Chapter Thirty: One More Stop. The Dungeon. Resolute. Impossible Stars. The Dark Well. Gogmagog. The Bite.

Summary

• The characters are following a trail of dead and wounded rats to escape the palace.
• They descend a staircase where the atmosphere is increasingly sinister, with a chilling air, a faint smell, and a sense of dread.
• They come across several locked doors, where they find a small kitchen with burnt sausages, a cup filled with sulphur matches, and a hint of the past tortures endured.
• They encounter Percival, a character who is severely wounded and mutilated.
• They decide to leave Percival with Jaya to seek medical attention, while they attempt to stop the Flight Killer.
• The characters continue to an underground chamber, where they encounter hallucinations and eerie voices.
• Leah recognizes the place from her past, where she would explore with her brother Elden. Hindering her courage is the fact that Elden never returned from these explorations.
• They proceed deeper into an enormously huge chamber. Leah starts sprinting full-out towards a gigantic construction-like object, the source of a sickly green light at the bottom of the chamber. Charlie tries to stop her, but she does not appear to hear him. Now in pursuit, he draws his gun.
• The Flight Killer, wearing a crown and purple robe, appears at the bottom of the cavern. He instructs his men to meet Leah as she approaches him.

• The chapter begins with the Flight Killer and his group making their way towards Leah with the intent to engage in a battle.
• Leah manages to skewer one of the attackers with her sword, but loses it when she is forced to drop it to avoid falling over a cliff.
• Despite Leah being left only with a dagger to defend herself, the remaining attackers flee out of fear. In their flight, the third attacker falls into the shaft and dies.
• Leah and the narrator witness an eerie and mysterious scene of two moons on a collision course. The collision results in the moons shattering into pieces, which illuminate the scene.
• The hatch over the Dark Well begins to rise and a creature, who is revealed to be Elden, Leah's brother, appears. Elden has transformed into a grotesque creature with tentacles for limbs. He was promised power and revenge but what he got was a monstrous form. Leah, filled with horror, rushes to confront Elden.
• A creature with black tentacles and a crown, identified as Gogmagog, emerges from the Dark Well. Leah attempts to stop Gogmagog by causing it pain and attacking Elden, ultimately leading to his death as Gogmagog drags him into the well.
• Despite Leah's efforts, Gogmagog is not deterred and continues to emerge from the well. The narrator recognizes this creature from a story his mother once told him and uses the creature's name to command it to return to its lair. Despite the creature's resistance, it eventually retreats.
• Leah and the narrator, along with their dog, Radar, make their way out of the pit, guided by the light of a lantern and a swarm of fireflies. They meet their companions and make their way out of the underground world.

• The protagonist is feeling weakened and faint. His friends, Leah and Eris, support him as they attempt to leave a storage room.
• He thinks he sees Dora, a former acquaintance, among the cleaners of the hall. He's unsure of this observation due to his delirium and the unlikely circumstance of her fingers being restored.
• As he is carried into various rooms, his awareness begins to fade but the desire to breathe free air keeps him pushing forward.
• Experiencing daylight and sunshine again, he appreciates the change from the underground's sick light. His arrival is celebrated by the grayfolk of Empis who kneel before Leah.
• In spite of his pain, he gets strength from an unknown source and addresses the people of Empis. He informs them about the death of the Flight Killer and the closing of the Dark Well.
• He encourages the masses to hail Leah, their queen. Right after that, he loses his consciousness.