Chapter Summaries

After returning from the Time Key in 3014 of the Fifth Epoch, Shade used two Youthful Immortality Leaves to learn the Silent Moonbeam Thaumaturgy and extensive information about elves. He reflected on the ribbon souvenir from Grace and Helen and hoped their fate and the danger they were meant to seal could be resolved.

• Shade returned to the present with two leaves and the black-and-white ribbon, while his cat greeted him from the bed.
• Shade used one leaf to learn Silent Moonbeam, a Thaumaturgy that muted sounds, weakened non-moonlight, and improved recovery for selected Ring Arcanists.
• Shade used the second leaf and received extensive knowledge about elves, their customs, and their communities with the Three Great Arcane Academies.
• Shade recognized the ribbon from Grace and Helen as another souvenir from a Time Key mission and recalled the God's Gift Box from Hope Town.
• Shade hoped Grace and Helen would escape their fate and that the danger they were meant to seal would be resolved.

Shade helped Dorothy prepare for her advancement ritual from the Fourth Ring to the Fifth Ring, using moonlight, starlight, and The Little Match Girl to support her. The ritual began smoothly, and Dorothy entered Matchstick’s Dream Illusion, but its outcome remained unknown.

• Shade bought a Moonstone ring from Old John and received more than twenty sets of clothes sent by Leisha.
• Dorothy grew anxious about her ritual, so Shade took her for a walk beneath the stars to help her relax.
• Dorothy prepared the attic with ritual objects and dressed as the Match Girl, while Shade set up moonlight and a Mystic Lock.
• Dorothy’s handwritten copy of The Little Match Girl burned, and the ritual matrix and all 365 Matches lit up.
• Dorothy ignited a match that revealed a snowy street in the mirror, then entered Matchstick’s Dream Illusion and began the next stage of the ritual.

Dorothy’s middle-ring sublimation ritual was interrupted by a Mirror Ghost, and Leisha unexpectedly appeared inside the mirror, linking her soul to Dorothy’s. Shade entered the mirror to rescue Leisha and joined the two women’s hands as they continued the ritual, leaving them in the midst of their declarations.

• Dorothy began the ritual to advance from a low ring to a middle ring, but her hand became stuck to the mirror when a Mirror Ghost interfered.
• Shade struck the Mirror Ghost through the mirror, and Dorothy warned him that the spirit was immune to physical attacks and resistant to curses.
• Dorothy’s Another Princess rune lit up, and Leisha appeared inside the mirror in an identical Match Girl outfit; the two women suffered agony from their close contact.
• Shade entered the mirror with his vanity mirror, healed Leisha with Cindyia’s Silver Moon Gift, and asked her to summon her Destiny Ring.
• Shade guided Leisha and Dorothy to touch their respective mirror surfaces and led them through the ritual’s declaration, which they began while enduring intense pain.

Shade helped Dorothy and Leisha complete the ritual that advanced Dorothy to the Fifth Ring, then rescued Dorothy and captured the Mirror Ghost. Dorothy recovered at Shade’s home, where she reflected on her new status as a Mid-Ring Arcanist.

• Shade used the four matches and the Ritual Matrix to complete the ritual, and Dorothy became a Fifth-Ring Arcanist as Leisha vanished into the mirror.
• Shade found the Mirror Ghost attacking Mia, and Mia struck it with her tail, causing its spirit body to collapse.
• Shade pulled the Mirror Ghost out of the mirror and sealed its remaining soul in a wine bottle before pouring the soul brew into the Land of Death.
• Shade secured the unstable Corpse-Hiding Mirror in God's Gift Box and settled Dorothy in his bed to recover.
• Dorothy thanked Shade, kissed his cheek, and reflected that she had finally become a Mid-Ring Arcanist.

After Dorothy advanced to the Fifth Ring, Shade learned that an earthquake in the Sikar Mountain Area might signal a change in the Life and Death Limbo. Luvia sent him to locate a Murmuring Chapters fragment in a dead collector’s home, where Shade encountered Tifa before he could begin his search.

• Dorothy returned home after advancing to the Fifth Ring, and Shade read about the previous evening’s earthquake in the Sikar Mountain Area.
• Shade visited Luvia, who suspected trouble in the Life and Death Limbo and told him not to go to Middhir Fort City.
• Luvia asked Shade to infiltrate Simir Passolo’s home and record the inscription on the base of a stone figurine containing a Murmuring Chapters fragment.
• Shade set out for Simir Passolo’s address and recognized that it was on the same street as Miss Black’s home.
• Tifa opened the window of a carriage that stopped beside Shade and greeted him.

