Leon, eyes flashing black, seized Rosabelle by the throat and forced her into her room. Speaking in a voice and manner consistent with Klaus’s control, Leon announced “Phase three is now complete” and locked the door. When Rosabelle, following prior instructions, asked about the vial, Leon told her to drink it to clear the way for the final three phases.

Leon, as Klaus’s mouthpiece, justified authoritarian control and recounted that Leon was the first scientist to experience his own gene edit before trying and failing to undo it. He told Rosabelle she had been sent to die because Klaus judged her mind weak and disloyal. He offered two “choices”: accept a final sacrifice in exchange for Clara’s swift death, or refuse and face Rosabelle’s assassination while Clara endures ten years of escalating torture.

Leon detailed the mission: Rosabelle must drink the vial, dig her own grave, and bury herself alive. Her decomposing body, fused with earth, would trigger an undetectable explosion that cauterizes a hundred-mile radius, stripping the rebels’ powers and, within six months, making them susceptible to control via the gene edit. Rosabelle realized similar operations were likely planned across The New Republic. She was given eight weeks, with replacement and retaliation promised if she refused. When she asked about the final phases, Leon answered, “Death, destruction, and rebirth.”

Suddenly, Leon’s body contorted and he spiraled into a panic attack before screaming uncontrollably. As staff raced to the room, Leon self-immolated, leaving a grotesque scene of internal evisceration and blood spatter. Agatha burst in with others to find Leon’s remains in Rosabelle’s room, Rosabelle standing over the body with the violent history between them making her appear guilty.

Staff moved to subdue Rosabelle. She pocketed the vial, grabbed a butterknife, dodged an electric lasso, and shattered a mirror. She hurled a glass shard into Deepti’s throat and, using Agatha’s charge against her, flipped Agatha and stabbed her in the chest with the dull knife, then pulled it free, shocking everyone present.

James arrived, taking in the scene—Leon’s remains, wounded Deepti, and stabbed Agatha—and looked at Rosabelle with profound disappointment. Overwhelmed by his expression and the violence, Rosabelle mentally disengaged. She allowed herself to be handled, rejected fighting, and consciously willed her body to stop. Her breathing ceased, her heart stilled, and she declared internally that she died.