Chapter Summaries

Shade hid in the woods near Sikar Mountain as the Orthodox Church surrounded The Truth Society and prepared a Divine Ritual. He witnessed the Church’s Twelve-Ring Arcanist destroy a meteorite summoned by an Angel Level Relic, while the battle against The Truth Society continued in the distance.

• Shade followed Professor Magis’s blood trail toward the estates near Sikar Mountain, then hid when he saw a Nature Church convoy pass.
• Shade spotted Ring Arcanists from the Sun Church and Creation Church setting up a large-scale Divine Ritual around the area.
• Shade waited in the woods until night, when a huge emerald tree appeared in the fog and scattered Enlightenment Elements.
• The Truth Society summoned a flaming meteorite through a warped black hole in the sky, and the Church’s Divine Ritual produced a giant Angel with a Twelve-Ring Destiny Ring that destroyed it.
• Shade heard the battle continue as golden light suppressed black energy, and he concluded that the Orthodox Church could defeat Ring Arcanist forces when properly prepared.

Shade hid in the fog and discovered that a clown-like Nail was being pursued by The Truth Society and Mr. Barton, while Iluna’s Sun Church squad tracked Barton to Lake Bena. There, the clown split into two and attacked both sides, leaving Iluna and the other Arcanists in a chaotic battle.

• Shade saw a clown-dressed man run through the woods, and the Red Butterfly Mark on his shoulder flared as he suspected the man was a Nail sent by the Interstice.
• Professor Johnson and other members of The Truth Society chased the clown, then Mr. Barton followed while concealing his trail.
• Iluna and a Sun Church squad arrived in pursuit of Mr. Barton, so Shade sent his red butterfly to guide them through the fog and followed with Little Mia.
• At Lake Bena, Shade found the clown battling three Ring Arcanists from The Truth Society on the frozen lake, using several weapons and Space Movement.
• The clown split into two bodies, with one continuing to fight The Truth Society and the other appearing beside Iluna, who answered with the Sunlight Gun.

Shade rescued Joey Barton from the frozen lake and fought off one of the Clown’s avatars, but Barton refused to seek refuge with the Church or The Truth Society. Revealing himself as the Chosen One of Death, Barton joined the Clown and began drawing on the Interstice’s power to pursue the resurrection of someone he had lost.

• Shade concealed Little Mia in his coat, used the Red Butterflies’ power, and crossed the ice to reach the unconscious Joey Barton.
• Joey Barton warned Shade that the Church intended to eliminate The Truth Society’s professors, then shoved him aside as a metal Rhodes Card revealed the Clown behind them.
• Shade fought the Clown with moonlit sword strikes, Rhodes Cards, and Great Sin Chains, then beheaded one of its avatars and pinned its head to the ice.
• Joey Barton refused Shade’s offer of refuge and explained that he wanted to enter the Interstice to bring back the dead woman he had seen in his dreams.
• Barton identified himself as the Chosen One of Death and blasted Shade back to shore before joining the battle on the lake.
• Barton shielded a Clown from Iluna’s Sunlight Gun, drew White Fog into his Destiny Ring, and declared that he would take the Clown as a sacrifice to break the boundary between life and death.

Joey Barton unleashed the God of Death Scythe and escaped into the Interstice with the Clown after Iluna struck him with the Sunlight Gun. Shade rescued the exhausted Iluna, and she vowed to stop Barton when they met again before kissing Shade beneath the moon.

• Joey Barton summoned the God of Death Scythe and swept its deadly power across the ice, while Iluna blocked most of the attack with her Golden Scales.
• Iluna hit Barton with the Sunlight Gun as he retreated through the Interstice, but the passage vanished with him and the Clown before Shade could stop him.
• Shade pulled Iluna from the lake and found that the Truth Society members had been killed while the other Sun Church members remained unconscious.
• Iluna urged the Church to search the Interstice for Barton, and Shade agreed that the danger had reached its final stage.
• Iluna vowed she would not let Barton escape next time, then kissed Shade as they stood on the lake.

Shade and Priest Augustus discussed Joey Barton, the Truth Society, and their plans to search for the Four Nails, while Shade learned more about the Church's campaign in Middlesburg. The chapter left Shade weighing whether to kill Joey if he refused to abandon his resurrection plans, while admitting he would take Joey's Origin card.

• Shade met Priest Augustus in the forest, explained Joey Barton's past, and agreed to join the priest in searching for the Four Nails on Thursday.
• Priest Augustus warned Shade that Joey's death powers would make him especially dangerous in the Life and Death Limbo.
• On Wednesday, Miss Aurora told Shade that the Church had attacked the Truth Society and that two of its Ring Arcanists had escaped.
• Miss Aurora said the Church had identified a male Chosen One who escaped into the Interstice, and that the Council wanted her to find or eliminate him.
• Shade said he would spare Joey only if he abandoned resurrecting the dead, but admitted he would take Joey's Origin card if Joey had to die.

