'Wow… this place has been annihilated.'

'You don't say.'

'Stop that, Nazir. It's not funny.'

'My point exactly.'

They had arrived in the main room, and they were both quite stunned. The stalagmites had crumbled, and parts of the ceiling collapsed alongside them. Now small cracks allowed the rays of the Sun to illuminate even that depth, where sunlight was never seen. Soot covered everything, and the air was still filled with ash; even the surface of the water was completely mixed by cinder.

And, talking of the small lake, the coffin of the Night Mother was floating in it.

'Hey…' said Babette all of a sudden. 'There's where Azrael entered!'

'In the coffin of the Night Mother? You can't be serious.'

'I am! Pull that thing out of the water, then we will see.'

The Redguard entered into the lake and grabbed the coffin, pulling nearer to dry land. The expression on his face said more than words could.

'Hurry up, Nazir! I'm telling you, he's in there.'

'I'm going… as fast… as I can,' he groaned, pulling the coffin on the land and trying to put it straight. 'You little she-devil. I don't see you… Helping.'

'I'm not exactly built for manual labor,' explained the little Vampire. 'Now come on, you've almost got it.'

'Yes. One more… Pull.'

The coffin finally stood straight, in its usual position. Nazir could have swore he heard some noises coming from inside, some thuds mainly.

'Can you get it open?' asked Babette.

'I think so,' replied the Redguard. 'Just hold on a moment.'

He tried to open the lock, but it was encrusted with ashes. He looked at the little girl for a moment, grinning, and then tried again. After a few tries the door finally unblocked and opened widely.

Azrael lost his support and fell on his knees. Nazir held him by the armpits, preventing him from slamming his face on the ground. He truly was inside the coffin. As soon as he regained his perception, he started moving his muscles all at once, trying to free himself.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down,' the Redguard said. 'It's all right. You've been through a lot. Maybe you should just sit down for a bit…'

The Dark Elf coughed twice and hissed grimly as he tried to pick himself up. His feet slipped on the smily rocks underneath his boots. Nazir gave him a little help, and he managed to stand. He trembled a little bit, but was quite steady on his own feet.

'No time,' he said. His voice was hushed by the ashes he had likely breathed. 'I have to speak with Astrid. She's here in the Sanctuary. Follow me, you two.'

'She's here? By Sithis, I thought we'd lost her. Let's go!'

Babette looked at the Listener, both with affection and a fair amount of respect. He had just been tossed around by the explosion, left in that coffin for six hours, and all of that after having been on horseback for the whole day before. He had already shown his skills, and now he had shown his even greater resolve and strength of will. He was really an unwavering person, and an enemy not to be underestimated.

Azrael looked around, first towards the exit and then in the opposite direction. His gaze went from one end of the cave to the other. Babette followed the movement of his eyes, and tracked where they stopped: possible ways out of that place, or possible places where Astrid was hiding.

'Do you know where to find her?' Babette asked him.

'No, but I have my clues,' he answered. 'For example that I didn't see her when I came through here, so she must be in a place where I didn't look.'

'Cicero's chamber?'

'It had been already devoured by fire.'

'The pool of water where Lis lived?'

'It collapsed,' said Nazir.

'Somewhere near her bedroom, maybe.'

Azrael turned around and looked the girl with a strange light in his eyes, a droll and somewhat amused gaze. He grinned weakly at her.

'That could be indeed,' he said, nodding slowly, his voice touching the deepest notes his voice could reach. 'That's the only placed I did not search and that did not get completely devastated. Smart one, little Vampire.'

Babette smirked weakly in response, trying to understand how he could even smile in a situation like that. It was not disrespectful or anything, just very hard to do with all that happened. Of all the Brotherhood, three, at most four, of its members survived and he was still able to grin mockingly. There was nothing that could put down his confidence. He had one goal and the means to achieve it. Nothing else mattered. His heart was stone, his mind ice.

Azrael did not add anything else, and went up the stairs. Nazir and Babette exchanged a concerned glance and followed him, instinctively staying at a safe distance. They went further up and arrived in the first room of the Sanctuary, which was completely burned. Next door there was Astrid's bedroom, and even the Dunmer hesitated a bit before entering. Everything inside was scorched beyond recognition.

'This place has been burnt to a crisp,' said Nazir.

'Truly?'

'Your sarcasm is painful at times, Brother.'

'Thanks for the reminder.'

'You're incorrigible, Azrael,' commented Babette.

'I'll take that as a compliment.'

It's not stubbornness, it's worse. It's unbreakable strength of will, the girl said to herself.

The small table and the bed had been consumed, and the carbonized remains had been tossed all around by the final explosion, but there was something Azrael had never seen before. There was an opening in the wall, that led somewhere. A secret passage maybe. He entered it and… Well, saw something that he would have rather avoided, if only he could.

