“It does,” Tanith said. “Did you know that Valkyrie Cain used this sword to kill the Grotesquery? That was the first time she ever saved the world. Wasn’t the last.”

They walked from the cell, and Tanith sighed as she felt her magic flood back into her body. They passed the wardens slumped on the ground.

“Dead?” she asked.

“Unconscious,” Moribund said. “I do not kill if it can be avoided. You don’t have to, either, you know.”

“I’m grateful for the rescue, but if you’re going to start lecturing me...”

“And what if the lecture is the rescue? Releasing your physical form is easy – setting your spirit free is much more difficult.”

“Oh, man,” said Tanith, “you’re not religious, are you?”

He led the way up the stairs. They passed another unconscious man. “Would you hold it against me if I were? But this isn’t about religion. When I talk about your spirit, I’m not talking about some elusive idea, I’m talking about your actual soul, which the Remnant has grafted itself on to.”

“Well, let me save you the time and the effort. The Remnant’s a part of me now and it can’t be removed.”

“That’s quite true.”

“OK then.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to change who you once were.”

“Uh, yes, it does.”

Out in the corridor now, Moribund was walking with the confidence of one who knows he will not be discovered. Tanith stuck close to him.

“The Remnant erases your conscience and removes your ability to empathise,” Moribund said. “It turns you into a sociopath. It also affects other aspects of your personality, but none to any significant degree. You are still, essentially, who you have always been.”

“What are you, a Remnant expert?”

“Yes,” said Moribund. “But you can relearn the skills you need to empathise, and you can fake a conscience until it becomes a natural part of you.”

“Fake it till you make it, you mean.”

“Precisely.”

“And what’s the point of all that? I’d just be lying to myself.”

“The alternative is to surrender and let the Remnant win. Tanith, you have an opportunity to atone for your sins. It’s not too late to turn back. You have friends who love you and who would be willing to give you another chance.”