Paedyn is ambushed in a narrow maze path by Blair, who immediately uses her power to lift Paedyn into the air and choke her. Injured and unable to fight at range, Paedyn realizes she cannot win unless she gets Blair close enough for hand-to-hand combat.

To force that opening, Paedyn deliberately taunts Blair about her repeated rejection by Kai and Kitt. The insult works: Blair drops Paedyn, then attacks in fury with physical blows instead of relying entirely on her ability. Even while taking painful hits to her ribs and stomach, Paedyn remembers advice about using wit as a weapon and keeps Blair emotionally off balance.

When Blair kicks her again, Paedyn seizes Blair’s foot, twists it, and drags Blair to the ground. Paedyn quickly pins Blair before Blair can recover control of the fight, slips on her father’s ring, and lands a single hard punch to Blair’s temple. Blair is knocked unconscious, but Paedyn knows the victory is temporary because Blair will wake soon.

Paedyn forces herself onward through the constantly shifting maze despite pain, wrong turns, and the disturbing presence of Sights along the paths. She hears distant struggles from other competitors as the maze keeps rearranging and ruining her progress. At last, after turning down another path at random, Paedyn finds an open sandy circle and realizes she has reached the maze’s center—the apparent goal and possible victory.