Chapter Summaries

Shade and Fiona bought the Clock Shop gear and dragon-blood time sand, then prepared to cross the darkness to the Midnight Art Gallery. The chapter left them at the curtain’s edge, ready to make the crossing with three Everlasting Candles and Mia turned into a toy.

• Shade and Fiona acquired the gear needed for the Compass Pointing to the End and browsed the Clock Shop’s catalog of dangerous time-related items.
• Shade bought Time Sand Soaked in Dragon Blood with his light, and Fiona purchased three Everlasting Candles with her blood.
• Mia watched Fiona’s dragon flames, and Shade saw flames reflected in the Cat’s eyes as her Sun Child bloodline subtly changed.
• Shade had Fiona carry Mia’s toy through the curtain so it would not be lost in the darkness.
• Shade and Fiona arrived in the rainy Eternal Night City across from the Midnight Art Gallery, where Fiona began the candlelit crossing.

Fiona and Mia’s golden light rescued Shade from the darkness after black hands overwhelmed him. The three returned to the Midnight Art Gallery, where Shade’s forty-minute adventure had seven minutes remaining.

• Shade threw Fiona to safety as the third candle went out, but black hands dragged him into the darkness.
• Mia changed back from her doll form and glowed, allowing Fiona to enter the darkness without being consumed by it.
• Fiona and Mia found Shade fighting invisible enemies, and Mia’s light drove away the darkness and its creatures.
• Shade thanked Fiona, and the three returned to the art gallery with seven minutes left in his adventure.
• Fiona dried herself and Shade, and Shade noticed that Mia’s glow had vanished inside the gallery.

Shade and Fiona found the Golden Needle’s unusual payment requirement in the Midnight Art Gallery, then Shade returned to the present and discovered that Little Mia could produce a tiny flame. Iluna arrived with new information about the Church’s plans for her and the Earth’s Chosen Ones.

• Shade and Fiona found the catalog entry for the Lost Goddess’s Golden Needle, which required paint capable of painting upon the night.
• Shade built a thorn-protected camp for Fiona, kissed her goodbye, and returned to the present with Little Mia.
• Shade discovered that Little Mia could charge up a small golden flame on her tail and use it to light the stove.
• Iluna visited Shade and said the Church was preparing to send her to Randall River Valley, though her departure date was undecided.
• Iluna told Shade that she had seen more Canticles concerning the Chosen Ones of the Earth.

Iluna shared the clues about the Earth’s Chosen One, and Priest Augustus equipped Shade with supplies and a Golden Magic Potion for his coming fight against an ancient evil. Shade then visited Dorothy to obtain a formula for night-painting pigment, which required two rare materials.

• Iluna told Shade that the Chosen Ones had nonhuman blood, were born in spring, and that the Earth’s Chosen One had soil inside and a Stone Heart; she warned him that the Tobesk Diocese had heard about Eldron Lake.
• Priest Augustus brought Shade Alchemy Items, protective charms, and two Golden Magic Potions that empowered energy-release spells against evil.
• Shade went to Quill Street to ask Dorothy about pigment that could be used to paint in the night.
• Dorothy gave Shade the formula for Zaras Academy of Literature’s alchemical pigment and arranged for Leisha to provide most of its ingredients, leaving Shade to find Twilight Dust and Elven Pure Water.

Shade discussed the remaining ingredients needed for an alchemical pigment with Dorothy and Leisha, who explained how to make Twilight Dust from the Black Night Spirit Temple. He then arranged with Miss Lathers and Miss Benanis to return to the temple on Thursday so Miss Lathers could extract the land’s memory.

• Shade told Dorothy he could obtain Elven Pure Water through a student from Saint Byron's, then promised to seek unicorn hair for Dorothy and Leisha after Dorothy admitted she envied Luvia’s ribbon.
• Dorothy switched to Leisha, who explained how to prepare Twilight Dust from soil beneath the Black Night Spirit Temple, and Shade learned that the process had to be completed away from light.
• Leisha tried to kiss Shade, but Dorothy switched back and told him she would visit his home that night.
• Shade returned to Randall River Valley and asked Miss Lathers to extract the memory of the land beneath the Black Night Spirit Temple.
• Miss Lathers said she needed time to inspect the site and prepare the ritual, so Shade arranged to return on Thursday with her and Miss Benanis.

Shade visited Luvia at the Seer Association, shared new clues about the Chosen One, and opened a new Rhodes Cards deck that contained a Special Rule Card. He then traveled to the haunted Wosente Manor, where he encountered three skeletons in the Cedar Forest.

