At sunset, Gabriel and Aaron de Coste joined a small congregation in the Cathedral of San Michon. Gabriel observed the austere grandeur of the circular, twin-doored Cathedral, the dim light through the sevenstar window, and a central altar set with a brazier, a bowl of bubbling silver liquid, and a silver chalice. The Silver Sorority’s choir sang from the loft as Abbot Khalid, robed in black and inked with holy images, began the mass and publicly acknowledged Gabriel’s sinful birth and hoped-for redemption.

Khalid summoned Gabriel to the altar, where Prioress Charlotte arrived with three black-habited sisters and two white-clad novices, Chloe and Astrid Rennier. Chloe prepared Gabriel’s left palm with spirits while Astrid dipped a needle into the silver liquid and, with a litany, began tattooing the sevenstar. The repeated needle pricks escalated from discomfort to extreme agony, but Gabriel endured, focusing on the Redeemer’s suffering and silently vowing strength in exchange for purpose. When finished, Chloe washed the wound with burning spirits, revealing a perfect silver sevenstar in Gabriel’s palm.

Abbot Khalid then took vows. Frère Greyhand swore to guide and protect Gabriel in the tenets of the Order, and Gabriel vowed obedience and service to the Church until he stood sainted. Khalid named Gabriel an initiate of the Silver Order of San Michon, and Gabriel felt pride and peace through the pain as Greyhand gave him a rare nod of approval.

Khalid shifted the service toward mourning, calling Frère Yannick forward. Yannick, a gaunt silversaint with bloodshot eyes, was accompanied in grief by a younger apprentice. The congregation processed through the western doors for the dead to the courtyard and Heaven’s Bridge, where the funeral hymn "Memoria Di" rose from within the Cathedral.

On the bridge, Greyhand explained to Gabriel the nature of palebloods: with age their strength and the inner beast both grow, culminating in the sangirè—the red thirst—that becomes an unbearable scream. Though Yannick had not killed, he felt the thirst overtaking him, and chose the Red Rite rather than risk becoming a monster. Greyhand framed the ultimate paleblood choice starkly: live as a monster, or die as a man.

Before the gathered Order and Sorority, Khalid led the rite. Prioress Charlotte administered seven ritual touches with a spur-studded whip and a candle kiss to mimic the Redeemer’s suffering. Khalid intoned the final prayers, and, affirming "To heaven," Frère Yannick accepted his fate. Khalid drew a silvered knife and cut Yannick’s throat ear to ear, then gently pushed him from the balcony to the river far below as the hymn ended.

The congregation answered "Véris" and made the sign of the wheel. Gabriel, shaken and in pain, noticed Astrid watching him. Abbot Khalid seemed satisfied as the bells tolled. Gabriel looked to his burning sevenstar and whispered "Véris," newly marked and fully initiated under the shadow of the Red Rite.