Charlie, burdened by Radar’s trusting excitement and his own rising panic, wanders a Lilimar that seems to rearrange itself. Buildings crowd in, the palace appears to shift, and daylight drains away. The three bells warn of impending night, raising the stakes for escape.

In an overgrown park, Charlie climbs a high pedestal of a ruined monarch tableau. From that vantage, he waits for the returning butterflies, scratches a directional mark, and sights a gap between buildings. He drops down, abandons the trike, and runs with Radar across sodden ground toward the line he chose.

They cut through warehouses and alleys until the city wall appears. Forced into a cemetery, Charlie trips and sees desiccated hands claw from the earth as crypt doors groan open. He shoulder-smashes a locked gate and bursts onto the Gallien Road, blue-lit mist behind him and Radar.

Exhausted and pursued by blue-aura night soldiers, Charlie staggers toward the outer gate. A second wind carries him as he discards his pack; the gate crawls open when he cries, “OPEN IN THE NAME OF LEAH OF THE GALLIEN!” An electric cart of night soldiers bears down. Charlie orders Radar out and flings away Bowditch’s .45 to keep it from them. As he dives for the gap, a gray-haired night soldier clamps his throat; the others close in and the gate begins to shut. Charlie loses consciousness, separated from Radar.