Chapter Summaries

Priest Augustus and Doctor Schneider approached Shade’s home as Iluna’s group used a misfortune ritual to disrupt the story around Shade. Shade resisted a Relic’s mental attack, and the Man-Eating Cats withdrew before he continued toward Saint Derain Square.

• Priest Augustus and Doctor Schneider reached Saint Derain Square and noticed a strange man and woman peering into No. 6.
• A Truth Society Cultist offered a holy emblem to the Keeper of Secrets, summoning misfortune for all the Story Characters.
• The Keeper of Secrets narrated Shade encountering the Man-Eating Cats, and Iluna’s assessment showed he resisted their mental influence.
• The Man-Eating Cats began to attack Shade but abruptly retreated, apparently sensing a nearby terrifying power.
• Shade’s misfortune lifted, and he continued toward Saint Derain Square.

The Dice Story Collection’s attempt to bring misfortune upon Shade led Charming Lady Lidiya Penggeluo to die and left Sneaker in the Night Qiaogeli Diwusi severely injured. Shade reached Saint Derain Square and confronted the escaping thief, who aimed a handgun at him.

• Lidiya encountered a sealed terrifying existence and died, while Qiaogeli escaped an incomplete old days existence by spending the Truth Society’s final Coin of Wisdom.
• Professor Onse ordered the injured Qiaogeli to use the Silence Charm and kill Shade, hoping to make his character the only survivor.
• Shade, Dorothy, and Little Mia approached Saint Derain Square after Dorothy explained that Jack the Thief had broken into Shade’s home.
• Qiaogeli appeared at the square’s entrance, and Shade told Dorothy to retreat before drawing his Luger Revolver.
• Shade and Qiaogeli aimed their handguns at each other beneath the street lamps.

Iluna Bayes guided the gunfight between Shade Hamilton and Qiaogeli Diwusi, whose first shot missed while Shade’s bullet left him unable to move. When Diwusi seized Shade’s revolver with Thaumaturgy, three disastrous Luck checks caused a ricochet to kill him, leaving Iluna celebrated for her performance.

• Professor Onse rolled a higher shooting score for Qiaogeli Diwusi, but Iluna’s rolls gave Shade Hamilton enough Luck and Agility to evade his bullet and shoot Diwusi in the lungs.
• Professor Onse had Qiaogeli Diwusi use Move Object to seize Shade’s revolver, and the Keeper of Secrets ruled that Shade did not resist.
• Diwusi failed three consecutive Luck checks while trying to fire the unfamiliar revolver, triggering a critical failure and a ricocheting bullet that killed him.
• Professor Onse collapsed as Diwusi’s identity parchment burned, while Iluna tried to hide her smile as the audience applauded her.

Shade defeated Qiaogeli Diwusi with the Gun of Kindness and returned home to find Jack the Thief had broken in and stolen his ceremonial sword. He began searching the house, convinced the thief was still inside.

• Shade tricked the wounded Qiaogeli Diwusi into firing the Gun of Kindness, and its ricochet killed him.
• Leisha explained that the gun’s trait had turned Qiaogeli Diwusi’s repeated failures of luck into his death, then urged Shade to get home quickly.
• Shade, Leisha, Doctor Schneider, and Priest Augustus reached Shade’s house, where Leisha reported what had happened in the square.
• Shade reasoned that Jack the Thief was likely in Second Floor, Room Number One, and discovered that his ceremonial knight’s sword was missing.
• Shade searched for the thief with Blood Echo and Echoes of the Past, found no clues, and sat down to plan his next move.

Shade lured Jack the Thief out of hiding and used his companions to drive it toward the first floor, where he confronted it. At the Seer Association, Iluna narrated the tabletop story until Shade and Jack met face-to-face and their battle began.

• Shade sent notes to his companions, then entered his bedroom while Jack emerged from the kitchen cupboard and stole his Knight's Sword of Honor.
• Jack fled up the stairs when it encountered Priest Augustus and Doctor Schneider, then turned back toward the first floor when it found Leisha guarding the stairs.
• Luvia joined Leisha and helped force Jack back to the second floor, after which the companions gathered outside Room Number One.
• Shade waited inside the room and punched Jack when it returned, beginning the final stage of their battle.
• At the Seer Association, Iluna made checks and narrated Shade's actions until she announced that Shade and Jack had met face-to-face.

