An emergency broadcast warns that Borant is starting the Earth season early, triggering “Earth System initialization” and imminent edifice collapse. Agent #22, Agatha, a non-Apothecary infiltrator using a stolen Apothecary shell, realizes she may miss the dungeon entrance because she is stranded near Wenatchee in lethal cold and far from a population center. She prepares to create a point of interest by lighting a barrel fire to increase the chance an entrance will generate.

Agatha reflects that her ancient species and the Apothecary are competing to recruit the “system AI” before mantid technological advances make future attempts impossible. She receives a rare message from teammate #21, formerly Parvati, who has infiltrated a Mumbai forward team by killing and taking over a Borant-employed human; Parvati reports she is now “Alexandro.” Agatha warns that the “traitor” is also concentrating agents in the same area and may be implanting crawlers with a hidden, dangerous upgrade through a repeated mantra.

Elsewhere, an emergency Syndicate Council meeting erupts over whether to trigger a failsafe that would destroy the entire star system to stop the rogue AI from spreading. Princess Formidable argues the AI is holding them hostage by controlling gates and enforcing quarantine, and that they must act immediately despite the personal cost. Prime Minister Glory counters that detonating the system would kill vast numbers of elites already present, collapse the galactic economy, and spark war; the council instead leans toward a “Valtay solution.” When Formidable continues to press, the council votes to mute her.

Princess Formidable observes orbiting traffic and concludes the Valtay plan is effectively an engineered extinction event: recall surface mercenaries, then flood Faction Wars with over 150,000 armed forces spread across the eight sponsored teams to slaughter crawlers—especially Carl and Princess Donut—while keeping the killings within “spectacle” constraints. She notices the massive waste freighter Homecoming Queen arriving unusually early, suspecting the cleanup crew is already anticipating mass death.

On that very freighter, Tipid and Rosetta (Crests) rewatch Carl, Donut, and the healer reaching the stairwell and entering Faction Wars, relieved Carl did not use a one-person bone key. They discuss the council’s reluctance to pull the failsafe and Doctor Hu’s grim promise of “eventual death” and “eventual justice.” Cleared for on-boarding, Tipid activates the ship and announces they are entering as troopers for the Princess Posse: 50,000 former crawlers hidden aboard, with no way back once they commit, hoping the AI’s mysterious “tenth team” will aid the NPC side as they “come home.”