Among the Raa on a frozen sulfur dune, Romulus bids farewell to his children—Paleron, Marius, Diomedes, and Seraphina—accepting death to prevent schism in the Rim after his confession. Seraphina, wracked by guilt and anger, rejects his embrace; Dido watches, unblinking. Lysander, unsure why he was invited, observes from the ranks.

Romulus draws Lysander aside and appeals to history, invoking Silenius au Lune and Akari au Raa as symbols of unity. He urges Lysander to stop running and become a stabilizing heir who could avert catastrophic war. Lysander, already burdened by ignoring Cassius’s wish and betraying Gaia, feels the weight of his blood and a stirring to answer it.

Romulus shares a final, maskless kiss with Dido and prepares for the Raa death rite. Lysander joins Seraphina to watch. Under the gaze of Obsidian adjuncts, Romulus strips and begins the ritual walk toward the Dragon Tomb, a black obelisk where only four ancestors have ever arrived.

Step by step in lethal cold, Romulus bleeds and falters as Seraphina counts his progress, urging him on in whispers. He collapses ten steps short, unable to rise, and freezes among fallen Raa. Paleron sobs, Dido does not blink, and Seraphina murmurs Pulvis et umbra sumus. The family departs, leaving Romulus’s body to the moon and fixing his death as a call for unity.