Ace didn't quite perceive things her way. The words themselves would have lacked the capacity to hurt if it hadn't been for the meaning behind them, and that meaning was a sum of the girl's own experiences. The knowledge of that pushed everything else back into the depths of his thoughts, and not for a single moment he thought of himself as the one deserving consolation. In this arrangement, he was merely the listener.
When the initial shock wore off and left a sense of emptiness in its wake, at the very least it gave the boy a certain advantage in maintaining his calm exterior. It was hardly a reason to celebrate, but it worked as a response if he could stop his emotions from getting in the way.
In any case, Ace hadn't expected to return to the Crystal's teachings so soon.
... But what a lousy student he had become. "Huh?" Or had he simply decided to forget at some point? "I don't understand."
Having already denied the possibility of his own involvement, the boy couldn't hide his surprise at the last part that clearly implied otherwise. The questions regarding the nature of the experiment that had been at the tip of his tongue faded in favour of befuddlement.
For most, it would have been a bizarre feeling, to learn of the actions that your other self had committed without you ever knowing, but Ace? Ace knew better, the images of the info file at the laboratory flashing back in his mind at the thought. In a way, it was like another spiral.
With a subtle difference, however, that sent his focus in a different direction. After all, he would have kept his feelings and convictions that would have certainly survived these three months. More than that, he doubted to ever see them change, these particular ones that made his tone soft and reassuring, almost.
"I wouldn't have left you."
Why had she phrased it like their parting had been a final one? Maybe it was a trick on the Sage's part, introducing chaos and playing with people's minds already sounded like an inherent quality of a vision.
And then, there was.... Awaiting her reply, Ace tried to stifle his lingering suspicion by firmly pressing his lips together.
no subject
When the initial shock wore off and left a sense of emptiness in its wake, at the very least it gave the boy a certain advantage in maintaining his calm exterior. It was hardly a reason to celebrate, but it worked as a response if he could stop his emotions from getting in the way.
In any case, Ace hadn't expected to return to the Crystal's teachings so soon.
... But what a lousy student he had become. "Huh?" Or had he simply decided to forget at some point? "I don't understand."
Having already denied the possibility of his own involvement, the boy couldn't hide his surprise at the last part that clearly implied otherwise. The questions regarding the nature of the experiment that had been at the tip of his tongue faded in favour of befuddlement.
For most, it would have been a bizarre feeling, to learn of the actions that your other self had committed without you ever knowing, but Ace? Ace knew better, the images of the info file at the laboratory flashing back in his mind at the thought. In a way, it was like another spiral.
With a subtle difference, however, that sent his focus in a different direction. After all, he would have kept his feelings and convictions that would have certainly survived these three months. More than that, he doubted to ever see them change, these particular ones that made his tone soft and reassuring, almost.
"I wouldn't have left you."
Why had she phrased it like their parting had been a final one? Maybe it was a trick on the Sage's part, introducing chaos and playing with people's minds already sounded like an inherent quality of a vision.
And then, there was.... Awaiting her reply, Ace tried to stifle his lingering suspicion by firmly pressing his lips together.