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I don't, but I think I don't need to.

The strange man leans back as a puff of gray-whitish smoke gradually floats from his mouth.

The smoke disperses into a rippling cloud, like a stone being thrown into a pool of stagnant water. The revenant's trace fluctuations sweep across the area, drowning all of Kazdel in silence.

A brief moment later, the noise has reemerged, and the puff of smoke has completely dispersed.

Who are you exactly?

Just... who are you, mister?

They call me the Tin Man.

Tin Man...?

Look, the one you're looking for is here.

One can count all the revenants that walk the lands on one hand. Who might you be?

He says he's the Tin Man.

He says he's from Columbia.

...Kazdel is not ready for your return yet.

Hard to blame you. I never thought I'd ever come back here when I left.

What did you come back for?

He says he wants to go to the Furnace.

Nymphy!

Okay okay. I won't interrupt again. Go ahead and ask.

Then allow me to... Never mind. I suppose there's nothing else to ask.

Normally, a guest of your pedigree would be received by my master, but...

Your master? That stubborn old man? Let's not tell him, save my vacation from going completely down the drain.

If you'd like to visit and take a look beneath the Soul Furnace, I could bring you there, without telling anyone.

(Shakes head) Not beneath it. I want to go <i>inside</i> it.

Who do you want to visit there?

Who else?

Nymphy, have you gathered all the revenant fragments yet?

They're all inside my box. Here!

The young Lich nods and nonchalantly throws the slightly misshapen box into the shadows behind her.

Her gaze shifts back and forth between the Djall and the revenant, then finally lands on the Soul Furnace that stands in the distance.

Then let's go.

Nymphy, I'll find another time to give you your reward. And here's the surprise I promised you—Do you want to go into the Soul Furnace for a walk?

Can I really?!

Can I bring friends?! So many kind people have helped us along the way! I could never have collected all the fragments so quickly without them!

Ahem, to tell the truth, I've always wanted to go inside, ever since I was a kid, just to see how it works.

Well... As it stands, we've already broken multiple rules today. so...

Give me just a minute! I'll gather everybody up!

<i>Everybody?</i> Hold on...

Right, for my reward, can I get some scrap Oriron...? Pohl, help me explain it to Ermi, okay?

Uh, alright.

Ah, youth. So motivated. Already sprang away like an arrow from the bow.

I never introduced myself. I'm from down below, the slums, as people call it.

They call me <i>the Consultant</i> there, and I speak for them. Mr. Tin Man, and the Lich lady. Please, call me Pohl.

Don't call me a lady. Don't you think that's very improper?

Oh, kiddo... In certain ways, you're still far too young.

One, two, three, four... and me. Five! All of us are here!

Nymphy, the Furnace is a dangerous place. Why did you bring this many people? And that little girl behind you...

One child ticket, please.

This is not a sightseeing spot, and we don't sell tickets! No children, either!

Sorry, Cherie. I tried my best... Maybe next time?

There's no next time!

It's okay, Nymph. I was thinking that maybe the big furnace is full of flatbread like the little one we have. Turns out, it's all dark and dirty and lame!

What flatbread? We <i>never</i> bake anything with the furnace nodes! Your grandpa is still waiting outside, right? Quick, go find him!

There are still so many people here. Now what am I going to do with them?

They all helped me, a lot, and you promised me just now! They won't give you any trouble at all!

Everyone, I need all of you to give me your own words, not just Nymphy's.

It doesn't matter to me. All I want is to take a look at the work of that legendary designer. I've heard her signature is on the Soul Furnace's blueprints, too. Is that true?

Since when has the Soul Furnace had blueprints?

You can look all you want, but no touching. What about you, Gargoyle? What are you looking at?

If there's a wide enough pipeline that leads straight out of the city...

Gargoyles tend to be into complicated constructions like this. Don't worry. She's just checking whether the pipelines are sturdy enough.

Right. I'm trying to see if we can crawl through them.

What about you, Consultant? Trying to live your childhood dream? Like you said before?

(Shrugs) Is that not good enough of a reason?

Hmph.

I didn't expect to see you here, Qalaiša. What is a Nachzehrer who left her tribe doing here?

<i>Left</i> my tribe? No, we just hold different ideals.

As for what I am doing here... Hm, mainly, I couldn't bring myself to refuse such a sincere invitation from this cutie pie.

And if I manage to learn a few extraordinary witchcraft rituals while inside the Soul Furnace, that's all the better.

None of us here have any reason to lie. What's more, it was a Djall who invited all of us.

I've finished a whole cigarette already. Are you done with the roll call yet? I don't suppose anyone's going against their word?

Lich girl, try not to pick up your master's bad habits. Liches used to have a pretty great reputation, but now...

I'm not very well-versed in history, but I can tell you are making things up.

Okay, now. If everyone's ready, let's get going. Stay close. Don't fall behind.

Hooray! You're the best, Ermi! I knew you would be more amenable than those old, stuck-up fossils!

Turn right at the next corner.

There are potholes on the ground three steps ahead. Keep left.

You can open your eyes now. We're here.

So <i>this</i> is what it looks like inside! What's that faintly glowing thing?

The witchcraft core.

This is the deepest part of the Soul Furnace. As far as I know, ever since it was built, only Liches have come here to hold rituals to appease the revenants.

And the last ritual caused the big fireworks that led all of us here. Anything else to share?

Mr. Tin Man, should we proceed as we discussed?

Sure. I'll keep an eye out for you.

The fireworks were only an accident, and the ceremony wasn't completed.

My master tasked me with finding the revenant fragments scattered all over Kazdel, and I entrusted this mission to Nymph. Nymph then got your help. Which means...

My master owes all of you a favor. No, he owes all of <i>us</i> a favor.

As the keeper of the Temple of Knowledge, a favor of his is most valuable indeed. You could accomplish quite a lot with it.

But, as his student, I've already decided in his place to use this favor to do something exceedingly difficult.

I'm kinda getting the feeling you're about to say something horrible... Is it okay if I leave now?

No way! I invited you here. If anyone's leaving, I'm leaving first!

Ahem, it's actually nothing to be scared of. She's just being sulky that she got taught a lesson by the stubborn old man, and she's trying to win back some face.

What face?

The revenant's... face. I'll finish my master's appeasement ceremony without a flaw. So, are you in?

Yaaahhh!

Sorry, I couldn't stand that awkward silence, so I thought I'd make some noise.

Uh, like I said, I'm just here to admire that legendary designer's work... Since I've now seen it, I'll leave this revenant business to the rest of you.

We kept our eyes closed the whole time, and you're telling me you're already done?!

If it was just watching the ceremony, I'd be totally fine, but the Lich here seems to want us to be active participants?

If we're dealing with revenants, should we let Amiya know? And the Babel members, too?

All of us have seen how powerful the revenants can be. Even little fragments were causing chaos all over Kazdel.