Din Kol arrives at the Legion tower for the Banquet of Blessings as the sun sets, entering a courtyard where a ritual is already underway. Clerics from many imperial cults chant, burn incense, and anoint kneeling Legionnaires with oils, paints, and sacrificial blood, seeking divine protection as a titan approaches. Din notices the emperor’s gold effigy and feels bitter that such public sanctity offers little comfort for unresolved injustice in the poisoning case.

As food and sotwine appear and the ritual ends, Immunis Uhad approaches Din and congratulates him and Ana Dolabra on their “victory,” while admitting he cannot drink much due to increasing afflictions. Uhad bluntly acknowledges that powerful perpetrators often evade justice and says he is done letting it torment him, revealing this was his last investigation and he is retiring to a protected plot in the Empire’s first ring. Before leaving, Uhad mentions Ana’s claim that Din makes excellent tea and asks Din to make him a cup before he goes.

Commander-Prificto Vashta then claims Din as a symbol of reassurance, introducing him around the gathering and publicly crediting him with ending the poisonings to calm Engineering and Legion officers after the breach. Din endures repeated congratulations while feeling like a fraud, until Vashta is called away by wall news and dismisses him as the crowd thins late into the night.

Din notices Captain Strovi standing alone beneath the emperor’s visage, still streaked with ritual paints and draped in holy ribbons; Strovi confirms he is part of the team tasked with firing the cannon against the titan. They talk candidly about hollow “victories,” with Din admitting he feels alone because justice failed to reach the truly guilty. Strovi tells Din he does not have to be alone, and Din impulsively offers Strovi the bathing basin in his chamber to help remove the ritual mess, recalling Strovi once did a similar favor for him.

Before they can leave together, a squad of Legion officers arrives calling for “Signum Dinios Kol.” They order Din to the Apoth tower immediately, saying Ana is already there and that Immunis Nusis has suffered a head injury and is unresponsive—possibly dead—sending Din racing back into crisis.