Chapter Summaries

Shade bought a language-learning Relic from Mr. Edmund, then spent a rainy afternoon with Dorothy before visiting the Elf Girl in Vesta Woodland. He received a Luku Bird-summoning Pendant and agreed to practice riding with the birds this week.

• Mr. Edmund gave Shade research materials about the Time Temple and sold him the Language Expert coin Relic and another Special Coin.
• Shade spent 420 Gold Pounds on the Language Expert, which could teach him a language but carried dangerous knowledge alongside it.
• Shade returned home with Little Mia, where he met Dorothy and spent the rainy afternoon with her before she left to help Leisha collect goods for Angelina.
• Shade visited the Elf Girl in Vesta Woodland and received a feather Pendant that could summon nearby Luku Birds after he established a cooperative bond with their flock.
• The Elf Girl had Shade feed and introduce himself to the three oldest Luku Birds, and he agreed to complete a riding practice session with a non-humanoid creature this week.

Shade learned that Professor Quintus had died under suspicious circumstances and went with Miss Winslet to investigate his body in the city morgue. In the underground corridor, Shade found himself repeatedly passing the same Morgue Room 9 door.

• Miss Winslet told Shade that Baron Bronte had been stripped of his military post and Linda Bennett had been taken to the Sun Church for questioning.
• Miss Winslet reported that Professor Quintus had been found dead in an alley, and confirmed that his body had been moved there after he died elsewhere.
• After dinner, Shade and Miss Winslet traveled through the rain to the police morgue to examine Professor Quintus's body.
• Shade entered the morgue's basement and followed the corridor toward Morgue Room 5, but repeatedly found the same Morgue Room 9 door after each turn.

Shade and the Witch encountered the Tree Hole Association’s Ring Arcanists inside the looping Morgue corridor and trapped them with the Thirteenth Alley Relic. They discovered the men had interfered with Professor Quintus’s body, then returned to the hotel with the Relic, where Miss Bell asked Shade what had happened.

• Shade realized the Morgue corridor was looping and met two Tree Hole Association Ring Arcanists who explained the Thirteenth Alley Relic’s effects.
• The two men attacked Shade, but he used Moonlight Slash, Stability Principle, and Imprisoning Halo to counter them before the younger arcanist teleported them away.
• The Witch used the Relic to trap the two men in the corridor loop, and Shade and the Witch confirmed no one else was lying in wait.
• Shade examined the road sign and learned that the Relic could produce dangerous Relic Derivatives, while the Witch failed to contact Professor Quintus’s spirit because the men had dealt with his body.
• Shade and the Witch returned to the hotel in the rain carrying the road sign, and Miss Bell asked Shade what had happened.

Shade and Miss Winslet captured two Tree Hole Association Arcanists and learned that the group was investigating the Golden Music Hall, an Ancient God's temple tied to the Chosen One Ritual. After Luvia divined that notes in the temple ruins would reveal what they sought, Shade heard that the church had questioned Iluna about riding a Luku Bird in Vesta Woodland.

• Shade and Miss Winslet interrogated two captured Tree Hole Association Arcanists and learned that the Association had discovered the Golden Music Hall was an Ancient God's temple through a Poem Chapter Fragment.
• Shade and Miss Winslet learned that the Clockmaker had targeted Professor Quintus and arranged an ambush at the morgue, while another High-Ring Arcanist escaped.
• Shade planned to return to the Golden Music Hall, and he, Miss Winslet, and Flora agreed not to tell the church the truth about Professor Quintus's death yet.
• Luvia tried to divine the temple's secret and learned that Shade should investigate and play any notes found among the surviving ruins.
• Iluna arrived at Shade's home and said the church had questioned her about riding a Luku Bird in Vesta Woodland on Saturday.

Iluna prepared to travel to Church headquarters for a Luku Bird Riding License and brought Shade and Luvia three valuable Pure Light coins. After Linda Bennett vanished in the woods despite a Witch Follower’s tracking, Shade was drawn into a new missing-person case.

• Iluna told Shade and Luvia that The Church had ordered her to obtain a Luku Bird Riding License within a week, and she planned to leave the next morning.
• Iluna gave Shade and Luvia three Pure Light coins, which Luvia identified as rare relics that could strengthen and improve a Ring Arcanist’s soul.
• Shade learned that the relic meant to repair the Time Key had been delayed, then received a second Paradox Worm Potion from the Elf Girl for Miss Danist.
• Shade went to the Accordion Hotel, where the Witch Followers reported that Linda Bennett had attempted suicide and then escaped her home.
• Jane Alba told Shade that she had followed Linda into the woods but lost her after Linda ran around a large tree, with no trace or spatial abnormality to explain her disappearance.

