Libby tracks Atlas Blakely to the reading room using the surveillance wards she designed, determined to confront him about the elimination process. Shortly before this, Nico had pulled her into the chapel and revealed—based on information from Parisa—that the sixth initiate must literally be killed, not merely voted out. Libby initially dismissed the claim as absurd, but Nico insisted everyone else already knew. When Libby demanded to know what could possibly be worth killing for, Nico nearly shouted back that the real question was what part of the Society's offering wouldn't be worth it, then left her to process alone.

In the reading room, Atlas confirms the truth without hesitation: one of the six must die. He explains that the sacrifice is an ancient practice as old as the library itself, and that the enormous magical energy released by a medeian's death stabilizes and sustains the sentient archives. He emphasizes that power always comes at a cost and that the initiates are now deeply bound to one another, making the elimination not a trivial loss but the removal of something integral. Atlas also hints that the Society's nominating council is always aware one candidate will not survive, suggesting a degree of premeditation in the selection. When Libby asks who controls the archives' access restrictions, Atlas says the library itself decides, and that even he is denied certain subjects. He deflects her demand for ultimate authority with a cryptic question: "Does the arrow aim itself?"

Leaving in turmoil, Libby collides with Tristan in the gallery corridor and erupts at him for having known the truth and concealing it. She accuses him, the Society, and herself, raging that the institution poisons its members incrementally until they lose all moral sensitivity. Tristan pulls her into his bedroom to talk privately. He admits Callum has been influencing him and confesses uncertainty about whose side he is on, though he suggests he may be on hers. Libby, overwhelmed, confesses that she wants this life so desperately it causes her pain, and that for a brief moment Atlas's justification almost made sense—she could even imagine killing one particular person. But she recoils at the moral horror of deciding another person's worth.

As the emotional and physical tension between Libby and Tristan escalates to a near-breaking point, Libby asks Tristan whether he worries about his soul. She acknowledges her terror at watching her own moral corruption unfold. Despite the palpable desire between them, Libby chooses to leave, saying "I should go," and Tristan does not move until after she is gone.