It felt like an eternity had passed before either person spoke again, Felicity fighting to leash her feelings as Shinsou absorbed her jarring story.

Hell, I could barely point out Eiskalt on a map, and I had no idea about the conflict between humans and Neanderthals. But it’s all starting to make sense now; this supposed mentor of hers ripped her from a life of boredom, and threw her right in the fire. She blames herself for this Jonathan and her uncle’s death. She’s terrified of abandonment. Yeah, it’s all making sense.

“You have nothing to apologise for.” The Telgradian finally spoke, breaking the fragile silence. He leaned back against the rough cut of the broken wall, breathing the fresh night air in. “It is unjust to suffer persecution, especially for doing what is right or being who you are. I think it's our reactions and attitudes to coping with it, though, that will determine our futures. In time, you’ll come to see just how far away from Eiskalt you are, now.”

With a sigh, the Telgradian reached down and retrieved Kadingar, returning it to the cool air from its sheath in a single fluid motion. “On the loss of your loved ones; obviously, I am sorry to hear of it. It is a curious thing, death, but realise this; Jonathan and your uncle’s memory will never die a natural death. It will only perish if you don’t know how to replenish yourself. It dies of blindness.”

With that, Shinsou, without thinking, put a comforting arm around the girl. It wasn’t practiced, and the Telgradian suddenly felt a cold chill gripping his stomach. Was he going soft? The sudden realisation hit him, and he carefully retracted his arm and lent his next words a harsher tone.

“We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when we turn to stare the reaper dead in the eye. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.”

Felicity’s expression didn’t waver as he’d feared. Shinsou leaned back further, raising his gold eyes to the moon.

“Tenebrae was a hard lesson. They came for me, sent their demons to rend my flesh from my bones and incinerate my soul. But I stared death in the eye, and I then I became him. I made Tenebrae’s Obsidian River my killing field as I slaughtered their legions with their own power. I had no choice, because I had to come home. To Storm, and to you. But it's come at a price. I've watched you work, and now I’ve come to understand your motivation. The only way for me was to kill them all and leave nothing behind. For you, you have to leave everything behind. I did what I did because there was no choice. You have one.”

Shinsou looked out to the night sky at those last words, his Tenebraen power flaring on the surface of his skin for more than a fleeting instant. The passionate fury of his memories of Telgradia’s hellscape was equally matched by his smouldering determination to help Felicity realise her potential. For the first time that night, the two Brotherhood warriors saw into each other’s souls, and he knew that there was something they could both do to sway the Neanderthal’s path. Shinsou gave her a small bleak smile. At times, it could be so difficult to discern what the redhead was really thinking, such as now. It was nigh impossible to tell whether she was really thinking about his words, or if she was only putting up a front.

“Now,” The Telgradian finally stood, carefully righting himself and offering his hand to his apprentice, “I paid the price for my power. I might as well flaunt a bit of it, if you still want to see how you measure up?”