Chapter 40: Baz

Baz, desperate to follow Emory through the Hourglass, restrains himself as Kai urges retreat. He releases the frozen students from his time hold while keeping the tide at bay, revealing to them that Keiran killed Lizaveta and meant to sacrifice the upperclassmen.

A rumble from beyond the Hourglass heralds a surge of umbrae that sear past the threshold. Baz’s grip on time falters and the ocean crashes into the cave. As Baz strains to halt the tide, Kai confronts the nightmares, but a falling stone cracks the Hourglass; the door collapses, leaving a split pillar of rock.

Kai embraces his Nightmare Weaver power, drawing the umbrae into himself until they dissipate, proving a new mastery that the Regulators once tried to strip away. The Hourglass remains precariously sundered, and the path to Emory and Romie appears lost.

Keiran’s battered body washes up at the dais, torn open by umbrae. Baz demands Emory’s fate, and Keiran taunts that with the door gone, she is effectively dead. In the face of Keiran’s impending death, Baz confesses the truth: his Collapse at the printing press killed Keiran’s parents.

As guilt threatens to drown him, Baz reconsiders what true violence has been—the systems that weaponize Eclipse-born and the sacrifices demanded to hide the truth. Accepting the limits of his power and responsibility for the past, Baz apologizes. Keiran exhales one final breath and dies.