Shade and Flora Winslet followed Linda Bennett’s blood trail to a heart-shaped lake, where they found her and two strangers asleep and floating on the water. Unable to wake them, they made a home beside the lake, and their relationship gradually grew closer as they waited.

• Shade and Flora Winslet found a bloodied mirror fragment and used Blood Echo to follow Linda Bennett’s trail into the woods.
• They discovered Linda and two strangers floating unconscious on a heart-shaped lake, then carefully pulled them ashore.
• Shade and Flora Winslet examined the three sleepers but found no way to wake them, so they built a shelter and stayed by the lake.
• The pair hunted, gathered food, and built a cabin together while the three people remained asleep.
• As the days passed, Shade and Flora Winslet grew closer, eventually pushing their beds together and separating them only with a curtain.

Shade was trapped in a dream of a peaceful life with Flora Winslet until the God of Mist reminded him of his promise to stay with his companions until the End of Time. He awoke at the bottom of the lake, where Mia had saved him, and saw that dozens of people remained unconscious beneath the water.

• Shade left the cabin during a restless night and followed White Fog through the woods until he encountered Ms. Meister, the God of Mist.
• Ms. Meister reminded Shade that he had promised to stay with them until the End of Time, breaking the dream that had made him forget his real life.
• Shade awoke underwater as Mia dragged him toward the surface, and he realized he had been unconscious in the lake.
• The red-haired girl and the Witch Followers rescued Shade while Mia guided them to him and bit the girl to stop her from entering the lake.
• Shade saw Flora Winslet, Linda Bennett, and dozens of other people lying unconscious at the bottom of the lake, where the group had sensed something else.

After Shade escaped Love Lake, he learned that Flora Winslet remained trapped beneath it, where she would eventually dissolve into the lake. Unable to rescue her alone, he gathered powerful allies at the lakeside camp, but the lake’s enchantment remained beyond their abilities.

• Miss Danist and the Hermits rescued Shade from Love Lake with Little Mia, while Flora Winslet remained underwater.
• Mr. Davis warned Shade that those trapped in the lake would dream until their lives ended and their bodies and souls became part of the water.
• Grace and Helen failed to pull Flora from the lake with spatial power, so Shade sought help from other allies.
• Miss Sylvia, Countess Bella Belinder, Grandma Cassandra, Miss Swift, Dorothy, Luvia, Iluna, and others arrived at the camp.
• Shade apologized for summoning them, and Grandma Cassandra said she had also contacted Devlin while Miss Sylvia asked why Galina had not come.

Shade and the gathered Witches weakened Love Lake’s influence so they could retrieve the stone slab at its bottom. They brought it safely to camp, though a huge shadow stirred beneath the lake and many torches went out.

• Shade kept Galina, Leisha, and Siris in Tobesk City while the others gathered at camp to prepare for the rescue.
• Luvia explained that Love Lake’s pull weakened with a large group present and said the people beneath it had to wake voluntarily; she organized the search for a stone slab at the lake’s bottom.
• The Witches and their helpers surrounded Love Lake with Moonfire Torches and activated four pieces of Witch jewelry, reducing the lake’s influence further.
• Shade lowered the Great Sin Chains into the water and found the stone slab, while a massive black, tail-like shadow moved beneath the lake.
• Shade and Iluna hauled the slab into camp as many torches went out, and Luvia ordered the groups to replace them.

Shade and Iluna investigated a stone slab that revealed a Fourth Epoch warning about a Mermaid sealed in Love Lake, then confronted the Mermaid at the lakeshore. The Mermaid denied luring them there and claimed Linda Bennett had already learned the lake’s secret and used its water to make York Bronte love her.

• Grace and Helen suppressed the Whisper Element by touching the stone slab, and Shade translated its warning about submerged, floating, and standing human bodies.
• Miss Swift pressed her bloody hand against the slab, revealing an image of a chained Mermaid that Shade saw blink.
• Shade ordered everyone to seal themselves inside the camp, then left for the lakeshore with Iluna while Luvia kept the Yggdrasil Staff.
• Shade threw the Perfume Bottle into Love Lake, summoning the Mermaid, who explained that people had sealed her there in the Fourth Epoch and that she later escaped.
• Iluna accused the Mermaid of cursing the lake, but the Mermaid denied bringing Linda Bennett there and said Linda had used the lake’s water to make York Bronte love her.

