Adrian can only manage to keep his skills up for a couple of hours, even with rest. Missing a soul is apparently even more of a detriment than I thought it was. We trace our way through the remnants of the Wastelands, alternating between Adrian’s Hydrokinesis skill, my Bloodpath, and walking to navigate.
Though Adrian doesn’t have the Tsunami special skill to work with, it turns out that he can use his water control on my blood, though it isn’t as effective for him as pure water is. I provide him with a dozen Blood Clones, leting them dissipate and slowly lowering the amount of control I exert over it so that he can take over.
He proves to be surprisingly adept with his skills, giving us a platform akin to a semi-solid couch to lounge on while the blood ferries us.
When Adrian grows tired of using the blood, I take both of them into my Bloodpath, flexing my high Magic (Meta) stat to include both of them in the skill. My maximum speed is significantly higher than Adrian’s—almost eighty miles an hour compared to his twenty or thirty, if I had to guess—but my skill tires me out faster, and even with Magic (Meta), it costs a great deal of my magic to take all three of us through it for even minutes.
Also, neither Adrian nor Sierra particularly enjoy the sensation of becoming blood.
More importantly, Adrian’s soul-damaged body apparently does not take well to be dragged into skill after skill, so I minimize the amount of time and distance spent in the form.
I can’t complain too much. When we’re walking, Sierra uses occasional applications of her forcefields to smooth out the landscape, which is entirely needed. Sersui’s rampage overlaps with our path, so the land is devastated up to the horizon everywhere we go. Offshoots of the Titan run rampant in the series of valleys that its carved out, providing us ample opportunity to “rest” and for me to recharge my mana by killing and Devouring some of them.
They vary in form and power, but we’re far enough from the main path of destruction that we don’t face any above Category 1. As long as they’re in small numbers, Sierra and I are more than enough to handle them. I level Wraithfire, Abyssal Echo, and Radiant Aura against them, relying solely on those skills to kill. Abyssal Echo progresses slower than the others because it’s Diamond tier, but I do manage to increase them by three to five levels each.
Interestingly, the Titan offshoots do not seem to increase my killcount when they die. I wonder why that is. Are they treated as extensions of the Titan’s body, perhaps?
Adrian provides us enough water to subsist on, and as the sun sets on the first day, Sierra draws frozen meals from her Personal Space. She warms them with a light use of Create Flame, utilizing her Blue Mage class.
“Do not even think about it,” she warns me when I suggest attempting to use Wraithfire to heat the meals.
After annihilating the offshoots in the area around me and successfully increasing my primary level to 101, we settle down on a dim forcefield disc that Sierra creates with a snap of her fingers.
Devour satiates me, but Sierra’s gone to the trouble of providing her resources, so I take the chance to eat.
“These are unlikely to be particularly palatable,” Sierra says. “I do not have unlimited room in my Personal Space, so I tend to trend towards dense, filling meals over more satisfying ones.”
“Not a problem,” I say, taking a heated box of rations.
On the side, it’s labeled UCC PREPPED MEAL - BEEF STEW/RICE/VITAMIN BAR. The dish smells of spices and rich meat, not entirely unlike the scent of burning bodies; to be fair, this one appeals to my appetite a fair bit more.
“Still don’t carry beer?” Adrian asks, digging into his meal with a fork and knife. “You got anything to spare?”
“Mind-altering drugs should not be consumed—“
“—When the soul is damaged, yeah, yeah, I get it,” Adrian complains through a mouthful of his dinner. He swallows. “Once I get that shit put together, I am getting so fucking drunk.”
Sierra laughs lightly, the sound of it like a glass bell tinkling in the wind. “Do as you wish then. Not now.”
I use the provided plastic fork and spoon to divvy up my own meal and eat it with my own teeth. My instincts tell me to hurry it up, to use Devour and get it over with so I can keep on going, but I forcibly suppress them.
Despite Sierra’s warning, the food is the best thing I can remember tasting. It’s as savory as any fleshy body would be, but the coppery taste of the blood is missing, replaced instead by a fragrant combination of spices that contrasts perfectly with the sticky, delicate grains of rice.
It occurs to me that I can count the number of real meals I’ve had on two hands.
“I should have more of these,” I mutter, devouring the plate in a matter of minutes, no skill needed.
