Bleeding heavily from the serpent’s bite, Ophelia tries to defend herself with the little magic she has left. The chapter explains that her necromancer power manifests as raw energy rather than elemental force, and because it is nearly depleted, she can produce only weak sparks. Those sparks briefly distract the serpent, giving Ophelia enough time to grab a sword from the wall.

When the serpent lunges again, Ophelia shoves the sword into its open mouth. Blood sprays across her, and the creature thrashes before dissolving into smoke, revealing that Phantasma had conjured it as an illusion. Although Ophelia survives the attack, she is exhausted, badly wounded, and close to collapse.

Immediately afterward, Ophelia hears what sounds like Genevieve calling for her from the doorway. Desperate to reach her missing sister, Ophelia follows a shadowy figure through the hall despite growing dizziness, blurred vision, and the burning pain in her shoulder. As Ophelia gets weaker, the figure’s voice becomes unsettling, turning from urgent to menacing as it lures her closer.

Ophelia realizes too late that something is wrong and can barely keep moving. Just before she falls, someone else reaches her first, lifts her into their arms, and calls her trouble in a soft velvet voice. Half-conscious, Ophelia is carried away, senses fabric tearing and cool relief on her forehead, and loses consciousness before she can understand what is happening.