Leaning against the wall, Jaqen didn't look nearly as desperate as the others. With an almost amused curiosity, he watched the motionless dragon eggs in the fire pit and said in a lightly mocking tone, "Well, there's one more way. Hurry up and hatch these little darlings, then send them to fight that thing under the Dragonlord's crotch."
To everyone else, it sounded less like a suggestion and more like a jab at the "Kindly Man" and his useless leadership.
"The Waif" couldn't help giving Jaqen an approving look.
The "Kindly Man" studied his subordinates, each with their own thoughts, and Jaqen's open lack of cooperation most of all. A flash of cold ruthlessness crossed his eyes.
"You have all offered your faith to the Many-Faced God," he said heavily. "Now the God demands more from you. Only death can buy rebirth!"
He hadn't even finished speaking when the room erupted into violence.
"Pfft!"
The "Handsome Man" let out a shrill scream. He stared down in disbelief at the knife tip jutting from his chest, then painfully twisted his head to look at the "Fat Fellow" behind him.
"Fat Fellow… you…"
He never got the rest out. A boot slammed into him, sending him tumbling straight into the blazing pit. Flames swallowed him in an instant, and the air filled with the sickening sizzle of burning flesh.
Almost at the same time, two more blades sank into bodies.
"The Waif" and the "Stern Face" were caught completely off guard, stabbed by the "Lord" and the "Squinter" at their sides. Their corpses were thrown into the pit as well.
In the blink of an eye, only the "Kindly Man," the "Fat Fellow," the "Lord," the "Squinter," and Jaqen leaning by the wall were left.
The four of them turned their eyes on Jaqen all at once.
Faced with the bloody purge, Jaqen only shrugged helplessly and let out a soft, unreadable chuckle. Then, without hesitation, he turned and slipped like a specter into a narrow stone passage, vanishing in an instant.
The "Fat Fellow" moved to chase, but the "Kindly Man" raised a hand to stop him.
"No need. You can't kill him. If he refuses to follow orders, let him fend for himself. We only need to complete the hatching."
Within the Faceless Men, dissenting voices had been wiped out in blood. The "Kindly Man" was now the unquestioned leader, but he was also a gambler who had put everything on one last throw.
He watched three comrades' bodies blacken and crumble in the flames, while the three dragon egg fossils remained stubbornly still. The impatience in his chest festered into something frantic.
He could not accept failure, especially not after cutting down the opposition and still coming up empty.
"There's another way!"
The "Kindly Man" remembered that grotesque method. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Try it! The ancient method we smuggled out of the Oldtown Citadel!"
The "Fat Fellow's" expression twisted into something bizarre, his voice thick with disbelief. "That method? That… that's insane!"
"Then do it, or wait for that damned Dragonlord to come and crush us like bugs!"
The "Kindly Man" bellowed, all but mad. He stopped wasting words, yanked down his trousers, drew his dagger, and with a look that mixed agony and frenzy, brought it down hard.
Blood sprayed.
He let out a strangled groan, hands shaking as he tossed his bloody manhood into the burning pit.
Something uncanny happened.
It was as if the flames had been fed some obscene accelerant. They surged upward, burning fiercer, and the dragon egg fossils in the pit glowed red-hot.
A sickly flush rose on the "Kindly Man's" pallid face, part pain and part exultation at the twisted result. He rasped, "It works! Hurry. More!"
The remaining three Faceless Men exchanged stunned looks, their faces full of disbelief.
Were they dreaming?
Or had the "Kindly Man" completely lost his mind?
And yet, the fire truly had grown stronger, and the "Kindly Man's" stare left no room for argument. Against their better judgment, a flicker of hope rose in them.
What if it really worked?
The usually taciturn "Lord" moved second.
He was shockingly decisive. One swift motion, and he, too, threw his own manhood into the flames.
"Pfft!"
The fire leapt higher again.
The "Fat Fellow" and the "Squint" looked at each other and saw the same wildness in the other's eyes.
They clenched their teeth and swung almost at the same time.
Swish. Swish.
Two more bloody lumps of flesh were hurled into the fire.
The flames erupted with a thunderous roar, surging nearly ten feet high, almost licking the stone-vaulted ceiling of the basement.
Scorching waves of heat rolled outward, filling the air with the unmistakable stench of roasted flesh.
The four Faceless Men clenched their teeth, enduring the agonizing pain in their lower bodies and the dizziness brought on by blood loss. Their eyes were locked on the three dragon egg fossils burning in the center of the fire pit, glowing in the flames as if they might hatch at any moment, anticipation burning just as fiercely in their gazes.
Then, without warning, a heavy, muffled impact thundered down from above.
"BOOM!!!"
An overwhelming force blasted open a massive hole in the stone ceiling.
Pale, ashen daylight from Asshai poured in with clouds of dust, stabbing painfully at their eyes.
The next instant, an enormous head covered in crimson scales filled the opening, blocking it completely. Vast dragon eyes gazed down coldly, surveying the scene inside the basement.
Seated steadily atop the dragon's back was a young man with black hair and black eyes.
It was Lo Quen.
From his lofty vantage point, Lo Quen swept his gaze across the eerie fire pit at the center of the basement and the four Faceless Men beside it, each clutching his crotch, faces drained to a paper-white pallor from blood loss and shock.
His eyes paused briefly on their blood-soaked lower bodies, and a look of sudden realization crossed his face, followed by a grin.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Lo Quen shook his head, his voice thick with mockery. "What's this? The esteemed Faceless Men have all cut off their own manhood? Starting a new sect called the Rootless, planning to stand alongside the Unsullied? In that case, wouldn't the House of Black and White in Braavos need to rename itself the House of Eunuchs?" He chuckled. "Oh, right. I almost forgot. I already destroyed the House of Black and White."
His gaze settled on the twisted face of the "Kindly Man" as he delivered the final blow with deliberate calm. "Still, considering our… pleasant history, I think it's only fair to tell you one last truth before sending you on your way. That way, you can die with some understanding."
"That so-called ancient hatching ritual you stole from the Oldtown Citadel? I wrote it down on a whim years ago while visiting the Citadel. It was nothing but a prank. At the time, I even thought, 'Surely no idiot would actually try to hatch dragon eggs using something this absurd.'"
He spread his hands helplessly. "Who would've guessed? The world is a strange place. Not only did you believe it, but you even… went all the way and cut yourselves. Truly impressive."
"You… you damned bastard!!!"
The "Kindly Man" let out a shriek so piercing it bordered on hysteria.
In that instant, all his pride and sacrifice collapsed into a colossal joke.
The other three Faceless Men screamed as well, their minds finally shattering completely.
The smile vanished from Lo Quen's face, leaving behind only icy, murderous intent.
"This farce has gone on long enough. Blooddancer, Dracarys."
Blooddancer roared, and blazing crimson dragonfire poured into the basement, instantly engulfing the four Faceless Men, whose minds and bodies were already in ruins, along with the grotesque fire pit itself.
Moments later, the flames died away.
All that remained in the basement were scorched marks and stones still radiating intense heat.
The three dragon egg fossils lay quietly on the blackened ground. Aside from being darkened further by soot, they showed no change at all.