After his roommates sleep, Vis sneaks from the dormitory, scales the spiked Academy wall using stirrups and cataphract plating, and crosses the dark forest toward the ruins. He reaches a domed building ringed by lanterns, slips through a steel door, and descends a rope into a tunnel lit by sickly green glowing scrawl in an unknown language, interspersed with hurried diagrams.

Among the schematics, Vis recognizes Labyrinth symbols and what appears to be instructions for crafting the bracer. Pressed for time, he follows the tunnel to an arch with an old Vetusian inscription—“In trying to become God, they created Him”—and enters a massive hall lined with illuminated niches, each holding a fresh-looking, naked corpse skewered through the chest by an obsidian blade.

Investigating a neat, inscribed bronze-like plate at the far end, Vis triggers a bass thrum and three pools of white light that harden into detailed relief maps: two versions of Solivagus and a third, ruined variant featuring a western crater and a hovering sphere. Disembodied voices speaking Vetusian begin repeating, “Obiteum is lost. Do not open the gate. Synchronous is death.” The corpses’ eyeless sockets open and their lips whisper in unison, driving Vis to flee.

Outside, Principalis Veridius and his associate Marcus arrive in response to an alarm. Veridius briefly inspects the crypt, confirms “they’re all there,” and deduces an intruder has just left. He sends Marcus to coordinate with Praeceptor Taedia and check the girls’ and boys’ dorms (Thirds, Fourths, and Sixths), while he searches further.

Racing the checks, Vis returns through the forest, injures his palm climbing back over the wall, and discards his improvised gear outside. He washes in the fountain and slips into his room, where Eidhin sees him and pointedly covers with a quiet “Strange dream.” Moments later, Marcus inspects the room and pointedly warns Eidhin about consequences to his people; Eidhin denies any disturbance and Marcus departs. Vis plans to burn his bloodied tunic, worries his hand may force a visit to Ulnius, and reflects on the ominous warnings about Obiteum and “Synchronous,” linking them to Caeror’s secret message to Ulciscor and possibly to Lanistia’s accident.