Returning to their village, Flint Sky notes that the refugees are sick with fear and urges Jaguar Paw to never allow the fear to infect him. Later that night, the tribe gathers around an elder who tells a prophetic story about a being who is consumed by an emptiness that cannot be satisfied, despite having all the gifts of the world offered to him. The being will continue blindly taking until there is nothing left in the world for him to take, and the world is no more.

The next morning, the village is attacked by Maya