I have no idea how long it's been since Enri left me alone. It's surely been hours, but it feels like days. I've nearly lost sensation in my fingers from having my arms pinned up for so long, and managing to stand up to help circulation does very little. These shackles are just so tight; no desperate play of one breaking their thumbs to slip out of them would work.

Because of this, I've been forced to sit here, dreading every set of footsteps I hear coming down the hall. Not even having Aedia comforts me, as sleep has eluded me. All I do is sit, sit and wait and take food from whatever faceless Umbra or Praying Hand brings it to me. At least Enri hasn't returned.

Whenever I hear footsteps, my head snaps up, no matter how sluggish it becomes with exhaustion trying to consume me. My foggy mind hardly had time to discern what the steps were like, but I still shrink back when an Umbra Hand enters the room. He's not as hulking as other the Umbra Hands, more on the willowy side, but his presence still makes me shiver.

"Worthy one... Worthy one revived." His voice shakes a little as he crosses the room to me. "Lord Dawn requests... a test..."

"Wh-what do you mean by that?"

The Umbra Hand raises a finger and brings it dangerously close to my left eye. I only don't pull away in fear of him jabbing it. "A test... Possible removal and replacement..." It's like I've swallowed ice, and the chill slides down my spine. He can't be serious. There's no way he would actually consider something like that! He reaches for the chain, taking a key from a ring at his belt. "What Lord Dawn says..."

Those gloved fingers near my eye... Digging into the socket, pulling it out—! Fear strikes me once again, digging into my chest and sending my heart into a panicked frenzy. "No!" I force my knee up and kick out with all my strength, impacting the Umbra Hand directly in the stomach. He gags as he's thrown back, struggling to regain the wind I knocked out of him. I don't put my foot down, keeping it raised for another strike should he come close again. Of course, he soon staggers to his feet and faces me.

"Uncooperative... Worthy one needs... to cooperate..." My whole body turns cold when he pulls out a needle, which I can only guess to be a sedative. He only needs to get one good jab in my arm or leg—

"No, just back off! St-stay the hell away from me!" I demand, my voice cracking with panic. He lunges for me as though pulled by invisible strings, and my breath catches in my throat.

Crack!

It seemed to have happened in an instant, that instant filled with a familiar fiery red. The crack of the Umbra Hand's head slamming into the wall pulls me into the moment, and I focus on Melva standing over the man's body, fists clenched. She spits on the ground next to the collapsed figure before looking at me with a furrowed brow. "I really need to stop havin' to save you, huh klutz?"

I could have said so many things in that moment, but all that leaves my mouth when I open it is a sob as I burst into tears. Utter relief overwhelms me mixed with joy that Iann had made it to Melva, though I still can't help but hang my head in shame.

"I know, kid. I know it must've been terrifyin', but we can't stick 'round for long. Ya can cry later." Warmth floods my face, but this doesn't stop Melva from grabbing the keys and unlocking the chains. My shoulders feel as though they're on fire, and Melva holds my hands in hers, examining my red and chafed wrists. "Ya really did a number on your wrists," she hisses, though the anger in her voice doesn't seem to be directed at me. She looks me over, noting the bandages, and scowls. "What the hell did he do to ya? Son of a bitch, I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"I know, a-and I'm sorry! I thought there was something there, s-some kind of friendship," I force myself to get out, swallowing down more sobs. Even if it hurts for Melva to tell me that, she's right, I can't let my emotions stop me...

Melva looks me in the eye, her fury fading for a moment to reveal sincerity. "Don't worry, kid, it ain't your fault. Really, it ain't." She wraps an arm around my waist and slings one of mine around her neck. I then realize what she's trying to do, and I'm rooted back to the spot.

"No, I can't go!"

A frown crosses Melva's face again. "What?"

I had spilled my fears to Iann there on the spot, but I hadn't even thought of what I had promised Bondrewd before. "I can't go, I-I promised Bondrewd I'd stay! You're better off escaping with Iann and Sciro."

