Chapter Summaries

Shade studied The Blood-Red Deception with Dorothy and discussed the changes in Dorothy and Leisha’s shared abilities and their souls’ possible Fusion. That night, Dorothy used Space Cutting and Space Merging to connect her bedroom with Leisha’s, leaving Shade to join both women.

• Dorothy demonstrated her Transformation Spell and discussed how the animal and human parts of The Blood-Red Deception could be studied as a source of power.
• Shade asked whether Dorothy and Leisha could use each other’s Transformation Spells, and Dorothy explained that their abilities had become shared after their souls connected on Red Butterfly Day.
• Shade worried that Dorothy and Leisha’s souls might merge into one person, but Dorothy reassured him that they would keep one body and leave the other as an empty shell.
• Dorothy formed a Dark Gold Cube and merged part of Leisha’s bedroom with her own, connecting their rooms through Space Cutting and Space Merging.
• Dorothy and Leisha invited Shade into Leisha’s candlelit bedroom, and he crossed the newly created boundary to join them.

Shade learned that the Tobesk explosion was an early manifestation of the Calamity of Creation, which could eventually produce intelligent Mechanical Lifeforms. He then began his day by visiting Margaret at the Snow Mountain High Tower.

• Leisha used a Crystal Shoe to help Shade leave safely before breakfast, and Luvia arrived at Saint Derain Square with news about the Academy explosion.
• Luvia reported that the Creation Church had identified the explosion as the Calamity of Creation, whose early manifestation caused complex machines to animate.
• Luvia said the Association feared the calamity could ultimately create powerful, intelligent Mechanical Lifeforms and suspected the Creation Church had concealed knowledge of the Kindling.
• After breakfast, Luvia went to rest and Dorothy left to visit her mother, while Shade planned to contact Iluna about the local church.
• Shade went to the Snow Mountain High Tower, where Margaret was waiting for him, and embraced her in the snow.

Margaret reported that she had found Shade a way to contact Gray Gloves agents in Arcadia City and discussed her possible assignment to the Eastern Front. She expected to visit Arcadia City within a month, while Shade left her after spending time together.

• Margaret told Shade she had secured a recognition code for a new group of Gray Gloves agents arriving from Wilundell, allowing him to pose as one of them and contact local intelligence personnel.
• Margaret explained that the agents were being sent to investigate smuggling through Grey Rock Pass, though the inquiry would likely only produce a scapegoat.
• Margaret told Shade that the King planned to send his children on symbolic visits to the fronts, and she expected to be assigned to the Eastern Front and possibly visit Arcadia City.
• Margaret planned to ask the Witch Council for capable assistants and send Duke Galina intelligence so she could focus on major decisions.
• Margaret said she might see Shade in the Arcadia area within a month, and Shade eventually said goodbye to her.

Shade met Mr. Finch in Arcadia City, acquired the Active Metal relic from Mr. Munoz, and discussed the Mechanical Plague and recent local incidents. He learned that Baron Ramsay’s collection had been stolen, including a valuable Rhodes Card, and left Mr. Finch with Fragrant Residence as his mailing address.

• Shade arrived late at the Tower of Marvels in the rain, where Mr. Finch eventually met him after attending a Creation Church lecture on laboratory safety.
• Shade told Mr. Finch about the Life Fire Seed and the Mechanical Animation disaster, and Mr. Finch agreed to contact his colleagues in the Hermit Order.
• Mr. Finch handed Shade the Active Metal relic, a copper-mercury alloy, and Shade paid the agreed price.
• Mr. Finch reported that the Church had failed to capture the suspected Blood Spirit School Ring Arcanists after the Oakham Park incident, while Lady Connaught and her lover had lost their memories of the previous hour.
• Mr. Finch told Shade that Baron Ramsay’s collection room had been ransacked, including a valuable Rhodes Card, and Shade wondered whether the theft might cause trouble for Lady Astley.
• Shade gave Mr. Finch the address of Fragrant Residence so he could send news about the theft, the Mechanical Plague, or the Life Fire Seed.