Shade and the Witches entered the Interstice to reach the Mountain Waist Seal, fighting their way through waves of hostile spirits. They arrived at the hidden entrance, where Shade’s unusual stamina puzzled Miss Aurora.

• Shade traveled with Miss Aurora, Grandma Cassandra, and the Witches’ Followers to an autumn forest clearing and entered the Interstice with the two Great Witches’ help.
• The group arrived in the Interstice’s forest, where Shade felt stronger while the other Sorceresses struggled to adjust.
• The Witches’ Followers used spells and the Great Witches’ Resist Undead ritual to protect the group from the Interstice’s hostile spirits.
• Shade fought with the Night Watchman during the six-hour journey and helped the Sorceresses fend off the spirits.
• The group reached the cliff concealing the entrance, and Shade told Miss Aurora that Sister Devlin’s Phoenix fire had improved his physical condition.

Shade gathered valuable plants for Mr. Corps, then entered the mountain passage after Miss Aurora, Grandma Cassandra, and their companions failed to return. He crossed a cursed bone bridge guarded by a liquid creature and found an inscription warning that the way ahead was a dead end.

• Shade gathered Corpse Grass, Nether Orchids, and black Grievance Flowers, storing them in God's Gift Box before returning to the cliff.
• When Miss Aurora, Grandma Cassandra, and the others did not return, Shade climbed down the cliff and entered the passage alone.
• Shade reached a bone bridge over a vast hollow, where a curse caused dizziness and prevented space movement.
• A liquid creature attacked Shade on the bridge, but he restrained it with Great Sin Chains and leapt past it.
• Shade crossed to the far platform, recovered the normal light of his Silver Moon, and found a stone slab inscribed with “Dead end ahead.”

Shade reached the mountainside passage, defeated a resurrecting skeleton, and helped Miss Aurora and Grandma Cassandra obtain the Witch Emperor’s gift. They learned that a comb could restore most of the damaged seal, and Shade joined the witches in repairing the ritual traces.

• Shade found a fragmented Poem Chapter inscription describing a Chosen One ritual involving the Boundary of Life and Death and someone resurrected from death.
• Shade passed Miss Rita Swift and the witches restoring the outer ritual traces, then pressed deeper into the Black Wind with an Elven rune stone.
• Shade destroyed a resurrecting black skeleton with Night Watchman and reached the sealed chamber, where Miss Aurora and Grandma Cassandra stood beside a Soul-Forging Skeleton.
• Shade answered the skeleton’s question with “The Primordial Flame,” allowing it to hand over a stone box that crumbled into three surviving items: an ivory comb, a wooden Time Key, and a parchment scroll.
• Grandma Cassandra read that the comb contained a substitute ritual core, while Miss Aurora explained that a Great Witch’s hair was also needed to repair the seal.
• Shade accepted ritual materials from the witches and helped restore the damaged Ritual Traces.

Shade and the two witches completed the ritual and used the comb to reinforce the seal in the Interstice. Shade discovered a Witch Echo left by Violet Marshall, whose warning and proposed plan revealed how severe the collapse had become.

• Shade, Miss Aurora, and Grandma Cassandra finished setting up the ritual around the well.
• Shade dropped the comb into the well, and the witches used their Golden Stairways and witch power to restore the ritual pathways.
• Shade found a handprint on the well and triggered the Witch Echo of Guardian of Witton Violet Marshall.
• Violet Marshall’s shadow reinforced the seal and advised the witches to flee or guide the Interstice’s undead through the Material World into True Death.
• Violet Marshall’s remaining power entered Shade, granting him Sunlight Ray and a week-long blessing that made the Interstice’s undead less hostile toward him.

Shade helped the Witches repair the seal in the Interstice, then returned home to seal the third-floor boundary and sell plants from the Boundary of Life and Death. After sharing the day’s discoveries with Luvia, he went to bed feeling that he had found a warm home.

• Shade used Sunlight Ray to help Miss Aurora complete the seal, and the Witches left with Violet Marshall’s parchment scroll while Shade gained a Time Key, an Echo, and a thaumaturgy.
• Shade returned to Saint Derain Square and helped Dorothy, Luvia, and Doctor Schneider temporarily seal the third-floor boundary with bells.
• Shade went to the Nameless Small Village Cemetery, used Sunlight Ray to drive away an evil spirit, and sold Mr. Corps Corpse Grass, Nether Orchid, and Grievance Flowers for 2,024 pounds.
• Shade told Luvia about the Chosen One Ritual described in the Poem Chapter Fragment, and she prepared him for bed and comforted him as he fell asleep.

