Recaps

Shade received the Miracle of charm from Desire, then used a Cherub Feather to help Audrey and Megan combine their power and halt the fog spreading across Green Lake. The lunar eclipse and spatial disaster remained unresolved, but the Green Lake Incident had reached a turning point.

• Desire appeared to Shade beneath the lake, granted him the Miracle of charm, and vanished as a huge shadow crossed the lakebed.
• Audrey took control from Megan and prepared to confront the spreading fog around Central Island, while Shade chose to help her.
• Shade used the Cherub Feather to grant Audrey and Megan the Enlightenment of Knowledge and Wisdom, healing Audrey and enabling the sisters to act together.
• Audrey and Megan drew the Angel Level Relic bow as one and fired golden arrows that dispersed the expanding fog.
• The arrows stopped the fog's spread, but the remaining fog swallowed them, leaving the lunar eclipse and spatial disaster unresolved.

During the eclipse, Shade entered the Silver Moon Library, absorbed the Moon’s divinity, and risked merging with the Moon to touch it. He returned to Green Lake with a new blessing and a vast silver wheel of light, as Laplace’s confrontation with the Church continued.

• Megan’s soul became whole, but Shade warned that the battle was not over as March’s last light faded.
• Laplace Klein Howard appeared at Green Lake, declared himself the Chosen One of Space, and challenged the Edwards Family and the Church.
• As March vanished beneath the eclipse, Shade saw the three Moon’s Shadows and disappeared into the Silver Moon Library.
• Shade chose to touch the Moon, absorbed its divinity, and unsealed and enhanced his Library Retrieval spell.
• Shade flew toward the Moon and touched a fragment of the Original Moon, gaining the Moon of Life blessing and a chance to see the sleeping Moon Ancient God.
• Shade reappeared above Green Lake, glowing with silver radiance and holding up a spinning wheel of light as large as the Moon.

Shade defeated the shadow giant with the Moonlight Wheel, but Laplace Klein Howard withdrew after a mysterious Mermaid shadow appeared beneath Green Lake. The gathered arcanists realized Howard had become something beyond Thirteenth Ring, while the island’s spatial anomalies continued to spread.

• Shade threw the Moonlight Wheel through the shadow giant and the black door, and Laplace Klein Howard caught the returned Door in a Bottle.
• Shade and Audrey faced Howard alongside reinforcements, including Minsk Toddlers, Miss Maria, Er Harken, Miss Danist, and Mr. Miller Lynch.
• A gigantic Mermaid shadow passed beneath the lake, and Howard accepted the exchange as a defeat before declaring he would wait for his descendants on the island.
• Mr. Lynch said the Mermaid shadow, not the gathered arcanists, had likely stopped Howard, who had abandoned his humanity and possessed power beyond Thirteenth Ring.
• Mr. Lynch’s divination of the God Summoner returned an odd result, while Miss Danist announced she would lead an investigation team to the area.
• The arcanists saw that the fog had advanced a hundred meters from the island and that spatial anomalies around the world would persist until the Space Chosen One was decided.

Shade and Megan reunited in the reed beds, where Megan revealed that she and Audrey had been Parasitic Twins sharing one body and soul. Miss Danist arrived after the battle, and Shade prepared to explain his identity to Megan later.

• Shade and Megan embraced in the reeds after escaping the Church members.
• Megan showed Shade the scar on her back and explained that she and Audrey had absorbed one another before birth and still could not fully separate their souls.
• The scar spoke to Shade, and Megan later asked him to embrace her from behind before he sensed Miss Danist approaching.
• Shade dispelled the illusion and introduced Megan to Miss Danist, who teased him and praised his battle against the Invisible Man.
• Miss Danist explained that she had been delayed near the lake and told Shade to put Megan's coat on because she was trembling.
• Shade covered Megan with her coat and said he would reveal his identity to her on Friday.

Shade spoke with Miss Danist about Megan and the danger surrounding the Edwards Family, then met Miss Galina while embracing Megan in the reed bed. He slipped away before Megan transformed back into Audrey Edwards and faced Galina.

• Miss Danist warned Shade and Megan that the suspected Chosen One of Space could bring them into conflict and offered Megan Saint Byron's support.
• Miss Danist returned to the Academy after reminding Shade to learn Black Moon Rune and stay cautious in the Green Lake Region.
• Megan embraced Shade and praised his connection to Miss Danist, while Shade sensed Miss Galina approaching through the reeds.
• Miss Galina silently asked Shade to conceal their acquaintance, and he left after warning Megan that someone was coming.
• Megan changed back into Audrey Edwards, and Galina greeted her and remarked that she seemed greatly changed.

