The road to Saint's Precipice was not long, and Shade and the Doctor soon arrived at the edge of the cliff together.
At that moment, snow rustled down beyond the cliff toward the undulating Snow Mountain. After the long night of last week, Fatumonst Snow Mountain seemed unchanged, yet everything also seemed different.
Shade took out the pure white [Rebirth] Fate Apple and looked beyond the cliff with the Doctor:
"Doctor, the price you paid for gaining power was guarding that thing. The price the Priest paid was collecting remains and having his heart influenced by their power. The price the writer paid was gaining another individual whose soul was linked to his own, and being entrusted with some great responsibility together.
"Not to mention the fortune-teller. She gained the most, but also paid the greatest price."
Shade casually tossed the apple he held down the cliff, then sensed it finally dissolving into the wind and snow:
"Then what about me? What will be the price of gaining such power and walking such a path in life?"
After throwing the apple, Shade stood in the snow with the cat on his shoulders and his hands behind his back, gazing at the Snow Mountain. The Doctor asked him:
"Detective, are you worried about the future?"
"I'm worried about both the past and the future. I don't know what the past me experienced; nor do I know what the future me will face. All the present me can do is hold tightly to what I already have, then wait for some moment in the future when I learn the story of the past and pay the price I ought to pay."
The Outlander had not revealed even the slightest bit of his fear over what happened in the spring of Year 1853