WMG / Blades of Light & Shadow

Kade will be brought out of the Shadow Realm...

But it will be a case of Came Back Wrong unless premium sidequests are done to ensure he comes back whole and intact.

• The lore tablet gained in Chapter 9 says there are rumors that the Dreadlord is seeking a new host. This means that Kade could become the Dreadlord's new host.
• Jossed! He’s found in Chapter 15, but he’s been beaten and tortured for days. It's Nia who becomes the Dreadlord's host.

Every skill can be learned

So far even with all premium choices bought in two chapters and the right choices, it is possible to get to level 3 with the right skillset.

• There are achievements for maxing out all skills in a tier, so it's still likely.
• Confirmed. If the player makes all the correct choices and purchases the necessary premium scenes, they will hit max level in Chapter 16 and earn the achievement "A Hero Worthy of Legend".

Aerin is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing while Baldur is a Red Herring

Aerin talks about living under his older brother Baldur's shadow, and he didn't explain his ability to catch an arrow mid-air further. This makes him more suspectible to the Shadow Court's corruption than Baldur is.

• Confirmed. Chapter 14 reveals that Aerin had been corrupted by the Shadow Court. He then kills Baldur to summon a portal to the Shadow Realm.

There will be a dwarf party member in Book 2

Whether they’re a love interest or not, it’s shown in a lore tablet there are dwarves on the other side of the world.

• Given that we have (or rather, had) a goblin party member as of Chapter 6, and both goblins and dwarves were seen in sneak peeks of Book 2, this is looking even more likely. However, given that Willow was only in our party for one chapter, it's possible that the dwarf will be a temporary party member as well.
• Confirmed with Cherta in Chapter 9.

Book 2 will involve finding light shards

Since the Onyx Shards gathered together were revealed to make a sword of darkness, the next book will be about finding its opposite.

• While still possible, it's a little less likely with the reveal that The dark shards, when purified, became a sword of light powerful enough to slay the Dreadlord.
• Jossed: Book 2 is about finding and sealing the rifts between the two realms.

There will be a scene in Book 2 involving Tyril and a goose, if not geese

Book 1 Chapter 7 shows that Tyril is deathly afraid of geese after hearing Raine's story of them and Kade being chased by a goose. Whether it's a premium scene or not, there will not only be one goose or a flock of them, Tyril will have to deal with it. Bonus points if they go for Untitled Goose Game references.

• Jossed (at least for Book 2)

Mal will call the Shadestalker "Tentacle Face"

As a Fandom Nod to one of the monster's proposed names, and also because he's quite a nicknamer, much like Jake from Endless Summer (who he takes some inspiration from).

• Jossed, Mal doesn't even meet the Shadestalker, since it's encountered by Raine and Valax while they're separated from the rest of the party. Raine, however, will call it "Tentacle Face" if the "distract" choice is chosen.

Mal will go rogue in Book 2

Notice that on the full cover of Book 2, Mal is on the dark side with the purple-skinned shadow lady, while the other three love interests are on the side of light and Raine is in the middle. Rule of Symbolism, perhaps? Mal did only join our heroes in Book 1 for the money, after all.

• His surprising callousness in Book 2, Chapter 5 (unless you take the choice that requires the Inspire skill), telling Raine that "they just slept through" the year makes this theory more likely. Imtura's comment that "we had to live through it, and not all of us lived well" can be excused, since she took Raine's supposed death the hardest, and she spent months drowning her sorrows, but Mal has no excuse.
• In Chapter 7, he suffers a Shadow-inflicted injury. If Raine doesn't have the Heal skill, the injury persists, and Mal insists it's fine. This could also contribute to his corruption.
• Jossed.

Book 2 will be the last

BOLAS is a very high production value series, which is why it took three years to get a sequel in the first place. Not only that, but the June 2023 blogpost mentions that we will finally be able to say "those three words"^note "I love you" to our love interest, something that usually only happens at the end of a given series. If there ever was a Book 3, we'd be lucky if it was released by the end of the same decade.

• Also, a VIP special book detailing character sheets of every character over the course of both books is set to be released on December 20, 2023, which almost feels like a farewell gift from PB, in addition to the only chapter being called "The Adventure Continues".
• Jossed, big time! There will be a 3rd book after all!

Why Book 2 is set to start with September

Since this will most likely be the last book to be released for everyone without going through a VIP phase, the writers most likely want to end it within this year (assuming Book 2 has the same length as Book 1), since Choices will be ushering in the "all VIP era" next year.

• Less likely now, since the first early access sequel has been brought forward to November 2023 (December 2023 for the general release), at which point chapters of Book 2 will certainly still be releasing at the time of the early access release and likely still at the time of the general release^note Assuming Book 2 has 16 chapters (the same number as Book 1), and there's no delays, the book will end on December 15th, 2023, meaning that the general release of The Cursed Heart, Book 2 would release on either December 22, or December 29.
• Jossed as well, the general release of ''The Cursed Heart]], Book 2 is December 27, 2023, at which point there'll be at least one chapter of Blades 2 left. Even moreso, now that Book 3 has been revealed.