Audrey reunited with Galina after the battle at Green Lake, while Shade returned home and then performed a Black Moon ritual to learn dangerous Thaumaturgy from Miss Danist. The chapter ended with Shade demonstrating that his new rune could reduce an apple to ash.

• Audrey told Galina that her mysterious ally was a beautiful, exhausted woman and agreed to introduce them at Friday's banquet.
• Shade returned home, told Luvia about fighting Laplace Klein Howard, and said he would go back to Green Lake to observe Audrey and learn Thaumaturgy.
• Audrey returned to the Green Lake Inn and eagerly went to Shade's room, while Soren and Helena mistakenly assumed she had bested Galina in a romantic rivalry.
• Shade completed a ritual using thirty-six pearls and revealed the Black Moon Rune, which he said Miss Danist had taught him.
• Shade marked an apple with the rune and turned it into white ash.

After Shade’s ritual stabilized Audrey and Megan’s Two-in-One soul, Audrey regained her Eleventh Ring strength and discovered new ways for Megan’s spirit and their shared scar to manifest. Shade revealed that he had used a feather from Cherub-Kerub, then invited Audrey to the Underground Storage Room to show her the Space Old God’s form.

• Shade and Audrey discussed the sealed Green Lake area, the traitor ancestor, and the unstable space spreading around the lake.
• Audrey explained that Shade’s ritual had established a stable coexistence between her soul and Megan’s, restoring her Eleventh Ring strength and revealing a path toward the Twelfth Ring.
• Shade showed Audrey the angel’s feather given by Cherub-Kerub, explaining that he had used one of its three chances to save her and Megan.
• Audrey demonstrated how Megan’s spirit could separate to cast spells and how their scar could transform into an eye; she said it might eventually manifest more of Megan’s body.
• Audrey and Shade kissed, and Shade reassured her that he accepted their current form.
• Shade asked Audrey to use her Locked Space Spirit Rune and invited her to the Underground Storage Room to see the Space Old God’s form.

Shade showed Audrey the Space Labyrinth hidden beneath Green Lake Inn and explained how it connected to multiple signposts. After returning home, he discussed Laplace Klein Howard with Luvia and prepared for the new month and upcoming Time Key adventures.

• Shade and Audrey entered the hidden passage beneath the inn and found the statue of an Ancient God.
• Shade guided Audrey into the Space Labyrinth, explained its teleportation paths, and gave her a signpost to use.
• Audrey gave Shade a Time Key and arranged for him to join her at a banquet on Friday night.
• Shade returned home and told Luvia that Laplace Klein Howard seemed to have abandoned his humanity and might no longer be a Ring Arcanist.
• Luvia noted that Iluna's birthday was approaching as the Month of Rain Prayer began.

After the lunar eclipse, Shade resolved to meet the Silver Moon Sage, then woke from a strange dream and received a letter from Miss Goode. Iluna learned she might soon be sent to Green Lake, while Shade prepared to use Megan’s new Time Key and plan a divination to identify the Chosen One of Space.

• Shade decided he had to meet the sleeping Silver Moon Sage, and her voice assured him that he would.
• Shade dreamed of being pursued through Green Lake, encountering a two-headed snake resembling Audrey and Megan, and being swallowed by Giant Mia.
• Shade received Miss Goode’s letter, which congratulated him on winning the equestrian competition and offered him her usual ten-pound note.
• After Shade recounted the battle at Green Lake, Iluna concluded that the Church would likely send her to the region.
• Shade planned to visit Mikella Blast Furnace City and retrieve the Desire painting, then used the new Time Key Megan had given him.
• Luvia said she would organize a divination with Special Coins to discover who would become the Chosen One of Space.

Shade entered a Fifth Epoch time exploration in 1576, where the Father of Infinite Tree tasked him with helping mortals complete transactions in a marketplace and promised information about the Silver Moon Library. He reached a bonfire camp in a lightless wilderness and joined Liya Higgins and Sarah Miles on their journey to the market.

• Shade used his Fifth Epoch key and received a twenty-minute trial to assist mortals with transactions involving the Old God Golden Master.
• Shade escaped animated plants by following a path into black fog, where he found a bonfire and three people waiting.
• Liya Higgins mistook Shade for a witch until he confirmed he was a man, then allowed him to accompany the group.
• Sarah Miles introduced herself as a trader, and Liya explained that she had been hired to help Sarah complete a transaction for a large commission.
• Liya told Shade that the Desert Witch Emperor Faris Miles had personally divined that she should accompany Sarah and that their chances of success were high.

