Chapter Summaries

Shade destroyed the Blood Moon through the Time Rift, then fell into the forest with Lady Helena Carter. After the group found them in a newly formed hot spring, Luvia took Shade into the water to help him recover, leaving the others outside a silver curtain.

• Shade crushed the half Blood Moon, and his control over the Red Moon rose as the Rift closed.
• The Giant shrank, and Shade and Lady Helena Carter fell into the forest near the Tree Hollow.
• Vanessa and the others found Shade and Lady Helena Carter in a steaming silver-lit hot spring formed from the Blood Moon's remains.
• Shade explained that the spring's water could remove illnesses and curses, while Mrs. Carter said the Blood Moon's influence had affected him.
• Luvia sent the others to prepare the spring and left with Shade, while the Black-Haired Lady raised a silver curtain around them.

After the Witches left Shade and Luvia at the hot spring, Old John received a report about the Blood Moon and a mysterious giant who appeared in Vesta Woodland. The next morning, the maids brought clothes and towels to the spring, where Shade and Luvia were still behind the silver curtains.

• Galina asked the Elf Girl for permission to use the forest, and the Elf Girl agreed as long as they did not harm it or alter the terrain on a large scale.
• Galina sent Angelina to notify Dorothy while the Witches returned from the hot spring, leaving Shade and Luvia behind the curtains.
• Old John opened an urgent Guiding Light Hermitage report about the Mad Moon and examined photographs of the Blood Moon and a giant in Vesta Woodland.
• After reading the report, Old John suspected the giant was a God-Favored One and wondered whether an Ancient God remained in the Sixth Epoch; he burned a letter to the Detective and invited him to visit instead.
• Tifa and the maids reached the hot spring the next morning, left Shade and Luvia's clothes and towels by the pool, and saw the full pink perfume bottle in the snow.

After recovering from the Blood Moon’s effects, Shade learned that his control over Red Moon power had grown and discussed the silver hot spring with the Witches, who planned to establish a base there called Moon Sanctuary. He also shared what he had discovered about the Curse-Eroded Great Tree and the Bennett Family, leaving the Witches to decide whether to target Bennett or the Paradox Worm first.

• Shade recovered from the Blood Moon’s influence and gained greater control over Red Moon power, while Lady Helena Carter had already left the ship.
• Shade told the Witches that the silver hot spring could remove curses, heal disease, and restore vitality, and they decided to establish a permanent base around it called Moon Sanctuary.
• Grandma Cassandra warned Shade that the spring might promote reproduction, prompting an awkward silence among the Witches.
• Sivie and Megan told Shade that the Great Witch of Time and the Great Witch of the Moon had visited the ship, and Vanessa explained that the sealed object at the Black Mausoleum was an Unknown Level Relic rather than the Doomsday Rift.
• Shade reported his investigation into the tree that had been fishing for thousands of people and its connection to the Bennett Family.
• Miss Danist asked Shade whether they should move against Bennett or deal with the Paradox Worm first.

Shade learned how the royal illegitimate son Albert Bennett had been brought into the Bennett Family, and agreed to help Margaret rescue him. He and the Witches decided to lure Thomas Bennett out of the city and attack him before turning to the coming battle at Vesta Woodland.

• Grace and Helen reported that Thomas Bennett had used the Time Transfer Station to send Albert more than a decade into the future and keep him as a potential heir to the station.
• Margaret asked Shade to save Albert, explaining that she hoped to help her brother and also improve her standing with her father; Shade promised to try.
• Margaret invited Shade to visit her in Wilundell after the Vesta Woodland battle, and Shade said he hoped to go.
• Shade and the Witches chose to deal with the Bennett Family before the Final Battle and planned to lure Thomas out of the city, test him with the Illustrious Miss's shot, and attack together.
• Shade decided to borrow the Sword of Light from Moon Bay before the fight, though the group was unsure whether it would work against Thomas.

The Church raided the Accordion Hotel while searching for a hidden threat among three old local families, forcing the Witches to conceal their base on the third floor. Sister Devlin secured Maria Ingram’s silence, but Maria warned that the Church’s purge of the city would continue and asked her one final question.

• The Dawn Church searched the Accordion Hotel, but the Witches’ illusion concealed their third-floor base, and the hotel’s guests and staff were taken away for questioning.
• Shade and the Witches moved dangerous items from the third floor as Church investigators began searching the sealed hotel, while Sister Devlin confronted Maria Ingram in the room holding the Teleportation Gate.
• Maria told Sister Devlin that the Church’s raids targeted the Bennett, Fisher, and Koch families after divinations indicated one of them had a serious problem.
• Sister Devlin revealed that one family had received Tree’s Blessing and served the Ancient One by promoting Paradox Worms, but she did not identify which family.
• Maria agreed to conceal the Witches’ base, warned that the Five Gods Church planned to purge the city, and asked Sister Devlin to answer one question.

