Chapter Summaries

Shade visited Donald Gunn, a traumatized family member chosen as a candidate for extracting cowardice, and learned that the man’s sin had diminished because he had atoned for it. Doctor Schneider discovered something about Donald’s recent actions but left Shade guessing what he had done.

• Galina brought Shade a case file about Donald Gunn, whose classmates had murdered his family while he failed to resist.
• Shade visited Donald at Tobesk First Sanatorium and met Doctor Schneider, who happened to be treating another patient there.
• Shade extracted Donald’s cowardice and turned it into a doll, gaining insight but obtaining only 0.9 marks.
• Doctor Schneider examined Donald’s dream and concluded that Donald had atoned for his cowardice, then asked Shade to guess what he had done.

Shade visited Doctor Schneider, then discussed the third Tree Hollow and a Time Sharing Potion with Miss Winslet and Miss Danist. The potion could grant its owner years of lifespan after fifty years of waiting, and Shade considered using it against the Ring Arcanist threatening Baron Kaming.

• Doctor Schneider explained that Donald Gunn had begun making amends for his past and planned to expose Northern Industrial School before killing himself.
• Shade left the sanatorium and found that Elf Miss was absent, then joined Miss Winslet and Miss Danist at the Accordion Hotel.
• The ladies told Shade that Erica Kaming had not written in the book again and discussed how the third Tree Hollow should be contained.
• Miss Winslet explained that the Time Sharing Potion granted its blood owner the lifespan it had accumulated, but its owner and anyone who touched it faced an overpowering urge to drink it.
• Shade suggested giving the potion to a stray cat to deprive the Ring Arcanist of the lifespan he hoped to gain.

Shade coordinated plans to investigate the Cumming Family case and discussed the danger of exhausting the Tree Hollows’ remaining restraints. At the Study Group meeting, Doctor Schneider revealed his plan to add another Core Ling Rune, prompting Shade to warn him about the risks.

• Miss Danist planned to keep watch over the Tree Hollows while Miss Winslet followed Shade as an owl and the Witch arranged nearby Followers as backup.
• Shade brought the Cumming Family book to Elf Miss, who explained that exhausting the Tree Hollows’ restraints could make them spread and destroy Creekwood Town, and agreed to help him find the second Paradox Worm.
• Shade recounted the Cumming Family story at the Study Group, then suggested a time-travel detective story that Dorothy praised as a strong idea for a special Year-End Festival chapter.
• The Group discussed autumn plans and new studies, and Priest Augustus shared his Mid-Ring Words of Sublimation.
• Doctor Schneider said he wanted to add another Core Ling Rune for his High-Ring Words of Sublimation, and Shade warned him that he knew the risks.

Doctor Schneider told Shade he wanted to gather thirteen demons’ powers and attempt to engrave “Demon” as a Core Ling Rune, while Shade agreed to help but urged him to reconsider. Later, Shade and Dorothy studied the fairy tale “Crystal Light,” and Dorothy gave him a rose transformed into a crystal flower.

• Doctor Schneider admitted that he intended to pursue “Demon” as a Core Ling Rune and explained that he had devoured eleven demons, leaving him short of the power he wanted for his ritual.
• Shade agreed to help the Doctor find another demon and asked him to tell Shade before attempting the dangerous ritual.
• Shade put off searching for more Cowardice and spent the evening studying “Crystal Light” with Dorothy after they returned home.
• Dorothy showed Shade a crystal mouse made with Crystal Touch and explained that its body had crystallized while its soul moved on.
• Dorothy gave Shade a rose and used Crystal Touch to transform it into a white crystal flower, then explained the limited ways its effect could be reversed.

Shade tested his time thaumaturgy, discussed the coming war and a possible union of the North and South Kingdoms with Dorothy, then traveled to Vesta City for the Moon Dance Festival. He left the crowded city with Owl and Miss Bell to meet the mysterious potion owner near Creekwood Town’s railway tracks.

• Shade used Breath of Time on a crystal and restored it to a red rose, while Dorothy explained that it could not restore a creature’s soul.
• Shade and Dorothy discussed the coming war, and Shade said the two kingdoms should settle their conflict so civilization could prepare for the approaching end; he rejected becoming emperor and suggested an electoral monarchy.
• Shade asked Dorothy to look after Little Mia while he attended the Moon Dance Festival Concert with the Witches and Miss Danist.
• Shade arrived in Vesta City amid festival crowds and decorations, then joined Owl and Miss Bell to investigate the potion’s owner.
• Shade and Owl reached the railway tracks outside Creekwood Town to meet the stranger who had arranged to see Baron Kaming.

