As the fire spread from the cellar, thick black smoke billowed into the night sky. Tyssa crouched low among the garden foliage, scanning the perimeter of the mansion. Her fingers twitched against the damp grass, her breath shallow.

  Tyssa (hushed): "Come on, guys... Where are you...?"

  The only movement came from Cabdan’s guards, scrambling to evacuate in a frenzy. Whether they fled from the fire or from whatever abomination Dmitri had unleashed, Tyssa couldn't say. Then -- on the far side of the property, opposite the main entrance -- three figures emerged, sticking close to the garden wall.

  Tyssa’s heart leapt.

  Tyssa: "Finally...!"

  She darted from her hiding spot, making her way toward them. As she neared, Rel caught sight of her and gestured frantically for help.

  Punjo: "Nghn..."

  His weight sagged between them as she and Rel lifted him up, slinging his arms over their shoulders. They moved as quickly as they could through the streets, weaving through small crowds gathering to gawk at the inferno consuming the grand estate.

  Dmitri stumbled along a few paces behind, coughing violently into his sleeve.

  Dmitri: "H-how far...?"

  Rel: "Far. To the slums."

  Dmitri: "The shlumsh...?!"

  Rel: "Got a problem with that?"

  Dmitri didn’t answer. At their pace, it would take at least an hour to reach home, and he seemed too drained to argue further.

  Tyssa hesitated, then spoke.

  Tyssa: "Guys... Jargen, he..."

  Punjo let out a rasping cough, as if to cut her off.

  Rel: "... We figured. Last thing he said didn’t exactly sound like a farewell with plans for a reunion."

  The weight of it settled over them like a fog. No one spoke for a long while, focusing on the uneven cobblestones beneath their feet. Though people passed by, drawn by the spectacle of the fire, no one paid them any mind. In this part of the city, bloodied clothes and battered faces were either ignored or actively avoided.

  Rel: "What about Syl? Anybody see him...?"

  Tyssa shook her head.

  Tyssa: "When I went to get Jargen, Syl was gone. All that was left was a bloody office. I don’t know what happened, but... I don’t think he made it. Actually..."

  She looked up at the moon, her eyes glassy.

  Tyssa: "I’m not sure Jargen made it out of that room, either. Not really. Whoever I found back there... that wasn’t him."

  She reached under her shirt, pulling out the waterlogged journal.

  Tyssa: "But he did manage to find this -- the location of Cabdan’s fortune..."

  At the mention of the fortune, Dmitri’s ears visibly perked up, and he glanced back at them.

  Tyssa: "Don’t get any ideas. It’s ours now. But..."

  She flipped open the journal, revealing pages warped and blotted with wine stains.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Tyssa: "It got soaked in the cellar. I tried to dry it out, but I don’t know how much is still readable..."

  Rel: "... We’ll see. Not much we can do about it now. Honestly... not much I *want* to do now. I just want to get home."

  Tyssa nodded and fell silent.

  The further they traveled from the wealthier districts, the quieter the city became. The streetlamps burned with a dim, flickering glow, their warmth at odds with the cold emptiness settling in Tyssa’s chest. Everything they had survived -- the chaos, the blood, the horror -- felt like a fever dream. Or maybe this was the dream, and they’d wake to find reality ready to crush them all over again.

  She pushed the thought away.

  Tyssa: "And the antidote... Will *he* be making it for us?"

  Rel didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked at Dmitri.

  Rel: "No... He’s not here as help -- he’s here as insurance. We need to know that the antidote works. No tricks."

  He handed the flask containing the so-called antidote to Tyssa for inspection.

  Rel: "According to him, that’s it... Faya's cure."

  She turned the vial in her hands, unimpressed.

  Tyssa: "... Heard that before."

  She passed it back without a second glance.

  Rel: "I know -- which is why I poisoned him."

  Tyssa stopped walking.

  Tyssa: "... Y-you what?"

  Rel: "Yeah. Used what was left of Cabdan’s little trick before he died. That’s why Dmitri’s coming with us -- we’re testing it on *him* before we give it to Faya. And if it doesn’t work..."

  Dmitri’s head snapped around, his face pale.

  Dmitri: "I-it WILL! It will...!"

  Rel: "Sure... It better."

  Tyssa’s gaze drifted downward, her expression pensive. Rel noticed.

  Rel: "What is it?"

  Tyssa shook her head.

  Tyssa: "Nothing... I just... wish things were different. Wish there was some other way out."

  Rel sighed, nodding.

  Rel: "A way that didn’t involve our friends dying? A way that didn’t make us rely on poison to solve our problems...?"

  Tyssa looked at him. His eyes met hers, searching, uncertain.

  Rel: "So do I. And honestly? Maybe there was. Maybe if we were smarter, stronger, better... we could’ve found it. But..."

  His gaze slipped away, fixing on the road ahead.

  Rel: "But I don’t think we have what it takes to figure it out. Or rather... we don’t have what it takes to *make it* work. Not us. Not the slums. Peace just isn’t an option when everything around us is violence. Unless we want to be stepped on -- or worse..."

  His voice hardened.

  Rel: "We have to bare our teeth. Show them they can’t mess with us. Cabdan’s dead, and his fortune is in our hands. That makes us targets. There’s no telling what his friends in power will do when they find out where his wealth went. And that’s assuming we even get our hands on it. If we don’t... who’s to say another Cabdan won’t crawl out of the filth to replace him?"

  Punjo clenched his jaw, his battered face twisted with grief. He had already seen where this was going.

  Rel: "So, Punjo... I guess you and Jargen were right. Back then, I didn’t see it. But now, I do. It took me longer than Virno... but I understand now."

  A bitter laugh escaped him.

  Rel: "These people aren’t people at all. They’re *monsters*. Parasites. They take and take, feasting on what’s ours. And the only way we can stop them..."

  His eyes burnt through Dmitri.

  Rel: "... is through pest control. We de-claw them. Show them how helpless they really are. And if that doesn’t work..."

  Dmitri flinched but said nothing.

  Rel: "Well. Then there’s only one option left."

  Punjo trembled slightly, silent tears carving paths through the blood and dirt on his face. But no one was looking at him.

  Tyssa: "Rel..."

  There was hesitation in her voice.

  Tyssa: "... I don’t know if that’s all that different from what Cabdan did."

  Rel turned on her in an instant.

  Rel: "It is *NOTHING* like what he did. He fought to enslave others. To bend them to his will... We fight to break the chains. To claim our own freedom...!"

  Tyssa: "Even if we end up killing and hurting, too...?"

  Rel shook his head.

  Rel: "We kill and hurt those who *kill* and *hurt*. Not the innocent."

  Tyssa: "Those who kill and hurt, huh..."

  She met his gaze, unwavering.

  Tyssa: "We’re part of that group too, now... You know that, don’t you?"

  Rel’s jaw tightened.

  Rel: "Yeah... And that’s fine. We’ll dirty our hands so others don’t have to. If people come after me for it, let them come."

  He didn’t look away from her.

  Rel: "My mind’s made up. I’m willing to do what needs to be done. What about you, Tyssa?"

  She sighed, glancing away.

  Tyssa: "I’m just... worried our enemies think the same way. And that someday, we’ll walk too far down this path and end up becoming just like them."

  She turned back to him.

  Tyssa: "It’s all a matter of perception, isn’t it...? If innocents take up arms against us because we killed or hurt the people *they* loved... will we still see them as innocents, Rel?"

  He said nothing.

  Tyssa: "Or will we start labelling them as 'those who kill and hurt', too...?"

  No one had an answer.

  The rest of the walk home was spent in silence...