"Do you remember the promise?"
Speed's question remained suspended between them. Raiden found himself remembering their previous talk, when he'd supposedly vowed to protect Speed's twin sister, Soul, if Speed were to die.
As he reflected, their entire conversation came into focus for Raiden. He watched Aeris gently remove Speed's torn shirt, exposing the angry bruises that bloomed across his chest and stomach, spreading up to his neck in swollen patches of crimson. The evidence made it all clear.
"Your condition got worse because of the cursed air on Hour Island, Speed," Aeris explained, still working to heal him.
Raiden's fist tightened as the memory came flooding back in sharp bursts. Speed's tone of voice, the way he'd suddenly thrust Soul's protection onto him, those sluggish, pained movements as he'd drawn near. He had known his death was coming.
