Fabian arrives at Great Nest with a vast ant army under Seven Trees’ banner. Viola retains strategic command while Fabian orchestrates tactics through refined chemical architectures and Paussid couriers. He fears a city assault’s chaos and civilian toll, even as Portia’s Temple urges defiance. Considering radios and control networks, Fabian intuits the Messenger’s copper machine as a fast, logic-gated analogue to his ant architecture.

Before nightfall, a delegation emerges: Portia’s allies are bound and delivered up. An internal coup has shattered the priesthood; some flee or hide, while a new clique seeks terms. Viola negotiates punitive but survivable conditions, and Great Nest’s submission becomes a model that starts winding down the global doctrinal war. Work on the Messenger’s machine continues, now less fervent and more practical, yielding unexpected progress.

Soon after, Fabian faces Seven Trees’ magnates. Aware of their fear of a powerful male, he asserts his peer house and offers his innovations to whichever city grants equal rights to males. The council nearly splits, but pragmatic self-interest prevails; Seven Trees narrowly honors its wartime promise, accepting reforms in exchange for Fabian’s service and knowledge.

Two years later, Fabian is murdered in his laboratory, culprits unknown—traditionalists, Temple fanatics, or even the vanished Portia are suspected. His architecture cannot be suppressed; a technological revolution spreads and begins informing the Messenger project. In orbit, Avrana Kern—fused with Eliza and the Sentry Pod, power failing—struggles to guide her creation and build a pathway planetside. Misaligned technologies and dwindling time press her to warn them: the Gilgamesh is returning.