Chapter Summaries

Shade created the Thaumaturgy Moonlight Wheel and defeated the Rain-Seeking Golem, then learned that the Guardians’ trial could involve both retracing Mr. Lathers’s path and investigating three auction items. The group rested in a concealed camp while Miss Lathers resolved to continue the trial and find out whether her father was the Chosen One of the Earth.

• Shade combined Light of Imprisonment and Moonlight Slash to create Moonlight Wheel, which pierced and destroyed the Rain-Seeking Golem.
• Shade summoned the Clay Holy Grail of Goldstone, spreading spiritual energy across the lake before the stone giant collapsed.
• The witch carried Shade and Luvia away, claimed credit for the Council, and warned the Orthodox Church that a Guardian had sacrificed himself.
• At the concealed camp, Shade refused Luvia’s Relic medicine and told the witch and Miss Lathers that Mr. Fleming had confirmed both investigative paths were correct.
• Miss Lathers vowed to continue the trial and make her father choose correctly if he was the Chosen One of the Earth.

After the battle in Randall River Valley, Shade and Luvia discussed the incomplete Chosen One of the Earth, the Guardians, and the ancient Demon behind Osenfott. Shade decided to visit the City Statue Museum first, then left home with Mia wearing Witch Emperor Violet’s ring.

• Luvia explained that Mr. Fleming was part of the Chosen One of the Earth, while Miss Lathers was the Third Candidate but could not yet inherit the role.
• Shade and Luvia concluded that finding the Guardians required completing their Inheritance trial and defeating the Evil Spirit Demon, and Shade proposed that Iluna tell the Church the ritual could clear Mad Earth.
• Shade chose to visit the City Statue Museum before Earl Granger because he feared the Demon might target the old curator.
• Shade returned home and, when Mia followed him out the next morning, replaced her Plague Doctor Ring with Witch Emperor Violet’s Ring of Power.

Shade met Iluna at the Three Cats Inn and told her about Luvia’s plan for the Feast of the Earth Mother God to cleanse Mad Earth. Their conversation was interrupted when Shade recognized Iluna’s fake-medicine suspect as a Humanoid Relic, and the man fled.

• Shade found Iluna staking out a fake-medicine merchant at the Three Cats Inn and told her that Luvia had delayed communication between the association and the Order of the Forgotten.
• Iluna agreed to use a dream as an excuse to inform The Church that the Feast of the Earth Mother God could cleanse Mad Earth, and said she might soon be sent to Randall River Valley City.
• Iluna explained that she was investigating a merchant whose pills supposedly cured illnesses and curses, while she and Shade discussed his recent encounters and exchanged a Sunlight Gun Brooch and an offer of a key to his home.
• Shade sensed Whisper Element from the bandaged merchant and identified him as a Humanoid Relic when he came downstairs.
• Iluna and Shade stood up to pursue the suspect, but the merchant spotted them and ran for the inn’s entrance.

Shade and Iluna cornered the Plague Merchant, a Humanoid Relic who spread diseases to sell cures, and forced him to leave the city for ten years. Before departing, he gave Iluna a healing Thaumaturgy and Shade an Earth Runestone that could strengthen earth powers and resist some effects of the Earth Curse.

• The Plague Merchant lured Iluna and Shade with his suitcase of pills, but Shade used the Plague Doctor Ring to break the Relic’s influence.
• Iluna trapped the merchant with the Dark Gold Scales while Shade blocked the alley with silver thorns, and the merchant identified himself as a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic.
• The merchant explained that he spread diseases so victims would seek his cures, and Iluna ordered him to leave the city for ten years.
• Iluna demanded compensation, and the merchant gave her pills that granted the Sunlight Cure Thaumaturgy.
• The merchant gave Shade an Earth Runestone that strengthened earth-related powers and offered some immunity to the Earth Curse.

Shade received an Earth runestone and Earth Curse pills from the Merchant, then gave the Church the black pills he had taken from him. At the City Sculpture Museum, Shade found curator Zoff Fernandes and learned that the old man feared the Osenfott family, but Fernandes warned him to flee before Shade explained that Stone Osenfott had already targeted him.

• The Merchant gave Shade a black Earth runestone that strengthened his Earth Power - Healing Aura, then gave him pills that could cure the Earth Curse before leaving the alley.
• Shade gave Iluna the vial of black pills to hand over to the Church, and she returned to Blackstone Security Company while Shade took Mia home.
• Shade brought Mia to the City Sculpture Museum in Randall River Valley City and explored its exhibits before approaching curator Zoff Fernandes.
• When Shade mentioned Madam Haila Osenfott, Fernandes reacted with terror, prayed beneath the emblem of Old Man with the Lantern, and warned Shade to leave the city.
• Shade told Fernandes that Stone Osenfott had targeted him after losing to Shade at Rhodes Cards, and introduced himself as a writer and Demon Scholar.

