Adrien slowly closed his eyes; tears rolled off his cheeks. He tried to etch all of Val's words in the dark behind his eyelids; it was there, after all, that he kept his treasures - and he didn't want to be afraid of his own home. He wiped his face, inhaled deeply, and opened his eyes. "Thank you, Val", he finally said. "Thank you for everything".

Val smiled serenely. For a while, the only sound they could hear was the distant chirping of the birds on the trees outside. The weak glow of the afternoon sunlight drew Val's shadow on the stone floor. Adrien watched it shimmer.

"I want to continue", Adrien said. "I want to find out what is next for me".