Chapter Summaries

Shade and his allies endured the vampire’s final Words of Sublimation strikes by combining their powers and opening the Little Match Girl’s Mystic Lock. Empowered beneath the silver moon, Shade drew a new sword and faced the monster’s final attack with his Moonbeam Greatsword.

• The mutated vampire struck at Shade, who dodged with Laguerre’s Leap and recovered by eating the Youthful Immortality Leaf.
• Miss Annette used the Holy Bell and a Pentagram Ritual array to delay the vampire’s second strike, while Shade treated her with False Immortality.
• Miss Bayes’s golden lightning failed to stop the third strike, so Shade used the Maze Candle to create a maze that briefly weakened the Blood-Colored Dusk.
• Shade combined the Maze Candle, the Judge Saint Bell, the Ancient Witch’s Golden Necklace, and the Little Match Girl’s power to partially unfold a Mystic Lock, with Miss Bayes adding her power through Balance.
• Under the silver moon, Shade drew a radiant sword from the air and named it the Moonbeam Greatsword as the vampire’s final strike descended.

Shade defeated the vampire with an eight-sword assault, but using Laguerre's Leap repeatedly summoned terrifying black Rifts. He ran deeper into the cavern to draw them away from Miss Bayes and Miss Annette, while an unknown presence closed in behind the Rifts.

• Shade and the vampire clashed greatswords, and the vampire regained its intelligence as the Blood-Colored Dusk faded.
• Shade told Miss Bayes and Miss Annette to find the Silver-Eyed One, then struck the vampire repeatedly with Chaotic Time Blade and Laguerre's Leap.
• Shade's eight coordinated Moonbeam Greatswords pierced the vampire, which died after warning that the Blood Spirit School would complete its final sublimation.
• The Corpse Tree began to stir, but Shade warned the others to stay back as black Rifts shattered open around him.
• Shade ran into the depths of the cavern to lead the Rifts away, while Miss Annette urged Iluna to trust him and Miss Bayes blamed the Silver-Eyed One.

Shade escaped the rifts with God's Gift Box and received a puppet containing sealed divinity. Absorbing its power granted him the Toy Maker Spirit Rune and Thaumaturgy, then advanced him to the Second Ring as Miss Annette and Miss Bayes watched.

• Shade used Laguerre's Leap to reach the statue and took God's Gift Box by following its instruction that only a child could claim it.
• Shade opened the box, and its golden light stopped the rifts from expanding and made them disappear.
• Shade removed a puppet in his own image, absorbed the sealed divinity within it, and gained the Toy Maker Spirit Rune and Toy Making Thaumaturgy.
• The divinity resonated with Shade's four First Ring Spirit Runes, and he underwent Sublimation to become a Second Ring Warlock.
• Miss Bayes asked Shade whether he had advanced to the Second Ring, and Miss Annette wondered whether her future Chosen One ritual could produce a similar spectacle.

After advancing to the Second Ring, Shade met the ghost Jina Anjila Seweier and learned that the Corpse Tree could be destroyed with her guidance. Miss Bayes began the ritual to become the Chosen One of Balance, leaving the sentence against the Silver-Eyed One unfinished.

• Shade sensed the increased power of his Second Ring and reunited with Miss Annette and Miss Bayes.
• Jina Anjila Seweier identified herself as the tree’s last guardian and offered to guide them in destroying it.
• Miss Bayes confronted the Silver-Eyed One, who recognized her as the survivor of his past attack and said she matched a prophecy.
• Shade warned that the Earl of Abrash’s wife and daughter were additional Containers, and Miss Bayes agreed to inform The Church.
• Shade lifted Miss Bayes upside down, and she offered her left eye to the Upside-down Judge, receiving the Balance rune.
• Miss Bayes began judging the Silver-Eyed One as the Chosen One of Balance, but her sentence remained incomplete.

Miss Bayes killed the Silver-Eyed One and became the first Chosen One, confirming the prophecy. Afterward, Shade, Miss Annette, and Miss Bayes vowed to face what lay ahead together.

• Miss Bayes rejected the Silver-Eyed One's plea for mercy and killed her with the Sunlight Gun.
• The Destiny Ring fused with the Golden Scales, and Miss Bayes's power transformed into a golden light that confirmed the Chosen Ones' connection to the Ancient Gods.
• Miss Bayes descended, and Miss Annette and Shade embraced her as she broke down crying.
• Miss Annette kissed Shade in a burst of happiness, then told him and Miss Bayes they should face the future together.
• Miss Bayes shared that becoming a Chosen One had revealed more about the Chosen Ones, their era, and the Old Gods, and Shade promised to stay beside them.

