Recaps

Shade, Mr. Bernhardt, and Mr. Albert explained how they had saved Marquis Morrison from a curse-induced heart attack and asked about a threatening letter and his strange dreams. Morrison agreed to restrain his hunting hobby and support them if they resolved the danger, then prepared to bind their agreement with Shade’s oath spell.

• Shade and Mr. Albert reassured Marquis Morrison that they had not replaced his heart, and Morrison confirmed it by cutting open his chest and healing himself.
• Mr. Bernhardt explained that they had staged the heart replacement joke to make Morrison understand the value of life, and Morrison agreed to discuss the matter elsewhere.
• Morrison showed the group a letter accusing him of taking lives and described dreams involving curses, flying papers, a Red Moon, a reddish brown horse, and clashing swords.
• Shade told Morrison the threat might involve a fate-type relic and said they would also investigate Captain Rudolf, who had received a similar letter.
• Morrison offered support in exchange for their help, agreed to limit his hunting hobby for a year or two, and Shade offered to seal the agreement with Oath Binding.

After saving Marquis Morrison, Shade received the Noble Crimson relic and learned that the Marquis faced another life-threatening crisis. Shade and his companions hurried to find Captain Rudolf, only to discover he was inside a closed club competing in a Rhodes Cards tournament.

• Marquis Morrison gave Mr. Bernhardt money and a signed business card, Mr. Albert a Police Department medal, and Shade the Poet Level relic Noble Crimson.
• Shade tested Noble Crimson and turned it into a small bat that could share its vision over a limited distance.
• Shade proposed saving more heart-disease patients to provoke the unseen relic into revealing itself, despite Mr. Bernhardt's concerns.
• Shade, Mr. Albert, and Mr. Bernhardt reached the docks and learned Captain Rudolf had gone to the Parsifal Club.
• Mrs. Frey told Shade that Captain Rudolf was competing for an expensive Rhodes Card and barred them from entering during the match.
• Mr. Albert asked Mrs. Frey whether they could join the competition.

Shade entered the Parsifal Club’s Rhodes Card tournament to win the Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone and question Captain Rudolf about a threatening letter. After defeating Mrs. Frey, Shade advanced to the final against Captain Rudolf, while the card and its origins remained unresolved.

• Mrs. Frey offered the Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone as the tournament prize, and Shade paid the entry fee to compete.
• Shade, Mr. Bernhardt, and Mr. Albert found Captain Rudolf at the club, but he postponed discussing the threatening letter until after the tournament.
• Shade won his first two rounds, defeating Mr. Stanford and Baron Lehman, while Captain Rudolf also advanced.
• Shade defeated Mrs. Frey in the third round, and Mr. Bernhardt noted that she seemed connected to powerful interests in Moon Bay.
• Captain Rudolf won his third-round match, and he and Shade sat down to play the tournament final.

Shade and Captain Rudolf played an unusual ten-group Rhodes Cards match, with Mrs. Frey's Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone added to Shade’s deck. The match ended tied, and Captain Rudolf’s Life Ritual duel card triggered a dice roll to decide the winner.

• Captain Rudolf recognized Shade and proposed a special-card-heavy match, while Shade suggested comparing ten groups of five cards.
• Mrs. Frey lent Shade the Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone, and both players arranged and revealed their cards.
• Captain Rudolf’s special cards appeared, but their rules failed to give him an advantage in the match.
• The ten groups ended in a 2:2 tie, so Shade and Captain Rudolf revealed their leftover cards.
• Both players finished with fourteen points, triggering Captain Rudolf’s Life Ritual duel card and a deciding dice roll.

Shade won the Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone from Captain Rudolf in the Rhodes Cards match and learned that a third, more valuable card was still missing. Later, Shade and his companions questioned Rudolf about the fate-type relic threatening him, and Rudolf recalled a strange diviner’s warning that an agent of justice would come to judge him.