That's when Melva's brows knit together. "Len, explain to me right now what the fuck you mean by that." There's no anger, just purely-controlled words. It's somehow more terrifying, but I still tearfully explain all that had happened. Me being locked in the Cartridge room, Rayne's dismemberment, me being caught, and what Bondrewd's intentions are. Melva's expression goes from confused, to disgusted, then furious, and finally... disappointed?

"I-I can't do it, Melva," I exclaim. "I can't live with the guilt of knowing more children will die because of me!"

She's quiet, her jaw clenched before it slowly relaxes. "I know ya were always idealistic, but I thought I taught ya to not be a damn idiot." I'm utterly shocked at her response, and I can't help but stare at her, mouth slightly agape. "He'll still keep hurtin' those kids. If one plan falls through, ya need a backup plan. It's the first thing every Red Whistle is taught, ya know this!"

"What if I do work out, though? If I'm the example of how people can be brought back to life, he has no need to waste more innocent lives!"

"Ya really think he would stop doin' that shit?" She takes a sharp breath. "People like 'im are never content with one success, Len. He's pushin' to that 'dawn' or whatever he wants, an' there's more in his way than just this. He's gonna need more fodder for testin', an' kids are disposable, it's why Red Whistles outnumber every other Delver rank. If that bastard of Dawn don't use 'em for this, he'll use 'em for somethin' else."

I simply stare at her, feeling utterly defeated. Yes, she's making sense again, but I don't want it to make sense. I want this to be an answer I can dispute, and I can certainly try, but she could pull us in a circle again, bring us back to the fact that Bondrewd could have easily lied and that a White Whistle's work is never done.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we halfta go." She pulls me to my feet. "After all ya went through, what ya realized, I'm not lettin' ya give up over a damn lie! If ya wanna do somethin' 'bout that bastard, we can bring it to the guild when we get home. But Llyr's waitin' for ya, and I'm getting ya back to him if it kills me!"

"Please don't say that, I can't lose you too!" I can't help but sob, letting my emotions slip back through. Melva pulls me close to her for a moment.

"I ain't plannin' on it, but I'm willin' to do it. Ya deserve to have a life, an' nobody should stop ya from havin' it."

   My heart's in my stomach, and I wish I could argue with her. But I clearly couldn't trust Bondrewd, so I shouldn't try to poison myself with another possible falsity. Still, I imagine all those children and future victims, all waiting to fall into a black-gloved hand the guild would still shake regardless of knowledge or ignorance. I want to be sick again.

   Melva gives me a grim smile before casting a look to the side. "Damn, I really hit 'im hard." Confused, I follow her gaze, only to realize she's looking at the Umbra Hand she knocked out.

She must have given him a good uppercut, because his helmet had cracked from the blows of her brass-knuckled gloves and come clean off. The discarded helmet lay next to a face I didn't expect to see, one that's... startlingly normal. A face that's no older than mine with sharp features, free of scars. It's partially obscured by dull magenta hair that has fallen down over it from him laying on his side, though it doesn't cover his narrow, silver eyes, eyes that are still open. I almost would have thought he's dead from how empty those eyes are, but the rise and fall of his chest says otherwise.

Melva is as confused as I am, since she lightly kicks his arm. He doesn't move, however. It really seems as though he's unconscious, but those eyes... "The hell's wrong with this guy?" she mutters, frowning. "Well, if that bastard was experimentin' on kids an' tried to do it to ya too, I wouldn't be surprised if he did the same on other adults. Would explain why all those Umbra Hands sound so dead."

"But why?" I wonder aloud, wincing as I rub at my wrists.

Melva shakes her head sharply, grabbing my arm and pulling me from the room. "Who knows, but we gotta get outta 'ere. Get our shit an' go, an... Yeah, we can try to find Iann an' Scrio too. They don't deserve this shit too."

My heart lurches, and I briefly resist her pull. "What about the other children? We can't leave them!" Melva's jaw hardens, and she stares at me. I stare right back, my brow firmly furrowed. "I know what it means, but I refuse to leave them for that monster. We have to at least try, try for me, please!"