Shade joined Miss Liya Higgins, Mrs. Miles, and An DeEr Ade as they entered the market hidden in the black mist, where they had to keep their torches lit to stay safe. They reached Black Mist Camp and read its demand for fairness as Miss Liya led them toward a stall to begin her trade.

• Miss Liya Higgins explained that the group would have to wait for the Desert Witch Emperor and keep their torches lit inside the black mist.
• Shade learned that Mrs. Miles had come to seek answers about the lover she had waited for her entire life, while An DeEr Ade hoped to avert his country's destruction.
• Shade and the others followed Miss Liya into the freezing mist and noticed shadowy figures appearing along the path.
• The group arrived at Black Mist Camp, where motionless shadow vendors stood behind eerie stalls and a notice demanded fairness.
• Miss Liya led the group to a stall near the entrance to begin her planned trade.

Shade and Miss Higgins were forced to buy an item from a silent merchant whose stall was guarded by overwhelming Greed chains. After Miss Higgins traded four coins for a vial of blood and a set of black Scales, the group wondered whether the Scales could lead them to the next merchant.

• Miss Higgins tried to leave the stall, but the merchant attacked the group with Great Sin Chains until she agreed to make a purchase.
• Shade used his Great Sin Chain to suppress the Greed chains, while Miss Higgins and the others helped hold them back.
• The merchant revealed a severed finger, a coil of bloodstained rope, and a vial of congealed blood, but Miss Higgins's appraisal attempt drew an attack from the camp.
• Miss Higgins chose the vial of blood and paid four coins, causing the merchant to give her the vial and a pair of black Scales.
• Shade and Miss Higgins examined the Scales and wondered whether they were a clue to finding the next merchant.

Shade, Liya Higgins, Sarah Miles, and An DeEr Ade ventured deeper into Black Mist Camp, where a strange shadow gave Shade and the boy dangerous gifts. Shade gained an upgrade to Great Sin Chains, and the group continued onward with the dagger still in the boy’s possession.

• Shade used the black scales to guide the group deeper into Black Mist Camp, and they advanced in a single line with Liya Higgins leading and An DeEr Ade at the rear.
• A shadow performing a sword-swallowing trick stopped when Shade passed, pointed at Shade and An DeEr Ade, and offered them a bloodstained sack.
• Shade stepped away and drew the chains marked with “suicide,” then reached into the sack and pulled out a black cube that increased his sin of Greed and upgraded Great Sin Chains to manifest two chains at once.
• An DeEr Ade reached into the sack and received a frost-covered dagger decorated with black gemstones; Shade cast a spell to free the dagger from his skin.
• When Shade suggested that he or Liya Higgins hold the dagger, the chains clattered again, so the group let An DeEr Ade keep it as the shadow resumed its performance.

Shade and Miss Higgins searched the bizarre market for a way to contact Mrs. Miles’s missing beloved, eventually finding a Remembrance Conch that let Higgins briefly consult the Desert Witch Emperor. They learned the conch could contact only someone alive, but had not yet determined whether Mrs. Miles’s beloved was alive or found a way to summon his soul.

• Shade used Puppet Manipulation to help the exhausted Mrs. Miles keep walking through the market.
• Shade won a coin by identifying the correct teacup in a shadow’s gambling game, while the group avoided a dangerous sword-wielding shadow.
• The group reached a stall where Mrs. Miles asked to summon her beloved’s soul, and the displayed wares included a solidified soul, Water of the Styx, and a Remembrance Conch.
• Miss Higgins borrowed the Remembrance Conch for one coin and briefly spoke with the Desert Witch Emperor, who identified several items at the stall.
• Higgins learned that the Remembrance Conch could communicate with someone only if they were alive and that the Charm of the Undead would not help Mrs. Miles.

Shade and Miss Higgins bought a pink-and-white conch and a broken sword from the dangerous camp after Shade used the conch to contact people across time. They escaped with Mrs. Miles and the boy, but Shade remained uneasy about the adventure and the relics’ unknown functions.

• Shade used the Remembrance Conch and briefly contacted Fiona, Miss Schultz Teresa, and Short-Haired Luvia across time; Luvia identified the conch as a likely spirit-summoning relic.
• After consulting Granny Miles and hearing Luvia’s intuition, Miss Higgins bought both the conch and the broken sword, spending seventeen of her twenty-three coins.
• Shade and Miss Higgins hurried the exhausted Mrs. Miles and the boy out of the camp, reaching the bonfire just before their torches went out.
• Miss Higgins thanked Shade and said she would test the relics before the Witch Emperor arrived, while Shade continued to worry about the camp’s mysteries.

