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[ he frowns before he scribbles a little more frantically. ]

I feel like that's probably not something to apologize for when I'm gonna guess you guys had a lot going on yourselves.

[this is very sweet of yosuke but no matter how fast he writes he cannot stop lucien from finding failure in everything he does.]

Even so, you had to deal with it for us, so I apologize.

[ it's not like he didn't spend a long while thinking about his own adventure even though none of that happened either, so it's fair. ]

None of us regret that.
If we hadn't been there, you guys would've been in worse shape.

... I suppose so. It's regrettable [to put it lightly] that we couldn't prevent Hien from dying, although his wounds had been severe to begin with when we left...

[ he seems pensive about this. ]

This is gonna sound bad and I know it, but if the wounds were that bad maybe it was better to let it happen and let him fully revive.
Then again we don't know the consequences of that.

... They say you lose progress if you die here.

[ the way he should've known this because elysium told him but it's a backdated thread it's fine whatever. he still hates it. ]

What do you think that means?

... Have you ever felt as though you were going backwards here, Yosuke?

No. I know a few people feel like they haven't moved forward, but I don't know what backwards feels like here.

... In one of the early weeks here, I felt as though I had taken a step away from my goal. It was—unpleasant. We didn't know yet what we were here for, but it felt like it was close to slipping from my fingers.

Dude... was it like it just felt like you lost sight? Or something was physically moving further away?
What do you think caused it?

I'm not sure exactly—only that it felt more distant. [...] I heard a warning then: Before you find what you seek, you must first face yourself. One cannot survive the maze alone.

... And thus I learned not to make the same mistake again.

This place really has been harping on us talking to each other and forming connections. Thorns was cursed a few weeks ago to go around holding hands because of it.
The idea of facing yourself doesn't surprise me though.

[ of course it wouldn't. ]

Indeed, it has seemed to be the goal from the beginning. I appreciate that it isn't subtle about it, at least.

Considering we don't really have time for being subtle, I can also appreciate it.
It just means more time for puzzling out the rest of this stupid stuff, like all of this.

Mm. Though the further we progress, the more I wonder just how we're meant to find those we're looking for—and how to leave.

There's always a center to every maze. But MY fear is that we're gonna have to backtrack exactly the way we came.
Like... what if there isn't another way out but retracing our steps?

As though we must exit through the entrance?

Believe me, nobody hopes I'm more wrong than me, actually.
But yeah I do wonder. We keep going deeper and deeper so the idea there's an exit right at the center seems strange.

That makes sense.

... Well, whatever we have to do, we have to do.

That's the spirit.
And as long as there's no sudden curveball at the end, we can at least be confident we're on the right track.
That's about all I can ask for... in addition to you guys getting a lot of rest and healing up.

[a little smile.]

I'll do my best. I've no intention of making others worry.

[ there's a small smile. ]

I got that impression.
Should I leave you to rest? This probably knocked you out a bit.

[ lucien, your weak constitution... ]

If you'd like. I won't keep you.

It's not that big of a deal, but I figure as soon as I leave somebody else will come in anyway.
If you need anything though, you know how to reach me.

(no subject)

lucentia - 2025-12-24 03:51 (UTC) - Expand