Chapter Summaries

After gaining new moonlight powers during his dream, Shade revealed Moon Fire to Miss Danist and Flora Winslet, who recognized it as a legendary power of the ancient Moon God. He then visited Sister Devlin in Vesta Woodland to discuss the city's dragon attack and her plans to leave.

• Shade explained that his Moonlight Wheel had gained three additional halos after his dream of the Original Moon splitting in three.
• Shade revealed Moon Fire, and Miss Danist identified it as the legendary Secret Fire once bestowed by the ancient Moon God.
• Flora Winslet questioned Shade's extraordinary powers, while Miss Danist defended her student's abilities and urged her to keep observing him.
• Shade returned home briefly, then went to the elf's Tree House in Vesta Woodland and found Sister Devlin staying there with the Nuns.
• Sister Devlin explained that the dragon beast's unusual strength came from a Time Curse, and the elf warned that those who toyed with time would face its consequences.
• Shade reminded Sister Devlin not to tell The Church too much about the incident and asked about her plans to leave.

Shade learned that the silver Moon Fire he gained in a dream was Secret Fire, a divine power, and let Primordial Fire absorb it to strengthen his abilities. After spending the night at home, he awoke on Monday to find Galina, Luvia, and Siris arriving early in the rain.

• Shade showed Sister Devlin his Moon Fire, and she identified it as Secret Fire, a power once bestowed by the Moon God that could heal injuries and souls.
• Sister Devlin touched the Secret Fire, which healed her burned hand but rapidly consumed Shade's spirit, and explained that the power was still only a basic spell.
• Shade and Sister Devlin clasped hands as Primordial Fire absorbed the Secret Fire, strengthening Shade's fire spells, self-healing, and resistances.
• Emilia explained that Shade could weaken abnormal time effects by enchanting his staff with the Stability Principle and driving it into the ground.
• Shade returned home, spent the night with Dorothy and Vanessa, and woke on Monday to find Galina, Luvia, and Siris already at the house.

Shade learned that God's Gift Box could contain the Distorted Tree Hole and entered the Time Corridor to return to Black Sand Dock. There, he found Mr. Nelson and Ms. Brooke waiting beside a new young witch, and brought Little Mia and the sin of cowardice with him.

• Shade showed the women Moon Fire and told them about the previous day's events and his new spell.
• Shade learned from the Elf Girl that God's Gift Box could safely contain the Distorted Tree Hole, then borrowed Sister Devlin's eye patch.
• Shade entered the Time Corridor, where the Ancient God of Time gave him a trial to wait with mortals for someone about to depart.
• Shade arrived at Black Sand Dock with Little Mia and found Mr. Nelson and Ms. Brooke beside an unfamiliar young witch.
• Shade told the group he had brought back the sin of cowardice and asked the young witch who she was.

Shade met Peggy McConaughey, who had come to the shore after accidentally breaking the key to her Teacher’s sealed sleeping place, and learned that an unknown force had conceptually destroyed it. He and Ms. Brooke paid the Boatman’s fare and sailed into the Dark Waters, entering thick White Fog as their journey toward death continued.

• Ms. Brooke introduced Peggy McConaughey, who explained that she had shattered the key to her Teacher’s Hidden Space and feared her Teacher was lost.
• Shade used Breath of Time to reconstruct the key, but it immediately shattered again, revealing that its destruction had been conceptual.
• Ms. Brooke suggested traveling to the past to learn what Peggy had encountered, and Shade and Ms. Brooke prepared the Boatman’s fare using their cards.
• Shade and Ms. Brooke bid farewell to Peggy and Mr. Nelson, then boarded the Boatman’s small boat with Little Mia.
• As the boat crossed the Dark Waters, Shade summoned First Fire to comfort the frightened Ms. Brooke, and they eventually entered dense White Fog.

Shade and Ms. Brooke summoned her deceased elder sister, Jessica Bullock, beneath the Underworld Moon and reunited the sisters. Jessica shared some of her power with Shade and asked him to touch her darkness.

• Shade and Ms. Brooke reached the Underworld Moon and called for Jessica Bullock with the Mithril Blindfold.
• Jessica appeared among the souls, and Ms. Brooke confronted her for concealing the truth about her fate and their inability to meet after death.
• Jessica explained that she had deceived Anya Bullock to spare her worry, and the sisters embraced after Jessica told her not to live for her sake.
• Anya vowed to become the Great Witch of Death so she could meet Jessica again after death.
• Jessica asked Shade about the First Fire of the Sixth Epoch and shared part of her soul's power with him.
• Jessica asked Shade to touch her darkness, identifying herself as a Fire-Holding Sister.

