Epilogue

Epilogue chapter with multiple interconnected scenes: York, a tenodera captain, grapples with emotional numbness after killing orc children on Rosetta's orders while awaiting new soldiers to board the Homecoming Queen; Carl exits the dungeon at floor 10 and meets with attorney Quasar to discuss exit deals, declining all offers; and Zander, a struggling waystation attendant, encounters a mysterious elf-like woman claiming to be Eris, goddess of chaos, who causes his tentacles to malfunction.

The chapter opens with York, sole inhabitant of the starship Homecoming Queen, composing poetry and broadcasting it across open channels despite being blocked by most captains. He reflects on his emotional hollowness, tracing it to his tenodera breeding as a warrior caste designed without emotion. York reveals he destroyed an orc yacht filled with children on Rosetta's orders, hoping the act would finally make him feel something, but experienced only emptiness. He notes the destruction of the Mantis system in the news and awaits the arrival of soldiers for boarding. Boomer contacts him via radio, directing him to dock and prepare breach suits and enhancement zone weapons for Phase Two of an operation, hinting at coming conflict outside the dungeon. Porthus appears in a timed news broadcast announcing a new militant resistance organization with demands for the Syndicate to stop the crawl. York finally feels something upon receiving orders to prepare for war. The scene shifts to Carl in a zero zone meeting with his attorney Quasar after exiting the 10th floor. Carl, exhausted and covered in ash and blood, declines all offered exit deals. Quasar reveals two other crawlers accepted deals and mentions the next floor is called "Don't Come in Last," involving vehicle races with survival stakes. When Carl asks about Donut's status, Quasar reveals she also declined her deals and her lawyer is Princess Chandra—Carl's new wife. The final scene shows Zander at Squirties waystation, a refueling platform in embargo, facing financial ruin with no customers. An unexpected visitor, a tall elf-like woman with naga eyes, arrives and claims to be Eris, goddess of chaos, then magically causes Zander's tentacles to malfunction, spraying hazardous liquids.