Chapter Summaries

Shade investigated a haunted apartment with Sister Devlin and discovered that its Fire of Return relic sent anyone touched by its flames back to their starting point. After Shade helped Sister Devlin absorb the relic, she shared new powers with him and warned him not to damage the First Fire's seal before the battle at Green Lake Central Island.

• Sister Devlin waited beside a campfire while Shade went upstairs to investigate the apartment.
• Shade repeatedly fought blue-flamed Fire-Burning Humanoids, learned that their flames caused forced returns, and was sent back to the first floor whenever he touched them.
• Shade discovered the Fire of Return relic in his lantern, and Sister Devlin explained its nature and absorbed its flame into the Primordial Fire.
• Sister Devlin passed Shade new abilities to sense the Primordial Fire's flames and restore his spirit by absorbing fire.
• Sister Devlin warned Shade not to damage the First Fire's seal before they confirmed Green Lake Central Island could be sealed, and Shade agreed.

As Shade and Sister Devlin returned from containing a relic, Megan and Audrey prepared for the dangerous family dinner awaiting them the next day. Megan confessed her feelings and tried to spend the night with Shade, but he asked her to wait until she could make that choice without fear; the sisters then revealed that they could manifest both upper bodies together and drew him into a more intimate evening.

• Shade returned to the Green Lake Inn with Sister Devlin and found Luvia and Miss Galina planning how to defend the inn during the coming conflict.
• Luvia told Shade that Megan and Audrey were waiting in his room, and Miss Galina and Luvia predicted that the sisters would succeed in their plan that night.
• Megan told Shade she wanted to express her feelings before attending her family's dinner, but Shade urged her not to make an intimate choice under the pressure of uncertainty about tomorrow.
• Megan teased Shade about his relationship with Miss Galina, then showed him that she and Audrey could now manifest their upper bodies together.
• Megan and Audrey invited Shade to treat the night as their last before the end of the world and pulled him close.

Megan joined Miss Galina and Luvia as they discussed preparations for the coming battle and the Witch Council’s hidden responsibilities. Luvia then revealed she would spend the night with Shade, leaving Megan and Miss Galina surprised.

• Megan found Miss Galina and Luvia performing a Tarot divination and turned over the final card, which showed a dagger-bearing arm emerging from a treasure chest.
• Miss Galina explained that she and Luvia were planning how to protect Shade during the next night’s battle, while Luvia searched for a rare Myriad Aspects of Impermanence Card.
• Miss Galina and Luvia discussed the secrecy surrounding Great Witches’ duties and whether the Speaker might already know about Shade.
• Luvia said the Speaker was unlikely to notice Shade’s relationships if the witches bathed and applied perfume before meetings, embarrassing Megan and Miss Galina.
• Luvia declined Megan’s offer of a room and said she was staying with Shade, surprising Megan and prompting Miss Galina to remark that Luvia had maneuvered Megan into asking.

As spatial rifts spread across the Old Continent and Green Lake faced increasingly dangerous anomalies, Shade and his allies prepared for the Edwards Family Night Banquet. By nightfall, the inn and a mobile cruise ship had been readied for the operation, while Leisha, Angelina, Dorothy, and Little Mia waited at the inn.

• Shade learned that the lake had turned green and that ordinary people could see the sky rift as spatial fusion incidents created Chimera-like monsters in the city.
• Shade and Miss Sylvia restored a compressed alley, discovered a Space Chimera, and killed it with a Dimension Slash, collecting Space Dust.
• Shade learned that the cruise ship group had left early to prepare upstream, with Miss Benanis, Grandma Cassandra, Sister Devlin, Grace, and Helen aboard.
• The inn's guests and staff left, and the Witches' followers, Leisha, and Angelina arrived as preparations for the night operation continued.
• Dorothy brought Shade downstairs to welcome Leisha, then went upstairs with Leisha, Angelina, and Little Mia to wait for nightfall.

Shade followed a puppy to a tavern after it asked him to save Little John, who had been attacked near the Duin River. He found a relic behind the rumored river treasure and confronted rival groups in the tavern, where he began questioning them at gunpoint.

• Shade healed Little John's injured puppy and used the Fish Training Ring to learn that John had been knocked unconscious and taken away after treasure seekers accused him of finding something.
• Shade followed the puppy to the dock, where he found John's shoes and a bloodstained Gold Bracelet carrying a faint Whisper Element that provoked Greed.
• Shade used blood and Echo of Spacetime to trace a blood-colored trail from the dock to a nearby tavern.
• Shade entered the tavern and found Delarion and Kasonlik groups facing off with guns after fighting over treasure seekers along the river.
• Shade drew his revolver and demanded answers, while the tavern owner said the Delarion group was fighting the Kasonlik people as well as competing for treasure.