• Shade gave Luvia his notebook about the new clues and said he planned to contact the Guardians and visit Wosente Manor.
• Luvia bought Shade a new Phantom Opera House Series deck, and he found the Moon 12 Special Rule Card, “Phantom Opera House: Silent Audience.”
• Luvia warned Shade not to underestimate enemies or let pride guide him, and Shade left for Haila Osenfott’s family estate.
• Shade traveled through the snowy Cedar Forest toward abandoned Wosente Manor and saw three skeletons dressed in ragged clothes.

Shade encountered the demon of Randall River Valley while traveling toward the manor and fought the demon-corrupted skeletons guarding the path. The demon confronted him about accepting Haila Osenfott’s commission after agreeing to help Stone Osenfott, and Shade openly explained why he had accepted.

• Shade spoke with three skeleton hunters cursed to compete for two Black Stones that would let two of them die completely, then refused their offers and blasted them with lightning.
• The skeletons revived with demonic power, but Shade defeated them using a holy-water ice spear and his strength.
• Stone Osenfott’s demon double emerged from the woods and praised Shade’s fighting.
• Shade recognized the demon, raised the Blasphemy Cross, and said he only wanted to complete his commission for Osenfott’s payment.
• The demon challenged Shade for hiding his agreement to help Haila Osenfott, and Shade said he had accepted because she was beautiful and asked him for help.

Shade accepted Gothe’s commission to enter Wosente Manor, drive away intruders, find a treasure, and forge it into a weapon against Stone Osenfott, in exchange for a choice of rewards and information about Desire. When Gothe tried to place an Ancient Demonic Mark on him, Shade resisted the demon’s time-stopping power and turned the cross back toward it.

• Gothe offered Shade a commission to enter Wosente Manor, drive out intruders, find an item, and forge it into a weapon that could harm Stone Osenfott.
• Gothe revealed that the item had once been sought by the Wosente Family to protect themselves and could potentially kill Osenfott despite his Undying Body.
• Shade accepted the commission and asked about Desire, prompting Gothe to add information about her to the possible rewards.
• Gothe said he would find Shade after the task was done, then offered to place an Ancient Demonic Mark on him to keep him from leaving or informing the Orthodox Church.
• Gothe used the Power of Time to approach Shade, but Shade resisted the effect and aimed the Blasphemy Cross at the demon.

Shade fought the Stone Mirror Demon Goth in a time-warped, black-and-white world, using the Golden Potion, his Moonbeam Greatsword, and the Blasphemy Cross to resist its power. He destroyed a Stone Heart Demon statue and pierced the demon, while golden light began dissolving the mirror world and restoring the Snowy Yin Forest.

• Shade resisted the demon’s time manipulation and drank the Golden Potion, then struck its revealed Stone Mirror body with the Moonbeam Greatsword.
• Shade used Chaotic Time Blade to stab the demon through the mirror, but the demon turned his reflection against him and revealed his sin of Pride.
• Shade destroyed the Stone Heart Demon statue and resisted the demon’s attempt to chain him into the mirror and place its Mark on him.
• Shade thrust the Blasphemy Cross through the demon’s hand, entered the mirror, and stabbed it through the chest with the Moonbeam Greatsword.
• The cross absorbed the demon’s Soul Power as Shade’s golden light melted the mirror world and began restoring the Snowy Yin Forest.

Shade gained the Silver Blasphemy Spirit Rune of Pride after clashing with Stone Mirror Demon Goth, then reached Wosente Manor and rescued three fleeing cultists from its courtyard. He restrained the cultists to question them about the dangerous presence and artifact inside the manor.

• Shade drew on the Stone Mirror Demon Goth's power and inscribed the Silver Blasphemy Spirit Rune of Pride before Goth vanished into the woods.
• After recovering, Shade went to Wosente Manor and saw three people fleeing through its courtyard.
• Shade blocked the manor gate with Moon's Thorn and demanded the fleeing people's identities, purpose, and account of what lay inside.
• The bearded man admitted that they served the Stone Heart Demon and had been sent to find a weapon to restrain a dangerous ally; he said an artifact had fused with the manor and demonic corruption had affected souls there.
• Shade dispelled the thorns and opened the gate, but an icy force slammed it shut after the three escaped.
• Shade placed Moonlight Rings around the three men, bound their ankles with the Great Sin Chains, and checked them with the Blasphemy Cross before questioning them.

