Episode 2, Scene 5 Sneak Peek #1
Added 2022-04-06 16:45:02 +0000 UTCThere's a very important scene with Aeran here with a very important conversation about the Spire... But there's also going to be a lot of pain. π I removed contextual flags, so the text reflects a world state where the MC has triggered Aeran's romance flags, has high approval, and Varyn is their mentor.
A furious look crosses his face. βGet out of the way, $firstname,β he grunts.
βNo.β
Aeran curses again and turns away, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he stops and stands still, as if all his pent-up anger and frustration has been wrenched out of him at once. He tilts his head back, his hands held loosely at his sides, and exhales a long breath.
βYouβre so damn impossible sometimes,β he says quietly.
You smile faintly. βAre you thanking me or criticizing me?β
He lowers his head and meets your eyes. βThereβs only one thing you need to understand, $firstname,β he says. βYou werenβt there. You didnβt survive the Spire, you escapedit altogether.β
Hurt blooms in your chest. Is he somehow blaming you for your absence? βThatβs not my fault,β you say. βIf I had been at the summit, Iββ
βWould be gone, like the others,β he says bitterly. βVaryn and I carry the weight of all their deaths on our shoulders. Why do you think sheβs disappeared? Why she canβt bear to face you again? She saw half her former apprentices slaughtered like animals. It can never go back to the way it was. The Wayfarer Order is dead. Itβs time to let go.β
You swallow hard, rooted to the spot, any words of resistance dying in your mouth. You feel smothered, suffocated, as if heβs thrown you overboard during a storm and youβve sunk below the waves, with no one to help.
βLet me through, $nickname,β he says. βIβm tired.β
