Lyria watches as a massive gravskiff rises bearing a chained leviathan. Jarl Gherala proclaims the right of kings, and Fá leaps aboard, riding the thrashing beast. With brutal, repeated thrusts of his trident, Fá kills the ancient creature, Cyaxares, while Lyria reels at the spectacle and Volga looks away.

Enslaved Reds and Brown butchers swarm in to harvest the carcass under shaman oversight. Slick with blood, Fá returns not to his throne but to Volga, as bodyguards lead out twelve captives—one from each Color except Red and Obsidian. Sigurd and Lyria are shoved forward to complete the set. Sigurd grimly notes his father and Volga have forsaken them, and that they will die badly.

Addressing his jarls, Fá declares strength is measured by sacrifice and announces Volga’s Passage of the Stains. Pinks present an onyx box; Fá gives Volga a blood-crusted, taloned gauntlet and commands her to anoint herself with the captives’ lifeblood by taking their hearts for the Allfather.

Fá marks each captive with accusations, calling Sigurd a traitor and Lyria a rat. Volga pleads that Lyria is her only friend, but Fá insists Ragnar did more, asks if Volga is above him, and fits the gauntlet to her hand. He instructs her where and how to rip the heart. As the jarls watch and the fire crackles, Volga steels herself; when she opens her eyes, Lyria knows she is doomed.