Elm and Ione reach the stone chamber with the Providence Cards, where Hauth stands opposite Elm. Holding the Shepherd King’s sword, Elm tells Hauth that Elm is ready to be King of Blunder, while Ione clarifies that the goal is to change things. Hauth mocks them, arguing that the Deck cannot be united because no one in the room is infected.

Ione places the fallen Cards onto the stone near the crown and reminds Hauth of the cruelties he committed with the Scythe, including sending people into the mist without charms. Hauth insists that he will not surrender the crown and cannot die because he has the Maiden’s healing power. Hauth lunges at Elm, grabs the sword blade, and seizes Elm’s throat.

Elm does not resist in fear as he once would have. Instead, Elm finds Hauth’s horsehair charm bracelet and tears it away. Mist rushes into Hauth, infecting Hauth’s mind while the Maiden’s power preserves Hauth’s body. Hauth writhes, hears something unbearable, and his veins turn black as the Spirit claims him.

Elm backs into Ione, and Ione steadies him. Together, they press the Shepherd King’s sword into Hauth’s chest in the same place where Hauth had stabbed Ione. Hauth’s blood spills over the Cards; after a tense pause, the Providence Cards disappear. Though the Maiden begins healing Hauth’s wound, the mist overpowers him, pulling Hauth out through the chamber window and taking him away as the last casualty of the Spirit’s snare.

Hauth leaves behind only his crown on the Shepherd King’s grave. In place of the Deck, a chasm opens with one unfamiliar Providence Card remaining. Ione realizes they have succeeded, and moonlight floods the chamber as the mist lifts after five hundred years. Elm pockets the new Card, leaves with Ione, and sees the cleared, quiet world outside, except for a trail of blood leading toward the castle.