Shade, Miss Bayes, and Miss Annette destroyed the Corpse Tree and witnessed Lady Jina Anjila Seweier ascend as an Angel. Before leaving, they received her inheritance and arranged for the ruins and dangerous relics to be entrusted to an Orthodox Church.

• Shade set the Corpse Tree on fire while Lady Seweier helped destroy it from within, and Iluna used her power of Balance to suppress the relic.
• As the tree burned, Lady Seweier asked Iluna to preserve her cult's treasures and gave Shade her inheritance, a Myriad Aspects of Impermanence · Balance card.
• Lady Seweier said she had willingly guarded the ruins for a thousand years, then transformed into an Angel and departed after blessing the three of them.
• The Angel healed the group, but Miss Bayes's sacrificed left eye remained missing, so she put on an eyepatch.
• Shade and the two ladies prepared to leave, leaving the ruins and the Thousand-Eyed Gargoyle No. 3765 and Mirror Behind relics for the Orthodox Church to retrieve.

After defeating the Silver-Eyed One and the vampire, Shade, Iluna Bayes, and Luvia Annette collected relics and recovered hidden Cult records before escaping the ruins. They parted with their spoils divided for safekeeping, and Luvia asked Shade to accompany her in witnessing the remaining twelve Chosen Ones.

• Shade found four relics on the Silver-Eyed One and the vampire, then used his new Toy Making Thaumaturgy to turn their corpses into dolls for transport.
• Shade, Iluna Bayes, and Luvia Annette collected Cult books and records, escaped the ruins, and returned to the city with the Mercury Vial.
• Iluna thanked Shade and Luvia, kissed Shade on the cheek, and left to warn the captain about the remaining divine descent vessels.
• Luvia assigned Shade custody of God's Gift Box, Greedy Silver, and The Puppeteer's Script while she kept three unidentified relics to investigate.
• Luvia asked Shade whether he preferred her kiss or Iluna's, then invited him to accompany her in witnessing the remaining twelve Chosen Ones; Shade agreed.

After returning home with Mia and the relics, Shade discovered that a second Blood Feast was underway and a god was targeting him. As Blood Mist engulfed Tobesk, Shade used the Time Key for Common Calendar 3002 to escape into the White Fog with Mia transformed into a stuffed cat.

• Shade returned to Saint Derain Square, reunited with Mia, and put off examining his relics and new Thaumaturgies so he could use the Time Key for Common Calendar 3002.
• Mia noticed something outside as Shade held her by the window, but Shade saw only fog and remained cheerful.
• A blood-red pillar and spreading Blood Mist engulfed Tobesk, and Shade realized the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company’s milk was tied to a second Blood Feast and another divine descent.
• A god fixed its gaze on Shade and invited him to the Blood Feast, while the Blood Mist seeped into his home.
• Shade turned Mia into a stuffed cat, opened the pendant with the Time Key, and vanished into the White Fog as the Blood Mist swallowed the room.

Shade traveled to the Fifth Epoch and arrived in the Thousand Tree Forest, where Father of Infinite Tree tasked him with helping three Witches contact the Old God Radiance Doorway. The Witches recognized him as a man from the future, and he joined them by their campfire to discuss the ritual.

• Shade entered the Time Corridor and received a trial to help mortals complete a God Summoning Ritual, with historical truth and Space Stabilization Aura promised as rewards.
• Shade emerged into the Thousand Tree Forest, where the forest’s unsettling influence caused him to see eyes on the trees and suffer a headache.
• Shade found three Witches camped beneath a giant tree and worried that they would react badly to a man appearing in their forest.
• The Witches’ teacher identified Shade as a supernatural being from the future, and Shade confirmed her guess.
• The Witch on the right gave Shade a Translation Brooch, allowing them to understand one another, and the Witches invited him to sit with them.

Shade met three Fifth Epoch Witches and sought their help preparing to face an evil god. He recognized their Teacher as Mana Falianna, the legendary founder of the Academy, leaving him stunned by the revelation.

• Shade met the Moon Witch, the Giant Tree Witch, and their Thirteenth Order Teacher beside the campfire.
• Shade said he had come to help complete the ritual to contact the Radiance Doorway and asked for compensation in exchange for his assistance.
• Teacher gave Shade three books, including her own adventure collection, and offered to make a plan if he shared details about his powers and Relics.
• Shade recognized the author of the book as Mana Falianna, and Teacher confirmed her identity.

