Gabriel and Dior reached San Michon, awed by its seven pillar bluffs and restored grandeur. Sister Chloe announced preparations for a dawn Rite, allegedly found in a forbidden bloodscript text, to let San Michon’s descendant end the endless night. Dior, reassured she only needed to be herself, went with Chloe while Gabriel washed, rearmed, and noted the order’s dwindled numbers despite newfound splendor.

Restless and uneasy, Gabriel drank alone in the Library. In the forbidden stacks, he examined the ancient tome and recalled Rafa’s translations, lingering over the word he believed to mean essence: Aavsunc. Troubled, he visited the Cathedral, reflecting on past vows and losses, when Abbot Greyhand confronted him about Astrid and Patience, provoking a bitter argument over Gabriel’s fall from grace and San Michon’s decline.

During the exchange, Greyhand blurted that Dior would be the one to spill blood on the morrow, prompting Gabriel to reevaluate Aavsunc as lifeblood. Realizing the Rite demanded Dior’s death, he accused Greyhand of planning to sacrifice a sixteen-year-old for the sun’s return. Greyhand admitted the price, claiming God would forgive the trespass for salvation and an end to the vampires.

Gabriel denounced the plan as monstrous and struck Greyhand. He drew Ashdrinker and fled the Cathedral, ringing alarms rising as he sprinted toward the Priory shouting for Dior. Silversaints converged: Fincher blocked him, de Séverin and a Sūdhaemi youngblood closed in, and Winter harried him from the air. Gabriel fought Fincher, wounded him, killed the youngblood, and struggled against Greyhand’s flail.

De Séverin ran Gabriel through, slammed him into a wall, and Greyhand brutalized him with kicks until he could scarcely breathe. Greyhand forbade a street killing, citing the aegis and San Michon’s law, and ordered a formal execution instead. The battered Gabriel was dragged to Heaven’s Bridge and chained to the wheel, the execution ritual echoing the Red Rite’s trappings.

Greyhand performed seven touches with his flail and searing flint, then pronounced the sentence: “From suffering comes salvation.” Gabriel cursed him and tried to call for Dior. The abbot raised his silvered sword; with a single stroke, pain flared and Gabriel’s throat was cut, ending the chapter with his execution.