Shade and his allies ambushed a Fourth Ring Arcanist who came to meet the disguised Baron Kaming, only to discover that he was a Creation Church priest. They prepared to question Father Francois while trying to prevent the Church from tracking them.

• Shade and Miss Owl used a disguised suit of armor as Baron Kaming and hid nearby while Miss Bell's group took positions around the meeting site.
• A man arrived late by train, accepted an empty box from the disguised baron, and Shade knocked him unconscious with Mind Blast.
• Shade and the others searched the captive at a campsite and found a Silver Wrench Holy Symbol and a Creation Church scripture.
• Miss Bell recognized the captive as Father Francois of the Weilun Dai'er Diocese after Charlotte removed his disguise.
• Miss Winslet proposed using her own method to question Father Francois, explaining that she would summon death to block the Church contract's tracking effect.

Miss Winslet used her Thaumaturgy, Wall of Sighs, to compel Father Francois to answer Shade’s questions. Francois confessed to exploiting a Time Traveler and killing five people to prolong his life, leaving Shade to condemn his cowardice.

• Miss Winslet summoned the Wall of Sighs and bound the awakened Father Francois against it, where he could not lie.
• Shade confirmed that Francois had forced a Time Traveler fifty years earlier to carry potions across time.
• Francois explained that he learned about Time Travel after surviving an encounter with a Great Deer-Headed Monster in Creekwood and discovering a dead Nature Church Arcanist’s hidden materials and detection method.
• Francois admitted that he used the Time Sharing Potion to extend his life and had killed five people whose birth dates met the potion’s requirements.
• Shade contrasted Francois with someone he had met the previous day who had sacrificed himself to atone, and called Francois cowardly.

Shade and Flora Winslet uncovered evidence that the local Nature Church knew about Time Travelers, then a spell malfunction unleashed a Crown Skeleton Undead. Shade destroyed the wraith amid a forest fire, drawing the churches’ attention, and extracted Father Francois’s cowardice before the chapter ended.

• Shade learned that a Nature Church relic and Oak's Lucky Potion had helped Father Francois detect a Time Traveler, and he decided to use the man to bring other churches into the investigation.
• Flora Winslet lost control of the Wall of Sighs, releasing a Crown Skeleton Undead as Miss Bell led the other women away.
• Shade fought the wraith with Sunlight Ray, Silver Thunder, Greater Fireballs, and Great Sin Chains, deliberately making enough noise to draw rescuers.
• A joint squad of Dawn Church and Sun Church Ring Arcanists arrived and watched Shade annihilate the wraith with Praise Moon.
• Shade took Father Francois’s hair, extracted his sin into a paper figure, and gained insight into cowardice.

Shade fought off the Dawn Church and Sun Church Arcanists who tried to detain him after he captured Father Francois. He escaped into the Woodland, leaving the two teams to debate whether to interrogate the unconscious priest themselves.

• Shade gave the unconscious Father Francois a Time Sharing Potion and warned the Church Arcanists not to let the Creation Church or Nature Church interrogate him first.
• Shade repelled the five High- and Mid-Ring Arcanists with a golden shield, the Sunlight Greatsword, fire, and other thaumaturgies.
• Shade defeated the Tenth Ring Arcanist of the Dawn Church with Laguerre's Leap and Passionate Ice, then formed a Sunlight Gun and fired it into the forest fire.
• Shade flew into the Woodland with Miss Owl and vanished, leaving the Church Arcanists unharmed in the clearing.
• Howard and Ken disagreed over whether they had the right to interrogate Father Francois, and Howard decided they should question him before choosing what to do.

After escaping the burning forest, Shade agreed to let Miss Winslet learn more about his abilities during future operations. Back in Vesta City, he reunited with Sister Devlin, who came to examine Miss Bell’s curse, and introduced her to Miss Winslet and Miss Danist.

• Shade told Miss Winslet that he would gradually reveal his methods to her during future operations.
• Shade and Miss Winslet returned to Vesta City and found Sister Devlin in Miss Winslet’s room with Miss Bell.
• Sister Devlin picked up Shade while he was still a cat, and Miss Danist arrived as the group recognized the awkward scene.
• Shade transformed back into human form and greeted Sister Devlin, who smiled and said she had known him for a long time.
• Shade introduced Sister Devlin to Miss Winslet and Miss Danist, describing himself as the Hero of the Flame she had chosen.
• Miss Winslet asked whether Sister Devlin and Shade had been introduced by the old lady.

