Fire didn't need to look over the railing to know what had happened, not that he had any choice in the matter, he was largely unable to move. He had seen Shadow execute rule breakers exactly twice before, however there had been more executions outside of that. To an outside observer her executions looked instant, the moment her palm touched the rule breaker's head was also the moment where she turned into something closer to her true self, in appearance that was, Shadow was never one to hide her personality behind a mask.

Jack stumbled back from the railing, terror still on his face. Fire imagined that seeing two minds get destroyed within less than five minutes had taken a toll on him. Fire might have even felt pity, had he been able to.

Jack asked: "What the hell?"

"That" Fire paused for emphasis "is what happens when you break the rules in every possible way. Understand now? The enforcer is travelling with me."

Jack said: "I understand that, but what exactly is she?"

Fire did his best to shrug. "I don't think even she knows that exactly."

At this point it was clear that Jack was overwhelmed by everything he had seen and heard. He turned Carol's chair around and slumped down in it.

Fire repeated his initial question to Jack: "So, what are you going to do?"

No reply from Jack.

Fire sighed and thought about his own situation. He was currently dying, for real this time. The silver had set off a chain reaction in his body that would kill him within the next half hour, removing the bolt wouldn't stop it. The only thing that would was a special healing potion. He had no doubts that they stocked them in Rockhaven since it had other uses as well, the question was if someone was going to bring it to him in time. Even if he died it wouldn't make much of a difference either way, the Axe was theirs and the lockdown would be lifted soon. Of course, he was also dying in the real world. How dead he was exactly was another question, one he had no way to answer from inside the server.

Jack finally said something. "I guess I'll report what I saw. Can't do anything else really, can't kill you, can't stop you."

Fire asked: "Report to whom? Q? Alice?"

Jack said: "At this point I'm not even surprised you know her name as well. No reason to lie to you since you probably know more about us than we do. Yeah, to them."

Fire chuckled. "You're giving me too much credit. Beyond names, addresses and general profiles my knowledge is limited. Still more than enough to get you into jail once I'm out of here."

"Not gonna have her shatter our minds? Generous." Jack remarked.

Fire replied: "I'm sure Shadow would if she was the one making the judgement. But no, that fate is only reserved for those so stupid and ignorant that it borders on being suicidal. I know that you specifically are none of those three since you haven't killed me." Fire paused to take a breath, which was becoming increasingly difficult. "Besides, you haven't actually killed anyone out there yet."

Jack nodded. "True enough." He followed up with a question: "Purely out of interest, how did you know I was coming?"

Fire said: "Those two people who sheltered you in the cold biome, they work for us, for the Mencur-Besh. You were quite lucky to come across one of our safe houses. Lucy and I, we have history. Let's say this isn't the first time she's assisted me in a high-stakes battle against the odds."

Another long pause followed.

Fire broke the silence this time: "So, what does Q actually want to do with the software once he has it? He really must want it if it's worth killing people over."

Jack asked: "I thought you knew that already?"

Fire said: "I know what I know, but what do you know?"

Jack seemed taken aback but quickly composed himself. "From what he said, mostly sell it to the highest bidder."

"Funny, that's what I heard him say as well. But if you get the opportunity, you might want to ask him again. Now that the stakes have changed, his answer may change as well."

Jack seemed to think on what Fire said but didn't get a chance to reply, he was interrupted by heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. It was Captain Bedrock without a doubt.

When he reached the top of the stairs, Fire saw that he was holding a potion flask in his hand. Bedrock immediately walked over to him and knelt down. First he removed the bolt from Fire's self-inflicted wound and then gave him the potion to drink. The effect was immediate, the burning all over Fire's body slowly faded and he was faintly able to feel the network again. Quite shakily, Fire got up.

"Thanks Bedrock." He said.

Bedrock replied: "I can't let a former Guard captain die just like that."

Fire asked: "How did you know it was this specific potion I needed?"

Bedrock said: "I suppose it's been long enough, I have no reason to doubt the Mencur-Besh anymore after this."

With those words Bedrock reached up to his head and took off his helmet. Underneath was a bald head with white eyebrows and the hardened face of a warrior. This would be unremarkable, even expected, if his skin hadn't been covered in black, pulsating runes.

Bedrock introduced himself: "Ascension project, subject 93. Now known as Captain Bedrock."

Fire said: "I never expected to run into you again after all those years, you completely vanished after the ritual."

Bedrock explained: "After the ritual I suddenly heard things in my head that weren't my own thoughts, I ran as far away as I could. I ran until it was just me and my thoughts again. I lived far from anything else for a long time, did a lot of thinking and an equal amount of fighting. I found myself returning closer to civilization from time to time, always wary of the voices. With each encounter I began to understand more and more. Once I had fully accepted them, I decided to go where they were strongest. To Rockhaven."

This was interesting, if what he said was true this proved that a slow acclimatization to the Mencur-Besh network was possible without loss of identity. This was useful.

Fire asked: "About your armor, how did you make it?"

Bedrock replied: "With the understanding came skills, I woke up one morning and knew how to shape artificial bedrock, at least while it was in direct contact with me." He paused. "As for why I didn't reveal myself earlier, I didn't trust the Mencur-Besh enough. You had been clear enough on why you needed me for the ritual but after what it did to me I needed to be sure about your true intentions. In this world people often leave things unsaid. I am glad that the Mencur-Besh are different in that regard."

Jack asked: "I don't want to interrupt but what is this ascension project you were a part of?"

Fire said: "In short, its goal was to create Shadow."

Jack shook his head. "I don't think I want to know more than that."

Fire turned to Bedrock and asked: "So, what are the damages? My connection to the network is still weak."

Bedrock said: "No casualties outside of the Mage Guild. Currently counting around fifty dead and three times that many injured. Emilia is badly wounded but she's being treated right now. Most other higher-ups in the guild were either unharmed or part of the conspiracy. We're in the process of rounding them up, that book your friend delivered to me will be very useful in that. I expect that we can lift the lockdown by tomorrow. I also hear Shadow will help getting the wards back up."

Fire nodded. Everything was within expected parameters.

Bedrock went down the stairs first, followed by Fire and then Jack. Bedrock put his helmet back on before they exited the tower. Then the three of them went separate ways. Bedrock towards the Guard's building. Fire went towards the Alchemist Guild where his friends were. Jack remained on the main square, probably unsure what to do and still processing his experiences. Fire would probably run into him again shortly, that much was to be expected.

One thing was for sure, Fire had a lot of explaining ahead of him, both to his friends and to Shadow. This was, of course, also expected.