Chapter Summaries

While Shade remained unconscious, Claire learned that his teacher Daniste and the Witches knew his secrets, and that Emilia was the Chosen One of Time and the Elf Queen awaiting coronation. The group prepared to reveal more of Shade’s hidden connections when Luvia arrived, while the island faced growing attention after the Demon Sword incident.

• Claire introduced herself to Daniste, who confirmed she was Shade’s teacher and said he would likely become the next administrator of the Academy Library.
• Megan asked Daniste to summon Luvia and others so they could stop hiding their connection to Shade from Claire.
• Emilia told Claire she was recovering from her injury, and Daniste explained that Ellie had been hurt by the Whisper Element released when the Angel relic was damaged.
• Sylvia and Megan discussed the Church’s response to the Demon Sword’s breaking, while Megan explained that she and other Old Keepers of Secrets were guarding the Black Pyramid’s secret.
• Daniste told Claire that Emilia Sinode was the Chosen One of Time and the Elf Queen, and Emilia showed her the royal crown she had brought in her shoulder bag.

Claire learned that nine members of the Witch Council knew Shade Hamilton’s secrets and were hiding their connections to him. Above her, Adele Isabella pieced together Shade’s identity as the God Summoner and decided to continue getting close to him.

• Claire welcomed Galina, Luvia, and Dorothy, who brought Little Mia, into Snow Mountain Hall.
• Galina told Claire that Bella, Sivie, and Cassandra were among the Council members who knew about Shade, bringing the number of traitors to nine.
• The witches checked on the sleeping Shade and shared the story of his connections, while Claire learned that only the Speaker, Moon, Chaos, and Creation remained unaware.
• Adele Isabella listened from the roof and recalled how she had followed Shade and the others into the Ice and Snow Castle under a disguise.
• Adele realized that Shade was the God Summoner and that his secrets included immunity to the Witch Curse, then resolved to continue her contact with him.

Luvia realized that Miss Sabelle was Adele Isabella, the Witch Council’s Speaker, but chose to keep her discovery secret. Adele also decided not to expose Shade and the others yet, and planned to send Sivie to support Claire at the Ice and Snow Castle.

• Shade asked Luvia to divine Delia A. Sabelle’s whereabouts, and Luvia recognized the name as an alias of Adele Isabella.
• Luvia reasoned that Adele had already met Shade and might be concealing her identity to preserve the Witch Council’s unity.
• Shade drew the Pocket Watch, Woman, and Castle cards, and Luvia told him that Sabelle was alive and might help him in the future.
• Luvia kept her suspicion to herself, while Adele, listening from the rooftop, also decided to conceal what she knew about Shade and the group.
• Adele considered meeting Shade again and chose Sivie to go support Claire at the Ice and Snow Castle.

After the battle at the Ice and Snow Castle, Shade and his companions discussed the new destiny prompts and the wounded Demon’s likely recovery. Galina stabilized Miss Larson’s strange inner chill, while the Witches summoned to the Council returned saying Speaker Adele had asked about the island and arranged for Sivie to help Claire next week.

• Claire told Elder Harald that the gathered girls were Shade’s friends who had come to help with the Demon, and Claire and Emilia shared the new stories on their Serpent’s Sheddings.
• Shade and the others concluded that the castle battle had been an important scene in destiny, and Shade said the badly injured Demon might be hiding in the Snow Mountain or leaving the island.
• Elder Harald recalled a children’s tale about a terrifying witch on the Snow Mountain, and Shade later identified the castle as Chloe’s, a Demigod Witch’s, from the early Fifth Epoch.
• The Speaker summoned Claire, Sylvia, Megan, and Vanessa to explain the island events, while Galina went with Shade and the others to check on Miss Larson.
• Galina balanced the forces inside Miss Larson and woke her, but warned that the chill was an outside power that could cause another loss of control.
• The four Witches returned from the Council and said Adele had questioned them about the castle and Demons, then planned to send Sivie to help Claire the following week.

Stella Larson’s Serpent’s Shedding revealed her past and marked her as a Candidate of Fate after her role changed. Luvia identified Stella as third among the candidates, but warned Shade that the rankings could shift as the Ninth Chosen One’s story unfolded.

• The Serpent’s Shedding showed that Stella had become a Protagonist Candidate after visiting the Ice and Snow Castle.
• Claire revealed that Stella was born among the Far Northern tribes, became a Ring Arcanist after secretly entering the Winter Pilgrimage Ritual’s forbidden area, and was expelled for touching a holy relic.
• Claire explained that Stella’s resulting coldness had tormented her for years, while Luvia confirmed that Stella was a Candidate of Fate.
• The group departed, and Galina returned to Shade’s home with him under the pretext of helping prepare for the night.
• Luvia told Shade that Stella ranked third among the Candidates of Fate, but that the rankings could change before the story’s final curtain.

