[ no . . . it doesn't. he thought that too, until everything connected. jayce raises his brows and cants his head in a way that passively agrees with him, but. with his wrist upward, the webbing and arcane trails worse than when he was completely human face the night sky, full of strange stars and unknown constellations and that— damned, shattered moon. ]

It was you who gave me this, Viktor. When I was a boy. [ the gem reflects the nighttime lights off of the smoothly cut edges, and it is still a spot he will rub, even now. when he's done that, looking for comfort . . . it was so clear what it was about, now. it's always been him. they've always called to each other somehow. were always there, even when they diverged, and waiting for them to unite when they were prepared to. ] You saved me, and my mother— You were the Mage.

[ jayce parts his lips one more time, but nothing comes out until a few moments after. he lowers his voice to a bare hush, as low as the leaves when they shiver on overhead branches lining the long road ahead of them. a long road, indeed. he doesn't know where to go from here, exactly. but he does know he hast to go forward. if viktor is with him, he would. ]

You were always my dream, and I . . . Realized that too late.