Sapphire succeeds in making contact with the darkness at a great personal risk. Steel negotiates with it by promising a powerful source of resentment in exchange for a return to present day. The solider finally reveals what it is the darkness has promised all the ghosts but Steel gives them a better offer. The darkness follows through with its part of the bargain and Sapphire and Steel must uphold their part as well, even if their actions damage time itself.