Chapter Summaries

Shade entered York Bronte’s death-fog-covered manor to confront him and free the hostages. Bronte pleaded for the coffin and argued that his crimes had nothing to do with Shade, leaving their standoff unresolved.

• Shade learned that undead had appeared around Vesta City while York Bronte trapped people inside Prince William Anjou’s manor and demanded to see whoever took the coffin.
• Miss Danist refused to let Miss Bell accompany Shade into the manor, but promised that she and her Followers would come if they saw his moonlight.
• Shade approached the Church blockade openly, and the Ring Arcanists recognized the Night Watchman and let him enter the manor.
• Shade found the hostages gathered in the banquet hall and confronted Bronte, who held Linda Bennett and demanded the coffin in exchange for releasing everyone.
• Shade challenged Bronte over his Time Paradox and murders, but Bronte insisted that Shade had no reason to interfere because they had no personal enmity.

Shade pursued York Bronte to the Edge of Life and Death, where Bronte revealed the gigantic body it had prepared from the dead. Shade and Miss Danist faced the Death Apostle’s monster, and the chapter ended as their first clash left the Moonlight Dragon thrown into the sky.

• Shade drove York Bronte from the manor, and Bronte fled as a beam of black light toward the Edge of Life and Death.
• Shade told the Church about the Bronte Family Old Cemetery, then joined Miss Danist and the Witches' Followers to pursue Bronte.
• Shade and Miss Danist entered the fog near the cemetery, where a black giant burst from underground and began absorbing resentful spirits.
• The giant demanded its coffin back, but Shade attacked, and Bronte revealed that it had prepared to resist his Silver Moonlight.
• Shade summoned the Moonlight Dragon to shield Miss Danist from Bronte’s instant-death rays, but the giant blocked its attack and threw it into the sky.

Shade and Miss Danist fought the Death Apostle’s giant body in the Edge of Life and Death, then drove it back into Reality after the Black Moon Rune weakened it. Shade stayed behind to recover while Miss Danist pursued the wounded enemy, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Miss Danist and Shade attacked the giant with Red Moon Fall and Feliana's Witch Light, but discovered that the Death Apostle’s main body was elsewhere.
• The giant cast Requiem of Sending to Death, and Shade collided with its black carriage before striking it with the Black Moon Rune.
• Miss Danist caught the injured Shade as the giant, weakened and paralyzed, escaped into Reality.
• Church Ring Arcanists and Witch Followers forced the giant back down when it emerged near the Bronte Family's Old Cemetery.
• Shade gave Miss Danist Night Watchman and one of Priest Augustus’s stakes, then sent her after the giant while he went to recover in the river.

Shade reunited with Chloe in a snowy lake suspended in a crack in time, where she taught him how to freeze a sinful soul using materialized sin. He returned to the Edge of Life and Death carrying Chloe’s cold breath, ready to use it against his enemy.

• Shade woke in a snow-covered lake and found himself resting in Chloe’s arms in a time crack.
• Chloe healed Shade’s injuries, told him she and the other women were searching for him, and promised they would meet again.
• Shade asked how to travel to Chloe’s time, and she explained that he could freeze a soul by combining its sins with materialized sin and her coldness.
• Chloe kissed Shade and breathed powerful cold into his mouth, giving him the ability to freeze a sinful soul.
• Chloe lulled Shade to sleep, and he awoke back at the Edge of Life and Death with the cold still in his mouth and ice forming around his boat.

Iluna, Miss Danist, Shade, and the assembled allies fought York Bronte’s immortal giant in Vesta Woodland, repeatedly destroying it while it absorbed Life Force and healed. After they restrained it for a final combined assault, York Bronte emerged from the shattered remains, still trembling in the crater’s water.

