The air in the room was so very still. While there had been a flurry of activity beforehand from battling Caleb and Lorelei’s struggles against the TWE there was now nothing but oppressive silence permeating the air.

The weight on Noelle and Oscar had lifted the instant Lorelei was fully absorbed and they got to their feet, but that was it. Neither of them dared take another action. They couldn’t. Even though they wanted to fight, even though they wanted to take down Dr. Bismark and save Lorelei and Beth, something deep inside of them was holding them back.

The primal fear of the thing in front of them.

The futility of struggling against it.

The filthy truth that they had already lost.

Dr. Bismark’s completed Twin Witch Engine continued to dominate the room. Noelle found herself unable to look away from its rippling, obsidian surface. Lorelei, Beth, and that poor thing were all trapped inside. Their freedom had been stripped away all so the man standing before herself and Oscar could achieve goals unknown.

Dr. Bismark fiddled with his ear. He had some sort of headpiece with blinking lights on it. It was reminiscent of a Bluetooth headset but significantly more slapdash.

He noticed Noelle’s gaze and shot her a smirk. “Psychic link with the TWE. Impressive, isn’t it? Just a few years back I would’ve considered it impossible, but studying the magical world has given me great insight into psychic communication through the collective unconscious.” He turned to face Oscar now, smirk morphing into a grimace. “The fact that your people have been hiding such wonders from the world at large is nothing short of a sin.”

Oscar met his gaze. “Trust me, I’m no native to the magic game myself. But...there was a good reason to take it all underground one hundred years ago. Not to mention, it did wonders for disempowering creeps like you.”

“Perhaps if you opened your secrets to men like me, there’d be no reason to hide. I’ve already achieved more here tonight than your precious Congregation ever will, that much is certain.”

“You’re delusional at least. Never met a magician who wasn’t.”

Dr. Bismarck began to play with his ear again, his good cheer returned. “In that case...let us start the show.”

A massive shockwave exploded outwards from the Twin Witch Engine. Noelle and Oscar were both blown backwards with incredible force. They would have traveled for dozens of meters back had it not been for the wall behind them.

“Ahhh!” Noelle shrieked in pain as she collided with the wall closest to the doorway. Stars exploded in front of her eyes and her strength drained. Unable to catch herself, she slipped down the wall and crumpled into a heap on the floor.

“Fucking prick! Get back here!” She could hear Oscar’s voice but the pain of the impact was still too fresh for her to concentrate. There was a tapping of retreating footsteps as Oscar picked himself up from next to her and charged towards the other end of the room.

Noelle closed her eyes and drew a deep breath to collect herself. Exhaling, she opened them and scanned what was left of the room.

Even more piping and ductwork littered the ground now. The shockwave had done more damage than to just her back. Dust stirred about everywhere, a testament to just how forcefully everything had been ripped from the walls and ceiling.

The TWE was gone. In its place was a mountain of cables and pipes. While they had adorned the black orb previously they had all been cast off and left to ruin. Behind the pile there was a large hole boring diagonally upward through the wall and into the cool air of the night. Noelle could just barely make out Oscar’s back as he disappeared outside.

In all likelihood Dr. Bismarck and the Twin Witch Engine were out there as well. The stage had changed, and if Noelle wished to stay off it all she had to do was remain where she was.

Without thinking, Noelle pulled herself to her feet and approached the hole. She no longer understood what was driving her beyond the fact that there was something pushing her forward.

Did she want to do the right thing?

Did she only care about getting to see what happens next?

It didn’t really matter to her either way. What was to be done would be done; an action taken would be an action taken regardless of reasoning or justification.

There was no longer a need to think too hard at this stage. It would all end tonight, one way or another.

Noelle squeezed the grip of her pistol for a last shot of reassurance before she ascended the hole to give chase to Dr. Bismark and Oscar.

A moderately cool breeze struck her face as she emerged into the night. It was pleasant weather, and any other evening she would have been looking forward to an easy run or a nighttime stroll.

That would not be possible tonight.

Dr. Bismark stood just over 50 meters away, the Twin Witch Engine hovering over the ground. There was nothing organic to the TWE’s levitation as it remained in the air motionless, looking more like it had been added on top of the scenery like some kind of cheap post-processing effect than something that naturally belonged and took up space in the material world.