Shade learned that the Keeper of Secrets Level relic Noble House trapped people in the identities of servants, then entered Wosente Manor using a Fifth Epoch signet ring to pose as an emperor’s envoy. He secured a welcome from the manor’s ghosts and claimed he needed shelter for the night while carrying an urgent letter to Serkses Higher Medical Academy.

• Shade explained Noble House to the three Cultists and told them to warn their Cult that the manor feared a special kind of cross and could be fought with Third Epoch Demon Hunter weapons.
• The Cultists paid Shade with diluted Holy Water No. 2 and a ring warlock’s book, but the blond young man attacked him with a Bursting Talisman.
• Shade killed the blond Cultist with Moon’s Thorn, spared the other two after they collected the corpse, and questioned their resolve to carry out their plan.
• Shade entered Wosente Manor, resisted its attempt to alter his identity, and showed the ghostly maid his signet ring as proof that he was an envoy of Witch Emperor Violet.
• The maid and the Corpse Ghoul butler welcomed Shade, and he requested a night’s lodging while traveling to Serkses Higher Medical Academy with an urgent letter.

Shade entered the Wosente Family’s manor under the guise of an envoy and joined the undead family for dinner. When he asked about Haila Osenfott’s marriage, the family revealed their hatred for her husband, leaving Shade to investigate why they believed he deserved to die.

• The Old Butler and a maid escorted Shade through the decaying manor to meet its undead inhabitants.
• Shade met Old Watsont and the rest of Haila Osenfott’s family at their grotesque dinner table.
• Shade refused the family’s food and offered them wine, then claimed he was carrying an important item for Serkses Higher Medical Academy.
• Shade asked about Haila’s marriage, making the family grow gloomy as they recalled her husband.
• Old Watsont’s younger brother denounced Haila’s husband as deserving death, and the family claimed his money was stained with innocent blood.

Shade explored the Wosente manor’s guest room, briefly freed an undead visitor from demonic corruption, and learned that Old Watsont had hidden a valuable weapon in the Master Bedroom safe to use against Osenfott. Unable to enter the Master Bedroom through its guarded window, Shade flew into another room and heard someone snoring.

• Shade accepted a guest room from the old Corpse Ghoul and found a ghost in a portrait, a giant spider, and an undead corpse beneath the bed.
• Shade temporarily restored the corpse with a potion and questioned it about the manor, learning that Old Watsont kept a small valuable item in the safe in his bedroom.
• The corpse’s temporary clarity ended, so Shade forced it into Slumber with a holy-silver cross.
• Shade flew to the Master Bedroom window but could not get inside, then entered a different room through a glassless window.
• Shade returned to human form in the seemingly habitable room and heard faint snoring.

Shade subdued Haila Osenfott’s corrupted brother and mother to learn how to reach the Master Bedroom, discovering that the family’s father had killed them. He took the key and confronted Haila Osenfott’s Uncle in the mansion, where he revealed the Gluttony Spirit Rune as the ogre charged.

• Shade bound Haila Osenfott’s brother, briefly restored his human eyes, and learned that his mother held the keys and was in the kitchen.
• Shade put Haila Osenfott’s mother and three ghostly maids into Slumber, then used a candle and Confusion to learn that the Master Bedroom key was on her corpse in the water vat.
• Haila Osenfott’s mother remembered that Osenfott had killed the family, became a fallen evil spirit, and attacked Shade before he imprisoned her.
• Shade retrieved the bloodstained key from the water vat and left the kitchen as the mansion’s remaining spirits faded and its opponents grew stronger.
• Haila Osenfott’s Uncle charged Shade through the corridor, accusing him of being another assassin sent by Stone Osenfott, and Shade revealed the Gluttony Spirit Rune.

Shade subdued Old Watsont's transformed brother and learned that a small treasure meant to defeat Stone Osenfott remained hidden in the manor. In the Master Bedroom, Old Watsont revealed his memories of the massacre and asked Shade to help bring the family liberation.

• Shade used the Lord of the Blood Feast's power to crush the ogre's soul and questioned Old Watsont's brother, who confirmed that the treasure was still in the manor and that Old Watsont knew its hiding place.
• Shade trapped Old Watsont's brother in a protective circle and entered the demon-marked Master Bedroom.
• Shade met Old Watsont, who said he remembered the massacre three years earlier and had killed himself to escape being killed by the demon.
• Old Watsont recalled Stone Osenfott's role in the family's tragedy and questioned how Haila could have married him afterward.
• Old Watsont asked Shade to help end the family's torment and revealed the demon runes branded on his chest.

