Recaps

Miss Bayes used her Balance ability to weaken the headscarf-wearing Fourth Ring Arcanist, who had been sent to kill Shade and seize Lawrence. Shade survived the shot from the carriage and helped disarm the man, but the man fled as Miss Bayes landed.

• Miss Bayes awakened and used Balance to weaken the headscarf-wearing man's power when he tried to capture her.
• The man attacked Miss Bayes with the Tattered Veil Sword, but she climbed up the alley wall and pleaded for him to spare Shade.
• A gunshot sounded from the carriage, and Miss Bayes believed Shade had been killed.
• Miss Bayes summoned her Destiny Ring and fought the man, weakening his attacks again.
• Shade appeared behind the man with a revolver and forced him to drop the Tattered Veil Sword.
• The man shoved Shade aside and ran as Miss Bayes landed.

Shade and Iluna Bayes defeated a Blood of Mercury attacker, then discussed the secrets exposed by the fight. Iluna warned Shade that she had used forbidden high-ring divine thaumaturgy, while Shade offered to keep quiet in exchange for her help concealing his unlicensed gun.

• Iluna Bayes used Sunlight Gun to strike down the fleeing Blood of Mercury member.
• Shade explained that he had killed the short man with the Gun of Kindness during their struggle and claimed its trigger had gone off accidentally.
• Iluna introduced herself as a Ring Arcanist of the Church of the Sun and Earth and said they needed to discuss the truth of the world.
• Iluna said witnesses to Ring Arcanist battles normally had their memories erased, but she wanted to ask Shade about what he had seen first.
• Iluna admitted that Sunlight Gun was high-ring divine thaumaturgy beyond what a Low-Ring Arcanist should be able to use.
• Shade promised not to reveal Iluna's secret and asked her to keep the police from discovering the origin of his unlicensed gun.

Shade and Iluna Bayes agreed to keep their encounter secret and cooperate, then Shade counted his newly acquired money at home. On Friday, he went to the Seer Association for the final appraisal of Origin · Silver Moon and checked the market bulletin board.

• Shade persuaded Miss Bayes to form a partnership and asked her to investigate Mrs. Lawrence's murder.
• Miss Bayes took the sword and planned to report the alley incident to the Church, while Shade collected 3 pounds, 5 shillings, and 10 pence from the Corpses.
• Shade returned home, carefully counted the banknotes in his envelope, locked them away, and took Little Mia out to eat.
• Shade went to the Seer Association on Friday in the rain, intending to have Origin · Silver Moon appraised and check the Rhodes Card prices.

Shade brought Founding Silver Moon to the Seer Association for authentication and declined to sell it, choosing instead to use it at Miss Galina Cavendish’s Rhodes Card game. The Association invited him to join the autumn Great City Player tournament, and Shade examined the compensation offer before asking which currency it used.

• Mr. Mark welcomed Shade to the Tobesk Branch’s formal authentication session, where Vice President Rimo and several appraisers examined Founding Silver Moon.
• Shade recognized Miss Annette among the Association’s secretaries, and she reacted with surprise when she saw him.
• Shade declined to sell Founding Silver Moon and told the vice presidents that Miss Galina Cavendish had invited him to a Rhodes Card game with Duke Lucas.
• Mr. Rimo invited Shade to compete in the autumn Great City Player tournament, and Shade agreed after the Association offered to cover his expenses.
• Mr. Rimo showed Shade the proposed compensation, and Shade asked whether the amount was in Gold Pounds or Kassenric Crowns.

Shade signed an agreement to compete in the September Great City Player tournament, then met Miss Annette at his home to learn the history of his Origin · Silver Moon card. Miss Annette explained that it belonged to a mysterious set of thirteen ancient cards called the Myriad Aspects of Impermanence.

• Vice President Mark and Mr. Rimo offered Shade payment to enter the September Great City Player tournament, and Shade signed the agreement.
• Shade returned home and welcomed Miss Annette, who noticed that his house was haunted.
• Shade asked Miss Annette whether she planned to attend the Rhodes Cards match that weekend, and she said she had opera plans with Louisa.
• Miss Annette explained that the thirteen Founding Series cards predated the Seer Association, could not be destroyed, and were believed to bring luck to their chosen holders.
• Miss Annette said the cards were connected to the Thirteen Old Gods and were called the Myriad Aspects of Impermanence.

Shade learned from Miss Annette about the Witch Council, the Ancient Gods, and the requirements for Iluna Bayes to become the Chosen One of Balance. Miss Annette’s divination found no mysterious problem with Shade’s house, and she left after warning him to be careful.