Melva grits her teeth. "No, don't take it that way. I was just hardenin' myself again, like when I first left home with Bellan. Ya should only take what ya can carry. It might be a death wish, but I don't want ya to hate me if we did leave anyone behind." It's a startlingly cold response, colder than usual. I refuse to say anything to that, knowing that's what separates us, and Melva pulls me along. She has to essentially lead me since I still don't have my glasses, though the lack of vision makes me focus on sound more, and I despise how it does. How I dread hearing those damn footfalls, that confident stride. It thankfully eludes us along with any others, and we return to our room.

Once in the room, Melva tears everything apart, gathering up our things along with scavenging extra things from the room like cups and blankets. The first thing I do is find my spare pair of glasses, though it's Life Seeker I put on instead. Not knowing what's around the corner is the worst, and at least I can circumvent some of that dread with the Relic. I pull on one of my spare long-sleeved shirts, biting my tongue against the pain that wracks my torso. How would those stitches in my stomach fare in an ascent like this? I can't afford to ponder that as I pull most of the hair away from my face and tie it back in a messy bun. I just need to keep my vision unobscured.

"Your coat, kid." She holds it out to me, and I take it. "It's gonna be cold as shit."

"You don't want to try and sneak to that elevator Sciro mentioned?"

"An' have 'em notice an' call it back down? Hell no!" she hisses, pulling her backpack on and unsheathing her machete. "Think, Len. We halfta go up the long way." I swallow hard, nodding. With a last look around the room, she scoffs and leaves. "Good riddance." Meanwhile, bitter sadness fills me as I follow after her.

As we hurry through the halls, we decide the best place to first search would be out on the balcony. If not there, then the room where I had met the other children. For how long we spent here, we had no idea where Sciro or Iann's rooms were. I curse at it biting us while I try not to jump at every wayward sound I hear, even if Life Seeker reveals us to be the only living beings close by. If we get out of here, I'm sure I'll never be able to relax properly ever again, and the uncertainty makes me shiver.

"Can ya see anythin' with those goggles, kid?" Melva asks, turning a corner we've turned many times by now. The long hallway to the balcony sprawls out before us, and at its end I can see someone. They don't seem to be moving towards or away from us, merely side to side as though they were pacing. This gives me some hope. I tell Melva, and we make our approach more cautious regardless. She flips her machete, holding it backwards, already preparing to stab someone if need be. My stomach churns in awful anticipation.

When we're about halfway down the hall, the figure stops pacing and stands in the center of the doorway. We freeze against the wall, quieting our breaths. "Hello? Is someone there?" the hesitant voice of Sciro calls, and an audible exclamation of relief slips from me.

"Sc-Sciro, thank the Abyss!" I push away from the wall and rush the rest of the way to meet him. He hears me and turns around. I've never been happier to see one of those blank, black masks.

"Len! There you are, I was wondering where you were, and why do you have your backpack? We were supposed to meet up almost an hour ago!"

"Yeah, that ain't happenin'," Melva says sharply, coming up behind me. "Now where's Iann? We need the both of ya." She casts observant looks around us as she speaks.

Sciro shakes his head. "I was actually wondering that as well since he's usually here before any of us. I'm guessing he's with the other children since he's been upset about Rayne leaving." My heart drops, and his shoulders stiffen. "Oh, I-I should have started off with that first since she liked you so much, Len. Lord Dawn found a Moon Whistle who could take Rayne in, and she left last night when the elevator went up to retrieve another shipment. I always worry about the trip, but the children are always sedated so they can weather the curse a little better."

I stare at Sciro blankly, throat tightening. He doesn't know... Of course he doesn't, but how could we tell him what I had witnessed? Tears fill my eyes, and I bow my head, a hand to my mouth as I clench my eyes shut against the tears.

"Len, what's wrong?" Sciro reaches a hand out to me, but Melva pushes it aside.

"We have shit to explain, but we gotta find Iann. If he ain't here, then that bastard has 'im."

Sciro visibly jolts with alarm, and his voice reflects it. "Who does? I-is Iann in danger I don't know about?"