Shade accompanied Tifa to collect antiques from the late Simir Passolo’s home, where the inheritance dispute delayed the sale. The stone figurine they sought had been buried with Simir, and Shade left with the antiques while asking maid Lina about Miss Black.

• Shade met Tifa, who explained that Duchess Galina had sent her to purchase antiques, and joined her trip to Simir Passolo’s home.
• Shade presented Galina’s contract to Simir’s children, Bick and Jenny, and learned they disputed their father’s will, which left most of his property to Lina, his longtime maid.
• Shade urged the Passolos to honor the will and offered Galina’s help with legal support, after which the heirs agreed to complete the antique sale.
• Shade and the others found that the stone figurine was missing because Simir had chosen it as one of six objects to be buried with him.
• Shade completed the handover of the remaining antiques, then asked Lina privately about Miss Black, whom Lina said she knew well.

While investigating the missing Helen Black, Shade learned that she and Grace White were not twin sisters and realized they might be the same women he had encountered in the past. He and Tifa continued investigating the estate and planned to question the recently deceased Simir Passolo through Spirit Communication.

• Shade learned from the maid that Miss Black had visited only for summers and that Grace White, about ten years older, had died in 1842.
• Shade discovered that the missing woman was named Helen Black and that the deceased Miss White had been named Grace White, prompting him to suspect a connection to the women from his past.
• Shade accepted that the fourth Time Key linked the past to the present and welcomed the chance to learn the women’s story.
• Shade and Tifa set out to question the old man who had delivered Miss Black’s letter, while Shade noted that Lina had lied about the will.
• Shade planned to use Spirit Communication to ask Simir Passolo about the inheritance and the stone idol in the Graveyard.

Shade investigated the mysterious Blake sisters, found Simir Passolo’s lingering soul in his tomb, and recovered the stone figurine bearing a Murmuring Chapters fragment. Passolo’s memories confirmed Helen Blake’s connection to the Black Skirt Girl, while the fragment warned that the burden of death would fall on the one who possessed the Eye of Death.

• Shade learned from Helen Blake’s neighbor that Simir Passolo had known the most about her and Grace White, then received a letter at Grace’s address saying she had gone to Middlesburg and would pay his fee next month.
• Shade continued investigating despite the letter and went with Tifa and two Sorceresses to Passolo’s tomb to retrieve the stone figurine.
• Shade spoke with Passolo’s soul, learned that he had left no will and that his maid had tried to take advantage of his death, and arranged for Tifa to record his wishes before taking the figurine.
• Passolo told Shade that Grace White had died at twenty-two and hinted that he knew the secret of her elders, but refused to reveal more before Shade guided his soul to death.
• Shade saw a memory of Helen Blake wearing half of a Red Butterfly Pendant and recognized that she looked almost exactly like the Black Skirt Girl he had met in a previous era.
• Shade read the figurine’s fragment, which said that the burden of death would fall on the person who possessed the Eye of Death.

Shade, Iluna, and Luvia discussed clues about the third Chosen One and learned that the earthquake near Sikar Mountain had triggered a coming Death Outbreak. Iluna was preparing to travel to Middlesburg for a Divine Ritual, while Shade planned to investigate several suspects and warned that old acquaintances from the past might also be involved.

• Shade listed Sister Devlin, a boy who could foresee deaths, and Priest Augustus as possible matches for the Eye of Death clue.
• Iluna reported obtaining the Dragon Blood Treasure Coin and applying for the Diviner's Silver Coin, bringing their total to four coins.
• Iluna explained that the earthquake had been caused by the Unknown Level Relic Life and Death Limbo, and that stronger undead and more Relics would soon appear around Sikar Mountain.
• Iluna said The Church would send her to Middlesburg by airship to help with a Divine Ritual and the coming Death Outbreak.
• Shade planned to visit the boy who could see death and contact Priest Augustus, while Luvia offered to use coins to divine whether he met a Chosen One.
• Shade warned that old friends he had met in the past might be part of Middlesburg's troubles, prompting Luvia to ask if another witch would forcibly kiss him.

Shade received a one-use Universal Key from the Gift Box, then bathed Mia and traveled to Middlesbrough to inventory Leisha’s warehouse. He discovered that the crates held restricted weapons and was heading back to report when he collided with a stranger.

• Shade received a Poet Level Universal Key and let Luvia keep it, while Iluna explained its effects and risks.
• Shade completed the weekly task by bathing Mia, then handled his monthly expenses and collected his Military Intelligence Section Six salary.
• Shade went to Warehouse Number 19 on Punjab Avenue to count the goods Leisha had asked him to inspect.
• Shade found disassembled steam-and-gunpowder-powered machine guns hidden in crates and recorded the inventory.
• Shade left the warehouse and bumped shoulders with a stranger as he headed back to report to Leisha.