• Shade asked Miss Annette about the thirteen Ancient Gods, Witch Emperors, and Chosen Ones, and she explained that the Witch Council’s thirteen Great Witches inherited power from the Fifth Epoch.
• Shade suspected Duchess Galina Cavendish belonged to the Witch Council, while Miss Annette described the organization’s factions and its knowledge of the Murmuring Chapters.
• Shade told Miss Annette about meeting Iluna Bayes, and she explained that Iluna had only begun to access her Chosen One power and that the Upside-down Judge represented Balance.
• Miss Annette listed the three requirements for Iluna to become a Chosen One: obtain a relic containing the Ancient God’s power, understand the qualification, and complete a ritual recorded in the Canticles.
• Miss Annette divined that Shade’s house showed no unusual signs, and Shade offered to help her if she ever faced a grave danger.

Shade studied and translated through the day, then went to Disk Bridge at midnight to collect Miss Galina’s goods. He received a dark red cosmetic case identified as the Relic Whisper, but its lid would not open for him.

• Shade tested Origin · Silver Moon on the orange cat and continued studying, translating Miss Louisa’s book, and reviewing subjects he hoped to take exams in.
• Shade dressed in a mask and robe and traveled to Disk Bridge for Miss Galina’s midnight exchange.
• Shade waited beneath the bridge, then approached the carriage marked by three kerosene lamps at midnight.
• Shade verified his identity with the coachman by repeating the agreed code phrase about Queen Diana and the blue butterfly flowers.
• The coachman handed Shade a newspaper-wrapped wooden box with a red spider lily specimen on its lid.
• Shade found that the box would not open for him, and the whispering voice identified the Relic as Whisper.

Shade collected a makeup case from a Blood of Mercury agent and joined Miss Louisa in a fight against him on Tower Bridge. The agent escaped into the river, and Shade prepared to deliver the case while Miss Louisa continued the search for the Falsified Philosopher's Stone.

• Shade collected the makeup case from the Blood of Mercury agent, who suggested his employer was a Witch Council member.
• A hooded Miss Louisa ambushed the agent, and Shade turned back to help her fight.
• Shade wounded the agent with Silver Moon's Slash while Miss Louisa set him on fire, but he escaped by jumping into the river.
• Miss Louisa followed the agent into the water, while Shade used Blood Echo and discovered the river dispersed the blood trail.
• Shade met the soaked Miss Louisa beneath the bridge, gave her healing water and his robe, and learned she had been tracking Blood of Mercury for the Falsified Philosopher's Stone.
• Shade offered to help search for the escaped agent but said he had only half an hour before he needed to deliver the makeup case.

Shade and Miss Louisa tracked the wounded coachman to an alley, where his out-of-control Relic had transformed him into a Fishman. After Shade removed the Fish Scales spreading over Miss Louisa’s arm, she recognized the Relic and told him to rescue a girl while she dealt with the monster.

• Miss Louisa agreed to help Shade search the riverbank for the injured coachman, and they followed his blood trail into a nearby alley.
• Shade and Miss Louisa found a rotting Fishman, and Another Me identified their contact with a Whisper.
• Miss Louisa recognized the Fishman’s clothes as the coachman’s and realized his Relic had lost control.
• The Fishman broke through Miss Louisa’s flames and attacked, but she knocked it away with a flaming punch.
• Shade used Cindyia's Silver Moon Gift to remove the Fish Scales spreading across Miss Louisa’s arm, and she identified the Relic as Drowned Fishman's Scales.
• Miss Louisa told Shade to save a young girl in the alley while she prepared to fight the Fishman.

Shade and Miss Louisa rescued Sophie Dais from an out-of-control Fish Scale Disease Relic, then escaped the police with the recovered scale. As they returned to Shade’s home, they found his employer, Miss Galina, waiting in a carriage, and Miss Louisa recognized her maid Tifa.

• Miss Louisa froze the Fishman while Shade rescued the unconscious girl, then destroyed the monster with a Drake Type II Integrated Steam Bomb and recovered its scale.
• Shade treated Miss Louisa and the girl, while Miss Louisa explained that the water-contained Drowned Fishman's Scales caused Fish Scale Disease and could transform its user into a Fishman.
• Miss Louisa and Shade learned the girl was Sophie Dais, sent her home with money, and agreed to wait for the Doctor before attempting their operation again.
• Shade and Miss Louisa found a distinguished carriage waiting outside No. 6, and Miss Louisa identified it as belonging to a powerful noblewoman.
• Tifa briefly appeared at the carriage window, and Miss Louisa recognized her before telling Shade to meet his employer alone.

