Epilogue

An epilogue chapter in which the protagonist Carl and his group shelter in a safe room as catastrophic events unfold outside. They open their loot boxes from defeating a city boss, receiving valuable items including an enchanted jacket and bandana with significant upgrades. Meanwhile, a blind fire god named Emberus rampages through the dungeon level, searching for Orthrus—a creature Carl's group accidentally released from imprisonment, causing widespread destruction and trapping other crawlers.

The chapter opens with tremors shaking the safe room where Carl and multiple children have sheltered. Mordecai instructs them to open their reward boxes, while Juice Box tends to Ruby, a changeling with compression sickness. Carl receives multiple achievements including "Rock Bottom" for deep diving, seven "Fight the Power" achievements from legal victories, and others related to his participation in a special event. His loot includes Water Breathing rings, a Potion of Dinosaur Repellent, and notably, seven silver Summary Judgement boxes containing stock certificates and photographs of the mothers of the seven factions who sued him—revealing their identities. His gold boss box yields Drakea's Enchanted Kerchief of Disorder, a bandana previously owned by a famous crawler who died opposing the nagas. His platinum spicy box contains the Enchanted Anarchist's Battle Rattle jacket with multiple upgrade slots and an Earth patch. Carl learns from Mordecai that Drakea was a bune (dragon-like, peaceful race) who used elaborate traps and died on the eleventh or twelfth floor, with the Syndicate later winning a lawsuit against the Sultanate on his behalf. As celebrations continue, the group receives messages indicating that a massive fire god named Emberus has broken through the level's protective bubbles and is rampaging, destroying villages and setting fires. Emberus repeatedly shouts for "Orthrus." Mordecai retrieves Samantha, a possessed sex doll head, who reveals that Orthrus is Emberus's dog, accidentally trapped in the Nothing years ago when Emberus's favored son was murdered. Orthrus was apparently released when Carl's group summoned something from the Nothing. Samantha describes Emberus as an extremely vengeful god who once destroyed an entire country over a drunk man extinguishing his torch with urine. Messages arrive from other crawlers: Elle reports her group is sheltering in the Desperado club as the god destroys popped bubbles. Tserendolgor, a dog soldier crawler Carl recognizes from the previous floor, messages that her group of 160 people is trapped in an intact but rapidly heating bubble as Emberus pounds on its exterior, mistaking her for his dog Orthrus. With less than an hour before lightning is scheduled to strike, Carl realizes the catastrophe is his responsibility and determines that they must pop the bubble to redirect the god's attention, though doing so will expose the sheltering crawlers to danger.