Sierra overhears me and smiles. “When we get to Zelin, I will show you establishments that put this to shame. If your ambitions lie beyond the Seven Kingdoms, which I know they do, I have an entire world for you to step into.”
I nod enthusiastically, finishing the rest of the ration. The vitamin bar is slightly sweet, providing a finishing taste significantly fresher than that of human corpses.
“I need to sleep,” Adrian announces. “And a drink, but, well, you know. Anyway. We good to camp here?”
“Yes,” Sierra says. “I can take first watch. Evelyn?”
“Works for me,” I say. “If we have downtime, I am going to try advancing.”
“Of course you are,” Adrian grumbles. “Let me know if you achieve godhood or something. I’m going to bed.”
“I would like to observe,” Sierra says quietly, manipulating the forcefield to give Adrian a surface to sleep on. “There is much I still have to learn, and I am still pushing my Blue Mage class forward. Would you allow me?”
She extends a hand.
In lieu of an answer, I take it in mine.
“Be prepared,” I say. “If this goes poorly, you will need to defend yourself against my nullspace for a time.”
“Of course,” she says. “I have countermeasures for it. Their efficacy is debatable, but they do exist.”
“Alright,” I say, closing my eyes. “In three.”
The warmth of her hand surprises me every time. Maybe it’s the reminder that there is a warm, living body in this world that I do not need a plan to kill. Maybe it’s the fact that two months ago, I couldn’t conceive of a long-term alliance with anybody.
Things have changed.
I trust her, and she trusts me. To my primal, self-serving instincts, that’s terrifying.
But I’ve changed.
“Join me,” I say, “in my Descent unto the Void.”
Oh, wait. Will Sierra’s forcefield hold intact when she’s in an alternate plane? Is Adrian about to fall?
The real world vanishes alongside most of my remaining magic before I can ask the question.
Eh. He’s strong. He’ll be fine.
Everything is as I remember it in the nullspace. Its existence is a contradiction, just like mine. Devastating light pierces through absolute darkness, exposing the blood that permeates everything here. Beneath it all is the underlying unstoppable power of the Titans; that last one is murkier, less defined. I suspect it’ll be a while before it resolves into the crystal-clear killing intent that Sersui and Scintilla both wielded.
My secondary class is much more active in here. The presences of the forty-eight surviving Titans and proto-Titans are crystal clear, and I feel as if I might actually be able to reach out and touch them.
Not that I’m going to do that while still holding onto Sierra. I can feel her magic pulsing into me, which I recognize as the same technique she used to gain my blood magic for a time back on the train where we first met.
“Wow,” Sierra gasps. “That’s—“
“Yep,” I say. “That’s the baby Titan’s corpse.”
Unlike the last time we were here, there is one addition. Pieces of shimmering rainbow flesh streak through the darkness, remaining intact despite the sheer power of the nullspace. I refuse to let my power dismantle them before I can extract every bit of progression I can from them.
“I wonder if you’ll be able to mimic this,” I say, and I use Devour.
The last time Sierra took a technique from me, Devour was still a skill I could only use when actively consuming another being with my teeth. Now, though, red-black energy simply courses through the nullspace as if it’s a part of the place.
It practically is.
Sierra gasps quietly. “Diamond. Your power is… it’s exquisite. I have no better way of describing it.”
I continue attempting to Devour the dead proto-Titan. In here, I have plenty of time.
Within the nullspace, I find that Devour works differently. Though Inome’s corpse is no more willing to disintegrate into XP for me, I can sense the connections within the flesh. Even scraping off the tiniest pieces exposes those connections to me, and I realize with a start that the act of consumption is making the links to the other Titans easier to access… in a fashion.
Encouraged by the progress, I try focusing on generating a skill, just as I did before. I don’t know what this can grant me, but…
My system triggers, and it’s entirely different from how it normally announces level-ups and skill progression. Its whispers are distorted, similar to the shadows of divinity I heard during my class evolutions.
Except this is no class evolution.
A path taken; many paths offered.
Devour changes its trajectory abruptly, and I find myself focusing on a very, very familiar connection.
Sersui’s presence appears in my mind, bone-dry and deadly, but it does not destroy me. In fact, I don’t think it even recognizes I’m there.
Path of the Shifting Sands
The Shifting Sands bury those who dare exist in their path. You, too, have buried all who defy you and many more.
