Chapter Summaries

Shade dreamed of meeting Shibel Beast beneath the Moon and received a new thaumaturgy from her before waking in the banquet hall. He returned to Tobesk with Sylvia and Emilia, learned the search for the relic hand bone was progressing, and found Galina and Leisha waiting at home.

• Shade met Shibel Beast in a dream, where she encouraged him and gave him the Moonlight Ray thaumaturgy.
• Shade woke in the banquet hall and used Moonlight Ray, then learned Elder Harald's people had found the hand bone at the bottom of Dark Lake.
• Shade left the castle with Sylvia and Emilia, and Sylvia offered to take him to Tear Gland Fern near her tower.
• Sylvia said she planned to build a Teleportation Gate connecting her tower to Ice and Snow Castle within a week.
• Shade, Sylvia, and Emilia returned to Tobesk and found Galina and Leisha waiting at home.

Shade discussed the Silver Moon Door ritual with Daniste and prepared a Moonlight Bracelet for Sister Devlin. He returned home and spent the night with Sylvia, then took her with him to the Witch's Tower on Wednesday morning.

• Daniste told Shade that his Gormora Alchemy Rune Array research could strengthen the Night Watchman and that his alchemy paper had been published under his name.
• Shade asked Daniste about legends of Moon-chasing werewolves and arranged to perform the Silver Moon Door ritual with her on Saturday night.
• Shade created a Moonlight Bracelet at the Sacrificial Ground and gave it to Sister Devlin, who questioned what he hoped to achieve by touching the Moon.
• Shade returned home and confirmed that Sylvia had a natural fragrance before they embraced by the fireplace.
• Sylvia slept late on Wednesday, and Shade had breakfast with her before taking her to the Witch's Tower.

Shade experimented with using Moon Fire to transform Moonlight Ray, creating a more efficient combat technique, then waited at a tavern to meet Major Rades. A captain arrived in the major’s place and reported that something had happened aboard the White Pearl.

• Shade bid farewell to Sylvia, then used recovery thaumaturgies before testing Moon Fire’s effects on Moonlight Ray.
• Shade discovered that projecting Moon Fire through Moonlight Ray produced a piercing attack while consuming less spirit than releasing Moon Fire directly.
• Shade went to the Drowned Ghost Tavern to meet Major Rades and read about the upcoming Ten Thousand Spirits Festival while he waited.
• Captain Cavy Vernon told Shade that Major Rades was delayed by an incident aboard the White Pearl and invited him to come aboard.

Shade investigated the White Pearl’s inexplicably broken Steam Engine and discovered it was a damaged Fate Node afflicted with the destiny of being unable to operate. He sealed the resulting Infinite Snake in a coffin, then asked Major Rades to stall for an hour because he had a plan involving the Aurora Family’s arriving fleet.

• Captain Vernon told Shade that the White Pearl’s new Steam Engine had resisted every attempt to repair it, leaving Major Rades under scrutiny.
• Shade asked Major Rades to clear the Steam Engine Room at lunchtime so he could inspect the machine alone.
• Shade’s Noble Fate Mark revealed that the Steam Engine was a damaged Fate Node destined not to operate, and an Infinite Snake emerged from it.
• Shade captured the Snake and used Coffin of the Underworld to seal it, while Major Rades watched in alarm.
• Shade told Major Rades the engine problem could be solved if he stalled for an hour, mentioning the Aurora Family’s fleet arriving at the City of Time Wheels.

Shade brought a newly awakened Infinite Snake to Snow Mountain Hall and sought a way to destroy it before its seal failed. The Elders proposed sacrificing it at a mysterious cliff, while Claire described the sacred Peak of Fate and its legendary power.

• Shade obtained a replacement steam engine from Sivie's fleet and returned to Snow Mountain Hall carrying the coffin containing the Infinite Snake.
• Shade asked Claire and Miss Larson how to destroy the snake, and the Elders suggested throwing it from a cliff where sacrifices vanished.
• Claire identified the cliff as the Shadow of Herm, and Shade decided to travel there with Claire, Miss Larson, Elder Vilda, and Ellie.
• Claire told Shade that the Snow Mountain's Highest Peak was called the Peak of Fate and was believed to reshape destiny and protect the Fatu People.
• Shade wondered whether the missing Upper Spring was on the Peak of Fate, but Claire said she had found nothing there when she climbed it.

Shade and the Fatu Elders brought the coffin to the Sacrificial Ground beneath Shadow of Herm and carried out a temporary offering ritual. After Miss Larson threw the coffin over the cliff, Shade jumped down ten seconds later to retrieve it.