"Yeah, an' we need to find 'im along with the other kids ya look out for." Melva grabs Sciro's arm this time and pulls at him. "Like I said, we'll explain later. Just stay quiet an' come with us." I'm positive the sheer confusion in this situation would make Sciro question us further, but he stays quiet, only saying one thing in a voice filled with confusion and worry.

"Then I'll lead the way..."

The route Sciro takes us along to the childrens' room is similar to the one I walked previously, though he takes some noticeable turns down alternate passages. The shifting masses of orange and yellow present through the walls give a reason for that. My teeth turn my bottom lip into a bloody strip of flesh as nervousness drives me to bite at it, though the tang of blood only puts me more on edge. They had to have discovered I've escaped now, haven't they? If they find us... I know we don't stand a chance, not when Bondrewd could incapacitate me as quickly as he had. I shiver in disgust; I can still feel those needles piercing my chest, even though they've long since vanished. They hadn't even left a wound, and that's honestly more frightening to me.

Something grabs my arm, and I nearly scream, only to see that Melva had done it. She's giving me a stern but concerned look. "Ya almost walked off ahead, kid. We're turnin' here." I look up, gritting my teeth as the hall continues to stretch on ahead. I can't believe just one second of thinking about something else could've cost us, and I let Melva pull me back on track. I recognize this place, especially the turn we just made. We're close.

A minute later, we gather at the door to the children's room, and Sciro is already knocking. "Hello? I-I'm back, everyone!" I wince at how loud and cheerful he's being, but I know he has to be. He opens the door, and I brace myself for the overly bright light of the room. Instead, only blackness awaits, the rounded light cast by the doorway illuminating scattered toys and papers no more than five feet away from us.

We stand there, the blood roaring in my ears being the only sound breaking the silence. There's nothing, no heat signatures, nothing living. Horror and guilt grasp my heart and wrench it painfully. Were we too late?

"Hello? Iann?" Sciro's voice wavers, as uncertain as his steps as he starts into the room. I follow after him, looking around while I fumble for night vision. "Mylin? Karsaana? V-Vivi?" I recognize Mylin as the boy who also wore glasses, but neither him nor his peers respond. Something crunches under my foot, and I look down, my vision flashing to life in blue. I'd stepped on a piece of paper—one of my drawings, depicting a Neritantan. Smaller drawings on the same paper attempting to copy it surround the sketch, though one was half-finished, as though abandoned.

Melva's grim tone breaks the echo of Sciro's call. "None of 'em are 'ere? Your boss didn't just take 'em on a walk or somethin'?" Sciro's shoulders hunch inwards.

"I don't... I don't understand. Mylin, Karsaana, and Vivi were here just two days ago! Lord Dawn never leaves any of the children alone, and the lights are never off during daytime hours, just when there are... no children left." His last words die out into the open space around him.

"It sounds like Bondrewd lied to you," I say.

Sciro stiffens, shaking his head. "No, he couldn't have lied. Lord Dawn always tells me when the last of the children leave so I could say goodbye, but he must have forgotten this time. That must be it." He reassuringly nods to himself, and Melva frowns.

"Nah, that ain't it, an' ya know it. Rayne leaves, an' now these three? What about Iann? An' ya said the lights never turn off durin' the day." Her eyebrows knit together, the corner of her lip pulling up. "If the usual ain't happenin', where are they, Sciro? Where's everyone? Where's Iann?"

Sciro whirls to face Melva, fists clenched. "I don't know, but it's fine. It has to be a simple mistake! People make mistakes, and that includes Lord Dawn!" He rushes past me before I can stop him and pushes Melva aside, leaving the room.

"Sciro, wait a second!" I exclaim, hurrying after him. He's already rounding the corner, about to head down the hall I almost followed.

"No, it's fine! I'm sure Iann's just—" He stops dead, and in my haste we collide. I stumble back, head snapping up. A purple flash turns my blood to ice, and I stare in utter horror at the black mass that is Bondrewd standing in the middle of the hallway, looming over Sciro. He's alone and standing in silence, like he had been waiting for us to finish our business in the room.

