Bryce sprints to the Old Square Gate, answering Danika’s urging to light it up. She slams her palm on the bronze disk and begins the Drop, soul to soul with Danika’s lingering presence, even though Danika is dead.

In the conference room, Declan Emmett monitors the Eleusian system while the Autumn King, Sabine, Hypaxia, and Jesiba watch in shock. Jesiba confirms a dead soul cannot be an Anchor, making Bryce’s Drop a perilous free fall. Hypaxia realizes the Gate’s plaque is a blessing, revealing the Gates hold the city’s collected offerings of power from countless souls.

As Bryce descends, the Gates blaze—firstlight spears along the ley lines into a six-pointed star, then rings the city. Demons are cut off and begin fleeing. Bryce continues dropping past normal ranges, surpassing Ruhn’s level and approaching the Autumn King’s.

The Gates’ light coalesces over Old Square as Bryce’s will closes the voids to Hel. Portals shrink to slivers, then vanish. Buildings re-form, streets and fountains rebuild, and the wounded are made whole as the Horn’s power flows through Bryce and the Gates.

When Bryce finally stops, her level sits just above the Autumn King’s. Then her heart flatlines. The Eleusian clock starts a six-minute countdown for the Search and Ascent. The Autumn King warns she cannot return without a true, living Anchor, leaving Bryce’s life hanging in the balance.