After Kaine stops crying, Helena presses him about why he has continued rising through the Undying ranks if he truly wants the Eternal Flame to win. Kaine explains that he always expected Ilva and Crowther to betray him once he was no longer useful, so he climbed higher to make his eventual exposure or death damage the Undying as much as possible.

Kaine asks why Helena kissed him, and Helena admits the truth of her orders: Ilva gave her a month to make Kaine submit or kill him before Morrough was allowed to do it. Kaine reacts with bitter contempt, and Helena says she cannot choose Kaine over the war. When Helena despairingly asks whether Kaine wants her to be the one who kills him, Kaine says she lost that chance.

Kaine then asks what will happen to Helena after he is gone. Helena says she made no plans because she had sworn herself to Kaine, and Kaine realizes Helena may be passed along as another asset if he dies. Because Kaine’s possessiveness of Helena outweighs his indifference to survival, Kaine tells Helena to ask Ilva and Crowther what proof of loyalty they want and says he will do it.

Helena leaves in the rain and goes to a drop-point safe house instead of Headquarters because she is disheveled and shaken. Crowther arrives, helps her light the fire, and asks whether the mission is done. Helena reports that Kaine’s motive was truly revenge for his mother’s torture and death, and that Kaine now wants to know what proof of loyalty the Eternal Flame requires.

Crowther notices Helena’s torn clothing, bruises, and distress, then leaves briefly to fetch medical supplies from Headquarters. Helena explains that Kaine was not violent, but that the mission unfolded abruptly and left her feeling used because Crowther and Ilva had lied to make her more convincing. Crowther accepts that Helena completed her assignment, promises to speak to Ilva, reveals his own traumatic recruitment into the Eternal Flame, and admits Helena is an exceptional asset while apologizing for what that means.

The next week, Crowther accompanies Helena to the Outpost to meet Kaine. Crowther and Kaine face each other with open hatred, and Crowther sends Helena outside before beginning the negotiation with a single command: Beg. While waiting, Helena discovers a hidden animated eye in the tenement stairwell, explaining how Kaine always knew when she arrived. After half an hour, Crowther emerges and tells Helena she has done good work.