• Shade beat Captain Rudolf in the final dice duel, winning the Ancient Alchemy Transformation Stone and donating his seventy-five Crowns of winnings.
• Mrs. Frey explained that two corrupt police officers had hidden cards from a murdered merchant, and that one of the three was worth more than the other two combined.
• Shade confirmed that he possessed the Holy Sword-Slaying Sword but gave Mrs. Frey no further details.
• Shade, Mr. Albert, and Mr. Bernhardt met Captain Rudolf in a private room and learned more about the Dragon Transformation Stone and its divided relics.
• Mr. Bernhardt told Rudolf that Marquis Morrison was afflicted by a dangerous fate-type relic, and Rudolf gave them Viscount Bernhardt’s warning letter.
• Rudolf recalled that a lone Ring Arcanist divined that his lifestyle would endanger his life and that an agent of justice would come to judge him.

Mr. Bernhardt, Mr. Albert, and Shade visited Red Heart Orphanage to verify Mrs. Jude’s treatment of the children. Their inspection found no signs of abuse or Bloodkin, and they waited to speak with Mrs. Jude, who was receiving another guest.

• Captain Rudolf promised to join the fight over Moon Bay and offered the three men a bottle of undiluted Holy Water No. 2 after they helped resolve his trouble.
• Mr. Bernhardt led Shade and Mr. Albert to Red Heart Orphanage, where Mrs. Jude was visiting the children.
• Mr. Bernhardt posed as a merchant and donated money while Mrs. Lesha showed the visitors around the Orphanage.
• The men inspected the children and found no Bloodkin, signs of blood loss, or traces of ritual magic in the building.
• Mrs. Lesha told them that Mrs. Jude was receiving another guest, so the three men continued their tour while waiting to meet her.

Shade, Mr. Bernhardt, and Mr. Albert investigated Mrs. Jude at Red Heart Orphanage, but she angrily drove them away. After Shade consulted Luvia and Miss Belinder, they identified the relic as Richard's Notes and learned how it killed people.

• Shade offered an additional donation to Red Heart Orphanage after touring it with Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert.
• Mrs. Jude confronted the three men, denied them information about her schedule, and ordered them out of the orphanage.
• Shade, Mr. Bernhardt, and Mr. Albert suspected Mrs. Jude was panicked and planned to meet at Saint George Stone Bridge before nightfall.
• Shade returned to the Belinder mansion and told Luvia and Miss Belinder about the investigation and the threatening letter.
• Luvia and Miss Belinder identified the relic as Richard's Notes, a Sage Level relic that killed people deemed unjust when their names were written in it.
• Luvia warned Shade that even a drop of blood on the unheld notebook could count as writing.

Shade went to confront Mrs. Jude at the Red Heart Orphanage after learning how to draw Richard out, while Luvia and Bella discussed his motives and the dragon scales. The chapter ended with Mrs. Jude vanishing into the kerosene lamp’s firelight as Shade approached her.

• The diviners warned Shade that Richard could be drawn out by targeting the sinners he had chosen, but cautioned him not to let Richard touch him.
• Shade chose Angel's Right Arm instead of the Night Watchman, left his cat with Luvia, and hurried to deal with the matter in Moon Bay.
• Luvia and Bella discussed Shade and planned to help him, then intended to study the three dragon scales after dinner.
• Mrs. Jude held her private Night Banquet in a barn near the Red Heart Orphanage, singing beside a sleeping blonde girl.
• Shade entered the barn carrying a longsword, and Mrs. Jude transformed and disappeared into the kerosene lamp’s firelight.

Shade defeated Mrs. Jude and prepared to judge her, but the arrival of the notebook-bearing stranger interrupted him. The stranger revealed that Shade was his real target and declared that he would kill him for wielding the power of sin.

• Shade used the Heaton Seal, his sword, and the Great Sin Chains to defeat Mrs. Jude and drag her beneath a tree.
• Shade asked Mrs. Jude if she repented and declared that her sinful soul should be purified by flame.
• A stranger cut Mrs. Jude free, and Shade faced him while Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert emerged nearby.
• Shade and the stranger argued over justice, punishment, and Mrs. Jude's crimes and good deeds.
• The stranger recognized Shade's ability to materialize sin and announced that killing him was his most important goal in the city.

