Where to Use the Key After Catching All Fish

Short answer

After catching all 18 fish, leave the pole and take the key that appears on the fishing paper. Use it on the small shack/shared-room path in Timesville; the room is part of the Timesville secret required for Ending C, not a normal story door.

When to do it: Immediately after the fishing achievement and before resolving Timesville or crossing the Chapter I point of no return.

What you need: All 18 named fish, the resulting key, and access to the Timesville secret area. The later room effect may require switching the game to windowed mode with Alt+Enter.

Missable or risky: Yes for the current route. If Timesville is closed by story progress, restore a save made before the area was resolved.

Confirmed details

The key does not appear merely for catching one unusual object. It is tied to completing all 18 named fish across the six time states and exiting the fishing interaction.

The destination is a small shack connected to a shared-room puzzle. The route continues through a display/window behavior and eventually reaches an angel prompt where the instruction is to enter.

This secret is one of three area secrets used by the Stay ending. Using the key alone does not complete Ending C; Misery and Office secrets must also be finished on that route.

This page separates documented requirements from route advice. Names, achievement conditions, platform details, and item counts are checked against the linked Steam records; navigation is cross-checked against recorded gameplay. If an update changes a room, prompt, or trigger, use the verification note below before assuming the save is broken.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1 — Compare the fishing sheet against the full 18-fish list, fill the missing clock window, and leave the fishing pole so the achievement can register.

Step 2 — Inspect the fishing paper again and pick up the newly available key. Confirm that the key is visible in the usable inventory before walking away.

Step 3 — Return to the small Timesville shack/shared-room entrance and use the key on the matching locked interaction instead of trying it on ordinary town doors.

Step 4 — Inside, follow the room's display cues. If the expected window/safe behavior does not appear, press Alt+Enter to place the game in windowed mode and check the desktop/game boundary carefully.

Step 5 — Continue until the angel gives its input cue, then enter as instructed. Finish the secret sequence before returning to the main Timesville route.

Common failures and softlock risks

Players often leave after the achievement and miss the physical key on the fishing paper. Achievement completion and item pickup are two separate checks.

Full-screen display can hide a window-based part of this secret. Alt+Enter is the documented recovery step; do not terminate the game while it is presenting the external-looking effect.

If the shack refuses the key, confirm the inventory item was actually collected and that you are at the secret shack, not a visually similar normal entrance.

Recovery rule: stop before crossing another chapter boundary. Confirm the current objective, cycle every usable inventory item, and retry the interaction from a clean room entry. If the trigger still fails, close the game before restoring a known-good save; copying or replacing live save files while the game is open can overwrite the recovery state.

Version and verification

The pickup and destination were checked against the launch fishing guide, the all-endings route, and the Timesville portion of the secret-puzzle video beginning around 07:49.

Last verified: July 31, 2026, against the launch PC build, Steam achievement records, linked Steam Community guides, and recorded full-game footage. Endacopia can vary some puzzle clues between runs, so follow the clue in your own save when this page explains a method instead of a fixed answer.