(NARRATOR)
After defeating the terror of the S.A.I.N.T.s, our heroes have once again returned to their slumber. Kal's sleep was riddled with thrills and nightmares alike. His blistered feet gnawed at his restfulness as he rehearsed the memory of his wounds. His dreams were a reflection of the real world outside, which had begun a descent into darkness. Its oceans rose to half the height of the tallest mountain peaks

In these days, the foremost people still living sought refuge in the institute atop Denali. Their collective skills had granted them an unnatural length to their lives. But in granting their wish, they inadvertently bargained away their fertility: their future. Still, they were not without a plan. The key to their survival would take an incredible length of time to bear its fruit. Time that would require great isolation and deprivation. The bread and circus for the journeys must be perfected. The final experiment began. Their communions systematically tweaked, to long stave off the inevitable madness, until their fruitfulness could be restored

But Theodora had different dreams altogether. For they were anchored above this drowning world. Her hopes grew eyes. With them, they saw a garden within the city, and the garden was the city. And the city was the whole world

The morning they finally awoke came all too soon