Shade learned that Flora Winslet could be rescued by entering the lake and waking her within her dream, but doing so would awaken dangerous consciousnesses in the water. He chose to dive in while the others prepared to fight, and the chapter left them facing the creatures emerging around the lake.

• The Mermaid explained that Flora had fallen victim to Love Lake's curse and said Shade could save her by entering the lake and waking her in her dream.
• Luvia warned that Shade had less than twelve hours to rescue Flora and that entering the lake would awaken troublesome consciousnesses dissolved in its waters.
• Shade decided to enter the lake, and the Witches and their Followers prepared for battle while Iluna held the Great Sin Chains attached to him.
• Shade dove into the lake as wind extinguished the shore's torches and strange creatures began appearing in the water.
• Luvia activated a Ritual Matrix that enhanced the group's abilities and continuously restored their stamina, spirit, Spiritual Power, and Life Force.

Shade reached Flora beneath the lake and entered the Dream, where Desire appeared but withdrew after encountering Luvia and the glowing cat. In the Dream, Shade woke Flora to the truth that their life together in the lakeside home was an illusion, and she began to realize they had been asleep for too long.

• Shade found Flora at the bottom of the lake, touched her forehead to hers, and entered the Dream.
• Desire appeared underwater and threatened Shade, but Long-Haired Luvia and a glowing cat confronted it, causing it to retreat.
• Shade awoke in the Dream and realized the God of Mist had appeared before him in the lake.
• Shade woke Flora and asked about Charlotte Bell, the Council, and Galina, prompting her to recognize details of her real life.
• Flora realized their home and life together were fake, and Shade embraced her and urged her to wake up.

Shade reunited with Flora Winslet in the false dream and reassured her that their feelings were real. As they prepared to leave, Little Mia arrived in golden lion armor, destroyed a hostile mermaid-shaped shadow, and carried Shade and Flora’s unicorn form into the sky.

• Flora Winslet accepted that the dream was false but asked Shade whether her feelings for him were real, and Shade kissed her to reassure her.
• Shade told Flora that Miss Danist, Little Mia, and the Hermits had helped them, and that they would likely have to wait for Iluna to pull them out of the lake.
• Little Mia arrived, and a hostile mermaid-shaped shadow rose from Love Lake.
• Flora transformed into a white Unicorn, while Little Mia appeared as a giant golden lion and blasted the shadow with a Light Cannon.
• Shade rode on Little Mia as the cat flew into the sky, and the Unicorn followed, playfully jostling with it along the way.

Flora Winslet awakened after Shade rescued her from Love Lake, and the witches gathered at camp helped her recover. The lake’s other victims were released, but as Flora reflected on her dream and the people around her, she admitted that she had been alone in the dream.

• Shade pulled Flora Winslet from the lake, and she learned that sensing Blasphemy had given her insight into Temperance.
• Flora reunited with Bella, Grandma Cassandra, Emma, and Vanessa at camp and discovered that Shade had summoned them to help.
• Shade returned the Relic Derivative stone slab to the lakebed, releasing the other victims, including Linda Bennett.
• Shade decided to inform The Church so it could handle the victims and reseal Love Lake, while the witches stayed to collect samples.
• Grandma Cassandra comforted Flora, who said that what she had experienced in the dream existed in reality too, but that she had been alone there.

After Flora Winslet awakened from her dream, Shade introduced her to Luvia and Dorothy before the group left Love Lake. He returned to Tobesk and learned Dorothy was exhausted from opening Teleportation Gates, while Flora chose to spend the night alone.

• Flora Winslet realized that Shade had to maintain relationships with many Witches to avoid the Witch Council hunting him down, then asked why Galina was absent.
• Shade introduced Dorothy and Luvia Annette to Flora, who sensed that Luvia was an extraordinary person and thanked her for helping save her.
• The group dismantled the lakeside camp, and Shade admitted to Grace and Helen that he had let his guard down around the Perfume Bottle.
• Dorothy fused with Grace and Helen to open a Teleportation Gate, sending the group away from Love Lake before the Witches returned to Tobesk.
• At the Accordion Hotel, Flora kissed Shade goodbye and asked to spend the night alone, so Shade returned to his home in Vesta Woodland.
• Galina told Shade that Dorothy had gone to rest, and he quietly visited her bedside before leaving without noticing her smile.

Shade learned from Long-Haired Luvia that Desire was an ancient threat tied to the God of Chaos and that the Fifth Epoch might hold clues to its past. After Dorothy and Leisha demonstrated their new ability to switch places, Priest Augustus arrived with a Relic Derivative that could repair Miss McConaughey’s key.

