Chapter Summaries

Shade and Iluna investigated the clock incident at the Maria Empress Opera House and learned that both a theater handyman and an aspiring actress had contributed to the deaths. The Church suspected the actress’s Mermaid-shaped stone and perfume were connected to the dangerous Mermaid entity Shade knew, which he believed was now in Moon Bay.

• Iluna told Shade the clock was a Sage Level relic, and Shade left her to handle the aftermath at the opera house.
• Shade returned for dinner and watched the evening performance with Vanessa and Siris while the opera troupe continued its scheduled show.
• Iluna reported that a handyman had triggered the clock after finding old instructions that said certain branches could protect someone from its Time Stop effect.
• Iluna revealed that the actress had used a ritual to obtain magical perfume, and investigators found a Mermaid-shaped stone and a Mermaid symbol on the perfume bottle.
• Iluna said similar incidents across the Old Continent might be linked to an Unknown Level Relic the Church had tracked since the Coldwater Port incident.
• Shade identified the Mermaid as the likely culprit, said she was probably in Moon Bay, and explained that she had promised not to harm Miss Belinder or those around her.

After Iluna defeated the time-warping monster at the Opera House, she asked Shade and Luvia for a way to improve her Time Resistance. Luvia devised a ritual involving an acorn soaked in Shade’s blood, and Shade and Iluna planned a trip to Vesta Woodland to complete it.

• Iluna told Shade that she had pierced the monster’s heart beneath its clock face with the Sunlight Gun, but feared she could not handle another encounter like it.
• Shade took Iluna and Little Mia to 6 Saint Derain Square, where Luvia used the Cat and Dog Coin to divine a method for improving Iluna’s Time Resistance.
• Luvia told Iluna to absorb an acorn soaked in Shade’s blood for twenty-four hours using the eye Shade had created for her, at a location in Vesta Woodland.
• Shade proposed borrowing a spatial-transfer relic from the Academy through Miss Danist, and he and Iluna planned to travel to Vesta City on Thursday.
• Iluna agreed to stay overnight at Shade’s house, and Galina later joined Shade and Luvia in his bedroom.

Shade used the Black Time Key again after its month-and-a-half ban and returned to the Doomsday Era to meet Adele Isabella. After reuniting with her, he entered Saint Derain Square to face the sixth powerful enemy.

• At midnight, the Month of Withered Leaves began, restoring Shade’s permission to use the Black Time Key.
• Tifa woke Galina and returned her to the Side Bedroom before Shade left home with the Perfume Bottle and Star Mark as his additional relics.
• Shade entered the Time Corridor and arrived in the Doomsday Era, where he confirmed that the Moon was missing.
• Shade summoned Adele Isabella, embraced her, and promised to keep searching for a way to bring her into the present.
• After Adele blessed him, Shade walked into the storm-swept square to face the new calamity.

Shade fought the Mind-Bone Prophet, which could copy Thaumaturgy and made anyone nearby lose their wisdom. After it stole the silver book from his chest, Shade awakened and drove it through the creature with the Yggdrasil Staff.

• Shade attacked the human-shaped figure by the fountain and discovered that it could copy the Thaumaturgy it saw.
• Adele identified the creature as a Mind-Bone Prophet and warned Shade about its Idiot Aura and copied abilities.
• The Mind-Bone Prophet’s aura reduced Shade to foolish, animal-like behavior, but he fought back through transformations and attacks.
• The creature grabbed Shade and pulled a silver book from his chest, while Adele tried to intervene during Time Stop and was blasted away by Silver Flame.
• Silver Flame consumed the Mind-Bone Prophet as the silver book returned to Shade, stripping the creature of its Wisdom.
• Shade regained awareness and hurled the Yggdrasil Staff through the fleeing creature, pinning it to the wall of 1 Saint Derain Square.

Shade defeated the Mind-Bone Prophet and discovered that Moon Library had been elevated, allowing him to record books he touched. While recovering with Adele, he learned how the Prophet had been overcome and heard of the danger threatening Creekwood Town, leaving the Tree Hole Association’s threat unresolved.

• Shade pulled his staff from the wall after the Mind-Bone Prophet turned to dust, and learned four spells as Moon Library was elevated.
• Adele told Shade that a silver arm had struck the Prophet after it tried to extract his Wisdom and Knowledge, and Shade realized the spells came from the battle.
• Shade tried to record one of the Prophet’s books, but its pages were blank because its contents had disappeared with the Prophet.
• Shade and Adele returned to 6 Saint Derain Square, where he recounted his experiences since leaving her during the Battle of Moon Bay.
• Adele warned Shade that the collapse of the tree holes around Creekwood Town could unleash creatures from across time and cause a vast disaster.
• Adele compared the Tree Hole Association’s danger to the Dragon Devouring Order, and Shade asked whether it could summon evil gods.

