By the time Sylvie left, I still had my head on my shoulders, plus a total of four limbs.

So overall, things didn't go that poorly.

I couldn't remember her exact phrasing, but whatever she had said, it sounded like I had her on my side for now. I made her swear, upon her honor, that our dealings would be secret from everyone else, including Doublerift. Including Hei, even. I hated keeping secrets from him, but this time, him knowing would only complicate things.

I doubt he'd respond well learning that I intended to stay behind.

Preparations for the fight against Alice kept me busy in the subsequent days, and Hei too. Several times, I thought he'd be there to help at my armory, but he had to spend the day sparring and planning with Doublerift.

In the meantime I made fair progress on my plasma rifle. The previous ring-shaped container I crafted to house the plasma soon met its limits and melted when I pumped in too much plasma. I went back to the drawing board, and designed a new plasma storage chamber. This time, I spared no expense. I melted the glass off of a Thunderlord's Mirror in Doublerift's possession, and forged the glass into a container of the same shape as before - a hollow toroid, a donut-shaped cage for the plasma. Running a current along its surface created a magnetic field that repelled plasma away from the walls of the container. Thanks to the clear glass, I could now see the vibrant, violet ring of plasma that spun within.

At least under controlled conditions, I could get the plasma temperature up to 13,000 degrees Celsius.

I still had to devise a way to use the stored plasma for attacking. Did I want to directly shoot bolts of plasma at my enemies? Or would it be better to convert the stored energy into some other form – say, electricity – and weaponize that instead?

Soon, only three days remained before our fight with Alice.

Doublerift arrived at my armory unannounced. I was alone there when he came.

"Close the door," Doublerift ordered. I saw Kevin the skull knight outside, as though standing guard. With his gauntleted hand, he swung the door shut.

Doublerift paced across my workshop until he stood before the gun on my workbench.

"Are you done with the weapon?" he asked, examining my work.

"Almost," I reported. "I just welded the Mask of Lost Shadows to the heat sink. It should be able to infuse percent-health damage to the gun's blasts. But I need to fix a couple things."

"Finish it up by tonight," he ordered.

"Best I can promise is tomorrow night."

"You're jeopardizing our operation."

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"I need to win as much as you do," I told him. "Even if I didn't care about the operation, Hei's gonna be there fighting with you."

The cold gleam of Doublerift's spectacles flashed as he turned from the gun to me. "Have it ready tomorrow morning. We need time to practice with it before facing Alice."

"Unless," I said. "Unless I am the one to wield it. You, me, Hei. Us three will face Alice together and bring her down."

I could not tell his expression, not from his stony face, not from his icy gaze.

"The gun is mine," I said. "I used it, I remade it. If there's anything to know about this machine, I'm the one who knows it. You will not find anyone that'll wield it better than me."

Doublerift sheathed a hand into his pocket. "Three days from now, I will flatten this city. I will cause destruction so great that Alice will be forced to interfere. Before then, I will have you and Hei in my pocket dimension. Your next time outside will be in the arena against Alice."

"...You're really letting me join the final fight?" I asked.

"You and Hei know how to fight alongside each other," Doublerift said. "Now, don't make me change my mind."

"Thank you for this opportunity," I said.

Thank you, Doublerift, indeed.

I knew your plans. I knew your willful omissions.

You never intended to save everyone, did you?

We will bring everyone, Bronze to Platinum, back alive to earth - those were your words. So what then of the others?

I shall do what you lacked the bravery to. So trust in me, Doublerift, and thank you for this opportunity.

I spent the night alone in the armory, laboring without sleep. By the time it was morning, I had become heavy-headed, and my hands were jittering. The only things that accompanied me were the incessant hum of the fluorescent light overhead, and my cup of cold coffee.

Around noon, Hei came to visit.

"How long have you been here for?" he asked.

I gave him a weary smile and waved him over. "Come, you're right on time."

I had progressed ahead of schedule.

Together, we examined the fruit of my endeavors. What was once my Arcane Railgun had now become a plasma cannon. It had previously been slightly shorter than the length of my arm, perhaps about the size of a submachine gun. But now it stood as tall as my chest. I had upgraded its steel barrel with heat-resistant mithril. A new shoulder stock, containing the Armguard Engine that powered the cannon, had been affixed to the back of the device. And of course, mounted to the side of the cannon, was its most important upgrade: the donut-shaped plasma storage chamber, oriented vertically and compactly against the cannon's body.

I tightened a final few screws. A faint, iridescent glow pulsed across the surface of my weapon. It was complete.

[JORMUNGANDR: 55 (+40% Arcana Point)(+10% enemy max HP) magical damage. 2 second reload. 65 meter range. Requires attunement.

Special ability: Eye of Odin – By spending 150 mana, you detect all metallic objects in a 10 degree cone in front of you. 512 mile range. 1 minute cooldown.

Special ability: Plasma Storage Chamber – Each second, the cannon gains a stack of Plasma Charge, up to 20 charges. The next attack or spell consumes all charges to do 10 (+10% Arcana Point) additional damage for each Plasma Charge.]

"At full charge," I told Hei, "it's basically Ultimate-level damage right at level 1. Pretty sweet, right?"

Hei drew a thin exhale. "So this is your strongest weapon."

"Actually, it's my second strongest weapon." With a secretive wink, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small metal canister. The same one I had shown Sylvie.

[DEUTERIUM FUEL CELL: Single-use. Temporarily upgrades the Jormungandr plasma cannon.]