Rise... [It's all he can choke out. His face actually does pale, the feeling of Izanami's Thousand Curses is one that plagues him. He has nightmares of it, yes - sometimes just being tangled in the sheets the wrong way triggers him. It's horrifying how clearly he remembers it. He never hesitated; he was the first to push Souji from the line of fire and be choked down by that darkness.]

[It's paralyzing him right now. But he draws in a breath and tries to force out the words he wants to say. The ones he needs to say.] You never failed us. Not once.

[Though he's trying to say it firmly, his voice is wavering.] But... that's... it's what it's like here, sometimes.

We don't know... when someone will leave. You wake up and they're just... gone. And when they come back - i-if they do at all, they don't usually remember anything here. [He's lost his fair share of people here already. Not as many as Rise, he's sure, but enough.]

I know-- I mean, I know why you're going with Athrun-san. I totally get it. But... crap, Rise. E-even if it's not you or me... what if it's someone else? Chie, Kanji, Ted, Merlin -- [He stops just short of saying Souji's name. He cannot bring himself to say those words, drawing in a breath instead and fighting back the hint of tears stinging at the back of his eyes.] It's just... shit.

It's the worst part of this damn place. I hate it.