[In some hour long after this, Paul will return to the moments he stood in stilled observation as if confronting the actions of a stranger. It could not have been him who stood by, as Sayo vented her reeking bile. It could not have been him who let the exchange spiral out with his head slightly tilted, expression remote and thoughtful, as Kaworu drew out a poisonous fountain of information with his artless vulnerability.

Then Kaworu hits the wall, and emptiness fractures into cold fury to the sound of his fragile ribs snapping out of and back into place. The blue of his eyes ignites and spreads, virulently bright, and he steps between the two of them as Kaworu finishes speaking.]

Enough.

[The snap of a thrown knife, a broken hyoid bone, a command like a lashing chain. It echoes more than it should in this room.]

She's lying. [Flat and soft, a perverse, vicious gentleness.] Because you think it's your fault, don't you, Sayo? Your fault that Kaworu didn't listen to you. Your fault you left Merlinus behind.

Was it? [He cocks his head, curiously.] Where did you leave him, pyrite witch?