[The world seems to slow, darkening dangerously around them even as the familiar warmth of Aether's hand tries to anchor him within the dream.
(it's a dream)
And this time, Yu can't shake the realization so easily; it sits in his mind, pressing down around him, the echo of a presence that he recognizes. Fog seeps into the cold and the dark as the world changes around them, small tendrils of it, faint but present, like wispy fingers reaching for both of them. A wave of dread and comfort both washes over him, spreading through his body, calling to him.
I am thou. Thou art I.
You can't run from this.
... He can't run from this.]
Aether, [even as he says the traveler's name, he feels regret sinking into the words. He doesn't want to wake up. He doesn't think Aether does, either. And yet...] ... this isn't real. None of this is real.
[... and yet, truth is something he embodies with every breath and every step. He can't betray himself like that, not here. Not after everything he's been through.]
no subject
(it's a dream)
And this time, Yu can't shake the realization so easily; it sits in his mind, pressing down around him, the echo of a presence that he recognizes. Fog seeps into the cold and the dark as the world changes around them, small tendrils of it, faint but present, like wispy fingers reaching for both of them. A wave of dread and comfort both washes over him, spreading through his body, calling to him.
I am thou. Thou art I.
You can't run from this.
... He can't run from this.]
Aether, [even as he says the traveler's name, he feels regret sinking into the words. He doesn't want to wake up. He doesn't think Aether does, either. And yet...] ... this isn't real. None of this is real.
[... and yet, truth is something he embodies with every breath and every step. He can't betray himself like that, not here. Not after everything he's been through.]