[There's a disturbing calmness to Aelwyn, as everyone panics and weeps and explodes with emotion, Aelwyn feels... nothing. Maybe this is what they mean when they talk about the lightless flame.

She remembers conversations with Jon, where she would arrogantly put forward her theories to the archivist and he would shoot her down as someone misunderstanding and blundering her way with preconceptions of "ways to win" or "free will."

The Spider wants her through that gate, she's sure of it, and she wants to brutalize the Spider. She wants to roast the Spider over a roaring flame and feast on it's charred flesh.]

This is the only way we can win, you know.

[There's a madness in her. How long has it been there? How long ago did she become a monster? It wasn't during her trip, when she'd committed yet another act of murder, and it wasn't even after she arrived here.

That same megalomania that brought Penelope Everpetal into an early casket has always been in Aelwyn. The fire has simply nurtured it within her.]

Reyes and Bonnie are idiots - in over their heads. But for once, the Entities are too. We can - I can lead them like pigs to the slaughter. [Her mouth twists into a grin and she laughs. She doesn't even notice the tears A relief. An ache. She'd resigned herself to giving up on it. Giving up on Adaine and... well, that's about it. Who cares about the rest of the universe in comparison to the two people she has any love left for? Mercy and the mere concept of a sister she treated with nothing but disdain.

She just has to find and kill her mama and papa.]