Contents
Chapter 43
Overview
Ofelia Dandolo descends to a secret vault filled with moths to consult her hidden prophet. She confirms Gregor’s failure and the construct’s escape. The prophet insists the true war is only beginning and urges immediate action. Ofelia accepts a strategic shift: the time for hiding is over.
Summary
Ofelia Dandolo travels through concealed passages beneath her mansion to a hidden cellar, entering a vast, dark chamber teeming with moths. She seats herself and waits in the living gloom for her clandestine advisor to appear.
When the prophet’s obscured form manifests amid the moths, Ofelia confesses uncertainty and alarm: Gregor’s mission has failed, and the construct is free. She fears this outcome is catastrophic. The prophet answers through her mind, declaring the situation is not lost; instead, the true conflict is only beginning, and “she” will resume a long-ago process.
Pressed for direction, the prophet delivers a decisive instruction: it is time to stop hiding. Ofelia accepts this shift, signaling that the Dandolo plan will move from secrecy to overt action to oppose the construct’s designs.
Who Appears
- Ofelia DandoloDandolo matriarch; seeks guidance in a secret vault, learns Gregor failed, accepts the order to stop hiding.
- The ProphetMysterious figure amid moths; speaks telepathically, declares the war is beginning and demands immediate, open action.