Chapter Summaries

Shade discussed loyalty and his Clock Tower Lovers Mystic Lock with Leisha, who agreed to help him and asked to experience the power herself. In Green Lake, Shade arranged to seek a safe job for John and went to visit Nicholas Green’s grave to investigate the Edwards family remains.

• Shade asked Leisha whether she considered him loyal, and she agreed to help him achieve the Clock Tower Lovers Mystic Lock if he let her experience it.
• Leisha stayed overnight at Shade’s home, and on Sunday morning he traveled to Green Lake without using the black Time Key.
• Shade offered John a future job with food and lodging, told him to avoid strange places, and promised to arrange the details later.
• After Megan approved the investigation, Shade traveled with Soren Green’s cemetery address to Green Lake City Public Cemetery.
• Shade learned that Maria Edwards’s body had been lost to a traditional water burial and proceeded to visit Nicholas Green’s grave.

Shade investigated Nicholas Green’s grave and found that the coffin was empty, with a passage in the side of the grave pit. He then spoke with the cemetery’s Gravedigger, who described unexplained sounds and missing bodies, and began playing Rhodes Cards with him to hear more.

• Shade examined Nicholas Green’s grave and found no corpse in the coffin, only an opening in the grave pit’s side wall.
• Shade went to the cemetery chapel and asked the Gravedigger about local Corpse Ghoul stories.
• The Gravedigger challenged Shade to Rhodes Cards, offering to tell him a story in exchange for a game.
• The Gravedigger said that for over ten years he had heard wails, sobs, and footsteps underground, and that bodies had gone missing from the cemetery.
• Shade and the Gravedigger tied in their first hand, but the Gravedigger used a Special Rule Card to reach 21 points and win the round.
• Shade and the Gravedigger began their second round of cards.

Shade won the Old Gravedigger’s Urban Legend · Non-Existent Street card, then investigated the abandoned Broken Houses east of Lower Grior Village. He found no sign of a Corpse Ghoul, but discovered a talking sheep whose answer left the meaning of danger uncertain.

• Shade beat the Old Gravedigger at Rhodes Cards and persuaded him to sell Urban Legend · Non-Existent Street after agreeing to play more rounds.
• Shade added the card to his deck and reflected on easing the pressure he had put on himself and remaining faithful to those close to him.
• Shade searched the abandoned Broken Houses for signs of the rumored Corpse Ghoul but found only traces of past visitors and animals.
• Shade used the Fish Training Ring on a sheep in the nearby apple grove, allowing it to speak.
• Shade asked the sheep whether anything dangerous had happened at the houses, and it replied by asking how he defined danger.

Shade used a roast chicken to lure Nicholas Green, the Corpse Ghoul, into the Broken House, but their pursuit through the woods triggered a spatial disturbance that dragged them across a boundary. Shade landed on a red carpet and attacked before he could identify where they had arrived.

• Shade questioned a sheep made wise by the Fish Training Ring and learned that the Corpse Ghoul lived underground and could be lured with cooked chicken.
• Shade roasted a chicken in the Broken House and fell asleep after breathing in a sleeping potion sent from outside.
• The Corpse Ghoul entered the house, seized the chicken, and escaped Shade's Great Sin Chains with Space Jump.
• Shade pursued the Corpse Ghoul, Nicholas Green, through the woods and used Moon's Thorn to wound it after it crossed a fence.
• Shade and the Corpse Ghoul repeatedly used their spatial abilities until a disturbance dragged them both across a boundary.
• Shade landed on a red carpet, recovered before the Corpse Ghoul, and flung his chains forward.

Shade and Miss Sylvia questioned Nicholas Green, a corpse ghoul who had encountered the Edwards Family’s Thirteenth Ring Ancestor and carried out his orders. Nicholas revealed that the Ancestor was deliberately increasing the types of family members, leading Miss Sylvia to suspect he was preparing a large-scale ritual.

