For a narrow window of time, Wilhelm lets himself hope that the circumspection he's keeping in his back pocket will amount to nothing more than paranoia. Soon enough, he'll be back in Thorne. Everything will be back to normal.

Then, in an ionized flash of magic, the window slams shut, and his hope shatters. Someone shoves him forward. A hand grabs his shoulder. Instinct has him slamming his elbow backward into the assailant's chest, wheeling around to aim a kick at the back of their leg. In the chaos, he trusts only his friends.

Recognizing a face in the wild current of violence, he shouts, "Run!"

Though, he's not sure where to run. There's nowhere to go but the crater that surrounds the Singularity.