Let’s revisit some of my predictions heading into Part III, so we can all have a good chuckle at my expense (and maybe find something to be impressed with!).

First, the bad:

• My bold prediction at the end of my previous post was that Vis was going to come into contact with a family member – possibly a sister – LOL. In our catch-up with Fadrique in Suus, he makes it abundantly clear that all of Vis’s family members are dead. He saw all of their bodies. There is zero chance any of them are alive. If you even thought someone could’ve gotten away, you’re stupid and shouldn’t share your thoughts for public consumption. (I’m paraphrasing just a bit).
  
• I was pretty gung-ho in my suspicions of Aequa. To be fair to myself, pretty early on in Part III, I started shifting those suspicions onto Emissa, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Aequa was too obvious. And while the budding Vis-Emissa romance was sweet, we were kept at arm’s length from their dynamic in a way that screamed this was ripe for heartbreak. Emissa is very much giving “first love, not true love” energy. (Though I don’t think her betrayal is straightforward, more on that later).
  
• Onyx did not come back to be significant (yet!). Was it even onyx that the swords were made of? The Remnants are described as obsidian. Did I just flub that whole thing?

Now, the good:

• The injured Alupi returning to aid Vis! A bit of a layup, but DiagoDog (much more on double names later) did return and, though not exactly a cuddle bug, does have some sort of bond with Vis and served as his protector for much of the Iudicium.
  
• The Vis-Emissa romance heating up on their island getaway to Suus. I mean, let’s be real, it was about as hot as a bowl of yogurt, but still.
  
• Vis’s magical ability watch: I pointed out Vis’s ability to sense other’s presence seemed like it might hint at a magical ability, and it looks like my powers of perception were on point! He seems to get a bit of a post-portal upgrade, with his natural skills taking on a supernatural quality – fun! So far: internal people radar, some sort of semi-invincibility, and the power to summon objects.

• My “Could Veridious actually be good?” theory from my Part I recap has legs, baby!! Never a doubt. (Unless you count my very explicitly stated doubt from my Part II recap, which, fortunately, I do not.)
  
  In the main timeline (pray for me, folks), Veridious is with Vis when he wakes post-Iudicium. He tries to get Vis to declare himself to Religion, and I don’t know… I was catching a vibe of genuineness here.
  
  Another point in Veridious’s favor: Vis’s brief interaction with Caeror in Obiteum. Caeror asks Vis if he knows Veridious and when Vis calls him Principalis Veridious, Caeror kinda gives an “Oh Veridious, you rascal” smirk. Not the reaction you’d expect to hearing about your murderer.
  
  I’m gonna keep the Veridious train rolling here. Veridious’s possible ascent is set against Ulciscor’s hard fall in the “who-seems-cool” rankings. You know what? This seems like a perfect time to segue over to Ulciscor.

Papa Ulc: fuck you! (That felt good).

I forgot to mention this is my Part II reaction, but I started to sour hard on Ulciscor back at the Festival of Ancestors. After Vis details his harrowing, near-death escapade to the first ruins, Ulc is immediately like, “Yeah, not enough. Do better.”

And boy does he not get any better from that point on. In Suus, Vis reports that not only has he ascended to Class 4, but also his successful even more insane recon of the second ruins site. But Papa Ulc wants more. If greed is the hallmark of the Hierarchy, Ulciscor is a true company man. He insists Vis run the certain-death labyrinth or he’ll invoke his fatherly rights (you adopted an adult less than a year ago, chill out) to toss him in a sapper. Winning the Iudicium, becoming Domitor, and defying all the odds to scout two sets of should-be-unreachable ruins… still not enough for Papa Ulc.

Vek have mercy on me. I was complaining last post about the double-identity of Sedotia/Relucia. And now I have to keep track of characters copied across multiple universes 😵‍💫. This should be interesting for your girl.

I was already fuming that Vis named his wolf Diago (his own former name in Suus), and now I am going to be wrestling with Res-Vis, Obiteum-Vis, and Luceum-Vis.

Synchronous is death you say?
Yeah… death to this blogger.

Superhero Vis! He continues to be the athlete of a generation. He is running around Solivagus, forging freezing rivers, fighting alien guards, fighting non-alien guards, carrying his dying friend, and defying the laws of sleep to an astonishing degree. Even without his new upgraded powers, he’s a beast.

Listen. The hierarchy does some pretty bad stuff, but their crimes against taste and design are right up there for me. I was horrified right along Vis at the defacing of his family’s ancestral palace. He describes:

“Gone is the character-filled hewn look of the sandstone. In its place is a monstrosity. Walls smoothed, polished, and painted garishly in the colours of Caten: orange and white and purple.”

And that’s not even the worst of it! At our first dinner, Vis observes:

“Gone is the long table in the centre, replaced by several smaller ones, each surrounded by three broad couches in the Catenan style.”

Do not serve me a formal dinner while I’m seated on an m-fing couch. This definitively proves that no amount of Will-wielding can buy taste.

Big questions heading into Book 2:

• Who, pray tell, is the “person from Vis’s world” the people from Luceum say is coming? Are they referring to Caeror over in Obiteum? (I don’t think so.) Is this possibly someone who is dead?
  
  Vis has that dream-convo with his dad, who tells him, “Death is a doorway, Son. You will see him again. No one is ever truly lost.” One of these new worlds being some sort of afterlife seems very in play.
  
• What the hell went down during Veridious’s/Caeror’s/Lanistia’s Iudicium? Obviously, a lot more than we were led to believe. Very curious how Lanistia factors into it all.
  
• Will Vis have to wield Will? He makes a split-second decision to request a placement with the Censor (Callidus’s father!!) post-graduation, as is his right as Domitor. This will keep him firmly in the mix of the Hierarchy governance. One of his strongest motivations through most of the story has been to avoid both ceding and wielding Will, but he ends on a note of “circumstances change.”
  
• What role will Eidhin play going forward? He gets a default promotion to best friend via Callidus’s untimely death. And we still have the mystery of why he had to decline supporting Vis in the Iudicium. I’m excited to see how he factors in.
  
• Will Emissa and Vis make up? I think they may work out their differences after a long period of distrust from Vis, but ultimately, I think the romance ship may have sailed for these two.
  
• Who left the missing-from-Suus carved wooden “Diago” ship on Vis’s side table post-Iudicium? Could this be the faintest sign of life for my “family member still alive” theory?