Hofmann: pants
An unprecedented agony, like the bursting of a bullet in a chamber too small for it, only writ large to each vein across her body.
She tries to summon her reason, looking for a way out, but only shattered half-thoughts come to her.
Heinrich must be taken to the headquarters. He has vital information!
The mission has failed. There will be no back-up. The "Storm" countdown has begun, everyone will be called back to the headquarters.
This is the ninth "Storm"! How much longer will we have to wait if we miss this opportunity?!
Must leave at once. Marcus will have the Storm Syndrome if she stays here. She's losing herself!
Gun shot. Isolde, Kakania. Why are they here?
Heinrich: Ahh! Tosca ...! You're turning your dagger at me?!
Heinrich: Me! The one who showed you the way to salvation! Me! The one who brought you all to the Guiding One!
Heinrich: I even pleaded with Forget Me Not to keep a spot for Kakania, for your sake ...
Heinrich: How could you do this to me?!
The bullet deviates slightly as it fires, hitting Heinrich's calf in a painful but not immediately lethal shot.
Isolde: Doctor, why are you trying to stop me?
Kakania: You still think of me as a doctor!? I can't let you do any more killing!
Kakania: Ms. Marcus, can you get on your feet? I'll slow them down, get Madam Hofmann to safety ...
The clamor fades away, leaving only the sound of turgid blood stickily moving through her veins.
Alas, this is the world of the arcanist. Reason is nowhere to be found, and everything is magnified by the senses.
The floor is cold, the din loud, the air filled with a scent—one that will lead her to her death.
Her vision has sharp edges cutting into her sight, and everything moves slow, making out Marcus as she is plunged into a nightmare, then the good doctor Kakania desperately attempting to hold back Isolde.
And—Isolde's gun pointed at Heinrich.
Isolde: Heinrich ... You seem to be in pain.
Isolde: Shhh, it's alright ... Soon you will be freed from the pain.
Hofmann: ...
You're out of your mind, Hofmann. Don't! There must be a better way.
But how long do we have to wait for another opportunity like this?! You think you can still make it back to the headquarters? You think there will be a second chance for you?
Even if we fail, Marcus will be safe.
The situation has changed. Kakania's decision is the key to victory.
Can't let the clues end here!
This is the wisest decision.
She rises with all her strength.
Isolde sees no new obstacles, focusing only on her initial enemy.
She pulls the trigger.
Marcus: ... Madam ... Hofmann?
The girl, mired in chaos, witnesses this scene.
Her "reading" commences, disregarding her own personal will.
"'I can't let Isolde kill such a vital source of information.' That's what Madam Hofmann's thinking, but ... what about her poison?"
"The bullet reeks of ghosts and spirits ... Oh right, it's Isolde's arcane skill."
"Kakania ... She has gone blank. I can't read anything from her mind."
"And there's Heinrich, who claims to be the savior. What is he thinking right now?"
*crash*
The gunshot finally hits true.
One shot, two lives.
Isolde's bullet pierces through both Hofmann and Heinrich.
This is the information her "reading" provides.
Marcus: No! Madam Hofmann!!!
She crawls on hands and knees to her mentor's side.
Marcus: No, no!
Hofmann: coughs weakly
Hofmann: ... Is Heinrich ... still alive?
Marcus: ...
Marcus looks at the stage, now coated with blood, her voice trembling.
Marcus: He ... he's gone ...
Hofmann: ... I see. Should have been faster.
Hofmann: You must take Kakania and leave. She can protect you from Isolde. She won't side with the Manus, from what I see.
Hofmann: Give her my place in the "Storm" shelter. Her arcane power will be useful to us.
Hofmann: So the both of you can evacuate safely.
Marcus: Did, did you plan this all along?
Hofmann: coughs weakly Don't cry, Marcus. I know what I'm doing.
Hofmann: I have taken back my senses before I die. I'm glad. The pain will cease. To die with my sanity and rationality still intact ... it has been an honor.
Marcus: NO!!
Marcus: Kakania, can you give her first aid and take her to the train station? You'll meet the Foundation there. They have better equipment, they'll know what to do ...
Marcus: Heinrich is dead, but there must still be clues on him. This isn't over yet, I have to finish the mission ...
Hofmann just shakes her head; weak fingers struggle to pull out a piece of paper from her bosom.
Hofmann: Marcus, take this.
Hofmann: The number of that Orphanage in Romania.
Hofmann: I've had it with me for a while now. But ...
Marcus: Please save your strength, madam, this isn't what we need to worry about ...
Hofmann: We don't have anything else to worry about. The mission is over, silly child.
Hofmann: Ring home. Before the "Storm" comes.
Hofmann: The future ... is yours.
Her hand slides down.
This last second between them becomes an age to itself.
Marcus: No, no! There must be something I can do!
Marcus: "Everything is a book. Everything can be read!"
Marcus: The most immediate threat to her life ... is that potion ...
Marcus: Devil's shoestring, belladonna, narcissus tazetta roots, and the fruits and roots of the Picrasma tree ...
Marcus: It's the formula made by Forget Me Not. The Picrasma extract makes up more than 50% of the potion ... This is very different from Laplace's formula. Arcanist potions seem to be a concoction of instincts and inspiration.
Marcus: Argh! Is there nothing else I can do? The Picrasma extract is not a poison in itself. Just that humans cannot ...
Marcus: There must be a way! Madam ... Please! She's in pain ...
Marcus: Don't give up, keep reading ... I will find a way ...
As she turns the page, the realization hits.
Even if she could read every detail, every exhaustive note on this page ...
She cannot rescue a burning book from a fire. It's already gone.
Marcus: No ...
Hofmann: Every book has an end, Marcus.
Hofmann: There's nothing more on a finished page, no matter how reluctant you are to flip the page and get to the end.
Hofmann: You will move on to a new chapter.
Marcus: No no no!! No! Don't turn the page!!! Stop here, stop now! Please!!
Marcus: I, I can't read on ...
Marcus: I don't like this ending ...
Marcus: ...
Kakania: She's gone ...
Marcus: ...
Isolde: She was an incredible woman.
Kakania looks at her face in shock—studying it to find again the same face she'd spoken of.
Mercy.
Isolde: Her suffering ends here.
Isolde: Doctor. Have you ... decided?
Kakania: ...
Kakania can only stand there, dazed.
Until a loud roar booms outside the opera house.
Isolde: I must leave.
Isolde: ...
Isolde: But I will wait for your answer.
The third act, a bow, and then the curtain falls.
The actors exit.
This is the end of the story.