Sister Devlin and Shade used the First Fire to purify the souls of Danist Gustav and Flora Winslet, temporarily suppressing their curses and restoring their strength. Sister Devlin explained that the complete First Fire—or another separated flame found with help from the Time Chosen Ones—could permanently remove the curse.

• Sister Devlin explained that she had shared the First Fire with Shade after finding him badly injured, and the group welcomed her chance to try lifting the curses.
• Sister Devlin examined Danist Gustav and told Shade to channel the First Fire through her soul.
• Shade and Sister Devlin used the First Fire to purify Danist Gustav, temporarily suppressing her curse and restoring her to the Eleventh Ring until midnight.
• Sister Devlin said the First Fire in its complete state could burn away the curse, and another separated flame found with help from the Time Chosen Ones could also resolve it.
• Shade and Sister Devlin repeated the procedure for Flora Winslet, who sensed a bright Silver Moon in Shade's right eye as the fire took hold.

Shade and his companions prepared to recover the Paradox Worm by drawing the Kaming father and son to a meeting point outside Vesta City. As James Kaming ran there under Miss Danist’s illusion, Shade and Danist walked through the forest discussing the Moon Dance Festival.

• Sister Devlin said she would spend the night camping in Vesta Woodland and asked Sylvia to open a Teleportation Gate to Wilundell the next morning.
• Miss Bell reported that James Kaming was at Maurice Mansion and Baron Kaming was at the Lumberjack Association, so Shade split the group to lure them to a forest meeting point.
• In a carriage, Miss Danist questioned Shade about his relationship with Sister Devlin and teased him about his other romantic connections.
• Shade and Miss Danist used a Red Moon Illusion to make James Kaming see Erica Kaming, and he left the mansion in a daze.
• Shade and Miss Danist followed James toward the meeting point while discussing the Moon Dance Festival and its origins in ancient offerings to the Moon God.

Shade and his allies located the Second Stage Paradox Worm inside James Kaming and drove it out, but the creature resisted Sister Devlin’s attempt to destroy it with Ashes. Sister Devlin proposed merging with Shade so they could combine his temporal stability power with the First Fire, and Shade prepared to do so with Charlotte Bell and Miss Danist present.

• Baron Kaming scolded James for pursuing Erica and reminded him of his engagement to Jane Bennett.
• Shade used the Youthful Immortality Leaf to locate the Paradox Worm inside James, then forced it out with the Ancient Elven Stability Principle and pinned it with the Yggdrasil Staff.
• Sister Devlin tried to strike the worm with Ashes, but it manipulated time and sprayed accelerating mist before Shade restrained it again.
• Sister Devlin suggested using Shade’s Mystic Lock to merge with him and combine their powers against the worm.
• Shade asked Charlotte Bell to stay, and Miss Danist protected her as the group prepared for the merging.

Shade and Sister Devlin fused their souls through the First Fire to create Shade’s Mystic Lock, transforming the forest into a sea of flames and empowering them to defeat the Paradox Worm. The Mystic Lock ended, leaving Shade and Sister Devlin beside the burning bug as a blond elf approached.

• Sister Devlin linked her soul with Shade’s using the First Fire, and their Destiny Rings fused into a crimson ring as the Mystic Lock formed.
• Shade became a towering Ashes Knight, took up the enlarged Ashes greatsword and Yggdrasil Staff, and advanced toward the Paradox Worm.
• Shade struck the Paradox Worm and pinned it beneath the Ancient Elven Stability Principle before slashing down with Ashes.
• The Mystic Lock dissolved, revealing Shade and Sister Devlin beside a bonfire where the Ashen Longsword pierced the burning bug.
• Miss Danist and Miss Bell recovered from watching the Mystic Lock, and a blond elf hurried toward Shade and Sister Devlin.

Shade and Sister Devlin defeated the Kaming family’s Paradox Worm, then returned to Vesta City as the Moon Dance Festival began. At the Accordion Hotel, Flora learned Shade had a Mystic Lock and discovered its name was Clock Tower Lovers before they set out for the concert.

• Shade and Sister Devlin used the First Fire to destroy the Paradox Worm, while Elf Miss collected its shell for the potion she was preparing.
• Shade and the others woke Baron Kaming and his son, then left the woodland after the Kaming family’s trouble was temporarily resolved.
• Sister Devlin told Shade that Elf Miss was fifty-six years old, and they tacitly agreed not to discuss her appearance beneath the blindfold in the city.
• Shade returned to Room 321 and Flora pounced on him, upset that she had missed seeing his Mystic Lock.
• Shade told Flora that his Mystic Lock was Clock Tower Lovers, and she concluded that his relationship with Sister Devlin was more complicated than he claimed.

Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival Concert in Vesta City with Miss Winslet, Miss Danist, and Miss Bell, where he felt unusually energized beneath the three full Moons and encountered acquaintances from Wilundell. The chapter left Shade watching the Bennett family from a distance and confirming with the Family Stabilizer that the three sisters were genuine.

• Miss Winslet explained the Golden Music Hall and its seating as the group arrived for the concert.
• Shade noticed that the three full Moons made his Spirit and Elements unusually active, then learned that Miss Winslet was known for piano performance and composition.
• The Follen Brothers recognized Shade but only nodded to him before greeting Miss Winslet and leaving.
• Shade spotted the Bennett family and used the Family Stabilizer to confirm that Jane, Phyllis, and Linda were genuine sisters.
• The witch explained that the Bennett family's youngest daughter was performing as a violinist and that their youngest son had been confined at home after breaking an antique vase.

Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival concert with Miss Danist and Miss Winslet, but an unusual premonition led him to leave during a performance and meet Eric Follen in a secluded corridor. Eric told him that his mother was safe and that the Dragon Devouring Order had gone into hiding after its defeat in Moon Bay.

• Shade learned from Miss Bell that Vesta Woodland had three military camps, then discussed military ranks with the ladies.
• Miss Winslet told Miss Danist about a sheer new fabric, and Miss Danist suspected Shade was involved with it.
• Shade attended the Moon Dance Festival concert and noticed his drowsiness and heightened awareness felt unusual.
• During the Starry Sky Aria, Shade left the hall and met Eric Follen in a secluded corridor.
• Eric told Shade that his mother was safe and that the Dragon Devouring Order had gone into hiding after its defeat in Moon Bay.

Shade warned Eric Follen that Creekwood Town might be connected to coming trouble, then told Miss Bell the story behind his expired Moon Dance Festival card. As he fell asleep during the concert, he entered a dream of an ancient moonlit sacrificial ritual, where a hooded figure appeared above the altar’s Silver Fire.

• Shade asked Eric Follen about York Bronte and warned the Follen brothers to leave if they wanted to avoid another major incident.
• Shade explained to Miss Bell how the souls of Mr. Wosente and Mr. Mason had blessed him with the Moon Dance Festival card, whose effect had expired.
• During the second half of the concert, Shade grew drowsy and fell asleep while the red-haired girl let him rest.
• Shade followed ancient dance music through his dream wilderness to a vast sacrificial ground where thousands danced around a bonfire beneath the Moon.
• Six silver-adorned girls invited Shade to dance, but he politely refused them before seeing a hooded figure appear above the altar as its Silver Fire burst skyward.

Shade dreamed of climbing a Silver Fire staircase toward the Moon, where a distant woman vanished before he could reach her. As Shade slept through a Dragon beast’s attack on the Golden Music Hall, Flora Winslet joined the fight, and a mysterious figure appeared behind the creature.

• Shade climbed the Silver Fire staircase toward the Moon, saw a woman standing on it, and watched her vanish when he called to her.
• A Dragon Roar sounded above the Golden Music Hall, but Shade remained asleep despite Miss Danist’s attempts to wake him.
• Flora Winslet left the hall and saw a twisted dragon beast attack the city with Dragon Breath and gray mist while Church Ring Arcanists fought it.
• Flora Winslet transformed into a Unicorn and wounded the beast with a projection of light, but its injuries quickly healed.
• A Twelfth Ring of Fate appeared behind the dragon beast, and a figure moving at nearly the speed of light emerged and attacked everyone.

Flora Winslet, the Church Arcanists, and Sister Devlin fought the Clockmaker and her time-cloned dragons above Vesta City during the Moon Dance Festival. As Shade emerged from the Golden Music Hall wrapped in silver flame, he carried the power of a dream in which he had encountered the Lady upon the Moon.

• The Clockmaker revealed herself as the Tree Hole Association’s Twelfth Ring Arcanist and used her power to create four time-cloned dragon beasts.
• Flora Winslet and the Church Arcanists struggled to hold off the dragons until Sister Devlin and three of her copies severed all four heads with Fated Death.
• The Clockmaker summoned another time-traveling dragon clone after the first four vanished, and the battle resumed beneath the approaching Full Moons.
• A dragon beam knocked Flora Winslet toward the Golden Music Hall, where Miss Danist caught her in owl form; Flora then saw Shade standing atop the Clock Tower in silver flame.
• Shade had left the hall after waking from a dream of the Lady upon the Moon, and he emerged carrying the lingering power and anger of that encounter.