Chapter 10

Hard Truth, Fragile Beliefs

A low murmur filled Fourier's living room, but it ceased as soon as Asbel stepped inside. The group regarded him with wary eyes, waiting; he remained silent, returning their gazes with a hint of defiance. Finally, Fourier blurted, "Well? What do you have to say? We're waiting to hear your story!"

Asbel swallowed, and started his tale. He began back at Lhant, with Richard's headaches and nightmares. The first alteration came when Asbel told them of the decision to head to the World's Eye; in his story, the idea was his, not Richard's. His lie gave rise to surprised gasps and a mutter of "Fool!" by his brother. Asbel claimed he simply wanted Richard's pain to disappear. That part, at least, was true.

While telling about their journey to the core, Asbel also omitted Richard's outbursts. There was no point, however, in lying about Lambda taking over when they reached the Lastalia; that much was known to everyone already. Once Asbel spoke of being knocked unconscious, he began recounting what Richard had told him - save for the part about willingly submitting to Lambda. There was no need to reveal such a thing, not when Richard only did so to save Asbel's life.

Despite his efforts at making the best of his retelling, the tale of Richard's struggle against Lambda was met with skeptical stares. "Of course he would claim that," scoffed Hubert, "Did you expect him to assume the blame? This whole charade does not help us in the slightest!"

"He spoke the truth, Hubert!" Asbel retorted in anger. "Richard wants to stop Lambda as much as we do. What will it take to make you believe it?!"

"The question isn't what he pretends to want, but that he is! He has done nothing to convince us he is truly Richard!"

Asbel took a deep breath, azure eyes fixed on his brother's. With a cool voice, he finally announced, "He regained his memories."

Exclamations of shock surged in the room. Asbel couldn't help but smile in satisfaction; there was no way for them to deny Richard's identity anymore. Their voices rose in a jumble, discussing what to make of this new information, until Fourier shouted, "Stop it!"

Silence fell, and they all turned to her. She narrowed her eyes, saying, "So he regained his memories upon connecting to the core?"

Asbel frowned. "Does it matter?"

"Would I be asking if it didn't?" Fourier's glare was as cold as Asbel's own.

"I guess he did," he mumbled, though when Fourier's stare seemed to be piercing a hole through him, he added, "Yes, he regained them while he was connected to the core."

"I see." She paused, looking thoughtful as the party waited eagerly. "Yes. Yes, I see. I have a theory."

The others' eyes widened in surprise, and Fourier allowed for a moment of tension before she resumed speaking.

"One thing that always puzzled me about Asbel's account of what happened a year ago was how Richard's body simply disintegrated into eleth particles. I've never heard of such a phenomenon occurring in animals, much less humans, and I could never come up with a good explanation as to why it happened. I ended up ruling it out as an effect of Lambda's transformation, but I hoped there was more to it.

"In addition, I also wondered why the eleth particles drifted to the core. At first, I thought it was a gravitational effect brought about by being near the Lastalia, but if that was the case, wouldn't the Lastalia be absorbing the eleth in the air around it, as well? Wouldn't it destabilize the whole atmosphere of the Ghardia Shaft? From my measurements, the air in the core had normal eleth levels, so that couldn't be it.

"But now, I finally understood. It seems the two events are related - the disintegration, and the eleth drift. And they both were caused by Lambda himself."

"What are you implying?" Asbel demanded nervously. "What does this have to do with Richard recovering his memories?"

"Lambda had a purpose in mind," Fourier continued, ignoring the interruption, "Which made him transport Richard's eleth to the core after his death. Somehow, he recorded his eleth pattern in the Lastalia; every detail of how the eleth in Richard's body came together to form him, he imprinted in the core. And then, using that data, he began rebuilding Richard." The listener's eyes were wide, Asbel's most of all, but no one spoke a word.

"I believe he projected his new vessel - Richard's clone - directly onto that island where we found him. The island was very close to the World's Eye, and it had an unusually high eleth concentration. I believe some of the Lastalia's eleth might leak through it… and Lambda drifted along this flow. He must've thought the Shaft's environment was too hostile to allow for him to build a vessel there, and he wanted a calm place to recover until he was strong enough to absorb the core again. Making his vessel similar to Richard was a preemptive measure in case we discovered him before he was fully healed. He wanted to fool us if we found his vessel—"

"Stop it!"

It was Asbel's voice. This time, Fourier fell silent, startled by his sudden outburst. The whole group turned to him, and he carried on, "Stop referring to Richard as a 'vessel'! Maybe Lambda reconstructed him, but it's still Richard. You said so yourself - that Lambda used the exact same eleth pattern. This only means that Lambda managed to resurrect him! He's still the same person, even his memories are back! How can you claim he's not human? Lambda might be within him, but we managed to separate them before. We can do it again! We can save Richard!"

"You're wrong," Fourier's voice was cold. "It is not Richard. His personality when we found him could only be described as blank, and his memories are simply what Lambda had left imprinted on the core. All Lambda did was use information he extracted from Richard's brain to fool you."

