When S. passes the boys, they hide and wait until he leaves. Then they head back to the streets and continue slinging rocks at city lights. Further on in the book, we can identify that the boys may be seen as the Agents of Vevoda, hiding from S. who represents the end of their games. And the Agents only disappear as S. acts as an assassin and kills them. But once S. is gone, more agents emerge and the light keeps diminishing into darkness.

What begins at the water shall end there, and what ends there shall once more begin.

The first concept of beginnings and endings are mentioned in context and also corresponds to the chapter one title What Begins, What Ends. The concept is repeated throughout the book. As FXC wrote in the footnote, “Endings and Beginning were particular preoccupations of Straka’s.” This is also another hint to solve the chapter one footnote cipher.

In plenty of religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon, Jainism, Taoism, and Sikhism, also have a similar concept called Saṃsāra. It is the repeating cycle of birth, life, and death as well as one’s actions and consequences in the past, present, and future.

The harbormaster looks through his spyglass and spots a dark shape which is S’s soon to be ship.