Shade delivered Galina Cavendish’s cosmetic case to her maid, Tifa, who confirmed the commission and revealed that Galina belonged to the Witch Council. Back at home, Louisa recognized Tifa and inferred Galina’s identity, while hinting at her own connection to the royal family.

• Tifa opened the cosmetic case, confirmed it was authentic, and told Shade that Galina would not care that he had killed the deliveryman.
• Tifa asked whether Shade had caused the explosion, then revealed that Galina belonged to the Witch Council and arranged for someone to help him prepare for Sunday’s Rhodes Cards game.
• Shade returned home with Louisa and Mia, then recorded the transaction while Louisa changed into one of Detective Sparrow Hamilton’s coats.
• Louisa recognized Tifa as Galina Cavendish’s personal maid and concluded that Galina had met Shade in person.
• Louisa warned Shade to be careful around Galina, speculated that she was a Witch Council member, and hinted that she had a close connection to a royal Princess.

Shade and Miss Louisa discussed the Witch Council, the Fish Scale Disease incident, and their plans to meet again, before she left for the night. The next day Shade finished translating her book and brought it to the Study Group, where the members gathered in the warm afternoon sunshine.

• Miss Louisa told Shade that Galina Cavendish and Tifa Servit belonged to the Witch Council, and she proposed splitting the proceeds from selling or donating the Drowned Fishman's Scales.
• Miss Louisa invited Shade to check on Little Sophie the following night, said she would attend the opera with Luvia on Sunday, and left Shade's home.
• Shade spent Saturday morning translating Chasing the Four Elements: Wind and Fire, then wondered whether Mia was an ordinary cat and reflected on how the book had deepened his perception of the elements.
• Shade brought the completed translation to Miss Louisa at Schneider Psychological Clinic before the Study Group began, and the members gathered as Doctor Schneider rested in the sunlight.

Shade and his companions shared news about the Blood of Mercury’s plan to use Mr. Lawrence as a vessel for an evil god’s descent, while the Church prepared a major operation against the cultists. The Academy’s professors then approved the group’s Lake View Manor report and awarded them a contribution bonus, leaving Shade and his companions with restricted funds for their studies.

• Shade and his companions discussed the Dream Pen, Rhodes Cards, and their findings about the Blood of Mercury, while Miss Annette confirmed that the cultists planned to bring an evil god into the world through a mortal shell.
• Shade deduced that the kidnapped Mr. Lawrence was the shell, and Priest Augustus said the Five Gods Church would launch a joint operation after Sun Church Thirteenth Ring Warlock Hogg Lundell arrived in Tobesk.
• The group exchanged news about recent events and politics before Shade began the ritual to meet Professor Röntgen and Professor Garcia.
• Professor Röntgen said the Academy had verified the Lake View Manor report and warned Doctor Schneider not to use the Words of Sublimation carelessly.
• Professor Röntgen announced that the group would receive a 1,000-pound Saint Byrens Comprehensive College contribution bonus, restricted to Academy and Ring Arcanist expenses.

After the Lake View Manor incident, Shade and his companions received rewards and warnings from Saint Byrens. Professor Garcia then explained the History College’s rewards for Shade’s time exploration, including a choice of two thaumaturgies, and introduced Future Sight.

• Professor Röntgen gave Shade and Miss Annette library catalogs so they could choose thaumaturgies, and Doctor Schneider received twenty-three healing potions.
• Professor Röntgen warned the group about the dangerous Blood Spirit School, asked for information about the Masked Man Under the Silver Moon, and cautioned them about trouble in Tobesk involving a prophecy of an Old God’s revival.
• Professor Röntgen told Doctor Schneider that the Academy’s off-campus internship program would likely begin after the July examinations.
• Professor Garcia praised Shade for his actions at Lake View Manor, awarded him ten Practical Credits, and said the History College had upgraded his time-exploration mission to Angel Level, Level 1.
• Professor Garcia offered Shade a choice of two thaumaturgies from three recommendations and described Future Sight, which could show him a brief, blurry glimpse of the future but carried serious risks.

Shade chose Echoes of the Past and Laguerre's Leap, then learned Time Perception and Echoes of the Past from Professor Garcia. While testing Echoes, he overheard a terrifying voice threatening Doctor Schneider, and the chapter ended with Laguerre's Leap still incomplete because the Academy lacked one required material.