Shade left the past after helping Miss Higgins and Mrs. Miles test the conch, then learned that the Remembrance Conch had connected with Luvia in his own time. Back in Green Lake City, he went to Grandma Natalie to ask about two relics and a strange coin.

• Shade questioned the boy about his wish to reverse the destruction of his kingdom, but the boy claimed a meteorite had destroyed it.
• Miss Higgins and Mrs. Miles found that the broken sword carried stronger Whisper Element than the conch, but calling Richard Knight Jackman into the conch had no effect.
• Shade left the camp as his time ran out, warning Miss Higgins not to spend the black coins carelessly and promising to return with information.
• After Shade returned, Luvia confirmed she had spoken with him through the Remembrance Conch and said she might find a way for them to communicate across time again.
• Shade prepared Little Mia's lunch, then went to Kingfisher Tailor Shop and asked Grandma Natalie about two relics and a strange coin.

Shade learned more about the broken King's Sword of the Undead Souls, then reunited with Richard, Hope, and Upton to receive the oil painting and explain how the God of Love's holy emblem had changed his Spirit Rune. He obtained the thaumaturgy God of Love's Thorn, which could lend his strength to someone with whom he shared intense feelings.

• Grandma Natalie identified Shade's broken sword as the Keeper of Secrets Level relic King's Sword of the Undead Souls and warned him to keep a low profile after the events on Green Lake Central Island.
• Captain Rades renewed Shade's pass and escorted him through the military camp to the border.
• Richard, Hope, and Upton told Shade that Upton had been freed from the oil painting's influence, and Upton gave Shade the painting.
• Shade explained that the God of Love's holy emblem had transformed his Whisper Spirit Rune into Miracle Charm, prompting the believers to celebrate their faith.
• Shade asked Upton for the thaumaturgy God of Love's Thorn, which could temporarily lend his power to someone he deeply cared for.

Shade learned God of Love’s Thorn from Upton, Richard, and Hope, then visited Miss Galina at Rose Manor in Green Lake City. There, Galina prepared to involve him in her plan for the next night’s banquet, while questioning him about Megan and Audrey.

• Shade learned God of Love’s Thorn in a ritual with Upton, Richard, and Hope, and asked whether it could protect multiple people at once.
• Shade told the Follen Brothers that their ancestor’s Demon had appeared at Green Lake the previous night, then learned that the Kassenric Delegation had arrived.
• Shade slipped into Rose Manor as a Cat and reunited with Miss Galina, Tifa, and Angelina in the study.
• Shade told Miss Galina that the Night of the Moon Eclipse had permanently enhanced his Power of the Moon.
• Miss Galina said Shade would attend the next night’s banquet as Megan’s female companion and hinted that she had prepared a plan involving Audrey and Megan.

Shade demonstrated God of Love’s Thorn to Miss Galina, revealing pink crystal soul magic with several spell forms. Miss Galina then discussed the Council’s plans to investigate Green Lake Central Island and took Shade upstairs for a private afternoon together, leaving Angelina to wait anxiously.

• Shade summoned God of Love’s Thorn, and Miss Galina tested its crystal weapon, hail, and energy-cluster forms.
• Shade gave Tifa the spell, and she successfully used crystal shaping, though her other spells were weaker than Miss Galina’s.
• Miss Galina told Shade that Emma had reached Glass City and that other Great Witches would soon gather near Green Lake.
• Miss Galina explained that the Council had tasked her with investigating the Edwards Family and Green Lake Central Island, with Megan’s wishes taking priority.
• Miss Galina carried Shade off to her bedroom for the afternoon, while Angelina stayed behind reading documents and anxiously waiting.

Shade learned that the black coin was a relic representing existence and realized his companions might be trading away their own existence for Special Coins. He left Old John’s shop intending to protect them and bought a mechanical butterfly ornament and painting supplies.

• Shade considered using God of Love's Thorn on himself, but put it away and fell asleep with Dorothy.
• Shade visited Old John’s pawnshop with Mia and asked him to identify the black coin, broken sword, and seashell.
• Old John identified the black coin as the Poet Level relic Power of Existence, which could resist effects that erased existence but might cause its holder to be forgotten if it lost control.
• Shade realized his companions in the past might be trading away their existence for Special Coins and resolved to help protect them.
• Shade bought the glass-cylinder mechanical butterfly ornament and a set of frames and tools for mounting oil paintings from Old John.

