The scene opens with a bang. It's the end of the chapter, and it's time for the action to return to the present. This time, the scene is set in the palace of the king. The king is in the middle of a conversation with his son, who is trying to convince the king to let him go. He tells the king that he's going to kill himself if the king doesn't allow him to go. King asks what happened to his mother's body, and the king tells him that he burned it to the ground and entrusted it to Dr. Benavides. King says he'll keep the ashes of his mother in his castle for the rest of his life. He's not going to let the king go, he tells his son. He wants to make him a prisoner of him forever. King tells the boy that he spent a lot of time thinking that he was going to die, but now he realizes that he actually wants to live. He asks the boy what he did, and he says that he wanted to exchange his life for something that even the emperor couldn't get. The boy fumbles and tells King that he didn't want the key to his mausoleum.