Iluna used the Destiny Ring’s power to keep Shade in the fight against Jack the Thief, while Luvia worked out how the Dice Story Collection’s cooperative checks could give Shade an advantage. Shade searched for a partner who belonged to him but was not himself, leaving the fight tied as Iluna’s rolls climbed toward their maximum.

• Iluna used the Dark Gold Scales to influence the tabletop and began rolling checks as Shade fought Jack the Thief with his fists.
• Doctor Schneider, Priest Augustus, Luvia, and "Dorothy" surrounded the fighters, but Luvia explained that they could not help because they were only background characters.
• Luvia reasoned that cooperative characters could add their check points, while Jack the Thief only matched the strongest character’s points.
• Shade concluded he needed a partner who belonged to him but was not himself, and asked "Dorothy" to throw it to him.
• Iluna kept Shade’s rolls increasing, but Miss Green warned that Jack the Thief’s matching results meant Shade would eventually lose once the dice reached their maximum.

Iluna’s dice story ended with Shade capturing Jack the Thief, and she received the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone as her reward. But Jack began to lose control after the capture, forcing Shade to face the relic directly at 6 Saint Derain Square.

• Iluna rolled Little Mia’s combat checks, and Mia’s assistance gave Shade the edge needed to defeat Jack the Thief in the dice story.
• Shade captured Jack, ending the story, and the Keeper of Secrets offered Iluna a wish, which she declined.
• Iluna found the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone in her palm, while the Angel Level Relic and its die had vanished.
• Jack’s Whisper Element surged after the game ended, and Doctor Schneider warned that the relic was on the verge of losing control.
• Shade drew Jack into Room Two and used Heaton Seal to block its strike, shattering the antique sword and restoring the room’s light.

Shade defeated Jack the Thief, obtained the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone, and arranged for the thief to give another stolen Relic to someone who had helped in the fight. After the group covered their tracks and staged the scene, Doctor Schneider hypnotized Shade so he could appear to have fallen unconscious after Dice Story Collection.

• Shade returned from Vinales' Trial with the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone and declined to make a wish.
• Jack the Thief offered three Relics, but Shade instead demanded Dorothy's stolen letters and another stolen item for an ally.
• Shade kept the Gleaming Stone and gave Doctor Schneider the Poet Level Relic Impure Dragon Blood to keep the incident from the Academy.
• Shade repaired the room, retrieved jewelry from the basement, and scattered it to make the scene appear consistent with a thief's visit.
• Doctor Schneider hypnotized Shade, while the others left after removing their traces and cooling the fireplace.

Iluna and the church investigators searched Saint Derain Square after the supernatural confrontation, where Jack the Thief returned a stolen Relic and confirmed the ancient beings had departed. They found Shade unconscious but stable at home, and Iluna stayed beside him, hopeful about their future.

• Iluna and the High-Ring Arcanists found Saint Derain Square quiet and began searching it with the church squads and Sheriffs.
• Jack the Thief appeared at Shade's door, gave Iluna the Mandela Snake Nest Bottle, and said the Old Days existence and incomplete ancient existence had left half an hour earlier.
• The investigators entered Shade's house and found him unconscious beside the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone, his sword, Little Mia, and a shattered jewelry box.
• Miss Green said Shade had only exhausted his mental energy and would likely wake between Thursday night and Friday morning; the Glimmerstone turned to stone when Iluna touched it.
• Iluna realized Shade might have arranged for Jack to return the stolen Relic, then stayed with Shade and took Little Mia into her arms.

After waking at Miss Galina’s manor, Shade learned how the Church had covered up the events at Leisha’s Literary Salon and how the city’s other conflicts had unfolded while he slept. Galina explained that the Church had given him the jewelry, including the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone, and kissed him as his reward.

• Shade woke after twenty hours of sleep at Miss Galina’s manor and reunited with Little Mia.
• Tifa told Shade about the fighting and strange Relics discovered across Tobesk while he was unconscious.
• Miss Galina told Shade that the Church believed he was an ordinary person and had explained the salon’s mass fainting as gas poisoning.
• Galina said Shade should visit Dawn Church to discuss compensation with the Seer Association and keep the jewelry, especially the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone.
• Galina kissed Shade and called it his reward for helping Iluna obtain two Glimmerstones.

Shade discussed the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone and the search for the Fourth Chosen One with Miss Galina, then showed the stone to Luvia at the Seer Association. The Chosen One's identity remained unknown, while Shade decided to use the stone to negotiate for valuable and safer items as heavy snow fell over Tobesk.

