Blackwell spends over an hour training Ophelia in the drawing room, teaching her how to summon, focus, and expel her Grimm magic with more control. Ophelia improves at calling up power, but her aim remains scattered, and the heavy magical atmosphere leaves her drained and lightheaded. Even so, Blackwell’s instruction is firm rather than cruel, and Ophelia recognizes that he is pushing her to strengthen abilities she will need in the coming levels.

When Ophelia admits she does not know how she vanished before, Blackwell tests the ability by abruptly throwing a knife at her. The attack triggers the same defensive reaction, and Ophelia realizes the disappearing is a self-protection mechanism. With repeated throws, she learns to anticipate the strange sensation and then intentionally makes part of her body vanish, successfully fading her arm out and back in. Blackwell confirms the skill can be trained further, and both of them are struck by how unusual the ability is for a Necromancer.

Jasper then appears with the contestant logs Blackwell requested and warns that Ophelia will suffer the consequences if anything happens to the book. As Ophelia and Blackwell examine it, they quickly understand the markings: names crossed out in red likely died, names struck through in black forfeited, and circled names won. Because Genevieve would never willingly associate with a paranormal staff member, Ophelia reasons that Gabriel must have been a contestant rather than a Devil, and she and Blackwell decide to begin their search near the end of the centuries-old record.

The dinner bell interrupts them before they can investigate further. Blackwell hides the log and gives Ophelia a serious warning to summon him immediately after entering the next level, making clear that hesitation could get her killed. On her way to dinner, Ophelia drifts into a romantic fantasy that turns explicitly toward Blackwell, which unsettles her and reminds her how much her feelings for him have shifted.

That mood breaks when Cade corners Ophelia in the hallway and threatens revenge, blaming her for Blackwell’s violent retaliation. In the dining hall, the remaining contestants are tense and barely eat, and Ophelia notes that most of them seem nearly as wary of Cade as they are of her. She also sees Luci offer a small greeting while Leon remains stiff and distant, and Ophelia grows more aware of how fractured the surviving group has become.

Devon, the Devil host for level three, arrives and presents a clue centered on gold, chains, sacrifice, and a fiery abyss, while Phantasma prevents anyone from writing the words down. Seventeen contestants remain as they begin entering the portal. Although Ophelia reminds herself to summon Blackwell immediately, the danger of the new level wipes everything else from her mind: she emerges trapped in a huge gilded cage suspended high above a sea of boiling lava.