Shade met Mana Falianna beneath the giant tree and asked her how to drive the Lord of the Blood Feast’s Saint form out of the Material World. After learning Shade could absorb divinity and become a god, Falianna agreed to help him plan, while warning that doing so would exact a price.

• Shade recognized Mana Falianna as Saint Byrens Comprehensive College’s founder and asked her to save him.
• Falianna sent her two students away, swore to keep their conversation secret, and asked Shade how she could help.
• Shade explained that the Lord of the Blood Feast threatened Tobesk, and Falianna confirmed that the god had not fully descended yet.
• Falianna suggested summoning a god or using many Level 0 Relics, but Shade said he had two Myriad Aspects of Impermanence Cards and a drop of divinity.
• Shade told Falianna that he could absorb divinity and incarnate as a god, and she advised him to use that power to touch the cards and described how she would help him plan.
• Falianna warned Shade that using divinity would carry a price, and Shade resolved to act to protect the people he cared about.

A blood ritual killed thousands of Tobesk residents and began an evil god’s descent, overwhelming the Church’s forces at the Earl of Maupassant’s mansion. Iluna Bayes reached the banquet hall and used her Golden Scales to free the arcanists briefly before taking a seat at the table herself.

• The Blood Feast began as the blood mist engulfed Tobesk and thousands of citizens who had consumed Silver Parrot Milk died in their sleep.
• Iluna Bayes left her squad and entered the mansion, where Hogg Lundell and other Church fighters tried to hinder the god’s descent.
• Iluna reached the third floor and saw the evil god’s banquet begin, while Hogg succumbed to its influence and sat at the table.
• High-ranking arcanists from several Churches charged into the banquet hall, but the god’s power stopped their Words of Sublimation and took control of them.
• Iluna invoked the Golden Scales, briefly restored the arcanists’ ability to move, and sat down at the banquet table.

As the Saint’s Blood Feast overwhelmed the mansion, Shade arrived beneath the Silver Moon and began ascending into a divine incarnation. The chapter ended with Shade opening his eyes as the God Incarnate.

• Iluna, Miss Green, Modrow, and the other guests were trapped at the Blood Feast as the Saint’s presence grew stronger.
• A great witch of the Witch Council appeared outside but vanished into the Blood Mist without entering the banquet hall.
• The Silver Moon broke through the Blood Mist, briefly dispelling the feast and healing the survivors’ minds.
• Shade appeared beneath a pillar of holy-silver light and faced the Saint’s true form, which had devoured the mansion.
• Shade’s divinity ignited, and he ascended beneath the Silver Moon until he opened his eyes as the God Incarnate.

Shade confronted the Lord of the Blood Feast as the White-Robed God, using the Silver Moon and an Ancient God’s scales to suppress Him. The duel moved above Tobesk, where Shade stood with Origin · Silver Moon as the two gods prepared to fight.

• The White-Robed God dispersed the Blood Mist with the Silver Moon, broke the mansion’s bloody barrier, and sat opposite the Lord of the Blood Feast.
• Shade invoked Myriad Aspects of Impermanence · Balance and offered the Magic Eye, Greedy Silver, to suppress the Lord of the Blood Feast.
• When the Lord remained unsatisfied, Shade used Gluttony to devour a drop of His divinity and then sacrificed his left eye to tip the scales further.
• Shade proposed that the injured god leave, and the Lord of the Blood Feast agreed to settle the duel under the Ancient God Judge’s witness.
• The dining table appeared in the night sky above Tobesk, where Iluna saw the Saint gather power and Shade rise with Origin · Silver Moon in hand.

Shade defeated the Lord of the Blood Feast with divine power, then vanished after giving Iluna a gift that restored her left eye. He returned to his home gravely weakened, where Mia stayed beside him until Iluna arrived with undiluted Holy Water.

• Shade invoked the Ancient God of Balance and unleashed a massive Silver Moon slash that destroyed the Lord of the Blood Feast’s blood-red mass and ended the Blood Mist over Tobesk.
• Shade caught Iluna as they fell, tapped the eyepatch over her left eye, and crumbled into silver motes; Iluna later removed the eyepatch and saw that her eye was intact.
• Shade reappeared unconscious in his home, where golden light revived Mia from its cloth doll and the cat stayed beside him.
• Iluna slipped away from the Church, broke into Shade’s home, checked that he was breathing, and took out the undiluted Holy Water she had obtained for him.

Shade recovered after defeating the Lord of the Blood Feast and woke the next morning at home with Mia. He let Miss Annette believe that his power came from summoning a god from the past, while Miss Bayes was away being questioned by The Church.