Shade rescued Little John after finding him unconscious in the Duin River and said farewell to Professor Brownell, whose expedition was leaving Green Lake City. He then swam upstream toward the city’s northern boundary, carrying treasure he had recovered from the riverbed.

• Shade questioned the Delarion and Kasonlik groups about Little John, then used an ice crystal to destroy the tavern as he left.
• Shade and the little dog found Professor Brownell holding the unconscious Little John by the river, and Shade used water manipulation to revive the boy.
• Shade urged Little John to grow up safely, and Professor Brownell told him his expedition was leaving Green Lake City for Kasonlik because the region had become dangerous.
• Shade and Professor Brownell said farewell, and Shade escorted Little John back to the Fat Maid’s apartment before promising he would return the next day.
• Shade returned to the Duin River, swam upstream, and surfaced near the city’s northern boundary with jewels and gold and silver ornaments from the riverbed.

Shade found the Founding card in the remains of a Treasure Chest Monster and returned to Green Lake Inn as the Final Battle was about to begin. The allies prepared the inn for Laplace Klein Howard’s expected invitation.

• Shade entered the river outlet and killed the Treasure Chest Monster with Moonbeam Greatsword.
• Shade collected the monster’s treasures, found a Time Key, and discovered the Founding card, Moon 10, in a glass plate.
• Shade added Founding to his Rhodes Cards deck and returned to the inn, where Miss Aurora and Miss Galina asked why he was so happy.
• After five o’clock, the people at Green Lake Inn deployed rituals and other defenses as they awaited Laplace Klein Howard’s invitation.

The witches and Shade prepared Green Lake Inn for an unknown attack by activating the Green Lake Inn Guardian ritual and assigning defenders throughout the building. After a spatial anomaly struck nearby, Shade checked on his companions and joined Luvia, who examined the card that might reveal hidden spatial mysteries.

• Miss Sylvia locked Green Lake Inn, and Shade and Miss Aurora covered it with concealed Moonbeam Thorns.
• Sivie Aurora, Galina Cavendish, Megan and Audrey Edwardz, and Emma Sylvia activated Witches' Feast and took their assigned defensive positions with the other defenders.
• Shade visited Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus, and they watched a building fall after a spatial transfer while discussing the spreading anomalies and Doomsday.
• Shade gave Dorothy the God of Love's Thorn for protection, but Dorothy and Leisha refused it and promised to stay in the room and follow their prior agreement.
• Shade met Luvia in the corridor, handed her the card, and considered using it to see through the fog on Green Lake Central Island.

As the White Fog spread toward Green Lake City, Shade and the witches prepared for Laplace Klein Howard’s next move, but the night brought a space monster and a barrage of Astral Meteorites. Miss Aurora returned carrying an unconscious Miss Galina after discovering that the meteorites contained unknown creatures and dangerous gas.

• Miss Aurora learned that the White Fog was nearing the city, while Luvia divined that it would spread faster than expected.
• A Space Chimera approached Green Lake Inn, and the witches inside destroyed it with a concentrated barrage of attacks.
• Dozens of Astral Meteorites began falling over Green Lake, and the Church and Ring Arcanists fought to stop them.
• Miss Aurora returned with the unconscious Miss Galina after an unknown monster ambushed her and Galina inhaled an unknown Hallucinogenic Gas.

Luvia awakened Galina from a hallucination that exposed her fear of being abandoned, while Astral Meteorites and the expanding White Fog worsened the crisis around Green Lake. The monsters called Star Color appeared in the region, and Shade and the others faced the prospect of an even greater disaster tied to the Moon's Chosen One.

• Luvia entered Galina's hallucination, confronted the illusion of Leisha, and helped Galina wake by assuring her that Shade cared about her.
• Galina kissed Shade, then went upstairs, while Luvia told him not to ask what was wrong with her.
• Miss Aurora recovered after drinking a prepared potion, and Church Warlocks and a Divine Ritual prevented most of the Astral Meteorites from falling into the Green Lake Region.
• A meteorite struck Glass City, another vanished into the White Fog at Green Lake, and the fog rapidly expanded toward nearby cities as spatial magic grew unreliable.
• Monsters from the meteorites appeared in the city, and Grandma Cassandra warned that Star Color could transform living beings and pollute entire regions.
• Luvia connected the star-related danger to the Chosen One disasters, leaving Shade to wonder what calamity would accompany the Moon's Chosen One.

