Chapter Summaries

Shade examined the Holy Emblems in Holy White Chapel and received Innocent Creator’s blessing, which let his Toy Making thaumaturgy affect living beings. After returning to the attic, he tried to test the new ability on Fiona, but Iluna arrived before he could continue.

• Shade inspected the twenty-three Holy Emblems and learned the temporary blessings each god offered.
• Shade discovered that accessing an Ancient God’s Holy Emblem required sacrificing divinity or a powerful Old God Holy Emblem associated with it.
• Shade accepted Innocent Creator’s blessing, allowing Toy Making to affect living beings despite their lack of trust.
• Shade attempted to test the enhanced thaumaturgy on Fiona, but her strength and resistance made her an unsuitable test subject.
• Iluna returned to the capital and visited Shade at 6 Saint Derain Square, where she greeted Miss Feliana and Fiona.

Shade tested Thaumaturgy Toy Making on Iluna, then spent the day studying with Miss Feliana and Fiona. Fiona secretly shared Shade’s bed that night, and on Monday morning Miss Feliana announced that she and Fiona would leave on Wednesday.

• Shade transformed Iluna into a ceramic toy, and Iluna described the disorienting experience before he restored her.
• Iluna gave Shade a Philosopher’s Stone from the Church, but Little Mia refused to eat it despite Shade’s attempts.
• Miss Feliana kept Shade and Fiona at home to review Shade’s studies, and they continued their lessons into the evening.
• Fiona climbed into Shade’s bed that night and fell asleep beside him, while Little Mia slept nearby.
• Fiona made breakfast the next morning, and Miss Feliana told Shade that she and Fiona planned to leave on Wednesday.

Shade spent Monday with Feliana and Fiona before welcoming the group returning from Moon Bay, then discussed their plans and recent advances with Luvia and Iluna on Tuesday. After visiting Moon Bay and spending the afternoon with Vanessa, he promised to visit her regularly while Feliana and Fiona prepared to leave.

• Shade agreed that Feliana and Fiona would leave on Wednesday and welcomed the Moon Bay party back to Tobesk that evening.
• Daniste took Feliana and Fiona to Saint Byron's on Tuesday morning while Shade showed Luvia and Iluna that week's ordinary gift.
• Iluna revealed she had gained the Sword of Justice Spirit Rune and planned to advance to the ninth ring, while Luvia said she had advanced to the eighth ring.
• Shade found that his household chores were already handled, so he went to Moon Bay and heard that city hall wanted the Moon Bay Bridge completed soon.
• Vanessa brought Shade to the Goth Grand Hotel, spent Tuesday afternoon with him, and asked him to visit her in Moon Bay at least once a week.

Miss Feliana and Fiona ended their ten-day visit and vanished back into the past after asking Shade not to summon them again for the sake of time’s stability. Galina then complained that Vanessa had advanced to the Thirteenth Order and pressed Shade to promise her a night together in Randall River Valley.

• Miss Feliana gave Galina a letter for the current Speaker, Dorothy a fountain pen, and Luvia an enchanted hat and a blessed notebook for Iluna Bayes before saying goodbye to Shade.
• Miss Feliana asked Shade not to summon her or Fiona from the past again, and the two women vanished from the era after bidding everyone farewell.
• Galina asked Shade how Vanessa had advanced to the Thirteenth Order and complained that she deserved the same chance because she had been first to know him.
• Shade explained that Vanessa’s advancement followed his song of the Old God, the God of Travel, and that she still lacked the Spirit Runes needed to reach Thirteen Rings.
• Galina demanded compensation and insisted on staying with Shade that night, and he agreed.

After Miss Feliana and Fiona left, Shade found a parting letter from Miss Feliana and visited Old John to buy a relic that could transfer Spirit. Their conversation turned to the Moon Bay incident and the growing reputation of the God Summoner.

• Shade found a letter beneath Miss Feliana’s pillow, marked with her red lip print, and felt happy as he opened the bedroom window.
• Shade went to Old John’s pawnshop and bought the Poet Level Benevolent Doctor’s Injection Needle for thirteen pounds.
• Old John asked Shade whether the two guests from afar had left Moon Bay and whether the Hero could summon unexpected guests again.
• Shade said the guests had gone and doubted the Hero could repeat what happened, while Old John described the Hermit Order’s acceptance of any power that could protect civilization.
• Old John told Shade that people now regarded the God Summoner as the Material World’s strongest Ring Arcanist and speculated that the Chosen One of light and justice was his subordinate.

