Tension hung wire-taut in the chilled air. I neither thought to fight or run. I merely stood.

"What do you want?" I asked curtly.

Khan gave a slow, measured nod. "If you desire answers, allow me to explain. You will find that I am unlike the Truthseekers. I do not play with riddles or puzzles. I will speak frankly, as is befitting a partnership between adults. And I expect you to do the same."

His dark eyes searched me. When I gave no response, he simply smiled that dispassionate smile of his.

"I want you to free 6E12," Khan said simply. "And with that, free everyone here."

The weak lamplight of the room contoured him, giving him color and form but only in part. Much of his figure remained in the shadows.

"You believe the teachings of the Truthseekers?" I questioned.

"I know them to be factually true," Khan said. "And I surmise you have been discovering much for yourself. 6E12 is held captive by the Expedition Division. Do you know what for?"

He wasn't asking me; he was testing me.

I weighed my words. "Fink…she uses him to win challenges."

"Partially correct," he said. "It is more accurate to say, all the regents use 6E12 to win challenges. Fink facilitates the process, but all four regents actively participate."

That…that made sense. For a few seasonal challenges, the eviction notices listed six or even nine dead expeditioners. There could be more deaths that wouldn't be listed on the eviction notices – if the dead expeditioners had housemates still occupying their house. If three expeditioners died in each of the regents' games (while the regent and 6E12 survived), then there'd be 12 deaths total each season, across the four regents.

"What about yourself?" I asked. "Do you participate as well?"

"Fink only lends 6E12 to the other regents," he said matter-of-factly. "I, as you may know, am not a regent. I had never seen 6E12. Nor do I know where he is kept. If I did, I could've freed him. And you, my friend, would not be stuck in this world right now."

"Haven't you tried sending people after Fink?" I checked. "To see where she goes during challenges? You'd find 6E12 that way, right?"

"Ah. That's the thing. Around the time of challenges, the Expedition Division, and the regents, meet here at the Institute. They do not leave town. Fink included. And yet, they somehow manage to get 6E12 on their teams. How do you think that is possible?"

"Perhaps they have a portal somewhere," I guessed, "hidden in the Institute, and they use that to get to the crypt where 6E12 is."

"Portals. That would be very impressive."

"...Actually, wait." I remembered how back in Bronze, Hei and I had been by ourselves when the challenge started, and we ended up getting transported to the arena, where we reunited with the rest of our team.

"They don't need to be physically present with 6E12 to enter a challenge together," I explained. "All they need to do is be on the same team."

"Ah, but 6E12 needs to be on four different teams for every challenge. And team membership can only be conferred through physical contact, plus a verbal agreement. So, tell me, how does 6E12 rotate across four different teams each season?"

"Maybe 6E12 never switches teams," I pointed out. "Instead, everyone else joins or leaves his team. Maybe 6E12 has a single teammate in town. Say, Headmaster Fink. When the time comes, Fink recruits three teammates from the Expedition Division, through physical contact, to form a party of five with her and 6E12. And once they finish their challenge, Fink gives membership to the next headmaster, and then relinquishes her own membership. Then, then…uhh, the next headmaster recruits their own three teammates, and the process continues. At any point, as long as a single person in the Institute is on the same team as 6E12, they don't need to leave town to join a team with him. Uhh…yeah. I think that's right."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Good. A little wordy, but your logic is sound."

"I'd hope so."

"And you know where they keep 6E12?" Khan asked.

"I do."

"Well then. Do tell me."

Not yet. That piece of knowledge was my bargaining chip.

"Before that, I need answers from you," I stipulated. "Was it you who left the note, saying I'll die in seven days?"

"That was me."

"Are you the one ordering my death?"

"I am not. The one wanting you dead would be Fink." He pursed his lips. "To be clear, I am using you. I know you are desperate, and I have Fink to thank for that. I am offering you a chance to live, not because I care deeply about you, but because I need your service. Free 6E12. Sophia, you can save everyone trapped in this world, including yourself. That is my proposal."

Well then. Khan didn't lie when he said he'd speak frankly.

"Why don't you free him yourself?" I questioned. "I'll tell you where 6E12 is, and you can take care of the rest."

Khan scoffed. "Why not me? Because, you see, I am a coward."

"That is not to say I will not help you," he continued. He reached his bandaged fingers into his shirt pocket and took out a tiny envelope, about the size of a sticky-note. It had the drawing of an eye on it.

"I will give you this," he said, holding the envelope up for me to see. "This envelope is linked to my pockets. Whenever you are in trouble, reach into it. The eye-diagram will activate, and I will see everything around you in a 100 meter radius. I will then send you a gift through the envelope, as befitting your situation. This envelope will allow me to send you three items before its magic wears off. As you are on your mission, I will be in the treasury of the Logistics Division, where the strongest magic items of the Combat Institute are stored. Even if your life is in danger, I can surely find the right item to provide you."

He held the envelope out for me to take. Gingerly, I approached him, closer and closer. I finally took hold of the small envelope, but he did not let go.

"Do we have a deal?" he inquired of me.

I gave a firm nod. "6E12 is kept in the caves to the east of town. The Expedition Division has guards posted there."

Khan loosened his grip on the envelope, allowing me to take it. He let out a short chuckle.

"When I helped them fund the caves, Fink told me she'd use them as crypts for tombs." He shook his head. "For the dead expeditioners, she said. Such trickery, under my very own eyelids."

Khan informed me that there were a total of three caves, all supposedly crypts. Of course, only one of them had 6E12 inside.

"I hope you can find the right one," he told me.

"I should be able to." With the Seekflower's help, of course. But Khan didn't need to know about the flower. "Well then, what's the plan?" I asked him. "There are guards there. Do I, just, fight my way through the cave until I find 6E12?"

"If you'd like. I'd recommend something a bit stealthier. Dress yourself up as a guard, perhaps? You'll need keys to get through the crypt as well. But Tanin calls you a talented spy, so I'd imagine you'll manage. Again, if you find yourself about to die, use the envelope."

Khan gave me some tips on how to infiltrate the crypt. First, the crypt's guards had keys on them. And so did Fink, if I wanted to steal them from her. The guards usually worked in pairs at the crypt, but they were run-off-the-mill warriors, and could be taken out in an ambush. Fink, meanwhile, should not be confronted in combat. She was one of the strongest players in all of Silver. One of her abilities let her turn invisible while leaving an illusory duplicate behind. That ability had a very short cooldown, making the real Fink near-impossible to hit.

So that was the trick she used on Saber.

"Again, I will recommend you handle this stealthily," Khan instructed me. "Especially when you are dealing with Fink. She will kill you without breaking a sweat."

Fink. She certainly sounded like bad news. And Khan said she had planned to kill me in seven days, but had she really? Or was that just his bluff, designed to force me to side with him? Regardless, even if Khan was a self-serving liar, at least he saw me as an ally. Or perhaps just a pawn. But if being someone's pawn would save my life and perhaps the lives of others, then so be it.

"You have my partnership," I told Khan. I reached out to shake his hand, but then remembered his injured fingers. I gave him a formal bow instead, and he reciprocated the gesture.

"Now," he said, "go and save the world."