In a Meadows apartment, Hunt Athalar methodically slaughters a group of males. The last survivor begs for mercy, offering information, but Hunt, following Micah’s implicit order to make them suffer and denying them a swift death, disembowels him and finishes the job.

Hunt slips back into the 33rd’s barracks before dawn. In the common room, Naomi, Viktoria, and Justinian note the blood. Justinian needles Hunt about using a gun; Naomi shuts him down and relays Isaiah’s message: Hunt and Isaiah will play investigators in the Old Square, with details to come after breakfast.

Hunt reflects on Crescent City versus Ravilis and on Sandriel, his former owner and Shahar’s twin, who tried to break him through torture, arena fights, and forced assassinations. He recalls Shahar’s rebellion at Mount Hermon, her belief that Sandriel killed their Archangel parents, and the duel that ended with Shahar’s death—blame that Sandriel pinned on Hunt.

Micah’s bargain frames Hunt’s existence: atone for Mount Hermon with 2,217 kills—his own and those of the 18th he commanded. Tonight raises his tally to eighty-two. Micah’s orders arrive via imperial files (SPQM), sometimes specifying methods; tonight’s no-gun directive meant prolonged suffering.

Alone in the barracks bathroom, Hunt confronts his blood-splattered reflection, the thorned halo tattoo on his brow, and the emptiness in his eyes. Remembering his mother naming him Orion—Hunt—he strips, steps into a near-scalding shower, and submits to the water, trying to wash away the night.