Shade followed Professor Rul Higgins after seeing him collect a black suitcase from Warehouse Number 18 and discovered that Higgins was speaking with a Bloodkin at the Sikar Inn. Their conversation turned into an argument over payment, leaving Shade poised to learn more about the Gray Gloves and the suitcase.

• Shade recognized Professor Rul Higgins as one of the Gray Gloves after watching him leave Warehouse Number 18 with a black suitcase.
• Shade followed Higgins back to the Sikar Inn, where he saw him talking with an unfamiliar man.
• Shade identified the stranger as a Bloodkin using the new effect of Blood Echo and suspected the Bloodkin had helped Higgins obtain information from a corpse's spirit.
• The Bloodkin demanded the 200 pounds Higgins had promised and threatened not to let him leave.

Shade followed Professor Higgins and a Bloodkin after spotting them at the Sikar Inn, but found Higgins murdered in an alley. He killed the Bloodkin, settled the matter with Armand Bernhardt, and left with Higgins’s suitcase and body.

• Shade watched Professor Higgins leave the Sikar Inn with a shabby Bloodkin, then saw Armand Bernhardt follow them.
• Shade took a detour and found Higgins dead in Garbage Alley, where the Bloodkin was fleeing with Higgins’s suitcase, wallet, and pistol.
• Shade cut the fleeing Bloodkin in half with a silver arc, but the man re-formed as bats before becoming human again.
• Shade questioned the Bloodkin and learned that Higgins had hired him for Spirit Communication and that gambling debts had driven him to murder.
• Armand Bernhardt killed the Bloodkin, whom he identified as Kaost, and disposed of the body.
• Shade paid the 200-pound balance for the Spirit Communication, covered Higgins’s body with a bedsheet, and accepted Bernhardt’s business card before they left by opposite ends of the alley.

Shade used Soul Echo and Guiding Death to learn that Gray Gloves agents had fought over a suitcase intended for members of the Kassenric royal family. Professor Higgins’s fading soul transformed into a powerful evil spirit under the influence of Life and Death Limbo, and Shade’s counterattack sent it flying into the woods.

• Shade summoned fragments of Professor Higgins’s spirit and used Guiding Death to uncover that Gray Gloves agents had been sent to retrieve the suitcase for delivery to their headquarters in Weilun Dai'er City.
• Shade learned that the agents had turned on each other because one wanted to deliver the suitcase to his superiors, another to Prince Samuel Anjou, and Higgins to Princess Margaret Anjou.
• As Higgins’s soul began to fade, it unexpectedly regained substance and transformed into an evil spirit under the influence of Life and Death Limbo.
• Shade discovered that the evil spirit had a powerful, rapidly repairing shield and attacked it with his Moonbeam Greatsword and Mind Crystal Ring.
• Shade combined Soul Echo, Mind Blast, and Guiding Death in a punch that knocked the evil spirit into the woods.

Shade defeated Professor Higgins's evil spirit and learned that the Gray Gloves still expected a case to be handed over in Middlesburg. He brought the suitcase to Leisha and Angelina in Tobesk, but they had not yet opened it.

• Shade killed Professor Higgins's evil spirit, then revealed he was the Gray-headed Eagle and gave the professor the new handover details before sending his soul to the Land of Death.
• Shade buried Professor Higgins on Sikar Mountain and returned home to Mia the Cat, then went looking for Dorothy and Leisha.
• Leisha arranged to meet Shade by the Terrarell River, where he boarded the princesses' carriage with the suitcase and Mia.
• Shade asked Leisha whether the kingdom had lost or leaked a valuable document, explaining that he had found the suitcase in Middlesburg and that it belonged to the Gray Gloves.
• Leisha said she knew of no recent loss or leak, and the chapter ended with the suitcase still unopened as they watched the lights along the river.

Shade discovered that the suitcase taken from Gray Gloves contained Delarion’s prototype plans for a mechanical computing machine, which he recognized as the beginning of a new industrial era. Leisha arranged to copy and alter the documents before returning the originals to Gray Gloves, while Angelina asked Shade to help protect her from an unwanted political marriage.

