Lysander staggers north through the Ladon, half-blind and dehydrated, living on cactus, lotus water, berries, grubs, eggs, and a viper he kills and roasts. Rain and an abandoned farmhouse briefly save him; he rigs solar panels to cook and power an HC broadcasting evacuations to Naran. After rest and aloe for his burns, he leaves, recommitting to unite and change Gold and to help free Kalindora, Rhone, and the Praetorians in Heliopolis.

Traveling parallel to the ruined Via Gloria, Lysander meets a Red refugee family who report Fear Knight activity, Ash Legions near Naran, and that Erebos has “drowned.” He continues toward the city, noting patrols in the sky and storm damage.

From the valley rim he sees the dam broken and Erebos flooded, with refugees streaming north. At the Arch of Octavia he finds hundreds impaled with a stone proclaiming retribution against “Martians,” revealing Society terror tactics. Reflecting on Atlas, once restrained in his grandmother’s court, Lysander condemns the Gorgons’ dehumanizing cruelty.

Noticing some impaled still breathing, Lysander gives water to a young Red who begs for the Vale and, at the boy’s plea, ends his suffering with his razor. As others call for mercy, an older Red laughs and taunts him. Realizing he stands on a pressure pad, Lysander attempts to sever the Lotus-13’s hardwire but triggers a countermeasure; a tacNet launches, entangling and immobilizing him under the brutal sun.

Helpless and blistering as buzzards gather, Lysander endures hours until masked Gorgons arrive. They identify him as an unscarred Gold, eye his fine razor, and decide to leave the outcome to the Fear Knight. One knocks him unconscious, sealing his capture and redirecting his fate into Atlas’s grasp.