The Exhaust Organ is a compact, high-pressure segment that links a Mist exit to a key lift hub. There’s no local map vendor here, the tunnels are packed with steam hazards, and the area culminates in a demanding duel with Phantom. Use this walkthrough to reach the building, secure the bench, grab a hidden Flea, defeat the boss, and activate the Grand Bellway for fast travel and progression.

How to reach the Exhaust Organ (through The Mist)

The Organ sits beyond The Mist, which can be entered either from the top of Sinner’s Road or from the left side of Bilewater near its Bellway. The Mist has no map and reconfigures between screens, but a built-in navigation trick makes it reliable to cross.

Step 1: Enter The Mist from Sinner’s Road (upper route) or from the Bilewater side. Expect four to five rooms before the exit.

Step 2: In each room, play your Needolin near the small golden moths. They’ll drift toward the correct exit; follow their direction.

Step 3: Avoid traps and the lower fog. Falling into the fog returns you to the start of The Mist sequence.

Step 4: Deal with ghost pursuers by jumping over their rush and pogoing with a downward strike. They drain silk on contact, so keep space and prioritize clean hits.

Step 5: Use your cocoon if you die to recover a full silk bar, and hit thread spools en route for extra silk. Keep moving between rooms to limit ghost spawns.

Step 6: Exit The Mist to a short outdoor ledge. Cross right to the large building to enter the Exhaust Organ proper.

Exhaust Organ route and bench

Inside, you’ll work through short, vertical tunnels with timed steam jets and a blocked elevator. The area is brief but punishing if you rush vents.

Step 1: Enter and move through the first corridor past the Drapefly. Climb to the upper-left ledge to find a bench covered in cobwebs; strike the webs, then sit to set your checkpoint.

Step 2: From the bench, drop down and head right. Ignore the first upward shaft and take the second vertical climb; time ascents between steam bursts. Use the mid-shaft alcove on the right as a safe spot, minding the spikes above on exit.

Step 3: Continue through the next short climb, then drop a third shaft with spikes at the base. Stop at the shallow drop ahead and take the lower-left passage.

Step 4: At the end, strike the wooden braces holding an old elevator. This collapses the lift down its shaft and opens the route.

Step 5: (Optional) Check the nearby mirror to play your Needolin for a lore snippet if you wish. It doesn’t affect progression.

Secret: rescue the hidden Flea

This easy-to-miss Flea is just above the elevator shaft you cleared and requires a short hidden path.

Step 1: Return to the top of the now-open elevator shaft.

Step 2: Walk into the left wall to reveal a concealed passage and follow it to an outside ledge.

Step 3: Traverse the exterior platforms leftward to the end.

Step 4: Cut the vines trapping the Flea to free it, then backtrack to the interior route.

Flea tracking note: later in the game, certain NPCs offer paid hints for missing Fleas, but this one is available as soon as you can reach the Organ.

To the arena: final climb

The path to Phantom runs through one last set of vertical tunnels with steam hazards and spikes.

Step 1: From the secret passage entrance, continue right into another sequence of steam-filled climbs, again using safe ledges to wait out jets.

Step 2: At the top, grab the silk cache on the right if needed, then cross to the left doorway to enter the arena.

Boss strategy — how to defeat Phantom

Phantom is a fast, close-range duelist with tight flurries, a diagonal pin throw, and a deflect that punishes greedy strings. Standard hits tend to cost one mask; their deflect counter hits harder. Later in the fight, they reappear quickly into follow-ups and fill portions of the arena with superheated steam, shrinking your safe zones.

Step 1: Learn the kit first. Spend a couple of attempts focusing only on recognition: pin throw angles, dash-in openers, and the visual/audio cue for their deflect. Knowledge reduces panic and unnecessary trades.

Step 2: Use the diagonal pin as your heal window. When Phantom jumps to lob the pin down at you, sidestep the landing line and heal once while they recover.

Step 3: Keep punishes short. After a ground string or whiffed dash, land one to two hits and reset. If you see the deflect tell, disengage or pogo to avoid the counter.

Step 4: Prioritize positioning as the arena steams up. Stay near centerline to keep both dash lanes open, jump-dash through cloud edges, and avoid corners where teleports can pin you.

Step 5: Save Tools for the later phase. Use throwables to chip while hazards are active; don’t linger in steam to extend combos. Commit only when Phantom lands or after a clear recovery.

Step 6: On victory, equip Cross Stitch immediately. This Silk Skill lets you press RB to parry the instant an attack lands, then auto-counter with a flurry. Practice incorporating it into your default offense and swap it only when another skill is required for traversal or a specific matchup.

After the fight — Grand Bellway, map, and priorities

Beating Phantom opens a streamlined route upward and into a major travel hub. You’ll also pick up a couple of key unlocks and a collectible before dropping into the Bellway level.

Step 1: Exit left into the elevator. Ride up to the exterior path and proceed until you reach a tall, spike-lined shaft.

Step 2: Climb the shaft and pull the lever at the top to extend a walkway into the next room.

Step 3: Cross the closed trapdoor first, then loot the body on the far left for a Memory Locket.

Step 4: Return to the lever and open the trapdoor to drop into the Grand Bellway.

Step 5: Spend Rosaries here in this order of impact: unlock the Bellway (120) to restore fast travel, buy the Choral Chambers map (70) on the right, then activate the Ventrica to the left. The Ventrica initially links only to a sealed Terminus but becomes a useful point-to-point network as you find more nodes.

Step 6: Expect a short story beat just beyond the Bellway. If a conversation doesn’t trigger here for you, it will occur later along the Choral Chambers path. Either way, clear the small encounter and return to the hub when ready.

Map availability note: Shakra doesn’t appear inside the Organ. You’ll obtain the Exhaust Organ’s map later from her in Bilewater; the area itself is small enough to navigate without it once the Bellway is active.

Why tackle the Exhaust Organ early

Clearing Phantom unlocks Cross Stitch, a parry tool that materially improves survivability in subsequent duels, and grants direct access to the Grand Bellway for travel and routing flexibility. If you’ve hit a wall on other approaches into the Citadel, the Organ path offers a demanding but concise alternative with a very strong reward.

With the Organ cleared and the Bellway online, you can route back to lucrative farming spots or press into the Choral Chambers with Cross Stitch equipped. It’s a short detour that pays off across the rest of the run.