Grants the Earth magic affinity at 9th level.
Grants the Desiccate special skill.
Grants the Terrakinesis skill.
Nullspace alteration: Shifting Sands. Water cannot exist in your nullspace unless you allow it.
All Body-related attributes increase at 3x their previous rate.
My vision fills with images of devastation; I see the Wastelands torn apart, watch as entire cities turn to dust from Sersui’s presence alone.
And then it changes, sending me hurling down another thread.
Path of the Nameless Sea
The ocean takes. It does not forgive. Its victims forget.
Grants the Water magic affinity at 9th level.
Grants the Antimemetic Tsunami special skill.
Grants the Hydrokinesis skill.
Nullspace alteration: The Nameless Sea. Your nullspace is water. Any being affected by your nullspace’s water loses the ability to form new memories.
Magic (Power) and Magic (Meta) increase at 5x their previous rate. Body (Strength) and Mind (Resistance) increase at 3x their previous rate.
Again, my mind is flooded by destruction. Tsunamis taller than the depth of the Sunken Kingdom bearing down against grand cities, obliterating them so thoroughly that nobody even remembers what was lost.
This time, when I’m sent hurtling down another thread, I’m ready.
Path of the Lost Time
Warning: this path is malformed.
Grants the Time magic affinity at 6th level.
Grants the Time Stop special skill.
Accelerates aging by a factor of 5,000.
Nullspace alteration: Lost Time. Time progresses 9,999 times faster within your nullspace.
Magic (Power) and Magic (Regen) increase at 5x their previous rate.
It’s Inome’s visage that I see this time. The images are fractured, lower fidelity. I suppose its inability to become a true Titan has hurt it.
“…lyn! Evelyn! Please!”
As the flood of scenery comes to an end, Sierra’s voice shakes me out of my system-induced daze, pulling me away from the next, less tangible thread.
She grips my hand tighter than ever, and I realize why when I look at her. Both of the Blue Mage’s eyes are rolled up high in her head. Blood flows freely from her nose, and her body convulses with every passing second.
“Fuck,” I vocalize, and I twist us out of nullspace.
As it turns out, skills do not remain when their owner is in nullspace. Well, either that, or Sierra nearly dying from that sequence of events knocked her ability to control her skill away. Both are equally possible.
Surprisingly, Adrian has still managed to find a way to sleep. Evidently, he caught himself as he fell. We find him snoring in a segment of shattered stone inside a cubby that looks entirely artificial.
I help Sierra to the ground, using Hemokinesis to keep too much blood from flowing out. We lie down together, her hand still in mine.
Her life doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, but she looks as if she’s moments from falling unconscious.
“…exquisite,” she whispers.
“What was that?” I ask her. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? You said you had ways out, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Sierra says, pausing between each word. “I wanted… to see your power.”
“I see,” I say.
“You… don’t sound too… broken up.”
“If there’s one thing I understand,” I say, “It’s that.”
Slowly, a smile spreads across her lips. “Thank you.”
“Well?” I ask, setting her down. “Did you get anything?”
She opens her other hand. Sand and water flow forth from it in one smooth motion. Despite its lack of power, the unstructured magic is tinged ever so slightly with an increasingly familiar undertone.
“Enough,” she says, closing her eyes. “Go. I know you… aren’t finished.”
Sierra lets go of my hand. I watch her chest rise and fall, ensuring that she’s breathing before I depart once more.
Because she’s not wrong. I’m not done here.
I have so much to explore. The system is growing increasingly inconsistent, which I want to understand and exploit, but before that, I have the immediate task at hand.
I am being offered the power of the Titans.
All I need to do now is decide which one.
“One more Descent unto the Void,” I tell myself.
When I come out, I will be unstoppable.
Zelin, Capital of the Whitestar Kingdom
“The Halcyon boy’s attempt failed,” a hooded figure says.
“We have received the honor of another, your grace,” another adds. “Another with potential. Truly, this is a blessing from the—“
“Silence,” the man on the throne says, absent-mindedly touching the Mark of the Dead Gods branded into his forearm. “I know of what you speak. We will approach this as we always have. With silence, prudence, and patience.”
The king without a name rises.
“And, when the time is right, a knife to the back.
“The girl will be ours.”
