Declan tracks the city’s audio feeds as screams fall silent and the Gates’ voids remain open. Hunt and the Summit watch Bryce reach the Old Square, where demon flow at the Heart Gate has stalled as if Hel is waiting for full dark. Exhausted, Bryce rests in a shelter alcove, rallying for what looks like a final stand.

She pulls out her phone to make a last call. The ringing comes from Sandriel’s pocket—Hunt’s phone. After a tense moment and Ruhn’s insistence, Sandriel hands it over. Hunt urges Bryce to retreat to safety, but she insists help will be too late.

Bryce asks Hunt to tell her mother she loves her and credits her strength, then specifies Randall as the father who mattered, shaming the silent Autumn King. She apologizes to Fury for lying, asks that Juniper be thanked for stopping her from jumping that night on the roof, and tells Ruhn she forgave him long ago, explaining she hid the truth out of love.

Hunt pleads for Bryce to move, but they share a quiet confession—“I was waiting for you.” As true night falls, Bryce steadies herself, forgives Hunt for the synth, and ends the call. She sets Danika’s sword against the wall, places her phone on the ground, and chooses action over safety.

With demons poised to surge again through the Heart Gate, Bryce runs straight for it, while the Summit can only watch.