Oscar was barely ahead of Noelle. His hand was outstretched with his sword summoned. He had leveled the pointed end of the blade to Dr. Bismark’s chest in a bid at intimidating the older man.

Considering how easily the TWE had stopped Oscar and herself from moving previously, Noelle saw the gesture as more of a last act of defiance than a credible threat.

Dr. Bismark shared her sentiment. “I’ve heard of the rat that would fight a cat when cornered,” he taunted, “but I don’t recall the proverb mentioning any rats that willfully corner themselves again right after being set free.”

“I’m no rat,” Oscar scoffed. “That sure says something about how you view people.”

“You’re not very clever, are you?” said Dr. Bismark, not disconcerted in the least. “I’ve no interest in fighting you as long as I’m left to my work.”

“You just kidnapped two children,” said Noelle. “That doesn’t look like work to me.”

“They look like children to you?” responded Dr. Bismark. “I’m sure your magical friend over there would disagree with you. They’re monsters, officer, I may as well put them to work as batteries.”

“That’s not true!” yelled Noelle, anger mounting. She was disgusted by the blind disregard Dr. Bismark had shown towards Lorelei and Beth. From everything Noelle had seen they were kids who laughed and cried and played like normal, nothing else. They were people, not witches.

“Ask him yourself,” said Dr. Bismark, “His job is to stop others from seizing their power for themselves, not to protect them. In the case of them getting out of control he’s even allowed to kill them!”

“Oscar…,” muttered Noelle as she glanced at him.

He grimaced, but kept his sword pointed at Dr. Bismark all the same. “That’s true. That’s my duty to the Congregation.”

“Exactly,” replied Dr. Bismark. “You see now, don’t you? It’s better if you just hand them off to me. I have a higher purpose in mind for these witches.”

“Like what?” drawled Oscar.

“Resurrection.”

Dr. Bismark looked downwards, his cold confidence replaced with a wistful sorrow. Oscar stared him down, stone-faced.

“My wife and daughter,” he began, “were both killed...they were taken from me. I’d spent my whole life studying physics, pushing my field forward, but it was all worthless. All the research grants and accolades in the world wouldn’t bring them back. Our world is so grounded and material...it has no business intersecting with that of the dead.”

“That’s just the way of things,” said Oscar.

“But it isn’t!” hissed Dr. Bismark. “There’s a whole world of magic! We all know it! It may have been one hundred years since it was public, but that’s not enough for the memory to have faded completely!”

“So what?! It won’t do you any good!”

“True enough,” said Dr. Bismark, calming down. “I searched the highest highs and lowest lows of the world to find magicians and claim their secrets. Some of the things they could do were marvelous, but...not enough to bring back someone who had passed on.”

“Then why?” asked Noelle. “Why do this?”

“Because I explored whether science was the answer and I explored if magic was the answer...but never the intersection of the two.” Dr. Bismark brought up his fist, it was clenched so hard in conviction that it had turned completely white. “I found myself a proprietor, someone who was interested in my work for their own benefit. They procured that thing for me, a creature of unknown matter, and hired those mercenaries to assist me. I’m sure I have the answer now. Dark matter combined with witches, the most potent source of magic on the planet...this is the key to a miracle! I’m only a step away now! I’ll bring about a world with my wife and daughter in it!”

Noelle faltered inside. He had done all of this for his family; she couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must have felt. She never got along with her parents; but if she had...would she have done the same thing? Would she have done it to bring Andrew or her departed sister back to her?

“I doubt your proprietor is going to let you run around with this thing for long!” taunted Oscar.

“It matters not. With the power I have in my possession I’ll just crush them before they can strip it from me.”

“This is such shit!” yelled Oscar as he charged at Dr. Bismark.

Time itself slowed as Oscar approached. Noelle could only watch as the man’s movements became progressively drawn out like a movie playing an action scene in slow motion for emphasis. Only Dr. Bismark and the TWE remained at a normal speed, an unearthly light emanating from the depths of the black machine.

“Let’s see...for my first test I think I’ll crush your spirit. A fine benchmark for the miracles I have planned next.”

The world fell still and everything faded to black.