• Professor Garcia explained Echoes of the Past and Laguerre's Leap, and Shade chose both Thaumaturgies over Future Sight.
• Shade learned Time Perception using a century-old pocket watch and a Four-Leaf Clock Flower specimen.
• Shade learned Echoes of the Past using two live Stone Clockworms and immediately used the Thaumaturgy.
• Shade heard Doctor Schneider say he would watch over someone for life, followed by a strange voice threatening to claim Schneider's soul.
• Shade stopped listening after the unfamiliar language caused a violent headache, while the woman soothed him with her laughter.
• Professor Garcia explained Laguerre's Leap, but Shade could not learn it yet because the Academy lacked three stalks of Weather Vane Bluegrass.

Shade learned about his Academy rewards, asked Professor Garcia about power and accelerated growth, and received a potion formula called Price of Growth. After Professor Garcia left, Shade and his companions planned how to divide the 1,000-pound fund from the Lake View Manor incident.

• Professor Garcia explained Weather Vane Bluegrass's long growing cycle, promised Shade a supply from the New Continent, and offered him access to an elective course on Folded Space.
• Shade asked to apply early to view the Academy's Canon of Sublimation, and Professor Garcia told him to submit an application through his Poetry Manuscript Paper.
• Professor Garcia advised Shade that power required a price and dictated the Price of Growth potion formula, which could make a child grow temporarily.
• Professor Garcia warned Shade to report future Time Explorations to the Academy before leaving.
• Shade joined Doctor Schneider, Priest Augustus, Miss Louisa, and Miss Annette as they planned to withdraw 910 pounds from the 1,000-pound fund and divide it among themselves.

Shade learned more about his companions’ backgrounds and found a new way to help a girl by using his knowledge instead of supernatural power. He accompanied Priest Augustus to Dawn Church to retrieve the deeds to his house and arrange an inspection of its sealed area.

• Priest Augustus agreed to brew Price of Growth for Shade, while the group confirmed that none of them had a Time Key or knew how ordinary people could gain power.
• Miss Louisa asked Shade what he meant by power, inspiring him to consider using his knowledge to help a girl; she lent him a fairy tale and he promised to treat her to the opera.
• After the study group ended, Priest Augustus told Shade that Louisa came from a wealthy family, while Bill had been an orphan, Annette had lost her parents young, and Shade had once been a vagrant with no memories.
• Priest Augustus invited Shade to retrieve his house and land deeds and have Dawn Church inspect the sealed area; Shade fetched his will and death certificate before they went to the church.
• At Dawn Church, Priest Augustus led Shade to the document storage room, where they found a Father reading a risqué maritime novel.

Shade had the church reopen the sealed first floor of his house and discovered a Miracle Element in the basement. Using his Spacetime rune, he revealed a hidden passage behind the basement wall.

• Priest Augustus returned Shade’s house documents and explained that Dawn Church would inspect the sealed areas before allowing them to be opened.
• Mr. Franchi inspected the house, arranged for workers to clear the first-floor passage, and told Shade the second-floor room key would arrive in a week while the third-floor stairs still needed repairs.
• Shade explored the reopened first floor with Little Mia and discovered a rotten door leading to the basement.
• When Shade entered the basement, he sensed a Miracle Element and used Echoes of the Past to follow century-old bloody footprints to a wall.
• Shade used his Spacetime rune on the wall, making part of it vanish and revealing a narrow hidden passage.

Shade discovered that the two-headed statue beneath his house belonged to the Ancient God Primal Rift and learned to enter a Space Labyrinth through it. He tested its spatial landmark and found that it teleported him back to the same chamber.

• Shade followed the Hidden Wall passage into a circular chamber and found a glowing statue of a two-headed Ancient God.
• The inscription on the statue’s pedestal resonated with Shade, and he read, “Primal Rift, shelter you within infinite space.”
• Shade returned prepared, touched the statue’s base, and used an incantation to enter the Space Labyrinth.
• Shade followed the foggy path and touched its wooden signpost, which teleported him to the chamber containing the statue.
• Shade realized the chamber was the labyrinth’s only existing spatial landmark, so the teleportation had taken him from Saint Derain Square back to Saint Derain Square.

Shade explored the Space Labyrinth and learned that the Primal Rift could connect it to other spaces using White Stone Crystal or divinity. Back in the hidden basement, he found a three-hundred-year-old survey log and old potion bottles, then left the space wondering what happened to the people who had stored them there.

• Shade entered the Space Labyrinth, saw God's Radiance awaken the White Fog, and learned that the Primal Rift required White Stone Crystal or divinity to connect to another signpost.
• Shade returned to the statue chamber and found a parchment recording a 1520 survey of the Primal Rift statue and an investigation into the Creation Ancient God's Birthing Room.
• Shade recalled that the Blood Spirit School was occupied with the Birthing Room on the New Continent and wondered which groups knew about the Ancient Gods' special spaces.
• Shade discovered old reagent bottles marked with a winged figure inside a triangle, but left them and the parchment in the chamber.
• Shade left the basement and considered using the hidden space to store things, then worried that its former occupants might have met an ominous fate.