Adrian can only manage to keep his skills up for a couple of hours, even with rest. Missing a soul is apparently even more of a detriment than I thought it was. We trace our way through the remnants of the Wastelands, alternating between Adrian’s Hydrokinesis skill, my Bloodpath, and walking to navigate.
Though Adrian doesn’t have the Tsunami special skill to work with, it turns out that he can use his water control on my blood, though it isn’t as effective for him as pure water is. I provide him with a dozen Blood Clones, leting them dissipate and slowly lowering the amount of control I exert over it so that he can take over.
He proves to be surprisingly adept with his skills, giving us a platform akin to a semi-solid couch to lounge on while the blood ferries us.
When Adrian grows tired of using the blood, I take both of them into my Bloodpath, flexing my high Magic (Meta) stat to include both of them in the skill. My maximum speed is significantly higher than Adrian’s—almost eighty miles an hour compared to his twenty or thirty, if I had to guess—but my skill tires me out faster, and even with Magic (Meta), it costs a great deal of my magic to take all three of us through it for even minutes.
Also, neither Adrian nor Sierra particularly enjoy the sensation of becoming blood.
More importantly, Adrian’s soul-damaged body apparently does not take well to be dragged into skill after skill, so I minimize the amount of time and distance spent in the form.
I can’t complain too much. When we’re walking, Sierra uses occasional applications of her forcefields to smooth out the landscape, which is entirely needed. Sersui’s rampage overlaps with our path, so the land is devastated up to the horizon everywhere we go. Offshoots of the Titan run rampant in the series of valleys that its carved out, providing us ample opportunity to “rest” and for me to recharge my mana by killing and Devouring some of them.
They vary in form and power, but we’re far enough from the main path of destruction that we don’t face any above Category 1. As long as they’re in small numbers, Sierra and I are more than enough to handle them. I level Wraithfire, Abyssal Echo, and Radiant Aura against them, relying solely on those skills to kill. Abyssal Echo progresses slower than the others because it’s Diamond tier, but I do manage to increase them by three to five levels each.
Interestingly, the Titan offshoots do not seem to increase my killcount when they die. I wonder why that is. Are they treated as extensions of the Titan’s body, perhaps?
Adrian provides us enough water to subsist on, and as the sun sets on the first day, Sierra draws frozen meals from her Personal Space. She warms them with a light use of Create Flame, utilizing her Blue Mage class.
“Do not even think about it,” she warns me when I suggest attempting to use Wraithfire to heat the meals.
After annihilating the offshoots in the area around me and successfully increasing my primary level to 101, we settle down on a dim forcefield disc that Sierra creates with a snap of her fingers.
Devour satiates me, but Sierra’s gone to the trouble of providing her resources, so I take the chance to eat.
“These are unlikely to be particularly palatable,” Sierra says. “I do not have unlimited room in my Personal Space, so I tend to trend towards dense, filling meals over more satisfying ones.”
“Not a problem,” I say, taking a heated box of rations.
On the side, it’s labeled UCC PREPPED MEAL - BEEF STEW/RICE/VITAMIN BAR. The dish smells of spices and rich meat, not entirely unlike the scent of burning bodies; to be fair, this one appeals to my appetite a fair bit more.
“Still don’t carry beer?” Adrian asks, digging into his meal with a fork and knife. “You got anything to spare?”
“Mind-altering drugs should not be consumed—“
“—When the soul is damaged, yeah, yeah, I get it,” Adrian complains through a mouthful of his dinner. He swallows. “Once I get that shit put together, I am getting so fucking drunk.”
Sierra laughs lightly, the sound of it like a glass bell tinkling in the wind. “Do as you wish then. Not now.”
I use the provided plastic fork and spoon to divvy up my own meal and eat it with my own teeth. My instincts tell me to hurry it up, to use Devour and get it over with so I can keep on going, but I forcibly suppress them.
Despite Sierra’s warning, the food is the best thing I can remember tasting. It’s as savory as any fleshy body would be, but the coppery taste of the blood is missing, replaced instead by a fragrant combination of spices that contrasts perfectly with the sticky, delicate grains of rice.
It occurs to me that I can count the number of real meals I’ve had on two hands.
“I should have more of these,” I mutter, devouring the plate in a matter of minutes, no skill needed.
