Chapter Summaries

Shade and his companions learned that Unicorn Ellie had been frozen and later driven from her home by a Demon, which might still be hiding in her Ice and Snow Castle. They planned to wait for Ellie to recover enough to lead them there and hunt the Demon.

• Shade reassured Claire Reinhart that he would never hurt her or the other witches, then his cat woke and caught the scent of the Unicorn.
• Emilia examined and treated Ellie, finding that she was underweight, injured by demon power, and in poor mental condition.
• Emilia explained that Ellie had been frozen before 1830, thawed around 1833, and was driven from her Ice and Snow Castle by a Demon about ten years earlier.
• Shade concluded that the Demon might still be hiding in Ellie's former home and decided to wait until she regained basic mobility before tracking it down.
• Emilia offered to monitor Ellie's recovery daily, and Shade agreed to bring her back and discuss whether she could join the hunt.
• Elder Harald revealed that The Church had asked about the Ring Arcanist who rode a Unicorn the previous night.

Shade prepared to return to Gravestone Wasteland, learned that Emilia had once held the infant Stella Larson, and received a guiding flame from Sister Devlin. He left for the past with the Cat and the Benevolent Doctor's Injection Needle, while Luvia remained at home.

• Shade took Emilia back to the library, where she recalled meeting Stella Larson as a baby at Saint Byron's opening ceremony in 1835.
• Daniste asked whether Shade needed anything prepared for his journey, and Shade said he would visit Sister Devlin before departing for Gravestone Wasteland.
• Miss Reinhart told Shade that representatives from Kasonlik and Delarion would arrive before a Wednesday welcome banquet.
• Shade gave Luvia the Serpent's Shedding, and she spent the night with him before sleeping through his Tuesday morning departure preparations.
• Sister Devlin joined her soul's flame with Shade's and called him the Hero of the Flame, promising to tell him more when he returned.
• Shade took the Cat and the Benevolent Doctor's Injection Needle, said goodbye to Luvia, and used the cracked key to begin his journey to Gravestone Wasteland.

Shade arrived in a different part of the Gravestone Wasteland for the grave-robbing trial and fought off a deceptive corpse carriage called the Foul Rotting Corpse Sir. After finding a golden scepter among the wreckage, he followed the Corpse Tree’s spectral hound back to the tree, where the Corpse Tree noticed his find.

• Shade emerged from a grave in a new part of the Gravestone Wasteland and found a gold bracelet among the burial objects.
• Shade attacked the Foul Rotting Corpse Sir’s fleshy carriage after it tried to distract him and ambush him with a ghostly silhouette.
• Shade froze and blasted the undead crows, then struck the fleeing carriage with Moon Fire, leaving wreckage and golden burial objects behind.
• Shade found a golden scepter inscribed with praise for the Grave King and knowledge about controlling undead crows and Corpse Explosion.
• Shade followed the Corpse Tree’s spectral hound to the Corpse Tree, which noticed the golden scepter before Shade could greet it.

Shade used the Benevolent Doctor's Injection Needle to extract the Corpse Tree's spirit while the Hound suppressed its resistance, and he experienced a vision revealing the tree's origin. The extraction granted Shade new Thaumaturgies and increased his sin of Gluttony, but he still did not receive the Tree Spirit Rune.

• The Hound explained that the scepter Shade had brought was a noble's symbol and agreed to suppress the Corpse Tree while Shade freed its soul.
• Shade inserted the Benevolent Doctor's Injection Needle into the Corpse Tree and used it to draw the tree's spirit into himself.
• The Hound struggled to restrain the tree's instincts as its spirit was extracted, while its little soul encouraged it to persevere.
• Shade saw a vision of a kingdom that cultivated a Life Tree with plague victims, which eventually consumed the kingdom and left a desert filled with corpses.
• Shade's Satiety Feast was sublimated, his sin of Gluttony increased, and he gained Hungry Kiss and Photosynthesis, but no Tree Spirit Rune.

Shade weakened the Corpse Tree by extracting its spirit, freeing the hound soul and using Mystic Lock wishes to strengthen it. As the tree neared defeat, Violet Marshall arrived in a puppet body and reunited with Shade, while the group prepared to finish cleaning up the tree.

• Shade stopped extracting spirit and struck the Corpse Tree with Soul Whiplash, freeing the hound's dried corpse and its soul.
• Shade used four wishes to strengthen the hound soul, which attacked the tree while Shade fought the falling corpses and resumed extracting spirit behind defenses.
• A Mourning Knight approached, so the flaming hound left the defenses to confront it.
• Violet Marshall and the other Witches arrived; Violet revealed she had sent a puppet carrying one-third of her soul, then kissed Shade.
• Shade dismissed his defenses and the group gathered beneath the weakened Corpse Tree, which no longer threatened them.