After reading Armand Bernhardt’s findings about a superhuman corpse, Shade went to Greyrock Pass to find Wei Ge, who was meeting with Baron Brez. He arrived at the fortress town in the rain, where the Astley Family’s influence over the pass remained closely tied to the army faction.

• Shade returned home with the dangerous relic, then went to Fragrant Residence after lunch and received Mr. Bernhardt’s letter from Miss Lorraine.
• Shade learned that Mr. Bernhardt and his companions had moved to a new address and that the corpse they examined was a naturally enhanced human whose body had exploded into poisonous flesh and blood.
• Shade suspected the Blood Spirit School was behind the corpse’s unusual physical traits and wondered whether the group was connected to the Emerald Alchemy Association.
• Miss Lorraine told Shade that Wei Ge had gone to Greyrock Pass to meet Baron Brez, so Shade arranged a carriage to follow her there.
• Shade crossed Arcadia City and the refugee-filled outskirts before reaching the rain-soaked Greyrock Pass fortress town.
• Shade learned that Baron Brez commanded the pass and that the Astley Family retained influence there through its ties to the Old Derainore Army Faction.

Shade searched for the missing Wei Ge, and Miss Sabelle helped him find her fighting three High-Ring Arcanists beside the Thornir River. As Shade prepared to join the battle, Miss Sabelle identified their organization and explained the terrifying nature of the figure they protected.

• Shade learned that Wei Ge had left Grey Rock Pass Fortress Command half an hour earlier, and he began searching for her with Miss Cruz.
• Miss Sabelle stopped Shade’s carriage and said she knew where the missing Wei Ge was; she led Shade and Miss Cruz toward the Thornir River Channel.
• Shade’s group found Wei Ge and her companions battling three High-Ring Arcanists, while a hooded Sorceress held an object that radiated oppressive spiritual contamination.
• Miss Sabelle identified the enemies as members of the [Saint Alliance] and explained that their Saint Child could be descended from a Saint who had served as a vessel for a Great One’s descent.
• Shade drew blood to summon a red crystal-like longbow as he prepared to help Wei Ge.

Shade and Wei Ge fought three members of the Saint Alliance, whose borrowed Divine Form drew power from the Infant-Holding Holy Mother’s mysterious object. Wei Ge recovered by feeding on Shade’s blood and prepared to face the enhanced Arcanists while Shade targeted them with thaumaturgy.

• Adele explained that the Saint Alliance recruited descendants of divine descent vessels and identified the Infant-Holding Holy Mother as the source of the group’s strange power.
• Shade’s scarlet-silver Moonbeam Greatsword pierced the object in the Holy Mother’s arms and blasted apart much of her body, while Wei Ge distorted the resulting baby’s cry and Miss Cruz rescued their unconscious companions.
• Shade used Falling Star Strike against the two Arcanists, but their flesh-like barrier and golden power let them survive the attack as spiritual contamination returned.
• The Holy Mother recovered her body and permitted the Arcanists to use Divine Form, which healed and strengthened them through power borrowed from the object she held.
• Wei Ge broke the Metal Limiters and recovered by sucking Shade’s blood, then sent Miss Cruz and the maid away and explained that the enhanced Arcanists depended on staying near the Holy Mother.
• Wei Ge prepared to fight the two Arcanists while Shade cast Thunder Spear and she used Chaos Echo.

Shade and Wei Ge defeated the [Saint Alliance] attackers, then destroyed the Plaster Infant and the Holy Mother. They returned toward the carriage with their enemies gone but many questions unanswered.

• Wei Ge used [Chaos Echo] to turn Shade’s spells into powerful attacks, helping them defeat the three [Saint Alliance] members.
• Wei Ge’s Chaos Tide collapsed the attackers’ Destiny Rings, and Shade killed the Nine-Ring Arcanist and crystallized the Tenth Ring Arcanist.
• Shade attacked the Holy Mother with the Black Moon Rune, but her Caul shield gave her time to reveal the Plaster Infant.
• The Plaster Infant’s cry failed to contaminate Shade, and his Moonlight Ray destroyed it and pierced the Holy Mother, who turned to Ashes.
• Wei Ge asked Shade who their enemies were and why he had come, and Shade suggested they return to the carriage before explaining.

