The rainstorm does not let up, still cascading over the land. The Maximals are concerned that the weather has not changed even though Zerine has fallen. Clockwork mentions that the legends of this world have now all come to pass…save the final one, and the most important. When only one evil god remains, that god is Dim-Duhl, god of the apocolypse, who will destroy the world. Because the Predacon prisoners all claim that their own avatar for Dim-Duhl is dead, the Maximals turn back to the legends. They decide at last that they will consult help. Mongrel talks with the priestess in Falleen, who can tell him only this: that the end of days will occur "when the sands run out."
The Maximals travel back to Wanderlust Pass, but, here, too, the sky is dark and wicked. They search for rumors and decide to embark on a quest they had previously ignored: to ask advice of the Ancient Wind Spirit. Paladyne, Victoria, Mongrel, and Shadowraith travel into the snowy peaks of the mountains, and find the legendary cave of the wind spirit buried under ice on a snowcapped peak. They break the seal and enter, into a cold and surprisingly well-lit place. The maze that the air elementals guard proves to be very surreal. Leaving tracks through the snow that covers the inside as well as the out, the Maximals discover at one point that their tracks have vanished, and the maze has shifted behind them. They follow carefully and come into a room that looks very familiar: the inside of Hydron's lair? Not finding anything other than strangeness they press on, and another door in the snow-white labyrinth leads to the interior of the Predacon's sideways ship. They hear a soft noise like a giggle, and encounter a small winged girl: a sylph. The sylph offers to show them where to go, if they want. Mongrel is skeptical, but, having no better lead, the Maximals follow the sylph through the Predacon ship, back into the pale, snowy maze, and, finally, into a room where a whirlwind rests above a door. Speaking the language of air elementals as he picks it up, Paladyne asks if the whirlwind knows how to find the Ancient Wind Spirit. He is behind the heavy doors, but the sylphs are not strong enough to open it.
The outside of the maze seems to lead to the same place as the inside, though the skies are endless and white, and the cliffs seem to drop off into nothingness in the distance. The Wind Spirit is a genderless being who sits on a throne of clouds, robed in breezes; its face and voice shifting in its whimsy as it speaks. The Spirit offers to answer any questions that the travelers have, for it can see all things that are touched by air, though it does not know all of the ways of the gods.
When asked how to defeat Dim-Duhl, the spirit tells of the location of the death god. It shows the Maximals a vision of a temple, poised on the edge of a waterfall of sand. The sands slowly drain out of the southern deserts, and, when the temple reaches the bottom of the funnel they form, the god will awaken. The Spirit tells the Maximals they have 20 days to complete this task. It then tells the Maximals that the evil god can only be truly destroyed with a holy weapon. Several such weapons exist: a magical staff in the desert, and a magical hammer deep underground. But the closest to their current location is an enchanted sword hidden in the mountains. It is guarded by the spirits of restless heroes, and waits champions that can take it from its resting place. The Maximals decide to rise to the challenge, and retrieve this sword, the Sun Blade.
Before departing from the realm of Air, Paladyne has a question for the Wind Spirit. He wants to find a way to protect Victoria, so that she can remain by his side when he returns to Cybertron. The Wind Spirit states that perhaps making a Wish would be the answer. It cannot grant them, but if the Maximals believe they have the time, it will summon someone who can.