Neither Lana nor Castiel had been speaking very loud, but Lloyd still flinched even with his ears covered, as though they'd shouted just inches from his head. Ugh, what's going on?! It wasn't just his hearing either. He was aware of them like he never had been before, dim and fuzzy impressions in the case of Lana and Ryuuzaki, but Castiel's presence just in front of him blazed in the back of his mind. Lloyd forced himself to crack his eyes open and look up, half-expecting to be blinded despite the fact that Castiel's attack (or whatever it had been) had already faded out. But the man didn't glow. In fact, he looked as normal as ever, though his features seemed sharper and clearer than before in the soft light that filled the room.

No, wait, it wasn't just him. Everything was easier to see, coming into focus as though Lloyd had been half blind and never realized it until someone put glasses on his face. But he wasn't wearing glasses. The only thing that had changed was the light. Light that was coming from-

Something fluttered on the edge of his vision, almost out of his range of sight, until he turned his head and-

Lloyd froze. No. No, that wasn't what he was seeing. It couldn't be. He wasn't- He didn't even have- Horror dawned on him, freezing the breath in his lungs, as he jerked his left hand down to stare at the Exsphere embedded in his skin.

Only it wasn't just an Exsphere. It wasn't even his. It was his dad's. Kratos, who was-

'I am of Cruxis.'

And blue-green wings, just a shade away from his-

'I am one of the Four Seraphim.'

No way. No way, it wasn't possible, he wasn't-

But the damning words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them. "I... I'm an angel," he said numbly. It still felt like he couldn't breathe. What did this even mean for him? Up until now, he'd worried about becoming an Exbelua, a monster who would attack mindlessly as his mana ran out of control, but he'd forgotten he wasn't dealing with a normal Exsphere here. His father's Exsphere was a Cruxis Crystal. And a Cruxis Crystal without a Key Crest to control it...

He only needed the memory of Colette's lifeless eyes to know exactly what kind of danger he faced. It wasn't just his mana at stake. Now it was also his soul.

Swallowing around a suddenly dry mouth, Lloyd shakily lowered his other hand. Everything was still too loud, too loud, including his pounding, terrified heart, but that same terror was also now driving him to act. He took Castiel's hand, letting the other man pull him to his feet. He didn't know how much time he had.

"Y-you're right. We... we should go." He didn't know if he should even say anything else. Was this what it had been like for Colette? Pushing herself to keep going, not telling any of her friends what was happening to her because she knew they couldn't afford to dwell on it?

Or was he just in too much shock to think?

The way it felt like the world was still rocking, swords at his feet almost forgotten, that was definitely possible.