Shade discussed the aftermath of the Demon Sword incident with Luvia, Dorothy, and Galina, explaining that the sword’s Mother Nest Consciousness had died but its two hilts might eventually develop new souls. He planned to leave the dangerous hilt with the Academy and test whether the shattered blade fragments could reinforce Night Watchman.

• Luvia explained that candidate rankings rose when candidates took part in important events, and she believed the Witch Apprentice had reached third place.
• Shade and the others discussed the Demon’s plans, the unexplained castle and Ice Maid, and Shade’s private relationship with Chloe.
• Shade said the Demon Sword’s Mother Nest Consciousness was dead, but its damaged hilts might eventually generate two new souls.
• Shade explained that the Academy and The Church would study and contain the remaining hilt, while he kept the shattered blade fragments for testing.
• Shade planned to use the Earth Furnace and his accumulated earth aura to see whether the fragments could strengthen Night Watchman.

Shade planned the next stage of his investigation and went to Fatumonst Island to comfort Claire, who had left home after their difficult conversation. He searched for her in town and learned she might be in the city, leaving him to check the black market beneath the Clock Tower.

• Shade assigned Galina and Luvia tasks for making the fate-related ink, while Dorothy offered to help Luvia with the process.
• Luvia told Shade to visit Claire on Saturday and comfort her, and Long-haired Luvia praised him in the Dream of the apocalypse without explaining why.
• Shade arrived at snowbound Fatumonst Island with Little Mia and discovered Claire was not at Snow Mountain Hall.
• Elder Ursa directed Shade to Elder Harald, who said Claire had returned to her parents' home after being upset the previous night.
• Professor Reinhart told Shade that Claire had gone to the city to shop at a black market, so Shade went to search beneath the Clock Tower.

Shade learned from Miss Larson that Claire had gone to Fatumonst Snow Mountain to clear her head after struggling to process the revelations about Shade and the others. He searched the mountain with Little Mia’s help and followed a flute melody to find Claire standing alone near the summit.

• Shade met Miss Larson in the city and learned Claire had gone to the Snow Mountain, where she felt confused rather than truly angry with him.
• Shade offered to help Miss Larson with her affairs and left to search for Claire, bringing Little Mia and a gemstone Claire had given him.
• Shade let Little Mia choose which part of the mountain to search, and she picked the eastern area near the summit.
• Shade heard a flute melody after searching for hours and followed it through the snow to a high cliff.
• Shade found Claire playing the Holeless Willow Flute alone at the edge of the cliff.

Shade found Claire on Fatumonst Snow Mountain, where they reconciled and promised to stay together. After descending with her, he learned more about the Frozen Castle and a spring that could sharpen animals’ awareness, while Claire prepared for her Crown of Glory Trial the next morning.

• Shade found Claire playing her flute on the snowy peak, and she embraced him, cried, and kissed him after asking whether he considered her his lover.
• Claire told Shade she was hurt by how the others had kept his identity secret, but forgave him and promised not to let go of his hand as long as he did not let go of hers.
• Claire asked Shade to stay by her side until he left the island, and they descended the mountain together after reaffirming their relationship.
• At lunch, Elder Harald and Elder Ursa told Shade that the Church was investigating the Frozen Castle and that three of its survivors were Fatu People who might return to their villages.
• Elder Ursa offered Shade access to a spring that could make animals more spiritually aware, and Claire said he could take Little Mia there the next day after her Crown of Glory Trial began.

Shade left Fatumonst Island after seeing Claire off for her Crown of Glory Trial and went to Schneider Psychological Clinic, only to learn that its doctors had been taken to Ridgewich Field over a Doppelganger incident. He reunited with Luvia, Dorothy, and Priest Augustus, who explained the threat and the Churches’ investigation.

• Elder Harald explained Claire’s Crown of Glory route, its hazards, and the three azure jade pieces she had to collect, while Shade promised to meet her at nine the next morning.
• Shade used Leisha’s Crystal Shoes to leave Unicorn Nest with Little Mia, and Claire discovered a new line in her personal story about receiving Shade’s sincere heart.
• Shade arrived late at Schneider Psychological Clinic and learned from Iluna that its three doctors had been summoned to Ridgewich Field and would not return that weekend.
• Shade followed Iluna’s hint to a restaurant, where he joined Luvia, Dorothy, and Priest Augustus and learned that the Sun Church and Creation Church were investigating a Doppelganger.
• Luvia explained that Doppelgangers were dangerous humanlike derivatives of the Sage Level Relic House of False Men, and that a single discovered individual could signal many more hidden in the city.

