The stranger nodded as if he'd always known this. He left with the light in his shoulders set differently. Jackerman returned to his task of keeping ledgers and mending fences. The river went on, impartial and constant, making the town its slow confessional. The millhouse, that once-neglected building, became a small repository for human accounts: the soft treasures of ordinary lives kept from being eroded by neglect.
– If they retrieve the Cipher Seed, they gain unmatched power. Do they use it to dismantle AetherDyne, risk creating a new tyranny, or destroy it to prevent any entity from ever holding such power? The Captive -Jackerman-
Go ahead. Check the lock again. I can wait. The stranger nodded as if he'd always known this