"Lord Dawn!" Sciro gasps.

"Ah, Scirorocco! I had been wondering where you had gone." He speaks as though nothing is wrong. "I believe I had assigned you to survey the balcony today?"

"W-well, yes, but—"

"It doesn't matter now, since you have clearly left your post," Bondrewd interrupts. "I suppose I was correct in guessing you had been wandering out of your boundaries like young Iann here." That's when I notice Bondrewd's carrying something in his arms. It's Iann, limp and unconscious, a thin trail of blood trickling down his forehead from a cut across it. "Enri caught him somewhere he shouldn't have been, and he ended up falling down the stairs when he tried running from her. I'm shocked he tried to run, but then again, he had apparently been trying to tell you something, Lord of Knowledge." My stomach drops. "His effort would have been in vain regardless since he would have returned to an empty cell, it seems."

"A cell? Wait, you had Len locked up?" Sciro looks from Bondrewd to me, and I wish he hadn't. "Wh-why? What did you do, Len?"

Bondrewd's gaze bores directly into me now. "He saw something I didn't want him to see, but he had stepped outside his boundaries as well." He adjusts his hold on Iann, raising an arm to me. "Now, he needs to be punished for that along with breaking his word."

Panic flooding me, I turn to run, but three sharp pains pierce my side. My legs buckle, and I crash to the ground, gagging and retching as I'm helpless to my stomach emptying itself on the cold floor once again.

"Len!" Sciro rushes to me, kneeling down and grabbing at the needles. He wrenches one, but it's as though he's trying to pull a compound fracture from an open wound as I scream out in pain. Alarmed, Sciro reels back. "Lord Dawn, what did you do to him?"

"Once Shaker connects, it's bound to the body until it's absorbed. They'll be gone in a few minutes." He starts approaching us, and dread surges through me. "Now, may you help me with him, Scirorocco?"

Sciro whirls back to face Bondrewd, flinging his arms out to put himself between me and the Sovereign of Dawn. "Wait, why should I? I-I apologize, Lord Dawn, but Len is my friend! I don't want to do anything to him unless I know what's going on. A-and the other children, where are they? Why didn't you let me say goodbye to them?"

Bondrewd stops, lowering his arm. "Their departure was rather unplanned, so there was no time for farewells. I sent them up on the freight elevator so it would correspond with our standard supply shipment schedule. My most sincere apologies, Scirorocco."

To my dismay, Sciro's trembling arms start to lower as well. "Y-yes... I had heard the elevator start its ascent last night, but I thought I would have one last goodbye." He seems accepting of this before he looks back at me. "But about Len... He's a good man, I don't know what he could have done to upset you, so much so that you think he deserves punishment and imprisonment."

"The answer is quite simple," Bondrewd says. "He broke his word to me, a vital agreement we made. I'm simply protecting my work. After all, a White Whistle's work is their most precious thing, don't you agree?"

Something else comes over me then, burning away the terror and pain and making me force myself up to my elbows: anger. No! Regardless of my fate, I won't stand for Bondrewd to spread more lies! "B-bullshit! You're lying!" I cry with all my strength, turning a glare up to Bondrewd. "You made them into Cartridges too, didn't you? After you killed Rayne, I heard you saying you would make more, and that's what you did!" Tears sting and gather in my eyes, spiting the hatred I pierce Bondrewd with. "Y-you took those innocent children and tore them apart! You stuffed their innards into those damn boxes, all to withstand the damn curse!"

The ensuing silence is deafening, but I refuse to break my gaze with Bondrewd. Out of that silence comes a small sound, a faint, shaking "Wh-what?" from Sciro that wrenches my heart, but I grit my teeth against the guilt. I don't regret saying it, that bastard's injustices and crimes against humanity have to be known to someone else who's sane! Refusing to let Bondrewd get in a word before I can, I continue. Even if I can't match his power and resources, I know I can match his intellect and wit. After all, he's said I'm a match for it himself.

"Sciro! You said Rayne left two days ago, right?" Shakily, he nods. "How long does it take for the elevator to make a round trip?"

