The truth is that his champion was half-right about me.

Whether she truly believed it, or was just trying to find the best fit explanation for my behavior, she stumbled upon the Truth.

Or, at least the important part of the Truth.

I'm responsible. For all of it. No one else is.

Not my Champion: she blames herself, but I manipulated her into this situation.

Not his Champion. She, too, blames herself for what's going to happen to her friend.

Not even…

…

Heh.

By all rights, He deserves the blame. For all of this. Oh, I know. He thinks I don't know, but I do. Despite everything, I've seen it all.

I don't remember when it started. At one point He was faithful and diligent. He understood what was right and wrong; not just on an abstract, detached level, but in a pragmatic way. In a way that helped him be better at his station.

So what changed? I can't tell if the Children corrupted him, or if he corrupted the Children. The former fits the details, but…

No. I'm lying to myself if I believe that excuse.

He was rotten from the start. I don't know if I missed the signs, or if he was just that good at hiding it. But the only reason I want to believe that something changed is that it absolves me of my own guilt. Of the role I played in instigating everything.

Because if he wasn't 'always like this', if he really was good, but something broke him, it means my judgement wasn't so catastrophically misaimed. If he was corrupted, it means I didn't make a mistake. It just means I was outmaneuvered.

But if he was bad from the start, it means I didn't catch it. It means I didn't do my job properly.

I know which version I'd rather believe.

Which means I also know which version is most likely true.

―And they're not the same.

I guess this is the end, then. Life will go on without me. I suppose that's no surprise: it's not like they ever needed me in the first place. They've been without me long enough, and got along just fine. Aside from…

Well.

This, too, will come to an end. He will get away with it, but things probably won't get any worse. I can be happy with that.

I just wish―

"I don't know if you can hear me."

What?

Why?

How…?

"I'd really like it if you could… I don't know. Do something? To acknowledge that I'm here? Kind of like you did last time?"

Okay.

I see who it is, now.

It's his Champion.

She comes here a lot more frequently than she should.

Than I was prepared for.

No, silly girl. I don't have anything more for you. The Message was all I had left. If it wasn't enough, then all is for naught. I wish I could tell you it's not your fault, but… You wouldn't see that as much comfort, now would you?

"Alright, I… Well, If you had any advice to give me, I'd appreciate it..."

Only Strings can Cut Strings. It's so obvious, child. There's nothing else―

"… But that's not why I'm here."

Hmm?

"I… I don't know what I need to do, to be honest. But for a while now, I've had this feeling, deep inside me. This… sense. I don't understand it on a conscious level, but I know what it is. It's the key to finally saving him. I don't know if it's just my intuition, or something more powerful, more tangible, than that. But I can feel it. I know it's there.

And I know there's still a chance this could fail. That despite everything, I'll screw up at the one moment it all mattered most. Believe me, I know that. But this same feeling is telling me that I'll win. That I'll win. So the reason I'm here… Is to warn you. I don't know if you're my ally or my enemy. But I want to think you're my ally. And if you are, then… You need to be ready, too."

… Huh.

"That's all."

Mortals are really something, after all.

She gets one good feeling in her mind, and it's enough to―

Wait.

Was…

That… String.

That Red String.

… Was that always there?