Mikail storms away from Euyn’s questioning and patrols the Fountain Inn, telling himself he is securing the building and preventing the others from slipping out, even as he recognizes the hypocrisy. He settles into an armchair with a clear view of the staircases and front door.

A passing family—two boys and a girl—triggers Mikail’s memories of his birth family in a Gayan village near the Strait of Teeth. He recalls being five years old, lagging behind as usual, and stepping outside to find his mother and siblings dead amid blood and smoke, while Yusan’s black-snake standards flew in the distance.

Mikail relives learning what caused the massacre: a northern Gayan revolt against Yusan’s occupation, followed by King Joon crossing the strait to crush it. When the charm fields were set on fire, Joon ordered “null”—no survivors—leading to the Festival of Blood, where soldiers slaughtered and brutalized entire villages regardless of allegiance. Mikail remembers being attacked, badly wounded, and surviving only by playing dead.

He recalls Ailor finding him the next morning; though Ailor was meant to finish off survivors, Ailor instead smuggled Mikail to Cetil. From across the water they watched the funeral pyres, and Ailor told the child to choose a new name—Mikail, after a storybook hero.

Back in the present, Mikail leaves the inn for air, briefly acknowledging Sora’s warning that remembering is painful but forgetting feels wrong. He hardens himself again, recommitting to making Joon suffer and deciding he will get revenge even if it requires sacrificing Euyn.