Dry sobs racked his small frame and nothing could be seen, but Nigredo kept to the tune. Full sentences formed without effort; borrowed from a brother's mind, guided by something he once gave no ear to. {He overheard it,} he continued. His physical voice choking, reason lacking. {That was the cause I said. It lay not in me to conceal it.}

He lifted his eyes to his older brother, caught by a feature well-known without understanding the meaning. {Let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.}