Chapter 12

## Characters

### Appearing

Tessa, Rue, Alchemical Fire (flashback), Will, The Woman in White, Ms. Wells (voice only), Miss Cable, Anemone

### Referenced

Forte Drums, Heartful Punch, Undine Wells, The Woman in White (statue), The Purple One (In a drawing)

Chapter 12 takes place between September 11th and October 2nd and focuses on Tessa and her declining mental state as she becomes increasingly isolated. It was published between February 8th and June 12th of 2019.

## Synopsis

Tessa awakens from a nightmare and has difficulty falling back asleep due to the barrier.

Tessa goes about her day dispassionately, avoiding meals with her parents and declining invitations from classmates. Her only significant social interactions are with Will and Rue. She lets Rue copy her math homework, remembering her stinginess with Sally in Chapter 2. During one dream, she's visited by the Woman in White, who is unable to make contact with her and remarks that she's "already failed you".

A couple weeks pass, and Tessa's mental health continues to decline while she keeps up a pleasant façade. She declines to pursue a relationship with Will, and while she returns Undine's calls, she's relieved when she's unable to make contact. After she overhears Rue expressing concern that she's hiding her feelings, Tessa asks her if she's faking being a magical girl. Insulted, Rue leaves Tessa alone.

That afternoon, Tessa visits the graves of her friends. Anemone appears for the first time outside of bonus pages and asks her if she recognizes a drawing of the Purple One or if she knows who the statue represents. When Tessa asks about the drawing, Anemone tells her the monster has been waiting outside her window most nights, angering Tessa, who thinks this is a joke. As Tessa pursues Anemone, Anemone describes the girl in the statue, triggering fuzzy eyes. Anemone slips away as Tessa is unsure whether the previous moment actually happened.

Tessa heads home to find her parents arguing over how to handle her situation, having realized she's been visiting the graveyard regularly and divided on whether to confront her or give her space.

As the barrier goes up that night, she remembers her conversation with Anemone and opens her blinds to reveal the message written on her window: "I'll be here whenever you're ready", and she breaks into tears for the first time in the chapter.

## Bonus pages

The interstitial follows Anemone as she arrives home, disappointed by the outcome of her encounter with Tessa and regretting making contact.

The first guest page is by Krekalie and features Kokoro having a dream about Undine getting muscular.

The second guest page is by *unDivine* author Ayme Sotuyo and features a non-canon reveal of Zoe as Magical Girl Hard Edge, an eye-patch-wearing mahou with a handgun.

Two additional bonus pages are published mid-chapter, one explaining a lack of a regular update due to Mary's appearance at ECCC 2019, and one announcing the launch of the volume 1 Kickstarter.

## Trivia

* When this chapter was first released, it was titled "Lagan" and the Alchemical Aether symbol was mirrored. It was retitled "Penumbra" on November 28th, 2021 to fit with Tessa's light theme.