Chapter Summaries

Shade returned home to find Luvia preparing to observe the upcoming lunar eclipse, then joined Megan for dinner aboard her cruise ship. He helped Megan maintain the appearance of being romantically involved while she spoke with Mrs. Kaufman, and learned about a ball welcoming Duchess Galina Cavendish.

• Shade found Luvia setting up astronomical equipment to record the lunar eclipse scheduled for the thirtieth day of the Month of Planting, and promised to bring her dinner.
• Shade prepared for danger by taking Twin Lovers, Miss Danist's alchemy item, and the book containing an Angel Feather before returning to Green Lake with Little Mia.
• Shade checked the trash bin for the wandering boy, then traveled by carriage to Megan's cruise ship, where Mrs. Kaufman was visiting.
• Megan introduced Shade to Mrs. Kaufman as a new friend and called him her sweetheart to support the appearance of a relationship.
• Mrs. Kaufman invited Megan to a ball welcoming Duchess Galina Cavendish, and Shade said he might attend if he had time and could avoid an awkward meeting with the Kassenric Delegation.

Shade and Audrey shared dinner aboard her yacht, where Audrey gave him a sample of her blood to investigate her family bloodline. They prepared to leave the ship together for their final investigation near the entrance of Green Lake, with Shade carrying Mia in his pocket.

• Shade explained that he had mentioned contacts from Kasonlik to make Mrs. Kaufman more cautious about pressuring Audrey.
• Audrey and Shade ate dinner aboard the yacht, and Audrey nearly fell into a strange, vision-like sleep before Mia startled her awake.
• Audrey gave Shade a crystal bottle containing her blood, and Shade left Adamantine with her as collateral until he returned the analysis results.
• Audrey and Shade decided to undertake the final investigation alone, while Shade found that Mia would not let any of Audrey's maids hold her.
• Shade transformed Mia into a toy and put her in his pocket before inviting Audrey to leave the cabin with him.

Shade and Megan searched the witches' cruise ship and discovered that Rotten Eye Barry had been delivering cargo to a hidden island on the reverse side of Green Lake. Their investigation was interrupted by a huge Water Ghost assault that began sinking the ship.

• Shade and Megan drugged the cruise ship's resting sailors and searched the Captain's Room, where they found voyage logs describing a passage to an island beyond the lake.
• Megan explained that Another Island existed on the reverse side of Green Lake and might hold the secrets behind the island's doors and monsters.
• Shade and Megan planned to question Captain Watson, but Megan's warning ritual alerted them to Water Ghosts climbing onto the deck.
• Shade built a barrier with Great Snowball, Great Sin Chains, and Moon's Thorn, then attacked the Water Ghosts with Moonlight—Slash.
• Megan realized the Water Ghosts had damaged the ship and were making it sink, so Shade asked whether her Followers were ready to help them escape.

Shade and Megan escaped the sinking yacht after Shade used the Deathbringer Angel badge to destroy most of the Water Ghosts attacking them. They confronted Rotten Eye Barry and two Drowning Order figures as Barry’s relics ran out of control, leaving a dangerous fight imminent.

• Shade freed the Great Sin Chains from the snowballs, imbued them with Primordial Fire, and used them to cut down the Water Ghosts boarding the yacht.
• Shade gave the unconscious Captain an Underwater Breathing potion, then jumped into the lake with Megan as the ship sank.
• Shade activated Priest Augustus’s Witches Detection Badge, whose sacred power wiped out the Water Ghosts within a fifty-foot radius.
• Shade and Megan sensed a spreading cold and saw a frozen boat carrying Rotten Eye Barry and two black-robed figures.
• Rotten Eye Barry revealed his out-of-control relics and demanded that Shade return what he had taken.

Shade and Megan fought Rotten Eye Barry after discovering that the relics he wanted included the key, but Barry revived as a Water Ghost and drew more dangerous undead toward them. Shade plunged underwater to confront the threat while Megan and her followers prepared to deal with the two Ring Arcanists on the surface.