• Shade and the corpse ghoul arrived at Princess Margaret’s manor, where Miss Sylvia helped restrain Nicholas Green in the basement laboratory.
• Nicholas explained that he avoided other people because he believed no one could defeat the Ancestor, who had visited him in an ancient tomb and easily subdued him.
• Nicholas said the Ancestor had ordered him to steal specific Corpses from Green Lake City’s Public Cemetery and transfer them to Water Ghosts in the lake.
• Shade promised to let Nicholas leave, and Nicholas agreed to provide a list of the stolen Corpses.
• Nicholas said the Ancestor wanted to increase the types of family members, and Miss Sylvia suspected he was preparing a large-scale ritual.

Shade learned that Nicholas Green’s ancestor, Laplace Klein Howard, was pursuing a large ritual called Edwards Apotheosis Art, linked to keys and a mysterious door with thirteen keyholes. After Nicholas agreed to help protect his children without betraying his ancestor, Shade and Miss Sylvia suspected Howard was imitating the Chosen One Ritual to achieve a great Miracle, and Shade prepared to return home for lunch.

• Nicholas Green explained that his ancestor wanted to perform Edwards Apotheosis Art and had left him books describing a ritual that used falsehood to cultivate truth.
• After Shade told Nicholas that Soren and Helena were living well, Nicholas produced a green cat’s-eye key and said it qualified its holder to transform with his ancestor’s help.
• Nicholas asked Shade to keep his existence from his children, but promised to help protect them if needed; Miss Sylvia arranged for him to return to the Graveyard on the North Shore unseen.
• Shade told Miss Sylvia about the red door with thirteen keyholes and suspected Laplace Klein Howard was forging thirteen keys to imitate the Chosen One Ritual and achieve a Miracle.
• Miss Sylvia reassured Shade that the Seer Association could investigate Howard, then invited him to stay for lunch and bring Little Mia.
• Shade used his Crystal Shoes Mystic Lock to travel home, startling Miss Sylvia with the sight of him disappearing.

Shade reunited with Margaret and learned more about Megan and Audrey’s extraordinary Two-in-One state before joining the witches to plan how to gather the remaining keys. Miss Galina revealed that the Witch Council’s Speaker and the Great Witch of Fate had prepared a Task List for them.

• Shade returned to Buck Manor with Little Mia, spent the afternoon with Sylvia, and reunited with Margaret before attending a banquet.
• On the carriage ride back, Megan revealed Audrey’s perfected Two-in-One soul, her new spatial knowledge, and the eye that could appear on different parts of her body.
• At Buck Manor, Shade briefed Galina, Sylvia, and Megan on Nicholas Green’s remains and the keys, and the group identified leads for finding the eight keys still missing.
• Megan offered to investigate her father’s graveyard and the clues involving Soren and Helena, while Sylvia agreed to bring the key and remains investigation to the Church.
• Galina revealed that the Speaker and the Great Witch of Fate had prepared a Task List, then showed Shade its long scroll of times and places.

Shade accepted the Witches’ Task List and prepared to weaken Laplace Klein Howard’s influence before returning to the island. He entered the Past World Epoch again and encountered a colossal Fishman shadow beneath the black sky.

• Shade memorized the Witches’ Task List and planned to handle its matters while waiting for Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus to arrive.
• Shade returned home from Mikella Blast Furnace City, reflected on his peaceful life, and used the Time Key to enter the Past World Epoch with one additional Relic allowed.
• Shade searched his ruined home and Saint Derain Square, finding no sign of Luvia and confirming that the past’s time and space were chaotic.
• Shade summoned the Yggdrasil Staff and waited in the square for a powerful enemy to appear.
• As darkness and disturbing whispers surrounded Saint Derain Square, Shade illuminated a huge Fishman shadow behind his house with Silver Moonlight before darkness swallowed the light.

Shade fought a giant fishman in the darkness of Saint Derain Square, wounding it with the Moonlight Wheel but suffering severe injuries. After recognizing the enemy as Mrs. Lemmer, he battled her again and was nearly consumed by her darkness as the chapter ended.