Shade gained the Direction Spirit Rune and marked Little Mia with Eternal Fire Mark while returning from the Underworld Moon with Ms. Brooke. After receiving a soul-warming potion formula and learning to row the boat, Shade reached the dock and asked the Boatman about traveling to the moment Peggy McConaughey broke the key.

• Sister Bullock bestowed the Direction Spirit Rune on Shade before departing toward the Underworld Moon.
• Shade used Eternal Fire Mark to mark Little Mia with Moon Fire so he could sense her direction.
• Ms. Brooke gave Shade the formula for a potion called warmth and warned him against letting the Great Witch of Death use it too often.
• The Boatman let Shade row, and Shade guided the boat through the fog back to Black Sand Dock.
• Shade saw Neilson and Peggy McConaughey by the bonfire and asked the Boatman for round-trip passage to the moment Peggy broke the key.

Shade and the two Witches revisited Miss McConaughey’s past and learned that a Nightsong Elf settlement had saved her after an attack by a monster wielding ancient death magic. Back at Black Sand Dock, Shade learned that no tickets would be needed to take the others to the Reality World, and planned to investigate the Elves and the Deathbringer Angel before the key’s final use.

• Shade and Ms. Brooke persuaded Miss McConaughey to return to the past, and the three took a boat from Black Sand Dock.
• They witnessed Miss McConaughey flee a black mist, get struck by a death ray, and fall into the river despite a crystal shield protecting her.
• Miss McConaughey told Shade and Ms. Brooke that Nightsong Elves had rescued her and that she had recovered in their settlement.
• Shade and Ms. Brooke recognized the attack as resembling the primal death power of Camael, the First Angel, the Deathbringer Angel.
• The Boatman told Shade that no tickets would be needed to take the stranded people back to the Reality World.
• Shade planned to seek the Nightsong Elves and investigate the Angel, with the Philosopher’s Stone as a possible way to restore the key.

Shade escaped the haunted waters, returned to the Elf Miss's Tree House, and learned that the Fifth Epoch Sister had given him a Spirit Rune and a thaumaturgy. After leaving Vesta Woodland, he visited Miss Danist and found her first oil painting depicting the events above the Golden Music Hall.

• Shade saw countless corpses floating across the water before escaping the strange spacetime in white fog.
• Shade told Sister Devlin that a Fifth Epoch Fire-Holding Sister had given him a Spirit Rune and a thaumaturgy, and Sister Devlin sensed the gift and explained the duties of past generations of nuns.
• Sister Devlin sensed the lingering warmth of an ancient flame and told Shade that there seemed to be fire in Vesta Woodland.
• Shade and the Elf Girl escorted the three nuns out of the woodland, where Miss Sylvia greeted them through a Teleportation Gate and hugged Shade.
• The Elf Girl explained where Nightsong Elf communities lived, and Shade later found an oil painting in Miss Danist's room depicting a young man holding up the Moon above the Golden Music Hall.

Shade visited Flora Winslet and Daniste, received news about the churches’ confrontation over the Nature Church, and revealed that he had gained a new Spirit Rune. The group prepared to meet the Hermit Order, while Flora considered using Shade’s gift to treat her hidden ailment.

• Flora Winslet showed Shade her first oil painting and received a Fifth Epoch potion formula from him, which Shade said was intended to treat her hidden ailment.
• Daniste and Flora told Shade that four churches had surrounded the Nature Church overnight, and that Gerald Delong had arrived from Wilundell as the churches tried to contain the situation.
• Shade recognized Gerald Delong as the Thirteenth Ring Warlock he had encountered during the Coldwater Port incident.
• Daniste noticed Shade’s new Spirit Rune, and Shade explained that the Fire-Bearing Sister had given him Enlightenment-Direction.
• Flora offered to teach Shade Transformation Spell before they went to meet the Hermit Order.

Shade and Miss Danist visited the Hermits to learn about time travel and the curse caused by Tree Hollow travel. The Hermits explained ways to delay the curse, but Miss Danist admitted she would use the Tree Hollow again if it let her meet her elder in the past.

• Miss Danist told Shade that the Nightsong Elves had lived in Vesta Woodland during the Fifth Epoch.
• Shade and Miss Danist traveled through the rain to Mi Ge Village, where they met Bell Van Buren and gave him Old John's letter.
• Bell Van Buren returned with Mr. Meloni, the Hermit Order's Keeper of Secrets, to discuss Shade's questions about Tree Hollows.
• Mr. Meloni said the time-travel curse could not be broken, though an ancient elven potion and some relics could delay or suppress it.
• Miss Danist told the Hermits that she would use the Tree Hollow again if she could meet her elder in the past.