Adele taught Shade the thaumaturgy Return of Time and let him place an Eternal Fire Mark on her forehead before he examined the Calamity Card depicting Durut Giles. The card’s memories revealed how Durut was thrown into a spatial rift on Green Lake Island, where he encountered the Mad All-Knowing, leaving Shade puzzled about the events that followed.

• Adele shared the thaumaturgy Return of Time with Shade through a kiss, allowing him to send outsiders back to the time where they belonged.
• Shade placed a Silver Fire Eternal Fire Mark between Adele’s brows before preparing to leave the Doomsday Era.
• Shade turned over the new Calamity Card, which depicted Durut Giles as the Mind-Bone Prophet and described him as the remains of Wisdom.
• A memory showed Durut setting out for Green Lake Island with Lust Edwardz’s soul, despite Professor Manning’s warning about the war and dangers there.
• On Green Lake Island, Laplace Howard pushed Durut into a spatial rift, where the Mad All-Knowing called him a new test subject and urged him to pursue omniscience.

Shade returned from Adele’s memory to the Sixth Epoch, tested his new ability to sense people across time, and learned how his Mind-Bone Prophet card worked. After receiving a potion for the Red-haired Sorceress, he visited Miss Danist and found Little Mia jealously defending his shoulder from Miss Owl.

• Shade watched the Mind-Bone Prophet gather knowledge in the Doomsday Era, then said goodbye to Adele and returned to the present.
• Shade sensed the Eternal Fire Marks of Little Mia, Galina, Luvia, and Adele, and learned that his perception followed the Hermits’ concept of a Timestamp.
• Shade discovered that the Mind-Bone Prophet card could record and cast one of his thaumaturgies for himself or another person.
• The Elf Girl gave Shade a potion made from the first Paradox Worm shell for the Red-haired Sorceress.
• Shade arrived early at the Accordion Hotel and explained to Miss Owl that he had missed the previous day after helping with a time-related Keeper of Secrets Level relic.
• Little Mia lunged at Miss Owl when she tried to land on Shade’s shoulder, and Shade explained that the cat was defending her territory.

Shade told Miss Danist and Miss Winslet about the Damaged Antarctic Constellation Clock and arranged for Iluna to visit Vesta Woodland. After a Beacon Acorn revealed a Time Traveler near Duskwood Outpost, Shade and Miss Winslet waited for the target to approach the city.

• Shade asked Miss Danist to lend Iluna a relic for a one-way trip to Vesta Woodland and to alert the Dawn Church about a ritual that could stabilize the Distorted Tree Hole.
• Miss Danist drank a Paradox Worm Potion and recovered from seven rings to eight, though Shade explained the potion could only suppress her curse and might restore her to the Twelfth Ring at most.
• Miss Danist reported that the Nightsong Elves were searching their Fifth Epoch records and that the Church was deploying forces deep into the woodland.
• Shade ate a Beacon Acorn and detected one abnormal Timestamp near Duskwood Outpost, then found that it was moving toward the city.
• Shade and Miss Winslet estimated that the Time Traveler would arrive around noon, waited through lunch, and then the owl carried the silver cat into the sky.

Shade and Miss Owl tracked Acorn’s sensed target to York Bronte and overheard him meeting Prince William Anjou, who had brought Gray Gloves agents to investigate Twilight Forest Outpost and Aronson River Camp. They followed York from an illegal gambling den to Creekwood Town Conservatory of Music, where he met Linda Bennett, leaving Shade considering a warning after resolving the matter.

• Shade and Miss Owl found York Bronte and William Anjou speaking privately at the Philharmonic Club, then confirmed York was Acorn’s target when he left.
• Shade overheard William tell York that he had secretly brought Gray Gloves agents to investigate Twilight Forest Outpost and Aronson River Camp, and ask for local help.
• William and York discussed local nobles, military camps, and York’s interest in marrying Linda Bennett before leaving the club separately.
• Shade and Miss Owl followed York to an illegal Rhodes Cards Casino, where he stayed until four in the afternoon.
• York went to Creekwood Town Conservatory of Music with flowers and met Linda Bennett, prompting Shade to consider warning her.

Shade and Flora Winslet followed York Bronte to the Twilight Forest Outpost and discovered that he drained a horse’s Life Force and soul. Back in the city, Daniste suggested he might be a Death Apostle, though the group still had no proof or explanation for his Time Curse.

• Shade and Flora Winslet followed York Bronte from the city toward the military camp, where he left the road and secretly drank a horse’s blood and Life Force.
• After York Bronte left, Flora Winslet found that the horse’s soul had also been drained, and she and Shade buried its remains.
• Shade and Flora Winslet continued to the Twilight Forest Outpost, searched York Bronte’s quarters, and confirmed that he had a Time Curse but found no Paradox Worm.
• Shade returned to Daniste and Little Mia and told them what he and Flora had discovered about York Bronte.
• Daniste explained that a Death Apostle escaped Fated Death through unnatural means and survived by consuming other beings’ Life Force, suggesting that York Bronte might be one.