Shade and the others struggled to seal a third-floor window that had opened onto the sea through the Document Level Relic Sea View Window. A colossal, intelligent eye appeared beyond the window and overwhelmed them with terror until someone invoked the Chaos Witch.

• After a second wave of Astral Meteorites was intercepted, Miss Sylvia summoned Shade to the third floor, where seawater was flooding into the inn through a window.
• Shade joined Miss Sylvia and the young ladies in blocking the opening with Wooden Boards and Nails, learning that only those materials could seal the relic’s spatial connection.
• A tentacle burst through the boards, seized Shade and Miss Sylvia, and nearly dragged them into the sea before Shade escaped with Laguerre's Leap.
• A vast silhouette approached through the deep sea and revealed itself as an enormous intelligent eye, leaving Shade and the others paralyzed with terror.
• Someone shouted, "Praise the Chaos Witch! May the Witch's Radiance endure forever!" and jolted the group back to their senses.

Shade and the others survived an attack from a deep-sea monster, then faced new relics and another wave of Astral Meteorites as strange events spread through the Green Lake Inn. A newly appeared invitation set a deadline of seven forty-eight, and at seven oh-nine the earth began to shake violently.

• Shade, Miss Sylvia, Audrey, and Megan drove away the deep-sea monster and sealed the broken window.
• Shade returned to the first floor as Miss Aurora went outside to fight more Space Chimeras, while Luvia investigated a relic behind Room 204’s changed door.
• At seven o'clock, a new invitation appeared with the time set for seven forty-eight, and a little girl’s soul said her father had sent it.
• The third wave of Astral Meteorites arrived, and The Church used an anti-air ritual and a dragon to fight the Fireballs.
• At seven oh-nine, an earthquake shook the Green Lake Inn for more than ten seconds.

As the White Fog closed in on Green Lake Inn, a mysterious relic caused the entire Second Floor and its occupants, including Galina and Luvia, to vanish into an unknown place. Shade reassured the others that they would return and sent word to the Witch Council, while the fog continued to approach.

• After learning the White Fog could reach the inn within minutes, Shade and Miss Aurora watched the Church intercept another wave of Astral Meteorites.
• At 7:28, the Second Floor disappeared into conceptual void, leaving only the landing between the staircases.
• Miss Sylvia identified the cause as a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, a Teleportation Gate that had transported the floor and its occupants elsewhere.
• Shade comforted Miss Sylvia and promised that Galina, Luvia, and the others would return safely.
• Shade told Miss Aurora what had happened, and she sent Hailey to inform the seven Great Witches waiting at the Council.

White fog invaded Green Lake Inn, and Shade used Sun Fire to create safe areas for the people on the first and third floors. As a colossal Ancient Evil Being advanced through Green Lake City, Miss Aurora and other High-Ring Arcanists flew out to fight it.

• Shade gave Miss Aurora a lantern containing Sun Fire and created a Traveler Camp for the people staying in the basement.
• Miss Aurora and the young ladies chose to remain on the first floor, where Shade made another Sun Fire safe area before heading upstairs.
• Shade created a bonfire on the third floor and told everyone that the 7:48 event was ten minutes away.
• A colossal creature with features of several beasts appeared in the fog, and Miss Sylvia warned everyone not to look at it.
• Miss Aurora and other High-Ring Arcanists flew into the sky to confront the Ancient Evil Being as it approached Green Lake Inn.

Shade and Megan waited out the ritual’s final countdown at Green Lake Inn while the Witches fought enemies outside. At 7:48, the inn’s occupants and several relics vanished into the fog, and Miss Sylvia concluded that Megan had likely reached the island.

• Priest Augustus sensed an expanding Edge of Life and Death, so he and Doctor Schneider left to investigate it.
• Shade entered the Hide and Seek Wardrobe under the Invisibility Cloak while Megan waited outside with the Concentric Sword and linked their positions with a red-thread Thaumaturgy.
• Miss Sylvia left to fight enemies on the rooftop as Shade, Megan, and the others counted down to 7:48.
• Miss Aurora and Miss Sylvia defeated two transparent enemies, then returned to find everyone and Shade’s bonfire gone from the fog-filled inn.
• Miss Sylvia found the basement ritual intact but its assisting relics missing, and she concluded that Megan had probably entered the island.

A spatial replication transported the inn and its occupants to a fog-covered island on the reverse side of the world, separating Shade and the young ladies from Megan and the Great Witches. Shade gathered the conscious sorceresses and prepared to search for a way forward while Miss Sylvia and Miss Aurora chose separate plans to reunite with the others.