• Miss Galina told Shade that the Church knew he had a Glimmerstone and was waiting to name its price, while the Council had no clear lead on the Fourth Chosen One.
• Shade explained that Jack the Thief had returned Dorothy Louisa's letters and Iluna's stolen relic, and Miss Galina chose a diamond brooch from the jewelry casket.
• Luvia examined Shade's Glimmerstone and said the Chosen One Ritual had officially begun, but the Church had not identified the Fourth Chosen One.
• Luvia warned Shade that Church representatives would soon approach him, but Shade said he wanted to trade the stone for valuable, safer items rather than give it to the Academy.
• Shade and Luvia watched Little Mia eagerly paw at the window as heavy snow continued to fall over Tobesk.

Shade negotiated with the Seer Association and the Church over the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone, disguising his willingness to surrender it behind concern for Duchess Galina’s gift. He accepted a deal to transfer the crystal in return for holding a Founding Series Rhodes Card for life, with the Church preparing to formalize the agreement.

• Shade visited Dawn Square with Little Mia and declined to let the children play with her.
• Shade and the Seer Association agreed that it would pay him sixty pounds for the emotional distress caused by the gas leak, in exchange for his silence.
• Mr. Judith asked Shade to sell the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stone, and Shade said he could not casually sell a gift from Duchess Galina.
• Chairman Stan offered Shade lifetime ownership of one Founding Series Rhodes Card in return for the crystal, making him the first Legendary Player to hold five Founding Series cards at once.
• Shade agreed to the deal, and Father Andrei offered to draw up a contract and secure additional compensation from the Seer Association.

Shade traded the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone to the Seer Association for lifetime ownership of the Rhodes Card Founding, two hundred pounds, and a deck containing special cards. He then met Priest Augustus, who gave him a bone badge fused with his Witches Detection Badge, and learned the fused badge could only be separated by destroying the original.

• Shade agreed to exchange the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone for Founding, two hundred pounds, and an Old Continent Minerals Gem Mine card, while keeping the crystal until the Seer Association collected it.
• Chairman Stan arranged the contract and Founding ownership documents, and Mr. Judith gave Shade the money and a new deck containing three special-faced cards.
• Shade signed the documents, making Founding his until his death, then waited at the church to speak with Priest Augustus.
• Priest Augustus revealed he had used Angel bones to make a badge and told Shade to stack it with his Witches Detection Badge.
• The bone badge fused around Shade's silver badge, and Priest Augustus warned that separating them would require destroying the original badge.

Shade learned the properties of a Divine Art Item from Priest Augustus and gathered information about sacrifices to the Old God Uncertain Wise Man. The chapter left Shade with a list of nine rare liquids, including Moonlight Water, needed for a ritual whose requirements he had yet to meet.

• Priest Augustus explained that the Divine Art Item could protect Shade from evil spirits, curse wounded creatures, and provide several lesser benefits.
• Priest Augustus told Shade that the Uncertain Wise Man’s followers had sacrificed pure waters such as lake water, morning dew, and newborn infants’ tears, and that the ritual could temporarily enhance wisdom and inspiration.
• Priest Augustus named spring water from the Fountain of Youth Relic and liquefied Philosopher’s Stone as harder-to-find offerings.
• Shade visited Iluna at Blackstone Security Company, and they thanked each other for their help after the confrontation with Jack the Thief and discussed her upcoming Founding.
• Iluna gave Shade a list of nine special liquids once offered to the Uncertain Wise Man, including Moonlight Water, which Shade needed for a trial ritual.

Shade and Iluna identified the ninth sacrifice for the Time Key’s second test as water from Heart Lake on Lake Heart Island in Lake of Cherub, which Shade already had in his basement. After spending time with Iluna during the snowfall, Shade attended the Study Group, where Doctor Schneider warned everyone to prepare for the advancement examinations.

• Shade and Iluna reviewed the possible sacrifices and learned that several were lost, restricted, dangerous, or difficult to reach.
• Shade recognized that the poem describing Mysterious Lake spelled out Cherub, identifying the needed water as water from Heart Lake on Lake Heart Island in Lake of Cherub.
• Iluna suggested that the connection to Lake of Cherub might be an inevitability tied to Shade as the Fourth Chosen One, and Shade confirmed that he already had some of its water.
• Iluna asked Shade to take her to lunch, and he spent the rest of the heavy snowfall at home, apart from receiving Leisha’s apology gifts and attending the Study Group.
• Doctor Schneider urged the group to take their advancement examinations seriously, while Dorothy told Shade that the Doctor’s exam anxiety returned every winter.