Mr. Fernandes told Shade how Stone Osenfott’s demonic outburst at his manor left him traumatized, and how investigating Osenfott’s words later brought a lookalike demon that cursed him. The curse forced him to remain watched by four stone statues at once or lose his lifespan four times faster, leaving him trapped in the Exhibition Hall and expecting to die before winter.

• Mr. Fernandes recalled visiting Osenfott Manor in winter 1851 to buy a stone statue and finding Stone Osenfott drunk and cursing a demon.
• Stone Osenfott smashed a nearly finished statue, triggering terrifying visions that drove Mr. Fernandes close to collapse.
• Stone Osenfott forced Mr. Fernandes to take a carving knife and told him to kill him, but Osenfott’s wife intervened and helped Mr. Fernandes escape.
• After recovering, Mr. Fernandes investigated Osenfott’s Ancient Language words and uncovered information that drew a black-eyed Stone Osenfott lookalike to his home.
• The lookalike took Mr. Fernandes’s research and cursed him to remain watched by four stone statues or lose his lifespan four times faster.

Angelina visited Leisha and Shade to report that her father had learned the murder case’s details and would send Shade his fee and contract. Before she left, Leisha and Dorothy gave Angelina a potion as a birthday gift and planned to go to Aunt Galina’s estate.

• Angelina went to Leisha’s room and found her and Dorothy with Shade behind the bedroom curtains.
• Angelina told Shade that her father knew the details of the murder and would send him the detective fee and commission contract.
• Leisha and Dorothy teased Shade and told Angelina they would go to Aunt Galina’s estate after the banquet.
• Leisha and Dorothy wished Angelina a happy seventeenth birthday and gave her a potion that would slow her aging.
• After Angelina left, Leisha and Dorothy embraced Shade and spoke of their shared love.

Shade accompanied Sister Devlin to the Fire Guardian Sisters’ cemetery, where they used the Gate of Death to meet her deceased teacher. Her teacher urged Devlin to trust Shade and fulfill her duty to the Hero, and the chapter ended with Devlin blushing and calling Shade a pervert after he asked to try on her Mithril eye patch.

• Sister Devlin led Shade to the Nun Cemetery and explained that the nuns who guarded the First Fire offered their bodies to its flames after death.
• Devlin asked Shade to open the Gate of Death so they could meet her deceased teacher, and the two entered a deathlike realm together.
• Devlin told her teacher that she had recovered the first divided Flame, confirmed the coming Final Death, and found a Hero willing to continue with her.
• Devlin’s teacher told her to trust Shade and reminded her that the nuns must assist the Heroes who inherit the First Fire.
• Shade and Devlin returned to the cemetery, where Devlin said she had gained much and invited Shade to visit so she could teach him.
• Shade asked to try on Devlin’s Mithril eye patch, and she blushed, called him a pervert, and walked away with a faint smile.

Shade learned that the demon had destroyed the Stoneville Kingdom and that a powerful cross might restrain it, while the Watsont Haunted House could hold a treasure connected to the demon. After hearing Shade’s discoveries, Doctor Schneider identified the demon as the Stone Mirror Demon-Goth and urged preparation before investigating its abandoned manor.

• Mr. Fernandes told Shade that the demon had threatened him, was tied to the destruction of the Stoneville Kingdom, and feared powerful crosses.
• Shade remembered that he possessed the Blasphemy Cross and learned that the Watsont Family might have owned a treasure that angered the demon.
• Shade bought the porcelain vase, learned about the Granger Family’s ancient lineage, and found that Earl Granger was away until the following week.
• Shade and Luvia examined the vase with Miss Benanis and Miss Lathers, then planned a Sunday trip to the Black Night Spirit Temple and further preparations for the haunted manor.
• Shade visited Doctor Schneider and described his recent findings, and the Doctor identified the demon as the Stone Mirror Demon-Goth.

Shade and Doctor Schneider entered the corrupted gardener’s memories and saw Stone Osenfott meet with the Stone Mirror Demon, which had taken his form. A trace of the Demon challenged Shade to a card game before the dream collapsed, leaving the investigation focused on drawing out the Demon’s main body.

• Doctor Schneider prepared the gardener’s corpse for a memory dream, and Shade entered it with him.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider explored the distorted Osenfott Manor and found the gardener reading in his cottage before he went outside.
• The gardener secretly watched Stone Osenfott speak with a darker, black-eyed version of himself, who demanded that Osenfott honor their contract.
• Doctor Schneider concluded that the Demon’s main body resembled Stone Osenfott and advised Shade to find a way to make it appear voluntarily.
• A trace of the Demon’s power challenged Shade to find Stars 1 among three cards, but Shade correctly pointed out that it was not among them.
• The Demon laughed as the dream shattered and promised that it looked forward to meeting Shade.