• Miss Sylvia deduced that the inn had been spatially copied and sent elsewhere, and her Return Charm brought her back to the copy rather than to Shade.
• Miss Aurora assigned Miss Sylvia and the other young ladies to search for a passage between the inns, while she planned to find Megan's cruise ship; Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus headed for the lakeshore.
• Shade emerged from the wardrobe after 7:48 and discovered that Megan had vanished and several young ladies had fainted during the spatial transfer.
• Shade used Enhanced Space Perception and a map to confirm that the inn was on Another Island, where the thick fog suppressed spatial powers.
• Shade led the conscious young ladies downstairs, found that the ritual remained active despite several missing participants, and learned that the Crystal Shoes could not return him to the Material World.
• Shade assembled the remaining fighters in the inn hall, where the group counted five high-ring ladies and twenty-eight mid-ring young ladies capable of fighting.

Shade organized the survivors at Green Lake Inn after they were transported to a fog-shrouded version of Green Lake Central Island, where their powers were weakened and Miss Edwardz had vanished. As monsters gathered outside, he led a group into battle while the others defended the inn.

• Shade explained that the White Fog had weakened the inn's ritual functions and that leaving the inn greatly increased the cost of using spirit and stamina while weakening thaumaturgy.
• Shade appointed Tifa commander and Miss Hailey Aurora deputy, ordered everyone else to remain at the inn, and planned to explore the island alone.
• Shade sensed approaching low-level demons and other monsters, and Tifa concluded that they had been drawn by the survivors rather than directed by a controller.
• Shade and the sorceresses invoked the Oath of the Sun, then blocked off the upper floors and prepared the first-floor hall for defense.
• Shade led Tifa, Miss Hailey Aurora, and several sorceresses outside to attack the monsters as the rest fought to protect Green Lake Inn.

Shade and Tifa found the shore near the hidden hotel and marked a route for the Great Witches, then Shade prepared to venture deeper into the island while the others investigated the strange duplicated space. The chapter ended with Tifa reminding him to take his Return Charm.

• Shade cleared monsters from the woods around the hotel and took Tifa with him to find the nearby shoreline.
• Shade and Tifa discovered a pier beside a lake crowded with eerie black reefs, and Shade marked the beach for the arriving Witches.
• Shade and Tifa returned to the hotel, where Shade drew a map showing the short route from the hotel to the shore.
• Shade assigned Tifa and Hailey to guard the hotel and asked Miss Decter to search for a passage to the hotel in Green Lake City.
• Shade told Dorothy and Leisha to stay inside, then prepared to explore deeper into the island until Tifa handed him his Return Charm.

Shade left the inn and made his way through the rain and fog toward the First Fire and the ancient seal, hoping to interfere with the Chosen One Ritual. At Green Lake Town’s cemetery, he found Wood Edwardz and Glass Edwardz confronting the townspeople over their dead father’s burial.

• Shade gathered the remaining talismans, said goodbye to the young ladies at the inn, and set out alone into the fog.
• Shade used Enhanced Space Perception and his ability to sense the First Fire to navigate the island toward the cemetery, while “She” accused him of trying to deceive the Chosen One Ritual.
• Shade smelled burning wood and followed the firelight to Green Lake Town’s cemetery, where he discovered a group of raincoat-clad townspeople surrounding Wood Edwardz and Glass Edwardz.
• Wood argued that their dead father should be buried in the cemetery, but the townspeople insisted that death was not the end and urged the brothers to follow Laplace Howard.
• The townspeople advanced, and the Edwardz brothers joined hands and used their root-bound Destiny Rings to turn the raindrops into mirrors that amplified a wave of light against the crowd.

Shade rescued the Edwards Brothers from the repeating ritual in Green Lake Town’s cemetery and discovered that blood from their repeated deaths fed enormous tree roots beneath the island. The brothers and Shade identified the bonfire as the source of the ritual, but their attacks awakened a fire-shaped Laplace Klein Howard, and the fight resumed.

• The townspeople repeatedly killed the Edwards Brothers, and their blood seeped into the earth to feed giant roots beneath the island.
• The brothers tried a water-shark summoning Thaumaturgy to destroy the townspeople, but their souls returned and the cycle continued.
• Shade used Great Sin Chains and Black Moon Runes to turn the townspeople into gray sand and rescue the brothers.
• Wood Edwards explained that he and Glass Edwards had been brought directly to the island, where repeated battles strengthened their connection to it and their spatial talents.
• Shade and the brothers realized the bonfire was involved in the ritual and attacked it, causing the roots beneath the ground to writhe.
• The flames formed the upper body of Laplace Klein Howard, who attacked the trio, and they leaped clear as the battle began again.