Trapped beneath a mass of demons, Oraya can barely move or see as she stabs wildly and feels herself slipping toward death. Raihn drops into the arena above her, drives his sword into the demon pinning her down, and mouths for her to act. Drawing on Vincent’s remembered instruction to keep pushing, Oraya forces her blade into the demon’s heart even as she fears she is about to die with it.

Raihn then tears the demon off Oraya and throws it aside. When Oraya regains enough awareness to stand, she sees that the demons have become lifeless husks and that only four contestants remain alive. The survivors hesitate until they notice an archway has appeared at the edge of the enclosure, revealing that killing the marked demon ended the trial and opened the way out.

Before leaving, Oraya looks into the neighboring enclosure and sees that Ibrihim is still fighting. Raihn is focused on his friend there as well, and Oraya realizes why when she sees the woman using true fire magic rather than Nightfire. Shocked, Oraya understands this power should belong to Atroxus and the White Pantheon, making a vampire wielding it deeply unnatural and significant.

Raihn bangs on the glass to get his friend’s attention, points to his forehead, and indicates the demon in her enclosure with the white mark, showing that he knows the same weakness applies there. He then turns back to Oraya and gestures for her to leave. Refusing to let him walk behind her while she is badly wounded and bleeding, Oraya makes him go first and limps after him.

The first trial ends without celebration as the survivors disperse into the Moon Palace. Oraya goes straight to the greenhouse to hide, terrified that her blood loss will attract predators before she can recover. As she tries unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding, she realizes that surviving one trial has brought no safety, only dread for the four still ahead.