What did you find in time, mysterious master of the black market? The past, Elliot. I have always been seeking the past. Perhaps I will find a home among the patterns of the cacti and quicksand, but neither you nor I know where our fate will lead.

I detest everything there. I had to leave Sargon, even if letting a coin flip decide for me meant surrendering to fate. But I am still there, Sand Soldier. You can't escape what you are. Our destinies have already been written.

Sargon will leave its mark on you. To the employer, you are as feeble as a fledgling fowlbeast. I forgot how it felt to be put to the lash. Do you hate those people? No. I know their end. I know it from your eyes. Fortunately, you don't seem to regret it.

Yet your expression suggests otherwise. Did you not throw all of the past into that big fire? There is a plaza in the black market with a view of the sky. Do you remember what the night reminds you of? I called it a cremation ceremony, but when my plan worked and the flames raged... What came to mind was not the face of my beloved teacher.

Do you remember the first component of Thorne's Gift? The shoddy Arts Unit you obtained by burying your conscience in the sand? By exploiting and deceiving a guard who had just lost his son? Not to mention the irony in that name. What gift will a teacher give to a conspirator, Passenger?

Tell me. Has Oripathy changed our lives? Do you feel pain? How will the illness transform me? Have the schemers behind the scenes miscalculated? You are trembling, poor Elliot. Never mind the cause, leave them in the past. Now, I simply marvel at the beauty of Oripathy's creation in the mirror.

Spring is when business is best. Summer is adorned by festivals. Autumn is the season to seek fortune away from Ibut. Winter belongs to war. These are the seasons of Sargon, seasons that you will come to hate… But in Ibut, I can see the stars shine bright on summer nights.

Strange things, fabricated dreams are. What should I say to you, Doctor of the future? If I had met you earlier... No. The Doctor does not exist where we do. The Doctor belongs to my time. Let our special friend act freely. I have high hopes for this one.

A Vouivre, and the 'Doctor'. Are you begging for their pity? No, I simply want to learn about my future, or tell others about theirs. Nothingness without end is worse than any illness... Listen to me, Elliot. I feel a little tired.

Sleep, my Elliot. Sleep and dream together with me. In our dreams, you will become me, and I will still be you.

Have I turned the pages of destinies past? No, it is but a dream you avoid. My future.

I see conspiracies from time to time... Yes, Elliot. The conflicts, the greed. They are everywhere.

Oripathy has robbed me of my future. I hope that Rhodes Island can make use of what I have left. Wrong. Nobody in Rhodes Island can indulge your desire for self-harm. It is not that they are too kind, it is that you are too harsh. This is Elliot Glover's conclusion.

Will you see the Sargon's winter when you awake? Will you sleep away in the eternal summer? Must I become you? Prophecy is but fate in disguise. Sleep soundly, Elliot. You've shaped me, and I shall complete you, until the day the prophecies no longer foretell.

Why do you not seek more companions? It will make things easier. In time, you will understand. And much more than once, I regret to say.

Elliot would have asked me: How does an empty soul lead others with sincerity?

I recall the weight on my back as I carried my grievously injured teacher—it was the weight of my war. Most wars are waged for profit; mine is born from vengeance.

I fought for a single purpose. Let war be the past, then, if the purpose is lost.

In place of training.

Do you remember the touch of quicksand?

My war machine will fulfill your wishes.

After all, 'Man' is the ultimate weapon.

I remember how each piece of equipment was born.

What is there to be gained... by fighting in the name of my teacher?

Sentimentality does not bring victory.

Vengeance has ended.

There is no snow in the winters of the black market. Will I still see snow? Yes, but in that world of silvery white, nothing you know will remain.

Your machinations will claim all. Is this how you became the master of the black market? Yes, as will you, Elliot. I know that well. You will not let anyone escape.

Did you see how the punished fled? Yes, I did. I wonder if that was how those Columbians saw me.

The days to permit mistakes are gone for good, never to return. We are fighting an enemy too powerful. Fate? No, ourselves.

Do you find Rhodes Island comforting? It's more the caffeine.

Do not wake him, okay?

Treasure your memories, treasure a time when you still had emotions. I understand. At least, I can still understand.

Arknights.

At New Year's Day, I guess many will come to curry the favor of the master of the black market? Is that so? I have forgotten. I only remember that science museum admission was free when the professor took me there that winter... So distant. The memory is so very distant.

I dreamed of a future where all faded into nothingness with the changing seasons. No sweet dreams, no nightmares, only... darkness. That is where fate will lead us, Elliot. That darkness is no metaphor, just nothingness itself.

Seems that even time celebrates you, Doctor. Forgive me for not having prepared a gift. May your dreams be free of the pains of the past. Or perhaps, I will tell your future when the past eats away at you.

The mission of Rhodes Island is clear, but you seem to seek something else. I know. What I seek could never be had, ever since the morning that I left Columbia. Do you remember Professor Thorne's voice, Elliot?