They finished burying Matthew's body. They left him lying in the same field, a little away from the children's graves. They did not know whether they were doing the right thing or not. Nevertheless, if there is an afterlife in this world, then he will definitely meet them and ask for forgiveness. After that, they trampled the ground and threw some snow so that the fresh grave would not be too conspicuous. The sun was at its zenith. The weather calmed down. They decided to go back to the city.

"Do you think the gates are still closed?"

"I think so. Life does not give us any concessions."

"It gave, until the moment when we robbed the cart with VV crystals, everything was fine. I would even say more than fucking awesome."

"Okay, okay, don't you want to try yourself as a metentis already?"

"Like everyone else."

They did not speak further. They walked in silence. Everyone was thinking about something different. When they were an hour's walk from the gates of Agernox, Ofir broke the silence:

"My grandfather, he's dying, Egon. I thought about it for a long time and concluded that we need to take him with us. Some spell makes metentises almost immortal or prolongs their life. I don't want to lose him. He's the last soulmate I have left."

"He'll have to walk a lot."

"We'll put him in our stagecoach."

Egon looked at Ofir, completely agitated and concerned.

"Are you worried?"

"Yeah. He was sure I wouldn't come back."

"He'll be happy to see you again."

"So what do you say, Egon?"

"There are four of us here. And we all have to make a decision. But it would be stupid to refuse. We'll take care of your grandfather."

"Thank you."

"Homer," Guillotine asked, "why do you want to become a metentis, what do you want?"

"My parents died. You all already know my story. Egon was the one who saved me, pulled me out of that nightmare. Where he goes, I go. And if you want to change this world, make it free, then I want the same."

"It won't be an easy journey. You may have to kill others. Are you ready for this?"

Homer turned away and looked at the sky, then at the path along which he was walking, rubbed his nose, and scratched his head. Everyone was waiting for his answer.

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready for this. Egon saved my life, and now old Matthew sacrificed himself for me, and all of you, who survived the revolution, were ready to sacrifice yourself just to give me a chance to live..."

"Yes. It wasn't easy. It's good that some things you didn't see."

Homer looked at Guillotine, then at Egon. Everyone was looking ahead. He lowered his head and continued:

"I'll give my life for each of you. And if I have to kill someone to save you, my hand won't waver."

"This is the kind of world we live in. Egon was most worried about you."

"Thank you."

"I'm glad it's all behind us," Egon said.

"Thank you all."

"You don't smear thanks on bread, you know," Guillotine grinned, "but your box of gold is just right."

"Guillotine!"

"What?"

"Nothing. Don't be an asshole for once."

"What do you want, Ogun?"

"Me?" said Guillotine.

"Yes. Ofir wants to save his grandfather, I want to protect you, Egon wants to make this world free, and what do you want? What will you do when you become a first-class metentis?"

Guillotine put his hand to his chin and scratched and sighed and said:

"Fucking hell. I don't believe in fairy tales about winning against the Inquisition. Especially for us, ordinary guys. Our enemy has hundreds and hundreds of years of military experience, they are well versed in strategies and are much crueler than I am. To fight against them is tantamount to signing a death sentence for yourself. Not to mention our government – some alien shit that killed hundreds of powerful metentises. It won't be difficult for them to swat us. What do I want? It's too complicated of a question. I want to be with you all. I want to gain strength. I think that when I gain strength, then I will answer your question in more detail."

"What a monologue! That doesn't sound like you at all, Guillotine." Shouted Ofir.

"Who will address the huge elephant that no one wants to notice?"

Egon turned to him and asked with all seriousness:

"Do you think the idea is obviously a failure?"

"You can never be one hundred percent sure. The chance that they will kill us and not even notice it is extremely high. We'll have to train a lot to become powerful metentises."

"You're right."

They walked in silence for a while longer, until Homer asked what they would do today, putting a certain hint in his words. The answer was obvious: there was no time to lose, but due to the long lack of sleep, everything that was happening looked as if they were in a foggy world intoxicated with strong alcohol. The head didn't work as before, reaction slowed down, thoughts flew apart and didn't come together. “It's a damn shitty feeling”, Guillotine said, and everyone agreed with him again.

Egon said that he would go to work and check on how things were going there. Ofir will go to his grandfather, and tomorrow he will start studying the book. Guillotine can do whatever he wants on this day, and he preferred to rest. Homer will also return to his small apartment and sleep until the next morning.

"It will only work out if there are no military operations raging outside the gates of Agernox."

Egon spat.

"I'd like a cigarette."

"I have a couple left."

Guillotine took out a cigarette and handed it to Egon, the last one took for himself. They brought the filter to their mouth, holding it in different ways. Egon clamped the filter between his middle and index fingers, and Guillotine between his thumb and index finger. They sat down on a bench and lit a little piece of death and enjoyed each breath and held the smoke in their lungs for a few seconds and then exhaled with relief. They were looking somewhere in the distance, but they did not even understand why. The tobacco smoldered, hissed and crackled like logs in a fire. Homer and Ofir were waiting for their friends to finish smoking, and they were in no hurry at all, smacking their lips with pleasure.

"I’ve really been missing it, all this time."

"Yeah…"

In the still air, tobacco smoke rose in wavy lines. They took a drag on it as if it was the last cigarette in their lives. They simultaneously dropped the ashes and continued. Five minutes later, when only the filter remained, they flicked the butt away, got up and left.