• Shade and the others reached the Fatu People’s Sacrificial Ground beneath Shadow of Herm, where the Elders set up the ritual.
• Shade examined the faded serpent mural and discussed with Miss Larson how the Fatu People might have forgotten their ancient serpent worship.
• Elder Harald and Elder Vilda lit six bonfires, prayed, and prepared the offerings while Claire observed the ritual.
• Shade, Claire, and Miss Larson tossed silk, wooden carvings, and the coffin over the cliff as the sacrifice.
• After waiting ten seconds, Shade jumped off the cliff to retrieve the coffin.

Shade and Claire sacrificed an Infinite Snake at Shadow of Herm, earning Stella new Thaumaturgy and information through the Serpent's Shedding. After the Seer Association arrived at the altar and left, the Elders described the powerful diviners who had visited.

• Claire joined Shade as he descended, and Stella's sacrifice of the Infinite Snake gave her Danger Sense, improved fortune, and information about a returned Outsider.
• Miss Larson warned that only newly born Infinite Snakes could be dealt with this way and recalled seeing a giant Snake beneath the cliff.
• Shade and Claire found the Coffin of the Underworld intact, but its Snake had disappeared, and they discussed using the discovery to gather information and cooperate with the Church.
• Miss Larson told Shade and Claire that three Seer Association members had arrived, so they waited below until the visitors left.
• Elder Harald and Elder Vilda identified Lewis and a powerful diviner from Lomari City among the visitors, and Elder Vilda said the third man had felt strange.

Shade learned that the Snow Mountain mural depicted the Ice Jade, then reunited with Sivie aboard the Radiance Messenger as the group organized its investigation of Fatumonst Island. The chapter left them preparing to search for Resurrected outsiders and considering the mysterious link between Miss Larson and the Serpent's Shedding.

• Elder Harald and Elder Vilda told Shade that the Snow Mountain mural was a damaged map and that its snake-encircled pearl represented the Ice Jade.
• Shade and his companions boarded the Radiance Messenger, where Sivie welcomed him and introduced him to her Followers.
• Sivie and Claire agreed to use the ship and Claire's local base as their main operation centers, with Hailey representing Sivie while she handled diplomatic obligations.
• Shade asked Claire's Followers to search Merchants and adventurers for Resurrected people, while Sivie's Followers investigated nobles and officials.
• Illustrious Miss observed that Miss Larson and the Serpent's Shedding affected each other through a connection resembling her bond with the Radiance Messenger.

Shade and the Witches tested the cursed Relic Forgotten Bride to protect Miss Larson from interference with her destiny, while Shade spoke privately with the Ship Girl about the Radiance Messenger, Sister Belen, and the Witches whose fates remained uncertain. After Shade left, the Ship Girl remembered visiting the town thousands of years earlier in the Fifth Epoch.

• Sivie presented Miss Larson with the Sage Level Relic Forgotten Bride, and Miss Larson wore it as Illustrious Miss's divination returned three identical Death cards.
• Miss Larson heard a woman whisper, “let marriage forget me,” and Sivie instructed her to carry the veil with rosemary and store it in a lead-lined red peachwood container when it was not needed.
• Shade and the Ship Girl discussed the Radiance Messenger's new ability to fly, which had been completed using the remains of a ritual beneath the ship's boards.
• The Ship Girl told Shade that Sivie had likely noticed his closer ties to Galina and the others, and advised him to spend more time with Sivie.
• Shade asked why Sister Belen had not used the Soul-Soothing Angel's feather, and the Ship Girl explained that Belen had died sealing a dangerous Unknown Level Relic after advancing to the Thirteenth Order.
• Shade and the Ship Girl kissed beneath the starry sky, and after he left, she remembered seeing the town thousands of years earlier in the Fifth Epoch.

Shade, Dorothy, and Luvia tested a newly made pigment on a Serpent's Shedding, hoping it could influence a card draw. Dorothy's attempt failed, and Shade began a second test with his blood and the Dream Pen of Joy as the chapter ended.

• Shade returned home and found Dorothy and Luvia refining mineral pigment in the dining room, where the experiment had filled the house with a strong odor.
• Dorothy and Luvia completed a small batch of pigment, and Luvia gave Dorothy the Serpent's Shedding she had finished researching.
• Dorothy's Serpent's Shedding revealed that she was an important supporting character, and she told Shade that she and Leisha feared risking their hard-won happiness.
• Dorothy mixed her blood into one portion of pigment and wrote on her Serpent's Shedding, but the writing vanished and her card draw produced the Stars 9, Ancient Fairy Tale: Snow White Princess.
• Shade mixed his blood into the remaining pigment, which turned silver, and began writing on Dorothy's Serpent's Shedding with the Dream Pen of Joy.