Shade defeated Old Watsont and recovered two finger bones of the First Angel, then used the Clay Holy Grail to end the manor’s illusion and reveal its ruined state. The relic and the bones offered a way to oppose Stone Osenfott, but Shade still needed Violet Majesty’s treasure sword and a way to overcome the remaining threats.

• Shade fought Old Watsont in the snowy courtyard, severed its limbs, and pinned it with a silver nail.
• Shade freed Old Watsont’s family, including the youngest daughter, and questioned the ghost dog about the relic and how to defeat Stone Osenfott.
• The family gave Shade a bone box containing two finger bones of the First Angel, which could counter immortality but were not enough to defeat Stone Osenfott alone.
• Shade learned the bones had come from Grave Robbers in Glass City, Mikella Blast Furnace City, and recorded the lead.
• Shade used the Clay Holy Grail to drive away the earth’s madness and restore the manor to its ruined, present-day state.

Shade left Wosente Manor after freeing the five souls trapped there and met a Sun Church Arcanist squad on the snowy road. He warned them about the manor and the Blood Spirit School, then continued toward the city.

• Shade watched the five former manor masters burn away in the sunlight, kept their family photograph, and left the estate.
• On the road through Cedar Forest, Shade encountered three Ring Arcanists from the Sun Church heading to investigate Wosente Manor.
• Shade told the squad he had driven away the relic, purified the undead and Mad Earth, and shared that the Guardians could grant Earth Power.
• The Seventh Ring Arcanist gave Shade Holy Water No. 4 and reported that the escaped cultists remained in the area, while Weeper of Blood Hermons might have returned to the Old Continent.
• Shade warned the squad to be careful at the manor, asked about the Blood Spirit School, and continued toward the city as the Arcanists headed to the estate.

Shade met with Luvia and Emilia, discussed threats connected to the Chosen Ones, and arranged to collect materials for his search for the Black Night Spirit Temple. He returned home to find Dorothy waiting, where she revealed that Priest Augustus was expected to visit that night.

• Shade told Luvia that the Demon had a plan involving the Chosen Ones and that Stone Osenfott posed a serious problem.
• Shade asked Luvia to help search the Black Night Spirit Temple on Thursday, and they discussed preparations for the Chosen One’s ritual.
• Emilia joined Shade and Luvia for dinner, shared rumors about Miss Danist and Miss Mana Falianna, and agreed to bring Shade Elven Pure Water materials on Wednesday night.
• Shade escorted Emilia out of the city, gave the Witches the Nurturing and Memory Holy Grails to identify, and left the Watsont family photograph at the Forgotten Church.
• Dorothy told Shade she had found a lost Cat with Little Mia and revealed that Priest Augustus was coming to meet him that night.

Shade told Priest Augustus about resolving the demon-corrupted manor and finding the final two finger bones of the First Angel. He asked the priest to forge a weapon that would hide the bones’ true power and discussed how to ensure a demon’s contracted victim’s soul could not remain in the Material World.

• Shade welcomed Priest Augustus to his home and described the severe corruption at the manor and how its relic had kept the Church from discovering the problem.
• Shade showed Priest Augustus the two finger bones recovered from the manor, and the priest recognized them as the final bones of the First Angel’s right hand.
• Shade explained that he planned to investigate the Grave Robbers who had sold the bones and asked Priest Augustus to make a convincing but crude weapon from their power within ten days.
• Shade asked how to dispose of the soul of the person contracted with the demon, and Priest Augustus suggested Sister Devlin or another person whose identity Shade understood.
• Priest Augustus explained that collecting every finger of the First Angel’s right hand signified a profound change, and Shade left the money he owed the priest unpaid for now.

Shade prepared with Doctor Schneider for his next confrontation with Stone Osenfott and planned to visit Miss Danist before returning to Randall River Valley. He then went to Galina Manor, where he found Princess Leisha visiting Miss Galina.

• Shade told Doctor Schneider that Stone Mirror Demon-Goth was unusually powerful and that he planned to complete Stone Osenfott's and Haila Osenfott's tasks before confronting the demon again.
• Shade revealed that absorbing the demon's power through a relic had formed his five-ring Pride Spirit Rune, and the doctor warned him to guard against losing control.
• Shade asked Doctor Schneider how to prevent Stone Osenfott's soul from escaping after his body was destroyed, and the doctor advised him to shatter it with a powerful attack.
• Shade arranged to meet Miss Danist the next morning and told Doctor Schneider to be ready to travel to Randall River Valley around the end of the following week.
• Shade arrived at Galina Manor and discovered that Princess Leisha was visiting Miss Galina.