Shade and Mr. Albert pursued and defeated Richard’s Notes after it escaped the barnyard, then Shade spoke with Richard’s fading phantom. Richard began recounting his past with Madeline during the Fourth Epoch, leaving his story unfinished.

• Shade and the Angel’s Right Arm helped destroy the man possessed by Richard’s Notes, while Madeline’s Love crystallized the notebook.
• The crystallized notebook fled the barnyard, and Shade and Mr. Albert chased it to a riverbank, where Shade pinned it down with the Great Sin Chains and his sword.
• Richard’s fading phantom emerged from the notebook and asked to speak with Shade about Madeline and the Mermaid.
• Shade agreed to hear Richard’s story, and Richard said he and Madeline had met as believers of the God of Love Church during the Chaotic Era of the Fourth Epoch.

Richard recounted how his and Madeline’s choices during missions led to their separation, her death, and his transformation into a relic. Before his notebook was destroyed, he warned Shade that the Mermaid might be more ancient than the God of Love and revealed that his relic could harm her true body.

• Richard told Shade that Madeline had once spared a child who later took revenge, causing her faith in benevolence to waver and bringing her into contact with the Mermaid.
• Richard recalled choosing to kill a child during a later mission, but Madeline stopped him and challenged whether justice could still be trusted after it caused tragedy.
• Richard killed the child despite Madeline’s objections, and their argument postponed their wedding as their relationship deteriorated and Madeline joined the Mermaid.
• Richard later killed Madeline’s mother during another mission, and Madeline’s corpse washed ashore soon afterward; Richard then left the Cult, became a wandering monster hunter, and died after exhausting himself.
• Richard told Shade that the Mermaid might be an ancient source of desire and that the God of Love could once have been one of her many faces.
• Richard revealed that his obsession had given the notebook a special power to harm the Mermaid’s main body, while Shade prepared to let the relic’s power end.

Shade acquired the Heart Curse from Richard's Notes and discussed justice with Mr. Ptolemy Albert after recounting Madeline and Richard's story. His counsel gave him his second insight into guidance, and he returned to find Mrs. Jude arguing with Mr. Bernhardt about how they had helped her.

• Shade touched the crystallized Richard's Notes and mastered the Heart Curse.
• Shade told Mr. Ptolemy Albert the story of Madeline and Richard, and the two discussed what justice meant.
• Shade advised Mr. Albert to choose what would let him sleep peacefully, and gained insight into guidance for the second time.
• Shade and Mr. Albert returned to the barn, where Mrs. Jude confronted Mr. Bernhardt about the help she had received.
• Mr. Bernhardt reminded Mrs. Jude that she had agreed not to drink blood again soon and explained that Shade had drawn out the Relic Richard's Notes.

After helping Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert stop Richard’s Notes from threatening Moon Bay, Shade returned to Belinder Manor exhausted and considered his next move. The chapter ended with Shade wondering whether he could use the Philosopher’s Stone to summon Adele Isabella, while Miss Galina noticed a familiar scent on him.

• Shade and Mr. Albert returned to the barn and confirmed to Mrs. Jude that the danger in Moon Bay had been resolved.
• Mrs. Jude apologized for her actions and agreed not to pursue her hobby at the Orphanage without the men’s knowledge.
• Shade returned to Belinder Manor, where Tifa cheered him up beneath the dining table while Matilda watched through the door crack.
• Shade considered how to bring Miss Isabella to the Present World and make her accept the God of Love’s Thorn before using the black Time Key.
• At home, Shade wondered whether the Philosopher’s Stone could help him summon Adele Isabella, then welcomed Miss Galina and Dorothy.

Shade visited Desire beneath Earl Dalmanin's Residence, where she revealed the location of a Silver Dragon scale and explained how he might call upon Gluttony for help against the Dragon Devouring Demon. She agreed to assist him, but left the price of her help unsettled until after the Moon Bay Incident.

