[ Now that the question is out there, Geralt finds he hasn't got an answer. He knows what Nero said. He remembers, sees it a bit too clearly scrawled across his vision, practically heard it in his fucking voice, but he doesn't know what he's to tell Steve. He rarely grieves in company. He prefers to do it alone, surrounded by no one, and he finds having Steve here is...difficult. It's different to feel the weight of the loss himself and also bear another's.

It isn't Steve's fault. ]

He said you did good. [ Whether Steve will believe it is another matter. He thinks it's important to hear regardless. ] And not to blame yourself.

[ For a long moment, he says nothing else. A silent mist curls from behind the thicket of trees. The Horizon is often quiet. It's why he comes here to escape the bustling crowd of Cadens. The solitude is usually a comfort. For the first time, the isolated landscape is almost lonely. He misses him. He carries a number of tokens from Nero, and he has not looked at any of them since he received Nero's last words.

He glances over. ] I won't tell you not to hold yourself responsible. Each time, you ask if you could've done more. [ Moved faster, made a different choice, said something else. It's what it is. The questions never stop. ] But you should try to forgive yourself.

[ It's as Nero said. The guilt will consume you to your core, and leave nothing behind. And what would that accomplish, in the end? ]