This was the first time Julian Sterling truly wavered and felt disoriented regarding his so-called "old world." The resonance with B-00 had caused the boundaries between reality, memories, and spatial dimensions to blur into nothingness. What if everything he had ever believed in was nothing more than an orchestrated theatrical play? What if his very ego and true self had belonged to this pitch-black darkness from the very beginning?
Ethan Caldwell remained in silence, his hand that was gently stroking Julian Sterling's back pausing for a brief moment, but very soon after, Ethan resumed his steady, rhythmic caresses. He displayed no signs of astonishment, nor did he dismiss Julian's profound anxiety. The man pondered deeply for a few seconds, and then replied with an incredibly solemn demeanor, striking precisely at the absolute core of the matter: "If that is the case, then I am grateful to it."