• Miss Danist used Night Watchman’s Moonlight Slash to sever the giant’s arm, but it healed by absorbing Life Force from the woodland.
• Iluna arrived on a lightning-fast Luku Bird and struck the giant with Earth Energy Cannon, then used Decree: Prohibition to stop its Life Force absorption.
• Hundreds of Treants pinned the giant while Iluna cut it in half with Sun Greatsword, and the red-haired girl and Church Arcanists helped keep it from healing.
• Shade arrived by boat as snow spread across the battlefield, and Iluna and the red-haired girl launched a final Earth Energy Cannon and Moonlight Slash into the crater.
• The red-haired girl caught Shade as he descended through the snow, and they saw York Bronte trying to stand on the water among the giant’s shattered remains.

Shade and his allies defeated York Bronte, whose victims’ souls trapped him while Shade froze his spirit. Bronte’s shattered soul gave Shade the Whisper Spirit Rune Cowardice, though Shade still needed the Tree Father’s knowledge to connect it to the Great Sin Chains.

• York Bronte tried to escape to 1787, but the souls of his victims seized him as Shade and Miss Danist struck him with wooden stakes.
• Mrs. Bronte appeared with her husband and daughter, and the family bowed to Shade before moving on.
• Shade used the paper figure of Cowardice and Chloe’s cold current to freeze Bronte and the spirits surrounding him.
• Iluna arrived with the Luku Bird, and Shade shattered Bronte’s frozen soul, releasing black currents that formed a new Spirit Rune on his Destiny Ring.
• Shade gained the Black Iron Whisper Spirit Rune Cowardice and realized he still needed the Tree Father’s knowledge to make the Great Sin Chains accept it.

Shade and his allies defeated York Bronte’s threat, returned the freed souls to their proper destinations, and recovered the Sage Level Relic Soul Gem. Shade returned to the Accordion Hotel with Miss Danist, planning to report the Bronte affair to the Church and decide what to do with the dangerous relic.

• Shade caught York Bronte’s pure Soul Core and said he would trade it to an Old God from the Fifth Epoch.
• The souls left the cemetery: some vanished to their destinations, while most returned to the world between life and death.
• Iluna retrieved the Soul Gem, and Miss Danist explained its healing power and the curse that could turn its users into Soul Witches; Shade gave it to Iluna, who refused it.
• Iluna explained that Emilia had lent her a Luku Bird, then rode it out of the pit and left to tell Luvia that Shade was safe.
• Shade and Miss Danist agreed to have Miss Bell send a report to the Church through the black market, and Shade kept the Soul Gem while considering whether to consult Leisha about giving it to Angelina.
• Shade returned to the Accordion Hotel and told the witch that the Witch Emperor known as the Ice Witch had lent him the power that caused the snow.

Shade dealt with the effects of perfume that had overwhelmed Danist and then went to handle the coffin in the forest with the Ocarina of Time and Sand of Time. After he left, Flora asked Danist whether Shade was a God Summoner.

• Shade told Miss Bell to prepare an investigation report on the Bronte Family and asked Miss Danist to borrow the Ocarina of Time from the Academy.
• Flora wondered whether Shade was a God Summoner, while Charlotte Bell agreed that the title could fit him despite his Eight Rings.
• Danist collapsed into Shade's arms after the perfume's effects overwhelmed her, and Shade restrained her, gave her Moonlight Water, and used Chloe's Ice Breath to calm her.
• Danist asked Shade not to tell Flora what had happened, and Shade left to deal with the coffin in the forest after receiving the Ocarina of Time and Sand of Time.
• Danist accepted the changes in her age and thoughts, then Flora directly asked her whether Shade had said he was a God Summoner.

Shade, Iluna, and Emilia carried out the ritual to destroy the coffin connected to the Tree Hollow in 1787. The coffin’s temporal disturbances vanished, and Shade obtained a Youthful Immortality Leaf that could stabilize a Distorted Tree Hole and grant one safe use.

