Roman rides with Lieutenant Shane and Dacre’s men to the site of Luz Skyward’s grave. During the tense journey, Roman presses Shane about Dacre’s healing, and Shane confirms Roman’s suspicion that not all soldiers lose their memories in the same way. Shane warns that Dacre may offer Roman more healing to test whether his memories are returning, because soldiers like Roman have had their memories erased again once their pain and open disgust revealed they might turn against Dacre.

As the conversation continues, Roman asks why Dacre’s army has delayed its march, and Shane deflects before shifting to questions about Roman’s education. Shane then explains a crucial piece of divine history: when a human kills a god, the god dies and that god’s magic vanishes from the realm, but when gods are buried sleeping instead of killed, their power continues to seep into the world. This explains why the old king chose burial over slaughter, and it leads Roman to wonder what happens when one god kills another.

When the lorry arrives, the group walks to a lonely hill that has been identified as Luz’s resting place. Captain Landis uses the iron key around his neck to draw a circle in the dirt, and magic reshapes the ground into an ancient carved door. Roman recognizes the magical force at work and realizes that graves function as thresholds, much like the enchanted wardrobes.

Dacre opens the grave and descends alone while rain begins to fall. Waiting outside, Roman suddenly understands Dacre’s purpose: Dacre is not trying to wake Luz but to kill him in his sleep and claim whatever power might result. Dacre returns only a minute later, pale and furious, and orders Captain Landis to close the threshold. As the grave vanishes back into the earth, Roman concludes that Luz was either already awake or had already been killed by someone else.