Bryce and Hunt visit the medwitch's clinic so that Bryce can have the kristallos venom extracted from her leg—an injury she has carried since the night of Danika's murder nearly two years ago. The medwitch explains that the venom has become a living organism rooted along Bryce's femur, and that extraction will be extremely painful because local anesthesia cannot block the venom's resistance. Bryce insists on proceeding immediately rather than waiting for a surgical center.

During the consultation, Hunt confesses that he was the one who sealed Bryce's wound that night with a legion medical stapler, and that the ugly scar is his fault because she never received proper treatment afterward. Bryce tells the medwitch she deliberately avoided care because she wanted the pain as a constant reminder. The medwitch also notices Bryce's back tattoo—a vow of eternal friendship in another language that Bryce and Danika got together—and mistakenly assumes it refers to Hunt, which Bryce does not correct. A brief, charged exchange occurs when the medwitch asks Hunt about removing his halo, and Hunt's silent answer makes clear he would use that freedom to punish those who enslaved him.

The extraction begins, and the pain is devastating. Hunt holds Bryce's hand throughout, telling her that the night of the attack he recognized her as someone he wanted at his side, and that he has known who she was ever since—through the alley, the interrogation room, and their reunion. As Bryce screams against the agony, Hunt brushes his lips against hers in a feather-soft kiss. At that moment, Bryce feels a star bloom inside her and a long-dormant light fill her chest and veins. The venom comes free—a wriggling, worm-like organism that the witch deposits in a jar, where it dissolves into a vibrating puddle held stable by her magic.

After Bryce is stitched up, the medwitch tests the stabilized venom as a potential synth antidote. She threads the magic-infused venom onto a synth pill while maintaining intense concentration. After nearly three minutes, the pill turns gray and dissolves into nothing—proving the antidote works. The witch notes the major limitation: her magic must actively stabilize the venom for the antidote to function, and she wants to find a way to make it work independently so it can be widely distributed. Bryce, emotionally and physically drained, realizes she has no idea what to do next.