The reason Caroline had faked dying just now was twofold. First, she'd realized Goldy hadn't actually fallen under Dyson's ability, it was just pretending. Makes sense when you thought about it. Goldy came straight out of the storage space, and it didn't have a "daddy." How could an ability that relied on emotional ties even work on him? Second, after hearing Dyson say, "To turn someone into a puppet and steal their ability, I have to kill them," she figured the word "kill" probably meant personally, not through one of his invisible puppet things. So if Dyson wanted to finish her off himself, he'd have to leave that nearly impenetrable protective zone of his. And once he stepped out, that's when she could unleash Goldy, hidden in the shadows, to strike. The easiest kill. Now, Dyson stood there, looking at Caroline—and suddenly smiled. It was the same calm smile he always wore, like nothing had changed. Caroline frowned slightly. She couldn't understand how he was still smiling at a time like this. "At least ... I died for myself. Not for someone else," Dyson muttered, voice weakening. And with that, he closed his eyes. Even in death, that faint smile remained on his face. They say people see their whole life flash before their eyes right before dying. And in that final moment, Dyson did. He saw it all—being mocked and looked down on as a kid for being overweight ... fighting to earn recognition through sheer effort and grit ... Risking his life to save Crow ... And this ability—so damn powerful it let him turn others into puppets and steal their gifts. But in the end, just before he died, he realized that he'd been wrong all along. In his short life, Dyson had spent all his time trying to prove himself to others, never once truly living for himself. His ability was to kill others and turn them into his puppets, but in reality, he had always been someone else's puppet.Just a "high-functioning fat guy," a puppet with no soul. It had been that way since his teens. He thought that after saving Crow, and somehow surviving, he'd finally found his purpose—a dream that was truly his. He wanted to grow stronger, for himself. But now, lying there in death, he realized the truth that even his strength was for others. He just wanted people to stop seeing him as the capable fat guy. He'd never lived for himself. And in that last moment before everything faded, he finally understood that all he'd really wanted ... was to be normal. Even if that meant just being a regular fat guy. Caroline didn't know any of this. After confirming Dyson was truly dead, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Tyler running in with Crow, who was still in his pajamas. Crow looked pale as he scanned the scene. Instantly, he raised both hands and blurted out, "Caroline! I swear, I just explained everything to Tyler that I had no idea what Dyson was up to! You want to copy my ability? Go ahead, seriously! I mean it, I'd be honored!" But Caroline turned her face toward him. Crow jumped in shock and fell straight to the floor. Because half of Caroline's face was badly burned, corroded beyond recognition—it was horrifying. Tyler's brows furrowed. "Does it hurt?" Caroline shook her head. "Nah. I already treated it. I'll just swing by Nelson's later to get it patched up properly." After speaking, Caroline headed for the door. As she passed by Crow, she patted him on the shoulder with a cheerful smile. "Mr. Crow, make sure you stay healthy, okay? We'll be off now." Crow had already gotten up from the floor, but his face looked terrible. In that moment, he honestly felt like—maybe it would've been better if I'd just died. Since she hadn't rolled a healing ability today, Caroline could only use spring water to patch herself up a bit. The skin was the largest organ on the human body, and nearly all of hers had suffered some degree of burn or corrosion.Spring water wasn't some miracle cure, it couldn't restore her instantly. Tyler's brows had been furrowed the whole time, but he didn't say much. He knew Caroline wasn't the type to complain about pain. As the two of them got in the car and prepared to leave, Tyler suddenly reached a hand toward her. Caroline looked down, a bit confused—in his palm was a piece of chocolate. "This stuff doesn't really do anything, but it kinda fits the mood. Back when Denton got hurt, he always liked eating this," Tyler said. Caroline let out a soft laugh. "What, you think I'm a little kid?" Still, she took the chocolate from his hand and popped it into her mouth. That smooth, sweet taste melted across her tongue—it was actually pretty good. On the way home, Tyler drove like he was in a race. Caroline, exhausted, fell asleep in the passenger seat. It felt like she'd barely closed her eyes before they were already back home.