Shade met Miss Danist at Saint Byron's Academy and learned that Headmaster Feliana had identified him as her lover and that he owned part of the Academy. The chapter ended with Miss Danist explaining that much of Saint Byron's ownership and administrative authority remained unaccounted for.

• Shade asked Old John to search for luck-enhancing relics and Special Coins, as well as anomalies related to time.
• Shade met Miss Danist in the renovated Academy Library and heard about the founders' visit to Saint Byron's.
• Miss Danist told Shade that Headmaster Feliana had called him her lover, while Shade maintained that he was her apprentice.
• Miss Danist revealed that Shade held 7.53% ownership of the Academy's land and property, likely through his and Fiona's acquisition of land in the Far North.
• Miss Danist explained that the headmaster could identify only some of the Academy's ownership and administrative authority, leaving many portions unknown.

Shade learned that he held a substantial ownership share in Saint Byrens Comprehensive College and let Miss Danist manage the assets, then heard what she had uncovered about her Teacher and the Sound of Music Order. Their investigation again pointed toward Kalas Mountain, but its connection to the Teacher remained unexplained.

• Miss Danist explained Shade’s Academy ownership, and Shade declined to withdraw money while suggesting raises for Emilia and improved professors’ afternoon tea.
• Shade entrusted Miss Danist with managing his assets and gave her a School Board Member Letter confirming his suggestions for the Academy.
• Miss Danist reported that the Sound of Music Order’s former bishop had died but that her diary linked Shade’s Teacher to the Order and its ancient Moon-Worshipping origins.
• Miss Danist said the Order still performed at the ruins on Kalas Mountain once every ten years, but had no other traditions there and the Teacher had never joined them.
• Shade and Miss Danist concluded that the clue about the Old God’s believers had stalled and turned to consider the other clues pointing toward Kalas Mountain.

Shade learned that Miss Danist planned to investigate Astrologer Euclid’s past in Creekwood Town, now called Vesta City, while she prepared his autumn courses and new thaumaturgy materials. As his holiday resumed, he received Leisha’s formal invitation to a reading salon where Angelina would present her reflections on reading.

• Miss Danist told Shade that Astrologer Euclid had once been active in Creekwood Town and planned to investigate the region herself after arranging the Academy’s opening.
• Miss Danist gave Shade the name of her teacher, Helena Carter, and reminded him to study Radiant Moon Perception Realm and prepare for his examinations.
• Shade declined the Duchess’s suggestion that he stay at her manor, explaining that he wanted to remain near the women still in Moon Bay and those visiting Tobesk.
• Leisha invited Shade and Galina to a Friday reading salon at 6 Saint Derain Square, where Angelina would share her reflections on reading.
• Galina agreed to attend and said Angelina deserved Leisha’s punishment for disappointing her.

Shade spent a relaxed morning at home before Tifa claimed the wish he had promised her, and later joined Galina and Leisha for lunch. There, Leisha explained that Angelina’s punishment was to read her erotic stories aloud because she had written them about Dorothy and Shade.

• After Galina left for Yodel Palace, Tifa stayed with half the maids to help Shade sort his wardrobe and clean the house.
• Shade reviewed Feliana’s notes about the Witch Secret Art Arrow of Night while the maids aired and cleaned the house.
• Tifa reminded Shade of the wish he had promised her in Moon Bay, and he let her raise her skirt before the Duchess and Leisha returned at noon.
• At lunch, Shade asked Leisha to spare Angelina from a humiliating punishment, and Leisha explained that Angelina had written stories imitating Dorothy’s detective collection.
• Leisha told Shade that Angelina had chosen to read illegal books aloud rather than her own stories, then handed him several pages that left him visibly shocked.

At the Cavendish family’s Reading Salon, Angelina read an erotic story aloud as punishment for a mistake while Shade, Leisha, and Galina watched. As Leisha and Galina took turns straddling Shade, Angelina’s embarrassment and envy gave way to overwhelming, contradictory excitement.

• Leisha hosted a private Reading Salon with Shade, Galina, and Angelina, taking care to keep the household staff out of the room.
• Leisha told Angelina to read from her booklet as punishment, and Angelina removed most of her clothing before stepping onto the platform.
• Angelina began reading a courtly erotic story, surprising Shade with its ornate writing and serious tone.
• Leisha removed an undergarment, straddled Shade, and left Angelina struggling to keep her voice steady as she read.
• After Leisha returned to her chair, Galina also removed a garment and straddled Shade, intensifying Angelina’s conflicted feelings and physical sensations.