• Long-Haired Luvia told Shade that Little Mia had stopped Desire from influencing him and advised him to seek clues about Desire in the Fifth Epoch, warning that Witches below the Thirteenth Order should not face it alone.
• Luvia revealed that she had repeatedly restarted the Sixth Epoch and had once possessed power enough to achieve an ending through strength, reassuring Shade that Desire would not come after her.
• Dorothy told Shade that she and Leisha could now switch places at will, and Leisha demonstrated the ability before returning to Dorothy.
• Priest Augustus arrived at 6 Saint Derain Square with the Relic Derivative he had prepared to repair Miss McConaughey’s key.

Shade received Repair Resin from Priest Augustus to restore the broken key and learned that the priest's gray eye was transforming into a Magic Eye. He then entered the Time Corridor's final Black Sand Dock trial, where he reunited with the others after an Ancient Evil Spirit attacked them, and they continued waiting for the person about to depart.

• Priest Augustus gave Shade compounded Repair Resin and explained that it could restore the broken key in about five minutes.
• Shade examined Priest Augustus's gray eye, learned it was becoming a Magic Eye, and saw him off with apples for the church choir.
• Shade entered the final Time Corridor trial at Black Sand Dock, where Father of Infinite Tree tasked him with waiting alongside mortals for someone about to depart.
• Anya Bullock and Miss McConaughey told Shade that a witch's soul had been freed by the boatman, but an Ancient Evil Spirit attached to her had come ashore and attacked them.
• Ms. Brooke and the others used a Demon Hunting Seal to drive away the Ancient Evil Spirit, and Shade said they would wait for the next arrival before returning to the Reality World.

Shade learned that the relic called the Mermaid could sense people who spoke of it and drive them mad with desire, while Ms. Brooke warned him never to engage with it. Mr. Nelson explained that his wife had joined the Seer Association to stay close to her childhood dream of becoming a witch, and the group waited for her to arrive.

• Shade began repairing Miss McConaughey's shattered key and asked Ms. Brooke about a relic associated with desire.
• Ms. Brooke identified the relic as the Mermaid and warned that naming it could let it sense and infect people, with no known way to restrain it.
• Shade asked Mr. Nelson why his wife had come to the dock, and he explained that she had long dreamed of becoming a witch despite lacking talent.
• Ms. Brooke described the difficult path most witches faced, while Mr. Nelson said his wife had secretly collected spellcasting materials and later took a warehouse job.
• Mr. Nelson named the organization as the Seer Association, and Shade realized it was the same association where Luvia worked.
• Mr. Nelson said his wife's warehouse held ordinary divination supplies, including Tarot Cards and Pendulum Pendants.

Mr. Nelson explained how his wife vanished after a Spirit Board showed her Doomsday, and Shade prepared to investigate what she saw. Miss McConaughey’s crystal key was restored, and Shade set out to travel back in time with Mr. Nelson while the others waited for his wife.

• Mr. Nelson told Shade and the others that his wife found a Spirit Board, became convinced Doomsday was coming, and disappeared after seeking a way to escape her fear.
• Ms. Brooke explained that people who entered the otherworld voluntarily first appeared in a town, while those who hesitated could reach the dock sooner.
• Shade restored Miss McConaughey’s crystal key with resin, and she thanked him before returning the key to its case.
• Shade asked the boatman to take him and Mr. Nelson to the time when Mrs. Neilson saw Doomsday, and the boatman requested Soul’s Warmth and a drop of Tears of Despair.
• Ms. Brooke offered to provide Soul’s Warmth, and Miss McConaughey gave Shade a vial of Tears of Despair and described the secret arts she had learned.

Shade learned the Inner Fire secret art and helped Mr. Nelson extract Soul's Warmth before they traveled by boat to investigate his wife's disappearance. They discovered that Mrs. Nelson had vanished through a Spirit Board Tree Hollow, and Shade began to suspect she had reached the Qidian.

• Miss McConaughey offered to write down the Body of Courage secret art for Shade, and Ms. Brooke taught him Inner Fire so he could extract Soul's Warmth.
• Shade extracted a small amount of Soul's Warmth from Mr. Nelson and sealed it in a card before the two men boarded the Boatman's vessel.
• The boat crossed a river of starlight to Mr. Nelson's Fifth Epoch home, where they watched his wife place a Spirit Board beneath the moonlight.
• White Fog poured from the Spirit Board and Mrs. Nelson disappeared, leading Shade to recognize the board as a Tree Hollow that had taken her to the Qidian.
• Shade accepted the Boatman's oar and suggested they return, noting that Mrs. Nelson was remarkably lucky to have returned from such a place before.