Sister Devlin confirmed that she and the God Summoner were friends as the group prepared for the coming Final Battle. At the Academy camp, Emilia gained the elves’ support for her future queenship and learned that her Chosen One Ritual was likely to occur during an unusual three-day full moon.

• Maria Ingram asked Sister Devlin about her relationship with the God Summoner, and Devlin confirmed they were friends and that the rumors about the Summoner were mostly accurate.
• Vanessa and Sivie prepared to abandon the Accordion Hotel base, but Daniste arranged for the Academy to recognize it as a secret outpost.
• Shade suggested that Emilia go with Daniste to the Academy camp, where she could announce her return and warn that the Final Battle was near.
• Flora returned from questioning by the Church, while the group learned that Mr. Bennett, Baron Fisher, and Mr. Koch had been taken away.
• At the Academy camp, Emilia displayed her Destiny Ring and Thirteenth Ring, and the nine elf tribes promised to support her as Elf Queen after the Chosen One Ritual.
• Grandma Tirenas showed Emilia a Poem Chapter Fragment linking the New Tree’s transformation to the full moon, and Grandma Qishala said the ritual would likely occur during the rare three-day full moon.

Emilia prepared for the Chosen One Ritual, which could happen as soon as Saturday, while her allies organized support for the coming war against the Paradox Worm. Shade then disguised himself as a clergyman and began visiting families under the Church’s isolation review, starting with the Fishers.

• Emilia told the elves she was ready for the ritual and asked them to support Vesta Woodland in the coming battles.
• The elves agreed to help, and the Witches sped up their preparations after learning the ritual might take place as early as Saturday.
• Shade asked Sivie and Vanessa to arrange a meeting with the Bennett, Fisher, and Koch families so he could investigate them without drawing special attention to the Bennetts.
• The Church approved Shade’s visit, and Megan accompanied him in disguise as they set out to meet the families at three different churches.
• Shade and Megan visited Baron Fisher’s family at the Creation Church, bringing them food and speaking briefly with all five people under isolation review.

Shade and Megan questioned Ina Fisher at the Church and learned that she served the Mermaid as an envoy, offering help with Shade’s debt-collection task. They left with a usable Tree Hollow and headed to the Dawn Church, while Shade wondered how far the Mermaid’s influence had spread through Vesta Woodland.

• Shade and Megan found Ina Fisher painting a mermaid and learned that she was the Mermaid’s envoy, sent to urge Shade to collect Bennett’s debt.
• Ina offered Shade help and revealed that the Koch Family was also involved in the strange affairs of Vesta Woodland.
• Ina gave Shade a wooden Pendant bearing a door symbol, which Megan pulled free; Shade recognized it as a usable Tree Hollow.
• Shade refused Ina’s offer of a list of potential helpers and said he would complete the debt collection himself.
• Megan washed the Pendant in the carriage as she and Shade traveled to the Dawn Church to visit the isolated Bennett Family.
• Shade told Megan he would consider help from the Mermaid’s envoys but worried about the spread of Desire’s influence.

Shade and Megan questioned the Bennett daughters during their isolation at the Dawn Church, finding no obvious signs that they were involved with Mermaids. They then learned that Mr. and Mrs. Bennett had been arguing over his consultation with a village witch doctor, but the chapter left the cause of the family’s isolation unresolved.

• Shade and Megan delivered Late Night Snacks to Jane, Phyllis, and Catherine Bennett and reassured them that the Church would release innocent people after its review.
• Megan asked the sisters about their parents and household rules, learning that their mother strictly controlled their conduct while their father deeply cared for them.
• Shade and Megan heard Mrs. Bennett blaming Thomas Bennett for their family’s humiliating isolation because he had sought a witch doctor’s prescription for her illness.
• A Church investigator said Mrs. Bennett likely had chronic pneumonia and that her illness showed no supernatural cause.
• Shade and Megan entered the Bennetts’ room after the argument stopped, and the couple welcomed them as though nothing had happened.

Shade investigated the Bennett and Koch families while searching for signs connected to the Envoy of Desire, then spent the night with Galina, Megan, and Audrey. The Sun Church later revealed that Mr. Koch belonged to the Truth Society, and a silver mechanical heart was stopped just before it exploded.

• Mrs. Bennett insisted that her family were good people and asked Shade to find a doctor for her, but the examination found only chronic pneumonia and nervous tension.
• Shade visited the Koch family and sensed that Mr. Koch had an abnormal heartbeat, so he alerted the Sun Church without confronting him.
• Shade returned late to the Radiance Messenger, where Galina, Megan, and Audrey discussed the Envoy of Desire and shared the night with him.
• At breakfast, Miss Bell reported that Mr. Koch was from the Truth Society and had fought the Sun Church Ring Arcanists when they tried to examine him again.
• A silver mechanical heart flew out of Mr. Koch's chest and began to explode, but the Church stopped it.

