Chapter Summaries

Shade prepared to help Witch Chloe on the Snow Mountain while pursuing the Water of Wisdom rune and planning for his next advancement. He returned to the Fifth Epoch and learned that Chloe and the others had already completed two-thirds of the climb.

• Shade learned that the Church had captured a Pantanal Voodoo Society Ring Arcanist and uncovered clues that the Fourth Chosen One's ritual would take place farther south.
• Shade agreed to host the Study Group's year-end exams and decided to pause his dates with Dorothy while seeking his fourth-ring Enlightenment Spirit Rune.
• Shade collected Sun Fire and, after Mia insisted on coming along, turned the cat into a toy and entered the Time Corridor.
• Shade arrived on the Snow Mountain, where the Father of Infinite Tree tasked him with helping the Winter Maiden escort the lost people to the summit.
• Shade estimated that Witch Chloe and the others had completed two-thirds of the journey and would reach the summit if they kept their pace.

Shade encountered the Winter Maiden, received a bottle of water from the Spring of Clarity for Chloe, and rejoined Chloe and her companions at their snowy camp. Chloe drank the water without noticing any change and explained that an unknown presence had been stalking them in the forms of lost or dead companions.

• Shade found the Winter Maiden beside a relic spring, and she told him to bring its water to Chloe before Chloe reached the summit and remembered what she had forgotten.
• The Winter Maiden touched Shade's forehead, permanently enhancing his powers related to ice and snow, and Shade collected a limited amount of Spring of Clarity water in a glass bottle.
• Shade found Chloe, Mrs. Marcus, and the timid man sheltering in a snow-buried tent, then warmed himself by their fire and gave Chloe the bottle.
• Chloe drank the water but said she felt no different and insisted she was clear-headed.
• Chloe told Shade that something had been following and harassing them by taking the forms of companions who had disappeared or died on the mountain.
• Shade summoned Little Mia's Cat, which burrowed into his coat as the group settled around the fire.

Shade gave Miss Chloe a flame of Sun Fire, then helped her repel a creature that appeared as a dead companion outside the tent. After learning the creature could be confronted by attacking its true body and illusion together, Shade went out alone to face it.

• Shade gave Miss Chloe a flame of Sun Fire, which she absorbed into her body.
• A woman outside the tent claimed to be Wanda, but Miss Chloe recognized her as someone who had died in the Silver Mountain Range.
• Shade opened the Gate of Death to threaten the creature, and it vanished from outside the tent.
• Miss Chloe explained that the creature fed on positive emotions and could be countered by attacking its main body and illusion at the same time.
• Shade handed Little Mia to Miss Chloe and stepped outside to confront the creature, using memories of losing Little Mia to kindle his anger.

Shade and Miss Chloe fought a deathly shadow in the Silver Mountain Range and discovered that defeating it had yielded an incomplete Witch Echo of Chloe. The journey remained full of unexplained anomalies as they returned to the tent.

• Shade used Moonlight Slash against the death shadow, but Miss Chloe froze in fear and did not attack with him.
• Little Mia’s cries helped Miss Chloe recover; she summoned a swarm of cats with Thousand Cat Curse, and she and Shade destroyed the shadow with Thunder Spear and an explosive spell.
• The explosion triggered an avalanche, which the ancient Winter God stopped before it reached them.
• Shade found black particles in the crater and obtained the incomplete Witch Echo: Chloe by touching the heated snow.
• Shade questioned how the Eleventh Rank Miss Chloe could leave a Witch Echo, then noticed that Mrs. Marcus and the silent man seemed strangely easy to overlook.

Shade returned from his encounter with Miss Chloe in the Silver Mountain Range, then received the final stone slab from Miss Danist and discussed his time investigation with her. The chapter left Chloe’s identity unknown and Shade poised to uncover the mysteries of time once he unsealed the Red Moon Spirit Rune.

• Shade encouraged Miss Chloe to keep climbing toward the summit, and she swore to reach the highest point before he disappeared back to the Sixth Epoch.
• Shade returned home, warmed himself by the fireplace, and later visited Miss Galina’s estate, but neither she nor Tifa was there.
• Miss Danist arrived at Shade’s home and gave him the final stone slab, which he put away without examining it.
• Miss Danist warned Shade that Mr. Shelf Tim and Miss Shana Aya were connected to a terrifying incident that had also cast suspicion on Bill Schneider.
• Shade described Miss Chloe to Miss Danist, but she said her common name and limited surviving records made it difficult to identify her.

