This is how Grace Landworth dies.

She's a baker, working on an order for a wealthy customer -- an expansive birthday cake for a party that weekend. The deadline is tight -- only two days -- but she decides that it's worth it for the pay. A few more commissions like this, she thinks, and she'll be able to retire out in the country next year.

She's just applying the frosting when the front window of the bakery breaks. The gorilla-thing that jumped through the glass, drool dripping from its maw, slams it's fist into her. Her back is instantly shattered and she's reduced to a twitching mess as she falls back into her cake.

She's exceedingly unfortunate -- her neck is broken, too, so she doesn't feel any pain as the beast clumsily jams her head between it's jaws.

Crunch.

This is how Ebripen Malo dies.

Two years ago, he was the talk of the town -- a man who claimed to have been contacted by 'alien worms'. He gleefully told anybody who'd listen of the wonders his flexile friends had described, of the hot-air balloons and strange gases they used to voyage between the stars.

Everyone he spoke to knew it was nonsense, of course, but he spoke with such grace and charisma that you couldn't help but nod along.

Unfortunately, the Regulators took him more seriously than most. One night, they took him from his bed and showed him the penalty for careless words: a severe beating, a smashed leg, and a torn-out tongue. His stories died down soon after.

Now, slumped in an alley, he sticks the stub of his tongue out for a taste of rainwater. It's pleasantly cool against his festering scar.

When the tiny scaled creatures -- winged and fanged -- begin to nibble at his fingers, he doesn't even notice at first. It's only when the biggest of them tears what's left of his tongue into its beak that he mewls in distress.

A mewl is all he manages, however. Ebripen Malo dies without so much as a whisper.

This is how Petyr Graam dies. An indiscriminate horde of monsters washes over him like a flood, and by the time they've passed over his body there's little left but bone and gristle.

This is how Dodot Glein dies. She's crushed by the panic of a stampede as she looks around, frightened, for her parents.

This is how Ertoso Wern dies. A massive leech thing burrows down his throat, hungrily gobbling down the prizes inside. By the time it's done, he looks more like a deflated balloon.

This is how Yusuf Tue dies.

This is how Gelian Drive dies.

This is how Polly Pesterone dies.

This is how Nile Law dies.

This is how Sara Tenna dies.

This is how an age dies:

With copious screaming.

Stars swam through Lily's vision as Garth smashed her head into the doorframe, the only thing stopping her skull from cracking like an egg being the panicked Aether infused into her body. That didn't seem to do much to deter the Prester, however -- he simply kicked her in the torso, sending her flying into the great hall beyond.

"Stop it!" the Good Lady screamed impotently from within the office, but Garth simply locked the door as he stepped out, ignoring the sounds of the girls fists battering against the wood.

Lily twitched as she did her best to force herself up off the floor, to pour what strength she had left into her battered arms -- but it was a futile effort. Garth's boot slammed down on her spine, forcing her body to the ground and a scream from her throat.

"I'm sure you've realized this already, young lady," Garth said quietly, grinding his foot into her back. "But I'm not especially fond of you. You've caused me a great deal of trouble, and put this world into great danger."

Malformed words oozed from Lily's half-open, bleeding mouth. "F-Fuck...you…"

"And -- there -- you -- are," Garth shook his head, punctuating each word with another stomp. "When faced with accusation, you have no answer save petty insults. I realize it isn't your fault -- you're but a child, after all -- but do you truly believe your petty truth is worth all this suffering? I'm speaking of your own pain as well. Nobody is hurting you right now but you."

Believe?

Lily Aubrisher had never had the luxury of believing anything. Since the day the Regulators had torn her life down, the only concern running through her mind had been survival -- and survival wasn't something you believed in. It was something you needed, the way a man in the desert needed water. Destroying her enemies, freeing this planet, ending Garth -- all of it, deep down, was an extension of that will to live.

If this was the end… was it time that she believed in something? It wasn't like being wrong about her beliefs now could hurt her anymore. In this moment, on the verge of death, she was well and truly free.

When no reply came, Garth simply sighed.

"I'm going to beat you to death now," he declared. "At first, I'd hoped we could recover your Guardian Entity -- it does seem a potent weapon -- but I can see now that your stubborn nature would never allow that."

Sparking blue Aether began to gather in his fist, angrily infesting his fingers and knuckles as he reared back -- preparing to smash Lily's skull against the cold ground.

The skin against his eyes hardening into stone, Garth spoke: "Any last words?"

"I…"

"I thought not. Farewell."

Something wet and furry brushed against Lily's fingers -- and with it, some final strength trickled into her bones.

The fist came down --

-- and Lily Aubrisher opened herself up.

Lily Aubrisher felt tiny. She was nothing but consciousness, fallen back into her Aether like a man drowning in the ocean -- and, of course, she wasn't alone here.

The thing before her, around her, was immense. A beast of crackling lightning and writhing flesh, constantly sparking and undulating and changing -- nanosecond by nanosecond. For this split second, that beast was the whole world.

Had she died? It felt as if she had. Was this the afterlife, then? No.

She couldn't possibly be dead. She was still pissed off, after all.

The thing surrounding her had no shape that she recognised, but the energy it gave off seemed familiar -- this was her own Aether, after all. Besides herself, there was only one other thing that could be present here.

"Raiju…" her mind whispered.