How Book 1 skills will carry over

If you've completed Book 1, all skills will be carried over to Book 2. If you haven't completed Book 1, you get to pick one skill from each category in the first book (Bows, Blades, or Brawling, Seduction, Deception, or Charisma, and Woodslore, Medicine, or Beastmaster) at the start of Book 2. There may even be an option to start Book 2 with additional skills for diamonds.

• Confirmed for the skills carrying over, jossed for picking Book 1 skills in Book 2 if you haven't played through Book 1. Fives skills are given to you automatically (namely, Blades, Charisma, Seduction, Beastmaster, and Woodslore). However, none of the regular skills are used after Chapter 1.

What each Book 2 skill is

We got a sneak peek of the 9 regular skills we'll be learning in Book 2 on August 24, 2023. Based on the type of skill and the associated symbol, here's what each skill could be:

• Combat:
  • Left skill (potion symbol): Potions - Close, it's Alchemy.
  • Middle skill (chain symbol): Whips - Jossed, it's Chains.
  • Right skill (Magic Wand): Magic - Close, it's Staffs.
• Diplomacy:
  • Left skill (angry, shouting face): Intimidation - Confirmed
  • Middle skill (magnifying glass): Foresight, detective skills - Confirmed (mostly), the actual name of the skill is Insight.
  • Right skill (happy face): Kindness, wisdom. Jossed - it's Inspiration.
• Survival:
  • Left skill (hammer): Crafting - Confirmed
  • Middle skill (running boot): Stamina - Jossed, it's Realmwalking.
  • Right skill (eye): Night vision - Confirmed, the actual name of the skill is "Shadowsight".

Aerin will be a love interest in Book 2

Prior to The Reveal in Book 1, Chapter 14, there were several moments where Raine could flirt with Aerin and even kiss him, and the final chapter of Book 1 gives Raine the option of saying they want to be with him (with Aerin genuinely believing them if he and Raine kissed in Book 1, Chapter 8). Even though he either gets captured and imprisoned or escapes in the Book 1 finale, it's possible that he may be forced to team up with Raine and their party against the new threat in Book 2 and redeem himself, thereby becoming an official love interest. Plus, the blogpost mentions that "we can decide how much pain Aerin causes us", which could be another sign that he's a love interest. If you captured him at the end of Book 1, he will join Raine's party in Book 2, Chapter 5 (Chapter 7 if you didn't capture him), and there are even a couple of options marked with hearts, giving this theory traction.

Book 2 will have some Non-Standard Skill Learning

Book 1's XP and skill system is perfectly fine, but a bit...segregated (for example, Raine can gain XP by flirting with someone, then level up and suddenly become proficient in communicating with animals or skilled with a bow and arrow, like how does that work?). Maybe Book 2 will remedy this by allowing us to learn skills through the challenges we complete in our adventure (similar to elite skills, except without spending diamonds).

• At least one case pops up in Chapter 1; Raine, after becoming a Realmwalker at the end of Book 1, learns how to do it again to escape the Shadow Realm and automatically unlock the "Realmwalk" skill. To a lesser extent, the weapon Raine takes after escaping the dungeon in Chapter 1 determines what combat skill they start with.

Our reunion with friends

The description of Book 2, Chapter 2 mentions that we will set out to uncover what we missed and to reunite with our friends, while Chapter 3's description heavily implies that by the end of Book 2, Chapter 2, we will have only reunited with Mal and Nia. There are one of two ways this could go down.

• We reunite with all four love interests in the first half of Chapter 2, but then the attack on Whitetower shown in the bonus scene of Book 1 happens in the second half of the chapter, scattering our party. We can only recover Mal and Nia, so we have to wait until the next chapter(s) to recover the rest of the party.
• We only reunite with Mal and Nia, since both of them grew up in Whitetower, which is why they were close by when Raine got out of the Shadow Realm. The end of the chapter would have Raine, Mal, and Nia planning to find Tyril and Imtura, only for the aforementioned attack on Whitetower to happen.
• Since the chapter is, according to the app itself, only 12 minutes long, the latter outcome is more likely. On the other hand, those who were romancing Tyril or Imtura will have to wait another chapter or two before they are reintroduced, which wouldn't be fair to them. Note that the Chapter 3 description says "recovered" and not "reunited with".
• By the end of Chapter 2, we've only fully reunited with Tyril. Nia appears in the last moments of the chapter, while Mal and Imtura are only mentioned. Judging by the next two chapter descriptions, it doesn't look like the party will be fully reunited until Chapter 4 at the earliest.
• Fortunately, by the end of Chapter 3, we've reunited with everyone except Imtura, and the chapter ends just as we get a glimpse of her fighting a creature in a tavern. We're fully reunited by Chapter 4, and Chapter 5, the party is on their way to finding the first rift, meaning that the plot is officially underway.