Shade and Miss Danist failed to decipher the Black Book because they still needed a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune, so Shade asked her to return that evening with a possible alternative. Princess Margaret invited Shade to her Tuesday banquet before leaving for home, and Sir Prisha asked him to help contain a Relic on Monday; the chapter ended with Luvia arriving to invite Shade to dinner.

• Miss Danist, Shade, and Sir Prisha used their spiritual lights on the Black Book, but the marks remained too blurry to read without a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune.
• Shade asked Miss Danist to return at eight that evening while he prepared another possible method.
• Princess Margaret told Shade she would leave the following Wednesday and invited him to her Tuesday banquet; they exchanged a tender farewell.
• Sir Prisha revealed that he was a Fifth Ring Arcanist and invited Shade to help contain an uncontained Level 4 book Relic on Monday.
• Luvia arrived as Shade saw Sir Prisha off, and she invited Shade to have dinner with her.

Shade activated the Yellow Moon Stone Slab and discovered that it helped clarify a mysterious book when used alongside Miss Danist’s Core Ling Rune. He proposed substituting a sufficiently pure Yellow Moon relic for the missing Core Ling Rune, and Miss Danist began listing possible relics as they sought a way to open the book.

• Luvia told Shade that Miss Pawo was Second in Line for the Fourth Chosen One and had divined friendship for Shade, so they agreed Miss Pawo was a greater threat than Sir Prisha.
• Shade invited Luvia to accompany him to Tuesday’s Farewell Party before she went upstairs to stargaze and work on her paper.
• Shade activated the Yellow Moon Stone Slab, learned another third of its knowledge, and watched it resonate with the Silver Moon Stone Slab.
• Shade used the Yellow Moon Stone Slab with Miss Danist’s Core Ling Rune to make the writing in the black book clearer.
• Shade explained that a pure relic might substitute for a Yellow Moon Core Ling Rune, and Miss Danist named several possible relics, including the Shattered Moonstone and Moon in the Water.

Shade gave Miss Danist Moonlight Water in exchange for a potion formula, then joined Sir Prisha to reclaim the Fool’s Book from collector Mr. Booker. The chapter ended with Shade quietly putting on his ring as Sir Prisha distracted Booker in his underground collection room.

• Shade gave Miss Danist a vial of Moonlight Water, and she agreed to send him a potion formula.
• Luvia came downstairs, and Shade invited her to stay the night while she asked about the missing girl.
• Shade went with Sir Prisha to meet Mr. Booker and contain the Fool’s Book, a relic that revealed knowledge and could drive readers mad.
• Sir Prisha arranged to see Booker’s private collection, and the three entered its heavily secured underground room.
• As Booker proudly displayed his books, Shade put on his ring while Sir Prisha kept him occupied.

Shade and Sir Prisha contained Fool's Book after rescuing Mr. Booker, and Sir Prisha gave the Relic to Shade as payment. On the ride home, Shade discovered that the book contained information about the Sage Level Relic Source of Chaos.

• Shade distracted Mr. Booker with the Mind Crystal Ring while Sir Prisha fought the man under Fool's Book's control.
• Shade used Library Retrieval and traces of the Whisper Element to locate Fool's Book sewn inside a chair in the library's reception room.
• Shade restrained the book with red thread, antelope hide, and holy water, then helped Sir Prisha erase Mr. Booker's memories and treat him.
• Sir Prisha gave Fool's Book to Shade, who accepted it and paid him additional money for the Relic.
• Shade read the book in the carriage and learned the properties and dangers of Source of Chaos, also known as the Pearl of the Yellow Moon.

Shade discussed the pursuit and dangers of knowledge with Sir Prisha, then learned from Doctor Schneider that Legenes Presia had an exceptionally powerful thirst for knowledge. The chapter left Shade considering the danger of unrestrained desire while Little Mia studied the open Fool's Book.

• Shade read Fool's Book and learned the Love Potion formula and how to learn Love Charm, then discussed the book and knowledge with Sir Prisha.
• Shade described Professor Drake's fear of forbidden knowledge, and Sir Prisha argued that people must keep exploring despite the risks.
• After Sir Prisha left, Shade spent the day reading and reviewing his finances, while Little Mia secretly examined Fool's Book and its pages filled with text and illustrations.
• Doctor Schneider visited Shade and reported that Legenes Presia's desire for knowledge and wisdom was unusually intense.
• Doctor Schneider told Shade that Legenes could accomplish something extraordinary if he lived, provided he kept his desire under control.