"I-it takes four days..."

Then it was simple, as "simple" as Bondrewd's reasoning. "Then where did they go? H-how could they be sent up if—" My words are choked by a gag as Bondrewd sends more needles into my throat and chest. Shock renders me silent, but I swear the needles have punctured through my windpipe. Sciro screams my name as I collapse, consciousness swimming.

"My, my, I seemed to have let a few things slip there." Bondrewd shakes his head. "Though, it is as you said, Scirorocco. Everyone makes mistakes, including me."

"Wait, what's the mistake? What's the lie?"

Through the pain and my spiraling vision, I weakly cough out, "S-so much! Enri told me... Sh-she knew you from before... before you came here..." Every word is a struggle to get out, each syllable shredding my throat. It takes all I have to fight my instincts and not grab at the needles in my throat. "You two came here together! Sciro, o-or what name you... y-you had before... She kn-knew!"

I can only imagine the expression under Sciro's mask as he looks at me. His head has been snapping back and forth between myself and Bondrewd so much, like two Delvers scratching and clawing at the same Relic. "Enri and I... knew each other before?"

"Ah, Enri... So she let her confidence get the better of her as usual. She truly loves to hang everything she can over others, doesn't she? Such confidence is admirable, but it was another mistake here. Truly wonderful, yet shameful."

"No, I-I apologize again, Lord Dawn, but I want to stop you there!" Sciro exclaims. "What did Len mean by that? You said I was the only survivor of my group."

Bondrewd's head tilts. "I did say that, but will you trust Len's words more?" He gestures to me before pulling his hand back, his fingers lightly gripping his white whistle. "Or will you trust mine?"

"You've already lied enough! And while what Len said was awful and disgusting," Sciro takes a breath, and his voice cracks when he speaks next, "y-you haven't given me a better response to where the other children went. You've only admitted to mistakes, so... it's true?" It's then that the ramifications of said truth finally seem to sink in for him, and another bout of silence from Bondrewd only affirms them. "It's true, no, it can't actually be true! You killed Rayne and the other children! Why, wh-why?"

"It's for the sake of the dawn," Bondrewd answers in that sickeningly sage-like tone he spoke to me with when he also told me the truth. "The Abyss is cruel and unyielding, so we must adapt and find ways around its obstacles if humanity wants to step into the next two-thousand years. And the children aren't killed, otherwise the Cartridges won't work. We remove everything we can, down to a state where the brain is still clinically alive but the child can be placed in a Cartridge.

"You see, when working correctly, Cartridges can shoulder the Strains of Ascent for a time, allowing people to move freely in the Abyss above the Sixth Layer. After all, those who live are affected by the curse, though it doesn't matter how much or little is attached to that living mind. While the innards of children are used to take the brunt of the effects and will indeed perish, their names will never be forgotten. Rayne, Mylin, Karsaana, and Vivi along with all the other children who have given their lives will forever live on in memory."

Sciro audibly gags, his voice choked with revulsion as he cries, "Th-that wasn't your choice to make! They still die, and you're the reason it happened! What happened to the idea of training them or sending them to apprentice under other Delvers? What happened to the Lord Dawn I've known for so long?"

"He has always been here, though it was the transparency with which he's been here that has remained cloudy." Bondrewd grips his whistle tightly. "One day, these children will be released from the Abyss and be given new minds and bodies. I aspire for their return to be when humanity's success is guaranteed, so it's all to achieve a meaningful end, Scirorocco. It's all for the dawn."

"Stop calling me that!" Sciro snaps, a shocking amount of anger in his voice. "If I had a name you or Enri knew about before, then I want to know it! I thought you were always truthful with me, so at least let me see that and call me by my real name!"

For the first time, to my shock, I hear Bondrewd sigh. "I will have to do more extensive work to you later to undo all of this, but I may as well indulge you before I break you again." The sagely tone drops. "Alejo Amore Corraz, that was the name I found on file when I had my informants look into the files of the Gray Dawn, a network of army-affiliated assassins that originate in the southwest country of Bailay. You don't recall, but you were one of their most prized snipers, such a natural talent from someone so impoverished."

