In the immediate aftermath, Vis wrenches the stylus from Estevan’s neck, kicks the corpse into the receding flood, and casts the stylus away to sever any link to himself. Dazed and trembling, he hears the crowd’s distant cheers, then collapses on the stone path as darkness and exhaustion overtake him.

Vis wakes nearly a week later in Ulciscor’s villa, sore but otherwise unharmed. Kadmos greets him warmly, and Ulciscor arrives to debrief him: the Arena disaster killed more than a third present and weakened many Will pyramids, causing citywide failures and crashes. Coordinated Anguis strikes elsewhere killed senators and Sextii, though other attacks were repelled. Public gatherings are curtailed, proscriptions continue, and the Senate is suspended. Security around Vis and the Academy tightens, and the Academy allows him to arrive on the first day of classes to recover.

Vis offers a careful account of the naumachia—finding the sewer route, retrieving a dropped stylus, and striking Melior during a buildup—while omitting dangerous details. Ulciscor speculates Vis may have resisted Melior’s unknown power because Vis has never ceded, and urges secrecy until a counter can be devised. Ulciscor confirms that Melior is dead, credits Vis with saving thousands, and reveals that the Senate has honored him as Vis Telimus Catenicus and unanimously ratified his adoption.

Turning to the older mystery, Ulciscor explains why he doubts the official claim that his brother Caeror committed suicide during the Iudicium. He shares a letter from Caeror hiding a ciphered message: “Translation right. Obiteum lost. Luceum unknown. Scintres Exunus worked. Gate still open. More strange pre-Cataclysm power. Only Veridius knows.” Ulciscor also found and aided Caeror’s injured lover—Lanistia—who survived with lasting memory gaps and damaged eyes. She remembers Caeror and Veridius keeping a secret tied to ruins near the Academy and to the west, and recalls Caeror viewing Veridius as a brother.

Ulciscor argues that Veridius’s suicide claim conveniently shielded the Academy and Religion; Veridius defected to Religion upon becoming Domitor and was credited with saving Lanistia. The lack of an investigation and Caeror’s character deepen Ulciscor’s conviction of foul play. He admits he withheld this to avoid undermining Vis’s training with Lanistia, but now expects both to proceed professionally. After confirming Aequa is well and that training resumes soon, Ulciscor departs for Caten, likely not to see Vis again before the Academy.