[ lumine flinches, not from his very honest admission but from the way he says it. an invisible hand squeezes her heart tightly inside her chest, making her work hard for its every beat. it's not fair, she thinks, how he can easily say those words. it's not fair to her.

and her entire being agrees with him. the thought of not seeing him again is torture, a kind of torment she shouldn't have to go through. but lumine wants to ask herself if those emotions, such a sentiment comes from the other lumine herself, once more flooding her heart with feelings that are someone else's. someone not her. ]

Then what do you suggest we do? I don't want ...

[ her voice trails off, her lips pressing together thinly. she's terrified of facing these gods alone, protecting aether in the process. but it's even more terrifying to lose her own self, to be replaced without anyone knowing. it's a scary prospect looming over her. ]

Look, it's not what I want to do, either ... [ because she too can feel her heart breaking at the thought of having to be separated, unable to reconcile with the idea. ] But we have to try something.