• Shade told Miss Galina and Dorothy about the previous day's events, then returned to Moon Bay with the cat and visited Earl Dalmanin's Residence.
• Shade placed the pink crystal on the reef, and Desire exchanged it for a parchment recording the history and location of a Silver Dragon scale buried on an island near Moon Bay Port.
• Shade told Desire that he had discussed Richard and Madeline with Richard, and Desire accepted that their souls would remain together.
• Shade asked Desire for help preparing to face the Dragon Devouring Demon, and she explained that Gluttony could be drawn by powerful desire and that a body bearing the sin of Gluttony could serve as a God Descended Body.
• Desire promised to help Shade if he relied on himself, and asked him to bring a full bottle of perfume essence after the Moon Bay Incident before she revealed the price.

Shade joined the witches at Belinder Manor to plan around an upcoming Church inspection, arrange a safe place for Little Liana, and prepare for a dangerous ritual. After helping Mr. Bernhardt secure the promised support of Miss Rice, Shade gained access to roughly twenty-five Bloodkin who could be called upon until the Moon Bay matter was resolved.

• Shade told the witches that a Silver Dragon's scale was less than half a day's voyage away, and Miss Aurora and Miss Belinder agreed to retrieve it.
• Miss Belinder explained that the Church would inspect the Seven Great Families' ancestral homes on Sunday, and the group arranged for Little Liana to stay at Margaret Manor.
• Shade asked Miss Belinder to find a corpse that had been eaten to death for ritual material, and she said one could be obtained within a day or two.
• Shade told Mr. Bernhardt that he had succeeded in dreaming and asked him to arrange three symbolic Bloodkin objects and at least ten Bloodkin willing to pray with him.
• Shade and Mr. Bernhardt met Miss Rice at the Councilor Club, where she praised their work on Richard's Notes and offered roughly twenty-five Bloodkin for them to deploy until the Moon Bay matter was resolved.

Miss Rice told Shade and Mr. Bernhardt how a Bloodkin had died from wounds inflicted by Blood of Sorrow, and gave them her mother's divination painting. After parting with Mr. Bernhardt, Shade chased a two-tailed Cat onto a private cruise ship, where it began transforming into a woman.

• Miss Rice revealed that the Bloodkin wounded by Blood of Sorrow had been a killer who died after going out to feed in Moon Bay.
• Miss Rice described the attacker as a skilled swordsman shrouded in light and gave Shade and Mr. Bernhardt her mother's divination painting of the sword wielder.
• Shade kept the painting and said he would ask his diviners for help, while Mr. Bernhardt agreed to continue investigating the local Same Race and gathering allies.
• Shade and Mr. Bernhardt left The Club, and Mr. Bernhardt promised that the Believers' prayers would not prevent them from helping if needed.
• Shade spotted a two-tailed Cat in women's clothing, chased her from the city center to the docks, and followed her aboard a private cruise ship.
• The Cat led Shade into the Master Bedroom, where a Ritual Matrix sealed the door, then began transforming into a human form.

Megan and Audrey reunited with Shade in Moon Bay after their work at Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals was settled, and the group gathered for dinner at Belinder Manor. The crowded gathering ended with the Countess arranging seats for Matilda and Tifa and secretly asking Matilda to replace Shade's cat cushion.

• Megan and Audrey emerged from their cat transformations and reunited passionately with Shade in his cabin.
• Megan arrived at Belinder Manor with Shade and greeted Hailey Aurora, Luvia, the Countess, and the others.
• Liana stayed beside Emilia instead of approaching Megan, while Luvia anticipated the witches' reaction to the Unicorn's refusal.
• The witches and apprentices filled the dinner table, where Megan joked that they would someday need a longer table.
• Megan spoke with Emilia about their shared interest in spatial power, while Sylvia and Vanessa discussed Megan's closeness with Shade.
• The Countess asked Matilda to add seats for herself and Tifa and secretly replace Shade's cat cushion.

