The battle is over! Their longtime nemesis is defeated. In another life, this might have meant a quiet moment of reflection or an outburst of jubilant cellies. Not here though! Here at the Ashen Company, we battle our ennui with literal weapons and never miss an opportunity for high-octane introspection. Null takes the lead here. Our gal continues to stab the ruined husk that used to house the source of all her torment. She’s slow about, deliberate - like she’s chopping wood. Like she’s trying to figure something out.
This continues for a few moments, until someone puts a hand on her shoulder. Null stops her stabbing and instead has a bit of a tantrum about how it all still hurts and she doesn’t feel any better. Azher is gone but he’s still here. All the damage he wreaked is still done - Lotty’s shattered family, Flynn’s dead patron, Silas is only back on borrowed time. Nothing is fixed, no one feels better and Azher still gets to rest. There’s no justice in this. Null storms away to sulk at the pulsing turbine.
Silas and Lotty have a sidechat, with Silas sheepishly admitting that Null might be right about the borrowed time. Now Silas knows Lotty can probably fix just about anything, so he lowers his armour to show her his gaping chest hole. Lotty takes a moment, and studies the wound - “Do you know what happened to you, Silas?” Our pally’s memories are incomplete, but he remembers training with Niko after their escape, bathing in the blazing sun of the Sands of Illyria. There are flashes of him being compelled to fight the Ashen Company. Lotty asks Silas if he noticed their souls not being pulled towards the turbine like the rest of their friends. Her gaze settles on Flare - Does he remember when she gave up part of her soul for Cade? Maybe Niko is his Cade. Silas agrees. He muses that maybe it was worth it, maybe Niko is meant for something greater. Lotty: “You’re not coming with us after all this over, but I’m happy you’re with us for one last dance. Until then, if you’ve got any smaller holes to fix…”
Silas finds Null, hoping to comfort her. He reminisces about the early days in Zanidonia and tells her how happy he is that they’re all together again. Maybe we were fated to be here, at the end of all things, to save the world. Maybe everything they’ve been through, everything she’s been through, is a gift to help us succeed. Null is with him until the last part. NO, none of this is a gift. But Silas is trying and so Null hugs him. He doesn’t see her start to tear up.
Lotty is going around, checking in on her friends to make sure they’re healthy. Null’s not really in a state of mind to think about that sort of thing. Lotty gets the girl’s attention, and instructs her to come along and take some potions. Lotty telling her what to do snaps Null back some semblance of normalcy - she follows. Through the Arcane Gate and away from the turbine, Null reiterates her thoughts from before - Girl’s full of anger, shame, and despair. Null can’t reconcile who she now remembers she was with who she has been with the Ashen Company. Lotty tries to ground Null by bringing up L. L loves Null - and Null loves L. But she’s having trouble seeing herself as part of her life. Null spills that baby Null proudly killed L’s dad, you see. She felt accomplished. Lotty reminds her that she can’t held responsible, and that we’ve all done terrible things - Lotty included. What matters is who she is and who she wants to be right now. And if Latharial’s got any grace, she’ll understand.
With that settled, Lotty makes sure Null takes her meds. The rogue piles the empties in Lotty’s hands - Do we still recycle these? *shrugs* Null tosses one into the green pool below, Lotty chucks the rest. As the duo head back towards the turbine, Silas tries to hide the fact that he’s spent the past few minutes grooming Berrik as his successor for Null BFF.
Berrik takes a few moments to loot the now gooey body. He finds robes, a ring, and a concentration stone similar to what adorns the walls here. Together, Berrik and Flynn identify the loot. All items are very cool and useful and Emily from three weeks ago might have taken the time to drop their descriptions here, but it's January 2025 and she is gone now. Null doesn't want anything from Azher, but won't begrudge the others from doing so if it helps us win. Silas uses Divine Sense to sniff out that the robes are cursed. Berrik uses Remove Curse from Ezra's book to fix it. It works with help of Lotty's Flash of Genius. Curse: Robes contained part of Azher's soul and would have allowed him to take over the wearer. Yikes! With the curse dispelled, a soul fragment flies out of the robes and towards the turbine. Null uses Stroke of luck to catch it as a soul token. It's warm to the touch.
