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[Voice]

[Vague apology is going to be vague, but that's how Kain does these things. He'll leave it public partially as an act of penance, partially because he's still readjusting to these devices and their filters. He isn't even sure that all of these people are here- he's been gone from Gaia for only a couple weeks, but to him it feels much, much longer. ~~Don't worry Zidane, when he realizes you're not here, he'll bother you when you arrive.~~]

Cecil. Squall. Onion Knight. Bartz. Firion. Zidane. I apologize to all of you, especially.

I should also extend that apology to the other warriors of Cosmos as well.

I'm... sorry.

[He's still recovering, but he can't finish this without offering:]

...and if anyone has need for another fighter, I can be there at once.

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Still, I would hear this tale when you wish to share it. I understand if other matters take priority.

Well... once I've... remembered how to filter on this device...

It is not difficult. There is a button your press; it ought be on the upper left-hand side....

[There are a bunch of beeping and other noises before eventually Kain sounds triumphant about getting it.]

...Right. That's better.

This conflict was fought between two gods, Chaos and Cosmos. Both had summoned a number of warriors to fight for their side. I was summoned by Cosmos.

But if you were summoned by Cosmos, then why are you apologizing to her warriors?

That's... the complicated part.

It involves the manikins.

The manikins...you said death at their hands is permanent.

That's right. And someone on Chaos' side had unleashed them upon us in the cycle of the war I just came from. There was a rift from which endless hordes of the atrocious things emerged... Our situation had grown desperate.

What did you do?

Keep in mind that the cycles of battle were endless and that between each cycle, our memories were purged. No one knew the truth of what would happen... that even if we fought and fell to one another, we would just be brought back to fight again in the next cycle.

...but a warrior of Chaos told me about all of that. About the truth of our situation. If we fell to the manikins, it would mean death and oblivion, but if we fell to other warriors... we'd live to see the next cycle. But with so many manikins around, our fate seemed sealed. I knew something had to be done.

I formed a plan with another warrior of Cosmos...

And what did this plan entail?

[And why does he need to apologize for it?]

[He'll get to that reason. Eventually.]

...essentially to yield, that cycle. To remove our own warriors from the field. A defeat in the short term for an eventual victory overall. Because if our fighters were taken out by a real person, they'd at least be saved for the next cycle. We'd have a chance.

Then...you attacked your allies?!

...

[It weighs heavily upon him, and all the more to hear it said aloud.]

I at least... made sure I was the one who carried it out. I didn't have all of my memories, but I knew that I was already tainted with sin. Someone had to... There was little choice. I had to ensure they survived to see the next cycle.

I betrayed them. So that they might win.

[But betrayal is still betrayal and he doesn't take this lightly at all.]

But....

How would this ensure their victory? The manikins would remain, would they not?

Well... at first it was nothing more than a gamble, that conditions would change enough to give us a chance in the next cycle.

But we also learned the location of the rift from which the abominations emerged... If we closed that, our chances would be even better. The risk would be worth it.

The risk...given what you have said about the manikins, how did you survive?

We didn't.

[A stretch of silence, as Mjrn has no idea what to say to that. The enormity of what he had done -all of it- needs time to process.]

...and yet, you are here.

[He hasn't quite had time to get his mind around it in some ways, himself. It's different making these decisions in the heat of battle. And it's really a shock to the senses to have suddenly woken up after being so completely resigned to the fact that he never would again.]

...I don't know how. But I am.

[A soft sigh.]

You were very brave. I am not certain I could have done what you did...but were it not for those actions, the loss would have been far greater.

[He's stunned- in a good way- by the comment on his bravery. He'd not thought of it in that way. He was just... doing what was necessary. His duty as a dragoon.]

I wasn't certain myself, until I had to make that decision. [And as much as he'd had chances to turn away, his mind had been made up. Not once did he waver from it. That has to count for something.] For what it was worth... it seems they were victorious in the next cycle.

Then it is your victory, as well.

I hadn't thought of it in that way before, but... you're right. I'm glad to know the outcome.

Please, rest. You have well earned that right.

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