"No. No. You're the one who's wrong! D-Do you think I can't recognize—" Asbel's voice broke, his eyes glassy. "Y-You're wrong… He's Richard. He's Richard!"

Fourier was still as stone. In contrast to Asbel's trembling words, hers were sharper than a blade; "Your friend is dead, Asbel. He can't come back. Are you going to allow Lambda to manipulate you with a poor image of him?"

Asbel screamed, in pain and outrage, leaving the group behind and disappearing into the corridor.

Desperate, he all but ran to the bedroom. His steps were almost stumbles, his legs barely supporting his weight. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Richard was— He was sure—

Asbel all but slammed the door open, making Richard jump in surprise.

"A-Asbel?! What happened— …Why are you crying?"

Asbel brought a hand to his cheek, and realized it was wet. He couldn't remember when the tears had started falling. In a moment, Richard was standing in front of him, his arms wrapping around his body tightly. Asbel returned the embrace and pulled him close. Richard. His childhood friend. The prince he swore his life to protect. The savior who gave him a purpose after he was evicted from Lhant. The person he fell in love with - and, eventually, the beloved who died in his arms.

Richard— what if he wasn't the man in front of him?

No! He had to be. Asbel suppressed the thought, burying his face in Richard's neck. Richard's. He had to believe… It must be him. It must! It must!

"Asbel, please, talk to me. Tell me what happened, I beg of you."

Richard's distressed tone made Asbel realize how violently he had been clutching him. Loosening his grip a little, he pulled back to speak, but looking into Richard's eyes robbed his words of any coherence. His speech was a jumble punctuated by shallow gasps, and before long Richard pulled him into another embrace, whispering words of comfort.

Asbel's shaken breath slowed, but once his panic settled, he noticed how much his head was hurting. "I-I need to sit down," he stuttered, yet refused to be the first to move. He couldn't let go of Richard. Not now.

Thankfully, Richard guided him to the bed with an arm around his waist, and Asbel dropped on the mattress at once. Sitting next to him, Richard gently said, "You didn't get any sleep at the shuttle, did you? You should rest, Asbel." He paused, brushing strands of hair from Asbel's face and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm sure Fourier will understand if you use her bed for a little while."

Asbel nodded meekly and leaned back on the pillows, never letting go of Richard's hand. "W-Will you stay with me?"

"Of course."

Richard's smile had a hint of melancholy, but it was lost to Asbel's exhausted mind. He closed his eyes, and before long, drifted to sleep.

Once Asbel's breathing evened, Richard released the anxious sigh he had been holding back, his chest heaving in quick, shallow gasps. Letting go of Asbel's hand, he placed his own hands in his lap, balling them into fists to subside their trembling. Something had happened outside - and he must figure out what.

After his hands were still - or rather, after the shaking had reduced enough to stop being too noticeable - Richard leaned down, placed a kiss on Asbel's forehead, and then stood, making for the door.

Opening it brought the distant rumble of voices from the living room. Richard took slow, silent steps along the corridor, listening intently as the words became clearer.

He recognized one of the voices as Cheria's. "There has to be something we can do. Maybe a part of him—"

"You're starting to become as delusional as my brother!" That was obviously Hubert. "There is nothing of Richard left. You heard Fourier."

"I agree with Hubert," replied a deeper voice - Malik's. "However, there is the question of convincing Asbel."

"I dunno how, though." Pascal's tone was high as ever, but dejected. "Can we even do it? He's totally set on it being Richard and all! I think Asbel might be too far gone for any convincing…"

"Why do we need to convince anyone?" - Fourier, harsh - "We know for a fact Lambda must be destroyed. Asbel can deal with it after the creature is gone."

"But Asbel would never allow us to hurt Richard," Cheria's gentle voice broke in. "He's going to do anything to protect him. If we don't… if we don't make Asbel see the truth, we'll have to fight him too. Please… we must avoid that."

Sophie, who had been silent during the whole exchange, spoke quietly, "I don't want to fight Asbel."

"The situation is too dire to allow us to be soft!" Hubert blurted. "We'll fight him if we have to—"

Multiple voices rose in a jumble, arguing about what to do. Richard's hands balled into fists, shaking. He couldn't - wouldn't - allow Asbel to be hurt because of him. And yet… how much had he hurt Asbel already? Ever since Wallbridge, all of his actions had only made him more miserable. It would have been better if he had died in the catacombs, killed by Cedric's poison. How much suffering would've been spared if Richard had never lived to adulthood!

However, now… what if he stepped into the room, willing to face punishment? A knife to his heart would surely kill him - and hopefully Lambda - once and for all. And Asbel would be sleeping, unable to see it, unable to stop it. It wouldn't be his fault, and he wouldn't blame himself. He would be free of the burden Richard had laid on his shoulders since the moment they met, free and finally allowed to be happy.

And yet…

"I won't lose you again. I will never lose you again."

