[Ryou finds that the other Yugi's insistence that they were close friends brings a warmth swelling within him that he can't push away. The more it's said and the more he accepts it, the more Ryou wants to hear it more. He always stood to the side just a little more than the others. He always spun the dark perspective that they didn't want to hear. It was, of course, his way of being there, even if it seemed nonconducive.

But he still cared, and being seen was so validating that he's...pretty sure he's going to get emotional over it. No, he can't. He'd opened this can of worms, it was time to own it.]

...Being alone in your head after always having someone there, for better or worse, is always very jarring. You wonder if a part of you is missing, or if that part represented something more important than you will ever be.

[He is...probably projecting but he doesn't realize. He doesn't know how hard he is on himself, being the shadow and not the caster of such. It had always been in his mind, of course. But being in Ryslig had made it a little too real.]

I wish Yugi was here, so that you didn't have to be alone. But rest assured that he doesn't define you. Maybe in time you may learn more about yourself in this place than you already have. And if you have any questions, then I'm here, alright? You can ask now, or later, and I'll tell you what I can. It's the least I can do after you've helped me figure things out.