Sierra overhears me and smiles. “When we get to Zelin, I will show you establishments that put this to shame. If your ambitions lie beyond the Seven Kingdoms, which I know they do, I have an entire world for you to step into.”
I nod enthusiastically, finishing the rest of the ration. The vitamin bar is slightly sweet, providing a finishing taste significantly fresher than that of human corpses.
“I need to sleep,” Adrian announces. “And a drink, but, well, you know. Anyway. We good to camp here?”
“Yes,” Sierra says. “I can take first watch. Evelyn?”
“Works for me,” I say. “If we have downtime, I am going to try advancing.”
“Of course you are,” Adrian grumbles. “Let me know if you achieve godhood or something. I’m going to bed.”
“I would like to observe,” Sierra says quietly, manipulating the forcefield to give Adrian a surface to sleep on. “There is much I still have to learn, and I am still pushing my Blue Mage class forward. Would you allow me?”
She extends a hand.
In lieu of an answer, I take it in mine.
“Be prepared,” I say. “If this goes poorly, you will need to defend yourself against my nullspace for a time.”
“Of course,” she says. “I have countermeasures for it. Their efficacy is debatable, but they do exist.”
“Alright,” I say, closing my eyes. “In three.”
The warmth of her hand surprises me every time. Maybe it’s the reminder that there is a warm, living body in this world that I do not need a plan to kill. Maybe it’s the fact that two months ago, I couldn’t conceive of a long-term alliance with anybody.
Things have changed.
I trust her, and she trusts me. To my primal, self-serving instincts, that’s terrifying.
But I’ve changed.
“Join me,” I say, “in my Descent unto the Void.”
Oh, wait. Will Sierra’s forcefield hold intact when she’s in an alternate plane? Is Adrian about to fall?
The real world vanishes alongside most of my remaining magic before I can ask the question.
Eh. He’s strong. He’ll be fine.
Everything is as I remember it in the nullspace. Its existence is a contradiction, just like mine. Devastating light pierces through absolute darkness, exposing the blood that permeates everything here. Beneath it all is the underlying unstoppable power of the Titans; that last one is murkier, less defined. I suspect it’ll be a while before it resolves into the crystal-clear killing intent that Sersui and Scintilla both wielded.
My secondary class is much more active in here. The presences of the forty-eight surviving Titans and proto-Titans are crystal clear, and I feel as if I might actually be able to reach out and touch them.
Not that I’m going to do that while still holding onto Sierra. I can feel her magic pulsing into me, which I recognize as the same technique she used to gain my blood magic for a time back on the train where we first met.
“Wow,” Sierra gasps. “That’s—“
“Yep,” I say. “That’s the baby Titan’s corpse.”
Unlike the last time we were here, there is one addition. Pieces of shimmering rainbow flesh streak through the darkness, remaining intact despite the sheer power of the nullspace. I refuse to let my power dismantle them before I can extract every bit of progression I can from them.
“I wonder if you’ll be able to mimic this,” I say, and I use Devour.
The last time Sierra took a technique from me, Devour was still a skill I could only use when actively consuming another being with my teeth. Now, though, red-black energy simply courses through the nullspace as if it’s a part of the place.
It practically is.
Sierra gasps quietly. “Diamond. Your power is… it’s exquisite. I have no better way of describing it.”
I continue attempting to Devour the dead proto-Titan. In here, I have plenty of time.
Within the nullspace, I find that Devour works differently. Though Inome’s corpse is no more willing to disintegrate into XP for me, I can sense the connections within the flesh. Even scraping off the tiniest pieces exposes those connections to me, and I realize with a start that the act of consumption is making the links to the other Titans easier to access… in a fashion.
Encouraged by the progress, I try focusing on generating a skill, just as I did before. I don’t know what this can grant me, but…
My system triggers, and it’s entirely different from how it normally announces level-ups and skill progression. Its whispers are distorted, similar to the shadows of divinity I heard during my class evolutions.
Except this is no class evolution.
A path taken; many paths offered.
Devour changes its trajectory abruptly, and I find myself focusing on a very, very familiar connection.
Sersui’s presence appears in my mind, bone-dry and deadly, but it does not destroy me. In fact, I don’t think it even recognizes I’m there.
Path of the Shifting Sands
The Shifting Sands bury those who dare exist in their path. You, too, have buried all who defy you and many more.
