link
Balthus enters the scene
link
Balthus
volume_up

Argh! This is pointless! My head's about to split in two...
link
Yuri enters the scene
link
Yuri
volume_up

Wow. Balthus? What's with you, friend?
link
Yuri
volume_up

Never seen you so deep in thought. Next thing I know, snow will be dumping out of the sky here in Abyss, hahaha!
link
Balthus
volume_up

Shut your trap! I'm driving myself crazy over here. Got a lot on my mind, OK?
link
Yuri
volume_up

Like?
link
Balthus
volume_up

Gah, fine. You know how I never got any stories out of you the other day?
link
Yuri
volume_up

How could I forget? I won every last round.
link
Yuri
volume_up

It was clear that both Lady Luck and the goddess herself had given up on you. Your powers of deliberation weren't any help either.
link
Balthus
volume_up

You caught me off my stride, got it? But it was clear I'd never win a story from you, so I went digging.
link
Yuri
volume_up

Uh-huh.
link
Balthus
volume_up

I was especially curious about that Crest of yours, so I went rifling around for a lead and got to thinkin'.
link
Yuri
volume_up

You must have time on your hands if you're spending it thinking. Well? Let's hear it.
link
Balthus
volume_up

There's a story they tell where my mom grew up. Long ago, the village got in a squabble with some folks looking to conquer the place.
link
Balthus
volume_up

A village elder gave some holy red stuff to their wounded soldiers. Some kind of liquid, who knows...
link
Balthus
volume_up

After she did that, some of them made a complete recovery, against all odds.
link
Balthus
volume_up

The rest of them were changed, but not for the better. They up and vanished before long.
link
Yuri
volume_up

And then?
link
Balthus
volume_up

Crests suddenly manifested for the ones who survived.
link
Balthus
volume_up

They weren't inherited, or gifted by the goddess. It's a real thinker, yeah? A reaaal thinker...
link
Yuri
volume_up

Near death but survived, despite all odds. Wait! The elder who my mom saved... Could he have used something similar?
link
Yuri
volume_up

No, it can't be. Yet...something here is unsettling in its familiarity.
link
Balthus
volume_up

Hit the mark, did I?
link
Yuri
volume_up

I don't know whether you hit the mark or missed it entirely. But your story was a cute one, regardless.
link
Yuri
volume_up

The truth is, I've been trying to sort out who I am. And, well... I haven't been successful in it.
link
Yuri
volume_up

I don't even know whether my mother is truly my birth mother...or why it is I have this Crest.
link
Yuri
volume_up

At this point, I have nothing but speculations. Maybe I'll sink into my grave without ever knowing the truth.
link
Balthus
volume_up

Lots of things in life don't have an answer. Just pick the story you like best and run with it.
link
Balthus
volume_up

That's better than finding out a truth you can't live with. You can really mess your head up like that.
link
Yuri
volume_up

...
link
Yuri
volume_up

Dammit, you're right. To think that something so trivial could bother someone like me.
link
Balthus
volume_up

Look who's a quick learner! Thinking too much'll sap your energy, pal. I avoid it whenever possible.
link
Balthus
volume_up

In fact, it's been ages since I last thought so deeply. My head is really hurting now, heh.
link
Balthus
volume_up

But if that old legend is true...what was that holy red stuff? What happened to the vanished soldiers?!
link
Balthus
volume_up

Once I start thinking about all that, I keep going round and round in my head... And then it's dawn... and then it's nightfall and then it's dawn again, and...
link
Yuri
volume_up

Ah— Hey! Balthus?!
link
Balthus
volume_up

Let me at 'em! Oh? Ah. Not a fight, then. Heh, that's what I get for overusing the old noggin.
link
Yuri
volume_up

You damn fool!