Shade’s group discussed the Doppelganger outbreak in Tobesk and the Church’s Mouse Hunt Operation, while Doctor Schneider remained under investigation. After the meeting, Shade received a relic for a Time Exploration and heard Dorothy explain the powers associated with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

• Luvia explained that the Five Gods Church had launched the Mouse Hunt Operation and that the House of False Men would be difficult to locate and destroy.
• Shade described how Doppelgangers could overrun Tobesk, and the Academy rewarded the group 50 pounds for reporting on the relic.
• Priest Augustus gave Shade a black stone from True Death for his Time Exploration, and Luvia said Iluna had not yet found the Heart of the Living Dead.
• Shade recounted his trip to Snow Mountain with Claire Reinhart to Dorothy and Luvia, then invited Luvia to stay for dinner.
• Dorothy resumed Shade’s lesson on fairy tales and described Snow White’s False Death Art, Storm Snow Blessing, and Summon Dwarf Guardian.

Dorothy showed Shade several thaumaturgies tied to Snow White Princess and discussed how he could study the fairy tale through the Princess. At Moon Sanctuary, Dorothy asked whether Shade planned to use Serpent's Shedding to alter her and Leisha's Destiny, and urged him not to harm himself for their sake.

• Dorothy demonstrated Pure White Blessing, which improved Luck and resisted curses, hypnosis, and charm, then showed Shade her limited Magic Mirror thaumaturgy.
• Dorothy explained the few thaumaturgies associated with the Seven Dwarfs, including Leisha's ability to create a temporary stone house, and Shade chose the Princess as his focus for future lessons.
• Shade and Dorothy discussed the next Red Butterfly Day, which was expected to arrive on the twenty-second, and Dorothy said Leisha might arrange their date.
• At Moon Sanctuary, Dorothy asked whether Shade meant to use Serpent's Shedding to alter her and Leisha's Destiny.
• Dorothy told Shade not to pay a price or suffer harm for their freedom, and she made clear that what she and Leisha truly wanted was him.

Shade saw Claire off as she began the Crown of Glory trial on Fatumonster Mountain, her rank suppressed by the relic Day of Atonement. After promising to meet her at the summit, Shade planned to investigate strange knocking at Claire’s mother’s house with Miss Larson, but he considered secretly following Claire into the mountain.

• Shade examined the bloodstained ivory comb Day of Atonement, which Claire would use to suppress her rank for the trial.
• Claire told Shade not to follow her and asked him to investigate the knocking sounds at her mother’s neighboring, long-abandoned house with Miss Larson.
• The five Great Elders painted Claire’s face with mineral pigments, and she set off alone up the snowy mountain with a positioning runestone.
• Shade learned Claire had left her Witch’s ring behind because she wanted to face the trial seriously and hoped to reach the Twelfth Order.
• Shade asked Miss Larson whether she would tell Claire if he secretly followed her, and she left the decision to him.

Shade and Miss Larson investigated the midnight knocking at the Reinhart home and traced it to the empty house next door. Echoes of the Past revealed a voice calling for Miranda, and Mrs. Reinhart explained that Miranda Otto had waited for her missing husband for more than fifty years.

• Miss Larson told Shade that Mrs. Reinhart had heard knocking from the neighboring house around midnight on two successive nights.
• Shade and Miss Larson searched the Reinhart home and the neighboring storage house but found no abnormal signs.
• Shade used Echoes of the Past in the empty house and heard a man’s voice calling, “Miranda, Miranda, I'm back.”
• Miss Larson identified Miranda as Miranda Otto, the house’s former resident.
• Mrs. Reinhart told Shade that Miranda’s husband had disappeared during a mountain climb decades ago and that Miranda had stayed on the island waiting for him to return.

Shade and Miss Larson tracked the icy presence that had been knocking on doors to a mutated Corpse Ghoul in a mountain cemetery. Shade discovered it had once been an Ice Sculpture, but its body and soul could not be restored to life.

• Mrs. Reinhart told Shade and Miss Larson that Mrs. Otto’s husband had vanished on the Holy Mountain and gave them Mrs. Otto’s address in the City of Time Wheels.
• Miss Larson used her Ice power to follow the cold traces from town into the Snow Mountain, leading Shade to a cemetery in the Cedar Forest.
• A frost-covered Corpse Ghoul crawled from a shallow grave and fled into the forest, then transformed into snow and mist to escape Shade’s Moonlight Ring.
• Shade and Miss Larson pursued the Corpse Ghoul up the mountain, where it attacked them before hiding beneath the snow.
• Shade stopped the Corpse Ghoul with Time Stop and used Guiding Death to see its memories of a man who had become lost and frozen in the Snow Mountain.
• Shade realized the Corpse Ghoul had once been an Ice Sculpture, but it had died more than fifty years earlier and could not be brought back to life.

