This is a case where the scene didn't just take over the chapter: it wound up needing an entire chapter to itself -- just in the name of pacing. As with Twilight's dream in Triptych, I had to keep everything off to the side from the main journey. Fully swing out at the end of the previous chapter, use this one as a full flashback, and then get back into Tartarus when the next segment opens. It had to be part of the story (and this was always planned as the point of reveal) -- and then it turned out that for the overall mood, it also needed to be just a little bit separate.
I think that at this point, I have to keep going on this road for the rest of January. Putting up just under 5900 words today wasn't enough. I need to finish the current segment of the story. And as such, the titles of the next two chapters are as follows.
Sui Generis
Unrepentant
And they terrify me.
Today saw one of the smaller reveals.
There are larger ones ahead.
Many of the pieces are about to come together.
We go down.
Down into the dark.
And you already know who's waiting at the bottom.