Ruhn drifts in a black, formless void after being taken, unable to understand what happened. Daybright suddenly reaches his mind through an unexplained bridge, though he does not have the crystal they usually use. She senses he is in grave danger and urgently tries to force him awake, while Ruhn becomes convinced her voice and even her scent are somehow familiar.

Elsewhere, Bryce plunges into the sewer beneath the city to find him. She uses the star in her chest to light the darkness and discovers Ruhn unconscious in the grip of five Reapers, with more behind her. The Reapers refuse to release him and explain that they carry a message from Apollion, Prince of the Pit.

The Reapers tell Bryce that Apollion is preparing to strike, but that he wants to face her only when she has reached her full power. They also reveal that he is searching the Bone Quarter for another figure who could be either a worthy opponent or a powerful weapon, which makes Bryce fear that Emile is there after all. The Reapers further remind Bryce that she sold her soul and threaten to one day claim it.

When the Reapers attack, Bryce uses her light to drive them back, but they keep Ruhn as leverage. Cormac then appears unexpectedly, using shadowy teleportation to snatch Reapers away one by one and ordering Bryce to use her light on the pair holding Ruhn. Bryce blasts them, Cormac catches Ruhn before he falls into the river, and the remaining Reapers turn on Bryce.

Cormac throws Bryce the Starsword, and when she draws it, her starlight flows into the blade. Bryce discovers that the weapon can do what should be impossible: it wounds a Reaper and then kills it. Before the others can overwhelm them, Cormac teleports Bryce and Ruhn to the Aux training center. Ruhn survives, Cormac's hidden power is exposed, and Bryce is left shaken by the Starsword's response to her and its ability to destroy something thought unkillable.