Jade returns to the Shadow Realm and decides to make some changes in the landscape, unknowingly affecting Kandarakar as well in the process. Meanwhile, Will and Elyon bring Nerissa's comatose body to Kandrakar and have with the Council a conversation that leaves a sour taste in their mouth.
- Achievements in Ignorance: When Jade reshapes the Shadow Realm to give it a physical form instead of just being an endless void, she unknowingly causes Kandrakar to be hit with a massive earthquake as a portal doorway is formed between the two worlds.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When Tibor assesses that Nerissa's spirit appears to be cut in half, Will asks if it's bad, leading to Luba snapping it should be obvious.
- Big Fancy Castle: Jade ends up creating for herself a Japanese-styled palace. It gets further explored in Chapter 9.
- Big "WHAT?!": This is Will and Elyon's simultaneous reaction when Luba proposes ordering the Guardians to Kandrakar until they find a way to eliminate the Shadow Realm's threat over Kandrakar.
- Broken Pedestal: Elyon's faith in Kandrakar is shattered when Luba states that if it weren't for Nerissa insisting that Phobos was a threat to other worlds, they wouldn't have bothered interfering with events on Meridian.
- Call-Back:
- Jade recalls that when Drago sent her to the Shadow Realm, it felt like she drifted for a long while before coming upon the portal that brought her to Meridian. She has also accepted the Shadow Realm is connected to different universes like the Queen told her in Kage. These facts make her theorize that she needs to find a specific portal to find her way back to her own universe's section of the Shadow Realm.
- The first Oracle N'ghala's last prophecy about Jade/Kage destroying Kandrakar is brought up, with Luba recalling the part that's already happened: the Aurameres (the Guardians) attacking a shadow from another world (Jade/Kage) without provocation yet failing to destroy it before it grew in power.
- The Chains of Commanding: The mysterious earthquake and the revelations regarding Nerissa and Kage make Himerish feel the weight of being the Oracle.
- Cliffhanger: Will, worried for the heartbroken Elyon, follows her back to Meridian through a fold.
- Cool Gate: Jade unintentionally creates a circular door connecting the Shadow Realm to Kandrakar. On the Shadow Realm's side, it's made of pristine white marble and held by two large statues of western dragons facing each other in roaring positions. On the door's surface is a large yin-yang symbol, with the yang on the bottom and Kandrakar's symbol for light on the black circle. On Kandrakar's side, it's made of black obsidian, with two eastern dragons circling it. Its yin-yang symbol has the yin on the bottom and the Japanese kanji for darkness on the white circle.
- Continuity Nod:
- Jade remarks to herself that as the queen of the Shadow Realm, she needs a palace. When she first became the Queen and took over Section 13, she told Captain Black that every queen needs a palace.
- Tibor says that Nerissa lacking her shadow is like a piece of her spirit has been cut away. This keeps up with that Uncle explained about the Leech Khan's shadow-eating abilities in their canon first appearance; shadows contain half of people's chi.
- Deflector Shields: The Oracle creates mystical barrier around his sages to protect them in the crumbling fortress.
- Domain Holder: Jade finds that she can reshape the contents of the Shadow Realm to her will, crafting part of the void into a Floating Continent with a palace on it.
- Dramatic Drop: Himerish is watering a plant before his Headache of Doom causes him to drop the watering can.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Continuing to work with their limited knowledge regarding Kage like in the previous chapter, Will tells the Council about her and her friends' conclusion that Kage was forced on the run by something more powerful and brings up another incorrect theory that she may be having a war of her own that went badly for her and forced her to flee to Meridian in search of allies, given that she only now has at least some of her army behind her.
- Good Is Not Nice: Not only Luba harshly calls Will and Elyon out of making Jade an enemy, but she also bluntly tells Elyon that if not for Nerissa's machinations, the Council wouldn't have interfered with Phobos and Meridian's civil war in the first place.
- Internal Reveal: Will and Elyon learn Nerissa's identity and about the prophecy related to Kage, while the Council learns about everything involving Kage on Meridian.