There will be a route where Raine becomes a villain

The cover of Book 2 has Raine standing inbetween the two realms (likely as a Duality Motif), they can claim that they want to join Aerin at the end of Book 1 (it turns out to be a deception, but it's still interesting that they even thought of it), and The Elementalists also had a morality system in the second book that it didn't have in the first one. Most notably, the brief Dream Sequence at the start of Book 2 optionally has Raine's love interest (or Kade if they're single) mention that Raine left Mal to die in a trap-filled chamber, stabbed Tyril with his own sword, tied Imtura up in chains and threw her into the ocean, and crushed poor Threep under their boot, all while Nia was Forced to Watch before Raine killed her too. Though it's just a dream, it may also be foreshadowing, with Raine Dreaming of Things to Come like they did in the bonus scene of Book 1^note The same dream has Raine's companion mention that it's been years since they defeated the Dreadlord, then they discover that they've been gone a whole year at the end of the chapter, meaning that the dream has at least some grains of truth in it. Also, the previews leading up to Book 2's release heavily imply that Princess Valax will be a love interest, despite her being a villain. Though she may pull a Heel–Face Turn and join our side (leaving her mother as the Big Bad), in line with this theory, what if Raine joined Valax's side instead?

If this happened, it would follow a similar path to It Lives Within (with a dash of The Elementalists, Book 2); Raine can commit questionable actions that their friends will call them out on (shifting their morality to negative), and they can also gain romance points with Valax. If Raine's morality is negative enough and they have enough romance points with Valax, near the end of the story, the option to join Valax's side will unlock (much like the option to join Matthias' side in ITW). In this route, instead of the Final Boss being Valax or her mother, the Final Boss would be The Watcher, who brings up all the horrible things Raine did over the course of the book (much like how Rowan's ghost calls Rowan out for their horrible actions in the Villain Protagonist route of ITW). And just like in said book, Raine can win and ride off into the sunset with Valax.

• Almost certainly jossed (at least for Book 2).

If Raine had a love interest, they will have started dating Kade during the Time Skip

Since the end of Book 2, Chapter 1 reveals that Raine has been gone for a whole year, there is a good chance that their love interest (if they had one) has already moved on. After waiting for months on end, the love interest might have given up on Raine ever coming back, and Kade would have comforted them during their time of need, knowing what it's like to be away from someone you care about, due to his time in the Shadow Realm. This would lead to Kade eventually pursuing a relationship with the love interest, who settled for Kade because they thought Raine wasn't coming back.

• Jossed.

The canonical skills of the love interests (and Threep)

Since Raine isn't the only one with talents in the party (in fact, Mal alludes to having several skills himself and he recommends for Raine to get some), it's almost certain that the love interests have canonical skills themselves. If we were to play as them in a later chapter, these skills would become available to use while playing as them:

• Mal:
  • Deception (he's a thief and alludes to tricking people in the past)
  • Seduction (at least three of his stories end with him seducing a contessa)
  • Stealth (not only would he need to be stealthy to carry out his thievery, he teaches this skill to Raine)
  • Blades (his weapon of choice is a dagger, and he hurls it with grace and precision in Chapter 2)
• Nia:
  • Light (she's a Priestess of the Light, and she teaches Raine the Orb of Light skill)
  • Medicine (she takes a look at Tyril's wounds in Book 1, Chapter 11 if Raine doesn't have the Medicine skill)
  • Inspiration (being a Nice Girl and a priestess, many would look up to her)
• Tyril:
  • Blades (he wields a Flaming Sword in the battle in Book 1, Chapter 11)
  • Bows (the cover of Book 2 has him using a bow and arrow)
  • Charisma (though a Defrosting Ice King, he would have needed this skill to navigate the complex maze of Undermounts politics)
  • Cleansing Fire (he teaches this skill to Raine)
• Imtura:
  • Brawling (she had the Gauntlet of Pain, which requires the Brawling skill to use)
  • Kaytar (she teaches this skill to Raine)
  • Intimidate (she can be very aggressive and threatening when she wants to be)
• Threep:
  • Insight (he's wise and an excellent judge of character, he's also knowledgeable enough to solve the puzzle in Book 1, Chapter 11 if Raine can't do it)
  • Shadowsight (he can sense the Shadow Court's corruption in people)

If Aerin is a love interest, flirting with him in front of love interests you've already romanced (especially Nia) will have negative consequences

The blogpost and previews of Book 2 have suggested two things; A) Aerin will likely be a love interest, and B) Raine can date multiple people. However, what if those two things were combined? What if Raine flirted with Aerin in front of one of their love interests after all he had done? Worse still, what if Raine romanced Nia, then kissed Aerin in front of her, despite him kidnapping her and using her body for his own needs? Well, the love interests would have every right to be pissed, their "score" would probably decrease, and if Nia was involved, she may even break up with Raine for romancing the person who kidnapped her after they had been with her.