Miss Bell reported that Herman Koch had been modified by the Truth Society and that Mrs. Bennett had died suddenly, prompting Shade to prepare a move against Thomas Bennett at the funeral. Luvia used one of Iluna’s coins to divine Mrs. Bennett’s death and found it had been her fated time to die, leaving Shade’s suspicions about her death dispelled.

• Miss Bell told the group that Herman Koch’s body contained Truth Society machinery and that his heart could have destroyed nearly half of Vesta City.
• Miss Bell reported that Mrs. Bennett had died before dawn, and Sister Devlin recalled that her life force had seemed weak.
• Shade decided to confront Thomas Bennett at his wife’s funeral that afternoon and assigned Emilia to deliver the final blow if Bennett proved to be the third-ranked candidate.
• Luvia used one of Iluna’s Thunder God’s Wrath coins to divine the cause of Mrs. Bennett’s death.
• Luvia told Shade that Mrs. Bennett’s health problems and exhaustion had led to her fated death, with no other force involved.

Shade learned that a Ring Arcanist organization planned to kill Thomas Bennett at Mrs. Bennett’s funeral, so he attended with Sivie to observe their attempt and save them. At the funeral, the Bennett family mourned Mrs. Bennett while Thomas remained cold and composed.

• Luvia divined that a group of Ring Arcanists intended to kill Thomas Bennett using two Sage Level Relics at the funeral.
• Shade obtained a funeral invitation from Miss Fisher and found the Elven Antique Arrow in Baron Fisher’s study.
• Shade chose Sivie as his companion, and they traveled to the cemetery after sharing a kiss and discussing the Year-End Festival.
• Shade and Sivie attended Mrs. Bennett’s sparsely attended funeral, where the Bennett children wept and Thomas gave a restrained eulogy.

At Mrs. Bennett’s funeral, a group of Arcanists ambushed Thomas Bennett with an ancient death relic, but he survived the attack. The assassins learned that even a death that could defeat Time Reversal had not ended him.

• After the funeral, Thomas Bennett confronted Mrs. Bennett’s cousin, who accused his family of causing tragedies and blamed Bennett for his son’s fate.
• Thomas Bennett revealed his eight-ring power and froze the spells of eight Mid-Ring Arcanists who attacked him.
• The old man used the Evil Angel Halo to resist Time Stop, while a hidden woman sacrificed herself to activate the Simple Burial dagger.
• The dagger killed the old man and struck Thomas Bennett, prompting the assassins to believe their attack had succeeded.
• Thomas Bennett rose unharmed, identified the dagger as the Sage Level Relic Simple Burial, and praised the assassins for finding it.

Shade confronted Thomas Bennett at his wife's grave, and the two fought after Bennett used Time Stop and escaped into the forest. Shade and the Witches pursued him, where Bennett became a giant forest avatar and the battle continued.

• Thomas Bennett revealed that instant-death effects from opponents of insufficient rank could not kill him, then told the attackers to leave his wife's grave.
• Shade arrived, returned the dagger to the surviving Ring Arcanists, and confronted Bennett about the Time Transfer Station and the Bennett family's history.
• Bennett began a Time Transfer spell, but an arrow shattered his lantern, and he used Time Stop as Vanessa, Galina, and Megan joined Shade.
• Shade and the Witches attacked Bennett; Shade wounded him, but Bennett turned into mist and fled toward the forest.
• Bennett transformed into a fifty-meter forest giant, and Shade attacked it with a Chaos Remnants fireball.
• Galina and an Earth Witch supported Shade by binding the forest giant's many arms with golden chains and striking it with a stone giant.

Shade and the Witches cornered Thomas Bennett in Vesta Woodland, but he used the Tree Hollow to escape into the Time Transfer Station. Shade summoned the Red Butterfly Twins to resist Bennett’s control of the place, and the chapter left them facing off as Bennett armed himself with World Tree relics.

• Shade and the Witches weakened the Forest Giant, then restrained Thomas Bennett in the snow and pinned him with the Moonbeam Greatsword.
• Shade tried to bind Bennett with the Yggdrasil Staff, but Bennett revealed that the Time Transfer Station could be opened freely from Vesta Woodland and brought Shade there.
• Bennett healed and explained that he could enter the Tree Hollow at will, while Shade admitted he had anticipated being brought there.
• Shade summoned Helen and Grace, the Red Butterfly Twins, who resisted Bennett’s attempt to drive them from his territory.
• Bennett used an oil lamp burning World Tree material to stop the Twins’ spatial blades, then shot Shade with a time-freezing bolt that Shade pulled from his shoulder.

