The time has come. There aren’t many of you left, now. Ahmed and Ed, of course, and the latter has long since become aware of Tatu, constantly watching. Tales from the North suggest that Mirabel, or Tatiana - whatever their name is - is still kicking around. Perhaps she’ll join the new Antagonist; it would suit them. Beomus and Tabal still raise their dragon kids. Rhys and Kittiwake survived, too, thanks to Ed’s plants of eternal youth. Everyone else who didn't take the plant has died of old age, or whatever other ailments caught up to them.

The time has come. Ed must face the consequences of keeping the world alive for a thousand years, of delaying the End and stealing time from death. He will not do it alone, however. The people of Modnik have been prepared. This day was spoken of, in songs and stories, prophecies and myths. They have heroes, and warriors, and a Royal Guard that is stronger than ever before. Ed leads them all into battle.

The time has come. The Antagonist is unsealed, with the power of the Story and the Structure under his command. Battle commences; the few remnant Notes, bought or seized from YIPPP over the years, are used up in a matter of minutes. Attempts are made to paint away Ahmed’s mouth with a brush left in someone’s will. Ink pulses around Ed’s veins, the world around him bending to his will, and bending back at Ahmed’s. The fighting spills out, into Modnik, and the Deadlands, and the Crimson Empire, all at once, the Structure reshaping reality at Ahmed’s whims.

The time has come, but it has not passed, yet. Ahmed is too strong. One by one, heroes and warriors fall before him. Ed is clever, and patient. He calls for a retreat, and takes his forces into hiding, where - for the moment - Ahmed cannot find them. They watch as the world crumbles around them. Ahmed strips Modnik of its Notes, and all the technological advancements that had been made in the last thousand years. Ed clings on to what he can, the ink in his blood giving some protection.

In the North, the Crimson Empire grows steadily in power, as Ahmed consolidates his reign. The crimson legions are mobilised for the first time in hundreds of years. Ships are constructed, larger than any before, to carry his army down to the shores of Modnik. A final invasion that will end the kingdom once and for all.

This is watched, as everything is. It cannot come to pass. Ed leads a charge to distant shores, to Khotru. They find Ahmed in his palace, already expecting their arrival. This is his home turf; he is safe here. Secure. Complacent.

A simple mistake is his downfall; he lets Ed live, tries to capture him instead. Ropes bind him to the floor; one covers his mouth, so he cannot use his arm to escape. And then Ahmed turns his attention to the others, hunting them down one by one. A quiet buzz from behind him is the only indication that something is wrong; he turns to see Ed’s mouth uncovered, the rope hanging off to one side, covered in a swarm of bees. And then Ed speaks, a single word: “Burn”. Ahmed opens his mouth to speak, ‘Waterproof’ or ‘Counter’ or anything of the sort - and a knife goes through the back of his neck, cutting off the sound, clutched in the hand of Ed’s final soldier. The Antagonist ends in fire, reduced to ash and cinder.

But that's just the beginning.