Larsen's footsteps echoed softly against the smooth marble floor as he approached them. Rama, Shoji, and Axel turned their eyes toward him and watching his move.
Even now, the signs of loss were written all over him. His face was red and stained with the residue of tears that hadn't fully dried, and though he tried to wear the same stern expression as before his eyes still heavy with pain.
He stood beside them in silence and looking at the mural with a deep frown, as though trying to recall something from a forgotten memory.
Axel shifted uncomfortably, then finally broke the silence. "You okay?"
It wasn't the most elegant question but seeing a man try to mask his feeling while keep standing after all he had just endured stirred something in him. Maybe pity, maybe respect.
"I'm fine," Larsen replied, his voice firm but dry. "This isn't the first time I've seen death up close. And I can't let their sacrifice mean nothing if we walk out of here empty-handed."
