July 6.
Only one day remained before the Abyss Angel descended.
Iver put on the pitch-black robes of a Cardinal Bishop and went alone to the Fourth Ring.
He had received a secret letter from Ismail the previous night.
The messenger was the Consort Ismail always kept at his side.
Her public identity was Ismail's most favored Consort, but her other identity was Ismail's biological elder sister. She, too, had once been one of the children persecuted and harmed by Ismail's father, and she had helped Ismail with his plan to rebel against their father.
It could be said that she was the person Ismail trusted most. Yet even she did not know the contents of the letter—she had merely brought it to Iver while she was out shopping. Of course, this could also be considered a form of protection for her.
Contrary to his seemingly reckless and unrestrained temperament, Ismail's writing was unexpectedly good.
Using a bold and uninhibited script and a meticulous, cautious style, he gave Iver a remarkably complete account of what had happened in the Fourth Ring.
This included when Aymar Nur had summoned them, their numbers and order of arrival, and exactly who they were...which cities they came from, and what reputations they held among the Good Lords. He also described Lawmaker Babak, who had been killed among them, the reason for his death, and which rebel organizations he had funded... Even their plan to harm and ambush Iver was written out clearly in the letter.
Ismail had also made a particularly serious and detailed mention of Aymar Nur's unusual petrification spell—the strange forbidden art capable of instantly refining a person into gold. He even described in detail the omens that appeared when the ability was activated, and had taken one of Lawmaker Babak's broken