• Miss Bayes and Miss Annette tried to revive unconscious Shade with Holy Water, and Shade woke enough to drink water, using the strengthened Gluttony on his Destiny Ring.
• Shade fell asleep after telling the women that he and the Lord of the Blood Feast were even, then woke eight hours later with his body recovered and Mia beside him.
• Shade wondered how Mia had changed back from a doll and suspected he had restored her unconsciously while he was near death.
• Miss Annette told Shade that Miss Bayes had been called away by The Church after using the Chosen One's power before the saint.
• Shade explained that he had summoned a god from the past as a container for divine descent, and Miss Annette accepted his account and kissed his cheek in thanks.
• Miss Annette and Shade left the bedroom to have breakfast, while she explained that the city was under martial law and the Silver Parrot Delivery Company had been raided.

While Tobesk remained under lockdown after the Blood Feast, Shade and Luvia reviewed the recovered relics and letters and discussed the casualties and their roles in the battle. Shade also tested his new powers, confirming that Moonbeam Greatsword was his strongest close-range attack.

• Tobesk authorities imposed a citywide lockdown and launched searches for the surviving cultists after the Blood Feast killed more than a thousand people.
• Shade and Luvia ate breakfast together, and Luvia told Shade to call her by her name.
• Shade and Luvia sorted the recovered relics, noting that Greedy Silver was gone and that Shade would keep God's Gift Box while Luvia borrowed the Myriad Aspects of Impermanence Card.
• Luvia explained that she had barely seen the final moonlight during the battle and had not witnessed the gods' fight clearly.
• Shade tested his new Thaumaturgies and confirmed that Moonbeam Greatsword was powerful, efficient, and limited to close combat.

Shade learned that Miss Feliana’s notebook had become the relic Enemy God's Notebook, which could help its holder escape an evil god, and he and Luvia uncovered the hiding place of the Falsified Philosopher’s Stone and the police chief’s ties to the Blood of Mercury. As the city remained under lockdown, Miss Tifa Servit arrived to summon Shade to Duchess Galina Cavendish’s manor.

• Shade and Luvia discussed Toy Making, the gods, and the Enemy God's Notebook, which Luvia said belonged to Saint Byron’s founder and could offer ideas for escaping an evil god.
• Luvia deciphered the letters and told Shade that the Falsified Philosopher’s Stone was hidden inside a statue at Ridgewich Field and that the police chief had ties to the Blood of Mercury and had arranged Mrs. Lawrence’s murder.
• Shade and Luvia agreed that they should inform Doctor Schneider about the relic before the Church found it.
• A carriage belonging to Duchess Galina Cavendish arrived, and Luvia deduced that Galina was a Great Witch and that Shade had borrowed the Witches' Golden Necklace from her.
• Miss Tifa Servit summoned Shade to the carriage and told him that Miss Galina was waiting for him at the manor.

Shade learned that Miss Galina had been seriously injured while confronting the evil god and traveled to her manor during martial law. He found her recovering and offered to use his healing ability, ending as Tifa brought her the water he had enchanted.

• Tifa told Shade that Miss Galina wanted to see him about the Metamorphosis Ring and her injuries from the previous night.
• Shade retrieved the Golden Necklace and copied letters, then left Tobesk with Tifa after she used Miss Galina's pass and explained that the Duchess intended to keep him overnight.
• Shade met the injured Miss Galina at her manor, where she explained that she had stayed to protect her family and her land rather than flee the city.
• Shade offered to heal Miss Galina and enchanted a cup of water after revealing that he had advanced to the Second Ring.

Shade reported the ruins’ discoveries to Miss Galina, who paid him for the vampire’s remains and related items. She revealed the Witch Council’s goals and gave Shade the Metamorphosis Ring, which he accepted while insisting he would never use it.

• Shade explained that the Ancient Witch’s Golden Necklace had glowed during his fight with the vampire, and Miss Galina said her protective Thaumaturgy had caused it.
• Shade presented Miss Galina with the Silver-Eyed One’s corpse, the vampire Madis’s remains and letters, and the Vampire’s Fang; she offered him 1,200 pounds for the items.
• Miss Galina showed Shade that the Metamorphosis Ring cracked when brought near her finger and revealed that the Witch Council sought the Chosen One and a way to break the Witch Curse without losing its power.
• Miss Galina invited Shade to try the ring, but he refused to wear it or recite its incantation.
• Miss Galina gave Shade the Metamorphosis Ring, and he accepted it while promising to sell it after six months and never use it.