Darrow, Mustang, and Holiday are flown from the Valkyrie Spires in chains toward Asgard as prisoners. As aerial battles glimmer high above, Darrow reflects on the Obsidians’ harsh homeland and on Ragnar’s death. They approach Asgard, a fortress of eight towers and a central pyramid, accessible only via the perilous Way of Stains, while its usual defenses lie dormant thanks to Quicksilver’s hacks.

Set down at the Shadowmouth Temple anchoring the stairs, Darrow asks Sefi for a private audience. He challenges the myth of Obsidian “ascension,” arguing that those taken by the gods are enslaved, revealing Ragnar was forced to fight in pits and that Alia sold her own children. He presses Sefi to honor Ragnar’s last wish and join the Rising to end the Golds’ rule.

Sefi, anger surfacing at long-suspected truths, unlocks Darrow’s chains. Disguised in Valkyrie gear, the group climbs the frigid Way of Stains. At Asgard’s summit, they pass a park with a burning black tree and encounter theatrical blood-footprint illusions; Mustang dismisses the spectacle as trickery, calming the fearful Valkyrie.

At the temple shaped like a screaming face, a withered Violet priest emerges. Darrow demands an audience with the gods and claims a starship fell near the Spires. Knowing comms are blind, the Violet bites at the opportunity; as proof, Sefi presents Darrow’s razor but refuses to surrender it, reserving it for the gods. Their bait is set to draw the Golds into meeting.