During the Return festival in Duat, Vis walks with Netiqret through flower-strewn streets toward Ka’s temple, forcing himself to look joyful while the city celebrates reunion with the dead. Ahmose follows at a distance disguised as an ordinary iunctus. At a hidden side entrance, Vis removes his respectable outer tunic to reveal the sheer dancer’s clothing beneath, while Ahmose reluctantly puts on the tunic and leaves to play his part in the plan despite his lingering religious unease.

As Vis and Netiqret move through the tunnels below the temple, Vis presses her for details, but Netiqret refuses to explain more. Netiqret says Ka would kill Vis if he were caught and torture every secret out of him, so limiting what Vis knows is safer for everyone. At an obsidian wall, a nervous woman opens a concealed entrance only after Netiqret promises payment, proving that bribery and human weakness can bypass part of Ka’s security.

Inside the temple’s outer section, Vis sees the decadent side of the Return among the Ka-shabti. The woman leads them to a handsome young Ka-shabti and then leaves. When Vis objects, Netiqret explains that their accomplice, Betrest, is wealthy and powerful enough that ordinary rewards no longer tempt her; only the thrill of possessing what she cannot normally have persuaded her to help them. Vis is disgusted by the bargain, but he accepts that Netiqret believes it is necessary.

Deeper inside, Netiqret warns Vis that the Ka-shabti themselves are now the main danger, because anyone alone may be preyed upon, while Overseer security is unusually lax during the celebration. Near the sanctum, they reach a final door guarded by a lone Overseer. Vis uses his Will on a passing iunctus to stop her, then continues alone into the next stage of the infiltration.

Disguised with makeup and a wig, Vis joins a line of dancers being tested by Zai for entry into Ka’s sanctum. He studies the other performers and worries that their grace exceeds his own, even after months of preparation. When his turn comes, Vis performs The Crocodile Hunts with total commitment. Zai judges that he knows the movements but lacks true elegance, yet she still accepts him for a late-night performance when the audience will be very drunk, which successfully gets Vis inside.