After recovering from his exhaustion, Shade crossed fog-bound Middlesburg and met Iluna at the Sun Church to exchange updates on the seals and the search for the remaining Nails. Iluna revealed that the Orthodox Church had located one of the missing targets, while Shade prepared to search another area with Priest Augustus.

• Shade woke refreshed after a restful night and amused Mia with a controlled Sunlight Ray before leaving her at home.
• Shade learned from a Flower Girl that the Great Fog had appeared in the city the previous night, then bought all her flowers and gave her money to go home.
• Shade reached the Sun Church through the fog and gave Iluna a red rose when she arrived.
• Shade and Iluna exchanged reports: the three passages in Life and Death Limbo had been reinforced, and The Church still needed a large-scale Divine Ritual to strengthen them.
• Iluna told Shade that the Orthodox Church had located one of the remaining Nails in northern Middlesburg and warned him to kill Joey Barton himself if his plan to revive the dead proved irreversible.

Shade and Priest Augustus searched for the remaining Nails and traced one to the mansion of the Earl of Darak, whom Shade had met before and suspected of having returned from the dead. They prepared to enter the estate, where the next encounter awaited them.

• Iluna told Shade that Professor Andre Pigman of Saint Byron's would come to assist with the ritual, which the Church expected to hold next week after dealing with the Four Nails.
• Shade met Priest Augustus and learned that the Witch Council had reinforced the seal halfway up the mountain.
• Priest Augustus used his Search for the Dead Thaumaturgy to locate a target in the South District, and Shade’s Red Butterfly Mark led them to a mansion on Annabelle Street.
• Shade recognized the estate as belonging to the Earl of Darak and recalled that the Earl had recently recovered from a serious illness after appearing strangely at a ball.
• Shade and Priest Augustus planned to use Shade’s rare Rhodes card, Legend of the Brave · Bard Fletcher, to gain entry to the mansion.

Shade and Priest Augustus visited Earl of Darak of Campbell, whom they recognized as the Resurrection Nail, and challenged him to a Rhodes Cards match with Special Cards at stake. The first game began with Shade probing the Earl’s health, while the Earl brought up Blood Brew.

• Shade and Priest Augustus entered the Darak manor after Shade used the name John Watson and showed his Rhodes Cards credentials.
• Priest Augustus identified the Old Butler’s heart disease, and Shade and the priest realized Earl of Darak of Campbell was the person who had returned from the dead.
• The Earl agreed to a best-of-three Rhodes Cards match, staking Ancient Fairy Tale · Sleeping Princess against Shade’s Heroic Legends Fletcher.
• The Earl corrected Shade’s outdated information about Swordsman Sabaron and shared his plan to challenge Hamilton of Leijed in Tobesk.
• Shade and the Earl began the first game, and Shade questioned the Earl about his illness as they played.
• The Earl won the opening exchange with eighteen points, while Shade stood at nineteen, and the Earl asked whether Shade had tried the local drink Blood Brew.

Shade played Rhodes Cards with Lawrence, Earl of Darak, and helped him realize that he had returned from the dead. Lawrence accepted that the dead must leave the living world but refused to go without a final duel, and he waited for Shade in the courtyard.

• Shade told Lawrence that he had seen the Founding Series card Sun 6 in Middlesburg, then won the first game with Heroic Legends Fletcher.
• As they played the second game, Shade described the danger of dead people who looked like the living and said the dead must be driven away for the sake of the living.
• Lawrence passed one check with a roll of 10 but failed the next, lost the round, and realized that he had come back from the dead.
• Shade confirmed that Lawrence had to leave for the place meant for him, but Lawrence protested that the fate was unfair and demanded a final duel.
• Lawrence left his will with his Old Butler and passed through the window to wait for Shade in the courtyard.

Shade received Priest Augustus’s blessing from the First Angel and fought the resurrected Earl of Darak of Campbell in the fog. Shade wounded the earl, but the earl transformed and unleashed a stronger attack, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Priest Augustus revealed that he could lend Shade the power of the First Angel and blessed him with the Holy Emblem of the Old Gods.
• Shade absorbed the power of a Red Butterfly, prepared Night Watchman, and went into the fog to meet Earl of Darak of Campbell.
• Shade and the earl exchanged sword strikes, and Shade wounded him with a slash infused with Angelic power.
• The earl attacked with a gray beam, but Shade leaped behind him and lodged Night Watchman in his shoulder.
• The earl rejected Shade’s offer to concede, erupted in black fog, and transformed as Shade retreated.
• The transformed earl floated above the ground and fired black, human-faced projectiles at Shade, who dodged them but was lightly cut.

