"Did you understand everything?" Aloy asked after explaining in detail the risky plan that had come to her. It was very dangerous, but it was also the only option, and Talanah approved of it. The first thing they did was run in a direction perpendicular to the road. This way, they ventured into the wildest part of the desert, where there were all sorts of machines. They hunted a few. Among their prey were some tramplers, thanks to which they obtained the perfect blaze dispensers, the perfect and foolproof ingredient in their plan. In addition, Aloy sabotaged two striders, which would be their vehicles for the return, the escape maneuver. Quickly, she taught Talanah how to mount them. Gathering all of that and making a few bombs took them several hours, so they had to hurry to return in time for the spectacle. A few meters before reaching the city, the two hunters separated and said their goodbyes, wishing each other luck. Talanah stayed outside the venue, watching over Aloy's focus. Besides, she had to rush to the part of the amphitheater that a certain Sylens had knocked down to release her Thunderjaw when she had to face a corrupted Behemoth many months ago. Without him, she probably wouldn't have been able to lead the battle in the majestic city on the mesa. It was highly likely that this side of the wall would be easier to destroy. On the other hand, Aloy headed for Jiran's summer palace. Upon arriving at the entrance, she stood firm and confidently went inside. She sighed in relief when everything seemed to be going well. No one paid attention to her, so she was able to approach the place without any problems. Upon arrival, two sentinels guarded the entrance to the Sun Ring.

"What, are we at our best and you're running late?"

"What?" Aloy asked incredulously. It couldn't be. Had they executed him while she was hunting? Her hands grew cold, and her heart began to beat very fast. It couldn't be possible.

"I mean, are you late for our finest moment?" the man repeated.

"I-I…, uh..."

"Well, hurry, don't just stand there. It's going to be dark soon, go find a seat; it's about to start!" She sighed in relief. Thank goodness, it had just been a misunderstanding. Without saying anything else, she hurried inside and searched for a seat that would allow her to execute the plan. The stands were filled with an impatient audience, thirsty for blood. Many of them were Kestrels, yes, but others were ordinary citizens. Regular citizens. Apparently, the Sun-King had many enemies. From the looks of their clothing, they were all quite well-off. They were probably against him because they had lost a lot of power during his reign, which was more peaceful and just. Aloy sighed and looked at the battlefield, feeling uneasy. Four sturdy columns held a cage suspended in its center. It seemed they had reconstructed and reinforced those pillars after the Nora's visit. They looked stronger and more resistant now, preventing them from being destroyed again by the machines that fought in the arena, as when she had managed to make the Behemoth knock down the base surrounding the cage, supported by those structures. That was where her confiscated weapons had been, and thanks to that strategy, she had managed to defeat that imposing beast. She smiled as she remembered Helis's hateful expression when her plan and all of his prophecies fell apart. The arena floor was smooth and ready for the upcoming event. She became lost in thought, worrying about what might happen until the shouts of the crowd brought her back to reality. Through one of the corridors that connected to the center, i.e., the cage, a group of four men were dragging Avad along. The hunter looked around. The spectators were howling with excitement. Then, they opened the cage and violently threw the king inside, who crashed against the iron bars and fell to the base. He struggled to get up, failing in the attempt, so Aloy noticed he was weak. He sat there with his face covered by his hands, his elbows resting on his bent knees, and his legs pulled up so that his feet were near his buttocks and his knees close to his face. The sky began to turn orange as the crowd cheered and jeered the monarch, who remained motionless with his face between his knees and the nape of his neck covered by his hands. It was clear he was suffering. Aloy sighed in sympathy.

Avad listened to shouts all around, bombarding his head and preventing him from thinking. He was desperate, confused, and in pain, feeling the weight of the voices of the entire audience that wished for his death. His ears were ringing, and he couldn't think clearly. All he could feel were those howls further cluttering his mind and pounding his eardrums. They continued like this until the sun grazed the horizon with its lowest edge. Then, in the most luxurious spot, the silhouette of a burly man emerged from the shadows. He was probably the replacement for Helis, as the Kestrel who had been with her guarding the Sun King's cell had mentioned. Everyone was expectant, waiting for his introduction. His appearance was similar to Helis, though less imposing. A blood-red cape covered his back. He had shaved the sides of his head, with the top gathered in a single root braid adorned with machine parts, making it look like spikes were protruding from his head. With a gesture of his hand, he silenced the crowd. Then, with a powerful voice, he began to speak.

"Citizens of Sunfall, and outsiders who come to celebrate this glorious day, be welcome. For two years, due to this traitor," he said, pointing at Avad "we have been buried in the shadows, just like what was once the Carja reign." He had to pause because the crowd began to shout in anger. After a minute, he silenced them again with another gesture. "After a long time of waiting and planning our return, the perfect moment has arrived. In the battle in Meridian, we tried to assassinate the wretch Avad, but apparently, it didn't go as we hoped. Still, after the War, their defenses weakened, creating the perfect breach for us to enter the palace and, in parallel, recapture this city, our city, the palace of King Sun Jiran. From what I've been told, they already gave him a preview yesterday of his fate, but what is truly interesting will happen now, and that's the reason we gather here today, right?" The crowd began to applaud. "This hour symbolizes our future. This is the last sunset of the false Sun-King, in which we offer him as a sacrifice to the Sun to heal its offense. Shadow in the Sun! Light in the darkness! Night in the day! Long live the Eclipse!" The audience applauded ecstatically. "Make way for the machines!"

Then, Aloy froze in her seat. A thunderjaw appeared before her eyes, accompanied by two sawtooths. "Seriously?!" She complained in her thoughts. She had faced those machines before, several times, but she wasn't responsible for someone else's life, and especially not in that state… so vulnerable, defenseless, and easy to kill. She sighed. At least they weren't corrupted, which played in her favor. She looked around: everyone was absorbed, cheering for the machines, eager for the show to begin. It was time to act. She threw a smoke bomb and quickly removed her Kestrel disguise, dressing in her Nora outfit. In the blink of an eye, she was ready for combat, and best of all, no one would know how she had managed to get in, only that she was suddenly there.

The cage mechanism tensed, it would be triggered soon. And it happened. The cell moved rapidly downward, and its base opened, throwing the humiliated monarch into the sand and alerting the beasts, which instantly turned toward him. He stayed there, motionless, devoid of any hope. Aloy hadn't arrived, maybe she had even been captured while he acted as bait. All his fault. He lay face down, feeling sorry for himself and for her. Furthermore, they had been very opportunistic in bringing sawtooths, the machine he feared the most due to terrible memories from the past. They, which had already noticed his presence, began to approach him. The thunderjaw remained in the distance. The sawtooths walked toward the monarch as he heard the deafening shouts of the crowd eager for death, his death. He gathered the little energy he had left and tried to get up, finding himself face to face with the gleaming yellow eyes of one of the beasts. He fell backward, terrified, with the monster already on top of him, watching as its eyes lit up with an intense red color. He closed his own eyes, suffering a powerful flashback, a young man with tanned skin and black wavy hair being torn apart by one of them before him. In the end, his fate would be the same. Devoid of all strength and hope, he covered his face with his hands as a tear rolled down his cheek.