After this, Crawler takes on Hiros. The clan decides that Hairo will meet the ninja in a private room, talk to him and make his own decision as to whether the man can be trusted. If the answer is yes, then Hiros is to be taken to Cali Bottom and placed under a mental contract, then invited to the Awoken and taken to Kharinza.
In the Lakharian Desert, at the place of power, Scyth destroys Nergal’s temple. Kusalarix sends builders there to quickly erect a temple to the Sleepers.
In the desert, still disguised as Mogwai, Scyth again meets Kitty Spitfire, the gnome explorer from the Monster Hunters guild. With the help of a special device, she discovers Scyth’s true identity and admits to being a fan. Scyth promises to pay the guild a visit.
In real life, local criminal kingpin Diego Aranzabal ‘pays a visit’ to the clan base in Cali Bottom, demanding a bribe. The security officers of the Awoken, recognizing where acquiescence will lead, decide to employ Wild Ones, non-citizens who live in the Zones, to strike back.
Scyth sets off in search of Jiri, the village where Supreme Grand Master Oyama rests after his long journey through the astral plane. After finding the master, Scyth asks to become his student, but is refused with the words “You are weak and slow!” Scyth must prove his strength. Oyama shows him a tree covered with Caressing Creeper, and says he will accept Scyth as a student only if he can pull the vines from the trunk.
But no matter how hard Scyth tries, he can’t do it. Then he remembers the Grain of Transformation he won for getting the achievement First Ever: Level 400. With its help, Scyth redistributes his excess charisma into strength, agility and endurance.
In the meantime, hordes of undead led by legates of the Destroying Plague advance on the castles of the Alliance of Preventers. Criterror, second in command of the Elites, goes to help Mogwai. Scyth teleports him to a goblin trap under Mount Mecharri on Bakabba, and the legate mentions that Eileen Waters has been made the ninth legate to replace Scyth.
Trixie the hunchback, who has moved into the clan’s living complex along with his grandpa Harold, tries to steal a flyer so he can fly to the European District and see Jess, a brothel worker in Darant. It turns out that Trixie is in love, and Jess just can’t wait to see him again. It becomes clear that the clan base is under threat. Apparently someone, probably the Cartel, wants to use Trixie to find Alex. Trixie is put in isolation, and the security officers of the Awoken set off for a special operation against Diego Aranzabal. Intel has it that the kingpin plans to meet with the Cartel.
In a strange Divine Revelation that takes place in real life, Alex sees the death of Hairo, Willy and the rest. When he awakes, he warns Hairo, who believes him. The special operation is successful — the Cartel’s people and Diego are eliminated.
At Snowstorm, a special conference takes place in which Alex is discussed as a threat not only to the corporation’s global plans, but to the government’s. They can’t just kill the boy, because then his character would be taken over by an AI. So the directors come up with a few other ways to solve the problem of Alex Sheppard.
The temple in the Lakharian Desert is completed. Scyth consecrates it to Tiamat and turns the leaders of the three allied clans — Modus, Travelers and Taipan — into priests of the Sleepers. Among them is the werewolf sniper Hellfish, who, like Scyth, plans to enter the Demonic Games.
Once the castle on Kharinza is finished, Scyth activates Righteous Shield, which he received back in the Treasury of the First Mage. Infect reveals that he has almost fully assembled the design for a Sanctuary of the Departed — he has just one piece left to find. Scyth gives the archaeologist bard a hint as to where it might be.
Returning to Jiri, Scyth pulls the Caressing Creeper from the tree. Oyama takes him on as a student and teaches him the Path of Spirit — a special fighting style based on inner strength. This path offers limitless progress, but takes away the ability to choose other Paths in future. Scyth gets the owl as his protector beast and air as his patron element. For allowing the elements to choose for themselves, air rewards him with a special ability — to enter a state of Clarity in which time slows down.
Scyth jumps to Terrastera. The divine artifact Isis’ Blessing has cooled down and can be used again to protect the place of power from the acid rains. That will make it possible to start building a third temple of the Sleepers.
There, Scyth is intercepted by the Celestial Arbitration. The Arbiters accuse him of aiding the Destroying Plague. They sentence him to Banishment, a punishment equivalent to fully losing one’s character. Scyth flees to Behemoth’s temple, but even the Sleeper is powerless against the Arbiters. Scyth argues and tries to prove that he is partly innocent. The Arbiters declare that the Herald’s fate must be decided by divine court — the Ordeal.
Scyth is locked in the Vinculum, a special prison for those sentenced to the Ordeal. Logging out, he tells his friends what happened and wishes Malik good luck before he flies out to the Demonic Games. As for reaching them himself, Alex has little hope.
Returning to the Vinculum, Scyth meets Navalik. The
