Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence.

On the way to Babilar, David reads through notes that Tia sourced about deceased Epics, including Steelheart and Sourcefield. He is sure that Epic weaknesses aren’t random, and he wants to gather more data in order to discern the overarching pattern. After two days of driving through stretches of wasteland and empty, hollowed-out cities, the three park outside Babilar. When David asks why they don’t go straight to the city, Prof cryptically states that they “can’t drive into Babilar” (58).

Prof and Tia introduce David to the Babilar Reckoners—Exel, Mizzy, and Val. The team crosses the Hudson River into Babilar, and on the way, Prof updates David about Regalia, the Epic ruler of Babilar, who holds power over water and can control the liquid, project her image, and spy through any surface where water touches air. David is momentarily relieved that they will be far from open water, but he soon realizes that Regalia has sunk the entirety of Babilar, and only the tops of the skyscrapers now stand above the surface.