Die. Respawn. Repeat.

On some level, I feel like I should have expected something like this—I'd sensed the Remnant's presence in the dungeon even before the Ritual moved into its second stage. Why the Remnant is in the dungeon is another question entirely, but whatever transformation the Empty City went through, it must have affected the Remnant as well.

That, I presume, is the reason it's currently taking the form of a scirix and smiling at us like nothing's wrong.

"Why is your Remnant even here?" I ask, not taking my eyes off him. Novi trusts him, clearly—she doesn't even seem surprised by his presence—but I don't. Something about his Firmament reeks of... not hostility, exactly. But there's something there that tells me that this Remnant isn't just playing his role in scirix society. He remembers being Ahkelios. Is Ahkelios, more or less.

A version of him that isn't a friend. A version of him that remembers a different life, has different goals.

"I've been in the Empty City before," Ahkelios reminds me. "Or I mean... I was in the sewers. I guess that's enough for it to count as far as Remnants goes."

"You sound worried."

"Of course I am! Who knows what he's going to do?" I can feel Ahkelios itching to manifest, but he knows as well as I do that that's not a good idea for the moment—who knows what will set this version of him off. "Let me remind you that he was trying to make me betray you!"

"Which you agreed not to do." I shrug, though mostly internally. "I'm not that worried about it."

"Yes, and I think that's a problem!" Ahkelios hisses at me.