Led by Mammon, the cabal journeys into Valkyrie’s dreams. Her dreams flit across the city and her daily life. A handsome man haunts her imaginings as she goes wandering the city streets. Suddenly a train barrels down the street. Red glowing lights adorn its demonic face. It grinds to a halt beside her. The others rush to catch up to her and the nightmarish El train. The train doors open suddenly. Conferring quickly with Valkyrie they all board the train.
As the train begins to move the lights flicker. When they come back on, the train is filled with dead bodies and covered in graffiti. The skeletal passengers seem to have been here for a long time. Adele examines them finding that violence is the dominant cause. Some were shot, others stabbed, and one was sliced in two by a train door. The deaths range from the early twentieth century to only a couple years ago. Colt goes searching for familiar resonances while Mammon scrutinizes the train itself. He learns that this is a projection, some sort of strange spiritual power invading Valkyrie’s dreams. Moreover the source of this power is a spirit focused on trains, violence and death. But the taint of the infernal is strong in the spirit. It may be a demon like the Great Fire Spirit.
Meanwhile Valkyrie becomes aware this is a dream and begins to examine the train’s surroundings. By this point the train is back on its track, circling the city. The track doesn’t quite match up with reality, though it always stops at Wabash and Lake, where the El does run. Examining the local geomancy, it seems like the train to trapped on the track, its energy contained in a narrow ring around the city. When the train stops again they all get off. The dream ends and Valkyrie wakes up.
The cabal decides to investigate Wabash and Lake in the real world, hoping there may be clues there. Colt spots the resonance of the Demon El in the area. It is strange and spotty, oddly weak and varying in age from decades old to very recent. Valkyrie is able to see that the buildings and geomancy of this location is very close to that of her dream. Mammon spots a distortion along the El’s path with Space magic, rippling and fading in and out. Adele uses both Spirit and Space and is able to spot a verge in that location, a path leading to somewhere.
They quickly discuss following it, possibly to another reality, but decide to ready themselves first.
First they research the phenomenon, finding something similar in the Abyssal intrusion called the Crossways. The Crossways are a pocket dimension reached by following a path. To escape they merely need to get back to entrance. They also learn that a crossways can be destroyed by traveling the entire path in reverse. Crossways are very dangerous however, existing on the edge of the Abyss. While Colt ritually casts magics to improve himself, Adele writes a letter to the Silver Ladder and her parents in case she fails to return. They decide to take Rota along and Arachne decides to tag along with them.
They return to Wabash and Lake early the next day and begin to walk the path. As they travel they notice there are fewer and fewer people around. The sun disappears behind a cloud and an eerie twilight hangs over the city. Arachne, confused, says time is indeterminate here. The city is now strangely run down and damaged. Colt speculates if Algol is still present in this world.
Now in an alternate reality, they must decide who to seek out. Colt and Adele bring up seeking out themselves. Mammon however is sure his alternate would not trust them and Valkyrie is skeptical that she would believe their story. They decide Colt and Adele’s alternates would be best choices for hearing them out. Colt travels to the Promethean until he spots his own trail. The most recent path leads not to the Sanctum but to the west. They get a cab and travel to the west end of the city.
As they drive along, they notice a skip in their journey where they jump several blocks at once. Mammon scrutinizes, realizing that space in this world is crumpled up like a sheet of paper. One could exploit this to jump from one place to another in the city. They soon arrive at Colt’s old apartment. Heading up, Colt spots the old trails of the rest of the cabal. He also spots a strong trail of another frequent visitor who he is not familiar with.
Arriving at the door, Colt knocks. After a moment they hear alternate Colt get up and open the door. He is surprised and suspicious to see himself, but Colt convinces the alternate to scrutinize his aura and confirm that they are the same person. Meanwhile Colt notes that his alternate follows a differing legacy.
Alternate Colt lets them in. The apartment is very different from what they expect. There is furniture and pictures. Adele guesses that he has a girlfriend and asks about her. Alternate Colt responds sadly that Phoenix is dead. Looking at the pictures they soon realize Phoenix was an Awakened Anna. Moving past this revelation, they explain that they are from another timeline hoping to save their Chicago with information from this reality. They compare notes with Alternate Colt to see how their realities differ.