Shade learned from Long-Haired Luvia that her repeated time travel had brought her a Time Curse and cost her standing as a candidate for the Chosen One of Time. She also explained what she could about Death Apostles and warned Shade to be careful in Vesta Woodland, promising to find him if he became lost in the past.

• Shade returned home, where Luvia told him Galina planned to supervise him while he left Leisha a Moon Mark.
• Shade met Long-Haired Luvia in a dream and saw the Eternal Fire Mark he had left on her.
• Long-Haired Luvia explained that she had once been the foremost candidate for the Chosen One of Time, but repeated damage to time had caused her rank to fall away.
• Long-Haired Luvia said she knew about the Death Apostle Shade had encountered, but urged him to ask Priest Augustus how to deal with it.
• Long-Haired Luvia warned Shade to be careful in Vesta Woodland and promised to find him if he became lost in the past.

Shade and Iluna traveled through a portal to Vesta Woodland after he learned more about the Death Apostle and Priest Augustus offered to prepare a weapon against it. The witches planned to investigate York Bronte at a wedding that night while Shade and Iluna went to explore the woods.

• Iluna visited Shade’s home for their trip to Vesta Woodland, and Luvia made breakfast before Shade complimented Iluna’s clothes.
• Shade read Miss Goode’s letter about her hometown’s poor harvest and possible visit to Tobesk at the Year-End Festival.
• Shade went to Dawn Church, where Priest Augustus warned that Death Apostles could drain life from plants, people, or even an entire city, and promised to prepare a weapon.
• Shade traveled to Vesta Woodland, met the Elf Girl, and used the World Travel Handbook to bring Iluna into Room 317 of the Accordion Hotel.
• Shade introduced Iluna to Miss Danist, Miss Winslet, and Charlotte Bell, then said he would explore the woodland with Iluna while the others stayed behind.
• Miss Winslet said she had obtained invitations to the wedding York Bronte and William Anjou would attend and planned to investigate York there.

Shade and Iluna traveled into Vesta Woodland to find the hidden place marked by Luvia, sharing a rare walk together and discussing their relationship. By combining Iluna’s Dark Gold Scales with Shade’s Truth Crystal, they revealed an ancient Temple hidden in the forest.

• Shade and Iluna set out for the woods, while Miss Bell questioned Miss Danist about Iluna’s closeness with Shade.
• Iluna told Shade that the Church was delaying her support assignment to Vesta City until it learned more about the local time-related problem.
• Iluna admitted feeling like an outsider as Shade grew closer to Luvia, and Shade reassured her that neither he nor Luvia had forgotten their promise to her.
• Shade and Iluna searched the South Shore of a mountain stream but found no trace of the place marked on Luvia’s map.
• Iluna joined her Dark Gold Scales with Shade’s Destiny Ring, enhancing his spellcasting and allowing his Truth Crystal to reveal a ruined Temple between two trees.

Shade and Iluna discovered an ancient temple of the God of Order in Vesta Woodland, where Iluna gained a new Spirit Rune and learned powerful divine arts. They used the temple and a blood-soaked acorn to perform a ritual that left Iluna’s left eye glowing gold.

• Shade and Iluna entered the temple after surrounding it with protective magic, then placed flowers beside the altar’s ancient offerings.
• Iluna recognized the God of Order’s emblem, gained the Miracle Law Spirit Rune, and demonstrated a thaumaturgy that could temporarily impose rules.
• Iluna set Shade’s blood-soaked acorn on the Dark Gold Scales at the altar and said it needed to remain in sunlight until after noon.
• After sharing lunch with woodland animals, Shade and Iluna returned to the altar and found the acorn plated in gold.
• Iluna drew a ritual matrix with the remaining blood, and Shade pressed the golden acorn into her left eye as Miracle Elements surged through her body.
• After the light faded, Iluna rose from the altar with her left eye still faintly glowing gold.

Iluna gained a golden eye with limited time-stopping abilities and Time Resistance, and she and Shade found an Old Gods Holy Emblem in the hidden Temple. After spending the afternoon on a forest date, they returned to the city to prepare for a wedding banquet where they planned to observe York Bronte.

• Iluna demonstrated that her golden eye could briefly freeze anything she saw, reveal traces of the past, and resist Shade's Adele's Time Stop, though using it too much risked blinding her.
• Shade and Iluna discovered an Old Gods Holy Emblem of the Upside-down Judge on the altar and discussed how it could help them access the Judge's Court once they found another emblem.
• Shade and Iluna concealed the Temple of the God of Order again, then spent the afternoon exploring the forest, playing pranks on squirrels, and sharing a flight and a kiss.
• Shade and Iluna returned to the Accordion Hotel at sunset and prepared for the wedding banquet, where they planned to observe York Bronte.
• Miss Danist teased Miss Winslet about Shade carrying clothes for Iluna, while Miss Winslet questioned why Danist was so curious about their relationship.