• Shade demanded that the black-robed figures explain how to reach the island and whether That Gentleman was Laplace Klein Howard, but Rotten Eye Barry attacked him.
• Shade was immobilized by Barry’s Magic Eye and knocked through the ice, then returned with Primordial Fire chains and Moonlight—Slash to cut Barry in half.
• Megan identified the Pale Heart as the Heart of Indifference and warned that its mental influence was more dangerous than its frost.
• Barry revived as a Water Ghost, insulted Shade and Megan, then dove underwater as more powerful corpses gathered beneath the ice.
• Shade gave Megan the key and staff, told her to defeat the two Ring Arcanists, and plunged into the water to face Barry and the undead.

Shade fought Rotten Eye Barry beneath Green Lake while the Water Ghost’s relic worsened the Indifference in Shade’s heart. As Shade’s moonlight began melting Barry, the two continued falling toward a seemingly bottomless abyss, with Shade choosing to drag his enemy deeper rather than escape.

• The Witches Detection Badge and Shade’s attacks weakened the Water Ghost horde as Barry emerged from it and attacked with Whisper-tainted ice spikes.
• Shade bound Barry with Great Sin Chains and pierced him with a Thunder Spear, while Barry stabbed Shade with an ice spike and exposed him to the relic’s Whisper influence.
• As they grappled and fell deeper into the lake, Barry raged about the twenty years he had spent building his position, and Shade challenged him over the people he had harmed.
• Barry’s suffocation attack failed against Shade’s Underwater Breathing, and both fighters struggled as ice and flames spread across their bodies.
• Shade’s cold silver moonlight began melting Barry, but Barry pointed out that they still had not reached the lakebed and might be falling into an abyss.
• Ignoring the danger and his growing Indifference, Shade grabbed Barry and continued descending, determined to send him to Final Death.

Shade defeated Barry the water ghost and fell into the deep-sea abyss, where he encountered the God of Drowning in the Deep Sea. After understanding the god’s loneliness, Shade recognized that his own bonds kept him from sharing the god’s complete indifference, and he gained a new divinity.

• Shade resisted Barry’s attempts to provoke him and tore the Pale Heart from the water ghost’s chest, destroying Barry as his corpse melted into the lake.
• As Shade continued falling, he saw a giant corpse beneath the water and realized that its face was his own reflection in the dead god’s pupil.
• The God of Drowning in the Deep Sea reached for Shade, and Shade accepted the loneliness of the fall while the god’s hands closed around him and the Brass Destiny Ring.
• Shade understood the god’s indifference but remembered the people and bonds waiting for him, transforming the cold silver moonlight into the true Moon.
• Shade asked the dead god what despair he had seen when he transcended mortality, then received a new divinity of coldness, loneliness, and despair.

Shade absorbed the God of Drowning in the Deep Sea’s divinity, gained the Indifference rune, and emerged from Green Lake in a display of immense power. He revealed a second island hidden in space, ended the night’s battle, and left with Megan and the Sorceresses as the Church arrived.

• Shade absorbed the God of Drowning in the Deep Sea’s divinity, inscribed the Indifference Spirit Rune, and received a blessing that healed his injuries while submerged in water.
• Shade invoked Silver Moon and rose from the lake on a towering column of water, summoning Twin Lovers to attack Tentacle Man and the black-robed Ring Arcanists.
• Shade formed a giant Moonbeam Greatsword and used Space Stabilization Aura to reveal a second Lake Heart Island hidden beneath the mist, then let the space close again.
• Twin Lovers killed the black-robed men and attacked Tentacle Man, but a pillar of light from the island killed the summoned creature and Tentacle Man vanished.
• Shade spotted an unfamiliar figure on the lighthouse, stopped using Divinity Overflow, and returned to Megan before leading the Sorceresses away in mist.
• The Church’s arriving forces found the shipwreck and wondered whether the evil god’s Blasphemy Elements had been helping the God Summoner or someone else.

