Evar wakes in a tranquil forest beside Livira, recognizing the place as a book he has fallen into before. A single pool reflects the canopy; Livira suggests the many pools were only training and that this space blends the Exchange, the Mechanism, and their minds. Evar wrestles with whether this is Livira’s written story, his memory of it, or something they are creating now.

They walk to a vast lake and board a small boat at a sun-bleached jetty. As they drift without rowing toward a green island that never seems to draw nearer, Livira explains her book largely contains her own stories, inviting Evar as reader rather than subject. They debate language, lies, and negotiation; Evar recalls lessons from his siblings, while fearing a world where truth lays him bare.

Mutual insecurities surface: Livira worries the Exchange tricked Evar into liking her and that he finds her ugly; Evar confesses the same fear from his side. A storm gathers and their drift feels timeless and stalled, underscoring the unreliability of place and sequence in this story-made space.

Smoke taints the wind. Livira names what they both sense—the library is burning—bringing their losses into sharp relief. Faced with imminent destruction and the prospect of further loss, Evar and Livira choose one another, embracing and kissing, affirming connection amid uncertainty as the scene closes on the brink of falling out of the book.