Defeat.

Well, that could have gone better.

GEE, YA THINK!? THEY MOPPED THE FLOOR WITH US!

I know. Why were they so powerful?

PROBABLY BECAUSE OF ALL THE DYING MEN THEY'VE CONSUMED.

Just perfect. We made it out alive, at least.

BARELY.

Any ideas for round two?

WE COULD GO AROUND KILLING DYING MEN.

I suppose we could try that. It wouldn't be too hard to track down other Dying Men through their distortions.

OR...

Or what?

I HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA. SOMETHING A FOOLISH FRIEND OF MINE OCCASIONALLY ATTEMPTS.

A friend?

UNITY. YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT. BUT IF WE CAN SUCCEED WHERE IT HAS REPEATEDLY FAILED, WE MAY BE ABLE TO DEFEAT SILVERMIST.

And what are we trying to succeed with?

GIVE ME CONTROL OF THE BODY FOR A MOMENT. WE MUST GO SOMEWHERE.

Okay.

…

Where the fuck are we? It's like, this riverbank, with ashes falling from the sky... And there's a ton of burnt down houses. HELLFIRE, what is this place?

THE RIVER. THE DOMAIN OF THE DYING MAN.

The Dying Man has a domain?

YES. THE RIVER IS VAST, AND HAS A DIFFERENT BRANCH FOR EACH SHARD. THIS IS MY BRANCH. MY HOME. THE ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS MYSELF.

I see...

STAY STILL FOR A MOMENT. DO YOU FEEL THAT?

An Earthquake?

A BRANCH OF THE RIVER HAS VANISHED. A DYING MAN HAS BEEN KILLED.

Silvermist?

POSSIBLY.

So, when you die, this branch of the river will disappear?

YES.

So why did you bring me here?

THIS WILL BE OUR TRAINING GROUND. THIS IS WHERE WE WILL PRACTICE.

Practice what, exactly?

FUSION.