Vis follows Caeror out of the blood-red tunnel after the Labyrinth. Caeror confirms that the Remnants remain in Res while he and Vis are now in Obiteum, and he uses a rising platform to take them toward the surface. On the way up, Caeror is elated that Vis is real, gives Vis a vitaerium scarab to strap against his skin, and explains only the urgent basics: the air outside will burn, they must move quickly, and Vis must watch the sky for flying enemies.

At the top, Vis finds that the familiar island landscape is gone. Instead he sees a vast ruined wasteland, monstrous ocean waves beyond the Seawall, and proof that this is truly another world. Caeror uses a strange obsidian device at the back of his neck to control a hovering disc, and the two ride it down from the immense red-glass structure into a gigantic crater. During the descent, Vis tells Caeror how Ulciscor sent him to investigate Caeror's apparent murder, how the ruins and Labyrinth were found, and how Lanistia trained him; Caeror reacts strongly to Lanistia's name and is horrified to learn Ulciscor threatened Vis with sapper.

Once on the ground, Caeror recovers from the strain of guiding the platform and leads Vis away from the crater. He explains that he has been waiting through the Academy's Iudicium window, hoping someone would come through the Gate. As they cross the devastated terrain, Caeror begins to answer Vis's questions. He says the world was split in an event called the Rending into three near-identical versions—Res, Obiteum, and Luceum—in order to diminish and divide the power of Will during an ancient war against the Concurrence.

Caeror then reveals the broader horror behind the ruins and prophecies. According to translations he and Veridius made, the Cataclysms are not random disasters but deliberate recurring culls carried out by the Concurrence. The ruined site near the Academy had been built to prevent one such Cataclysm, but failed, and the one that devastated Res three centuries ago was the eleventh in roughly three thousand years. Caeror believes the Concurrence did not merely conquer Obiteum; they may have won everywhere, which means another Cataclysm is likely imminent on Vis's world.

As they continue over the ridge, Caeror explains that the Gate did not physically move Vis from Res but created parallel versions of him in the other worlds, making Vis struggle with the idea that he is a copy. They reach an obsidian circle marked with Hierarchy symbols, where Caeror activates a mechanism using a medallion. When Vis asks if there is any way back, Caeror quietly says there is none. The device unfolds into a crystalline triangular arch and projects a luminous tunnel toward the sea.

With the portal fully active and the danger of another Cataclysm hanging over Res, Vis presses Caeror for their plan. Caeror confirms they do not have much time and says he believes they can stop what is coming only with Vis's help. The chapter ends on the decisive revelation that their objective is simple in statement and enormous in consequence: they intend to kill a god.