'Alive…' whispered Astrid. 'You… are alive… Thanks Sithis.'

'Astrid, what in…'

Nazir and Babette wondered what Azrael had seen, and they turned the corner, only to shiver at the sight. The body of their former leader was a perfect representation of the rest of the Sanctuary: consumed by flames. The skin had vaporized, the muscle bundles were exposed and burnt, her hair seemed to have vanished. Azrael only recognized her by the face features, which were kind of familiar even in that quite sorry state.

Astrid stopped the Elf, and replied immediately. 'Please, don't. There is much… I have to say. And… not much time. I'm sorry. So very sorry. The Penitus Oculatus… Maro… He said that by giving you to them, he would leave the Dark Brotherhood alone. Forever. By Sithis, I was such a fool. All of this… it's all my fault. You are the best of us, and I nearly killed you… as I've killed everyone else…'

There we no words. No understanding. Only one person there found the strength.

Azrael knelt beside her, putting both his elbows on the knee and looking down at her. 'So you are the one who sent me to die,' he replied. His voice was cold as ice, undecipherable.

'Yes. I set you up. I wanted you dead,' said Astrid, without stopping, cramming all out in one breath. 'I betrayed you, the Night Mother, and everything I hold dear. And now Maro has betrayed me. I just wanted things… to stay the way they were. Before Cicero, before the Night Mother. Before… you. I thought I could save us. I was wrong. But you're alive! So there's still a chance. A chance to start over, rebuild. That's why I did… this. Don't you see? I prayed to the Night Mother! I am the Black Sacrament.'

'I see the candles, and I see the corpse… Even the Nightshade. But what are you saying?'

'I'm saying you were right. The Night Mother was right. The Old Ways… they guided the Dark Brotherhood for centuries. I was a fool to oppose them, and to prove my… sincerity, I have prayed for a contract. You lead this Family now. I give you the Blade of Woe, so that you can see it through.'

Babette had lived long, saw things a man would rather not see. She slew, she killed, she did atrocities that one should pray not to suffer. Death and mischief followed her wherever she went, suffering walked behind her as if it was her own shadow. But hundred of years had passed, and she had never seen something like that. Astrid had been the thing that kept them united even in those times of trial, even in the worst conditions ever. She now officially was the make or break.

She had kept the Family together, and now she was the one disintegrating it.

'You must kill… Me.'

Those words spelled the end of the phase of transition of the Dark Brotherhood.

Babette looked at Azrael. His fate and the one of the Family he was now the leader of was in his own hands. The act was to be his. He could not have backed off from that.

The Listener kneeled beside the burned body of Astrid, who laid in wait, helpless. Her pupils were the only thing that moved, and they followed the hands of the Dunmer. His fingers surrounded the hilt of the Blade, which had dangled from Astrid's belt since Babette had know her. It was her blade, and in a way a symbol of her power. Giving it to Azrael didn't just give him a weapon to complete the execution, but a clear sign of destiny: she was passing her authority over to him.

Nazir looked, and thought that in the half-gloved hand of the Dunmer the Blade looked strangely different: Astrid kept it always in sight. It was her distinctive weapon, the thing she always brought with her, something that represented her identity and status. In the palm of the Elf it looked different. The edges shined, but grimly, threatening. That sinister glow followed the blade along its shape. While in the hands of Astrid it had been a symbol of power, now it seemed to have returned to its roots, to have recovered its true purpose. Now it was once again an image of death.

Azrael took it with both hands and brought the edge right upon Astrid's heart. Her eyes opened wider, Nazir breathed and swore not to do that again until the metal had found the flesh it was supposed to penetrate. He waited. Not for too long.

Sithis… Your daughter draws near, thought Babette.

Azrael sighed, and thrust. Astrid closed her eyes, and smiled. Her face could not move, but the few muscles that could put in motion on her face painted an expression of great peace.

'Thank you.'

Azrael stood up, and looked still for a moment at the coffin of the Night Mother. He then turned around, and looked at Nazir. He had a sad grin on his lips. Babette looked at them as they had the first, brief exchange of words after they saw Astrid.

'Something troubling you?' Azrael asked the Redguard.

'Yes, that is place is a mess. I guess this is the end.'

'Wrong,' answered the Dunmer. 'The Night Mother just spoke to me again.'

'What? And… What did she say?'

'I must speak with Amaund Motierre. Once more.'

'Amaund Motierre? But that would mean…'

'The contract is still on. The Emperor has yet to meet his fate. This time the true one, hopefully.'

'You mean… there's still a chance? But how? Our plan has gone to ruin, everyone is dead, the Family…'

'Our Family lives.'

'Damn… All right, then. Go. Go, Azrael. Find out what that slimy bastard Motierre has to say, then send the Emperor to Sithis. Ah, but when you're done, there's no use returning here, is there?'

