[ as it happens, his half-explained ranting did explain some things, but left quite a few questions — questions that, charles is now rapidly realising, he might have been happier not having the answers to. instead of interrupting, though, what he lets junpei speak, though his grip on his hand gets progressively tighter and tighter, until his knuckles would, in normal circumstances, likely be entirely white. ]

Right, [ he says, fighting for some semblance of calm in his tone, because — maybe he's mistaken about this? maybe he misunderstood. and yet, it's with the same kind of sinking feeling as he had back in hell, realising the extent of it all, that he now thinks of this whole thing that junpei is, somehow, somehow, entirely calmly explaining away. ]

Right. So — let me back up a bit, yeah? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm chuffed you've got a way to get yourself out of trouble if you need it. But — tell me if I'm getting this right. If you switch into another history, that means that history's you switches to where you were? And you're then suddenly living in that history?

[ he takes a breath, eyes never leaving junpei. ] So doesn't that mean there's countless versions of you who've died, then, for every time you didn't? And that you now remember all the different shit on different timelines you've jumped through?

[ please tell him he's wrong on at least one of those things. ]