Angelina endured a humiliating salon punishment while reading aloud, then learned from Leisha that it was meant to make her act on her ambitions and stop remaining passive. The salon ended with Angelina agreeing to study harder, though she surprised herself by asking whether the same punishment could be used again.

• Angelina read through the salon as Leisha, Galina, and the Head Maid took turns with Shade, leaving her overwhelmed and distressed.
• After the salon ended, Leisha found Angelina dazed and told her that Galina had gone to bathe and Shade was in the washroom.
• Leisha explained that Angelina’s punishment was meant to address her failure to act on her desires during the Moon Bay operation, not merely her portrayal of Dorothy.
• Angelina admitted she had done nothing and understood that her wishes would remain out of reach if she stayed passive.
• Leisha apologized for the punishment and urged Angelina to study and become capable of helping Shade.
• Angelina unexpectedly said she would accept the same punishment again if she made mistakes, and Leisha embraced her approvingly.

Shade spent his late-summer holiday balancing visits with friends and lovers, social engagements, and detective work in Tobesk. As several Witches departed Moon Bay and the Radiance Messenger left for upgrades, Shade settled back into city life and reopened his detective agency.

• Angelina admitted that she hoped to be with Shade someday, while Leisha and Dorothy discussed whether to help her.
• Shade began his month-and-a-half holiday, attending Saturday group meetings, visiting friends and Witches, and spending nights with Luvia, Dorothy, and Galina.
• Megan and Audrey left Moon Bay after Speaker Adele Isabella summoned them to handle troublesome matters.
• Shade said farewell to Miss Aurora as she sailed away on the Radiance Messenger, which she planned to upgrade into a sea fortress.
• Shade visited friends across Tobesk and beyond, including Professor Manning, Mr. Edmund, and the recovering boy John.
• Shade resumed taking commissions at the Detective Hamilton Agency as late summer turned toward autumn.

Shade recalled several investigations that brought him public attention and rewards, then received the Peace Church’s honors and supplies for helping spread the Night Curtain Seal. The Church’s gift included three dangerous ancient texts, which Shade agreed to return after reading.

• Shade arrested the Rhodes Card thief and buyer, refused the auction house’s offer of a Special Rule Card, and used his reward to treat Dorothy to dinner.
• Shade investigated a young stablehand for Meris Lucas, whose later interest in an antique ruby necklace helped expose the Sheldon family’s smuggling and ties to Kasonlik intelligence.
• Shade later found the stablehand preparing to marry his childhood sweetheart and gave the couple silver tableware bought with Meris’s commission fee.
• Iluna told Shade and Luvia that Church Arcanists rarely mastered the Night Curtain Seal and learned it only as a spell, while she had mastered it as Thaumaturgy.
• Iluna delivered the Peace Church’s contribution medal, valuable potions and alchemy materials, and three sealed ancient texts to Shade.

Shade read three Church texts beneath the Moons at the Black Night Spirit Temple, learning about lunar disasters, an ancient Moon ritual, and passages through time in ancient trees. He began reading accounts from people who had returned through a Time Tree Hole.

• Shade read a dragon-skin record about dangerous Moon abnormalities and found a warning not to look at the Moon when moonlight tainted the night.
• Shade felt watched beneath the normal Three Moons, but found no sign of danger and continued reading.
• Shade learned from a human-skin text that ancient Moon worship rituals could open a staircase to the Moon, where the Moon Sage and a fabled library were said to be found.
• Shade read the text's final, blood-red instructions for reaching the Moon and concluded that its author had gone mad.
• After resting with Mia, Shade opened a Golden Sheep parchment describing Tree Hollows that could carry people through time and began reading reports from those who had returned.

Shade read a Fourth Epoch record describing three people who traveled through tree hollows into other eras, and considered whether such hollows could open the Time Corridor. After the Month of Flourishing Flowers passed, he began September having mastered two new Thaumaturgies.

