Immortal Dark Chapter 37: Artifacts and Alliances
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Kidan returns home to find Susenyos waiting by the fireplace. He already knows she was invited by the 13th and probes about Koril Qaros. Kidan plays her new role carefully, pretending to be cooperative. Susenyos offers to help her earn a life exchange in exchange for information about what the 13th says about him. He takes her to the artifact room, where she sees the portrait of a goddess he says saved him as a child. Despite her lingering distrust, Kidan agrees to let him teach her artifact restoration. Susenyos explains that her passion for reclaiming African artifacts and preserving House Adane’s legacy will be the key to convincing the 13th. As they work, Kidan is drawn to the tragic poems and books Susenyos keeps, which speak to her own darkness. She begins to see him not just as a monster, but as a creature of history and sorrow.
Key Events
- Kidan returns home and Susenyos questions her about the 13th’s invitation.
- Susenyos offers an alliance: he will teach her how to earn a life exchange if she reports the 13th’s gossip about him.
- Kidan sees the damaged portrait of a goddess in the artifact room; Susenyos confesses the goddess saved him in his youth.
- Susenyos begins restoring artifacts with Kidan, emphasizing the importance of African history and stolen heritage.
- Kidan borrows Traditional Myths of Abyssi and becomes obsessed with tragic literature that frames murderers as heroes.
- She decides to use the language of “greedy and monstrous men” to gain Koril Qaros’s trust.
Character Development
- Kidan – She adopts a strategic, softer demeanor around Susenyos, hiding her true plan. Her appreciation for artifact restoration reawakens, and she finds unexpected common ground with Susenyos through their shared love of history and literature. Her internal struggle with language loss (Amharic) deepens her sense of displacement.
- Susenyos – Reveals a vulnerable, reverent side when speaking of the goddess. His laugh surprises Kidan, hinting at a capacity for genuine emotion. He is a patient but exacting teacher, and his desire to know his enemies shows paranoia. His statement “nightmares aren’t allowed to have likes or dislikes” exposes his own self-perception as a monster.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- History as Immortality – Susenyos argues that the only truly immortal thing is the legacy of African history and reclaimed artifacts. Restoration becomes a metaphor for preserving identity.
- Goddess Portrait – Symbolizes a moment of salvation and beauty in Susenyos’s past, contrasting with his current monstrous reputation. The cracked portrait also represents Kidan’s violence and the fragility of trust.
- Language Loss – Kidan’s inability to read Amharic and the metallic taste it leaves in her mouth highlights the erasure of her heritage and her feeling of being adrift.
- Tragic Literature as Solace – Kidan finds validation in stories that turn murderers into heroes, reflecting her own moral darkness and her need to believe redemption is possible.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 37 marks a turning point in Kidan and Susenyos’s relationship. They move from pure antagonism to a fragile, transactional alliance. Susenyos’s willingness to teach artifact restoration and share personal history suggests he may be more than the monster Kidan assumed. The chapter also deepens Kidan’s internal conflict: she must balance her hatred for Susenyos with the need to learn from him, and she begins to question her own preconceptions. The focus on artifact restoration reinforces the novel’s themes of heritage and the cost of violence. Kidan’s embrace of tragic literature sets up her strategy for the 13th, foreshadowing the manipulation to come.
Study Questions and Answers
-
Why does Susenyos offer to help Kidan earn a life exchange?
He wants her to spy on the 13th and report back what they say about him, so he can know his enemies. -
What does the goddess portrait reveal about Susenyos’s past?
It shows that he had a moment of salvation as a child, and he worships the woman who saved him, indicating a capacity for reverence and joy. -
How does Kidan’s view of tragic literature change in this chapter?
She becomes obsessed with stories that frame murderers as heroes, finding solace in narratives that acknowledge evil and offer forgiveness, which she plans to use to manipulate Koril Qaros.