Rumplestiltskin summons The Dark One. The creature appears, scaly and full of power, and berates Rumple for his cowardice. Enraged, Rumplestiltskin stabs The Dark One, revealing him to be the old beggar from before. The Dark One admits that his life was a terrible burden and that magic always comes with a price. As Rumple pulls the dagger from The Dark One's chest, his own name appears upon it. He returns to his village to find the Duke's soldiers there, trying to take his son. Rumplestiltskin uses his newfound power to savagely murder them all, saving his son from the war, but terrifying him in the process. Rumplestiltskin has taken his first steps to becoming the fearsome creature he would later be known as.