Chapter 20: Old Wounds

"Sit down. We need to talk."

-Bad News description (Destiny 2)

Ralsei simply stared at Gaster, his face hidden in shadow. He hadn't said a word. It was strange to him. He had expected this encounter, even planned for it, but now that they were face to face, he found it difficult to speak.

"Ralsei, please," Gaster broke the silence. "There's a lot I have to tell you, and I'm sure you have a lot to tell me. Talk to me."

Ralsei looked him in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me I was artificial? Why did I have to find that out myself?"

Gaster's shoulders slumped. "Well, initially... I was worried that your soul wouldn't be able to handle a revelation like that so soon after your creation. I was afraid it would shatter."

"And after that? I found out over two years later. You could've told me."

"I know. There's no excuse for not telling you. There's nothing I can say in my defense."

Ralsei sighed and removed his hat, setting it on the desk. His expression was stern, but carried an air of sadness.

He continued, "Why did you put so much effort into me if you knew I wasn't a fighter? Why didn't you just start over sooner?"

"Well, firstly, it wasn't easy to synthesize a stable soul. I had to use a piece of my own soul just to make sure you didn't end up like the other subjects. The king wanted to get his money's worth.

"Secondly... well, I didn't want to give up on you. Artificial or not, you're still a person. It would've been wrong to just cast you aside."

Ralsei shook his head. "Don't act like you cared about me. You always talked about me like I was just an asset, just a means to an end."

"Yeah, in my research notes, where I have to be as objective as possible. I never considered you anything less than a person, Ralsei."

"Right..." He didn't seem convinced.

Gaster leaned closer, "Ralsei, I knew you for years. I literally poured my heart and soul into making you. I cared about you, and I wanted what was best for you. But... I had a job to do."

Ralsei sunk in his chair. "...'Cared'?"

Gaster leaned back. "Well, I still care about you, but... you know, we were talking in past tense."

Ralsei sighed. "Alright, if you cared about me so much, why did you keep trying to make me into a killer? I wanted to be a healer, and you knew that."

"And you know the king wanted a warrior. I tried to convince him, told him how great you'd be at keeping his other soldiers alive, but he wasn't interested. He was dead set on having a world conqueror, someone who could level armies." He gestured to Sariel.

Ralsei nodded in understanding. "Did you really think I could be the soldier he wanted?"

"Um, well..." Gaster nervously rubbed his hands together. "Please don't take this as a personal slight, but... Honestly, it was pretty clear that you weren't cut out for that line of work. That's not the kind of person you are. But that doesn't make you a failure. It just-"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Sariel interrupted him.

"Um... sure?"

"I disagree with that notion."

"Sariel..."

"Forgive me, sir, but I simply cannot understand your interest in him. He was created with a single purpose in mind, and he failed. Not only that, he abandoned his purpose, with no regard for anyone except himself. He is a deserter, nothing more."

"Sariel, try to see it from his perspective. He was forced into something that goes against his beliefs, and he finds out on his own that he's an artificial construct. Don't you think that warrants even a little sympathy?"

Sariel crossed his arms. "No, I do not. The needs of the kingdom outweigh the needs of a single individual. Dereliction of duty is not something I can forgive, for any reason..." He shot a glare in Ralsei's direction. "...Especially not one as selfish as his."

Gaster stood up. "Can you really blame him for wanting to leave? Learning something like that has to be soul crushing, especially when you remember that everyone was disappointed in him."

"I have no lamentations about who I am. The fact that he is unwilling to accept his purpose is not my concern."

"Sariel, it's not his fault he can't accept who he is."

"Whose fault is it, then?"

"Mine."

Sariel said nothing, made no movements.

"It's my fault he has such a low opinion of himself. It's my fault he felt like the best thing he could do was disappear. Not his."

Sariel remained silent, and took a single step backwards.

Gaster sat at the desk. "Ralsei, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your creation, and I'm sorry I didn't do more for you. You'd be so much better off if I had just talked to you."

His stare drifted away from Ralsei as he continued, "I want you to know I never had any ill intentions for you. I didn't want you to get... deprecated. I wanted what was best for you. I'm just sorry I didn't do more for you."

He leaned back in his chair. "That's all I can say. I don't know if it means much, but..."

"I forgive you." There was no hesitation on Ralsei's part.

Gaster blinked in surprise. "Wait, really? Just like that?"

"I don't like to hold grudges. They don't really do too much good." He gestured to Sariel, "I couldn't even hate him for very long."

He paused for a second. "Besides, it's kinda my fault too. I should've talked to you instead of running away."

