Oh good, you're awake. Not sure I would've been able
[cdb]to sleep at night with your, heh, blood on my hands.
Gyah!
Aah!
Ask the speaker's name.
Ask what's going on.
Try to place the voice.
Who are you?
Who are you?
Hah, now that is a tricky question. For the moment,
[cdb]why don't you call me Arval?
Am I...dead?
Am I...dead?
No, not yet—and you're not a good listener, either.
Did I not just say how pleased I am that you're
[cdb]still alive?
Regardless, I am a being who exists on the edge of
[cdb]dreams and reality. You may call me Arval.
I know your voice. I...dreamed about you.
I know your voice. I...dreamed about you.
Strange. I have no such recollection.
Regardless, I am a being who exists on the edge of
[cdb]dreams and reality. You may call me Arval.
Arval, huh...
Arval, huh...
But for now, let me speak plain: You are slated to die.
Right now, I'm the only thing holding your meager
[cdb]life together—and to be blunt, it's beginning to
[cdb]tire me.
Um, thank you?
Um, thank you?
Oh! Oh my! That's the first time anyone has
[cdb]ever shown me gratitude—and I must say,
I like it very much.
Hear me well! You are a crucial piece of this world's
[cdb]cyclical... Ugh. No, this will never do. You're far too
[cdb]groggy to absorb what I'm saying.
For now, I needn't tell you how you'll get back on
[cdb]your feet—I need only convince you that you will.
This must be a dream.
Back on my feet?
Is this a dream? I remember collapsing, but then...
Is this a dream? I remember collapsing, but then...
You're half right. Which also means you're half
[cdb]wrong. But full marks for effort!
I don't understand. I'm already up and about.
I don't understand. I'm already up and about.
Ah, perhaps here you are, but not in reality
[cdb]where it counts.
Heh. Your cluelessness is actually quite charming.
I think you're starting to grow on me.
Still, the important thing is what you do after
[cdb]you wake.
And what should that be?
And what should that be?
Recall, please, how the Ashen Demon bested you.
Came within an inch of snuffing out your life.
If you attempt the fight again the same way,
[cdb]you will reach the same conclusion.
This would force me to step in once more,
[cdb]which would be most annoying—and also rather
[cdb]counterproductive, if I'm honest.
Swear not to lose next time.
Vow to become stronger.
You don't need to worry. I won't lose next time!
You don't need to worry. I won't lose next time!
Although who's to say when that time will come?
Although who's to say when that time will come?
Who indeed.
Then I'll get stronger. The man I am now will seem
[cdb]like a little kid in comparison.
Then I'll get stronger. The woman I am now will seem
[cdb]like a little kid in comparison.
And one day, I will surpass the Ashen Demon.
I swear it.
And one day, I will surpass the Ashen Demon.
I swear it.
Indeed.
My captain and comrades are dead.
The company is finished.
My captain and comrades are dead.
The company is finished.
So there's only one thing I can do: start over.
So there's only one thing I can do: start over.
Huh, I thought you to be more sentimental.
Did they not take you in? Care for you?
Gold's the only thing that ever held us together—
[cdb]and death is something we're all too used to.
Gold's the only thing that ever held us together—
[cdb]and death is something we're all too used to.
I never knew my real parents, and I lost the mother
[cdb]who raised me. Partings just come easy to me, I guess.
I never knew my real parents, and I lost the mother
[cdb]who raised me. Partings just come easy to me, I guess.
The best way to honor my fallen comrades is by
[cdb]training hard and growing even stronger.
The best way to honor my fallen comrades is by
[cdb]training hard and growing even stronger.
Then I'll crush Jeralt's Mercenaries,
[cdb]and the Ashen Demon with them!
Then I'll crush Jeralt's Mercenaries,
[cdb]and the Ashen Demon with them!
That's what I'm going to live for now.
That's what I'm going to live for now.
Oh, but I like your spirit! Though I expected
[cdb]no less from my partner in destiny.
I'm sorry, what?
I'm sorry, what?
Yes, I suppose that was a bit sudden. I should
[cdb]remember: Take intimacy in smaller steps.
The point is that I'm here to guide you—
[cdb]and I promise to help you find the strength
[cdb]to see your dreams realized.