• Shade hurried through Vesta Woodland with a soul and found Iluna at Emilia’s tree house, where he asked her to help deal with the Tree Hollow connected to the Edge of Life and Death in 1787.
• Emilia told Shade to use only one third of the Philosopher’s Stone, and Shade invoked the Ancient Elven Stability Principle to stabilize the area around the coffin.
• Shade melted the Sand of Time with First Fire, while Emilia used the Ocarina of Time and a longsword to break the seal’s temporal disturbance.
• Shade thrust the Ocarina of Time into the coffin’s keyhole, ending the abnormalities and causing the coffin to glow with emerald light.
• The emerald light formed a Youthful Immortality Leaf, which Shade caught.

Shade and his companions defeated the Third Paradox Worm, recovered Bronte’s soul fragment, and arranged for the damaged coffin to be repaired. Back in Tobesk, Shade showed the Priest an angel’s right eye and resumed his lesson with Dorothy, who revealed a collection of people and animals crystallized by Crystal Touch.

• Shade summoned Grace and Helen, who found Theodore Bronte’s soul fragment inside the coffin and took the coffin to Miburg for repairs.
• Shade defeated the Third Paradox Worm with Iluna and Emilia, recovered its shell, and entrusted Bronte’s restored soul to the Elf Girl.
• Shade returned to Saint Derain Square with Grace and Helen, then visited the Priest and showed him the angel’s right eye; the Priest promised an answer about repairing an item in three days.
• Shade told the Priest that the Death Apostle’s soul had been frozen, then returned home and told Dorothy he wanted the Eternal Fire Mark placed on his right arm.
• Dorothy continued Shade’s Crystal Light lesson and showed him eight crystal objects made by Crystal Touch, including crystallized people and animals.

Shade studied Crystal Touch with Dorothy, learned how the others had been occupied, and placed an Eternal Fire Mark on her. The next morning, Margaret met him at the Accordion Hotel, revealed she knew about his relationships with Vanessa and Galina, and asked him to guess whether James Kaming was her father’s illegitimate son.

• Dorothy showed Shade crystal objects and explained that Crystal Touch could leave its victims eternally trapped in crystal.
• Dorothy told Shade about Leisha’s new Treasury Department position, Angelina’s training, and preparations for Red Butterfly Day; Shade placed an Eternal Fire Mark on her.
• Luvia walked through a spatially altered washroom door into Shade’s bedroom, where Dorothy called for her help.
• Shade arrived at the Accordion Hotel and Margaret welcomed him, then said she wanted him to visit her childhood city, Weilun Dai’er.
• Margaret revealed that she had learned about Shade’s intimacy with Vanessa and Galina, and said she had obtained information about her brother before asking whether James Kaming was her father’s illegitimate son.

Margaret shared the results of her investigation into the Anjou family and the Golden Music Hall before leaving Vesta Woodland. Afterward, Shade honestly explained his time-travel experiences to Flora Winslet and Danist Gustav, then went to see Flora’s latest painting.

• Margaret told Shade that James Kaming was not the Anjou family’s illegitimate son, and that her brother would continue investigating the unknown royal child and other matters.
• Margaret gave Shade the address of the sole surviving professor who had documented the Golden Music Hall before its renovation, then rewarded him before they went downstairs.
• Margaret revealed that Sylvia had suggested making Miss Winslet aware of Shade’s unusual relationships, but she had decided against inviting her upstairs.
• Margaret left for Wilundell after breakfast, while Miss Winslet remained quiet and Shade noticed her reaction to Margaret’s farewell.
• Shade told Flora Winslet and Danist Gustav that he could travel through time and had met witches and others from the Fifth Epoch, and he explained that Galina’s research materials were connected to him.
• Flora accepted Shade’s honesty, asked him to tell her stories about Ancient Witches, and took him to see her third oil painting.

Shade and his companions searched the remaining memories in Theodore Bronte’s soul, uncovering the Bronte family’s knowledge of Time Travel and the origin of the Mourner’s seal. The memories ended on Theodore strangling an unidentified woman, leaving them with another mystery to investigate.

