"The path to the Witness is within sight. We do not know what shape Riven's bargain will take, but I know that we two will not make that crossing."

Drifter listened quietly as Eris spoke, her voice tense. The dark tendrils flowed thickly from beneath her bandage.

"I watch as those closest to me edge toward oblivion," Eris said, her hands restless in her lap. "Ikora. Mara. I am unused to helplessness."

She looked to Drifter, her mouth a tight line. When she spoke, it was in a ragged breath, "It's happening again. We will be alone at the end."

Drifter stood after a quiet moment. Eris watched him curiously. He reached out and took her by the hand. She rose, following his silent urging. Then he put his arms around her.

She tensed. He began to step away, unsure. But then her arms came up and she clung to him for a desperate moment. She felt the words in his chest as he spoke again.

"I remember what you said. I think about it more than I should these days."

"What did I say?"

"That we'll live in the night if we have to. We do it for what comes after."

Eris nodded, and sighed. The pair parted, but he kept a reassuring hand on her arm.

"So this is where you wish to be," she said cautiously. "At the end of all things?"

"Nowhere else."

"No more schemes to leave Sol?"

He was quiet for a moment, then shook his head, smirking. "Nah," he said, and looked into her eyes. "I'd miss the moonlight."