Shade and Wei Ge returned to Fragrant Residence after their battle at Grey Rock Pass and discussed the Blood Spirit School, the Saint Alliance, and the growing danger around Arcadia. Shade agreed to help Wei Ge investigate the Blood Spirit School, while their conversation raised new questions about why the Creation Church’s Holy See was established there.

• Shade and Wei Ge flew from Grey Rock Pass to rejoin the young ladies, then rode back to Fragrant Residence while discussing the Blood Spirit School and the Saint Alliance.
• Shade realized Hermons’s rebirth method might help Wei Ge overcome her innate defect, giving him another reason to seek out the Blood Spirit School and the Birthing Room of Creation.
• Shade urged Wei Ge to spread word of the two illegal organizations through the Local Black Market so the Creation Church would respond, and Wei Ge agreed.
• Wei Ge kissed Shade’s cheek to thank him for helping her, then said she would find the Witch in the Council who had been investigating her.
• At Fragrant Residence, Shade and Wei Ge discussed the organizations gathering in Arcadia, the possible search for the Emerald Record, and the unexplained location of the Creation Church’s Holy See.
• Shade asked Wei Ge whether she had released the two Alchemists they had captured when they first met.

Shade discussed the Saint Alliance and the Bloodkin disappearance with Wei Ge, then met Miss Sabelle for afternoon tea and learned more about the Alliance and the surviving Holy Mother. Miss Sabelle warned that the Alliance was interested in Shade before leaving Arcadia City, while Shade headed into the rain to continue his investigations.

• Wei Ge agreed to question the Emerald Alchemy Association about the Saint Alliance and investigate the organization through the Council.
• Shade left Fragrant Residence after giving Wei Ge Blood Brew and arranged to meet her again the next afternoon.
• Shade met Miss Sabelle at Madame Bovary Tea House, where she told him the Holy Mother had likely survived and that destroying the object she carried might be necessary to eliminate her.
• Miss Sabelle explained that the Church had failed to eradicate the Saint Alliance and advised Shade to seek records from the Witch Council and the Orthodox Church.
• Shade told Miss Sabelle about the Blood Spirit School, New Humanity, and the Abnormal Life Fire Seed, and she warned that the Saint Alliance might target him.
• Miss Sabelle paid for their tea and left; Shade departed into the rain.

Shade investigated the [Saint Alliance] and learned that it sought power hidden in the bloodlines of divine descendants, using a container that might instead hold something evil and unnatural. Council records linked the group to a past conflict and to Ancestor’s refusal to cooperate, while Shade suspected its presence in Arcadia City was connected to the [Emerald Record].

• Shade asked Daniste, Winnie, Luvia, and Old John about the [Saint Alliance], and Old John sent him to Edmund in Coldwater Port.
• Edmund explained that the [Saint Alliance] gathered divine-descendant power and likely used a container, but warned that its contents might not be the power the group believed it was.
• Shade returned home and told Megan and Luvia what he had learned; Megan reported that Council records described the group’s history and its vile, disruptive container.
• Megan revealed that Ancestor had once written that the [Saint Alliance] was creating something capable of destroying the world and that he had refused to work with them.
• Shade told Luvia and Megan that Margaret might visit Arcadia City next month, while they agreed he should investigate the city before the Witches went there.

Shade and the Witches contained the out-of-control [Active Metal], discovering that a Twisted Life Fire Seed had made it dangerously active and resistant to containment. They chose to preserve it for study, while Audrey pointed out that it was already Monday and suggested seeking help with what to do next.

• Little Mia cried out, leading Shade and the Witches to find [Active Metal] escaping its containment in the basement.
• Megan and Audrey sealed the spreading liquid metal in a Golden Great Book, but it broke free and contaminated Shade’s Coffin of the Underworld.
• Luvia shot the contaminated coffin with [Sure-Kill Handgun], weakening [Active Metal] enough for the group to contain it.
• Shade touched the metal and detected a Twisted Life Fire Seed, which had caused its contagious activity and allowed it to resist containment.
• Luvia and Megan argued for keeping [Active Metal] to study, while Audrey suggested seeking help; she noted that the bells of zero hour had rung and it was Monday.

