A-ah…

[Well. That’s a fortune that’s already come true, hasn’t it?

[“A new path”… can be promising. Basil tells himself it is. He never expected to end up in a place like this, after all. Maybe Heaven is real....

[And if this is his new path, good. He hopes he doesn’t see a single familiar face here, then.

[He nods, small. The doubt on his face falls away in pieces, dead leaves in autumn. When the path clears, he’ll see it. That’s all he needs to know.]

Th…thank you, Asriel.

[He feels eyes crawling on his neck.]

A-and I should tell you, too, that… there was more to your fortune. [Basil reaches for the goat boy’s hands.] Is that okay…?