Every night is the same. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, my mind too busy to let me sleep. The only thing that changes is the amount of moonlight that manages to find its way in through the windows.

Always, I am alone in the dark.

Always, I will be alone in the dark.

My gift, my curse - it took away everything I held dear. It stole my innocence along with my loved ones, forever confining me to this life of darkness.

Until the day I die, whenever that may be, I'll forever look like a teenage boy. There are many that would see this as a wonderful, amazing thing; I cannot age, I cannot get sick, I cannot die unless killed.

But the gift of immortality is a double-edged blade, cutting deeper than many would ever know.

I've held this Rune for decades now, and still I lie awake at night, thinking of the things it's done to me, the things it's done to those around me. And while I hate it, while I would do anything to be rid of its curse, I know there's nothing I could do.

The hell I've suffered, the death that has followed me wherever I go...I would never wish it on another person. I've been told that thinking this way makes me sound like a martyr, but I don't see myself as such. It's logic that drives me to hold onto the Rune.

Logic, and a promise.

When I accepted Souleater, I promised to protect it, to keep it safe and out of the hands of the enemy. That enemy may be gone now, but that doesn't change my promise at all.

I promised him. I promised him, and I meant it. I could never break promises with him. And sometimes, I don't think I would want to break this promise, anyway.

Souleater is my only link to him now. Sometimes when I am able to sleep, I dream of him. He's always so sad, so regretful for the fate he passed on to me...and that he can't be here to help me through it.

But I don't blame him for it. I did what I did, and I have no regrets. I only wish...well, what I wish is irrelevant. You can't bring people back from the dead. With the exception of Gremio, I suppose, but that...that was a very special case.

It hurts to admit it, but sometimes I wish Leknaat had been able to bring him back instead. I would never tell Gremio, but I think that somehow he knows. He knows me too well to not notice how I won't talk about him anymore, or how the mention of his name makes me wince. I don't want Gremio to feel badly, because I do love him and I'm so glad to have always had his constant companionship.

But it's hard, when half of your soul is missing.

Soul mates divided by Souleater. Ironic, isn't it?

And so I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, thinking of him.

Always, I am alone in the dark.

Always, I will be alone in the dark.