- It's a Long Story: Will admits this is the case with what she and Elyon came to Kandrakar about, and the scene jumps to when they're finished telling everything about Kage.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- While Luba is very harsh about how she words it to Will and Elyon, they don't deny she's right to be angry about how they created an enemy out of Jade/Kage, especially since it may be too late to fix the damage.
- While Himerish admits Luba could have said it more tactfully, he concurs with her words that they know too little about Kage and her power to rush into a direct confrontation with her, which is why he tells the Guardians to stay on Earth until the Council can find more information or decide on the best course of action.
- Ki Manipulation: Jade uses kata movements to direct energy in order to change the Shadow Realm's landscape.
- Missed Him by That Much: Jade and Himerish nearly meet each other for the first time when they're about to open the door between the Shadow Realm and Kandrakar at the exact same time. They both get interrupted though when Himerish senses Will and Elyon's arrival to Kandrakar and Jade receives from a Bat Khan news related to Meridian, so they decide to unravel the mystery of the door later.
- Must Make Amends: Discussed. When talking about what can be do to atone for what was done to Kage, Tibor suggests offering compensation, noting that if Kage really is a royal, diplomacy may not be off the table. However, the only idea they can think of is Will suggesting they offer to help her with whatever drove her to Meridian, which they assume is a conflict of some kind. Luba scoffs at the idea of getting involved in a conflict they know nothing about or that may not even exist.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: The Oracle is hit with a sudden pain in his head in response to Jade beginning to reshape the Shadow Realm right before Kandrakar is hit with an earthquake seemingly caused by those same actions.
- Ominous Floating Castle: Jade's palace, colored in dark red and black, is situated on a rock island floating in the Shadow Realm. Some of it being covered in mist helps make it look mysterious and threatening.
- The Prophecy: The prophecy of N'ghala the first Oracle that seemingly forewarns Jade/Kage destroying Kandrakar, first mentioned in Kage, is referenced again here, though with more details added to reflect this story's events. Specifically, it speaks about the shadow from another world consuming the light of the Aurameres with the power of nine shadows, which obviously refers to Kage facing the Guardians with the might of the nine Shadowkhan tribes.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While the Oracle isn't happy about the Guardians and Elyon dropping the ball with Jade/Kage, he doesn't hound the girls for their mistakes like Luba does, saying instead that they cannot change the past, only learn from their mistakes. He believes that the prophecy about Kage destroying Kandrakar can be averted, tries to calm everyone down and listen to potential solutions brought up to fix the situation, and is open to diplomatic solutions with Kage rather than resorting to fighting her. Tibor is similarly supportive of the girls.
- The Reveal: Luba reveals that Kandrakar only raised the Veil and allowed the Guardians to fight on Meridian because "the Mage" had them convinced that Phobos was a threat to the Infinite Dimensions. She makes it clear that if not for this, they wouldn't have interfered with events that were Meridian's own internal affairs.
- Screw Destiny: Himerish believes there's still time to thwart the rest of N'ghala's prophecy, reasoning that while Kandrakar has witnessed many prophecies coming true during its whole existence, there are also many cases of averted prophecies.
- Stroke the Beard: Tibor does this while thinking on the problem with Kage.
- Tempting Fate: Following the tense meeting with the Council, the chapter ends with Will hoping things can't get worse as she returns with Elyon to Meridian. The next chapter begins with the narration immediately stating she's wrong.
- This Cannot Be!:
- Tibor's reaction to seeing Nerissa's comatose body is to utter "Impossible!" with wide eyes. Himerish in turn says "It can't be." in a more composed way.
- Tibor has a similar reaction when he examines Nerissa's body and senses that her very spirit feels like it's been cut in half.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Luba harshly tears into Will and Elyon for antagonizing Jade/Kage, for she fears this will cause the prophecy of Kandrakar's downfall to come true.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Tibor has seen magic that can destroy, contain or even infect one's spirit, all with great effort, but Nerissa's shadow getting eaten by a Leech Khan is quite new to him. He describes it as if someone had used a knife to cut clean a part of her own spirit quickly and precisely.