• Seemingly jossed. If Aerin joins the party in Book 2, Chapter 5 and you flirt with him, nobody's relationship score decreases (not even Nia's). Most of the party are still apprehensive towards Aerin, though.

There will be certain choices in Book 2 that require multiple skills to use

Since all 13 skills from Book 1 carry over, and since Book 2 will have 13 more skills and even higher stakes, there may be choices that require two skills to use instead of one, and Raine will need both skills to select the relevant choice. Some ideas:

• Spot an enemy from afar and sneak away before they know you're there: Stealth and Shadowsight.
• Enchant your sword and stab an enemy with it: Blades and Alchemy.
• Seduce an enemy, then chain them up while they're distracted: Seduction and Chains.
• Intimidate a creature into surrendering before talking it into fighting for you: Intimidate and Beastmaster.
• Jossed, unless it comes up in Book 3 (by the end of which, Raine will have 40+ skills at their disposal).

There will be at least one enemy (likely in the later part of the game) that can temporarily disable one of Raine's skills

It would be interesting to see, and it would make fight scenes more tense.

• Jossed in Book 2, though it could still happen in Book 3.

The elite skills in Book 2 will be taught by each of the new races

The Goblins, Dwarves, and Ashen will each teach Raine an elite skill in the chapter they're introduced. The fourth and final elite skill will be taught by:

• Valax (if she performs a Heel–Face Turn)
• Aerin (in a similar vein to Valax)
• A mirror version of Raine from the Shadow Realm's counterpart of Riverbend
• Jossed, each of the first four love interests teaches Raine one elite skill each, much like in Book 1.

Aerin will go back to the dark side in Book 2 if Raine treats him badly for long enough

Though it certainly doesn't excuse it, Aerin became a villain after being abused by his brother for so long, while everyone (including his own father) ignored his suffering. In Book 2 (if he's captured at the end of Book 1 and joins the party), most of them are very cold towards him (apart from Nia), while Raine has the option of trusting him, not trusting him, or being cold to him like most of the other party members. It's not currently known if Aerin will betray Raine and their party again, but Raine still treating Aerin like a villain for long enough may eventually cause him to declare "Then Let Me Be Evil" and join the dark side for real.

• Book 2, Chapter 8 gives this theory more traction. Aerin leaves the party, no matter what, but if Raine has been nice to him and/or romanced him, Aerin's letter says that he will always be there for them. If, however, Raine was not nice to Aerin, he leaves without even sending a letter. Between that and the ominous message from the fortune teller that Aerin will have to make a choice in the future, the theory is looking more likely.

Kade and Threep will eventually join the party

In Book 2, Kade and Threep (and optionally Loola) chose to stay in Whitetower while Raine and their party went off on their quest, since they wouldn't be much good in a fight and have duties in Whitetower, respectively. However, the bonus scene of Book 1 featured a vision of Whitetower up in flames. It's possible that the vision will come true later in the book, and Kade and Threep will have no choice but to join Raine's party and save Whitetower.

• Semi-confirmed, they come back in Book 2, Chapter 17, but they don't become "official" party members.

The Watcher cannot be trusted

It's possible that The Watcher may be a secret antagonist (just like Aerin was in Book 1). After Raine does what he says and closes the rifts near the end of Book 2, The Watcher reveals that he needed the rifts to be closed before his Evil Plan could commence (exactly what that plan is remains to be seen).

• The fortune teller's message in Chapter 8 about Raine being deceived gives this theory more traction.
• The description of Chapter 11 mentions that the ritual to seal the rift in Zaradun will fail and Raine will realise that "things aren't as they seem". Whether this is because of The Watcher is currently unknown, but it seems likely with the cryptic message in the previous chapter.
• Though the ritual has nothing to do with the rift, the Lore Tablet in Chapter 10 mentions that Light and Shadow cannot exist without each other, and they used to be one until a cataclysmic event caused the two to fracture apart. With that in mind, sealing the rifts and permanently separating the Light Realm from the Shadow Realm (The Watcher's goal) may not be the best idea. Chapter 11 mentions that "true magic" requires both Light and Shadow to be used together, and that using only Light drains the user's life force, while using only Shadow corrupts them. Therefore, if the two realms were separated forever, it would be bad news all around, since people in the Light Realm wouldn't be able to use Shadow magic and vice versa (and only being able to use one and not the other has devastating consequences).
• Jossed, he remains an ally to the end.