Shade let Stella Larson try to restore a Corpse Ghoul’s sanity, but she absorbed too much of its deadly chill and needed his help to stop the transfer. After several rounds of purification, the ghoul’s soul recovered enough to communicate, though Shade confirmed its body could not be revived.

• Shade agreed to let Stella Larson try to restore the Corpse Ghoul’s sanity in exchange for lunch for him and Mia.
• Stella absorbed the ghoul’s Frost Qi, and Shade used a Moonlight Greatsword and the Heaton Seal to cut off the chill when she became frozen and unresponsive.
• Stella recovered by transferring excess chill into a gemstone, which she turned into Ice Jade, then continued purifying the ghoul with Shade’s help.
• After more than ten minutes, the ghoul’s soul recovered as its foreign chill dissipated.
• Shade examined the ghoul and found that its internal organs had died and its blood had frozen, making revival impossible.

Shade and Miss Larson transported a recovering Corpse Ghoul toward the city while discussing the Witch Apprentices’ ranks and abilities. Shade encouraged Miss Larson to embrace her talent for ice and snow alongside her Sun Power, and the story left them nearing the city.

• The Corpse Ghoul returned to Shade and Miss Larson, calling for Miranda, and Miss Larson asked Shade to help it meet its wife.
• Shade agreed to help after lunch, and Miss Larson borrowed a carriage so they could take the bound Corpse Ghoul into the city.
• Shade confirmed Claire was climbing toward her destination and estimated that he should arrive around five thirty to wait for her.
• Miss Larson asked Shade about the other Witch Apprentices and admitted she felt unworthy because she lacked talent for Sun Power.
• Shade told Miss Larson that Chloe, the ice-and-snow Witch who owned Ice and Snow Castle, had held the seat of Earth, and urged her to develop her ice-and-snow talent alongside Sun Power.

Shade and Miss Larson found the elderly Mrs. Miranda Otto and told her that they had located her missing husband, Mr. Otto, as a Corpse Ghoul. Mrs. Otto insisted on meeting him after fifty-six years apart, and the group set out to arrange their reunion.

• Shade and Miss Larson hid the frozen Corpse Ghoul outside the City of Time Wheels, and Shade took a distinctive button from its clothing.
• Shade and Miss Larson met Mrs. Miranda Otto at her home and showed her the button, which she recognized as one she had sewn onto her husband's clothes.
• Mrs. Otto learned that Mr. Otto had been found and insisted on going to see him, while her nephew, Mr. Meyer, agreed to prepare for the trip.
• Shade and Miss Larson left to retrieve the Corpse Ghoul and arranged to meet Mrs. Otto and her party outside Kael-Todd Town.
• Miss Larson worried that the reunion might overwhelm Mrs. Otto, but decided that she and Mr. Otto should meet after all.

Shade brought Old Mrs. Otto to meet her husband, a Corpse Ghoul who had returned after fifty years frozen in the Snow Mountain. The two reunited by the cliff above Kael-Todd Town, where Old Mrs. Otto began telling him about the decades she had spent waiting alone.

• Miss Larson told Shade that Claire had crossed the most dangerous stretch of the mountain and was climbing through old castle ruins toward the summit.
• Shade explained that he planned to give the Corpse Ghoul and Old Mrs. Otto one chance to meet, while Miss Larson watched over the creature.
• Old Mrs. Otto arrived with her nephew Barnard Meyer and asked Shade to let her see her husband.
• Shade and Miss Larson released the restraints on the Corpse Ghoul, who recognized Old Mrs. Otto and repeatedly told her that he had returned.
• Shade allowed the couple to speak at the cliff, and Old Mrs. Otto recounted the lonely half-century she had spent waiting for him.

Old Mrs. Otto reunited with her husband, the ghoul Ralph, after telling the story of their fifty years apart, and Shade took him away in the Small Wooden Boat. As Ralph promised to wait for her, frost from his body empowered Stella and helped her digest more of the holy relic Winter Movement.

• Old Mrs. Otto told Shade and Miss Larson how she had waited decades for her husband to return, and Ralph finally recognized her and apologized.
• Shade brought the couple together for a final embrace, then explained that Ralph had to leave for the place he should have gone long ago.
• Shade summoned the Small Wooden Boat with the God of the Ferryman's blessing, and Ralph boarded while Old Mrs. Otto stood with Miss Larson to say goodbye.
• The boat flew off the cliff toward the Star Sea, and Ralph promised Miranda that he would wait for her rather than ask her to hurry after him.
• Ralph's melting frost scattered across the town and settled on Stella, whose soul gained greater capacity for frost power and digested more of Winter Movement.