Shade sealed the Corpse Tree temporarily and returned with Miss Violet, Theresa, Sister Belen, and the two Hounds to the cottage. There, he asked Sister Belen to teach him her secret art for sensing the First Fire, which he would need for the coming final exploration.

• Shade used the Mystic Lock—Tree's Kiss to seal the Corpse Tree's elements and spirit.
• Theresa dug up the Hound's small Metal Coffin, and Shade's group left the clearing with the two Hounds.
• The group reached the cottage after only a few minutes and found the coffin filled with gold and other objects.
• The Hound asked Shade to bury his corpse in the coffin if they returned to the world of the living.
• Shade reunited with Miss Violet and asked Sister Belen to share her power.
• Shade asked Sister Belen to teach him the secret art for sensing the First Fire.

Shade learned to sense the First Fire through Sister Belen, gaining a clearer ability to detect the First Fire and existing Fire Seals, though he still could not locate the flame precisely. After the group counted their recovered treasures, Shade began questioning the Hound about the cabin and the Gravedigger.

• Sister Belen guided Shade through the First Fire sensing technique, strengthening his Eternal Fire Mark and letting him sense the distant First Fire and applied Fire Seals.
• Shade and Sister Belen confirmed that the First Fire was somewhere in the Gravestone Wasteland, while Sister Belen promised they would keep searching for it and the flame on the Snow Mountain.
• Shade, Miss Liard, and the others counted twenty-four Burial Objects and examined the coffin’s contents, including Soul Tear Drops, a Universal Key, a Philosopher’s Stone, and a Vision Bullet.
• Miss Violet gave two Soul Tear Drops to the Hounds, and Theresa identified the Vision Bullet and kept it for the time being.
• Shade stored the Hound’s corpse in the coffin, turned the coffin into a toy, and asked the Hound what it knew about the cabin and the Gravedigger.

The Hound revealed that the cottage once belonged to the Soul-Soothing Angel and explained the secrets of the Bone King’s kingdom of the dead. Shade proposed spending seven Burial Objects to help Sister Belen find the First Fire before the group sought a way out.

• The Hound explained that the cottage had belonged to the Soul-Soothing Angel, the fourth Angel created by the Ancient God of Death.
• The Hound told Shade and the others that the Bone King ruled from a Great Tomb and had sealed the Door of the Dead, creating its own kingdom.
• The Hound described the underground graveyard and warned the group about the Ghoul Marquis, the Swollen Lady, and the Gravedigger of the Coffin.
• Shade proposed using seven of their twenty-four Burial Objects to help Sister Belen find the First Fire and strengthen her before they faced the Thirteen Burial Objects Graveyard.

Shade and his companions used a Compass to seek the First Fire, leaving Theresa and the Hounds at Gravedigger's Cabin. In the wetland, they encountered a swarm of Death Frogs, but Miss Violet's life-giving magic let them pass safely.

• Shade chose Sister Belen, Miss Violet, and Miss Liard to accompany him, while Theresa stayed behind to prepare food and guard the remaining burial objects with the Hounds.
• The group exchanged two burial objects for Iron Shovels, took supplies and a handgun, and followed the Compass into the foggy Gravestone Wasteland.
• The Compass led them through unfamiliar gravestones toward a wetland, where a giant Death Frog attacked Sister Belen with its tongue.
• Shade caught the frog with his Great Sin Chains, and Miss Violet and Sister Belen helped destroy it, releasing deadly Decay Mist.
• Dozens more Death Frogs surrounded the group, so Miss Violet cast the Fountain of Youth to counter their instant-death curse and lead the party through the wetland.

Shade and the three Witches uncovered an ancient giant pyramid hidden behind an obsidian pillar and fought their way through its traps and spirits. They reached the inner tomb passage, where the remains of giant craftsmen lined the hall, with the burial chamber still ahead.

• Miss Liard explained that the obsidian pillar concealed folded space, and Shade followed its runes’ directions to reveal a colossal black pyramid guarded by a Magic Eye.
• Miss Liard found a hidden entrance, and Shade and the Witches entered the pyramid after enduring the Magic Eye’s attack.
• The party navigated spacetime traps and fought Gargoyle Knights, Death Frogs, a Wailing Water-Demon Wraith, and the Soul of the Half-Blood Giant Overseer, which Shade banished with a Soul Bullet.
• Shade used the Universal Key with the Door Key to force open the inner entrance after its face demanded three Burial Objects.
• The party entered a vast hall lined with black-jade giant remains, and Miss Liard identified it as the main Tomb Passage leading toward the burial chamber.