• Shade endured the giant fishman's scream and water-arrow barrage, then struck it with the Moonlight Wheel Second Form as it hit him with its giant hand.
• Wounded and drained of spirit, Shade drank from the Perfume Bottle of Desire, used summoned water and Active Mud to aid his recovery, and returned to the square.
• Shade recognized the fishman as Mrs. Lemmer, the woman whose inheritance investigation had once led him toward the events in Coldwater Port.
• Mrs. Lemmer lunged at Shade, and he met her attack with Moonlight Slash Third Form before being driven back by her darkness and resentful spirits.
• As Mrs. Lemmer's darkness corroded Shade's body and swallowed his weapons, he declared that he had long possessed the courage to fight darkness.

Shade defeated Mrs. Lemmer’s darkness in the Past World Epoch and recovered the Shadow of the Deep Sea card, which revealed memories of disasters in Coldwater Port and Tobesk. The memories suggested that the Past’s cult conflicts had grown far more severe and that its Church had gradually lost control of events, leaving Shade more determined to protect his present.

• Shade’s First Fire repelled Mrs. Lemmer’s darkness, and he destroyed her fishman form by throwing the Yggdrasil Staff with Black Moon power.
• Shade found the Shadow of the Deep Sea card beside the staff and read its account of Mrs. Lemmer’s fall into darkness.
• Shade witnessed a memory of Mrs. Lemmer entering the sea during the Final Battle of Mermaid’s Song in Coldwater Port, where three evil cults and the Orthodox Church fought.
• Shade saw a second memory of Mrs. Lemmer attacking Tobesk, where the Sunlight Greatsword and a mature Iluna fought her, and Long-Haired Luvia also appeared.
• Shade concluded that the Past’s conflicts had lasted longer and that the Church had lost its leadership, then returned from the Past resolved to protect his present.

After learning more about the Past, Shade recovered from his exhausting battle and discussed the Chosen One Ritual with Luvia and Iluna. Iluna left for Green Lake, Luvia prepared to join her later, and Shade visited Mrs. Lemmer before heading to meet Sister Devlin.

• Shade returned from the White Fog with a new card, recognized Iluna's Thirteenth Ring form, and named the new monthly cards Calamity Cards.
• After sleeping through the night, Shade woke to find Luvia and Iluna waiting; Iluna told him she would leave Tobesk that afternoon.
• Iluna shared the Chosen One Ritual's requirements, and Shade explained that a fully unfolded Mystic Lock: Fairytale Town could provide a suitable location.
• Luvia warned Iluna that Laplace Klein Howard might target the other Chosen Ones, then later told Iluna she was applying to join the association's mission to Green Lake.
• Shade found seven strange spiritual stones in the weekly Gift Box, visited Mrs. Lemmer, and then traveled to the Summit of the Mountains to meet Sister Devlin.

Shade asked Sister Devlin to examine two Calamity Cards, and she showed him that they could grant powerful abilities without releasing the entities sealed inside them. Sister Devlin foresaw that Shade’s journey to Green Lake would reveal clues about the First Fire, then sparred with him in the Sacrificial Ground.

• Sister Devlin explained that Gillar Stones could aid spells that created space, though they could no longer be used to make spatial Alchemy Items.
• Shade showed Sister Devlin Twin Lovers and Shadow of the Deep Sea, and she recognized them as cards holding the power of Doomsday calamities.
• Sister Devlin warned that burning the cards would unleash their calamity power, but demonstrated that they could safely channel Space Jump and Darkness Art.
• Sister Devlin said the card powers were difficult to neutralize and that Shade would need another flame of the Primordial Fire to use them freely.
• Sister Devlin reassured Shade that the Order of Spiritual Cultivation stood with him and predicted that his journey to Green Lake would reveal clues about the First Fire.
• Sister Devlin took up Ashes and sparred with Shade for two hours while he wielded his Moon-blessed greatsword.