Words Asbel had spoken with a broken voice and glassy eyes. Richard remembered his weak, trembling arms, clinging to him. It was said time could heal anything, and yet— What would happen to Asbel if Richard was to die… again? Would he, one day, return to what he once was? The brave boy who saved him as a child; the unwavering man who ran to his side as an adult? Or would Asbel—

A shiver ran along his spine. He thought about what would happen if they switched places - if Asbel had to die and Richard was left behind. The idea of losing Asbel was painful enough to make Richard want to die along with him. If Asbel were killed, he would follow soon after, withering away with no will to live.

He had always dreamed of Asbel returning his feelings, yet never expected it to happen. However, ever since he was brought back to life, Asbel proved how much he loved him, time and time again. Not only that - Asbel needed him, in the same way he had grown to need Asbel. If Richard was to die… if he sacrificed himself once more…

He might be killing Asbel, too.

The room fell silent as Richard stepped inside. Tension filled every pair of eyes that turned to him, wary gazes in hostile faces. Fingers twitched, ready to grab weapons. None trusted him. All of them expected an attack.

A deep breath. "I would like you to find a way to extract Lambda from myself. Please."

Gasps of surprise - some suppressed, some blatant - broke the heavy tension. As usual, it was Hubert who protested first, "You've been eavesdropping on us! We won't fall for another of your—"

"You may kill me." Richard's voice wavered upon saying the words. He didn't want to die, not anymore, not when it meant leaving Asbel behind. "If everything fails, if I cannot be separated from Lambda… I will… I will accept death," - his voice rose, breaking - "I will hold him back with all of my strength, and I will surrender my life to you… But please, please, try to find a way to separate us, I will do everything I can to help, I beg of you—"

"It's okay." A soft voice, small hands raising towards his cheeks yet not daring to touch him, purple eyes filled with pain and compassion. Sophie. "It's okay, Richard. I promise we will do it. We will save you from Lambda. Please… don't cry."

To his surprise, Richard realized tears were dripping from his chin. The entire room stared with disbelief. Embarrassed, he turned and hastily wiped them away, but no matter how much he blinked, his vision insisted on remaining blurry. "I-I'm sorry. Please excuse me." Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared back into the corridor.

Sophie was about to follow him, but stopped after remembering she wouldn't be able to provide any comfort. Turning towards the group again, she pleaded, "We have to help him. It's Richard!" The room remained silent; even Hubert and Fourier were speechless. "Please! It's really Richard!"

Cheria took a step forward. "I… I agree with Sophie. Richard's feelings… they're genuine. I'm sure of it." Her gaze fell for a moment before she continued, "We need to find a way to separate him from Lambda. If we did it before, there must be a way to make it happen again!"

Her words were met with a dejected headshake by Hubert. "Stop wallowing in wishful thinking. As much as I would like for Richard to be alive, and for my brother to return to— No. We must face reality! Richard is gone. Nothing can bring him back. Fourier made it clear he died a year ago—"

"…Actually," Fourier cut in, "There may be a possibility. Quite small, but a possibility nonetheless."

Once more, she captured everyone's attention. "What possibility?" Hubert all but gasped, "A possibility Richard might be alive?!"

"Yes," she resumed, "There might be a chance Richard was not dead when Lambda moved his eleth to the core."

"But didn't Asbel say he had stopped breathing?" This time, Malik was the one to interrupt. "He was never very coherent in his account of what happened, but I'm sure he stated that."

Fourier responded with a glare. "If you could wait at least a few seconds, I would've explained it. Anyway, as I was saying before this rude interruption, he could still have been alive. Life is determined by brain activity; as long as it does not cease, someone is alive. Of course, the brain needs continuous eleth supply from the blood to remain functioning, and part of this eleth comes from the air in the lungs, so when your breathing stops and your heart fails, you'll be dead very soon.

"So the question is, how soon did Lambda move Richard's eleth to the core? And did he, somehow, transport Richard's brain activity - his mind - to the Lastalia, and kept it going as he rebuilt his body? If that was the case, then Richard was, in a way, sleeping inside the core, until Lambda moved his mind to the new body on that island. If that was the case… he is still alive. And that man is, indeed, him."

Silence. Fourier's words were heavy, carrying both hope and fear. Richard might be alive - but if he truly was, and they failed to separate him from Lambda, that could mean being forced to kill him. Their minds went to Asbel, to his broken state during the past year. And to Richard, who had already suffered so much, and who still had a long road ahead of him. Maybe it would be better if Fourier had never said anything.

"So we gotta rip Lambda from Richard," Pascal bluntly announced, breaking the silence.

"We'll find a way!" Cheria chimed in, eyes shining with determination.

Malik nodded, "It has been done before, so we might succeed again. It's worth a try."

"Thank you, everyone," Sophie finally said, voice warm and soft. "We'll save Richard this time."

They all turned to Hubert, waiting for him to announce his agreement. His gaze remained fixed on the floor, face twisted into a frown. Finally, he turned to them, his voice steel. "We'll save him, if it is truly him. We'll save him, if there is a way to separate him and Lambda."

He paused, fixing his glasses. His eyes were colder than his voice. "But if everything fails, Richard will have to die."