Book 2 elite skills

Now we know what the nine regular Book 2 skills are, here are some guesses for Book 2 elite skills:

• Ice magic: During the duel in Chapter 12, Tyril and Kaya are shown using ice magic on each other. It may be a Premium skill in the next book, even if Raine isn't an elf. The Bind elite skill is said to involve magic similar to ice magic.
• Willpower: It has been confirmed that one of the monsters will have mind-control vision. Maybe a skill with "willpower" will enable Raine to overcome it and similar scenarios where they have to be mentally strong.
• Omniglot: While the Beastmaster skill allows Raine to speak the language of various animals and creatures, this skill will allow them to speak to anyone in any language, and also decipher various texts that they couldn't otherwise.
• Lance of Ash: Mentioned in a Lore Tablet in Book 1, and with The Empire of Ash returning in Book 2, it would seem fitting.
• Portal Creation: Since Raine is a Realmwalker and can create portals between the two realms, maybe they'll be able to learn how to create portals that teleport their enemies to different parts of the same realm in a way that is useful in a combat scenario.
• Levitation: Since magic-based elite skills such as Orb of Light and Cleansing Fire already exist, another neat magic-based skill would be levitation, useful for both combat and traversal.
• All jossed. The elite skills for Book 2 are Heal, Bind, Theft, Wayfinding, and Shatter.

If he wasn't captured at the end of Book 1, Aerin will appear in Book 2, Chapter 6

If Raine captured Aerin at the end of Book 1, he has a brief appearance in Book 2, Chapter 2, and joins the party in Chapter 5. If he wasn't captured, then he has yet to appear in Book 2 (barring an appearance in the recap of Book 1). Book 2, Chapter 5 end with the party travelling through a portal in the Deadwood to the Shadow Realm (whose equivalent is called the Whimsywood). Since Aerin wasn't captured, he's likely still in the Shadow Realm, and since Raine first met him in the Deadwood in Book 1, there's a good chance of him hiding out in the Shadow Realm's counterpart of said location...which is where Raine and their party are heading next.

• Confirmed.

Corrupted Nia

The sneak peek of Book 2, Chapter 6 shows a corrupted Nia (she looks the same as she did near the end of Book 1, while still keeping her outfit from Book 2). Nia is corrupted because:

• Raine is having a nightmare, similar to the one they had at the start of Book 2.
• The monster from the end of Book 2, Chapter 5 took on the appearance of Corrupted Nia to scare off Raine. Alternatively, it's the result of the monster from the end of the previous chapter releasing some sort of toxin that causes these nightmares.
• This version of Nia is the Shadow Realm's counterpart. An optional Lore Tablet mentioned a theory that everyone in the Light Realm has an Evil Counterpart in the Shadow Realm.
• There's still some leftover corruption from when Nia was possessed by the Dreadlord in Book 1, Chapter 15.
• Book 2 Chapter 6 confirms that the latter is the case, although Nia isn't ready to reveal it to the others yet.
• Book 2, Chapter 12 has Nia's lingering corruption revealed to the rest of the party, and because they're in the Shadow Realm at this point, Shadow Nia is sticking around for the time being. She does return to her old self in Chapter 15, however, once Raine and their party returned to the Light Realm. Chapter 18 has her control both halves of herself and use true magic.

Nia's lingering corruption will play a big part later on

In Book 2, Chapter 6, it's revealed that some of Nia's Shadow corruption from the end of Book 1 still resides in her. Though she claims to be able to control it, she begs Raine not to tell the others. It's likely that her corruption could come back in a big way, flaring up at the worst possible time, worrying her companions. There may also be a subplot about her either learning to live with the corruption or finding a way to get rid of it entirely. It may also be the reason that Mal's behavior has changed; Tyril and Imtura went out of their way to find a method of bringing Raine back and took their loss the hardest, respectively, but Mal barely seems bothered by Raine's disappearance. Since he and Nia have been working so closely for months before Raine's return, it's likely that some of Nia's Shadow corruption rubbed off on him, making him act like a different person at times.

• Chapter 10 has him act even more recklessly (bringing a ceiling down on the enemies), hurting Nia in the process, and proclaiming that there are more important things to be worrying about when Tyril calls him out on his recklessness.
• Jossed.

Aerin is now a Realmwalker

One of the Lore Tablets mentions how people can become realmwalkers via bonding with artifacts that wield Light and Shadow magic, and Aerin used the Blade of Shadow to kill his brother and open a portal to the Shadow Realm, much like how Raine used the Blade of Light to defeat the Dreadlord. Additionally, as of Book 2, Chapter 6, Aerin is part of the plot regardless of whether or not he escaped at the end of Book 1. If Aerin really is a Realmwalker, Raine and their party will need his help to close the rifts, since they require two realmwalkers (one on each side) to close.

