We really need to use the purified Philosopher's Stone right now. I can't think of anything else that would help us.

You roll a 5 (required 11). Failure.

Convinced that the answer lies in the purified Philosopher's Stone, you decide to take it out of your saddlebags… only to find that you have no idea how to use it.

Unlike before, you no longer feel any power coursing beneath its surface, nor does it seem bound to your magic. You desperately try to jog your memory for something, anything you might have read or heard that could help.

Alas, however futile, your attempt to call upon the artifact does not go unnoticed.

King Empyrius: "Hmph. If you truly are so senseless as to try to stop the coming of the new dawn, then so be it. Perish."

Turning your attention back to Empyrius, you anxiously wait for him to make a move, when all of a sudden, you feel a sharp pain in your side — a pain so intense that time itself seems to grind to a halt.

You slowly turn your head to meet Smoke's blank stare.

Her green, glowing, blank stare.

Your heart sinks. You look down in disbelief at her sword, planted firmly in your side. Then, like an empty puppet, she pulls the searing blade back out.

An extreme burning sensation shoots though your entire body, every nerve screaming in agony. Noise fills your ears. Your vision blurs.

Before you realize it, you have collapsed onto the cold, wet floor, unable to move so much as a muscle. You watch in dismay as the Philosopher's Stone rolls away from your outstretched hoof.

You drop Purified Philosopher's Stone.

You hear distant voices shouting, but cannot comprehend the words. The storm around you has gone silent.

It hurts to breathe. Your mouth is dry, and tastes of metal.

You try to keep your eyes open, but they won't focus. Falling snowflakes leave trails in your vision, all colours blending together into a blinding gray.

You feel faint.

As consciousness begins to slip away from you, your last thoughts are of your friends, and of home…