In Lark before dawn, Mikail dreads leaving the city and admits to himself how badly he wants laoli to dull his pain and withdrawal. His back injury still throbs, and the craving makes him irritable and shaky as he and Euyn prepare to travel through a mountain pass where they will be exposed at night.

Pressing Euyn to stop delaying, Mikail pushes Euyn to choose a donkey quickly, warning that lingering could draw samroc. As they ride into the narrow pass, Mikail reflects on how dangerous the terrain is and on how much killing both of them have done: Mikail as the royal spymaster, Euyn with a notorious past as the “Butcher of Westward Forest.”

Mikail confronts Euyn about why Euyn let a prisoner named Chul live during the so-called legal hunts. Euyn initially insists the victims were guilty prisoners, but Mikail counters that Idle Prison often holds King Joon’s political enemies and that Euyn himself was also guilty of crimes. When Euyn claims he “missed,” Mikail calls the lie out, forcing Euyn to explain himself.

Euyn finally reveals Chul had been imprisoned for killing a magistrate who arranged for Chul’s daughters to be taken and sold to pleasure houses. Euyn says Chul showed no regret except being caught and was driven only by the need to find his children; when Chul asked Euyn to tell his girls he died trying to find them, Euyn could not take the shot. Mikail believes him, connecting the moment to Euyn’s own missing father, King Theum, who died when Euyn was four.

As they press deeper into the pass with no easy way back, Mikail dwells on his hatred of King Joon and his own origin: he survived the slaughter in Gaya because a soldier disobeyed orders, smuggled Mikail to Yusan, and raised him as a son. Mikail recommits to the assassination plan, deciding that if only one of them survives, it must be Euyn so the throne does not fall into chaos. A distant shriek echoes through the canyon, and Mikail draws his sword.