• Shade opened the suitcase and found plans and research materials for a mechanical calculator, including a document describing its data storage section.
• Shade identified the design as a prototype Difference Engine and explained how advanced mechanical computers could transform industry.
• Leisha decided to copy the documents, investigate their source, alter key pages, and return the originals to Gray Gloves.
• Leisha said she would report recovering the documents to her father, and she kissed Shade.
• Angelina asked whether Leisha’s achievement could protect her from an unwanted marriage, and Shade promised to help her.
• Shade arranged to pass the suitcase on the following morning and reflected on the civilization developing in the steam-powered world.

Shade visited Grandma Cassandra to obtain a temporary disguise and a new Time Key, then went to Middhir Fort Train Station to deliver a suitcase. He waited among the crowds for the unknown recipient to appear around nine-thirty.

• Shade asked Grandma Cassandra for a way to completely alter his appearance for two hours.
• Grandma Cassandra gave Shade a Time Key from the Year 3024 of the Fifth Epoch and lent him the Identity Card of Unknown Name, warning him about its dangerous negative trait.
• In exchange, Grandma Cassandra invited Shade to observe her Teacher's ritual in the mountains of Sikar Mountain before the end of the month.
• Shade used the Identity Card to appear as a middle-aged man, bought Red Roses, put on his gray gloves inside out, and clipped a golden fountain pen to his pocket.
• Shade carried the suitcase to Middhir Fort Train Station and waited for the unknown recipient amid the crowds near nine-thirty.

Shade delivered a suitcase intended for Gray Gloves to a mysterious Witch’s follower aboard a special train and claimed to be the Gray-headed Eagle. He convinced her with a detail about the real agent, but a maid’s urgent message interrupted their conversation.

• Shade met the man sent to collect the suitcase and followed him into the train’s private carriage.
• The woman behind a screen questioned Shade about his identity and his connection to the Gray Gloves.
• Shade claimed to be the Gray-headed Eagle and said he had received intelligence from Virgil Cameron.
• When the woman tested him about the agent’s pocket watch, Shade named his love of Yorkshire Red Tea instead.
• The woman accepted Shade’s proof, then a maid entered and whispered an urgent message to her.

Shade completed the Gray-headed Eagle mission by helping a princess of Kasonlik evade Military Intelligence Section Six and collecting a large payment. Back in Tobesk, he returned a relic to Grandma Cassandra and asked whether the Anjou Royal Family had any Great Witches.

• The princess warned Shade that Military Intelligence Section Six had been spotted near the station, and Shade offered to handle the search while preserving his Gray-headed Eagle identity.
• The princess offered Shade a brooch, a note, and 200 Crowns, along with a further 1,000 pounds if he visited her contact in Tobesk.
• Shade accepted the payment and kept the princess's visit in Middlesburg secret, bringing his months-long quest chain to an end.
• Shade used Laguerre's Leap and the Corpse-Hiding Mirror to draw people away from the station, giving the occupants of Carriage One time to hide.
• Shade returned the Identity Card of Unknown Name to Grandma Cassandra and asked whether the Anjou Royal Family had any Great Witches.
• Grandma Cassandra said no direct Anjou royals were Great Witches, and Shade told her he had heard rumors of a Witch connected to Kasonlik's royal family.

Shade learned that a Kassenric princess with witch powers had appeared in Middlesburg, and Miss Galina confirmed that a Great Witch operated in the kingdom's capital. After Luvia spotted an omen of the Star Sea Whale's return, Shade traveled into Sikar Mountain to meet Captain Rades and search for a Demon Hunter's sword.

• Shade gathered reports that Sikar Mountain's evil spirits were growing stronger and the Orthodox Church was preparing a large ritual.
• Luvia woke Shade to announce that the Star Sea Whale would appear in the Material World's night sky before autumn ended.
• Shade told Miss Galina about the Kassenric princess, and she confirmed a Great Witch lived in Weilun Dai'er City and said the princess's connections warranted investigation.
• Shade left his cat at home and headed uphill toward Red Water Camp to meet Captain Rades and look for the Demon Hunter's sword.

Shade traveled along Wind Arising Path to the Traveler Camp, where he waited to meet Captain Rades. Instead, he unexpectedly encountered the Demon Scholar Xiao En Asmon, whom he had met before in Coldwater Port.

• Shade rode in a grain cart with an old farmer from Middlesburg and heard why the man still worked his ancestral fields.
• Shade reached Red Water Camp, said goodbye to the farmer, and explored the busy Traveler Camp outside the military post.
• Shade went to the Blue Rose Tavern to meet Captain Rades, ordered cider and lunch, and bought a copy of the Sikar Morning News.
• Xiao En Asmon entered the tavern, and Shade recognized the Demon Scholar he had once met at the Pink Rose Inn.