Shade and his companions used the Gift Box’s clue and Luvia’s divination to forge the [Fire Seed Source], a powerful artifact that could contain the dangerous [Life Fire Seed]. They left with it in Shade’s possession, knowing it could help manage future outbreaks but recognizing its nature as a manifestation of the Calamity of Creation.

• Shade found a mud eye in God's Gift Box and, after considering Luvia and Megan’s interpretation, took the sealed [Active Metal] to Fatumonst Island for divination.
• Luvia confirmed that Shade should let the [Active Metal] contaminate and fuse with an eye molded from mud, then forge the materials in the [Heart of the Earth Furnace].
• Shade and his companions gathered Sun Fire, Moonlight Water, the damaged [Procreation Imprint], and other materials before Shade forged the eye with the [Active Metal].
• Shade produced a silver Metal Eyes that transformed into a flame-like eye when infused with spirit, revealing its power to create and absorb Life Fire Seeds.
• Luvia identified the creation as a [Fire Seed Source] that could grant Fire Seeds to watched creations and absorb exposed seeds, while Shade recognized it as a materialized form of the Calamity of Creation.
• Shade left with the [Fire Seed Source], and Megan and Audrey noted that it could help eliminate risks from future out-of-control devices.

Shade and the others contained the newly forged Fire Seed Source, then Iluna arrived with news of corpses revived by twisted Life Force. The chapter ended with the authorities struggling to destroy the remarkably resilient creatures.

• Luvia explained that the Fire Seed Source could absorb only weaker kindling, and the group suspected the Creation Church knew something about Active Metal.
• Shade placed the Fire Seed Source in Moonlight Water for containment, then rested with Luvia, Megan, Audrey, and Little Mia.
• Iluna arrived Monday morning and reported that seventeen corpses had revived at Tobesk's Public Cemetery with abnormal Life Force.
• Iluna said the Active Corpses had contaminated several victims and that churches and diviners tracked down the missing corpses and people before dawn.
• Iluna reported that the Active Corpses healed too quickly to burn and remained active even after being cut apart.

Shade and his allies investigated the spreading Life Fire Seeds, learning that they could animate corpses and machines and might threaten living beings. After testing the Fire Seed Source with Sister Devlin, Shade confirmed that powerful death could erase a seed, then went to Arcadia City to share what he had learned with Old Mr. Finch.

• Iluna told Shade, Luvia, and Megan that destroying unusual corpses had produced crimson Life Fire Seeds, and she agreed to investigate the Creation Church and Saint Alliance.
• Shade explained his recent discoveries in Arcadia City, including Mr. Bernhardt's New Humanity proposal, the Abominations, and the Blood Spirit School; the group discussed the danger of seeds appearing in living people.
• Shade consulted Grace and Helen, who recognized the seed's twisted Life Force, then asked Sister Devlin about the seeds and whether the First Fire could consume them.
• Sister Devlin said the seeds were Life Force rather than fire seeds, then used her death power to destroy an animated pocket watch and erase its seed.
• Sister Devlin offered to help deal with the Saint Alliance and its Containers, and Shade chatted with her before leaving for Arcadia City.
• Shade went to the Finch Gear Workshop and Old Mr. Finch led him into his factory.

Shade told Mr. Finch that the Creation Church might be researching Fire Seed Sources, prompting him to investigate the church and verify the danger. Afterward, Shade spent a rainy afternoon visiting familiar places and looking through Wei Ge’s childhood photographs at Fragrant Residence.

• Shade warned Mr. Finch about the Creation Church’s possible Fire Seed Source research, and Mr. Finch said he would question an acquaintance at the local church and report back that evening.
• Shade asked Mr. Finch to help him obtain more Active Metal, then left after Mr. Finch told him to alert the Hermit Order if he disappeared.
• At home, Shade discussed the possibility of corruption within the Creation Church with Winnie, while Little Mia touched the Fire Seed Source on the dining table.
• Shade visited Arcadia in the rain, but Mr. Finch, Wei Ge, Mr. Laibury, and Mr. Munoz were all unavailable, so he went to Fragrant Residence.
• Miss Lorraine told Shade that Wei Ge had been disappointed when the witches close to him acted normally at the Witch Council meeting, then showed him Wei Ge’s childhood photographs and shared stories about her.

