Chapter Summaries

Shade returned to Black Sand Dock with the Witches and found Mrs. Nelson back from the apocalyptic future, her mind shattered by what she had witnessed. After refusing to sacrifice the frozen soul he needed to visit Chloe, Shade accepted the Boatman’s alternative and gave Mrs. Nelson water that erased her memories, leaving her confused but calm.

• Mrs. Nelson arrived at Black Sand Dock in a distressed state and begged Mr. Nelson to let her leave by boat.
• Shade determined that Mrs. Nelson had witnessed the apocalypse and used the City of the End’s power to help her describe the sky filled with yellow sand and the world’s final sunset.
• Mrs. Nelson said she could not remember how she had returned, and Mr. Nelson offered to leave with her if she still wanted to go.
• Shade asked the Boatman to erase Mrs. Nelson’s memories but refused to give up the frozen soul he needed to visit Chloe Marks.
• The Boatman gave Shade an oar and agreed to help, so Shade brought Mrs. Nelson water that made her forget the apocalypse; she woke confused as Mr. Nelson cried.

Shade returned Mrs. Neilson and the others from Black Sand Dock to the Reality World, then parted ways with Ms. Brooke, who planned to return to her people and contact the Seer Association. Shade continued onward alone by boat, carrying a gift from the witch and leaving the others with no memory of their journey.

• Shade gathered the survivors and prepared to ferry them home, joining his small boat to the Boatman's vessel and borrowing Ms. Brooke's hair to guide the way.
• Shade rowed the fleet through the Great Fog and reached the lake where Ms. Brooke had entered Dark Town, only seven days after she had left reality.
• Mr. Neilson, Mrs. Neilson, and Miss McConaughey forgot their time at Black Sand Dock, while Ms. Brooke remembered and returned her notebook to Shade.
• Ms. Brooke said she would take the others home and contact the Seer Association, then gave Shade a black sickle-shaped Pendant as a farewell gift.
• Shade wished Ms. Brooke success in reaching the Seat of Death and watched her boat carry the others away before continuing his own journey.

Shade earned the Ferryman’s Blessing and used the boat to reach Chloe at Meteor Fall Lake. He traded away Miracle Ling Rune - Tree to extend his stay by six hours, and reunited with Chloe aboard the boat.

• The Boatman taught Shade the meaning of ferrying, granted him the Ferryman’s Blessing, and made the Ferryman’s Oar part of his wooden boat.
• Luvia divined Shade’s destination as he set out through the fog toward Chloe.
• Chloe waited at Meteor Fall Lake, then ran across the water and embraced Shade when he arrived singing in his boat.
• Shade asked Tree Father to extend his stay and agreed to relinquish Miracle Ling Rune - Tree in exchange for six more hours.
• Chloe kissed Shade and urged him not to waste their time apart, while Mia meowed impatiently from the boat.

Shade reunited with Chloe in Fifth Epoch 925, and the two spent time together in her camp after years of longing. They rested in her tent, where Chloe explained that she had contacted witches from the future, while the means and timing remained entangled with time paradoxes.

• Chloe welcomed Shade to her lavish, magically sheltered camp and led him to her tent.
• Chloe and Shade reunited intimately in her bedroom, while Little Mia joined the maids outside.
• Afterward, Chloe carried Shade to a hammock overlooking Meteor Fall Lake, and they spoke about their years apart.
• Chloe said she had contacted witches from the Fifth Epoch's future but could not explain the details because of time paradoxes.
• Chloe observed that Shade's soul had grown stronger and said he had plenty of time to surpass her.

Shade reunited with Chloe, learned her account of the Mermaid’s ancient origins and received advice on seeking answers in the Witch Council’s Chaos seat. They spent their remaining time together at Meteor Fall Lake, ending the night in Chloe’s tent.

• At dinner, Chloe told Shade that the Mermaid was an ancient incarnation of Desire, born from wisdom’s chaotic nature, and that the Witches’ power restrained it.
• Chloe warned Shade that the Mermaid used carefully measured help to make him lower his guard and suggested he seek answers in the Chaos seat’s ritual ground, though he would need the Chaos Great Witch’s permission.
• Shade explained his encounters with Desire and his danger at Love Lake, then decided he would look into the Chaos seat after resolving the matter of Vesta Woodland.
• Chloe arranged ice lamps along Meteor Fall Lake, and she and Shade walked together through the snow, talking and kissing.
• After returning to camp, Chloe invited Shade to hold her, and he carried her into her tent.

Shade spent his remaining time with Chloe, who gave him a new Miracle Technique before he returned to the Sixth Epoch. Back in the present, Shade sensed Chloe's Fire Seal and left with a new power and three Youthful Immortality Leaves.