Shade learned how the relic Undying Longing could let mourners hear or summon the dead, then accompanied Audrey to an important banquet in Green Lake City. The evening began with both of them anticipating the introductions and surprises awaiting them there.

• Shade framed the Mermaid painting with protective holy emblems, hung it in his living room, and covered it with a black cloth whenever he left home.
• Shade visited Mr. Edmund in Coldwater Port, who identified the gray fossil conch as Undying Longing and explained how seawater let it contact or summon a dead person at the risk of attracting something else.
• Shade asked whether the relic could summon any dead person, and Mr. Edmund explained that it required a soul that remained free after death.
• Audrey dressed for the banquet aboard the witches' boat, and Shade joined her in formal wear before they discussed attending as representatives of Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals.
• Audrey told Shade that she would introduce him to a close friend at the banquet, while Shade privately anticipated meeting Miss Galina.
• Shade and Audrey left by carriage for Rose Manor, carrying a bottle of 1823 Roman Winery red wine as their gift.

Shade attended Miss Galina’s lavish banquet in Green Lake City with Megan, where he met influential merchants and discussed trade between the Old Continent and the Archipelago Kingdom. Grand Duchess Galina Cavendish gave a speech and repeatedly looked toward Shade, reminding him to follow their plan.

• Shade and Megan arrived at Rose Manor and joined the banquet among local officials, nobles, and visiting delegates.
• Megan introduced Shade to prominent merchants, including representatives of Cuckoo Publishing House and Healthy Cigarette United Company.
• Mister House raised the sensitive topic of Kasonlik’s Sunday banquet, but a representative of the Kassenric United Kingdom Accounting Guild changed the subject to trade with the Archipelago Kingdom.
• Shade discussed a past Delarion proposal for subsidizing trade with the Archipelago Kingdom, impressing Mister House and prompting him to give Shade a business card.
• Grand Duchess Galina Cavendish arrived with her grandnephews and grandnieces, delivered a speech about peace and the future, and repeatedly looked at Shade to signal that he should follow their plan.

At Miss Galina’s banquet, Megan tried to prepare her for meeting a special person while Angelina searched for the mysterious gentleman she had met at city hall. The chapter ended with Megan and Galina discovering Angelina kissing a man behind the curtains, who fled when Galina coughed.

• After Miss Galina invited Megan to talk, she warmly welcomed her and Angelina at the sofa lounge.
• Angelina described a tall, blond gentleman she had met at city hall and went to look for him.
• Megan privately warned Miss Galina that she wanted her to meet someone special and asked her to listen before judging.
• Miss Galina revealed that Hamilton was a woman she loved and asked Megan to praise her when they met.
• Tifa led Megan and Miss Galina to Angelina, where they saw her kissing a man behind the curtains.
• After Miss Galina coughed, Angelina pushed the man away, and he ran down the corridor.

Megan brought Shade to meet Galina, intending to introduce him to the witch she had befriended, but Galina revealed that Shade was her lover. She also exposed that she had maneuvered Megan and Audrey into blessing their relationship, then hinted that she knew Megan was the witch Shade had been investigating.

• Galina reprimanded Angelina for kissing a man, while Megan defended her and promised to respect sincere love even if it conflicted with her interests.
• Megan found Shade in the banquet hall and brought him upstairs to meet Galina, while Tifa and the maids guarded the resting-room door.
• Megan became Audrey and argued with Galina, then drank wine and agreed to meet Galina's beloved and bless their relationship.
• Galina summoned Shade and introduced him as her lover, leaving Audrey and Megan stunned as they realized how their earlier conversation had been manipulated.
• Galina revealed that Shade had been investigating the witch hiding her identity in the Green Lake Region, then asked Audrey who she had wanted to introduce to her.

Megan confronted Galina over a prank involving Shade and Angelina, then learned that Galina and Shade had hidden his identity from her as a precaution. Galina revealed that six Witches, including herself, supported Shade, leaving the group prepared to face the Council if Speaker discovered him.

• Megan accused Galina of using Angelina to provoke her, and Shade ended their argument by revealing Audrey's spirit form.
• Megan and Audrey kissed Shade together, then joined Galina and Shade to discuss the prank and his concealed identity.
• Galina showed Megan the Witch Detection Pendant she and Shade had used to guard against discovery, and explained why she had kept Shade's identity from her.
• Shade named Sivie Aurora, Zina Cassandra, Emma Sylvia, and Vanessa Benanis as other Witches who knew of him, while Galina described their connections to him.
• Galina told Audrey and Megan that six Witches, more than half the Council, stood by Shade, though Speaker remained outside their support.