Episode 2, Scene 5 Sneak Peek #1
Added 2022-04-06 16:45:02 +0000 UTCThere's a very important scene with Aeran here with a very important conversation about the Spire... But there's also going to be a lot of pain. đ I removed contextual flags, so the text reflects a world state where the MC has triggered Aeran's romance flags, has high approval, and Varyn is their mentor.

A furious look crosses his face. âGet out of the way, $firstname,â he grunts.
âNo.â
Aeran curses again and turns away, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he stops and stands still, as if all his pent-up anger and frustration has been wrenched out of him at once. He tilts his head back, his hands held loosely at his sides, and exhales a long breath.
âYouâre so damn impossible sometimes,â he says quietly.
You smile faintly. âAre you thanking me or criticizing me?â
He lowers his head and meets your eyes. âThereâs only one thing you need to understand, $firstname,â he says. âYou werenât there. You didnât survive the Spire, you escapedit altogether.â
Hurt blooms in your chest. Is he somehow blaming you for your absence? âThatâs not my fault,â you say. âIf I had been at the summit, Iââ
âWould be gone, like the others,â he says bitterly. âVaryn and I carry the weight of all their deaths on our shoulders. Why do you think sheâs disappeared? Why she canât bear to face you again? She saw half her former apprentices slaughtered like animals. It can never go back to the way it was. The Wayfarer Order is dead. Itâs time to let go.â
You swallow hard, rooted to the spot, any words of resistance dying in your mouth. You feel smothered, suffocated, as if heâs thrown you overboard during a storm and youâve sunk below the waves, with no one to help.
âLet me through, $nickname,â he says. âIâm tired.â