After defeating the Invisible Man, Shade reassured Audrey Edwards that he was still himself and promised to protect her until the Green Lake Region incident ended. He returned home to Luvia, who sensed that his emotions were still recovering from a powerful influence and asked him to explain the night’s adventure.

• Shade hugged Audrey Edwards and explained that he was Six Ring and had borrowed a relic’s power to fight the Invisible Man.
• Audrey kissed Shade, thanked him, and arranged to meet again on Wednesday to discuss another landing on the island.
• Shade promised to keep protecting Audrey, called her Megan at their farewell, and left the ship with his dinner and Little Mia.
• Audrey and Megan discussed Shade’s identity as the God Summoner and planned to reveal the witches’ situation to him at the banquet welcoming the Duchess.
• Shade returned home using Illusion: Cinderella, and Luvia noticed that his emotions were still affected by a powerful force.
• Luvia kissed Shade, checked his heartbeat, and asked him to tell her everything that had happened that night.

Shade recovered from the psychological trap of Indifference by recognizing his bonds with Luvia, Mia, and others, while he and Luvia discussed the island’s secrets and the dangerous diviner Laplace Klein Howard. On Tuesday, Priest Augustus brought Shade potions and alchemy items to help him face the powerful enemies on the island.

• Shade told Luvia about his experience on the island, and they discussed the otherworldly island, the Tentacle Man, and the Edwards Family’s first Lord.
• Luvia explained that Laplace Klein Howard had robbed a Rhodes Cards founder’s grave, escaped the Seer Association, and might be the powerful diviner encountered on the island.
• Shade rested with Luvia, then told her the next morning that he cared about his new bonds despite his feelings of loneliness and Indifference.
• Priest Augustus visited Shade and delivered suitcases of potions and alchemy items intended to protect him from the Thirteenth Ring enemies.

Shade accepted Priest Augustus’s Angel’s Crown of Thorns and then entered True Death with the Priest and Mia to speak with Haila Osenfott. He began asking Haila about his emotional detachment and whether he truly loved those around him.

• Priest Augustus showed Shade the Angel’s Crown of Thorns, explaining that it temporarily granted an Angel’s identity and powers but would quickly break under intense use.
• Shade accepted the crown and discussed ordering more items from Priest Augustus, who advised him to keep his Weak Angel Potion and Golden Potion on hand.
• Shade told Priest Augustus he wanted to visit True Death to speak with Haila Osenfott about his emotional state after recent events.
• Shade used the Heart of the Living Dead to open a passage to True Death, and Priest Augustus and Mia accompanied him.
• Shade called Haila Osenfott, and she approached from the direction of the Underworld Moon.
• Shade told Haila that he had recognized his own emotional indifference and asked whether he truly loved the people around him.

Shade received Haila Osenfott’s reassurance that indifference did not erase love and gained the thaumaturgy Passionate Ice. After visiting Luvia and Dorothy to embrace them, he went to Yodel Palace to find Leisha and Miss Galina, and Angelina carried him indoors to meet Grand-Aunt Galina.

• Haila Osenfott told Shade that love endured despite indifference and gave him the thaumaturgy Passionate Ice.
• Shade returned with Priest Augustus, realized his doubts about loving those close to him were unfounded, and learned why departed souls could wield miraculous powers.
• Shade visited Luvia at the Seer Association and embraced her, reassuring her that he had returned to normal.
• Shade went to Dorothy’s apartment and embraced her before leaving Mia there to nap.
• Shade entered Yodel Palace as a cat and learned from Angelina that Leisha was away but Miss Galina was inside.
• Angelina picked up Shade and took him indoors to visit Miss Galina.

Shade brought Miss Galina three ciphers recovered in the Green Lake Region, and one revealed a conspiracy threatening the negotiations between Delarion and Kasonlik. Miss Galina explained the political forces behind the plot and summoned Military Intelligence Section Six’s director to examine the unknown cipher.