At a celebratory dinner in Moon Bay, Shade and the Witches discovered that light from the Moon and stars had become harmful across the Material World, prompting an urgent response. After the others left for the Council, Shade asked Emilia about the time-related abilities of the Ocarina of Time, while Angelina’s nose began to bleed.

• Illustrious Miss asked Miss Aurora about the Witches’ relationships, and Miss Aurora said Shade had brought them together like a family.
• Miss Aurora toasted the operation at Moon Bay, and the assembled guests celebrated over dinner.
• Shade, the Great Witches, Luvia, and Little Unicorn noticed that the night outside had grown unnaturally bright and sensed that its light could harm people physically and mentally.
• Miss Aurora ordered the curtains closed, and Miss Belinder sent messengers to warn their allies and estates to stay indoors.
• The Witches went to the Council while the apprentices handled the anomaly, and Shade asked Emilia about the Ocarina of Time’s powers.
• Emilia described the sword’s resistance to temporal interference and its ability to slow nearby targets, then noticed that Angelina had a nosebleed.

Shade and the others investigated the Star Sword Stone after deciphering new Draconic Runes, while the strange brightness over Moon Bay remained unresolved. Megan revealed that Speaker’s pocket watch contained Starlight Iron, and she planned to ask where Speaker had obtained it.

• Emilia explained the Ocarina of Time’s powers and dangers, and agreed to write a letter so Shade could borrow it.
• Angelina received comfort from Shade, then privately told Emilia about her romantic relationship with him.
• Luvia and Illustrious Miss told Shade that the unusual brightness could not yet be stopped at its source, and Illustrious Miss recalled the Ocarina of Time as a sturdy wooden sword made from a branch of the World Tree.
• Illustrious Miss resonated the four dragon scales, and Shade deciphered the relic name Star Sword Stone from the Draconic Runes.
• Luvia and Illustrious Miss described the Star Sword Stone and its Starlight Iron, but none of the women knew where the relic was in the Sixth Epoch.
• Megan said Speaker’s pocket watch contained Starlight Iron and planned to ask Speaker about its origin at the next Council meeting.

Shade considered how to prepare for the approaching Final Battle and traveled to Coldwater Port seeking help against the Dragon Devouring Demon. After exchanging information with Old John, he found an unexpected relic at the city’s black market.

• Shade told Luvia that Illustrious Miss was not a candidate and planned to confirm whether John Flynn was the New Continent Mutual Aid Society’s first choice.
• Shade worried about the Dragon Devouring Demon and decided to visit Coldwater Port in search of help from the Ocean Gods.
• Shade collected a fragmented holy emblem of the Ancient God Radiance Dragon from Old John's pawnshop and learned that the Hermit Order was investigating Eternal Light.
• Shade exchanged information with Old John, explaining the Moon Bay Bloodkin's efforts to prove their innocence in return for news about Eternal Light.
• Shade visited Edmund and Afu Luola Mansion, then checked his black-market commission and acquired a Document Level Dragon Blood Treasure Coin.

After winning a mysterious lottery in Coldwater Port, Shade brought home a suitcase containing a large Philosopher's Stone and two other strange items. Galina told him that the Council had sent the Speaker and the Great Witch of 'Moon' to seek the Star Sword Stone, while sunlight would bring a new danger to Moon Bay the next day.

• In the Pink Rose Inn, a masked merchant charged Shade three pounds to draw one of three marked paper balls and gave him a suitcase corresponding to his choice.
• Shade opened the other paper balls, found they bore a skull and a lightning bolt, and carried the suitcase back to Galina and Dorothy.
• Galina told Shade that the Speaker and the Great Witch of 'Moon' had gone to search for the Star Sword Stone, which was likely held by the Volcano Alliance.
• Galina said divination had revealed dangerous sunlight centered on Moon Bay from Sunday afternoon until nightfall, and that Miss Isabella had asked Bella to warn The Church.
• Shade opened the suitcase and found a large Philosopher's Stone, a cross-marked square stone, and a blood-red Copper Whistle; he wondered why the Philosopher's Stone had been given to him.