Gaster shifted in his chair. "So... are we on good terms?"

Ralsei sighed. "I'm still not happy with who I am... But knowing I wasn't completely unwanted does help. So yes, we're on good terms." He smiled sadly.

Gaster nodded, beginning to smile himself. "I'm glad to hear it."

Ralsei felt like an old wound had just begun to heal. For the first time in a decade, he felt like he was more than a complete failure. Between Gaster's words and his friends' continued support, he finally felt ready to move forward with his life.

'Speaking of friends...'

He spoke, "Gaster, I need to talk to you about my friends. Kris, specifically."

"Alright... Which one's Kris?"

"The human. You know, the one who's possessed."

"Right... You want to know what I'm going to do to him."

"I want to know if you can help him."

Gaster sighed. "It's a complicated issue. It'd take time to figure something out, and quite frankly, we're running out of time."

"Couldn't we just..." He hesitated, "...couldn't we just keep him restrained in case Chara takes over again?"

"It's not just that. There's a far greater concern-"

He was cut off when he was seized by a formless mass of shapes. It crept up the length of his arm in the blink of an eye, shifting rapidly. It slowly dissipated over the course of several seconds. Ralsei looked on in concern, knowing full well what was happening.

Gaster took a minute to steady himself when he recovered. "That would be that greater concern. Picture that, but spanning the entire dark world. And probably the light world, too."

"Wait, why the world? Wouldn't that only happen to her?"

"She doesn't have a physical body like I do. The timeline's rejecting her, but since she's possessing your friend, it doesn't know what to do, so the world's basically tearing itself apart."

"We do not have time to seek an alternate solution," Sariel stated. "For the sake of the world, the human must die."

Gaster lowered his head. "I'm sorry. If things weren't so bad already, I'm sure I'd be able to figure something out."

"We still have time," Ralsei insisted. "I know you can do something for him. You made living beings out of nothing. How much harder can this be?"

"Separating a soul from its host is an entirely different matter from synthesizing one. I wouldn't even know how to begin."

"It's not as complicated as you think." He grimaced. "You really just have to reach in and pull it out."

"...Are you sure? How do you know this?"

"Chara made Kris tear his soul out. I watched it happen."

"I can confirm, sir," Sariel added.

"Wait, what?"

"It's really that simple...?" Gaster mused. "Wait, how did he live?"

"It didn't even leave a wound. I don't know why."

"Well, there's the difficulty, then. How am I going to find a way to pull this off..."

"Sir, are you genuinely considering this?" Sariel was surprised.

"Yes, actually. Don't you think it would be better if the human didn't have to die?"

"Of course I do, but time is short. Even now, the sky is torn by aberrations. It will not be long before the world grows unstable." He stepped forward to emphasize his statement, "We must act immediately, sir."

"We have to try to help him," Ralsei retorted. "Killing isn't always the answer, Sariel."

"Perhaps it is not the only answer, but it is the simplest, and it poses the greatest chance of success. We cannot afford to throw dice with the fate of the world, Ralsei."

"We can save your 'simple solution' as a last resort. If there's any chance we can save Kris, we have to take it."

"He has a point, Sariel," Gaster said. "It doesn't take long to kill someone. We could just call that plan Z."

"Sir, how long do we have before the damage becomes irreversible? Do you truly believe the life of a single human is worth risking the entire dark world?"

"The damage should only persist as long as Chara remains in this timeline. If we lay her to rest, she won't exist as an anomaly anymore. The world won't have to tear itself apart trying to fix things."

Sariel regarded him in silence.

"We could get the best of both worlds. And, like Ralsei said, if all else fails, we still have the original plan."

Ralsei cringed a bit. He hated to even humor the idea of Kris dying.

Sariel glanced back and forth between Gaster and Ralsei. "Permission to speak freely?"

"You don't have to ask, you know."

"You are very easily swayed, sir."

Gaster shrugged.

Sariel sighed, "I have little faith in this plan. However, if you truly believe in your abilities... then I shall tentatively trust your judgment."

"So you're willing to let things play out?"

"If the situation becomes untenable, I will not hesitate to kill the human. But until then, I will stay my hand."

Ralsei smiled. "Thank you, both of you."

Sariel simply nodded.

"I'm just glad I can actually help your friend," Gaster said. "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have seen any other options, so thank you."

"I just don't want anything to happen to Kris. I l-" he stopped himself, "He means a lot to me."

"I can tell," Gaster smirked.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing. The feelings of regret and shame that weighed on his mind had eased ever so slightly. He silently thanked Ralsei.

'Maybe now I can finally do some good for the world.'