Lotty gives Berrik and Null a catnap. Flynn mysteriously fails some checks and saves. So strange. After everyone is roused "Ezra" appears out of nowhere to do the bomb stuff, despite this not at all being mentioned as part of the plan. Null is suspicious, but is only able to discern that the person in front of them is afraid. We’re all apprehensive, but we guess this makes sense? We say that we’re sorry we couldn't find a way around this, a way to save you. Flynn produces the books we grabbed - We tried.
Null asks about Ezra's body temp relative to her own. It’s not about him being shirtless, it’s about how at ease she’s been feeling in this horrible place. To summarize Ezra’s response: “Girl, you're feeling this way because you allow yourself to be shackled by your trauma.”
We exchange our goodbyes and thank yous.
“Do you want us to stay with you?”
Ezra declines. He asks that the party take care of them, all of them.
Party (confused): of Vi?
Ezra: Yes, of all of them.
Hugs and handshakes.
Lotty: Your mother would be proud of you.
Null: Wish we had the chance to get to know each other better.
Ezra (misty-eyed): Me too.
Berrik and Lotty arm the bomb, give both it and the detonator to Ezra. Flynn casts a Major Image of Vi and Ashen Company together, laughing and in good spirits. "Ezra" smiles in the most destroyed way possible. Berrik messages Ezra: Til we meet again. Then we all hold hands and use the teleportation map to go just east of the rally point.
We appear on top of a two-story building. There’s chaos in the streets, Erithax is swooping over the destroyed western part of the city.
Moments later we see the explosion of the soul turbine - the tower crumbles, sending rubble and shockwaves through what remains of the city.
Suddenly, Berrik hears a message from Ezra: “Where are you? What's going on? Vi attacked me.”
Actual Ezra appears, missing a hand and a pound of flesh from his chest. He tells his story about what just went down. Everyone understands what happened as he explains. Vi tricked us all, took Ezra's phylactery burdens into herself (somehow?) and blew herself up. Sally's was a rock, but Azher's phylactery was bound to Ezra's soul, no? Null snaps to attention and draws her weapon on the bloodied wizard: “How do we know it worked?” Silas uses Divine Sense again - No sign of evil phylactery stuff in Ezra. Flynn realizes his witch sight stopped working at the turbine. Vi dispelled it to keep them fooled!
Null is still shocked, but also now saddened and so so angry. Vi lied AGAIN. Null says she's just like Azher, manipulating and taking their choices away. She took matters into her own hands without a thought about the collateral damage - all selfish duty without taking on any of the responsibility for what comes after and who is left behind.
Ezra, who is also upset but apparently draws a line here, tells Null that Vi was a hero and that Null should grow up.
Null: “So you agree with what she did?”
Ezra: “No, it should have been me.”
Null tells Ezra “Yeah, it should have been. Vi took our choices away - FUCK. YOU.”
Null's old resentment at her sister bubbles up again through the grief. For wiping her memory and abandoning her all those years ago, only to pluck her back to reality when it suited. This feels like a continuation of the same pattern to Null - the ends always justify the means for Vi. Fuck her reunited family, fuck her promised future with her sister. Null is alone. Again.
It's all very tense and awkward, but the Ashen Company gravitates towards Null. Ezra leaves, saying he has to prepare the Conclave.
Flynn uses the book to contact Latharial, giving her an update and tells her Null is having a bad time. L messages Null via Sending Stone, telling her that she loves and that whatever she's going through they'll deal with together. Null: “Not sure that's possible. Love you too, more than anything. See you on the other side.”
As they get ready to depart, Null tells Ashen Company never to lie to her. They promise not to, but Silas crosses his fingers. There are affirmations that whatever happens, they'll do it together. Is this a heartwarming moment or is this a suicide pact?
We move on towards the rally point, arriving around 6 am. Conclave stuff happens.
