Ixam at Last

The group (now Shin, James, Mex, and Shirai) finally reach Ixam. They purge a cave of abominations in exchange for information and access to the church's specialized wealth of lore. They learn about the commonly believed story of the universe's creation, as well as the existence of Primordials. (The Chained God itself turns out to be the primordial dragon. See: Complete History of Rhune.) During their stay, Ixam learns of Shin's true nature and forces him and the party to flee.

Along the way, Shirai's training begins and he learns to channel his rage into the Satsui no Hado, much like Shin does. The side effect of this power is that its wielder slowly loses their humanity the more they master it. Shin himself is yet to be a master, but the effect the Satsui has had on him thus far is still very pronounced. His nature is more demonic than human at this point, and it's this nature that the priests of Ixam pick up on. It doesn't help that James failed to read the mind of a high-ranking priest, resulting in them thinking it was Shin's doing. The group sets the forest on fire behind them in order to dissuade pursuit, but in doing so gets separated.