Shade and Miss Danist met with the Forest Hermits to discuss the Time Curse and the Chosen One of Time. The Hermits brought them to their hidden camp, where Steve Davis gave Miss Danist a Time Stability Anchor and offered Shade their help without joining the wider conflict.

• Shade told Mr. Meloni and Mr. Van Buren that he had informed the city's Churches about the Tree Hollows and explained why the Chosen One of Time would appear in Vesta Woodland.
• Mr. Meloni sent a message and invited Shade and Miss Danist to visit the Hermits' forest station.
• Mr. Meloni led Shade and Miss Danist through a hidden Tree Hollow to the Hermit Order's camp around an ancient Temple.
• Steve Davis introduced himself as the Hermit Order's Great Elder and gave Miss Danist a wooden Time Stability Anchor to suppress her curse.
• Steve Davis said the Hermits trusted Shade and would provide assistance, but would not take the initiative to enter the affairs of the Chosen Ones.

Shade and Miss Danist learned how the Hermit Order managed the Time Curse, Paradox Worms, and Tree Hollows in Vesta Woodland. The Hermits revealed that the forest was accumulating sealed worms and that ancient elves and Time Guardians also helped protect time.

• Mr. Davis told Shade that the Time Curse could be completely removed if Miss Danist repented in My Lord's Temple for twenty years, but she refused to stay there.
• Mr. Davis explained that Vesta Woodland trapped Paradox Worms beneath its forest, where their growing numbers destabilized time and threatened to destroy the region.
• Mr. Davis told Shade that Tree Hollows gradually stabilized and vanished, and that ancient temples could contain them as long as their missions were complete.
• Mr. Meloni said the Hermit Order, believers in Old Gods, ancient elf clans, and mysterious Time Guardians all helped protect time in the Material World.
• Mr. Davis revealed that the Hermits had made Oak's Lucky Potion and likely supplied Father Francois with the Beacon Acorn, which detected people with different Timestamps.

Shade shopped from the Hermits of the Forest, buying time-related items and choosing new knowledge while Miss Danist selected a curse. The chapter left him with a map of Vesta Woodland and a warning that its mysteries made it unreliable for safe travel.

• Mr. Davis explained timestamps and warned Shade not to use Beacon Acorns after time travel.
• Shade exchanged Noble Crimson for a Time Stability Anchor, bought a small bottle of Oak's Lucky Potion for Miss Danist, and purchased thirty Beacon Acorns.
• Shade reviewed Relics, Thaumaturgies, and curses, then chose Miracle Technique - Forest Trail, while Miss Danist chose Blind with a Leaf.
• Shade bought a map of Vesta Woodland and Mr. Meloni warned him that the forest concealed most of its secrets and the map could not guarantee safe passage.

Shade and Miss Danist bought supplies from the Hermits of the Forest, agreed to work with them against the Tree Hole Association, and learned and tested the Miracle Technique - Forest Trail. Back in Vesta City, they reunited with Flora Winslet, who asked Shade to help finish a magic potion.

• Shade visited the Hermits’ underground warehouse and bought a woodland map, four old artifacts, and other supplies, including Miracle Technique - Forest Trail.
• Shade and Miss Danist agreed with the Hermits to investigate the dragon beast and oppose the Tree Hole Association.
• After leaving the woodland, Shade learned Miracle Technique - Forest Trail with Miss Danist and used it to shorten their journey back to the city.
• Shade explained the possible significance of the elven vase, Demon legends notebook, prayer scroll, and silver jewelry box he had bought.
• At the inn, Flora Winslet asked Shade to provide heat for a semi-finished magic potion.

Shade helped Flora Winslet test a warmth Potion and discovered a Poem Chapter Fragment hidden in an antique jewelry box, pointing to Vesta Woodland’s Paradox Worms. He returned to Tobesk during a violent storm, where Luvia stayed the night and agreed to move in with him for the autumn.

• Shade added his fire to Flora Winslet’s warmth Potion, and Flora, Charlotte Bell, Miss Danist, and Shade sampled it.
• Shade opened an antique jewelry box and, with Flora’s spell, revealed a hidden message describing a secret in the woods and a stone stairway to supreme honor.
• Shade identified the message as a Poem Chapter Fragment and said Vesta Woodland’s greatest secret was its sealed Paradox Worms.
• Miss Danist gave Flora the Time Stability Anchor Shade had paid for, and Flora asked whether Shade was the Time Chosen One; Miss Danist said she trusted his denial.
• Shade returned to Tobesk through a storm, abandoned his plan to visit Priest Augustus, and welcomed Luvia, who came to stay the night.
• Luvia agreed to move in with Shade for the autumn after he asked whether she wanted to live with him.