Shade explored the newly opened floor of his house, read the story pages Miss Louisa lent him, and joined her to check on Sophie Dais and her family. Afterward, he discovered that Miss Louisa had transformed into a fish-scaled creature and used Silver Moon to subdue her.

• Shade decided to keep the newly opened first floor for storage rather than rent it out, then sent an application to consult the Canon of Sublimation.
• Shade read the pages of “The Little Match Girl,” but the story produced no special effect.
• Shade and Miss Louisa went to the Deis Family home and checked the women inside by having them stand at the door crack.
• As they left the slum, Shade noticed Miss Louisa was soaked and smelled of seafood, then revealed Silver Moon and saw fish scales covering half her face.
• Shade pinned Miss Louisa down and held Silver Moon against her until her struggles stopped.

Shade rescued Miss Louisa from the effects of the Drowned One Scales, but the pair became trapped in a strange fog near the Deis Family’s alley. After Miss Louisa recovered through Rapid Sleep, she concluded their way out led back toward the house and prepared to enter the alley.

• Shade treated Miss Louisa with water infused with Satiety Feast and helped her recover after the Fish Scale infection.
• Miss Louisa could not remember what she saw through the Deis Family’s door, and Shade warned that something inside might be worse than an out-of-control Relic.
• Shade realized the fog had trapped them near the alley and contained dense Whisper and Blasphemy Elements.
• Miss Louisa fell asleep, then woke moments later feeling restored and explained that her Rapid Sleep talent had helped her recover.
• Miss Louisa summoned the Match Girl with a burning page, cleared some of the fog, and led Shade toward the Deis Family’s alley.

Shade, Miss Louisa, and the Match Girl entered the Deis Family house to find the source of the Fishmen and the spreading corruption. Shade guided Miss Louisa through a water-filled space to the open exit, but stopped before they could escape.

• Shade noticed golden cracks appearing beneath his skin as the group approached the Deis Family house.
• Shade took the lead into the house, with the Match Girl in front and Miss Louisa holding his wrist behind him.
• The Match Girl used her first three Matches to drive back Fishmen while Shade sensed and warned of their attacks.
• Miss Louisa recognized clues pointing to an evil god and warned Shade to be ready to hold his breath.
• After the Match Girl spent her fourth Match, Shade and Miss Louisa passed through a space filled with floating corpses and suddenly felt submerged in water.
• Shade reached the open doorway that led out of the house, then stopped halfway through calling to Miss Louisa.

Shade and Miss Louisa escaped the warped area watched by an evil god, but the small fishman remained behind. Inspired by the story of The Little Match Girl, Shade gained an Enlightenment Spirit Rune and caused the scene to transform into a snowy night beneath the Silver Moon.

• An evil god watched the area because of the uncontrolled Fish Scale Disease, and Shade's golden marks drove its gaze away as he carried Miss Louisa toward the closing door.
• The small fishman held the door open for Shade and Miss Louisa, then stayed behind at the edge of Shade's light.
• Miss Louisa urged Shade to leave the fishman, but Shade decided he might still be able to save her and took the fairy-tale parchment from Miss Louisa's pocket.
• Shade declared that he wanted to save the girl, and the parchment returned the power of Enlightenment as he invoked The Little Match Girl.
• Shade inscribed the Brass Enlightenment Spirit Rune—The Little Match Girl—and the room opened to the Star Sea as snow began to fall beneath the Silver Moon.

Shade used the story of The Little Match Girl to create a Mystic Lock, saving the Dais family from the God of Drowning in the Deep Sea before collapsing from exhaustion. He woke at home the next morning, learned what had happened after he fainted, and tried to activate his new Thaumaturgy.

• Shade’s Mystic Lock freed the Dais family from the Fishmen, and the God of Drowning in the Deep Sea withdrew its gaze.
• Dorothy Louisa brought the exhausted Shade back to 6 Saint Derain Square, where he remained unconscious until Sunday morning.
• Shade awoke to find Dorothy Louisa and Mia beside him, and Dorothy gave him water and breakfast.
• Shade recalled completing the Spirit Rune The Little Match Girl and gaining its unique Thaumaturgy, a Mystic Lock.
• Dorothy Louisa explained that she had escaped with Shade as an Orthodox Church squad arrived, while the Church took the Dais family into its protection.
• Shade summoned his Destiny Ring and tried to activate the Mystic Lock.