Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a bladed weapon... a scythe... seemed to materialise in the air. Or, rather, the blade did... as though the implement had been stuck through something. The blade sliced down, forming a slit in the air, to which a pair of hands came out from it and pushed it apart. A figure then stepped through... a cloaked figure, wielding said scythe.

Casey knew them well, it was Gregory, one of the reapers she was in regular contact with, the other being her mother.

"All right, you." he said to her, his tone... a little on the dark side.

"We need to talk." he told her.

"And it's about Jenkins... or whatever he goes by now, I'm not paying attention." he continued.

"So. Are you about ready to at least try and coincide alongside him, and not hide from him?" he asked her.

Gregory narrowed his eyes and got closer towards her.

"That's not all." he said.

"I can tell." he told her.

"I can see that you're hiding something from me." he went on.

"So how about you stop acting as though you're not, hm?" he then said further.

"Or are you going to be stubbornly persistent about this?"

That did it.

Something seemed to snap in Gregory's mind, and the atmosphere around them grew more ominous.

"No!" he told her in an almost commanding voice.

"I will NOT buzz off!" he said

He then disappeared from where he was for a brief moment, before returning with Chris, holding him by the collar, and then dropping him on the floor.

"Wh-what's going on!?" Chris exclaimed. "I was just here for an emergency session with Dr-" he started to say, before Gregory interrupted.

"SILENCE!" he demanded, before slamming the door shut and using his mana to seal it.

"You two are going to talk, and you're going to do it NOW!" he told the two of them. "I am absolutely fed up with all this bullshit, and I do NOT need to have to concern myself with this, when there are OTHER matters that are pressing on me!" he went on.

"So you two! Clear. The. Air." he ordered.

"And I... mean... NOW!" he finished, a burst of mana shaking the room on the last syllable.

Gregory responded by getting uncomfortably close to her.

"I do not care what happens." he told her.

"If you destroy him, you destroy him, if you don't, you don't." he went on.

"Just... for the love of your mother, CLEAR THE DAMN AIR!" he yelled.

He then floated away, behind Chris.

"Whatever happens, happens. But just see to it that you are both extremely clear as to where you stand with each other." he went on.

"You're not leaving this room until things are settled, or one of you dies."

Gregory just sighed.

"Never said that last part." he told her.

"Just do it." he snapped, before he disappeared.

"...I'm sorry." Chris then chimed in.

"I... this... I never wanted..." he stammered, before hanging his head.

"Oh, what's the point..." he mumbled.

"Odds are you think everything I do is part of some grand plan to still bring Vanessa's plans to fruition."

"....how?" Chris inquired.

"How can I prove this to you?" he pleaded.

"I know actions are better than words, but... but how do I show you with my actions?" he went on.

"I haven't made a move towards anyone in this group... it'd been proven that my mana hasn't been used here." he told her. "Ashley and Miss Syraene have both said they trust me..." he continued.

"Granted, Miss Syraene is... well... she's essentially at the ready for if I DO show those colours..." he admitted.

"But what can I do? I'll do anything." he said further.

He then looked like he was ready to say something further, before she noticed he seemed to get... lost in something.

"I... I..." he stammered, as his eyes started to scan the room they were in.

"....." Chris remained silent as he scanned the room, before his attention snapped back to Casey.

"Sorry..." he apologised.

"And... I don't know how to force me to tell you the truth." he said.

"Have Ashley force me to with her own mana?" he suggested.

"Listen, I know it seems like I have every reason to lie to you all, to try and worm my way into your lives so I can try and ruin them again." he went on. "But I'm not, I swear." he insisted.

"I don't know know how I would have turned out if I'd been allowed to develop on my own." he admitted. "But... but I... while what I did to your mother was the one thing I've regretted the most... seeing this room... I know one thing is for certain." he told her further.

"I don't regret bringing you and your sister into this world." he said. "The two of you were instrumental and pivotal in bringing her down, even if the final blow wasn't dealt by you." he reasoned.

"And... and... I don't... how can I 100% regret bringing someone into this world... that can create these masterpieces of art...?" he said further, scanning the pieces that surrounded them yet again.

Chris made his way to the corner and sifted through the box.

"...so much anger... sadness... despair..." he said to himself.

"But... there's beauty on these as well." he continued.

"...." he was then silent, before hanging his head a little.

"I'm so sorry..." he told her quietly.

"I... I have no idea what I can do to try and make amends, but... but tell me. Please." he said.

"Can you tell me if there's ANYTHING I can do to show you how regretful and sorry I am for my past?"

".....I'll bet." Chris replied.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did, right now." he told her.

"After all I've done to you... after all you've suffered through because of me..." he went on.

"...I deserve to die." he said.

"I deserve to go to Hell, at the hands of one of Madison's daughters." he reasoned.

"...but believe me when I say that I suffer every day, haunted by my past and the deeds done." he assured her.

"...I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he repeated, as a few tears fell from his face, onto the floor.

Chris had clenched his eyes shut tightly, preparing for what he figured would be the inevitable death blow... but he was stunned and surprised when he discovered that the opposite had happened.

"...." he was silent, before turning and facing her.

"I..." he stammered.

"...you... the mana..." he said further, before stopping and letting out a small breath.

"You didn't have to do that, but you did." he went on.

"You have my deepest gratitude." he told her.

"...it was really starting to become impossible to ignore." he admitted.