"No." It was such a simple word, but so authoritative even as he stood there, wrapping an arm in return around Lydia, other hand reaching up to rest on Saori's forearm. "If that hell tower has taught us anything, then we should already know by now--no one is ever alone." He closed his eyes, absentmindedly mimicking his other self as his free hand made a fist over his heart. "Those days may have been painful, but they're important to me. I'll never forget them."

That's right. He already had his own reason to keep fighting, but somewhere along the line... lost sight of it. Lost sight of what was really important, instead of all these thoughts that had started circling around in his head. "Xion, Katsuya, Kiryu and the rest of the Alliance... even that sap we're based on. I'll never forget what we went through together, but I won't throw away the future to live in despair at their memory. I'll keep going, and find my own reason to live besides this guilt."