Shade and the Red Butterfly Sisters confronted Thomas Bennett in the Time Transfer Station, where his control of frozen time made him impossible to defeat. Bennett revealed that he planned to leave his daughters behind and search the river of time for a way to resurrect his wife, then summoned Shade to a final battle on Saturday night; alone afterward, he retrieved a Mermaid figurine belonging to Linda Bennett.

• Helen and Grace redirected Thomas Bennett’s attacks, but Shade realized that the frozen second made the innkeeper impossible to wear down.
• Thomas Bennett explained that Albert Bennett was meant to inherit the Transfer Station and absorb the Time Curse so his daughters would be spared their family’s duty.
• Thomas Bennett revealed that he wanted to travel through time and find a way to bring his dead wife back to life.
• Thomas Bennett invited Shade and his candidate to face him, the Paradox Worms, and the Clockmaker on Saturday night before challenging the Ancient One.
• Shade left the Transfer Station with Helen and Grace, agreeing to return for the final battle.
• After Shade departed, Thomas Bennett opened a drawer and looked at the Mermaid figurine he had kept among Linda Bennett’s belongings.

Shade returned from the Time Transfer Station and announced that Emilia and he would face the Ancient One and its Paradox Worm army on Saturday night. As Emilia worried about the Chosen One Ritual and its possible cost, Luvia urged her to trust Shade and not decide rashly; Emilia ended by asking whether Luvia would judge her for wanting Shade to grant her a wish.

• Shade told the Witches that Thomas Bennett had named the Ancient One formed from the World Tree Remnants as the first candidate for Time and that the battle would begin on Saturday night.
• The Witches passed the news to The Church, which alerted the Academy and other Ring Arcanist organizations, while Emilia grew anxious about the coming trial.
• Luvia found Emilia alone on the stern deck, gave her a cloak, and encouraged her by recalling how Iluna had faced her own decisive battle.
• Emilia asked Luvia whether she should become a tree if the ritual required it to save the world, and Luvia told her to trust Shade and avoid making a rash decision.
• Emilia shared visions of Vesta Woodland in flames and a future confrontation, then asked Luvia whether she would judge her for wanting Shade to grant her a wish after the ritual.

Shade spent a quiet night aboard the Radiance Messenger and dreamed of meeting Miss Shibel Beast beneath the Star Sea. When he woke, dawn failed to arrive across the world, leaving the cause of the strange darkness unknown.

• Luvia gave Emilia permission to pursue Shade after the Chosen One Ritual, and Emilia clarified that she wanted to kiss him.
• Shade spent the night alone with Little Mia, read in bed, and dreamed that Miss Shibel Beast still had the World Tree Bark he gave her.
• Shade woke on Friday and found that it was still dark outside, then remembered his conversation with Galina Cavendish from the previous morning.
• Shade met Rita Swift, learned that Shining Star Flowers could help stretch the supply of Angel Elixir, and shared warmth and a kiss with her.
• Shade asked Rita Swift whether the lingering darkness was normal, and she confirmed that dawn should have arrived.
• The Witches contacted their Followers and discovered that the entire world remained beneath the stars.

Shade and his companions prepared for the Final Battle of Vesta Woodland while signs of a global time disaster appeared. He visited Emilia in the woods, where they discussed the Luku Birds’ future after the battle.

• Flora shared the Church’s plan to hold off the Paradox Worm army for five hours while Emilia faced four threats, and the group agreed to devise a detailed battle plan that night.
• Sylvia proposed buying the Accordion Hotel after the battle, while Shade said Thomas Bennett would fail but would not die.
• Shade recognized that the star-filled night sky and the Three Moons’ power meant time’s disruption was affecting the world and warned that winter would bring a worldwide Polar Night.
• Luvia described her recurring dreams of Doomsday and sitting on Shade’s rooftop, while Shade worried that her recovering memories might lead her to use powers prematurely.
• Shade found Emilia feeding the Luku Birds and suggested taking them to Saint Byron’s after the battle, but she said the birds preferred their forest home.

Shade spoke with Emilia about the coming Final Battle and learned she would join only when two candidates remained. He then asked Priest Augustus to help against the Paradox Worms, discovering that the priest could remotely send a limited number of them to Final Death.

• Emilia told Shade she would wait aboard the ship until only two candidates remained and said she could advise the group about their opponents.
• Emilia admitted she did not know how to defeat the Ancient One and explained that even the Chosen One of Time could not know the entire future.
• Shade resolved to seek the divinity he believed was hidden in the World Tree Remnants and use it to protect Emilia if necessary.
• Shade asked Priest Augustus to travel to Vesta Woodland and use his power against the World Tree Remnants and Paradox Worms.
• Priest Augustus explained that his newly awakened authority could send targets to Final Death, but it could affect only a limited number of relatively recent worms and would leave him weakened.
• Priest Augustus said he could use the authority remotely from Tobesk, so Shade asked how they should coordinate the timing.