Robert Langdon jogs through snowy Prague before dawn, moving past landmarks like the Klementinum and onto the empty Charles Bridge. He marvels at the city’s preserved architecture, the rare gas streetlamps, and the bridge’s saint statues as he crosses the Vltava alone, watching Prague Castle glitter on the skyline.

During the run, Langdon thinks back to why he came to Prague: Katherine Solomon insisted he attend her Charles University Lecture Series appearance at Prague Castle and serve as her “plus-one” for a black-tie sponsors dinner and her lecture in Vladislav Hall. Their long friendship and playful banter led him to accept the trip.

Langdon reflects on how Prague has changed their relationship. He recalls their first day getting lost in the old streets and sharing their first kiss in Old Town Square, an emotional shift that has deepened into a growing intimacy he attributes to timing, the city, or “some unseen hand.”

Elsewhere in the city, the Golěm returns wearily to his building and enters his apartment without turning on ordinary lights. He activates black lights that reveal a carefully crafted, window-shrouded, black-painted, “time-neutral” sanctuary designed to keep his hours irregular and his presence hidden.

The Golěm showers, removing the clay from his skullcap and face, and notes the Ether’s increasing pull on him. Choosing not to use his wand, he goes naked to a special room, lies precisely centered on a hemp mattress, places a perforated silicone ball in his mouth, and “Releases,” yielding to the force he feels.