• Flora showed Shade and the others her paintings, and Shade explained that he wanted to search Theodore Bronte’s soul before visiting a professor in Vesta City.
• Miss Danist told Shade that the Church had arrested the Bronte family and was investigating them for suspected illegal occult research.
• Flora and Charlotte prepared a ritual, and they drew out Theodore Bronte’s deepest memories from the soul core.
• The memories revealed that Theodore’s father warned him that Tree Hollows and Time Travel were dangerous, and that Creekwood Town’s traditional families shared hidden secrets.
• Shade translated an Elvish record showing that a witch and the Nightsong Elves had sealed the Mourner in a coffin, which Theodore later opened after the outer seal failed.
• The final memory showed Theodore strangling an unidentified woman, leaving Shade and the others wondering who she was.

Shade and the witches discovered that York Bronte’s dream of a Black Great Tree triggered a temporal disaster, and Miss Bell revealed that an ancient remnant of a fallen World Tree might lie in Vesta Woodland. The group survived the disturbance but remained uncertain what awaited them there.

• Miss Bell’s review of York Bronte’s memories revealed that he killed his wife, preserved her soul, and believed that taking others’ lifespans would extend his own.
• A dream in Bronte’s memories showed a Black Great Tree, whose sudden appearance unleashed branches and the Great Fog from the Gap of Time in Room 317.
• Shade used Return of Time, the Yggdrasil Staff, and his remaining perfume to restore temporal stability and drive away the fog and branches.
• After recovering, Miss Bell said she had seen a vision of an ancient great tree that met its Termination and scattered across the Material World, identifying the Curse-Eroded Great Tree in Vesta Woodland as one of its remains.
• Shade, Miss Winslet, and the red-haired girl considered whether World Tree Remains caused Vesta Woodland’s time anomalies, and Miss Winslet said they would face what came next together.

Shade and Miss Danist visited Professor Quintus to learn about the ancient temple beneath the Golden Music Hall, which might hold clues to the Elf Girl’s arrow and the danger in the woods. Professor Quintus described the temple’s former layout and murals but could not identify which god it served.

• Miss Winslet asked Shade how to replenish his nearly empty Relic Derivative perfume, and he admitted that lust worked best as a source of desire.
• News spread that Linda Bennett had attempted suicide after rumors claimed York Bronte was dead, and Miss Winslet criticized her for falling in love with a man she barely knew.
• Miss Owl stayed at the hotel to watch over Charlotte, while Shade and Miss Danist went to find Professor Quintus.
• Professor Quintus directed Shade and Miss Danist to the Golden Music Hall museum, where he explained that the temple had been roughly square and centered beneath the current main hall.
• Professor Quintus said the temple’s runes and murals suggested a nature-worshipping faith, but he and his mentor had never identified its god.

Shade and Miss Danist hypnotized Professor Quintus to uncover what he knew about the temple ruins and guide them through his recurring dream. They left with a route recorded, while Professor Quintus revealed that he had met Professor Tiris Manning decades earlier.

• Shade questioned Professor Quintus about the temple investigation, and Miss Danist signaled that the professor was lying about strange events and the workers’ deaths.
• Shade and Miss Danist hypnotized Professor Quintus, who revealed that he had dreamed of a vast emerald tree at the temple and that professors who recovered antiques later went mad with skin turning like wood.
• Professor Quintus explained that he had returned to Creekwood Town because he still felt drawn to the ruins, but he could not recall whether any recovered antiques had included arrows.
• Miss Danist used a spell to make Professor Quintus sleepwalk through the museum and music hall, while Shade recorded his route before they returned him to the reception room and ended the hypnosis.
• Professor Quintus asked Shade about Professor Tiris Manning and said he had met Manning at an international conference in Tobesk more than thirty years earlier.