Shade learned that Miss Galina planned to fake an illness so she could secretly travel with Miss Sylvia and the Kassenric delegation to investigate the Chosen One. He accompanied the Witches into the Council to search its records for information about a Fifth Epoch Witch named Chloe.

• The Doctor told Shade that Sir Prisha had a faint demon stench but had not accepted a demon's power, and suggested that his hunger for knowledge might explain his actions.
• Miss Galina revealed that she would pretend to be sick while she and Miss Sylvia traveled with the delegation to Kasonlik to observe the suspected Chosen One; the Council had ordered them not to intervene.
• Shade asked Miss Galina and Miss Sylvia about Chloe, a silver-haired Witch and Council member who had visited a Snow Mountain around Fifth Epoch 903, but neither recognized her.
• Miss Galina offered to search the Council's incomplete records and used her Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace to reveal a hidden passage behind the Moon seat.

Shade and the witches searched the Witch Council’s archives, where touching an ancient fingerprint summoned a message from Miss Blaine Olanode. Her phantom revealed what little she knew about That Lady and directed Shade to seek more information at the Guiding Light Hermitage before she vanished into his heart as a complete Witch Echo.

• Miss Sylvia and Miss Galina explained that the Council’s five ancient bookcases represented an archive whose records only Council members could retrieve.
• Shade touched a fingerprint on the central bookcase, awakening a Moon-lit message from Miss Blaine Olanode, whom he had met during his travels into the past.
• Miss Olanord told Shade that Chloe’s records had been lost, and that That Lady had helped found the Zalas Society before becoming a demigod; she directed him to the Guiding Light Hermitage for further information.
• Miss Olanord’s phantom disappeared into Shade’s heart, granting him the complete Witch Echo: Olanord.
• Miss Sylvia questioned Shade about time travel, while Miss Galina explained that he truly visited and participated in events in the past; Shade said he had only one chance left to see Miss Chloe.

Shade brought Miss Sylvia to the Space Labyrinth, where she was astonished by the Ancient God’s statue and its mysteries. He then ran errands for Old John and commissioned Mr. Edmund to investigate a witch from the early Fifth Epoch, hoping to learn more by Saturday night.

• Miss Sylvia kissed Shade in the carriage and became increasingly interested in him before he showed her the hidden passage to the Space Labyrinth.
• Shade helped Miss Sylvia approach the Ancient God’s statue and establish a landmark in the labyrinth, where she marveled at the ancient secrets and kissed him.
• Shade visited Old John, who said he was leaving for the Great Swamp Region and asked Shade to deliver an order sheet to Kops before Friday.
• Shade traveled to Coldwater Port City and asked Mr. Edmund to have the Guiding Light Hermitage investigate a witch from the early Fifth Epoch before Saturday night.

Shade sought records about Chloe, a Fifth Epoch Demigod Witch, then attended Princess Margaret’s farewell banquet with Luvia. Before Margaret’s departure, she and Shade slipped away from Canary Manor to take a private walk through Tobesk.

• Edmund discussed the scarcity of records about Chloe and the decline of supernatural power with Shade.
• Shade returned to Tobesk and went with Luvia to Princess Margaret’s farewell banquet at Canary Manor.
• Luvia met Miss Sylvia while Shade was summoned to speak with Margaret in a private study.
• Margaret told Shade she was leaving the next morning and said the delegation’s elders had discouraged further contact between them.
• Shade suggested a private walk, and he and Margaret disguised themselves in cloaks and escaped the manor into foggy Tobesk.

Shade and Margaret shared a snowy walk through Tobesk, where he told her a tragic shipwreck story and they reflected on parting. Their evening was interrupted by Miss Pawo, who asked Margaret for a private conversation and a simple answer.

• Shade and Margaret encountered Iluna and the police pursuing an invisible blue creature linked to the new Keeper of Secrets.
• Margaret asked Shade about his story with Princess Leisha Cavendish, and he told her a shipwreck tragedy.
• As they walked through the snow, Margaret said she believed the sad story reflected the reality of people who could not stay together.
• Miss Pawo appeared beneath a Gas Street Lamp and asked to speak with Margaret alone.
• Miss Pawo reminded Margaret that they had met in Huntington and asked whether the Princess could answer her simple question.

