[ Eri barely registers the sound of Dimitri's voice, drowned out by the memories of scoldings, fake kindness, screams of terror before being abruptly silenced. Words form in her mind and try to escape through her voice, only to pathetically fail under the pressure of how fast she was breathing. ]
I'm sorry... I didn't mean for it to happen...
[ Her blood runs colder, she can feel her entire body shaking violently. The ghosts seem to start getting more and more restless. She can feel herself growing faint. It feels like she's forgetting how to breathe. ]
But if I hadn't, nobody would have...
[ The businessman frowns, silently clicking his tongue as if he had gotten off on the wrong train stop and was now going to be late. He didn't want to be here, yet here he is, and it's causing all sorts of problems now.
The world in Eri's vision starts to spin. It feels like she's about to throw up. One of the masked men starts to move forward, the plague doctor mask suddenly changing shape and form as if into a grotesque beak, pitch-black smoke rising out of the new opening, along with pitch-black saliva connecting the inner parts of the beak. ]
Guard the kid... keep her from escaping... gain her trust... damn it, how the hell was I supposed to know that job was a death sentence...!
[ Two more move forward, their masks changing in a similar way. ]
Just a second... I looked away for one second and she suddenly bolted...! Damn it... I wouldn't have died if she'd just behaved...!!
I'm a fuckin' Yakuza, damn it! I didn't sign up to babysit some brat and get killed when she doesn't fuckin' like me...!
[ Everything is crumbling. She can feel it all crumbling apart. The happiness she had felt, the smiles she gave, the warmth of all the people who care about her... a dark figure from the deepest recesses of Eri's mind to wrap his arms around her and whisper in her ear. Not a ghost, not someone who can be seen like the men surrounding her... no, the lingering will of a man who she could never forget. ]
Do you remember now, Eri? You're selfish. You're a selfish, cursed child, who has only ever brought pain to the people around you. How do you think Lemillion must have felt? When his Mentor died... died to save you. Do you really think your life was worth more than his? Was his life a worthy trade for yours? I wonder what Lemillion must think...
But don't worry, it's fine... because you remember now. I'm proud of you, Eri... so proud that I won't even punish you for this... so long as you continue to remember your worth... how much of this you will never deserve... and who you'll always belong to, Eri...
[ She throws her head back and screams, hands shooting up to her head, grabbing at her own hair and starting to pull. It can't be true, he can't be right, he can't be back. She tries to tear him out, tear herself free... even though she knows that she can't. ]
cw: self harm
I'm sorry... I didn't mean for it to happen...
[ Her blood runs colder, she can feel her entire body shaking violently. The ghosts seem to start getting more and more restless. She can feel herself growing faint. It feels like she's forgetting how to breathe. ]
But if I hadn't, nobody would have...
[ The businessman frowns, silently clicking his tongue as if he had gotten off on the wrong train stop and was now going to be late. He didn't want to be here, yet here he is, and it's causing all sorts of problems now.
The world in Eri's vision starts to spin. It feels like she's about to throw up. One of the masked men starts to move forward, the plague doctor mask suddenly changing shape and form as if into a grotesque beak, pitch-black smoke rising out of the new opening, along with pitch-black saliva connecting the inner parts of the beak. ]
Guard the kid... keep her from escaping... gain her trust... damn it, how the hell was I supposed to know that job was a death sentence...!
[ Two more move forward, their masks changing in a similar way. ]
Just a second... I looked away for one second and she suddenly bolted...! Damn it... I wouldn't have died if she'd just behaved...!!
I'm a fuckin' Yakuza, damn it! I didn't sign up to babysit some brat and get killed when she doesn't fuckin' like me...!
[ Everything is crumbling. She can feel it all crumbling apart. The happiness she had felt, the smiles she gave, the warmth of all the people who care about her... a dark figure from the deepest recesses of Eri's mind to wrap his arms around her and whisper in her ear. Not a ghost, not someone who can be seen like the men surrounding her... no, the lingering will of a man who she could never forget. ]
Do you remember now, Eri? You're selfish. You're a selfish, cursed child, who has only ever brought pain to the people around you. How do you think Lemillion must have felt? When his Mentor died... died to save you. Do you really think your life was worth more than his? Was his life a worthy trade for yours? I wonder what Lemillion must think...
But don't worry, it's fine... because you remember now. I'm proud of you, Eri... so proud that I won't even punish you for this... so long as you continue to remember your worth... how much of this you will never deserve... and who you'll always belong to, Eri...
[ She throws her head back and screams, hands shooting up to her head, grabbing at her own hair and starting to pull. It can't be true, he can't be right, he can't be back. She tries to tear him out, tear herself free... even though she knows that she can't. ]