"......." Cain was silent, and sighed again.

"Yeah." he said.

He then brought the mixture over towards Aedan.

"Here." he told her.

"Drink this." he said further.

"...that should get things started."

Cain watched as Aedan downed the elixir, and sighed again.

"Right." he said.

"Kiah, you know what to do." he told Kiah.

"..." he was then silent, and made sure the biosensors were working properly, and made sure Aedan was connected properly to them.

"When the sensors immediately flatline, is when you do it." he said further.

"...I'd ask if you're sure about this, but it's too late to turn back now." he then mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Cain apologised, as he sat down close to her.

"But your vitality is strong enough that you could stand it." he told her.

"At least it seems to have worked." he commented.

"....all there is to do now is... wait..." he mumbled, looking over towards Aedan.

"Wait, and see if it worked." he muttered further.

Meanwhile, Aedan was in a bit of a dream-like trance state, when she suddenly saw a cloaked figure approach her. One she knew somewhat decently.

"Hello. Again." he greeted her.

"Seems we meet yet again, under these circumstances." he commented.

The figure just shrugged.

"So many people toy with the cycle of life and death." he muttered.

"Also, you hope it's a success?" he asked.

"Spoiler. It is." he told her.

"The book is never wrong." he sighed.

"Just dunno how long." he went on.

"...so. How was it?" he asked.

"Being alive." he clarified.

"I know you have complete mental clarity while in this space." he added.

"Yup." he responded.

"That damn Pit." he growled.

"It angers me to no end that alchemists think they're above life and death." he muttered.

"....usually." he then said.

"This time, I feel a little sorry for the one that did it." he then admitted.

"I can feel for him."

He just rolled his eyes.

"His lover was taken from him." he said.

"Abruptly. And it shattered his heart." he told her.

"At his weakest moment, he was approached by a demon. A femme fatale of a demon." he then went on.

"She said she would show him the secret to getting back his love." he continued.

"...she wasn't fully telling him, the truth, though." he muttered.

"See... his love didn't immediately die. She had lost all her memories before dying, and the demon deliberately made the pit improperly... so that she was brought back to full physical health, but... well... she had NO memories at all. Poor thing was scared and confused." he went on.

"...she ran from him, thinking he was a creep or a stalker."

"Oh, it gets better." he responded.

"He was so driven to grief, he actually killed himself." he told her.

"And even BETTER, the Pit was so improperly made, that he would have gone through the grief of her death all over again. Seems the resurrections it brings about aren't very permanent." he continued.

"OH! And I have reason to believe that the demon herself was directly responsible for the accident that took his love's life in the first place." he went on.

"Odds are this was all some sort of scheme she planned, and the alchemist and his love were nothing more than mere pawns she manipulated." he told her further.

"...so yes, I have sympathy for him."

He just shrugged.

"She will." he confirmed.

"...admittedly, I don't know WHEN." he then said. "Scratch that, I have a good idea, but... it'll happen when it happens." he clarified. "It's not going to happen immediately, though." he continued.

"So... yeah, that's a thing." he mumbled.

"As for the girl, she's still a regenerator." he told her.

"Just that her regenerating, while complete and full, is inefficient, and will take 3 times as long as a proper one." he explained.

"And I have no idea if her sleepless nights will get ANY better."

"It did." he responded.

"For all the realms." he commented.

"And give Sierra a heads up?" he went on.

"If you remember this." he told her.

"Seriously. Who knows what you'll remember from this little interlude." he went on.

"You could forget ALL of this, and remember it only when it's too late." he continued.

"And you know I have no control over that."

He shrugged.

"Dunno." he replied.

"Seriously, dunno." he said.

He then thought about it for a moment.

"Well, by that, I mean that the payment, in the long run, was negligible." he clarified.

"I think the worst of it will be she loses about 50 years off of her life." he went on.

"Which isn't too much, given how long mages live." he shrugged.