Shade and Princess Margaret encountered Miss Pawo, who sought the missing book Elixir of Immortality, then continued to a Smith Shop in Raven Alley. There, Shade collected a thousand pounds and left with Margaret to visit an elder, while she questioned his age and his connection to her father.

• Miss Pawo asked Princess Margaret about Elixir of Immortality, and Margaret explained that the book had been stolen from her luggage and that the Witches had taken it.
• Miss Pawo confirmed that the Witches possessed the book, apologized for interrupting Margaret and Shade, and vanished into the darkness.
• Shade and Margaret reached a Smith Shop in Raven Alley, where Shade used a coded exchange to collect a handbag containing one thousand pounds from the shopkeeper.
• Shade took Margaret’s hand, and the two left the alley to travel to Tobesk Public Cemetery to visit an elder.
• Margaret asked Shade how old he was and whether he was her father’s informant.

Shade confessed to Margaret that he was Gray-headed Eagle II and had concealed their earlier meeting, but she chose him as her lover on the condition that they exchange only kisses. They visited Sparrow Hamilton’s grave together, where Shade honored the detective and told Margaret about his promise not to disturb Sparrow’s soul again.

• Shade confessed to Margaret that he had inherited Sparrow Hamilton’s identity and had been the one to pass her intelligence and leave the warning about the bombing.
• Margaret kissed Shade, then told him she wanted him as a lover who would exchange kisses with her until she chose to end their relationship.
• Shade accepted Margaret’s terms and explained his circumstances as they traveled together to the Public Cemetery.
• At Sparrow Hamilton’s snow-covered grave, Shade placed two bouquets of flowers and told Margaret that Sparrow’s soul had asked him not to disturb him again.

Shade and Margaret buried Detective Sparrow, said farewell, and parted before the princess’s delegation left for home. When Shade and Luvia went to visit Mr. Booker’s library, they found it burned to ruins.

• Margaret honored Detective Sparrow at his grave, buried her ring beside him, and declared Shade the Gray-headed Eagle loyal to her.
• Shade and Margaret shared a final farewell before she left, and Luvia joined Shade in the garden and agreed to dance with him.
• Margaret’s delegation departed on Wednesday morning, and Shade and Luvia watched the train pass before discussing possible Chosen Ones.
• Shade took Luvia to Mr. Booker’s library, where they discovered that a recent fire had reduced it to ruins.

Shade and Luvia discovered that Legenes Presia had burned Mr. Booker’s library and killed him to steal rare books, but they decided to wait until after his ritual before acting against him. Iluna arrived with orders to travel to Pantanal, where Luvia’s final divination revealed that the Voodoo Society planned to use the Fourth Chosen One to release several sealed evils.

• Shade and Luvia learned that a fire had destroyed Mr. Booker’s library and that its owner had died in the blaze.
• Luvia used a Coin of Wisdom to discover that Legenes Presia had stolen books from Mr. Booker’s collection and set the library on fire to hide the theft.
• Shade and Luvia decided not to confront Legenes Presia before his ritual, since Miss Pawo could otherwise claim the qualification.
• Iluna arrived and told Shade and Luvia that The Church had ordered her to depart for the Pantanal Great Swamp that night.
• Shade gave Luvia the final Coin of Wisdom, and she divined that the Voodoo Society intended to use the Fourth Chosen One’s ritual to release the Evil of Pantanal and other sealed evils.

Shade received the Founding card from the Seer Association and transferred a Wise Man's Gleaming Stone for Iluna. With the clear weather finally arriving, he began a dangerous ritual with Luvia to search for the Yellow Moon, leaving the result unknown.

• Shade warned Iluna that the Pantanar Area ritual might unseal an evil entity, and she left for the south to inform the Church.
• Shade delivered anonymous intelligence about a bomb to Director Anlos, who praised his work and mentioned his connection with Princess Margaret.
• Chairman Stan and Vice President Mark gave Shade the Founding card, whose effects changed according to when it appeared in a hand.
• Shade signed a record transferring one of his Wise Man's Gleaming Stones to Iluna, whom the Church was preparing to send on a long journey.
• Shade invited Luvia to help him perform a Core Ling Rune resonance ritual in his attic to search for the Yellow Moon.