Shade and the doctor discussed their plan to draw out the demon in Randall River Valley, while Shade gathered supplies to prepare for exploring a haunted manor and protecting his friends. After the group meeting, Shade secured Priest Augustus’s help and spent the evening dining and stargazing with Dorothy and Miss Galina, where he drifted off to sleep.

• The doctor explained that a black light had tried to mark Shade, and Shade said he would use the Osenfott commissions as bait to draw out the demon after exploring the haunted manor.
• At the group meeting, Priest Augustus recounted sending away a dead wife’s spirit, and the doctor advised Shade to use tea leaves before trying Moon’s Dream again.
• Shade gave Priest Augustus a long list of holy and anti-undead items, then revealed that he planned to clear a haunted manor before confronting a Third Epoch Evil Spirit Demon.
• Priest Augustus agreed to prepare the requested supplies and potions, while Shade visited Dawn Church with him and donated money.
• Shade, Dorothy, and Miss Galina shared dinner, watched the stars, and talked by the fireplace before Shade fell asleep in a rocking chair with Mia.

Dorothy and Miss Galina discussed Shade, Leisha, and the Witch’s plans while Shade slept by the fire. After spending the night at the manor, Shade returned to Randall River Valley and met Miss Benanis and Miss Lathers at the Wilde Opera House.

• Miss Galina and Dorothy spoke quietly beside the sleeping Shade while Tifa covered him and Little Mia curled up on his lap.
• Miss Galina told Dorothy that her father had granted her a county in exchange for her lifelong promise to protect the Cavendish Royal Family.
• Miss Galina asked Dorothy to arrange a walk with Leisha next week so she could discuss Shade, and said she planned to travel to Randall River Valley to help him.
• Miss Galina asked Shade’s Another Me not to reveal their conversation, then mentioned that she had obtained beautiful clothing that might interest Leisha.
• Dorothy woke Shade later that evening, and he discussed “Princess on the Pumpkin Carriage” with her until eleven before going to bed at the manor.
• Shade returned to the city on Sunday morning, then went to Randall River Valley and met Miss Benanis and Miss Lathers at the Wilde Opera House.

Shade and Miss Benanis traveled into the mountains to investigate the Black Night Spirit Temple ruins and discovered that Mad Earth was affecting the cave’s animals. The chapter leaves them facing the strange creatures as Miss Benanis asks whether the corruption lets incompatible species reproduce.

• Shade and Miss Benanis studied Sister Devlin’s map and rode east along the Ailong River toward the ruins.
• Miss Benanis told Shade that Margaret was making progress with the Stone Masons Association through Guardian Fleming’s share certificate and Old Hack.
• Shade and Miss Benanis camped for lunch, then left their horses in the forest and continued on foot.
• Shade killed a charging brown bear with Moonlight Wheel as they traveled through the mountains.
• Shade and Miss Benanis found the cavern leading toward the Black Night Spirit Temple and noticed that Mad Earth had produced creatures combining different species.

Shade and Miss Benanis purified the Mad Earth beneath the Black Night Spirit Temple and explored the ruined temple on a high cliff. Shade’s Mithril Cube revealed a legend pointing to a real gold mine somewhere beneath the place where the Moon set, so they decided to search before nightfall.

• Shade used the Heaton Seal to repel the strange animals, then purified the Mad Earth with the Earth Talisman and obtained the Clay Holy Grail engraved with the rune Nurture.
• Shade and Miss Benanis found the worn stone stairs and climbed through the mountain cave to a narrow platform high above the Cedar Forest Land.
• Shade and Miss Benanis crossed the three ruined arches but found no altar or other clues, and Shade suggested the Black Night Spirit Temple might reveal something after dark.
• Shade held the Mithril Cube up to the Sun, and it displayed a legend about a hidden gold mine beneath the deep night.
• Shade and Miss Benanis connected the legend to the gold ore Shade had found in the Ailong River and decided to search the area before nightfall.

Shade and Miss Benanis searched the Cedar Forest for the hidden gold mine, but their afternoon took a different turn when she brought him into the Witch Council. There, Shade reunited with Miss Sylvia and spent the rest of the afternoon discussing clothing before returning with Miss Benanis to Randall River Valley.

• Shade and Miss Benanis searched the Cedar Forest for the gold mine, but his Thaumaturgy revealed only ordinary soil beneath the ground.
• Shade told Miss Benanis that he could reach the Witch Council, and she offered to take him there despite their search.
• Miss Benanis sang the Witch ballad and led Shade through the corridor and White Mist Gate into the Council.
• Shade met Miss Sylvia, who welcomed him and asked for his opinions about the clothing she was wearing.
• Shade discussed clothing ideas with Miss Sylvia while Miss Benanis joined them, and they briefly confirmed that Margaret was safe before returning to Randall River Valley.

