The Poppy War, #3
The Burning God
by R. F. Kuang
Contents
Chapter 34
Overview
Rin, Kitay, and Nezha meet on Speer for a supposed peace talk. Rin exposes a lurking Hesperian fleet and begins annihilating their airships, until Kitay severs her access to the Phoenix. After brutal clashes and Hesperian lightning nullifying her divinity, Rin chooses the long game: she forces Nezha to kill her to win Hesperian trust.
Summary
Rin demands a meeting on Speer with Nezha, excluding escorts and Hesperians. On arrival, Nezha presents Hesperia’s terms: aid and armistice in exchange for treaty ports, missionary immunity, amnesty, and shackling Rin’s shamanism, with Rin made “available” like Nezha. Rin rejects the humiliation and the cost to Nikan’s sovereignty.
Convinced a trap awaits, Rin signals the coast; a Hesperian dirigible fleet appears. On Speer, her power amplifies and she begins effortlessly incinerating airships. Nezha, weakened and unable to summon the Dragon, fails to subdue her. As Rin escalates toward total destruction, Kitay severs their anchored link, cutting her off from the Phoenix.
Rin turns on Kitay. They fight viciously; Kitay targets her weaknesses and nearly forces self-harm to stop her. Rin breaches their shared mind and nearly breaks his will but recoils at the precipice, realizing that victory by consuming Kitay would doom the world to endless conquest and leave her utterly alone.
Hesperian lightning engulfs Rin, silencing the Phoenix. In the stunned aftermath, Rin recognizes a brutal pattern repeating through Speer’s and Nikan’s history. Choosing survival over annihilation, she takes Nezha’s hand, places his knife in it, and orders him to “fix this.” With Kitay’s grim assent, she drives Nezha’s blade into her own heart so he can claim her death and secure Hesperian respect.
Who Appears
- Rin (Fang Runin)Leads the parley on Speer, exposes the Hesperian fleet, devastates airships, is cut off from the Phoenix, refuses to break Kitay, and orchestrates her own death.
- Kitay (Chen Kitay)Rin’s anchor; severs her access to the Phoenix, fights her to stop mass slaughter, and grimly consents to her final decision.
- Nezha (Yin Nezha)Represents the Republic; presents Hesperian terms, revealed weakened and circleted; fails to stop Rin; coerced into killing her to gain Hesperian trust.
- The PhoenixRin’s god; empowers her to destroy airships on Speer until Kitay severs the link and Hesperian lightning silences it.
- Hesperians / ConsortiumArrive with a hidden fleet, offer harsh terms, and unleash lightning that nullifies Rin’s divinity.