• Angelina visited Miss Galina with Shade disguised as a cat, and Shade revealed himself after Miss Galina recognized the Transformation Spell.
• Shade gave Miss Galina ciphers linked to Military Intelligence Section Six and the Gray Gloves, which showed both groups had used Rotten Eye Barry’s gang to gather information.
• Miss Galina examined the unknown cipher and asked Tifa to summon Director Anlos of Military Intelligence Section Six.
• Miss Galina told Shade that several forces were conspiring to disrupt the negotiations and possibly provoke a war between Delarion and Kasonlik.
• Miss Galina showed Shade how ambitious groups in the Old and New Continents might exploit a renewed conflict, including Delinore Restorationists seeking to regain their kingdom.

Shade reviewed Delarion’s threats with Duchess Galina and helped her process palace documents while waiting for Leisha. After briefly embracing the princess and returning home with Mia, he ran into Iluna and invited her to dinner, asking if he could hug her too.

• Galina explained the dangers posed by Kasonlik, the northern threat, and the Archipelago Kingdom, then showed Director Anlos a cipher recovered from One-Eyed Barry’s home.
• Anlos confirmed that the document used the same cipher as one found on a dead Kasonlik agent and agreed to keep the intelligence source secret.
• Shade stayed at Yodel Palace to help Galina with paperwork until Leisha returned, then hugged the confused princess and left as a silver cat.
• Shade learned that Luvia was attending a Seer Association dinner, so he picked up Mia and planned to eat alone.
• Shade met Iluna on Silver Cross Avenue, invited her to dinner, and asked if he could give her a hug.

Shade and Iluna discussed their resolve to protect what they cherished, then traveled to Sikar Mountain to investigate reports of spatial anomalies centered on the Green Lake Region. Iluna gave Shade a golden bracelet that could provide warmth and unleash a weakened earth-powered attack, while the chapter’s appended reference note updated Shade’s divinity record.

• Shade asked Iluna whether paying any price to protect what he cherished was right, and she agreed that she felt the same.
• Shade and Iluna dined at the Mary Antari Restaurant before Iluna joined him on a trip to Middlesburg, bringing Little Mia along.
• Iluna told Shade that The Church had traced a recent surge of spatial transfer incidents to the Green Lake Region, and Shade described his recent battle there with the Witches.
• Iluna warned that the spatial disturbances could loosen ancient subspace seals and eventually cause the Material World to collapse.
• Iluna gave Shade a carved gold bracelet that could provide warmth and release a weakened Earth Energy Cannon, and Little Mia’s sparks ignited its golden flame.
• The appended reference note recorded Shade’s ten points of divinity, with two remaining after his advancement and Divine Descent expenses.

Shade and Iluna used the Sorrowful Nurse Statue to examine Megan and Audrey Edwards’s bloodline, uncovering several powerful ancestries and an unknown trace that might be connected to Human Transmutation. After Shade told Helen and Grace about the Green Lake investigation, the twins offered to help, while Iluna privately asked them about If and lending their power to Shade.

• Shade brought Iluna to the Cassandra Auction House and borrowed the Sorrowful Nurse Statue to test the Edwards bloodline.
• Helen read the results: Megan and Audrey were mostly human, with elven, fairy, dragon, horse-human, Bloodkin, and unknown ancestry.
• Grace said the unknown trace could indicate either descent from a relic or an unnatural bloodline, and Shade suspected Human Transmutation might be involved.
• Shade told Helen and Grace about the Green Lake investigation and his concern that they could become Chosen Ones; the twins promised not to become Chosen Ones but said they planned to accompany Qi Na there.
• After Shade went downstairs to meet Grandma Cassandra, Iluna asked the twins about If and whether they could lend their power to Shade.

Iluna asked the Red Butterflies whether humans could achieve Two-in-One and learned she and Shade were both Purebred Humans. Luvia divined that Green Lake Central Island was the source of the spatial instability, while Shade’s planned landing on the island was postponed after the Church sent a Thirteenth Ring Warlock to investigate.

