The chapter opens with Iris’s life flashing before her eyes as she braces for a bomb to strike: childhood memories of her grandmother gifting her a typewriter, time with her brother Forest at the river, encouragement from her mother Aster at the diner, and a playful vision of a future garden with Roman. The expected bomb lands near her but does not explode; instead, canisters drop from eithrals overhead, releasing a green gas.

Iris and Roman are separated as the gas spreads. Choking and blinded, Iris crawls to a side street for cleaner air, then flees as the wind pushes the gas toward her. In the crowded market, she spots Marisol and Attie moving east toward the lorry but cannot find Roman. A masked figure grabs her; believing him to be Roman based on his voice and behavior, she dons the gas mask he offers, calms, and allows him to lead her away.

The masked man drags Iris through gas-filled streets and out of town, insisting they keep moving and not look back. His urgency and the route away from the agreed rendezvous unsettle Iris. She notices he is running smoothly, unlike Roman’s usual limp after his injuries, and begins to suspect something is wrong.

In the golden field beyond Avalon Bluff, Iris removes her mask and sees another figure pursuing them with a staggered gait: it is Roman Kitt, bloodied and limping, calling her name. Realizing the man holding her is not Roman, Iris tries to run to Roman, but the masked stranger seizes her, leading to a struggle as a wall of green gas rolls across the field.

The masked man tries to reassure her and accidentally calls her “Little Flower,” revealing himself as Forest. Iris is stunned but demands they go back for Roman. Forest refuses, insisting there is no time and that it is too late for Roman. Iris fights to break free, declaring she cannot leave her husband.

Iris momentarily slips from Forest’s grasp and rushes toward Roman, but Forest grabs her by the neck and begins choking her to stop her. As Iris’s vision dims, Roman painfully closes the distance, reaching out to her, but the gas surges between them. Forest hauls Iris backward as the green cloud sweeps over the field, and she loses sight of Roman as he is swallowed by the gas.