After an explosion at the Creation Church headquarters, Shade sensed a gigantic, unstable Fire Seed Source and absorbed a blast from it with his own. Wei Ge also sensed the flaming eye, leading Shade to propose entering a shared dream to examine her soul for the Emerald Record.

• A tremendous explosion shook Fragrant Residence, and Shade sensed the Fire Seed Source in his pocket growing hot as the region’s forces stirred.
• Shade used his Fire Seed Source to perceive a gigantic flaming eye near the Creation Church headquarters, where outside forces were trying to contain it.
• The giant eye attacked Shade through their consciousness link, but his Fire Seed Source absorbed its beam before the Church suppressed the eye.
• Shade concluded the event could cause animated machinery and revived Active Corpses around Arcadia City, and he wondered whether the Fire Seed Source had also contributed to the rising birth rate.
• Wei Ge returned and told Shade she had sensed the same chaotic flaming eye during the explosion.
• Shade asked whether the Emerald Record might be hidden in Wei Ge’s soul and proposed examining her through a shared dream; Wei Ge agreed and called for help arranging it.

Shade entered Wei Ge’s dream to investigate the source of her soul’s disorder, discovering that the Emerald Record had become part of her essence. As he reached the depths of her soul, he heard a Whisper from the record and gained the Life Fire Seed spell, leaving him with the promise of further insight into life.

• Wei Ge told Shade she suspected factions within the Creation Church had gone astray and expected the churches to investigate the region’s turbulent Elements.
• Shade and Wei Ge connected their dreams, and Shade’s soul appeared to her as a vast, warm presence in her ancestral home.
• Shade examined Wei Ge’s soul and found that power from the Emerald Record had become part of her essence, giving her a powerful Chaos Talent.
• Wei Ge opened her soul to Shade, who heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice recite words from the Emerald Record.
• Shade received the Life Fire Seed spell, which could extract a target’s Life Force, and gained insight into creating life.

Shade discovered that Wei Ge’s soul carried a hidden sentence from the Emerald Record, which triggered her to gain the [Creation] Spirit Rune and nearly lose control. After leaving her to recover, he went to meet Mr. Finch and learned that refugees were disappearing in the Outer City District.

• Shade heard an unknown voice recite a sentence from the Emerald Record within Wei Ge’s soul, and Wei Ge suspected her mother had possessed the Relic.
• Wei Ge began inscribing the [Creation] Spirit Rune and nearly lost control, so Shade used Lingquan Enlightenment to calm her.
• Wei Ge confirmed that the voice was her mother’s and demonstrated her new ability to transform ordinary objects by spending spirit and Life Force.
• Shade took the exhausted Wei Ge to her bedroom, then left Fragrant Residence to visit Mr. Finch at the Gear Workshop.
• Shade found a letter from Mr. Finch, who had confirmed his suspicion about the Creation Church’s research and asked him to return the next day to discuss a case involving missing refugees.

Shade tested his new Life Fire Seed spell and explained how it could help him control twisted Fire Seeds. The next morning, Iluna was sent on an urgent business trip to Arcadia Region, and Shade warned her about the Creation Church crisis before she left.

• Shade extracted a normal Life Fire Seed from a fish, explained its effects, and gave it to a tank fish to extend its lifespan.
• Shade said his new spell could let him strip Fire Seeds from Mechanical Life forms and Living Corpses, and the group discussed Wei Ge's mother, Peggy Nicola Lemay.
• Shade told Daniste about the Creation Church crisis, and she said the God Summoner should stay hidden while they handled it.
• Iluna arrived at 6 Saint Derain Square to say that The Church had sent her to the Arcadia Region on an emergency business trip.
• Shade told Iluna about the Fire Seed Source riot and advised her to take the Sure-Kill Handgun for protection.