Vis walks through a devastated Caten, where the Festival of Pletuna has given way to open collapse. Governance and Religion have issued Proscriptions based on the Census, stripping Birthright from anyone whose Will fed unsanctioned Military pyramids and promising confiscated property to anyone who delivers a proscribed head. The policy turns the city into a sanctioned slaughterhouse, and Vis reaches the Temple of Jovan with Diago amid smoke, ruin, and near-empty streets. Inside, Livia tells him the authorities nearly caught the masked vigilante now called Carnifex, underscoring that Vis is secretly being hunted while standing openly among the city's leaders.

At the council meeting, Vis sees how uneasy the alliance between Governance and Religion remains even in crisis. The group discusses Corenius moving his legions south, and Vis argues that Corenius is cautious and likely repositioning rather than marching directly on Caten. When asked about his source, Vis shares the latest intelligence: Redivius plans a feint at the docks before using a rerouted Transvect for the real strike. The senators distrust any unnamed informant, but Vis refuses to expose the source and the warning is serious enough that they use it to shape their defensive plans and to reckon with worsening shortages in the city.

As the meeting continues, Vis reflects on how fragile the Republic always was beneath its expansion and ritualized hierarchy. After the council breaks, Vis privately asks Tertius Ericius to place him with the defenders at the docks. Vis's real motive is to reach Eidhin during the attack, but Vis frames the request as an attempt to persuade Eidhin to defect and provide intelligence. Ericius will not give Vis a command, partly because Vis has become symbolically important to the lower classes, but Ericius agrees to make sure the right people know Vis is allowed to be there.

Vis then meets Aequa, Indol, Marcellus, and Felix in a side room to exchange information outside the formal chain of command. Indol reveals that Laurentius's forces captured Magnus Quintus Blasius and are keeping the news quiet to avoid a riot over the proscribed prisoner's head. Marcellus believes he may be able to discover where Blasius is being held through Religion's prison network. Vis wants Blasius tracked, partly to prevent secret deals and partly because any surviving Military conspirator might know something about the hidden operations that still threaten Vis and Relucia.

Indol next reveals more urgent news: Lanistia Scipio is being held in South Caten Prison in Aquilae. Because many Sapper prisoners are ceding Will to Military, the current plan is to wait until Redivius's attack begins and then kill those prisoners, cutting off Military's power at a crucial moment. Vis immediately understands that Scipio will likely die if nothing is done. Aequa insists on helping him get into the prison at dusk, and Vis also tells Aequa about Baine's warning and Vis's hope of finding Eidhin afterward. Before they part, Aequa tells Vis that Emissa has been seen alive in Corenius's camp, forcing Vis to face both the coming battle and his unresolved feelings.