Lavender mist around the exterior gate of the Hundred-Tier Pagoda as new prisoners are brought in chains.

Fragmented court-record memory of the accusation that brought Mei here.

Inside the pagoda entrance hall, the tower demonstrates failure to the new prisoners.

Warden Cao Rin announces the tower's rules as the brands react.

Mei understands the consequences while the obelisk displays her sentence.

The gate to Tier One opens and the first trial chamber is revealed.

Mei enters the Tier One arena and sees the execution gaps around the floor.

The melee rule becomes clear, and Mei assesses what she cannot do.

The countdown begins, and Mei prepares to use Body-Reading instead of force.

The melee begins with a violent rush at Mei.

Mei predicts the first attacker's next two moves and a second prisoner's hidden needle.

The melee spreads into chaos; Mei survives only by reading nearby bodies.

Mei notices Luo Fen and diagnoses the weakness the pagoda pressure is worsening.

Mei approaches Luo and tests how fear controls him.

Mei turns Luo's panic toward the strongest prisoners.

The pagoda pressure surges and Luo's asthma becomes lethal.

The remaining prisoners notice Mei and Luo as easy targets.

Mei decides to perform an illegal partial sentence-mark transfer.

With one thread of qi, Mei survives the final surge and ends the melee.

The pagoda accepts Mei's survival, but Luo's condition leaves a moral wound.

Mei exits Tier One and sees her sentence reduced while the tower records the cost.

From the exit platform, Mei looks down into the courtyard queue and sees Han Yue smiling at her.