There was no reply, neither through thought nor speech. She hadn't expected any: Raiju was a silent, cold thing. From the moment she'd first used it, she'd recognised that it had no will of its own. It was nothing but raw power, striking at its user as much as it's enemies.

And yet… in her silent Aether, there seemed to reside a question. Whether Lily or Raiju was asking it… she honestly couldn't say.

What do you want?

She wanted to survive.

What do you want?

She wanted to kill her enemies.

What do you want?

She wanted… she wanted the truth to win.

Why?

She didn't need a reason. You didn't need to justify telling the truth. That was the way things should have been from the beginning. Anyone who thought otherwise was just deluding themselves.

Then what are you waiting for?

She could have laughed. It really was that simple, wasn't it? This place was filled with easy answers. If she was weak, she'd just become strong. If she couldn't use this power, she'd just make it part of her -- become someone who could. And if someone was standing in her way… she'd just get rid of them.

The world wrapped around Lily Aubrisher, and became her skin.

Lightning sparked.

Garth's fist came down. It struck nothing but the stone floor below. Lily Aubrisher -- the girl who'd been on death's door, who was one hit from being finished off -- had vanished completely. The only trace that she'd even been there were the stray tendrils of electricity that clung insistently to the ground.

What had happened? Garth pulled his hand free, debris spilling between his fingers. He'd been certain that the girl was done. Even if she'd still had the will to fight, her body should have been too battered for her to act.

There was no way she could have moved, unless…

Slowly, Garth's gaze slid over to the door in the corner of the room -- to the hallway leading to the inheritance chamber. A large man was slumped over in the doorway, the handles of many knives protruding from his back. He was breathing heavily, clearly seconds from unconsciousness, but he still glared at Garth with one open eye.

Anger flared within Garth's brain. He knew the face of a traitor when he saw one.

Ted's healer Guardian Entity clung lazily to his shoulder -- and Garth couldn't help but feel there was a smug aspect to its cyclopean gaze. The thing was meant to be a slow healer, but was it possible that the tiny bit of vitality it could offer in the first moment had been able to…

"Now that I look at you properly," Lily Aubrisher said -- from behind him. "You're not really that strong."

He turned to look.

This was not the same girl. Her braided black hair had come loose, flowing in a non-existent wind and bleached to an incandescent white. Electricity ran along every inch of her body, as if eager to escape -- shining through her irises and crawling from underneath her fingernails. The spider web scar of a lightning strike had spread over her body, from her face to her hands. Light seemed to radiate from her skin, bathing the room around her in an electrum glow.

Her injuries hadn't healed, but somehow that didn't make her any less imposing. Ted's healing glyph floated over her chest, and she gingerly held onto her broken hand, blood running down her face, but even so -- in this moment -- she seemed invincible.

"This power hurt me because it was something separate from myself," she said, eyes locked onto Garth. "If we're the same thing, then there's no reason for me to be afraid, right? This is my power."

When she spoke, it was as though the air around her vibrated in sympathy, granting it a strange and echoing quality.

Garth narrowed his eyes, building his Aether throughout his entire body. The time had come to summon his Guardian Entity back -- this girl could pose a threat.

Aka Manto, he commanded. Return to me!

Long seconds passed, and nothing happened. The only sounds in the room were breathing -- Garth's laboured and Aubrisher's calm. That, and the persistent hum of electricity. Screaming echoed faintly from outside.

Prester Garth began to panic, just the tiniest bit.

Aka Manto?

"Guessing you're trying to get your masked buddy to help you out," Lily laughed, adjusting her stance slightly. "Looks like he's busy. It's just you and me, dickhead."

Garth's nostrils flared. Who did this girl think she was? Had he not already explained the depths of her folly, elucidated her foolishness with both fist and word? Even after that, she was looking down upon him, with her childish and impotent truth? Did she not understand anything?!

He could see it, in fact -- she was still weak. The damage he had inflicted hadn't vanished at all -- her hand was still useless, and with the state of her legs she would barely be able to walk. This was a bluff -- the same as an animal making itself seem bigger to scare off predators. It wouldn't work.

This second wind was just a delaying of the inevitable.

"Don't become arrogant, Lily Aubrisher!" he roared. "You've obtained just a little bit more power, and you think that makes us equal?! Don't make me laugh! You've added mere seconds to your life!"

Lily Aubrisher smiled, in the same way as an adult would smile at a precocious child.

"Okay," she said calmly. "Kill me, then. If you think you're strong enough."

He would tolerate this no further.

Garth kicked off the ground, godsblood broiling around his feet as he launched himself towards Aubrisher -- ready to send her head flying off her impertinent shoulders with a strike of his fist. No matter how much power she had obtained, her body itself was utterly unchanged. Weak flesh would remain so.

His fist lashed out --

-- and missed. Lily Aubrisher simply stepped out of the way, as quickly as lightning, her speed such that the movement wasn't even perceptible. Garth blinked, his fist pummeling only empty air.

His last resort passed his lips.

"ENTITY OVERRIDE!" he screamed, praying his words would be fast enough. "RAIJU!"

There was no response at all, save for the slightest snort of amusement from Aubrisher.

"Idiot," she said, pulling her fist back. "You can't tell a corpse what to do."

Within the next ten seconds, Lily Aubrisher punched Prester Garth more than one hundred times.