• Iluna asked Grace and Helen whether human bodies and souls could merge, and Grace gave her a red butterfly so they could stay in contact.
• Shade took Iluna to have her bloodline examined, and the results showed that she was a one hundred percent Purebred Human.
• Luvia spent a Nether Iron Coin on divination and concluded that Green Lake Central Island was the unstable center behind the spatial anomalies and Another Island.
• Shade gave Megan her bloodline report, which revealed elven, dragon, fairy, and Astrological Horse-Human ancestry, and they planned to compare four Edwards Descendant blood samples.
• Megan told Shade that the island landing was postponed because the Church’s Thirteenth Ring Warlock Minsk Toddlers had arrived to inspect the island.

Shade learned that Durut Giles had moved to Tobesk and planned to find him through Professor Tiris Manning, while he and Megan prepared to visit the Peace Church. Megan offered Shade a Ring of Emotions, and the chapter ended with Shade reflecting on poverty and wanting people to have better ways to support themselves.

• Shade read Professor Brownell's letter and learned that Durut Giles had moved to Tobesk, where Professor Tiris Manning might help locate him.
• Shade invited Megan to the Peace Church to meet Edward Edwards's grandsons and seek their blood, and Megan agreed.
• Megan offered Shade the Poet Level Relic Ring of Emotions, explaining that it could strengthen, store, and restore emotions but risked triggering extreme feelings and causing blindness in one use.
• Shade and Megan traveled to the Peace Church, where Megan arranged to anonymously donate some of the money they had taken from Rotten Eye Barry.
• Shade watched poor people queue for relief food and said he wanted fewer people to become Beggars and more to earn a living through their own abilities.

Shade discussed social change and poverty with Megan, donated a large sum to Peace Church, and met the Follen Brothers, revealing that he had fought at Green Lake. The brothers agreed to meet their Aunt Megan and provide blood samples, while Shade suspected that more surviving Edwardz might be relatives he had yet to identify.

• Shade and Megan discussed poverty, industrialization, and how civilization might rise in a spiral as the delegation arrived at Peace Church.
• Shade confessed his anger and uncertainty to a priest, then donated a large sum to support the people receiving relief grain.
• Shade found Eric Follen and Charles Follen praying, gave them an account of the Green Lake battle, and revealed that he had been the Ring Arcanist who fought there.
• Shade asked the Follen Brothers for blood samples to investigate their family's abnormal bloodline, and Eric agreed to meet their Aunt Megan first.
• The Follen Brothers met Megan at a cafe and spoke with her for more than an hour while Shade waited nearby.
• Megan told Shade that the brothers would send their blood samples, and Shade reflected that he had met five of the surviving Edwardz descendants, perhaps six or eight.

Shade tracked the cursed Grave Robbers’ stolen Burial Objects to Durut Giles in Tobesk and found the ailing Ring Arcanist with the spirit of Lust Edwardz. Giles agreed to go with Shade to Professor Manning, leaving Shade to investigate the curse and Giles’s connection to the spirit.

• Shade told Megan that he would keep investigating the Follen Brothers and agreed to reveal their identities next week; Megan asked him to call her Audrey when saying goodbye.
• Shade returned to the Green Lake Inn, soothed Little Mia, and decided to postpone choosing whether to use the Time Key until that night.
• Shade visited Professor Manning, who identified Durut Giles as a former acquaintance and said Giles had been seriously ill for months.
• Shade found Giles in a poor rented room at 12 Nottingham Alley, where Giles tried to escape and a little girl’s spirit revealed herself as Lust Edwardz.
• Shade explained how he had traced the stolen Burial Objects to Giles, showed him Professor Manning’s letter, and persuaded him to come along.
• Shade recognized Giles’s curse as the same soul-wearing affliction that had struck a Grave Robber in Green Lake City, then asked about Giles’s relationship with Lust Edwardz.