Raine's trauma will be brought up again

Though they haven't really shown many signs of it, Book 2 Chapter 7 optionally has them focusing on how they were bound and helpless in Valax's lab in order to cast the magic needed for the Bind skill, suggesting the trauma is still there. The same chapter has optional scenes where Mal and Imtura (the two party members who barely reacted to Raine's return and gave up on them, respectively) admit they were thinking about Raine the whole time and apologizing for not doing more, respectively, suggesting that the complaints about the lackluster reunions are finally being quelled. Therefore, they may eventually do the same thing with Raine's trauma.

• Confirmed in Chapter 8, and even moreso in Chapter 17.

The rest of Book 2, post Chapter 7

• As of Book 2, Chapter 7, the second book has gone like this:
  • Chapter 1 served as a prelude, ending with Raine escaping the Shadow Realm.
  • Chapter 2 revealed their quest for the book (finding and sealing the rifts).
  • Chapters 2, 3, and 4 involved Raine reuniting their party, followed by a fight with Valax.
  • Chapters 5, 6, and 7 involved the party travelling through the Deadwood, going through a portal to the Whimsywood, meeting the goblins, fighting off Valax and sealing the rift. The end of Chapter 7 mentioned that the next rift is in a lost sand city where the dwarves live.
• With this in mind (and the descriptions for Chapters 8 and 9), here's how the rest of the story will pan out:
  • Chapter 8 will be about the party's trek east to Zaradun (the sand city with the dwarves).
  • Chapter 9 will be about Raine's encounter with the dwarves, which will end with Raine convincing them to team up.
  • Chapter 10 will be about Raine trying to seal the rift with the dwarves' help, only for Valax to show up, resulting in another battle. The chapter would end with the Zaradun rift being sealed and Raine being told where the next rift is (presumably Undermount/Shroudwatch).
  • Chapter 11 will be about the party's trek to Undermount.
  • Chapter 12 will be about them going to Shroudwatch and allying with the Ashen.
  • Chapter 13 will be about Raine trying to seal the rift with the Ashen's help, only for Valax to show up again, resulting in yet another battle. The chapter would end with the Shroudwatch rift being sealed and Raine being told that the next rift is in their hometown of Riverbend.
  • Chapters 14 and beyond would then showcase Raine and their party trying to seal the rift in Riverbend and its Shadow Realm counterpart Ironbreach, only for one of several things to happen:
    • The Watcher is revealed as a secret antagonist.
    • Valax somehow manages to open up a portal with the blood she already has and conquer the Light Realm anyway.
    • Aerin betrays the group again, leading to the attack on Whitetower seen in the bonus scene of Book 1.
• Already jossed. Raine and their party are still in Zaradun at the end of Chapter 10, with no sign of the rift, while the description for Chapter 12 heavily implies that we'll be going to Ironbreach next, not Shroudwatch. However, a betrayal does happen in Chapter 14, while the last few chapters are about escaping the Ash Empress, returning to the Light Realm, gathering allies, and rallying our troops for the Final Battle (which takes place in Chapter 18).

If Book 2 really is the last, it will be a lot longer than Book 1

Book 1 had 16 chapters, while Book 2 currently has 8 (with the descriptions for Chapters 9 and 10 visible in the app), and the descriptions of the next two chapters heavily imply that Raine and their party will still be in Zaradun until at least Chapter 10. There are so many plot elements, locations and characters that have not yet been touched upon; Ironbreach, Shroudwatch, the Ashen, the remaining rift(s), the attack on Whitetower, Nia's lingering possession, Mal's potential Face–Heel Turn, the reunion with Kade and Threep, Valax's implied love interest route, the Ash Empress, the Shadestalker, the aftermath of Raine's trauma, The Watcher's potential Evil All Along status, Aerin's fate, the skeletal dragon commanded by the Empire of Ash, and possibly the Old Gods (as well as the other three lore tablets, two legendary weapons and two elite skills). There is no way that all of this will be covered in 6-8 chapters^note "6-8" because a couple of these things may be covered in Chapters 9 and 10 without some major rushing, and given that Book 2 was in development for three years, that doesn't seem likely.