Shade and the Witches reached the Main Tomb Chamber, where the Giant King awakened and demanded they defeat him to take the divided flame. Shade accepted the challenge and drew the Sure-Kill Handgun.

• Shade gained Enlightenment from the ancient giant remains, sublimating his Body of Courage so he could enlarge parts of his body and gain greater strength and spiritual oppression.
• Shade grew to giant size and forced open the Adamantine door, then led the others into the Main Tomb Chamber.
• The decayed crowned giant on the Black Iron Throne awakened and recognized Sister Belen as the Fire-Bearing Sister who had come to retrieve the divided flame.
• The Giant King revealed that the First Fire had been forced upon him to suppress the curse of Pus of Man, and that the Giant Kingdom had fallen after the Nun and the Pointed-Ear Empire defeated him.
• The Giant King demanded that Sister Belen and her companions defeat him to take the flame, and Shade accepted by drawing the Sure-Kill Handgun.

Shade accepted the Giant King's wager and prepared to fight for the blood of an Ancient Thunder Titan. With blessings from Miss Violet and Sister Belen, he battled the Giant King, broke its sword, and continued the fight with chained fists.

• The Giant King offered Shade a drop of Ancient Thunder Titan blood if Shade defeated it in a direct fight.
• Miss Violet kissed Shade and transferred part of her power to him, granting him enhanced physical attributes and regeneration.
• Sister Belen gave Shade the Primordial Fire's blessing and taught him the Body Burning Oath spell.
• Shade enlarged himself with Body of Courage and charged the Giant King, combining Moonlight, First Fire, and Red Dragon power in their sword battle.
• Shade broke the Giant King's Stone Sword, discarded his own weapon, and wrapped his fists and arms in Great Sin Chains to wrestle the giant.

Shade defeated the Giant King, claimed the First Fire flame for Sister Belen, and absorbed the blood of an ancient Thunder Titan, greatly enhancing his strength and lightning abilities. The group then questioned the Giant King about a way out, and it revealed that an ancient God of Death had established a tomb that could lead the dead back to the living world.

• Shade burned away the Giant King's corruption and defeated it, then took the crimson First Fire flame from its chest.
• Shade gave the flame to Sister Belen, and the Giant King rewarded him with the blood of an ancient Thunder Titan.
• Shade absorbed the Titan blood, gaining greater physical strength and lightning resistance and enhancing his Thunder Thaumaturgies and Body of Courage.
• The Giant King told Shade and the Witches to leave, but agreed to answer questions in exchange for Burial Objects.
• Miss Violet offered two gold earrings and asked about the tomb that could lead them out; the Giant King explained that the ancient God of Death had built a tomb where undead could return to the world of the living.

Shade and his companions questioned the ancient Giant King, learning that the Bone King controlled the wasteland through an artifact inherited from the Ancient God of Death. The giant warned them about the cost of power, then revealed a passage out of the mausoleum and left Shade pondering what it meant to be called the Child of the Moon.

• The Giant King explained that escaping the wasteland required an object tied to the Ancient God of Death, a Heart of the Living Dead, and a personal beacon from each person.
• Shade learned that the Bone King inherited a Golden Artifact from the Ancient God of Death and used it to control the land.
• Sister Belen asked for advice for the bearer of fire, and the Giant King recounted how Black Oil empowered the giants before the Pus of Man corrupted them and led to their kingdom's destruction.
• Miss Liard asked whether she could escape, and Shade paid the final Burial Object to learn that her companions could help her leave.
• After Shade and Miss Violet told the Giant King what had become of the Pus of Man, it opened a Secret Passage for the group.
• Shade asked whether the Giant King truly believed he was the Child of the Moon, then crawled into the passage as the giant lamented that eternal silence would soon arrive.

After returning from the pyramid, Shade and the Witches regrouped at Gravedigger's Cabin and prepared for his departure. Miss Violet drew Shade aside for a private reunion and urged him to protect himself and Theresa when they returned.

• The group left the vanished pyramid, avoided Ghostface Sunflowers on the way back, and learned from the Hound mother and daughter that the plants drained Soul Power.
• At Gravedigger's Cabin, Theresa served a meal, and the group counted eight Burial Objects toward the thirteen needed to leave.
• Shade asked the Witches about their beacons for returning to the World of the Living, and Miss Liard explained she needed to return to support her Younger Sisters.
• Miss Violet pulled Shade into her private Dressing Room to examine him before he left, then embraced and kissed him after telling him she had missed him.
• Miss Violet warned Shade to take Theresa to safety if they encountered a power they could not resist, then teased him about her intended examination as his time ran short.