• Chloe led Shade to a ritual on Meteor Fall Lake and granted him the Miracle Technique Chloe's Ice Echo, which summoned her power to heal and strengthen him and his companions.
• Shade asked whether sharing her power would weaken her, and Chloe said she would rather risk that than lose him.
• Shade held Chloe by the fire until he and Little Mia vanished; Chloe later discovered a silver Moon Mark on her forehead.
• In the White Fog, Shade asked Tree Father for guidance about the evil formed from the World Tree Remnants, but received only an ordinary Youthful Immortality Leaf.
• Shade and Little Mia returned to the study on Wednesday morning, and Shade sensed Chloe's Fire Seal at a point in the continuous flow of time.

Shade received the God of the Ferryman’s Land Boat blessing and visited Flora Winslet, who revealed she could transform her hair into cat ears. After they went to the Golden Music Hall to investigate the Time Temple, Shade answered Flora’s question about what she meant to him by saying she was right by his side.

• Shade accepted the God of the Ferryman’s Land Boat blessing and set out for Vesta Woodland with Little Mia.
• Shade found Flora Winslet displaying gray cat ears, and she explained that she could teach him partial transformations.
• Miss Danist and Miss Bell discussed the aftermath of Love Lake, and Shade decided to investigate the Tree Hollow matter at the Golden Music Hall.
• Flora noticed the scent of Witches’ Taste on Shade, and he told her about visiting Chloe in the past with the Time Key.
• Flora asked Shade what she was to him, and he told her that Chloe was far away while Flora was right by his side.

Shade and Flora discovered that ancient musical notation hidden in the Golden Music Hall was part of a melody that had to be completed and performed publicly in the temple. Flora secured a Sunday-night concert slot, leaving them poised to use the performance to pursue the mystery.

• Shade gave Flora a Youthful Immortality Leaf as tuition for lessons in the Partial Transformation Spell, and they explored the museum before returning to the hotel.
• At the Golden Music Hall, Flora played piano, and Shade tested Soul's Warmth on her before they embraced and shared their feelings.
• Shade and Flora investigated the music hall and found Restorationists, Prince William Anjou meeting his lover, a watcher, and a Church squad searching the building.
• Shade uncovered ancient musical notes in a hidden roof interlayer, and Flora identified them as a fragment of ancient sheet music.
• Shade translated an Ancient Elvish message instructing them to complete the melody and perform it publicly in the temple.
• Flora arranged a performance slot at the Harvest Festival concert for Sunday night.

Shade learned the Miracle Technique Body of Courage after his companions gathered its ritual materials, then tested it in a special room. The technique made him grow to over four meters tall before his concern about damaging the house helped him control its effects.

• Prince William Anjou visited Flora at the performance hall, spoke briefly with her, and left.
• Shade told the women he would be absent the next day for Red Butterfly Day, and Dorothy planned to stay at his house ahead of their date.
• Shade recounted his meeting with Chloe, and the women advised postponing contact with the Great Witch of Chaos until after Vesta Woodland.
• Luvia explained that Shade's Fire Seal could serve as a beacon across spacetime, while Vanessa and Galina proposed expanding 6 Saint Derain Square and finding relics to summon the Demigod Witches.
• After the group discussed the materials for Body of Courage, Tifa, Siris, and Vanessa helped Shade obtain them.
• Shade learned Body of Courage on his first attempt and grew to over four meters tall, then brought its spirit consumption under control.

Shade tested a giant-form thaumaturgy, and the women teased him about its size before Galina spent the night in his arms. On Red Butterfly Day, Shade began a holiday with Leisha and Dorothy, who changed their plans to stay home and asked him to turn Leisha into a hamster.

• Shade explained that maintaining his giant form used little energy, but casting spells or fighting increased its cost.
• Galina asked Shade how much a cylinder’s volume grew when its height and radius expanded, prompting the women to blush and Leisha to tease him.
• Leisha spent a sleepless night while Galina and Vanessa stayed with Shade, then found Galina curled up in his arms the next morning.
• After breakfast, Shade began his Red Butterfly Day holiday with Leisha and Dorothy, who planned to travel around using their Space Labyrinth coordinates.
• Leisha and Dorothy abandoned their plan to visit Coldwater Port and asked Shade to stay home and turn Leisha into a hamster.

Luvia returned home at lunch and found Shade, Dorothy, and Leisha still there, then Shade spent the afternoon with Dorothy and Leisha before they attended an opera in Tobesk. Queen Diana unexpectedly checked on their box during the performance, and Leisha welcomed her without revealing anything unusual.

