There were two people just close enough for Souji to make out their features. The first was a man, older than he was, with dark hair and a somber expression. The little girl next to him positively radiated excitement in comparison, smile bright as she waved at Souji. He knew he had to reach them, hold on to them - but even as he ran towards them, they seemed to retreat without moving. He could feel his lungs burning, on the edge of another fit of coughs, and he had gotten no closer.

Finally he had to stop to simply breathe, and as he did so, there was a touch on his shoulder, cool and light. He turned to it, and met piercing red eyes in an inhumanly beautiful face. The man - though Souji knew he was so much more, not just ‘a man’ like himself or even the vice-commander or commander - reached a hand up to cup his jaw, and then kissed him, fiercely and passionately, as if it were a command and not an invitation. Souji found himself responding in kind, and was breathless when he pulled away.

“You have many battles fought, but many still to come, my blade. Gather your allies and remember your oaths.”