Shade and Miss Benanis awakened the Black Night Spirit Temple’s ancient power, used it to imbue Sand of Time with Night, and opened a path into a memory. Shade entered the memory and found Luvia and Miss Lathers together on the cliff beneath a clear starry sky.

• Shade and Miss Benanis returned to the temple clearing after nightfall, where Shade used his Destiny Ring and Moon-related Thaumaturgy to awaken traces of ancient power.
• Shade passed through the three archways while praising the Recorder, the Original Moon, and the Night, restoring moonlit details to the ruined arches.
• Shade cast Myriad Aspects of Impermanence Moon onto the ground, revealing a circular pattern, then prayed to the Goddess of the Night and changed the Sand of Time with Night.
• A familiar voice explained that the temple held an ancient memory, and Shade prayed to the Earth Mother God, Silver Moon Sage, and Father of Infinite Tree before using a Youthful Immortality Leaf to open a dark curtain.
• Shade stepped through the curtain and found Luvia and Miss Lathers standing together at the cliff’s edge beneath the stars.

Shade illegally traveled back to 1857 and watched Luvia prepare to kill Siris, the Third Candidate for Chosen One of the Earth, as part of a plan to save Randall River Valley. Luvia revealed that the ritual would bury a piece of a black Time Key in the land, where it could be recovered in the distant future.

• Shade arrived in the Past, Sixth Epoch, in 1857, and learned he could only observe for three minutes.
• Luvia told Siris that an evil god would descend the next night and that Siris had to die so she could become the Chosen One of the Earth.
• Luvia explained that she would kill Siris at the shrine and later bring her to the ruins outside Osenfott Manor to fulfill her Destiny.
• Luvia revealed that the gold mine held the Butterfly Family's grave, a passage, an Ancient God shrine, and a statue of the God of Space.
• Luvia showed Siris a dead black Time Key and explained that she would use Siris's death in a ritual to bury part of it, preserving erased history for someone to recover in the future.

Shade traveled back in time and discovered that Luvia had been preparing to kill Miss Lathers, but Luvia sensed him watching and struck him through time. After recovering at home, Shade received a bottle of Holy Water No. 1 Essence from his weekly Gift Box.

• Shade overheard Luvia and Miss Lathers discussing the Witch Council and Luvia's debts before Luvia sensed him watching and hurled him back through the Black Night Curtain with a powerful strike.
• Miss Benanis healed Shade at the cliff, and he told her he had learned who the Chosen One of the Earth was, though he still needed to confirm it.
• Shade returned to the Wilde Opera House for further treatment, then insisted on going home, where Dorothy cared for him and made him rest.
• On Monday, Dorothy left to shop with Miss Galina, and Shade opened his Gift Box with Mia to find Holy Water No. 1 Essence.
• Shade and Mia each took a drop of the Holy Water, which Shade recognized as a potent remedy but not a cure for the scar on his chest.

Shade returned to Eternal Night City with Little Mia and found Fiona Delago safe in the Midnight Clock Shop. He gave Fiona Sun Fire to help her survive the Eternal Night, and she began absorbing it through her dragon tail.

• Shade entered the Time Corridor with Little Mia and arrived in Eternal Night City during the Whispers of the Eternal Night Curtain event.
• Shade and Little Mia reached the Midnight Clock Shop before the encroaching night swallowed the street.
• Shade found Fiona Delago asleep in a tent, and she woke embarrassed after he and Mia peered inside.
• Fiona explained that she had used Moon's Dream to preserve her stamina and spirit while remaining in the shop.
• Shade offered Fiona a flame of Sun Fire, and she slowly began absorbing it through the tip of her dragon tail.

Shade visited Fiona in Eternal Night City, where she recovered memories about her mission to establish an Academy and confessed her insecurity about being compared with him. After Shade helped her understand that her relationship with her teachers was different from his, Fiona regained her confidence and kissed him, then asked him to keep escorting her safely out.

• Shade showed Fiona the Sand of Time and let her examine it after she briefly invited him to touch her flame-tipped tail.
• Fiona told Shade that sleeping in Moon's Dream had restored memories of her mission to help establish an Academy at Eternal Night City, one of five planned sites.
• Fiona admitted she feared that Miss Feliana and Miss Olanord saw her as a substitute for Shade and doubted her own talent.
• Shade explained that Fiona and he could not be compared because their relationships with their teachers were different, helping her recognize her feelings for him.
• Fiona kissed Shade, said she was no longer confused, and asked him to keep his promise to escort her safely out of Eternal Night City.