"I want to die," he mutters. There's no light left in his eyes - then again, has there been any since Zodiark's influence was ripped from him? "Everything and everyone I ever loved is gone. Even Hythlodaeus - he, too, will die. What point is there in living this half-life, never knowing when it will be snatched away? Release me from this poor joke already."

The phantom lifts its staff again, the glow beginning to gather once more at its head. "You would abandon Zodiark? Your own god? I think not."