This chapter opens with a flashback to the events of the previous chapter, which took place in the same room as this one. In this chapter, we are introduced to a number of characters, including frey, who is the leader of the vampire party, and his assistant, xin, who has just returned from a meeting with the vampire senate. The flashback shows frey's reaction to xin's return. He is shocked to find that xin has returned, and he is also shocked to learn that the button on the wall that was supposed to signal the arrival of xin is actually a signal for the entrance of the city of brinton. .