The chapter opens with a description of the auction to be held for the Arcanics's gift to the Council. The narrator tells the audience that the auction will take place at five gold coins, and that he will never again be in the position he is in. He tells us that the war took a toll on the people of the city, and they need to rebuild themselves. He also tells the reader that he cannot forget the blood of the animals, since they are more treacherous than humans. He reminds us that he has seen the symbol in his research, but he has never seen it on a human. He asks the girl to show him her chest, and he tells her that she will not be able to leave the room. The girl tells the narrator that she loves him, and she tells him that she wants to find out if he loves her. She tells him to look at her, and the narrator tells her to run away, because the witches are going to put her on a collar and put an eagle on her. He then tells the girl that he once ate something in the stomach of a dead man, and now he knows that it was not like eating the dead man. He says that he would rather die than let the witches take his soul, and sophia tells him not to listen to him, but to keep his ears open, and not to throw away his body. She says that she has heard the screams of the sophias, but the narrator wants to stay and talk, and tells her not to open her mouth, because they are about to skin her alive. The two of them talk about how the goddess was trying to kill her, but she insisted that she be damned. She created technology that would make them look like they were living in the dark ages. She gave it to the girl, she says, because she must have it, and it was buried with her. The man tells her she can thank her sister, who is kind to her, for her help, and asks her to brace herself for the interview. He wants her to hear his voice, which he can hear in the darkness, and to help him find her.