Although Gwen did not know whether Cosmos had said those words because of the commotion Gwen had caused on the seventeenth floor, or because Cosmos had seen something.
"..."
Hearing Gwen's response, Cosmos, who had been rather uneasy, gently nodded and raised a hand to offer his Signet:
"I cannot offer you guidance, unless what you seek is the lesson of a failure.
The Path of Dawn is but a narrow trail carved out from countless dead ends...
That is all."
Although Cosmos felt that, given the difference in their strength, his Signet would not be much help to Gwen, and Gwen probably did not need his guidance either.
Still, since Gwen had already received his Signet, Cosmos hesitated for a long while before speaking those words, hoping Gwen would not lose himself too deeply on that narrow path.
"..."
Gwen did not answer directly. Instead, he activated the third stage of the Gene Lock and began analyzing and absorbing Cosmos's Signet.
After everything that had happened back then, Cosmos had gone from a young man whose lack of insight made him chatter endlessly to one who spoke little and observed everything around him. He understood Gwen's various abilities well enough to know that Gwen was analyzing and absorbing the power within his Signet, so he said nothing more.
Still, only Cosmos himself knew how uneasy he felt over this unexpected visitor's assessment of him.
"Don't belittle yourself, Cosmos."
Several minutes later, Gwen's eyes regained their clarity from their earlier daze, and he smiled.
"Even a single ray of dawn is what those trapped in darkness long for.
The meaning of dawn is far from that simple."
"..."
Though he had held a faint hope in his heart, Cosmos could not help feeling a little thrilled at being acknowledged after