The Heralds of Dawn tried to recover, but their rest was interrupted by a sudden chain of lightning that tore through their ranks. Lancelot barely survived the spell thanks to Ghalwin's aura of protection, and caught the scent of a creature beyond the annex's fissure. Ghalwin followed a Jackal-headed demon cloaked in invisibility and lunged to grapple it, but the creature teleported away. He and Ezmerelda chased outside, and he shouted his intentions to the swirling storm outside. Surprisingly, he received a reply in his mind, telling him to bring Ezmerelda and Tobias to the temple's guardian statue.
They complied cautiously, leaving Ajuni and Kasimir behind to speak to the faceless god. It explained that it would allow them access to the temple, but not while the other two lived. Claiming that both sought forbidden power, the statue refused to explain further, as "mortals could not understand the God of Secrets". Tobias and Ghalwin persuaded it that Ajuni had begun to turn from her pact, but the guardian still demanded proof. They returned, and Ghalwin met privately with Ajuni, urging her to take the risk despite Delban protesting bitterly in her mind. Tobias spoke to Kasimir, and they grew tense as Kas tried to twist the gnome's philosophy back to him. The talk ended with Tobias clearly expressing the group's lack of trust in the elf, and ordering him to stay behind.
Leaving Lancelot to guard him, they brought Ajuni to the statue, who demanded that they remove all their items and burn through their magical abilities. Its motivations were unclear and its demands unforgiving, but the group did not want to create an enemy, so did what they were told. Delban, feeling that Ajuni was set to betray him, responded with fury. As she complied with the guardian, the Dark Power tried to subsume the sorceress entirely. However, she had not given much into his power, and possessed incredible will of her own. As frigid black mist overtook her, Ajuni not only rejected Delban, but broke her pact with him entirely.
The Star of Ice and Hate retaliated by turning the mist into thousands of icy needles, perforating the half-elf. She felt her constitution taken by frostbite as blood splashed across the black marble floor, and she lost the use of ten fingers and toes. Somehow, however, she had turned Delban’s own shadowy protection against his attack, and as the magic faded, she remained standing. A rope ladder swung out from the dark face of the statue, clearly impressed by the display, and the party climbed inside to meet the true temple guardian.
They were greeted in a much different manner by Neferon, an Arcanaloth summoned millenia ago by the Azure Paragon. The fiend lived in a cramped hovel carved into the statue, and seemed eager for company after centuries of isolation. They offered tea and called the Heralds its closest friends, despite having no real concern for their lives and a clear passion for killing mortals. Neferon explained that they were bound to protect the amber sarcophagi, and they shared information about previous visitors to the temple, the Wedding That Never Was, and the temple's former steward, a Lich named Orlev ben Khazan.
Neferon claimed that Khazan had been appointed guardian of the temple but had lost his mind after achieving lichdom in Barovia. The fiend resented this decline and asked the party to take over his neglected duties. Ghalwin suspected Neferon held the artifact of their search in a chest, but got no clear answer from the fiend. In return for information, Neferon asked that the party "clean up" the temple and agreed not to kill Kasimir as long as he went no further than Helwa’s annex.
When the Heralds returned to rest, they reiterated the guardian's decision and prevented Kasimir from leaving; while he protested, he did not revolt. As the party recovered, however, Kasimir remained awake, watching for weakness. Whatever bonds he once shared with the group had now completely unraveled.