Story

On Halloween, 1898, a Romani medium named Koudelka Iasant hears a mysterious voice that leads her to Nemeton Abbey in Aberystwyth, Wales. The abbey was once a monastery where religious scholars studied, but over the years it evolved into a prison for those the powerful wanted forgotten, and the prisoners held captive there died horrible deaths. Now the monastery is overrun with their spirits and monsters. As Koudelka explores, she discovers it was converted into a mansion by a man named Patrick Heyworth, who used it for his own nefarious purposes.

Koudelka enters Nemeton through a rooftop window, dropping her pendant in the process. She immediately encounters Edward Plunkett, a headstrong adventurer who wandered into Nemeton and got himself attacked by a monster. Koudelka intervenes, saving him and healing his wounds, and they decide to stick together.

They soon encounter the mansion's caretakers, an old couple named Ogden and Bessy Hartman, who offer them rest and food. While Edward is grateful for their hospitality, Koudelka detects poison in the food and refuses to eat. Later, out of earshot of the Hartmans, she tells Edward about the poison and saves him from his fate once again by healing him.

The two cross paths with another explorer of Nemeton, a Catholic bishop named James O'Flaherty, who was sent to the monastery on a mission from the church to recover a lost artifact. Edward and James immediately butt heads due to their differences in beliefs and opinions, but they agree to work together for their own safety.

At several points, the group runs into the ghost of Charlotte D'Lota, a young girl who was born from a forbidden affair between royals and was imprisoned at Nemeton to cover up the scandal. She eventually relates her story to the trio but wishes them dead, as she is consumed with hatred toward her parents and her fate. Koudelka finds a stack of letters from Charlotte's mother, Sophia, who wrote to her right up until the girl's execution. Unfortunately, they were withheld from Charlotte, leading her to believe she was completely abandoned and unloved. If you give the letters to Charlotte, she'll begin to cry and vanish, her spirit freed by the knowledge of her mother's love.

The trio is also stalked by a robber named Alias, who eventually confronts them in battle. It's unclear exactly who Alias is, but after defeating him he tells Koudelka, Edward, and James that he attacked them because he wanted to keep all the treasure in the mansion to himself. He relays the horrors he's seen, including brutal murders committed by the Hartmans. Edward then mercilessly kills him by shooting him in the head, deciding that he's too dangerous and untrustworthy to keep alive.

The final person our trio encounters is the inimitable Roger Bacon, a famous magician who has lived for hundreds of years (and is based on the real-life Roger Bacon). From him, they learn of the Émigré Manuscript, which contains a ritual for resurrection. James reveals that this manuscript is what he was sent to recover.

Koudelka is separated from the others by a monster attack and runs into the Hartmans again. Ogden tries to kill her, but Bessy intervenes, saving Koudelka and explaining that Ogden killed any intruders in the mansion to avenge Patrick's wife Elaine, who was killed by a thief. She shoots Ogden with a shotgun and then turns the gun on herself.

Koudelka reunites with Edward and James. James reveals that he and Patrick both loved Elaine, but James was unable to marry her due to his social status, so he joined the church to help ease his pain while Patrick and Elaine married.

Bacon tells the trio that he achieved immortality by learning the secrets of the Émigré Manuscript, which he copied for the Vatican. Koudelka summons Elaine's spirit, who tells them that Patrick was using the Émigré Manuscript to resurrect her, but they resurrected only her body and not her soul, twisting her into a monster that drives the chaos at Nemeton. She asks Koudelka to destroy her body so her spirit can be freed. Bacon directs the trio on how to accomplish this.

Koudelka, Edward, and James enter a section of Nemeton that has been converted into a temple. Using a holy relic, the mummified arm of Saint Daniel, they purify the temple, setting it and the rest of the monastery on fire. They then climb the bell tower to confront Elaine. Here, one of three things can happen.

This last ending is considered the canon one, as it stretches into the Shadow Hearts series. We learn that Koudelka has a son, named Halley, and the two eventually make their way to America to find his father, Edward.