Darrow’s transformation begins with Sigils attached to his hands, removal of his Red marks, and a subdermal datachip implanted in his frontal lobe. After a coma filled with dreams of Eo, Mickey drills cognitive tasks to form new synapses and speaks of crafting not a man but a god of war. Darrow endures repeated surgeries: skin replaced, bones peeled and reinforced to exceed Gold density, tendons altered, and growth cultures applied as he heals in a light tube under increased gravity.

In fragile nights, Mickey recounts his drug-twisted childhood in the Grove and rationalizes Society’s hierarchy; Darrow rejects the logic of slavery. The procedures continue: teeth are replaced, eyes swapped for gold-irised donors—prompting rejection and an identity crisis—and hair follicles are remade golden. Evey, a silent Pink with bound wings, bathes and steadies Darrow through therapy. The zither reconnects him to Lykos as he mourns Eo’s absence.

Harmony drags Darrow to concentraction machines and highGrav training, forcing full-body resistance sprints across simulated worlds. Mickey and Harmony clash over overtraining; Dancer orders they keep pushing. Darrow resents being treated as tool and art, yet adapts. Muscle and bone harden; grip strength becomes extreme. Nights bring caloric feasts and speed-learning of literature, history, and law, alongside bouts of brain shock near strong EM signals.

Weeks pass and Darrow surpasses Harmony, moving with speed and power that mark him as prime Gold stock. He sleeps in highGrav, lifts heavy weights, and refines agility until exertion becomes difficult. His appearance—golden eyes and hair, flawless skin, new Sigils—feels alien, deepening his fear that Eo would not recognize him.

On his final day, Evey trims his hair and quietly leaves a feather in his pocket. Mickey arrives to admire his creation, but Darrow seizes Mickey’s wrists, forces him to face the shift in power, and demands a better life for Evey, threatening to tear off Mickey’s hands if he fails. Darrow ends by declaring, Red is rising, Mickey.