• As of this writing, we're 11 chapters in, and the rift in Zaradun has only just been sealed. The description for Chapter 12 heavily implies that we'll be heading to Ironbreach next, while Chapter 13 suggests that Raine and Valax will have to work together after getting stranded by a flash flood. The only conceivable way that all of this could fit into 16 chapters is if Ironbreach, Nia's possession, Mal's corruption, either the last Elite skill or Legendary Weapon and some of Valax's love interest route is all crammed into Chapter 12, most of Valax's love interest route happens over the course of Chapters 13 and 14, all collectables are unlocked by Chapter 14 (by which time we should be in Shroudwatch), The Watcher is revealed to be Evil All Along in Chapter 14, the Ash Empire shows up almost immediately afterwards, then the final two chapters are double the usual length and involve one long Big Badass Battle Sequence that comprises any untouched plot points, brings back every character that was Put on a Bus, and ends with Raine having to make one hell of a Sadistic Choice that decides the fate of the world.
• Another thing to note is that the sneak peek of the main character showed four outfits: the Shadow Court disguise (Chapter 1), the Whimsywood outfit (Chapter 6), the Shroudwatch outfit (Chapter 14), and one outfit that hasn't been worn yet (which appears to be some kind of golden armor). Given that we unlocked the third outfit in Chapter 14, it's very unlikely that we'd be offered another one just one or two chapters later, especially since there was a gap of 8 chapters between the second and third outfits.
• With the reveal of Chapter 16's description, it seems that there will be a minimum of 17 chapters, so even if Chapter 17 is the last one, it's still technically longer than Book 1. Also, on December 18, 2023, the Chapter 17 description was revealed, and it's not the last chapter, so it seems that Book 2 will be at least 18 chapters (maybe even 19, since the Final Battle of Book 1 was a two-parter, and Raine could get "Party Damaged" in both parts).
• The final outcome has been revealed; Book 2 will have 18 chapters. Chapter 17 is about the pre-battle preparations, and the final battle takes place in Chapter 18.

The two realms used to exist as one

The 4th Lore Tablet mentions that Light cannot exist without Shadow, and vice versa, and it states that a very long time ago, there was an event that fractured magic into Light and Shadow, whereas it never used to be that way before. It's possible that the Light Realm and Shadow Realm used to be one before the same event that fractured the magic split the realm into two (one Light, one Shadow).

• Confirmed in the final lore tablet in Chapter 15. In fact, one of the Multiple Endings has the two realms reunited once more.

Valax will be a late-game love interest

She was featured in a sneak preview with Aerin (who is also heavily implied to be a love interest), the fortune teller in Chapter 8 mentioned "finding an unlikely friend in an unlikely place", and the description for Chapter 13 mentions Raine being stranded with "their worst enemy". It may well be a similar situation to Lee and Sonia from The Heist: Monaco; the main character and an enemy get stuck together, have to team up to get out of their predicament, the main character can earn points with their "enemy" and begin to realise that they're not all bad, then the enemy joins the main character's side if they have enough points by the last chapters. Combined with the fact that Valax is only acting on behalf of her mother (who may well be using her in the same way that The Watcher is using Raine), it seems likely.

• Implicitly confirmed in Chapter 12, since she has options that are marked with a heart.

At least one character will die at the end of the book

Between the fortune teller's cryptic message about "love and loss" and the unsubtle discussion of death and how the characters would like to be remembered in chapters 10 and 11 of Book 2, it sounds like a similar setup to Bloodbound and how a character died near the end of the story. If this happened, it would likely be a combination of Bloodbound (in which two love interests have the potential to die, with the one with the least romance points dying) and Book 1 (in which Kade sacrifices himself if Raine sustained too much damage during the Final Battle). Therefore, during Book 2's final battle, if Raine makes too many wrong choices, one of the love interests (likely either Mal or Imtura, since Nia and Tyril are mages) would perform a Heroic Sacrifice to save Raine, only to lose their life in the process.

• Unlikely, given that there is a Book 3 (though Book 3 could still feature a death, likely being the final book).

Something massive will happen in Book 2, Chapter 14

The description for this chapter (entitled "A Night To Remember") mentions that hiding in plain sight will be the least of our troubles, and the description for the next chapter has been withheld, whereas every other chapter description for Choices books being released on December 1, 2023 has been made available. With that in mind, something really big will probably happen. Potential outcomes include:

• The Watcher being revealed to be Evil All Along.
• Mal's corruption finally taking place.
• The Ash Empress showing up and invading the Light Realm with the blood Valax has already harvested from Raine.
• Nia achieving a Super Mode that is the result of honing her Shadow side with her Light, thereby being the first person in forever to use "true magic".
• Tyril being revealed to be a descendant of the Gods.
• Aerin returning and either performing a Heroic Sacrifice or a Face–Heel Turn, depending on whether Raine was nice to him or not.
• The final Lore Tablet being found.
• The outcome of the chapter: Valax betrays the party for her mother. And after teaching us an Elite Skill, no less!