'It's a long journey, but you could go to the Dawnstar Sanctuary.'

'Yes… we could make a proper home there. Listen, when you're finished with this Emperor business, meet Babette and me there. I'll find some way to move the Night Mother. Don't worry. Now go! And come back with a barrel full of gold, right? Babette, my girl, pack your things. We're moving.'

'I was hoping you'd say that.'

Azrael did not wait any longer. He brushed the dust off his cloak, moved it away from his shoulders and set off. He had his bow, his quiver, the Blade of Woe and his armor. That was more than enough. He covered the entirety of the room with six, long steps.

'Azrael, wait!'

The Dunmer turned towards the little Vampire girl.

'Yes?'

'I… Nazir, can I go with him?'

'That's all right. Where will we meet?'

'At the Whiterun Crossroads.'

'Getting a lift, huh?' smirked the Redguard. 'Fine. You're not built for manual labor either way, if I recall correctly.'

'Good thing we have Shadowmere.'

Azrael grabbed the hair of the horse stronger and stirred right. Shadowmere snorted and obeyed, galloping at extreme speed. Only when they were already in the open, far from the road and with no trees to avoid and no sudden turns to make, Azrael managed to answer.

'What's the problem with other animals? I mean, beside the fact that they are not as quick as Shadowmere.'

'Other animals get quite spooked when they sense me. Have you ever wondered why the Silver Hand bring dogs or trained wolves along?'

'The ones I have encountered did not.'

'Ah yes… That would be stupid to hunt a Werewolf using wolves… They would just respect their brethren and protect them. Either way, you might notice that some other creatures might get frightened or aggressive when they sense me.'

'Not very convenient.'

'Not at all, but it's fun.'

A new copse was ahead, and Azrael once again gripped tighter to the dark hair of the steed. Shadowmere dashed in between the trees without slowing much, and then accelerated again once they ended up in the open once again. This time there would have been no interruptions for quite a long time. They were on the opposite side of the river where Riverwood was, and Azrael knew there wouldn't have been any obstacles for a while.

'What about this adorable lady?' Babette asked.

'Shadowmere? I don't know. Astrid said I could keep her a little longer, but now… If you have no objections, I would gladly keep her with me. She's been of more help to me than most of the people in this iceland.'

'There will be no objections. She belongs to you.'

'Perfect.'

'What will you do when all will be over? When the Emperor is killed and all is at its place again?'

'I'll do whatever the Night Mother says, but then I'll have to leave matters into your own hands for a while. Unfortunately, I have killed a Dragon…' he said, only Babette could have caught the irony in his voice. 'That makes me a person of vital importance. I will have to focus on that task for a while. But, when all is finished, I will return. I'll leave Nazir in charge while I'm away.'

'Wise enough.'

'What do you actually think about what happened? About Astrid.'

'If I hadn't heard it with my own ears I wouldn't have believed it. How could Astrid have done this to us? Strangely, I feel only pity for her…'

'That's not strange at all, I feel the same thing. She… I know I sound arrogant saying this, but she feared me terribly.'

'The truth is not arrogance… Azrael, cover me! If I catch the sunlight I will burn worse than the Sanctuary.'

'Easy, it just shifted,' answered the Elf. He put the cloak on Babette again, covering her better this time. That black mantle did wonders against the sunlight. 'Anyway, you were saying?'

'That she did feared you, and terribly. She feared your ideas, your independence and you abilities. She failed to understand that you trusted her like without doubt, and saw you as a threat to her place and to the Family. Sometimes I get the feeling we all acted as single pieces of the wheel, that everything played out in order for the Night Mother to regain complete control over the Brotherhood. I wonder if this massacre happened because of a bad chain of events, or because of someone else's manipulation.'

'Very deep reasoning for someone like you.'

'That sarcasm of yours… What do you mean, "like me" anyway? A Vampire? A child grown old?'

'No, just you. That's it.'

'So what? If that's your only comment, you'd better have a better idea than me.'

'I don't, not necessarily. It's just one thing: I don't believe in Fate. That's that.'

'Interesting.'

'I still do not know exactly who I am and why I ended up here, but I'm sure it wasn't Fate. Or, if it was, it wasn't the generic Fate that guides us. It was the Fate that is carved in my very soul, that dictates the way I perceive and act. The things I do, the things I think. That Fate I can accept. It's funny, but… The more I kill, the more I learn about myself. We grow through suffering, and every time we kill we feel the torment of the person that dies. Through that, we grow, we become something more.'

'Might I point something out?'

'I'm all ears.'

'You and me are not the same thing. You are different. I've sensed it when you've walked in the Sanctuary for the first time. You have the potential to become something bigger, something… more. You may not stop at becoming the perfect killing machine. You might achieve something more.'

'And what might that be?'

'A greater understanding, I think. You see the world through different eyes, somehow. I wonder how that will affect you going forward.'