Shade examined the Philosopher's Stone, Gray Mountain Dwarf's Whetstone, and copper whistle he had received from Coldwater Port, discussing how they might aid the coming crisis in Moon Bay. He remained doubtful that the Church and witches could stop the evil god's descent, then prepared to attend the Study Group meeting.

• Dorothy and Miss Galina identified the whetstone as a Sage Level Relic that could greatly enhance cross-related weapons and grant them power against dragons, and Shade translated its maker's humorous inscription.
• Miss Galina explained that the copper whistle could send a sharp signal across a distance about as far as Tobesk, and Dorothy guessed Shade meant to use it to summon the Fishmen of Coldwater Port.
• Shade said the Ocean Gods' ancient conflict with the Devouring Dragon's god could make the cultists useful in Moon Bay, and Dorothy and Miss Galina discussed the risks of cooperating with them.
• Shade said divine descents had never been successfully prevented and believed the coming descent was especially likely because the Nameless Eldest Son sought power like the Radiance Dragon.
• Shade stored the three items, compared the two portions of Philosopher's Stone by hand, and learned from Miss Galina that Moon Bay had suffered an earthquake the night before.
• After Miss Galina left for Yodel Palace, Shade suggested that he and Dorothy leave for the Study Group meeting at one in the afternoon.

Shade visited Doctor Schneider and learned new details about the Doctor’s abilities and the Sword of Light. The Doctor offered Shade a way to summon him through mirrors if Moon Bay needed help, while revealing that the Sword of Light could have multiple holders at once.

• Dorothy asked Shade to bring thirty fresh cream scones home for Angelina, and he agreed before leaving for his meeting with Doctor Schneider.
• Doctor Schneider explained that he could use a Mirror to travel to Shade at an arranged time and demonstrated a transformation into a Crow.
• Doctor Schneider described new knowledge and abilities gained from Pharnalius, including a Transformation Spell and curses that could worsen someone’s luck.
• Doctor Schneider told Shade that the Sword of Light could be claimed through a series of Trials that made its holder permanent.
• Doctor Schneider explained that the Sword of Light was a conceptual existence, so multiple qualified people could wield it at the same time, though such a case was extremely rare.

Shade accompanied Emilia to receive the Ocarina of Time delivery outside Moon Bay while the others prepared to leave for the night. As they waited, Emilia reflected on the turbulent summer and asked whether she could become a Hero, and Shade asked her not to force herself into danger.

• Shade bought fresh cream scones for Dorothy and brought the remaining pastries to Belinder Manor for Angelina to distribute.
• Emilia told Shade that the Ocarina of Time had been secretly delivered and asked him to accompany her outside the city to receive it.
• After dinner, Shade saw Angelina and Little Unicorn off to Margaret Manor, then rode with Emilia toward the rural delivery point.
• Shade and Emilia waited beneath a banyan tree, where Emilia told him she had enjoyed her stay in Moon Bay and described her worries about the war and the Demon.
• Emilia asked whether she could become a Hero, and Shade urged her to prepare for that possibility without forcing herself to rush into danger.

Shade comforted Emilia beneath the crossroads tree, helping her realize the final Spirit Rune of her fifth ring, Light of Self. When the elf deliveryman arrived, Shade received the ancient Angel Level sword Ocarina of Time and began learning how its time powers worked.

• Shade encouraged Emilia to believe in her own light, and she gained the Spirit Rune Enlightenment—Light of Self.
• Emilia told Shade she had hoped to awaken a talent for time and join the History College, but had enrolled in the Chemistry College instead.
• An elf deliveryman brought Shade the Ocarina of Time and gave Emilia a letter from home.
• Shade learned from the sword’s ancient inscriptions that the elves inherited time’s power from the World Tree.
• Shade discovered that the Ocarina of Time could slow, accelerate, or pause time, though pausing time consumed immense power.