Vis begins the chapter at the Necropolis, standing at Belli's grave and reflecting on the classmates he missed burying while he lay unconscious. Emissa joins him and leads him away from the memorials, finally explaining why she summoned him during the Festival of Jovan: she means to show him an Anguis prisoner hidden beneath Military's secret cells. On the walk, Emissa admits that Veridius once singled her out as a promising student, trained her and a few others to run the Labyrinth before they entered the Academy, and intended her for a larger purpose.

As they move deeper beneath the mountain, Emissa fills in the rest. Veridius had shown her the ruins, warned her that another Cataclysm was coming, and told her she might help stop it, but only someone who had never gone through the Aurora Columnae could do what he needed. Emissa then confessed that her father had secretly pushed her through the Aurora Columnae anyway to make her more effective, which enraged Veridius and destroyed her original role. Instead, he kept her bound with a written confession to the illegal rite and redirected her into Military so she could gather information from inside; both of them had expected her to become Domitor until Vis beat her to it.

Praetorians stop the pair in the tunnel, demand authorization, and make Vis sign a Silencium before admitting them through a Will-caged antechamber. In the chamber beyond, Vis finds a chained corpse with an obsidian blade in its chest and recognizes the man from the scene of Callidus's death. Emissa places a scarab medallion on the body, and the dead man, Antonius Pius, revives in agony. Emissa explains that Military recovered pre-Cataclysm artifacts that can create iunctii and use the dead as compelled, truthful witnesses, which is why the true Necropolis is so carefully hidden.

Vis questions Antonius and receives the chapter's most painful revelation. Antonius says the Anguis did not deliberately abandon him at the Iudicium; he was separated and had only a tracking stone for Catenicus, so he pursued the boy he thought was Vis. When Antonius says that the boy admitted he was Catenicus, Vis realizes that Callidus knowingly lied and let himself be tortured to protect him. Antonius then describes how the Anguis reached Solivagus: they used a modified Will-powered ship with an obelisk instead of a mast, came from Thuaidh Island, and crossed the Seawall on platforms launched from the ship.

Vis keeps pressing and Antonius confirms that Catenan senators helped the Anguis, though he cannot name any of them and only knows rumors and fragments. That answer shows Vis why the prisoner's testimony was so effective: it proves internal betrayal without identifying a target. When the interrogation time ends, Antonius begs Vis for mercy. Remembering Callidus's sacrifice and revolted by both the man and the system using him, Vis asks if Antonius is suffering, leans close, and answers the plea with a cold "Good" before walking out.