They learn that Colt’s girlfriend, Phoenix was a potent leader of the Adamantine Arrow. She died recently killing the Antediluvian. They also learn that Alternate Colt is also a member of the Arrow, having been favorably impressed by the help he received from Kensai after he managed to Awaken on his own. With Phoenix's death, Valkyrie’s alternate is now leader of Arrow. From their discussions, Adele seems similar to herself in this world but Mammon differs greatly.
It seems in this reality he was married, but that his family was kidnapped by the Seers of the Throne. They forced him to give them Norna who they turned into the Weaver, Cob’s replacement. Then they killed his family anyway. Recently on an Astral journey to Mars, he traded away his mortal life for lore on Algol. It seem the now destitute mage has a secret plan for dealing with the waking god.
It seems in this world, Mr. Johnson is one of the big powers in the city. Midas is an Apostate and apparently raised Adele himself. She was never adopted and her mother, the White Lady, died protecting her from the Dark Man when she was a young child. Supposedly she is returning soon. Valkyrie has no child in this world and is instead engaged to a Sleeper named Sam Taylor.
They decide they need to meet alternate Mammon. Colt’s double warns him that Mammon is distrustful and no one knows where he lives anymore. They decide to go to the sanctum in the hopes of finding him there. Colt disguises himself as his brother James. Along the way, Adele notices more of the spacial skips as well as some temporal skips. Arachne is able to confirm that time is also damaged here. Colt’s alternate seems unaware of the issue.
The sanctum of the alternate Ebon Cross is similar to their own. They find Adele’s double there as well as Midas and the ghost Rota. The latter are quite suspicious of them. Mammon notes that Adele’s alternate is similar to her but somewhat lonelier. Alternate Colt smooths over introductions and they begin to compare notes again.
None of them have seen Mammon recently. Adele’s double apparently never knew Miguel but is still religious and has been helping out with a Cryptology called the Pillar of Faith. Delving more into her history, she learns that in this reality Midas kept Adele, but was forced out of the Seers of the Throne in order to protect her. He fled to the Consilium and traded his information on the Seers for protection. This allowed preemptive attacks that averted a war between the Seers and the Consilium. Eventually the Seers became dominated by the mages Alhazan and Mr. Johnson whose ministries (the Panopticon and Mammon respectively) were the survivors of the attacks. It turns out that Decima was manipulating events in this world as well. Colt’s alternate feels that she forced the Ebon Cross to form and used his destiny against him.
They also learn that this world is lacking in some crucial information they have. Their doubles do not know about Nehjarra and much less informed about the Circle of Four (as Colt never joined that legacy). However it seems this world’s Recon recently joined the Circle of Four. The angel was never summoned by Ezekiel and Cicero has been missing since May.
Mammon tries to scry his alternate but hits a ward. Hoping his double might seek them out now, he tells the others to keep an eye out for him. They decide Cicero may know something and decide to head to his sanctum. Colt asks his double to call Recon and have the both of them meet them at Cicero’s sanctum. Adele’s double and the others wait for Mammon’s alternate to return.
They quickly teleport over to Cicero’s sanctum using the flaws in reality. The ruined church is deserted but unlike in their reality the underground lair is undamage. They take the elevator down. In the basement they find the massive generators quiet and the doorway to Cicero's pocket realm absent.
However they are able to spot something. They find the flaws and cracks in reality began here. Adele can see that the cracks permeate every atom just as it affects all space and time. As Arachne looks back in time to discover the cause, Adele hears an alternate Binary coming down the elevator. Arachne finishes her painting and Binary interrupts her revelation. She tells them the cause was Cicero rewriting reality. This reality is a cast off skin that extends no further than the city boundaries. They are trapped in a dying reality and Binary is one of the few inhabitants who realizes the truth. The rest of the Consilium thinks she is crazy but they don’t even notice the sun is missing. When asked, she says that she thinks that the Weaver and the Demon El might know what is going on as well. Mammon’s double knows also but he is insane.
As this revelation sinks in, the elevator starts up again. Mammon’s alternate descends.