Shade reflected on Sister Devlin’s comments about the God of Love, heard Grace and Helen’s warnings about trading with the Golden Master, and learned that his allies were heading to the Green Lake Region. After a quiet day at home, he returned to Green Lake on Tuesday to begin working through Miss Galina’s task list.

• Shade discussed the God of Love’s believers and their soul magic with Sister Devlin, whose remark about the “Red Heart Lock” prompted him to reflect on love and his own motives.
• Shade learned that Grandma Cassandra, Sister Devlin, Grace, Helen, and Miss Swift would travel to the Green Lake Region by Steam Airship, while Grace and Helen planned to use the contaminated Undead Wax Stone to leave Middlesburg temporarily.
• Grace and Helen told Shade that the Golden Master honored contracts but would accept any trade with sufficient stakes, and they urged him not to rely on gods to fulfill wishes he could achieve himself.
• Shade found Doctor Schneider’s letter asking him to meet at Green Lake, where the Doctor planned to deal with the Maze Demon-Yaru by finding its hidden true body.
• Shade spent a restful day in Tobesk, finished a paper, and visited Dorothy with Little Mia before returning home for the night.
• Shade traveled back to the Green Lake Region on Tuesday to handle tasks from Miss Galina’s Witches’ Task List.

Shade investigated a Witches' Task involving Earl Petrarch, a Delarion noble whose use of hallucinogenic mushrooms was changing his body. He found the Earl experimenting with the mushrooms and watched him smoke them, leaving the effects yet to unfold.

• Shade chose the task to save a middle-aged noble from Tobesk and recover the hallucinogenic items affecting him in Green Lake City.
• Shade learned from Miss Galina that Earl Petrarch was the noble, then found his room at the Green Lake Inn.
• Shade gained entry to Earl Petrarch’s room by pretending to be a member of the Umbilical Cord Club.
• Earl Petrarch showed Shade dried Seven-Colored Mushrooms and explained that he ground and smoked them to enter Deep Meditation and see a supposed paradise beyond cracks in the air.
• Earl Petrarch lit a mushroom cigarette and soon slumped forward as if asleep while Shade watched.

Shade used Seven-Colored Mushroom powder to reveal a hidden spatial rift in Earl Petrarch’s wall and followed him through to a lavish establishment in Mikella Blast Furnace City. After arriving, Shade spotted Director Anlos and chose to follow him instead of searching for the Earl.

• Shade watched Earl Petrarch disappear through the wall, then used a tiny amount of mushroom powder in his eyes to reveal concealed spatial rifts.
• Shade stepped through the largest rift and emerged in a bustling, high-end club where he realized Earl Petrarch had likely gone to enjoy himself.
• Shade recognized Director Anlos entering with another man and decided to follow them rather than look for Earl Petrarch.
• Shade followed Director Anlos and Madam Loris to the third floor, where Madam Loris opened a concealed passage behind a bookshelf.

Shade followed Director Anlos to a secret meeting with Hikali Schnorr of Gray Gloves, where the two intelligence chiefs exchanged information about a plot to assassinate Duke Galina and Duke Simier. Anlos later told Shade that the third-party conspirators were close to crossing the boundary governing the involvement of extraordinary powers.

• Shade bypassed a simple warning ritual and followed Director Anlos to a concealed Fourth Floor meeting with Hikali Schnorr.
• Anlos and Schnorr exchanged intelligence about a year-long assassination plot targeting Duke Galina and Duke Simier.
• Shade listened unseen as the intelligence chiefs discussed the risks of the meeting and the clues gathered by their agencies.
• After leaving the building, Anlos met Shade and took him to the Victory Carrier Inn to talk privately.
• Anlos explained that extraordinary individuals were aiding the conspirators from behind the scenes, while the Church and both nations maintained limits on direct involvement.
• Anlos warned Shade that the third-party force was about to cross the line.

Shade agreed to investigate the missing undercover agent Mole while Director Anlos discussed Shade’s loyalty to That Lady and tested his political stance. Shade then exposed Earl Petrarch’s mushroom use and brought the mushrooms to Megan and Audrey, revealing that they grew above a small Green Ridge Ore deposit.