Luvia and Shade prepared to investigate the Snow Mountain mural after their first attempt at making the special ink failed, while Luvia and Dorothy reassured each other about sharing their affectionate relationship with Shade. The next morning, Shade took Luvia and Emilia toward the mountain, where they unexpectedly found Sylvia and her companions preparing a Teleportation Gate.

• Luvia concluded that the mural at Shadow of Herm might reveal the missing ingredient in the failed Ink-Type I formula, and planned to inspect it with Shade and Emilia.
• Luvia warned Shade to watch for unusual circumstances around Major Rades, while she promised to investigate the Seer Association's involvement with the Ninth Chosen One.
• Dorothy invited Luvia to share their Red Butterfly Day cake, and the two later played together while Shade's Dragon Maids cleaned the kitchen.
• Luvia took leave from the association, and Shade brought Emilia from Saint Byron's to travel with her to the Snow Mountain.
• Emilia told Luvia that the Elf coronation venue remained undecided and that representatives of many races would attend the ceremony.
• Shade found Sylvia and several of her companions at the high tower, preparing to build a Teleportation Gate with help from Grandma Cassandra's spatially talented Followers.

Shade traveled from the snowy mountain to the City of Time Wheels, where he reunited with Major Rades at the Midnight Elk Club. As they discussed their Rhodes Cards, Rades pointed out that Founding was held by the Seer Association, leaving Shade without an easy way to complete the Founding series.

• Luvia told Sylvia that she had come to help inspect the Edge of Life and Death beneath Sikar Mountain, and Sylvia said Shade was already her apprentice.
• Claire escorted Shade to a cargo boat and told him she felt she had met Luvia before and could become her friend.
• Shade boarded the boat for the City of Time Wheels, while Claire waved goodbye from the shore.
• Major Rades brought Shade to the Midnight Elk Club, where they exchanged cards and caught up over tea.
• Rades noted that Shade still lacked four Founding series cards and said Founding was the Seer Association’s prized collectible.

Shade discovered that two members of the negotiation delegation in City of Time Wheels were doppelgangers from the Sage Level Relic House of False Men. He left their investigation for later and warned Elder Harald to watch for more doppelgangers around the town and nearby villages.

• Shade and Major Rades examined their Rhodes Cards and discussed card news, sailing, and the Archipelago Kingdom.
• Shade noticed Viscount Alfield and his fiancée, then learned from Major Rades that the woman had recently recovered from a near-fatal illness.
• Shade identified the Viscount's fiancée as a doppelganger and decided to observe her rather than act in the crowded Club.
• Shade spotted a second doppelganger among the delegation's acquaintances before ending his card game with Major Rades.
• Shade visited Kael-Todd Town, explained the doppelgangers' arrival to Elder Harald, and asked him to watch for more in the town and nearby villages.

Shade investigated Doppelgangers on Fatumonst Island and asked Galina and Iluna to check their connections to Fated Story. The Doctor returned from Church custody, but Church monitoring prevented him from joining Shade to hunt the wounded Demon on the island.

• Shade returned home and told Dorothy about the Doppelgangers on Fatumonst Island.
• Galina and Iluna agreed to investigate the suspects’ backgrounds and nearby Doppelganger activity in Tobesk.
• Bill Schneider visited Shade after the Church released him, explaining that a patient’s transformation into a Doppelganger had delayed his release.
• The Doctor discussed the wounded Demon of Weapons and its search for a weapon that could break a shackle.
• The Doctor told Shade he could not go to Fatumonst Snow Mountain until he broke the Church’s monitoring and the Doppelganger investigation was resolved.

Shade took Leisha and Dorothy on a date to Fatumonst Island, where they toured the City of Time Wheels before investigating a suspected Doppelganger at The Club. The chapter ended with the three secretly watching Miss Lavend write in her diary.

• Shade told the Doctor he would make Alchemy Items to help search Fatumonst Island for the Demon.
• Leisha and Dorothy joined Shade for a trip to Fatumonst Island, and the three flew down from the Snow Mountain together.
• Shade, Leisha, and Dorothy toured the City of Time Wheels, shopping for pocket watches and a mechanical typewriter.
• The three went to The Club, watched the sunset over Starfall Bay, and learned that Miss Lavend was the niece of Shade's friend Baron Lavend.
• Shade used Stone Heart to confirm Miss Lavend was inside her room, and Leisha and Dorothy made the corridor wall transparent so they could watch her writing in her diary.

