Cardinal-General Corven is revealed as a traitor who made a dark pact with entities beyond reality. In secret meetings with a shadow demon, he reveals plans to use the war at Valtherion as a catalyst to weaken the ancient seals imprisoning the Wurm Lords.

Haatim endures Dominick's grueling mountain survival training in Swiss Alps during trial's final day. Meets Dominick's husband Marvin. Learns "trial by fire" philosophy. Council votes in Frieda's absence, sentencing Abigail to execution. Aram dispatches Hunters to carry out sentence immediately.

Arthur receives a 4am call from Cardinal Richter about six psychic incidents across four states. Thirty of Bishop Glasser's recruited children have been activated by Jeremy Caldwell using Glasser's phone.

Tomas arrives at the provincial garrison and begins military training under Centurion Gaius. He bonds with tent-mates: Lucien the carpenter, Marcus the former guard, Helena the revenge-driven volunteer, and Orin the scribe.

Sixth node radiation assault with rotating shifts. Aldric wounded in kill zone - Parel rescue scene. Deep seismic vibrations detected beneath facility. Eighth node fortress nearly breaks them. Torren repairs Theron array, shifting Theron perspective.

Node-by-node campaign begins. First node assault expanded as full scene - bulkhead trap, Mira bypass, Sera Voss anomalous chamber discovery. Breck character development between assaults. Second node: Brenn discovers 300ms turret recalibration lag - sprint/walk velocity differential exploit.

Last summer supply convoy arrives with six months of supplies, personnel rotations, and new arrivals. Among arrivals: Kira (quiet, intense), Dr. Paul Martinez, Linda and David Chen. Wilson notices Kira watching certain arrivals intensely. Sundown celebration announced in three days.

Arthur and Niccolo investigate the church massacre, confirming telekinetic asphyxiation and postmortem organ harvesting. At Arthur's house, Desiree freezes with hand raised when Arthur breaks down—her ingrained pattern of moving toward then pulling back.

Garfield drives to the facility and calls Frieda. She reveals the bishop has been collecting children with abilities—at least fourteen confirmed across seven states—and his operation is better funded than theirs. Two siblings were lost to the bishop's team in Minneapolis.