After returning from the Gravestone Wasteland, Shade discussed his gains and plans with Luvia, then went to the Summit of the Mountains to report to Sister Devlin. Sister Devlin confessed that her jealousy had made Shade hesitate to gain power from the flames, leaving him insisting that they were partners moving forward together.

• Shade returned home, reunited with Luvia, and told her about his adventure with Miss Violet and the Ancient Giant Kingdom.
• Shade and Luvia discussed obtaining an Ancient God artifact, a Heart of the Living Dead, and a living person's item for his return to the world of the living.
• Luvia said she would postpone going to Fatumonst Island until she had made progress studying the blank Serpent's Shedding.
• Shade visited Sister Devlin at the Sacrificial Ground and told her about Sister Belen, the Demon on Fatumonst Island, and his recent discoveries.
• Sister Devlin admitted that jealousy over Shade gaining the Fire Seal had affected him and apologized for making him hesitate to gain power from the flames.
• Shade rejected Sister Devlin's view that she was merely a shadow behind him and told her they were moving forward side by side.

Shade and Sister Devlin reconciled over her envy, and he taught her the First Fire’s secret method before leaving the Sacrificial Ground. Later, Priest Augustus explained that the Grave King’s control over Gravestone Wasteland depended on a Gold Bracelet once worn by the Ancient God of Death, giving Shade a possible way to weaken the Old God.

• Sister Devlin apologized to Shade and offered him unrestricted access to the power of any flame.
• Shade reassured Sister Devlin that he valued her as a person, rejected her offer of punishment, and taught her how to sense the First Fire.
• Sister Devlin and Shade shared the First Fire’s pulse through their clasped hands, and Shade asked her to add more lights to the Sacrificial Ground before he left.
• Shade visited Priest Augustus, who identified the Grave King’s Gold Bracelet as a projection of the Ancient God of Death’s authority.
• Priest Augustus advised Shade that shattering the bracelet’s projection could disrupt the Grave King’s control over Gravestone Wasteland, while warning him not to fight an Old God unless necessary.

Shade learned about the angels of the Ancient God of Death and received words to try in Gravestone Wasteland, then spent a quiet afternoon with Emilia and Miss Reinhart at Snow Mountain Hall. The chapter ended with Shade and Miss Reinhart sharing wine and memories as they walked through the sunlit banquet hall.

• Shade helped Priest Augustus forge Angel Alloy, learned about the four angels of the Ancient God of Death, and received a line from the lost Eternal Slumber Scripture to try in Gravestone Wasteland.
• Shade and Emilia left Moon Library and learned that Kassenric's delegation, led by Prince Samuel Anjou, was arriving in the city for negotiations.
• Shade and Emilia visited Snow Mountain Hall, where Emilia treated Unicorn Ellie and Shade agreed to attend Miss Reinhart's banquet and see her off and meet her at the finish line for the Crown of Glory ritual.
• Miss Reinhart walked with Shade through the banquet hall, sharing the history of its paintings and tapestries as they drank wine together.

Shade and Claire Reinhart grew closer as she hired him to stay and help resolve the island’s dangers. Later, Luvia’s Tarot reading suggested that the injured Unicorn Ellie had reached Fatumonst Island through a time-related adventure from another place.

• Shade imagined how he and Claire might have met even if he had visited the island as an ordinary tourist, and Claire asked why he had stayed to help her.
• Shade promised to remain until every problem on the island was resolved, and Claire gave him a powerful Sun-attribute gemstone before kissing his cheek.
• Emilia told Miss Larson about her young Unicorn friend, Little Liana, then left Snow Mountain Hall with Shade after dinner.
• Shade and Emilia returned home to find Luvia, Galina, and Dorothy gathered there, and Emilia explained that she hoped to identify Ellie’s herd using a sample of her hair.
• Luvia performed a Tarot reading with Shade, Emilia, and Dorothy, whose cards suggested Ellie’s arrival involved Ice and Snow, time, and a bold adventure across spacetime.

Shade confirmed that a demon remained in the Ice and Snow Castle after Luvia’s divination triggered a hostile response. After a night with the young ladies, he began Wednesday by considering the castle’s possible connection to Chloe and reviewing Daniste’s elective courses.

• Luvia’s attempt to divine the Ice and Snow Castle’s origins provoked a demon’s malice, and Shade burned the newspaper before it could harm anyone.
• Shade concluded that the demon was still in Unicorn Ellie’s home and planned to confront it once Ellie recovered further.
• Galina, Luvia, Dorothy, Tifa, and Leisha spent the night with Shade, testing his new powers and examining his strengthened body.
• Luvia wondered whether Unicorn Ellie might be connected to Chloe, and Shade planned to have Emilia inspect the unicorn again.
• Dorothy left to check on the scroll case she had commissioned, while Shade considered which of Daniste’s elective courses to take.