• Shade accepted Director Anlos’s assignment to find out what happened to Mole, an agent who had infiltrated an estate being prepared for Duke Simier.
• Director Anlos told Shade he considered him loyal to That Lady and asked who Shade thought would become the next king; Shade avoided choosing a candidate.
• Shade hypnotized Earl Petrarch into revealing how he had obtained the Colorful Strange Mushrooms, then left him to be arrested by the police and Peace Church Ring Arcanists.
• Shade brought mushroom samples to Megan and Audrey, who tested their properties in the cruise ship’s laboratory.
• Shade explained that the mushrooms grew in soil altered by chaotic spatial influence and revealed that a small Green Ridge Ore deposit lay beneath the patch, which he had left for The Church to handle.

Shade gave Megan a small Earth Holy Grail and agreed to spend the afternoon with her and Audrey while discussing the search for the keys and corpses. The investigation showed that many Edwards Family bodies had vanished and may have returned to the island, while Shade also sought Margaret’s help locating a missing Military Intelligence Section Six apprentice.

• Shade gave Megan the Holy Grail inscribed with “Space Alienation,” and she asked him to stay and study the mushrooms with her and Audrey.
• Megan and Audrey learned that only a female corpse remained in the shared grave of their fourth-generation parents, Alphonse Edwardz and his wife.
• Miss Sylvia told Shade that Edward, the fourth generation’s second son, and his daughter Miss Follen had vanished from their graves, supporting the suspicion that the Edwards corpses had returned to the island.
• Shade and Miss Sylvia concluded that members of the second and third generations might have been revived as Howard’s assistants, while Miss Sylvia urged Shade to focus on drawing out the Demon.
• Shade asked Margaret’s help finding a missing apprentice from Military Intelligence Section Six, and Miss Sylvia gave him an address where the manor’s former staff were being held Outside the City.

Shade investigated a burning farmstead and fought three coordinated Corpse Ghouls that could use Space Movement and cast a Mystic Lock. He broke the Mystic Lock with Door Key through the Yggdrasil Staff and returned to the granary, discovering that the staff seemed to make the spell cost far less.

• Shade found a farmstead on fire and discovered that its inhabitants had been killed by Corpse Ghouls, though a few people still had faint heartbeats in a cellar.
• Three Corpse Ghouls attacked Shade, and he learned that the Pendant’s blessing could not repel them as it did other undead.
• Shade fought the Corpse Ghouls in the burning barn, using Space Stabilization Aura and Moonbeam Greatsword to hinder their movements and wound them.
• The three Corpse Ghouls combined their power to cast a Mystic Lock that transformed the farmstead into Green Lake Town and made them appear as giants.
• Shade used the Yggdrasil Staff to cast Door Key and collapse the Mystic Lock, then realized the staff might reduce the spell’s cost because it was itself a key.

Shade found Mole dying from Corpse Ghoul toxin in a cellar full of dead estate servants and learned that the monsters had targeted descendants of Green Lake Town residents. Mole refused treatment to protect his mission, and Shade later showed the Corpse Ghouls’ likenesses to Megan, who recognized her father and another Edwards family member.

• Shade defeated one Corpse Ghoul, while the other two escaped, then searched a burning farmhouse cellar and found more than thirty poisoned people dead.
• Shade found the dying spy Mole, who revealed that his intelligence was in locker 109 at the Glass City Art Museum and that the Corpse Ghouls had killed two descendants of Green Lake Town residents.
• Mole refused Shade’s offer to heal him, insisting that his death and body remain undisturbed for the sake of the Sixth Office and Delarion, and then died.
• Shade left the burning farmhouse, reported Mole’s intelligence to Director Anlos, and traveled to Miss Sylvia’s estate with Little Mia.
• Megan identified one Corpse Ghoul as her father, Alphons Edwards, and said another resembled her uncle Edward Edwards.