A party of nobles gathered and appealed to his younger brother Theodosius, who lived in exile in Byzantium, to assert his rights to the throne.
Teodosius first took refuge in the Kartli with certain Adarnase, then with David III of Tao where he remained for a while, and finally moved at the court of Kvirke II of Kakheti.
Demetrius III managed to convince Theodosius to organize a reconciliation, who agreed to return to Abkhazia with guarantees of personal security confirmed by oaths before the Catholicos and the clergy.
The central government was still powerful enough to cope with the local separatism, but not for surmounting the growing structural crisis.
Nevertheless, Demetrius too dies childless, and Theodosius Ill the Blind (c. 975-978) becomes the sole heir to the throne of Abkhazia.