The Federation marches openly on Sinegard from three directions, relying on terror, numbers, and siege power rather than surprise. From the South Gate, Rin watches the army approach and realizes that her Academy training has not prepared her for the reality of war. Kitay tries to steady her, insisting the Third Division will arrive, while Rin clings to her identity as a soldier and to the poppy seeds in her pocket.

Kitay releases one of his defensive traps when the Federation reaches the perimeter. The avalanche of logs crushes many soldiers, and the archers fire from above, but the enemy continues advancing. After the gates break, Rin freezes in despair until Kitay saves her from an axe. Rin kills her first enemy, feels shock rather than remorse, and is forced into the mechanical rhythm of killing again and again.

As the South Gate collapses into melee, Rin nearly swallows the poppy seeds to summon the Phoenix, but a distress horn from the East Gate interrupts her. Ordered to respond, Rin runs there and finds the defenses destroyed. She sees Niang grieving over Raban’s body, then is attacked by Federation soldiers. Nezha saves Rin, gives her a weapon, and the two former rivals fight back-to-back with surprising coordination.

The Federation soldiers draw away, not in retreat but to make room for their enormous general. The general mocks Rin and Nezha and charges, but Jiang appears, suspended in the air, and blocks the attack with his staff. Jiang reveals the full force of his shamanic power, threatening to summon beings that do not belong in the world. When Jiang opens a void and loses control, he orders Rin and Nezha to run; the unleashed force destroys the east wall and leaves them injured under the rubble.

The Federation general survives the collapse, badly maimed, and advances on the helpless students. Rin cannot stop him as he beats her aside and stabs Nezha in the stomach. Desperate, Rin swallows the poppy seeds, reaches the Pantheon, pushes past the Woman, and accepts the Phoenix’s bargain without reservation. The Phoenix uses Rin as a conduit, and uncontrollable fire erupts from her body, burning the general to death while he cries that he watched her burn before.

After the fire finally recedes, Rin collapses into feverish darkness. Niang tends her but cannot cool the divine heat inside her. Rin later sees Empress Daji, who has arrived with Irjah nearby. Daji recognizes Rin, says she thought she had watched Rin die, and tells Rin she knows what Rin is before kissing Rin’s forehead and extinguishing the fire within her.