Robert Langdon arrives first at the Strahov Swimming Center and luxuriates in having the pool to himself. As he prepares to swim, he thinks of ancient catoptromancy—reading the future in dark water—and wonders, with a mix of excitement and unease, whether Katherine Solomon is part of his future.

While swimming, Langdon cannot fully empty his mind; he replays Katherine’s lecture from the previous night, especially her claim that consciousness is not created by the brain and is not located in the head. He recalls her argument that science replaces flawed models when anomalies mount, and that “paranormal” phenomena such as ESP, precognition, telepathy, clairvoyance, and out-of-body experiences are real but ignored; she illustrates human perceptual blind spots with the Hermann grid illusion.

Before dawn, Langdon walks back toward the Four Seasons Hotel, hoping to get back into bed with Katherine and persuade her to cancel her 8 a.m. lab meeting with Brigita Gessner, which Langdon believes Katherine accepted out of politeness. Crossing Charles Bridge through falling snow, he reflects on Prague’s long history of mysticism and occult lore.

Midway across the bridge, Langdon encounters an eerie woman dressed in black wearing a spiked halo that reminds him of a “radiant crown.” The woman appears trance-like and unresponsive, and Langdon is stunned to see she carries a silver spear—an image matching Katherine’s nightmare. When the woman passes, Langdon catches an unmistakable stench of death and panics that Katherine is in immediate danger.

Langdon sprints to the hotel, tries to call emergency services, and briefly loses the call after colliding with a taxi. He rushes into the lobby and triggers the fire alarm to force an evacuation, then races to the Royal Suite and searches frantically, only to find Katherine gone. As church bells toll and his fear spikes into pure survival instinct, Langdon throws open a bay window and jumps into the dark Vltava River below.