• Luvia found Shade, Dorothy, and Leisha at home during the association's lunch break and ate with them before taking a nap.
• Shade, Dorothy, Leisha, Grace, and Helen visited Sikar Mountain, and Shade retrieved the repaired coffin before traveling to Green Lake Island with Dorothy and Leisha.
• Dorothy and Leisha demonstrated their new Moxius's Mansion Technique on Green Lake Island, creating a small three-story house.
• Shade, Dorothy, and Leisha attended the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe's performance of Crystal Light, where Queen Diana encountered them in the neighboring box.
• Queen Diana brought fruit and pastries to Leisha's box during the opera and found Shade, Dorothy, and Leisha fully dressed and behaving normally.

After a lively Red Butterfly Day with Leisha and Dorothy, Shade stored the coffin in Vesta Woodland and went to meet the ladies at the Accordion Hotel. The chapter ended with Flora asking whether anything had happened in the city.

• Leisha stayed with Shade and Dorothy after the opera, while Queen Diana secretly sent Angelina to check where Leisha would spend the night.
• Angelina found Leisha dancing in Shade’s palm, then later glimpsed strange lights and activity through the master bedroom door.
• On Friday morning, Shade said goodbye to Leisha and Dorothy, and Luvia and Galina teased him about looking forward to the next Red Butterfly Day.
• Shade decided to store the sealed coffin in a hidden space in Vesta Woodland rather than keep it at home or donate it to the Witch Council.
• Shade visited the Forest Elf, then met Flora and Miss Danist at the Accordion Hotel, where Flora asked what had happened in the city.

Shade and Miss Danist learned that the Church planned to send Linda Bennett to become a nun, then visited the Hermits to ask about the local Tree Father faith. The Hermits instead showed them a cursed, living tree fused with a deer, one of at least ten such creatures setting patches of Vesta Woodland ablaze.

• Miss Danist told Shade that Linda Bennett and two other people had awakened from the Love Lake incident, while the remaining eight were unlikely to regain consciousness.
• Flora explained that Linda Bennett’s family intended to send her to the Church as a nun, leaving her with no inheritance or way to return to family life.
• Shade and Miss Danist visited the Hermits, where Mr. Davis asked them to help investigate a forest danger.
• Mr. Davis and Mr. Meloni showed Shade and Miss Danist a burned tree fused with a living, charred deer that spewed fire at them.
• Mr. Meloni said the Hermits had found at least ten similar creatures in northern Vesta Woodland, where they were igniting nearby trees without letting the fires spread beyond a limited area.

Shade neutralized the Burning Great Tree and its charred deer with Chloe's Ice Breath, then discovered that the tree's curse came from a Demon. He contained the still-burning curse core in holy-water ice, leaving the group to determine which Demon was responsible.

• Shade touched the Burning Great Tree, identified its curse as originating from Curse Fire, and warned his companions to move back.
• Shade froze the tree, provoking it to erupt in flames and tear its roots from the ground, while Mr. Davis cleared the surrounding forest to prevent a wildfire.
• Shade enlarged himself, wrestled the tree free, and covered it with frost until the tree and deer shattered into Ashes.
• Shade found that the remaining piece of smoldering wood contained a familiar power and identified it as the work of a Demon.
• Shade encased the burning wood in holy-water ice and explained that they needed to learn whether the curse came from the Demon sealed locally three hundred years earlier or a newly arrived Ancient Evil Spirit.

Shade and Miss Danist investigated the demonic fires in Vesta Woodland and learned of an old Time Temple ruin nearby. When they asked the elf about it, she revealed that the ruin was the very place where Shade appeared in the forest.

• Mr. Meloni told Shade and Miss Danist that the Nature Church had sealed a demon three hundred years ago inside the Angel Level Relic Ice Demon Box.
• Miss Danist explained that checking whether the demon remained in the box would take the Nature Church at least half a week, and Mr. Davis said the churches would send more Ring Arcanists to monitor the woodland fires.
• Mr. Meloni marked the location of a Time Temple ruin northeast of Vesta Woodland on Shade's map and said the Nightsong Elves had sealed it before leaving in the Fifth Epoch.
• Shade and Miss Danist rode a Luku Bird to the elf's Tree House and asked whether an ancient ruin lay within the forest region.
• The elf told Shade that the tree at the center of the temple ruins was the site where he appeared each time he entered Vesta Woodland.

Shade and Miss Danist uncovered an ancient elven clue and found that a Demon had stolen a sealed wisp of Primordial Fire from the Woodland a century earlier. Shade brought evidence to Doctor Schneider, who identified the likely culprit as the Fire Disaster Demon and began explaining its nature.

