The Escaping Butterfly

As he continued down the mountain, Shade realized where he was.

This was the woodland where he and Mia had hidden on the night the Orthodox Church had surrounded The Truth Society. If his guess was correct, their destination should be Lake Bena, the ice lake that had once been frozen over.

Passing through the White Fog-shrouded woodland and following the crimson silhouettes of the two girls, he really did arrive at the shallow shore by the lake once again.

The edge of the woodland was very close to the water. On the rather narrow Mudflat, hundreds of black-robed figures were prostrated on the ground. Slender wooden stakes stood along the lakeshore, each bearing Dried Corpses of varying sizes. The Dried Corpses on the stakes nearest the center each clutched one of eight relics, while the Blood Thorns Scepter in Shade's hand was the ninth.

Grace and Helen supported one another as they stood by Lake Bena, looking in the direction those black-robed figures were worshipping. It was the direction of the lake. The water, which should have been crystal clear amid the fog, turned completely blood-red in the instant Shade blinked. When he blinked again, it returned to its normal color.

Something floated at the center of the lake, its appearance impossible to make out. But when he looked more closely, it was clearly a coffin—the coffin Mr. Bernhardt had purchased at the auction.

Small bat symbols floated above the heads of all those prostrated people. Every one of them prayed softly, praying to blood and the Blood Moon.

There were still ten minutes until midnight. Though the thick fog obscured the night sky, if he looked up carefully, he could faintly see the enormous red full moon appearing and disappearing within the White Fog.

The moment he emerged