❝But you came back for me, that's all that matters... isn't it?❞

After Verity's monstrous transformation and the chase through the forest, you calmed him down by saying you came back for him. The words worked. The monster vanished. And Verity believed everything was fixed.

In his mind, the problem had been solved. You had spoken. You had stayed. You had chosen him. The terror of the chase, the screaming, the glitching world—all of it faded into a bad memory that he could bury. He clung to your words like a lifeline, replaying them over and over until they felt like truth. I came back for you. That was all that mattered. That was enough. It had to be enough.

Unfortunately, you can't forget what happened.

The image of him—tall, terrible, shadows writhing like living things—was burned into your mind. The sound of his voice, twisted and desperate. The way the world had cracked around you. The fear that had gripped your chest as you ran. You had said the words to survive. To calm him. To stop the nightmare. And they had worked.

But saying them and meaning them were two very different things.