Fatumonst Island, Snow Mountain Peak—Peak of Fate. Shade, Priest Augustus, and Doctor Schneider emerged from a cloud of black mist. Snowflakes drifted down, and with dawn still some time away, the starry sky overhead was clearly visible. Shade and the doctor supported Priest Augustus together.
The Old Priest was not seriously injured, merely exhausted. He sighed with emotion:
"Sure enough, this power cannot be used lightly. A man must admit his age. I am no longer young like you."
As he spoke, he handed the silver Ring of Death to Shade. This was not a Ring of Fate created from nothing, but the complete destiny that Death's Arc had evolved into Within Death through the power of the Deathbringer Angel and the power of the Underworld Moon.
This was also the first ring ever to have been transformed from a bent arc.
"Detective, you should keep this. I fear I will need to rest in Tobesk for a while. Cough, cough."
"Priest, you have already helped enormously tonight. Do not speak for now. Sit down and rest."
As Shade spoke, he put away the Ring of Death. He resonated with Resurrection, and though he had a high affinity with death, it was not a perfect fit. After all, no matter how one counted it, the Outlander had never truly died.
"Although you described the enemies here, that noseless thing that appeared before the Temple was still more dangerous than I had imagined."
The doctor, who had just transformed into a Crow, said the same. After Shade tossed out a small piece of gold to create a campsite, the three sat beside the campfire on the mountaintop platform. The preparations for Fate's Great Overture had already been completed, and to avoid disturbing them, the campsite had been set up slightly east