Ophelia wakes on Night Three in her room, feverish from the serpent attack, and finds Blackwell watching over her while Poe sleeps beside her. Their first exchange turns argumentative: Ophelia accuses Blackwell of abandoning her, while Blackwell insists she ignored his warning and nearly got herself killed. He then reveals that the figure Ophelia chased was not Genevieve but a poltergeist, a demonic spirit capable of shapeshifting and possession, and warns her not to trust anyone familiar in Phantasma or expect to find her sister in this wing before level seven.

As they continue talking, Blackwell explains more of Phantasma's hidden structure. Apparitions like him can observe the trials from another plane, and the Devils running each level treat the contestants like a spectacle, even betting on them. He admits he watched Ophelia in the maze and was impressed that she survived, but stresses that the first trial was easy compared with what is coming. When Ophelia notices both her jagged shoulder wound and the golden mark she earned for completing level one, Blackwell argues that she is exhausting her own magic too quickly and would survive more easily with his help.

Ophelia suspects Blackwell is only trying to manipulate her, but Blackwell explains that he can only act consistently in the physical world through a blood bargain, which strengthens him by tying him to a living person. He confirms that if Ophelia fails to find his anchor before leaving Phantasma, he will take exactly ten years of her life, and he admits that risk is how he sustains his phantom form. Ophelia weighs the danger against her worsening situation, discusses her family's debt and Genevieve, and learns that winning Phantasma would grant a Devil's Grant powerful enough to solve her problems. She also confesses that she briefly vanished when Cade attacked her, suggesting her necromancy may include abilities her mother never taught her, and she insists she will not kill anyone to obtain the "heart" portion of Blackwell's anchor.

At last, Ophelia agrees to the bargain. Blackwell formally swears that he will answer her summons and help in dire situations, while Ophelia promises to find his anchor, described as a heart and a key, before she leaves Phantasma; otherwise, ten years of her lifespan will transfer to him. He cuts both their palms with an onyx dagger, seals the pact in blood, and tells her she can summon him by saying his name three times. After the ritual, he heals her shoulder completely, leaving only dried blood behind, and the chapter ends with both of them acknowledging that their alliance has truly begun.