"I-I was an assassin?" Sciro asks in disbelief.

"Not willingly. You had been conscripted into another of Bailay's civil spats when you were thirteen and managed to flee with a few other soldiers four years later. From there, you hid, tried to settle down and have a family. Of course, that only lasted until the Gray Dawn found you. The army wanted you dead, but the Gray Dawn wanted your talents. Because you simply couldn't be taken without force, your wife and daughter were eliminated so you would have nothing to return to if you dared leave again.

"After the Gray Dawn dragged you back, they arranged a deal with the army and pulled you into their ranks. You served them until you and Enri were assigned to an important mark." His hand drops from his whistle to clasp at his chest. "Me. White Whistles tend to have admirers and enemies alike, and many people wish for my death. Because of that, it didn't take long for me to discover you two. I gave you an offer to join me, and Enri accepted. You did not, so I tried to convert you into an Umbra Hand, though something curious happened."

Sciro, or whoever this Praying Hand now is, doesn't say a word. I can't tell what he's thinking or feeling, but I can only guess he's too horrified to speak. Unfortunately, this lines up with what Enri had told me, and what I hoped was another lie starts to crumble.

"S-so you tortured him?" I spit out, struggling to hide the newfound disgust and horror filling me at this revelation. I shouldn't be surprised considering what Bondrewd already admitted to, but that information shouldn't exist in the first place.

"Perhaps, but it's similar to the beating the body takes during one's time in the Fifth Layer over an extended period, merely coalesced." His head turns back to the horrified man between him and myself. "Still, no matter how many times you were dragged up those stairs, your mind did not break. You lost your memory, your leg had been broken so badly after so many ascents and falls that it had to be replaced, yet you still maintained a sense of self. You still awoke kicking and screaming. That was when I knew you were special. Someone who still clings to their life and mind so strongly in the face of the Abyss deserves to continue it, so I nursed you back to health and gave you a new name and purpose."

"How much of that was the truth?" the Praying Hand asks. "A family? An assassin? I-I don't feel any familiarity! There has to be lies in that! After all, you didn't say anything about my face, why you won't let me see it. It has to be another lie!" I can tell he's smiling as he speaks, but there's only desperation behind his words, desperation to hear that Bondrewd had mixed in more lies amidst the truth.

Bondrewd shakes his head. "If only memories truly worked that way, but no. You were burned badly as a punishment in the army, leaving you with a quite noticeable scar. It would instantly identify you to others who may have come looking for you and Enri, and I couldn't allow that. You wanted the truth, and that is it."

The Praying Hand's fists slowly clench, though it doesn't seem to be out of anger as he seems more powerless as he speaks. "So... th-that's truly it? I was a murderer no matter what I did? And you didn't give me a new, better life like you said, y-you instead took my life away from me without me having a say in it?"

"My, that is a cruel way to phrase it," Bondrewd says sadly. "You say that to me after your life had been taken twice before by other people?"

The Praying Hand doesn't say anything, his increasingly hitched breaths being his only response.

"Regardless, why would you want to be Alejo when Alejo's life was nothing but misery? Scirorocco has a more fulfilling life, one caring for children like you had your daughter."

"Either way, I was still killing people... Adults, children, with or without weapons, raised and led to you to be killed." The Praying Hand's shoulders start to shake, stifled crying leaking from his mask. "I-I'm an awful person no matter who I am!"

"You loyally pursued the dawn as Scirorocco, and that will always make you admirable in my eyes," Bondrewd says genuinely, which only makes the Praying Hand's cries more audible as he clutches the sides of his mask. They're ugly and raw, choked with anguish, disgust, and regret, ignorance flayed away and left to rot in the darkest parts of the corridor. He seems ready to collapse beside me, the weight of his forgotten memories crushing him.

"Y-you aren't... an awful person..."

The Praying Hand's head snaps up, startled, before he realizes that I'm the one who spoke. Tears bead in my eyes as well, the glare I once forced now gone as nothing but painful familiarity hangs around us like a miasma.