Shade spent a quiet date night with Leisha before setting out on his final Time Key adventure in Fifth Epoch 5177. He arrived at Lost Lake, where he was tasked with helping a mortal visit a god and learn the secret of Eternal Beauty.

• Shade and Leisha studied by the fireplace while snow kept them indoors, and Leisha said she would paint the scene.
• Leisha woke early, admired the snow-covered Saint Derain Square, and decided to send someone to clear the snow outside Shade’s home.
• Shade packed books and supplies for the final trial, then said goodbye to Leisha and entered the Time Corridor.
• The Father of Infinite Tree sent Shade to Lost Lake in spring, Fifth Epoch 5177, to help a mortal visit a god and learn the secret of Eternal Beauty.
• Shade crossed the freezing lake toward Lake Heart Island as red butterflies flew through the fog behind him.

Shade returned to Lake Heart Island and found the camp deserted, with a note from Miss Violet telling him to stay put. He followed the witches’ tracks, rescued Miss Teresa and five maids from invisible Formless Spawn, and helped heal an injured maid; Violet and the Head Maid remained missing.

• Shade found the witches’ camp abandoned and discovered Miss Violet’s note saying they would return and warning him not to leave.
• Shade followed the witches’ footprints through the fog and fought several invisible Formless Spawn using Heaton Seal and Silver Moon.
• Shade found Miss Teresa and five maids surrounded by Formless Spawn and destroyed the creatures with an exploding Heaton Seal shield.
• Miss Teresa told Shade that the Formless Spawn’s attacks caused flesh to rot, and the group treated a maid whose arm had been grazed.
• Shade used water treated with Satiety Feast to seal the maid’s wound, and Miss Teresa’s potion restored her arm.

Shade reunited with Miss Violet and the Witches on Lake Heart Island, helped destroy the Formless Spawn nest, and brought the sacrifice needed for the Obsidian Tower’s trial. He and Miss Violet prepared to enter the tower with Miss Teresa, while Shade wondered if the final trial would require them to fight the deity.

• Shade followed Miss Teresa’s directions through the fog and found Miss Violet and her maid searching for the Formless Spawn nest.
• Shade sensed the invisible nest above them, and he and Miss Violet destroyed it with a crossbow bolt and a silver strike.
• Miss Violet explained that Formless Spawn were rare demonic creatures and that escaping was the safest way to face a complete nest.
• Shade reunited with Miss Teresa and the maids, then used water from his waterskin to activate the Water Cube and provide a sacrifice.
• Miss Violet and Miss Teresa agreed to accompany Shade into the Obsidian Tower, and Shade took Night Watchman with him as they prepared to enter.

Shade led Miss Violet and Miss Teresa through the Obsidian Tower’s first two floors and reached the third, where the Keeper of Secrets Mentor’s glowing deity appeared. The deity’s presence overwhelmed the two Witches, leaving Shade facing the final trial with them struggling behind him.

• Shade insisted on bringing Night Watchman into the tower and entrusted the sword to Miss Teresa.
• Shade used a mathematics book to summon a staircase from the stream on the second floor.
• Miss Violet asked whether Shade would return after the trial, and Shade and both Witches exchanged farewells.
• Shade, Miss Violet, and Miss Teresa climbed the watery stairs and crossed onto the third floor’s Lake Heart Island.
• The deity emerged from the cabin, and its presence left Miss Teresa leaning heavily on Miss Violet.

Shade completed the god’s final trial by answering a question about the Intellect Angels and earned the right to make a wish. The god could not explain why five angels remained in the mortal world, but revealed how Shade could unseal his power, leaving the wish to Violet.

• Shade offered the god water from Lake of Cherub and spring water imbued by the Water Cube, and the god blessed Night Watchman with a stamina-restoring property tied to drinking pure water.
• Shade asked for a final trial that would test wisdom, and the god asked how many Intellect Angels the Keeper of Secrets created and where they were.
• Shade answered that the Ancient God created nine angels, four departed with Him, and five remained in the mortal world; he also identified the First Cherub’s location.
• The god accepted Shade’s answer and confirmed that the trials were complete, but refused to explain why five Intellect Angels remained in the mortal world.
• The god told Shade that contact with a sufficiently high-level Moon could unseal his power, and Shade invited Violet to make her wish.