• Shade, Miss Danist, and the Elf Girl explored the Time Temple ruins and found a message hidden in a torch that revealed a map to a Woodland location.
• Shade used fire to reveal an underground elven shrine, where he and Miss Danist found an empty Fire Basin and learned that it had held a wisp of Primordial Fire.
• Shade recognized black flames in claw marks as evidence that a Demon had taken the Primordial Fire about a century earlier.
• That evening, Shade showed Doctor Schneider a charred piece of wood and described the fused trees and animals discovered in the forest.
• Doctor Schneider identified the likely culprit as the Fire Disaster Demon, a Demon that embodied fire disasters and resembled a fire Elemental Lifeform.

Shade and the Doctor planned how to hunt Disaster in Vesta Woodland, discussing the demon’s powers, weaknesses, and the help they could get from Miss Eisberg and the Witch Council. Later, Galina visited Shade and shared the poor harvest figures and her worries about the coming winter, then found comfort in being with him.

• The Doctor explained that Disaster could split his flames, was vulnerable to water, ice, cold, and sacred power, and could currently make at most four splits.
• Shade proposed asking Miss Aisha Eisberg and the Winter Hymn Choir for help, and he and the Doctor planned to locate and eliminate Disaster’s split flames together.
• The Doctor advised Shade on combining holy water and Moonlight Water with ice to make weapons, and gave him a recipe for an Exorcism Potion.
• Shade told Luvia about the demon, and she said Galina had arranged for the Witch Council to support them once the Radiance Messenger was ready.
• Galina arrived at Shade’s home late and told him the autumn grain harvest was thirty percent lower than the previous year, making war that winter seem inevitable.
• Galina said she had considered making Saladir County independent but no longer wanted to focus on politics, and Shade comforted her while Luvia went upstairs to work on her Star Chart.

Shade learned more about the Fire Demon and the latest clue about the Time Chosen One, then set out with Miss Danist to investigate Hoy Manor’s connection to a fire three centuries earlier. They arrived to find the estate bustling with servants and deliveries, leaving the reason for the activity unexplained.

• Shade told the witches that the Fire Demon had devoured the First Fire and could create flame avatars, and said the present demon was the one sealed three hundred years ago.
• Miss Danist shared a new Poem Chapter Fragment suggesting the Time Chosen One held the power of the tree, and Shade discussed Emilia’s possible candidacy and her time in the forest.
• Shade recalled a notebook of local legends that linked a curse and fire to Hoy Manor, which had burned down around the time the demon appeared.
• Shade and Miss Danist traveled through heavy rain to Hoy Manor, now owned by police commissioner Kant, to investigate the old fire.
• Shade found servants decorating and cleaning the manor as cargo carriages brought sealed wooden crates into the estate.

Shade and Miss Danist investigated the history of Hoy Manor and learned that a suspicious fire had destroyed the Hoy Family three centuries earlier. After attending his group meeting, Shade returned to Vesta City and went with Miss Danist to the Charity Auction at the manor.

• Shade and Miss Danist heard local accounts of the Hoy Family's deadly fire, rumors of hidden treasure, and signs of lingering demonic power at Hoy Manor.
• Shade agreed to attend the Charity Auction with Miss Danist after she asked whom he would choose as his companion.
• At the Study Group meeting, Doctor Schneider confirmed that he planned to use a new Core Ling Rune for his High-Ring Words of Sublimation, and Luvia's card draw revealed the Upright Demon.
• Shade told Dorothy he would be late, then returned to the Accordion Hotel, where Flora had obtained an Invitation Letter for the auction.
• Shade and Miss Danist arrived at the brightly lit Hoy Manor in the rain as guests gathered for the Charity Auction.

Shade and Miss Danist explored Hoy Manor before its charity auction, where Shade found a book about Creekwood Town’s World Tree legends and learned more about the manor’s historic fire. The chapter left them questioning what caused the blaze as Miss Danist asked Professor Wood whether it had risen into the sky like a fire tornado.

• Shade and Miss Danist surveyed Hoy Manor and encountered Mr. and Mrs. Bennett while Shade sensed demonic power near the rebuilt rooms.
• Shade discovered a rare book about Creekwood Town and the World Tree, and Professor Yuke Wood explained its account of an ancient temple and local worship.
• Shade decided to bid on the book and asked Professor Wood about the fire that had destroyed Hoy Manor three hundred years earlier.
• Professor Wood described the Hoy Family’s power and outlined theories that the fire was deliberate, tied to rival families, or followed a robbery.
• Miss Danist asked Professor Wood whether the fire had shot into the sky like a fire tornado.