"You either didn't know... or didn't have a choice... l-like you said." The needles don't stab into me as fiercely now, surely a sign they're receding like Bondrewd had said. "Scirorocco, Alejo, i-it doesn't matter. The man I've seen, talked with... h-he's a good man... a man who loves, cares, and wants the best... for those he loves. That's not a bad person. I-if I'm a good man who's worthy enough to start a new life... then so are you!"

The Praying Hand chokes, swallowing hard. "I want to believe you, Len... I truly want to! But everything Lord Dawn said—"

"Th-that shouldn't matter if you believe me! If you want to... then believe me, please..." I smile, horribly out of place in this situation, but the sentiment is truthful. "No matter the name... y-you're still my friend."

There's one last moment of silence, the man's words hanging on a precipice. I maintain my smile, sincerity briefly stronger than my fear. Then he finally allows them to fall.

"Okay... I will." His words are solemn but firm, even as his voice still wavers. "You've been trying, s-so I will as well."

He then pulls off his mask.

Dark brown hair spills from beneath the mask, the dark orange-tipped locks reaching down a little past his shoulders. His medium-brown skin is ashen, rivulets of tears having streamed down the high, prominent planes of his cheekbones. The narrow but soft sea-green eyes that look at me with fear and sorrow have been reddened by tears, though his right eye has been greatly obscured by dark red scar tissue—the telltale sign of burns. These burns cover the majority of the right side of his face, even extending down to his jawline. The scar tissue cuts into the heavy stubble on his face, somehow more well-kept than the beard Aedia had teased me for having.

I can't help but stare for a moment, somehow both surprised yet feeling as though I shouldn't have expected him to look any other way. "Sc-Sciro? Alejo? I-I don't know what..." I trail off, finally at a loss for words.

The man's gaze self-consciously flits about before it meets mine again. Hesitantly, his pursed lips part.

"Sciro!"

He flinches and looks back as I weakly lift my head, only to see Enri along with two other Praying Hands alongside her. I recognize the two's masks, belonging to Lisa and Kanja. When their presences become evident, that's when hopelessness washes over me. The Shaker needles are still present, Bondrewd has Iann, and the man I once knew as Sciro seems in no condition to fight.

"Ah, Enri, your timing is impeccable!" Bondrewd says. "May you restrain Scirorocco and bring him to me while Lisa and Kanja secure Len? As you can see, I have my hands full."

"Enri..." The green-eyed Praying Hand speaks weakly. "I-I know the truth. My name is Alejo, isn't it? You were lying to me as well."

The woman inhales sharply. "I wish I didn't have to, but it's for your own good. What's coming next is gonna be awful for you, but it needs to happen. What we have here is better than the hell we came from." She pulls a fist-sized black capsule from a belt at her waist, and my heart lurches with dread. "If it means this is the last time I can ever call you by the name I knew you as, then so be it... A-Alejo!"

That's when a sickening gag pierces the air behind us along with a deep tearing sound. My head snaps around, and my eyes widen. In all the shock and confusion, I hadn't realized Melva wasn't with us as well. But now she's made her appearance, violently so. Iann's falling to the ground like a stone from Bondrewd unexpectedly dropping him, but he didn't seem ready to have a machete rip across his torso. Melva had slashed the blade across his chest, and as soon as Iann falls, she tears it from its initial path and plunges it directly into his stomach.

"No, Iann!" The green-eyed Praying Hand lurches away from me and throws himself at Iann, flinging his arms out. He just manages to catch the unconscious teen before he hits the ground, though right after a light rain of blood spatters them from above. Shock has frozen me in place, my eyes locked on the blade twisting inside Bondrewd's stomach. He doesn't scream or shout, only stare down at the machete as his limbs start to fail him.

"I-I did not anticipate this... I underestimated you, a-and you surprised me. How wonderful..." Melva wrenches the machete out, and Bondrewd crumples to the ground on his front. A slick black puddle illuminated red by the nearby light begins to spread out around him. "T-truly... wonderful..."

He then falls silent.