Shade searched for Viscount Alfield, whose whereabouts were concealed as part of a royal operation, and learned he was aboard a ship meeting a representative from the Megalo Duchy. There, Shade and the women overheard that Alfield’s fiancée had died and been replaced through the House of Resurrection, raising the possibility that people were willingly helping doppelgangers replace others.

• Shade and Dorothy and Leisha failed to find Viscount Alfield at The Club, then sought help from Director Anlos in Room 5.
• Director Anlos initially refused to reveal Alfield’s location because it involved a secret order from the King, but Leisha revealed herself as a princess and persuaded him to answer.
• Director Anlos told them Alfield was aboard a ship in Starfall Bay, where he was meeting a representative from the Megalo Duchy about white oak.
• Shade took Leisha and Dorothy to the ship in his Small Wooden Boat, and they secretly entered Alfield’s cabin after the meeting had ended.
• Shade and the women overheard Sir Ross tell Alfield that the House of Resurrection had perfectly resurrected his dead fiancée, whom Alfield said was not truly her.

Shade, Dorothy, and Leisha uncovered signs that Tobesk’s aristocrats were using a doppelganger organization called the House of Resurrection to imitate the dead, and they warned Galina to investigate. Meanwhile, Luvia and Emilia learned that the Shadow of Herm had been an ancient Fate-worshippers’ sacrificial site, and Shade ended the day at the opera while keeping watch for doppelgangers.

• Leisha explained that Viscount Alfield’s resurrection of Miss Lavend could serve the political and financial interests of the Alfield and Lavend families, while Shade and Leisha feared the House of Resurrection had infiltrated Tobesk’s aristocracy.
• Shade returned to Snow Mountain Hall with Dorothy and Leisha, where Luvia agreed they should confront the doppelgangers whether or not they were connected to the Chosen One Ritual.
• Luvia told Shade that her investigation with Emilia revealed the Shadow of Herm had been a sacrificial site used by ancient Believers of Fate, and that its rites had served as a sealing measure.
• Shade wrote Galina a warning about the House of Resurrection and sent Leisha’s maid to deliver it.
• Shade went to the Maria Empress Opera House with Leisha, Dorothy, and the other Princess, scanning the guests for doppelgangers.

Angelina spent Red Butterfly Day with Shade, first joining her sisters at the opera and later secretly inviting Shade to her room to tell a story. The next day, Shade arranged a Saturday-night ritual with Daniste to search the library for her teacher’s location and other answers.

• Shade and Angelina attended the opera, where Dawn Church Ring Arcanists arrested people from a third-floor box whom Shade suspected included Doppelgangers.
• Angelina stayed at Shade’s house that night and waited until one in the morning for Shade to visit her room.
• Angelina read Shade a handmade story about a Princess and a knight, and they agreed to continue it another time.
• At breakfast, Leisha realized Shade had visited Angelina but chose not to say anything.
• Shade told the young ladies he would postpone the Night Lesson and then arranged with Daniste to conduct a ritual at his house on Saturday night.
• Daniste planned to search for her teacher’s location and asked Shade what he wanted to seek in the library.

Shade reported the House of Resurrection and its doppelgangers to Daniste, then reunited Ellie with Little Liana at Snow Mountain Hall. He also learned that two relics taken by a young man who left the tribe remained missing somewhere on the island and asked how to search for them.

• Shade asked Daniste to gather information about the House of False Men and its connection to the Twilight Creator, and she agreed.
• Emilia told Shade that the Academy had approved Little Liana's trip to Fatumonst Island, where she arrived by Oceanic Drifting Bottle.
• Shade brought Little Liana to Snow Mountain Hall, where Ellie rushed out to greet her and shared an apple with her.
• Emilia arranged for Little Liana to stay at Snow Mountain Hall so she could keep Ellie company while her injuries healed.
• Shade asked Elder Harald about the island's missing relics, and Harald explained that two relics taken by a young man who left the tribe had not been found.

Shade set out to investigate four places connected to a young priest’s past and search for clues about why he had returned to Fatumonst Island. Sivie joined him on the way to the offshore laboratory and told him how a curse on her family had shaped her life, while warning that the ocean held dangers best left unexplored.

• Elder Harald marked four locations for Shade to investigate, and Claire stayed behind to prepare for her priestess’s crown.
• Shade sailed west toward the offshore Magic Potion Laboratory, and Sivie swam up to his boat and joined him.
• Sivie explained that an Antique Vase had spread a curse through the Aurora Family, killing its direct heirs and leaving her among the few survivors.
• Sivie said a Mermaid blessing and the previous Great Witch of Light helped contain the curse, and the vase was eventually returned to the deep sea.
• Sivie told Shade that the ocean lacked the protection of the Enlightenment Elements Network and contained evils that were better left unknown.