Shade and Iluna attended the Collins family wedding at Collins Manor, where they investigated York Bronte, a suspected Death Apostle who had escaped death through time travel. They decided to keep watching him while waiting to learn more and obtain a weapon capable of killing him.

• Shade, Iluna, Miss Winslet, and Miss Bell traveled to Collins Manor for the wedding of the Collins family's second son and Earl Goser's youngest daughter.
• At the banquet, Iluna recognized Prince William Anjou and observed York Bronte, seeing that he had recently gnawed on a deer in the woods.
• Iluna noticed that York bore no trace of death, and Shade confirmed that York did not belong to the present point in time.
• Iluna proposed killing York immediately, but Shade said they needed to understand what had happened to him and acquire a fatal weapon first.
• Shade and Iluna watched York while wandering the manor and listening to the band; he remained near William Anjou and several elderly local nobles.

Shade and Iluna sent York Bronte back to 1787 with Return of Time, revealing that he might not be the real York Bronte. A Keeper of Secrets Relic called the Hide and Seek Boy then separated Shade from Iluna and sent him to the summer of 1821, where he had to find its ball and bring it to Iluna within three hours.

• Shade and Iluna followed York Bronte and Linda Bennett into the garden, where they kissed, then Shade used Return of Time to send York back to 1787, leaving his clothes and belongings behind.
• Shade and Iluna found a Rosicrucian Order badge among York's clothes and concluded that the man might not be the real York Bronte.
• An eyeless boy appeared and asked them to play Hide and Seek, and Iluna volunteered to play alone.
• The Hide and Seek Boy sent Shade away and set rules requiring him to find its ball and give it to Iluna within three hours, or it would turn everyone's heads into balls.
• Shade found himself alone at Collins Old Residence in the summer of 1821, the era when Miss Danist's teacher was in Creekwood Town.

Shade arrived at the Collins family wedding in 1821 and realized he was temporally unstable, briefly returning to 1854 between visits to the past. He encountered Benn Bronte and Miss Danist’s teacher, who was investigating the same anomaly.

• Shade sensed only one Time Traveler at the banquet and concluded that his soul did not belong to any time in the world.
• Shade learned that the wedding celebrated the marriage of the Collins family’s Firstborn and recognized Benn Bronte as the Time Traveler he had met as York Bronte.
• Shade flickered between the 1821 banquet and 1854, inferred that Hide and Seek Boy had left him in a temporally unstable state, and considered finding Iluna.
• Miss Danist’s teacher approached Shade and said she had identified something wrong with Benn Bronte after investigating him in 1821.

Shade learned that Theodore Bronte and Benn Bronte were one person using different identities, then used his determination to dance with Iluna to return to 1854. After dancing with her and hearing the witches’ theory about Hide and Seek Boy’s missing ball, he shifted back to 1821, where he and Mrs. Carter prepared to search for it.

• Mrs. Carter told Shade that the supposedly dead Theodore Bronte was actually Benn Bronte, and Shade identified Theodore as Benn’s real identity from 1787.
• Shade told Mrs. Carter about Hide and Seek Boy, and she suggested that his thoughts might help him control his unstable movement through time.
• Shade focused on keeping his promise to dance with Iluna, and his desire returned him to the 1854 banquet.
• Shade danced with Iluna, who explained the witches’ theory that Hide and Seek Boy’s ball remained in the present and had to be passed between eras.
• Shade shifted back to 1821 during the dance and told Mrs. Carter that the ball might still be in the future, though they still needed to search for it in their era.

Shade moved between the 1821 and 1854 banquets, helping search for the black ball while discussing Helena Carter’s fate and Daniste with her past self. The ball remained unfound as the two banquets seemed to merge through Shade’s repeated journeys.

• Shade told Helena Carter that people in 1854 had a relic capable of countering the ball’s hiding game, while Iluna said Miss Danist and Miss Bell were bringing it.
• Helena revealed that her curse was gradually turning her into a great tree and asked Shade and Daniste to destroy the cursed tree after her death.
• Helena guessed that her future self had disappeared, and Shade confirmed that Daniste wanted to see her again; Helena asked him to stop Daniste from visiting her in the past.
• Iluna admitted she had watched Shade dance with Helena, and Shade explained that Helena was Daniste’s deceased teacher before Iluna told him Miss Danist had arrived with the relic.
• Shade used Mind Reading to ask Flora Winslet to dance after the incident, then repeatedly traveled between the two banquets to check on the search and talk with Iluna and Helena.