@moment | text

[elswhisperer]

We should assume communications are being monitored by our captors. Be careful what you reveal here.

[ Short and to the point, this is all Setsuna has to say. ]

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[bisection]

If he hears of something deviant to his plans, he instructs his loyalist followers to interfere with those who he has heard.

[elswhisperer]

[ No doubt about it.

This is a cult.

Setsuna knows better than to let on how furious it all makes him. Provisional member or not, Koriel XIII could be a true believer, and attacking a cult victim's beliefs tends to put them on the defensive. ]

What do you think of that?

[bisection]

My younger brother suffers because of him. God also suffers because of him.

I would choose a world without him and his loyalists.

[elswhisperer]

[ He's not brainwashed. That's a tremendous relief.

Knowing how fucked up something is brings its own pain, though. ]

You were looking for your brother here, weren't you?

[bisection]

Yes, I am.

[elswhisperer]

If he doesn't show up here, will you manage?

[bisection]

I am unsure. I may not want to. Not alone.

[elswhisperer]

I see.

You don't need to bear it alone.

[bisection]

There is not really anyone else. And no one else would be the same. It will still feel empty to me.

[elswhisperer]

[ This is quite tricky to navigate. Setsuna thinks hard on his response. ]

No one can be replaced. The hole left by an absence of someone important can't be filled by another. Believe me. I know that.

It won't be the same, but you'll still gain something from seeking out other people. If we try, we can understand each other.

Without trying, you can't say for sure you'll feel empty in the end.

[bisection]

You sound rather sure of this.

I am not sure that I can understand others. I am barely used to interacting with those who are still intact. Someone has told me I am their friend, but I do not understand how that can be so.

This place is lonely and confusing to me.

[elswhisperer]

Understanding doesn't come easily. That's why there's strife between people. And it will be more difficult for you than others.

I had difficulty too. Both understanding and being understood. That's still true. Nevertheless, I've changed from my past self. I've grown. You can as well.

Some people take to others quickly. Being called a friend means they want to understand you. When you're unused to that, it's strange and uncomfortable.

But you'll remain lonely if you don't try to understand the people around you.

[bisection]

Yes. It will be.

[ Even he and Alice have difficulty understanding one another, even with their connection. He can't imagine how difficult it might be with people who don't share a part of his brother's existence with him. ]

Growth. I am not sure that I have roots to plant, let alone branches to sprout.

[ He understands somewhere in himself that Setsuna is right, though his fear of betrayal and abandonment holds pretty firmly on him even though the loneliness is so painful. He wonders which will really win inside him. ]

I will consider trying.