Shade defeated the Earl of Darak of Campbell with Night Watchman, sunlight, and a final Mind Blast, then played the last round of Rhodes Cards with him before the earl passed away. The earl accepted his loss and entrusted the Ancient Fairy Tales Princess to Shade, while Priest Augustus helped his soul depart and removed the third Nail.

• Shade used Night Watchman to amplify Sunlight Ray and melted the black mist surrounding the Earl of Darak of Campbell.
• Shade struck the earl with Soul Echo, Guiding Death, and Mind Blast, leaving him motionless and returning him briefly to human form.
• Shade invited the dying earl to finish their Rhodes Cards game, and the earl accepted.
• Shade revealed the earl's hidden card with the Great City Player card, then won the round with twenty-one and took the match two to zero.
• The earl accepted his defeat, gave Shade the Ancient Fairy Tales Princess, and told Mr. Hans to follow his will and care for the guests.
• Priest Augustus helped the earl's transparent body disperse into White Ash, removing the third Nail as Shade and Mr. Hans watched.

After removing the third Nail, Shade fought his way through Sikar Mountain’s dangerous fog and undead before returning to the Abandoned Tower. He discussed the coming Chosen One ritual with Luvia and left worried about the many forces gathering in Miburg, especially Armand Bernhardt and the Bloodkin.

• Shade left Earl of Darak of Campbell's residence with Priest Augustus after the Earl's death, and Priest Augustus returned to Dawn Church.
• Shade bypassed the mountain blockade and fought powerful undead in the fog on his way to the Abandoned Tower, where he turned to confront three spirits following him.
• Shade visited the Seer Association and told Luvia that the third Nail had been removed and discussed the risks of the Interstice erupting before the ritual.
• Luvia said two high-ring Prophets would arrive to divine Joey Barton's location and suggested using the Dandelion Coin or Diviner's Silver Coin to investigate the ritual.
• Shade and Luvia agreed that Shade could tell Sister Devlin she was the second candidate, while hoping Joey Barton would die before the ritual.
• Shade worried that Armand Bernhardt and the Bloodkin might pose a greater danger than Joey Barton as more powerful groups gathered in Miburg.

Shade searched for items related to Sun Power, fought Fishmen on the coast, and bought two possible items from Mr. Edmund. He then went to Leimer Racecourse to find Miss Galina and Queen Diana, where the calm autumn afternoon offered a brief respite from his troubles.

• Shade encountered three Fishmen on the beach, killed two, and used Confusion to turn the summoned fish swarm against the spellcaster.
• Shade sold the two Fishman Corpses to Mr. Edmund and bought a parchment scroll and a Sun Sigil badge that might be related to Sun Power.
• Shade learned that Miss Galina and Queen Diana had gone to Leimer Racecourse, so he took a carriage there.
• Shade arrived at the racecourse, found Miss Galina and Queen Diana watching the riders, and enjoyed the peaceful autumn afternoon.

Shade visited Miss Galina at a royal horse race, where Queen Diana questioned him about his connections and marriage prospects. Galina sent him to ride in the next race, and he went to choose a horse despite being unable to ride.

• Shade presented withered roses to Miss Galina and Queen Diana, then secretly passed another rose to Tifa.
• Queen Diana asked Shade about Princess Angelina's invitations and encouraged him to attend more social events.
• Queen Diana offered her feather fan if Shade placed in the next race, and Miss Galina promised him her ring for finishing among the first three.
• Tifa explained that Galina had sent Shade away to avoid the Queen's probing, gave him a talisman to calm animals, and planned to curse another horse's hoof.
• Shade chose a gentle Maroon Delarion Highland Horse as his mount, though he still could not ride.

Shade used an elven amulet to ride in a horse race, unexpectedly finishing second, and later received an alchemical ring from Miss Galina. The afternoon ended with Shade, Miss Galina, and Tifa at dinner, where Mia showed no interest in the ring.

• Shade borrowed a hair from Tifa and made an elven Lucky Rider Amulet to help him control a horse.
• Shade entered a race, and Tifa's Delayed Limping Curse helped him move up to third before his horse surged ahead to finish second.
• Miss Galina invited Shade to keep racing, while Queen Diana encouraged him to consider the Tobesk Equestrian Competition; Shade declined to commit.
• Queen Diana returned to the city, and Miss Galina brought Shade and Tifa back to the manor for dinner.
• Miss Galina explained that the golden ring she gave Shade detected malicious intent, but Mia sniffed it and turned away.