In the middle of the battle, Mina and Desdemona enter the "death dome" , where they await the return of the king. Mina asks Desdemonas why the king hasn't come to their aid, and he replies that they're just trying to get back at him for what he's done to them. Mina says that she's going to burn the king alive, and that they should resume the fight. She says that if she were mortal, she'd be able to outlast the king, but if she was immortal, she wouldn't have to fight at all. She compares her family's line to an "ant," an elephant, or a god, and says that the family will never abandon its existence, even if the king is no longer the ruler of the kingdom. She asks Mina if she knows the story of "the golden goose," and she says that whoever touched it would get stuck.