• Shade concluded that the records described travel to the Third Epoch, the Fifth Epoch, and an apocalypse, and considered searching for tree hollows that might lead into the Time Corridor.
• Shade learned that the Church and other factions had negotiated with Dragon Island, and that the Dragons agreed to limit their contact with human civilization and send exchange students in return for protections for their island and faith.
• Shade heard that the Dragons had asked about the Seventh Chosen One, but the Church declined to discuss the matter.
• Shade entered September and prepared to attend his autumn elective courses, which Miss Danist had already arranged.
• Shade mastered Radiant Moon Perception Realm and tested its ability to perceive people and objects under moonlight.
• Shade mastered Miss Feliana’s Arrow of Night, which formed a black arrow when he drew and fired a bow.

Shade learned that Queen Diana was expected to give birth to twins and was summoned by Galina to wait at Yodel Palace. After a quiet Thursday and Friday, Dorothy woke Shade early Saturday when Leisha sent word that the birth was imminent.

• Shade tested Arrow of Night with Iluna and saw that its darkness weakened her light Thaumaturgies while leaving his own unaffected.
• Miss Goode wrote that she was packing and would arrive in Tobesk during the week, while Dorothy explained the royal family might grant titles to Queen Diana's expected twins.
• Galina took Shade to Yodel Palace, where he met Queen Diana and waited with the Duchess as the due date passed without news.
• Dorothy woke Shade early Saturday and told him a carriage had arrived to take him to Yodel Palace because Leisha said the birth was about to happen.

Shade rushed to Yodel Palace as the Cavendish family awaited the birth of two royal children, joining Galina and Angelina while the delivery became difficult. As Galina went to check on the Birthing Room, Angelina tried to divine her mother's and the babies' fate with Tarot Cards.

• Dorothy saw Shade off and told him the Cavendish family was about to gain new members.
• Tifa brought Shade to Galina's study at Yodel Palace, where Angelina joined them while they waited for the birth.
• Galina reflected on family and time, and Shade comforted her as they discussed the Cavendish relatives.
• Tifa reported that the delivery was not going smoothly, and Galina went to check on the Birthing Room.
• Angelina asked Shade whether Ring Arcanists could save her mother and brothers, then attempted a Tarot reading with his help.

Shade discovered that a sudden time reversal was trapping Yodel Palace in a short loop, with only five reversals possible before temporal collapse. He suspected Queen Diana's delivery was connected and stopped time in her birthing room to investigate.

• After Angelina began a Tarot reading, time reversed, and Shade retained his memories because he could selectively refuse the Power of Time.
• Shade tried to leave Yodel Palace and saw day and night overlapping beyond its walls, but crossing the boundary triggered another reversal.
• Shade told Galina and Angelina about the loop, and they believed him; Angelina's second divination produced a different result, so they turned to other suspects.
• Shade proposed that the twins' birth might be causing the reversals, and Galina led the group through a secret passage to Queen Diana's birthing room.
• Shade used Adele's pocket watch to cast Time Stop on Queen Diana as Doctors assisted her delivery.

Shade and Galina witnessed Queen Diana’s Twin Princes emerge from her womb during a time stop, and Shade later learned they believed they had lived through a disastrous future. He realized their visions were being mistaken for memories and that their fate remained uncertain, but Galina asked how to address the danger they still faced.

• During Shade’s time stop, Queen Diana’s newborn Twin Princes crawled from her abdomen and asked Shade to kill them because they did not want to be born.
• The princes explained that they believed they had fought in the future Chosen Ones War, lost, and regressed to their birth to escape their fate.
• Shade and Galina returned to the Birthing Room, where Shade and the others delivered the princes and Shade healed them.
• Shade determined that the princes were newborn souls with the ability to see the future, and that they had mistaken a possible future for memories of a past life.
• Shade reassured Angelina that the future the princes had seen could change, while Galina asked how they should deal with the remaining threat.

Shade and the royal family searched for a way to stop the princes’ time loop, learning that their status as time candidates was the key to ending it. Luvia’s proposed solution required the princes to renounce that status or be killed with Shade’s key, but they refused, and the scene froze.

• Shade learned that the princes’ souls would vanish if the fifth time loop began and that no one could enter or leave Yodel Palace.
• Shade tried to contact the Shadow of the Tree Father, but his key could not open the Time Corridor because he had been forbidden to use it.
• Leisha arrived and told Shade that the temporal anomaly was making her soul-sharing bond with Dorothy difficult to manage.
• Shade asked Dorothy to contact Luvia, who advised stripping the princes of their candidate status using Shade’s key, either through their willing renunciation or by killing them.
• The princes refused to relinquish their status, and Leisha rebuked them for endangering the royal family; then everyone froze in place.