Chapter Summaries

Sylutia and the Silver Radiance Church traveled through the Western Mountains, helping local cities contain the plague, and reached Giant Stone Fortress, where the residents celebrated their recovery. As Sylutia joined the bonfire gathering, Anali approached the fortress after performing soul-calming rites and reflected on how her work had shaped her path as a shaman.

• Sylutia reunited with Imei on the train and learned how their former classmates had built careers after graduating from Thetis Academy.
• Sylutia and the Silver Radiance Church visited roughly ten cities in the Western Mountains over a month, supporting local branches and treating plague victims.
• At Giant Stone Fortress, Sylutia met the city lord and resident mage Admandu, who told her that her book about the Western Mountains had remained in use as a textbook for local orc children.
• Sylutia supplied medicine and personnel that helped bring the plague under control, and the fortress residents celebrated with a bonfire banquet.
• Anali climbed toward Giant Stone Fortress with companions after performing soul-calming rites for plague victims, reflecting on her grief, her growing Dead Ember power, and her title as the Solitary Purple Soul-Calming Shaman.

Anali reunited with Sylutia at the Giant Stone Fortress and reflected on how funeral rites helped the living face death. Months later, Sylutia attended a witches’ gathering, where Caiqilie traced witches’ origins to human dream guides serving the Silver Moon Dragon and explained their ancient ties to the Four Seasons and the dragons.

• Anali reunited with Sylutia at the Giant Stone Fortress, then told her and the city lord how her work laying souls to rest had shaped her understanding of grief and funerals.
• Four months later, Sylutia returned to Phantom Color Woodland with Rachel, Dorothy, and the others for the Harvest Celebration.
• A young witch delivered Sylutia an invitation from Lady Caiqilie, and Sylutia crossed Rainbow Gem Lake to attend a private gathering with Caiqilie, Meko, and Eve-en.
• Caiqilie explained that the Four Seasons Alliance had witch origins and that Melancholy had founded the Silver Radiance Church after following the Radiant Moon path.
• Caiqilie described how human women became witches serving the Silver Moon Dragon, later assisting the dragons in overseeing the seasons as the first Four Seasons Witches.

Eve-en explained that the Phantom Black Rabbit had never fully secured the Hour of the Radiant Moon, and Sylutia’s existence proved it. Sylutia realized she was likely to become the deity’s enemy, while Eve-en said Lady Melusina would explain why the Witches had summoned her.

• Eve-en told Sylutia that the Witches hoped to find the Silver Moon Dragon’s remains and uncover secrets about the Hour of the Radiant Moon.
• Eve-en argued that the Phantom Black Rabbit’s limited blessings and Sylutia’s unrecognized Radiant Moon favor showed that the deity did not fully control its Hour’s authority.
• Sylutia considered how the Phantom Black Rabbit’s hidden weakness explained its past inaction and why her rise as a Named One could make her a threat.
• Eve-en warned Sylutia that she would eventually confront the Phantom Black Rabbit, then said Lady Melusina would explain the deeper reason for the invitation.
• Meko briefly woke after the discussion ended, then went back to sleep as Eve-en explained her habit of slacking off after years of overwork.

Sylutia met Melusina, who explained the witches’ dream-based immortality and offered her a choice between becoming a witch or pursuing the Silver Radiance Church path toward the Silver Moon Dragon’s legacy. Sylutia chose to accept the challenge of facing the Phantom Black Rabbit and vowed not to implicate the witches before proving she could win their support.

• Comia watched Sylutia at the gathering but left without approaching her, feeling the gulf between their ranks had grown too wide.
• Melusina met Sylutia beside a forest pool and explained that witches survived by anchoring their fates in dreams and recreating bodies in reality.
• Melusina offered Sylutia the safer path of becoming a Seventh Order witch or the dangerous path of becoming the Silver Radiance Church’s Saintess and confronting the Phantom Black Rabbit.
• Sylutia learned the witches would support her if she found the Silver Moon Dragon’s burial place and obtained His legacy.
• Sylutia accepted the challenge and promised not to implicate any witch faction or witch until then.

Sylutia delivered the Evil-Devouring Potion to the Evil-Burning Hall, where it restored the awareness of mutated test subjects and offered hope for controlling Distortion. She then researched the Silver Moon Dragon’s history at Glass Academy, learning how his death led to the fall of Dragon rule and the wars that reshaped the Fourth Continent before a silver-haired Witch appeared as a possible Radiant Moon Hour.

• Sylutia named her new potion the Evil-Devouring Potion and sent it to the Evil-Burning Hall with its formula.
• Mages at the Evil-Burning Hall found that the potion restored the consciousness of mutated subjects, and later confirmed it could preserve lucidity through advancement to the third order with regular injections.
• The Mages awakened Erik with the potion, confirmed that he could understand them and speak, and discussed recruiting Rogers to help with further experiments.
• Sylutia visited Glass Academy, where Luanse directed her to records on the Silver Moon Dragon and advised her to proceed carefully and in secret.
• Sylutia read that after the Silver Moon Dragon’s death, the Fourth Continent descended into war, the Dragons and Lizardmen lost their rule, and a plague later spread across the land.
• A silver-haired Witch in white robes appeared in the records as a savior whom the Hours considered worthy of succeeding to the position of Radiant Moon Hour.

Sylutia studied records of the Silver Moon Dragon and the Dragon of the Corona to understand why the Hours declined and how the Dragon of the Corona escaped corruption through rebirth. She concluded that inheriting an Hour’s old position could mean inheriting the conflict between old and new laws, while the Phantom Black Rabbit’s failure to fully claim Radiant Moon may have protected it.

• Sylutia reasoned that the Silver Moon Dragon may have accepted the end of Dragon rule because Radiant Moon’s spiritual aims mattered more to it, though she also considered that it might have sought rebirth.
• Sylutia read how the Blazing Sun Dragon passed its Hour position to the Sun-Rising Wind Eagle, which uplifted humanity and helped establish Moransa, the Swan King, and the system of Royal Authority.
• Sylutia learned that Moransa’s death shattered the Sun-Rising Wind Eagle’s plans, and that the Eagle eventually declined and fell into the Twilight Sea.
• Sylutia traced how the Queen of Resonant Music sought to take the vacant Radiant Moon position, but the Phantom Black Rabbit seized the Hour position during the ritual instead.
• Sylutia concluded that the Dragon of the Corona was reborn under the new laws, while inheriting the Silver Moon Dragon’s old authority risked decline; the Phantom Black Rabbit’s incomplete claim may have spared it that fate.

Sylutia reunited with Amelia at the Great Library of Thetis Academy and learned that Amelia would soon join the Mage Alliance’s Timekeeping Department. They discussed Amelia’s research into the Twin Snake Cult and the World of Shadows, and Sylutia urged her to handle dangerous knowledge carefully before they parted.

• Sylutia left Glass Academy after studying through the night and decided to visit Amelia at Thetis Academy.
• Sylutia found Amelia asleep in the restricted upper floor of the Great Library, where Amelia hurried off to bathe and change before speaking with her.
• Sylutia read Amelia’s forbidden book about the Twin Snake Cult while waiting, then learned Amelia was preparing to join the Timekeeping Department as a clock setter.
• Amelia told Sylutia she was investigating how the Twin Snake Cult resisted the Twilight Sea to help counter the Plague and the World of Shadows’ encroachment.
• Sylutia warned Amelia to restrain the spread of dangerous knowledge and comforted her before they caught up on their recent lives.
• Sylutia left after their conversation, while Amelia regretted not asking her to stay for lunch.