessa Benanis identified as a warning of a major earthquake; Shade said the fourth stage of Mad Earth would arrive early Saturday morning.
• Shade, Miss Sylvia, Miss Benanis, and Miss Lathers used a Teleportation Gate to leave the manor, while the Witch Council relayed the Guardians’ warning to the Five Gods Church.
• The witches planned to protect Randall River Valley and chose Miss Sylvia to wait near Osenfott Manor while Shade went there on Friday night; Shade returned to Tobesk to prepare.
• Shade brought Mia to bed and dreamed that his corpse threw him into an abyss, where a majestic, armored Mia struck his chest; he woke startled and saw the Cat glaring at him.

Shade prepared for the final battle in Randall River Valley, packed Relics, and said farewell to Dorothy and Leisha before setting out. He reached the valley under ominous gray snow and a darkened sky, where the city appeared to be in crisis.

• Shade reviewed which Relics and supplies to bring, leaving Aiken Ola-Chosen One's Arrow and several other items at home.
• Dorothy confronted Shade about the danger in Randall River Valley, and she and Leisha gave him copied parchments of 'Grey's Crystal Shoes' and asked him to return safely.
• Shade and Leisha visited Doctor Schneider's clinic, where Shade temporarily left Origin with him and warned him that Randall River Valley would be dangerous that night.
• Shade returned to Forgotten Church, retrieved the Watsont family photograph as his first layer of insurance, and left with Mia.
• Shade discovered gray snow, a faint black-outlined Sun, foul fog, rising smoke, and warning sounds across Randall River Valley.

Shade joined the Witch Council’s preparations at the Wilde Opera House as Randall River Valley reeled from earthquakes and other disasters. With the enemy expected to attack that night, the forces divided their duties among the city and seven possible sites for the Chosen One Ritual.

• Shade crossed the gray-snow-covered city, learned of the earthquakes and their deadly aftermath, and left Origin beside Miss Marylin Handel at the Bountiful Earth Inn.
• Shade found Luvia’s note saying the Seer Association had summoned her and that she would meet him at the Wilde Opera House.
• Miss Benanis told Shade that the Church had prepared to defend the city and that the three other Great Witches would lead their Followers against the enemy outside the city after eight that night.
• The Church and Seer Association narrowed the possible Chosen One Ritual locations to seven regions, and Sister Devlin chose to guard the Moon Worship Ruins near Osenfott Manor with Shade’s Night Watchman and Founding.
• Luvia arrived at the Wilde Opera House after taking leave, where the four Great Witches and their forces prepared for the operation.

Shade and Luvia toured the Opera House as the Witches prepared for the battle at Osenfott Manor, helping solve a potion ingredient problem and discussing the Chosen Ones. The chapter ended with Miss Decter asking Shade to suppress spatial phenomena so Miss Sylvia’s followers could complete their ritual matrix.

• Shade used his moonlight to enchant Miss Hailey Aurora’s staff with silver runes.
• Shade recalled a past-Witch formula that let Tifa and Martha substitute ordinary honeysuckle for the missing Colorless Honeysuckle in Ten Thousand Poisons Spirit.
• Shade told Luvia he did not intend to make Siris a Chosen One because he did not want to abandon her with the Guardians’ responsibilities.
• Shade and Luvia discussed the likelihood of divine descent and continued touring the Opera House’s preparations.
• Miss Decter asked Shade to activate his ability to prohibit spatial phenomena while Miss Sylvia’s followers completed their ritual matrix.

Shade and Luvia helped prepare Wilde Opera House for the Chosen One Ritual and discussed the possible candidates and the danger at Osenfott Manor. The Witches revealed the Speaker’s hidden ritual across Randall River Valley as Shade prepared to visit Siris and depart for Osenfott Manor that evening.

• Shade activated a Space Stabilization Aura while Miss Decter placed the Aberrant Anchor Stone in the Ritual Matrix, driving strange black cat-like creatures back into the floor.
• Shade and Luvia discussed the possible Chosen Ones, agreed that Stone Osenfott becoming one had to be prevented, and planned for Shade to visit Osenfott Manor that night.
• Shade and Luvia reviewed the available holders of Earth Power and considered asking the Church for help completing the Chosen One Ritual.
• Miss Benanis and the other Great Witches showed Shade the Speaker’s memory and explained that Miss Isabella had secretly drawn a citywide Ritual Matrix that could strengthen and locate Witches.
• Miss Aurora arranged for the Witches to remain ready to support Shade, who said he would visit the Forgotten Church with Siris before leaving for Osenfott Manor at seven thirty.

Shade prepared to leave for Osenfott Manor while Luvia divined the danger facing Randall River Valley and drew ominous Tarot cards for Shade and Siris. Shade promised to return safely, then set out with Siris for the Forgotten Church.

• Shade asked the Witches to delay the Mad Guardian if he appeared before Shade returned, and to follow Luvia's lead.
• Luvia divined that the Guardians would be more powerful than ordinary Thirteenth Ring sorcerers, would appear outside the city, and would go mad about an hour and a half after the first Randall Flower bloomed, likely after one in the morning Saturday.
• Shade drew cards showing a cunning enemy, a duel, and apparent sacrifice, then used Mia's card, Feast, to reassure Luvia; Siris drew Broken Rope, while Luvia drew Audience.
• Shade promised Luvia he would return safely tomorrow morning and chose to accompany Siris to the Forgotten Church.
• Shade and Siris walked through the gray snow toward the church, avoiding slow carriages and leaving Mia with Luvia.

Siris and Shade searched the Forgotten Church’s confessional for the secret her father had pursued, and Siris confronted her resentment toward him in a strange supernatural confession. After the second booth attacked Shade with Memory Threads, a hateful version of Siris emerged and lunged at her.

• Siris told Shade that she wanted her father’s statue moved to the opera troupe’s graveyard and explained that she had found his research and the church’s floor plan.
• Shade and Siris cleared a route to the confessional, where they found six intact booths marked by traces of elemental power.
• In the first booth, Siris confessed that she hated her father for abandoning her, and a hidden voice called it a Joke of Destiny before giving them a mirror fragment.
• Memory Threads burst from the second booth, striking Shade and making him repeat words of hatred before Siris cut the threads away.
• A hateful double of Siris emerged from the second booth and attacked her, but Shade used Heaton Seal to trap it behind a golden barrier.

Siris confronted memories of her father and gained the power of Sacrifice while she and Shade gathered the mirror fragments. The completed mirror revealed Mr. Lathers’s final memory, which explained why he had left and gave Siris the choice to continue the trial or leave the valley.

• Siris restrained and embraced the smoky memory of herself, absorbing its resentment and memories.
• Siris confessed that she feared sacrificing herself, and Shade promised he would find another way to save the land.
• Siris faced another smoky memory and gained a seven-ring Enlightenment Spirit Rune: Sacrifice.
• Siris confessed her envy and recovered the final mirror fragment, completing the mirror.
• The mirror summoned Mr. Lathers’s memory, which explained his departure and directed Siris to a riddle in the church basement while urging her to leave if she chose not to continue.