Shade and Luvia discussed the Chosen Ones and Luvia’s vision of Little Mia swallowing the Moon, then agreed to place Shade’s Eternal Fire Mark on Luvia. The next morning, heavy rain flooded the area around Shade’s home and delayed deliveries.

• Shade and Luvia considered Emilia’s likely rank among the Chosen Ones and whether Luvia might be another candidate.
• Luvia told Shade she had seen Little Mia swallow the Moon and breathe silver fire in a vision.
• Luvia persuaded Shade to place an Eternal Fire Mark on her so he could track her location.
• Shade marked Luvia with silver Moon Fire after they agreed on a private location for the seal.
• Shade found standing water outside his home the next morning as heavy rain delayed the postman and milk deliveryman.

Shade spent the rainy day visiting the church and the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe, where he learned that police had sealed off a hall at the Maria Empress Opera House. He found Iluna arriving in uniform as a Church investigation team handled the incident.

• Shade asked Priest Augustus about Angel Bones in Vesta Woodland and learned that he would need to identify their power before finding a relic capable of repairing conceptual damage.
• Shade discussed winter famine preparations with Bishop Owen at the Dawn Church and stayed for lunch.
• Shade visited Siris and Vanessa at the Maria Empress Opera House, gave Siris a parchment from Vesta Woodland, and watched the troupe rehearse.
• Qin Lan Xie Er told Vanessa that police had sealed off a small performance hall on the Opera House's second floor.
• Shade questioned an officer about the incident, realized a Church team was investigating, and encountered Iluna in the corridor.

Shade learned that the Damaged Antarctic Constellation Clock had drawn people into the Maria Empress Opera House and caused them to vanish, while Iluna’s team prepared its containment. The clock’s power erupted during the evening, and Iluna struggled toward a man merging with it as he used its temporal force against her.

• Iluna told Shade that the clock stopped time for anyone who perceived it, then made their bodies vanish into the Gap of Time when its minute hand stopped.
• Shade offered to help, but Iluna explained that her team was preparing a ritual while an uninformed Ring Arcanist would handle containment; she accepted his invitation to dinner.
• Shade spent the afternoon with Vanessa, Siris, and the others before Vanessa sensed the Whisper Element rioting and Shade went to investigate.
• In the sealed performance hall, Iluna found the clock with all three hands stopped and a man merging into its casing; she advanced toward him with the Dark Gold Scales protecting her.
• The man shouted “Stop!” and “Go back!” at Iluna, slowing her movement as she continued struggling toward the stage.

Shade and Iluna contained the temporal anomaly in the performance hall and defeated the man fused with the grandfather clock, though the relic began to repair itself. A vision revealed how the man had merged with it, leaving Shade and Iluna uncertain whether the relic’s properties had changed.

• Shade used the Yggdrasil Staff’s Ancient Elven Stability Principle to confine the relic’s temporal effects to the stage, and Iluna showed him the red velvet needed to contain it.
• Shade retrieved the velvet, but the clock-fused man attacked them with a Time Jump, forcing Shade to evade while Iluna fired the Sunlight Gun.
• Shade pierced the hidden heart inside the grandfather clock with the Yggdrasil Staff, killing the man, whose final attack grazed Shade’s cheek.
• The relic began absorbing the man’s corpse and repairing itself, while gray mist showed Shade how the man had merged with the clock after striking it.
• Iluna said the relic’s old containment file did not record that property, and she and Shade considered whether the Time Calamity had changed it.

Shade and Iluna investigated the clock incident at the Maria Empress Opera House and learned that both a theater handyman and an aspiring actress had contributed to the deaths. The Church suspected the actress’s Mermaid-shaped stone and perfume were connected to the dangerous Mermaid entity Shade knew, which he believed was now in Moon Bay.

• Iluna told Shade the clock was a Sage Level relic, and Shade left her to handle the aftermath at the opera house.
• Shade returned for dinner and watched the evening performance with Vanessa and Siris while the opera troupe continued its scheduled show.
• Iluna reported that a handyman had triggered the clock after finding old instructions that said certain branches could protect someone from its Time Stop effect.
• Iluna revealed that the actress had used a ritual to obtain magical perfume, and investigators found a Mermaid-shaped stone and a Mermaid symbol on the perfume bottle.
• Iluna said similar incidents across the Old Continent might be linked to an Unknown Level Relic the Church had tracked since the Coldwater Port incident.
• Shade identified the Mermaid as the likely culprit, said she was probably in Moon Bay, and explained that she had promised not to harm Miss Belinder or those around her.