Darrow arrives at Tyche amid a hypercane that has turned his planned weapon into a cataclysm. The sea overruns the city, tidal waves erase legions on the lowlands, and Atalantia’s Ash Legions mass inland. Seeing civilians and soldiers alike perish, Darrow realizes Orion is driving the Storm Gods beyond safe limits toward terraforming-level destruction.

He opens a direct link to Orion and finds her near collapse, insisting on escalating. Facing planetary devastation, Darrow triggers his master override. The severed sync kills Orion instantly, and he reduces the Storm Gods’ output to zero, resolving to keep her death secret to preserve morale.

As chaos mounts, Alexandar au Arcos requests permission for the Arcosian Knights to protect civilians at the mountain gravLoop. Before Darrow decides, Rhonna arrives with an enemy “scout” who proves to be Screwface, the long-embedded Howler. Atalantia taunts from the ridge while Screwface reports that twenty legions of the second wave—Ajax’s Leopards at the fore—have assaulted Heliopolis.

Darrow weighs annihilating Atalantia’s inland host against saving his army and the trapped population. Rejecting Orion’s “rational transaction,” he chooses rescue. He orders Rhonna to find the Morning Star and Thraxa to break the Ladon and relieve Heliopolis, while he leads his armor through the Kylor Pass to link up.

Darrow grants Alexandar’s request, gives him his wolfcloak, and names him a Howler, instructing the Arcosian Knights to hold the gravLoop for evacuation and destroy the tunnel if necessary. As Alexandar leads two hundred knights down into the drowning city, Darrow turns south to the decisive fight for Heliopolis.