Shade investigated Professor Quintus’s sleepwalking route at the Golden Music Hall and planned to ask Professor Manning about similar ruins. After returning home, he spent the evening with Siris while the Witch Council heard Flora Winslet’s report on the Vesta Woodland investigation, and several witches stayed behind after the meeting.

• Professor Quintus told Shade that Professor Manning had investigated ruins similar to the Creekwood Town temple, so Shade planned to contact him.
• Shade and Miss Danist mapped Professor Quintus’s sleepwalking route onto the temple sketch and investigated the Golden Music Hall’s backstage area, but found nothing.
• Miss Bell woke with no memory of Bronte’s memories, and Miss Winslet said the forgetting showed that the evil object’s influence had not taken root in her soul.
• Shade returned home to find Vanessa and Siris visiting, then spent the evening with Siris after Vanessa left for a Witch Council meeting.
• Flora Winslet presented her report on the Vesta Woodland investigation to the thirteen Great Witches, who were especially surprised by the suspected World Tree Remnants.
• After the meeting, Flora Winslet called Miss Sylvia and Vanessa to stay, while Galina sat back down after seeing Miss Aurora depart.

Flora Winslet learned that Vanessa had become a Thirteenth Order Great Witch, while the others continued to keep Shade’s secrets from her. Later, Shade and the women discussed how to accommodate more people at 6 Saint Derain Square, and Luvia suggested there was time to find a safe way to expand their living space.

• Flora Winslet questioned Galina, Vanessa, and Miss Sylvia about how many Council Witches knew Shade, then decided she would investigate his identity herself.
• Vanessa revealed that she had advanced to the Thirteenth Order and displayed her Golden Stairway, leaving Flora and the others astonished.
• Galina told Shade that Vanessa had told Flora about her advancement, and Shade reassured Galina before she explained the meeting.
• Luvia said 6 Saint Derain Square was becoming too cramped, and Shade described several space-expanding relics that were unavailable or unsuitable.
• Shade proposed eventually connecting his home to Galina Manor with a Teleportation Gate, and Luvia agreed that the group had time to find a safe solution.

Shade traced ancient patterns resembling those in the Golden Music Hall to ruins near Coldwater Port, using Professor Manning’s records and photographs from Laplace Howard’s notebook. He reached the Old Lighthouse and learned that Mr. Edmund knew the ruins as the Time Temple.

• Shade asked Professor Manning about the ruins he had once mentioned to Professor Quintus, and they searched his records with Durut Giles.
• Professor Manning found survey notes and photographs of ruins in Escariz City whose decorations resembled the Golden Music Hall’s patterns.
• Lust Edwardz recognized similar patterns in photographs of ruins visited by her father and told Shade that the records were in the Great Library on Green Island.
• Shade retrieved Laplace Howard’s notebook from Green Island and identified the photographed ruins as being southeast of Coldwater Port City.
• Shade visited Mr. Edmund at the Old Lighthouse, and Mr. Edmund identified the ruins as the Time Temple.

Shade learned from Mr. Edmund that the Golden Music Hall might conceal a First Epoch secret and that a Time Shard could lift a Time Curse. Mr. Edmund no longer had his shard, so Shade was left hoping one might still be hidden in the music hall.

• Mr. Edmund explained the history of Time Temples and recognized the pattern Shade showed him as resembling one he had seen in a temple near Coldwater Port.
• Shade told Mr. Edmund that the Golden Music Hall might have been an Ancient God's temple, and Mr. Edmund described how a Time Temple puzzle had been solved using moonlight and a mirror.
• Mr. Edmund revealed that a Time Shard could lift Time Curses and recounted using his shard to suppress the River of the Future's loss of control in 1830.
• Mr. Edmund said the shard had been used up and suggested Shade search the Golden Music Hall for one.
• Shade discussed Vesta Woodland's situation with Mr. Edmund and shared information about the Time Curse and Time Travel Rules while withholding several secrets.