[His hollow laughter slowly dies down, and for a lone moment he's silent, almost like he's died right there and then.

When he speaks again, it's...slow. Soft.]

...I believe you.

[Lifting his arm from his eyes, he reaches out to gently touch the back of her head, still trembling from the pain.]

But...you know what Assassin wants, don't...you? That he...wants Akira gone. And that - we don't...have a lot of time left...it'll just be Undine...she can't...do it al...one...

[It's getting harder to talk - the pain is overwhelming him, making it hard to think or do much more beyond lie down and try to suffer it out.

This is his punishment. It has to be, isn't it? For everything - for not trying harder, for all the lives he's taken, for failing everyone back home, for being unable to protect them -

He finally lets himself sob, openly and brokenly, even as he slowly allows himself to die for the sake of someone else.]

...I...don't want....to go there. I don't. Not to - the crystal, I -

[Not to that living death, the only other option he'd been given when he first became a reaper - an eternity locked away, unable to move or speak. Even now, he's terrified, because he doesn't know if he'll wake up there, due to his whole situation.

He'll find out soon, and that scares him the most.]