Raine will become corrupted

Poor Raine has suffered one hell of a Trauma Conga Line over the course of Book 2. They were kidnapped and separated from their friends for a year, implicitly experimented on (which caused then to have a PTSD-like flashback in Chapter 8), relentlessly pursued by Valax for their blood, potentially abandoned by someone they considered a friend, nearly killed by falling debris thanks to one of their own friends, forced to watch another friend be consumed by Shadow, nearly drowned, either mind controlled by a monster or attacked by a mind-controlled ally, betrayed, and almost fell to their death. Despite all this, they've had to be strong, constantly pushing down their feelings so they can be the glue that holds the group together. Tying in with the theory about the Bloodbound-esque ending in which one of the main character's friends dies, the final straw would occur when one of Raine's fellow party members was killed during the battle against the Ash Empress. At this point, the combined trauma over the course of the book would boil over, and Raine would become corrupted, possibly achieving a dark form like Amy of Bloodbound fame.

• Jossed (for now, at least)

There will be a special "three-day extravaganza", much like in Book 2 of Crimes of Passion

After Chapter 13 of COP 2 was released, it was announced that there would be a "three-day extravaganza" in which the final three chapters were released on three consecutive days. Assuming BOLAS 2 has 20 chapters^note Chapter 17 being the eve of battle, Chapters 18 and 19 being a two-part Big Badass Battle Sequence in which the Ash Empress is defeated, and Chapter 20 being the epilogue, Chapter 17 would be released on December 22, 2023, and Chapters 18, 19, and 20 would be released on December 29, 30, and 31, respectively. After all, what better way to celebrate the end of the year than with an epic three-part finale of PB's most expansive creation?

• Jossed. Chapter 18 (airing on December 29) is the finale.

There will be Multiple Endings

Now we know that Chapter 18 is the finale of Book 2 (and it's looking like Book 2 is the final book of the series), the description mentions that "the fate of the Realms is up to [Raine]", and the final lore tablet mentions that Raine will have a choice to make, it's likely that Book 2 will have multiple endings, in a similar vein to Endless Summer and Across the Void. There will likely be three endings, which will be as follows:

• Raine closes the final rift, permanently separating the Light Realm from the Shadow Realm. The Ash Empress and her army will never be able to hurt anyone again, but Raine will have to say goodbye to Valax, and the residents of the Light Realm will have to manage with only using Light magic.
• Raine defeats the Ash Empress and leaves the final rift open (since they don't need to close it to protect the Light Realm now that the Empress is defeated). The people of both Realms can use both kinds of magic freely, but there's always the possibility of someone like the Ash Empress invading in the future.
• Raine finds a way to merge both Realms together in such a way that everyone can live in peace and harmony like they did before, but at the cost of their own life.
• Semi-confirmed, Book 2 has three endings that feature such outcomes (minus Raine's Heroic Sacrifice), but there's still a third book to come. How it will incorporate all three endings remains to be seen.

Book 3 skills

Now we know there's going to be a Book 3, it's time to guess the skills it will introduce.

• Combat:
  • Mace
  • Glaive
  • Axe
  • Scythe
  • Shield
• Diplomacy:
  • Humor
  • Willpower
  • Omniglot
  • Logic
• Survival:
  • Stamina
  • Foraging
  • Pain Resistance
  • Traversal Knowledge

Book 3 will be about taking on the New Gods

It's revealed late in Book 2 that five of the six Old Gods sacrificed themselves to create The Watcher, who was killed by the Mother of Grey in Chapter 15. If the final battle of Book 2 ends with Raine killing the Mother of Grey, then all six Old Gods will be dead. It will be revealed at this point that the New Gods were waiting for all of the Old Gods to perish so that they could take over the two Realms and beyond, and Book 3 would be about Raine and their party taking them down.

• Likely jossed; Book 2 ends with the implication that Nifara will be the Big Bad of Book 3.

Nifara will retcon the three endings of Book 2

Given that Book 2 has Multiple Endings despite not being the end of the series, it would be hard to incorporate them all into Book 3 in a way that flows seamlessly with the rest of the story, especially since one ending involves the loss of magic in spite of Raine potentially having Elite Skills that involve magic. Because Nifara isn't satisfied with Raine's choice regardless of what they chose (and because she says that she will "see them soon"), it's likely that Book 3 will open with a brief scene that followed on from the ending of Book 2, followed by Nifara doing one of the following things:

• Travel back in time to before Raine's choice and forcing them to choose to seal the final rift while also remaining in the Light Realm.
• Create a new construct that will manipulate Raine into undoing their choice at the end of Book 2:
  • If Raine chose to seal the final rift, the new construct will trick Raine into going back to the Light Realm where Nifara wants them.
  • If Raine left the final rift open, the new construct will manipulate Raine into closing it.
  • If Raine merged the two Realms together, the new construct will find a ritual that un-merges them again.

There will be at least one Elite Skill in Book 3 that uses true magic

Book 1 introduced the Orb of Light skill that involves, well, Light magic. Book 2 introduced the Shatter skill, a skill which involves Shadow magic. Given that the end of Book 2 involves Nia using true magic (a combination of Light and Shadow) in addition to this, it's likely that one or more of the Book 3 elite skills will involve a mixture of both types of magic to create true magic.