Grants the Earth magic affinity at 9th level.
Grants the Desiccate special skill.
Grants the Terrakinesis skill.
Nullspace alteration: Shifting Sands. Water cannot exist in your nullspace unless you allow it.
All Body-related attributes increase at 3x their previous rate.
My vision fills with images of devastation; I see the Wastelands torn apart, watch as entire cities turn to dust from Sersui’s presence alone.
And then it changes, sending me hurling down another thread.
Path of the Nameless Sea
The ocean takes. It does not forgive. Its victims forget.
Grants the Water magic affinity at 9th level.
Grants the Antimemetic Tsunami special skill.
Grants the Hydrokinesis skill.
Nullspace alteration: The Nameless Sea. Your nullspace is water. Any being affected by your nullspace’s water loses the ability to form new memories.
Magic (Power) and Magic (Meta) increase at 5x their previous rate. Body (Strength) and Mind (Resistance) increase at 3x their previous rate.
Again, my mind is flooded by destruction. Tsunamis taller than the depth of the Sunken Kingdom bearing down against grand cities, obliterating them so thoroughly that nobody even remembers what was lost.
This time, when I’m sent hurtling down another thread, I’m ready.
Path of the Lost Time
Warning: this path is malformed.
Grants the Time magic affinity at 6th level.
Grants the Time Stop special skill.
Accelerates aging by a factor of 5,000.
Nullspace alteration: Lost Time. Time progresses 9,999 times faster within your nullspace.
Magic (Power) and Magic (Regen) increase at 5x their previous rate.
It’s Inome’s visage that I see this time. The images are fractured, lower fidelity. I suppose its inability to become a true Titan has hurt it.
“…lyn! Evelyn! Please!”
As the flood of scenery comes to an end, Sierra’s voice shakes me out of my system-induced daze, pulling me away from the next, less tangible thread.
She grips my hand tighter than ever, and I realize why when I look at her. Both of the Blue Mage’s eyes are rolled up high in her head. Blood flows freely from her nose, and her body convulses with every passing second.
“Fuck,” I vocalize, and I twist us out of nullspace.
As it turns out, skills do not remain when their owner is in nullspace. Well, either that, or Sierra nearly dying from that sequence of events knocked her ability to control her skill away. Both are equally possible.
Surprisingly, Adrian has still managed to find a way to sleep. Evidently, he caught himself as he fell. We find him snoring in a segment of shattered stone inside a cubby that looks entirely artificial.
I help Sierra to the ground, using Hemokinesis to keep too much blood from flowing out. We lie down together, her hand still in mine.
Her life doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, but she looks as if she’s moments from falling unconscious.
“…exquisite,” she whispers.
“What was that?” I ask her. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? You said you had ways out, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Sierra says, pausing between each word. “I wanted… to see your power.”
“I see,” I say.
“You… don’t sound too… broken up.”
“If there’s one thing I understand,” I say, “It’s that.”
Slowly, a smile spreads across her lips. “Thank you.”
“Well?” I ask, setting her down. “Did you get anything?”
She opens her other hand. Sand and water flow forth from it in one smooth motion. Despite its lack of power, the unstructured magic is tinged ever so slightly with an increasingly familiar undertone.
“Enough,” she says, closing her eyes. “Go. I know you… aren’t finished.”
Sierra lets go of my hand. I watch her chest rise and fall, ensuring that she’s breathing before I depart once more.
Because she’s not wrong. I’m not done here.
I have so much to explore. The system is growing increasingly inconsistent, which I want to understand and exploit, but before that, I have the immediate task at hand.
I am being offered the power of the Titans.
All I need to do now is decide which one.
“One more Descent unto the Void,” I tell myself.
When I come out, I will be unstoppable.
Zelin, Capital of the Whitestar Kingdom
“The Halcyon boy’s attempt failed,” a hooded figure says.
“We have received the honor of another, your grace,” another adds. “Another with potential. Truly, this is a blessing from the—“
“Silence,” the man on the throne says, absent-mindedly touching the Mark of the Dead Gods branded into his forearm. “I know of what you speak. We will approach this as we always have. With silence, prudence, and patience.”
The king without a name rises.
“And, when the time is right, a knife to the back.
“The girl will be ours.”
