Escorted by Malar, Livira and the surviving settlement children enter Crath and are submerged in crowds, wealth, and disdain. Malar explains the city’s obsession with its library and progress over gods. The children drink at a public trough; Malar forcibly dunks Livira for questioning, stoking her anger even as he insists they are safe inside the walls.

Malar leads them to an immense square for Allocation, where five great doors open on a rare convergence. He anxiously orders Livira to stay behind, then tries to pass her through the third door by disguising her in a soldier’s cloak, warning that “dust-rats” get the worst jobs. Class lines are stark: ragged families at one end, jeweled elites at the other. A red-haired girl mocks Livira; a richly dressed Serra Leetar ascends toward the doors.

Defying Malar, Livira veers toward the fifth door. A white-haired man in grey rises and approaches as the elderly white-robed guardian, Hendron, prepares to refuse her. Cornered by pride and fear of humiliation, Livira utters strange sabber words she once heard, forcing a moment of uncertainty. The man in grey urges Hendron to admit her, curious to see what the fifth door will make of Livira.

The door opens. Serra Leetar is admitted as well, and the two enter a lantern-lit corridor. When pressed, Livira translates her sabber words as a declaration of war—staking a bold, dangerous identity as she crosses into the city’s highest tier and a new, unknown fate.