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Harrier opened his eyes, the tortured voices of his Limbic System and Ancestral Reptilian Brain going away. Now he could only hear the muffled sound of the waves crashing against the concrete buildings outside.
He looked to his side. Lieutenant Kitsuragi was sound asleep in bed, looking away from him. Their closed were spread across the wrinkled sheets on bed and the floor of the room, along with the mess and the random junk. His own mess and random junk. The Lieutenant's orange jacket stood out amongst them.
Harry slowly rose out of bed, careful not to wake his partner. He silently put on his clothes and headed out the balcony. The sound of the sea became more pronounced, and the cold, salty wind pierced him like a blade. The bright red sign of The Whirling Rags still shined bright. He closed his eyes.
In the darkness, he saw orange, blue, and grey. His colors. They all blended together, forming a clump of... something. An abstract sort of feeling. Something he saw in a dream, perhaps?
He pictured the Pale. Rather, the concept of the Pale. Everything, but also nothing. An eldritch sort of invisible mass that covers the world. A sort of violation of the human nervous system, an unique type of hysteria. A beautiful, terrifying sunset of madness.
Harrier opened his eyes. Kim was standing beside him. He didn't hear his steps. He was wearing his white shirt and had his pack of Astra cigarettes in hand. There was only one left.
"What are you thinking about, detective?" he asked, his calm and patient voice permeating his thoughts.
"I was thinking about the Pale." Harry answered.
Kim took the cigarette out of the pack and lit it.
"Tell me, Kim" he started. "Am I still the same person as before? You know... before I lost my memory."
The Lieutenant took a drag out of his cigarette.
"I don't know." a thin trail of smoke left his mouth, soon being one with the wind.
Harry took his cigarette from his mouth and took a quick drag. Then handed it back to him.
"I mean" he continued "What is human consciousness, really? Are we the same as we were before we went to sleep? Are our brains just remembering and copying the information just stored in us?"
Lieutenant Kitsuragi didn't answer.
"Sometimes the past looms over me, like a dark cloud. Or I get a horrible shiver, like there's something bad I was supposed to remeber about me." his expression darkened.
"I think, detective" Kim said "We are who we want to be. Does it really matter who we were before. I can say I made some mistakes in the past." he shook the ashes of his cigarette. "Still, we are here, now."
There was a silent pause.
"I feel like I can't really forgive myself. For the things I've done." Harry looked at the horizon. The dark blue shades in the sky formed a painting of melancholy.
"That takes some time to get used to." Kim said, looking thoughtfully at the sky. "But eventually, it will go away."
The detective could feel his emotions speaking to him.
"He feels for you. He has not been where you've been, but has unresolved anguish inside him." said Empathy. "He wants what's best for you."
"You have to be one with yourself. Or at least you need to try. There is no ultimate resolve, but you have to keep walking down this road." Island Empire told him.
"Keep battling." whispered Physical Instrument.
They were right. They were all right. It's a pill hard to swallow, but life is like the Pale. An unknown place filled with hardships that can make you want to fall down a pit of complex harmful self-indulgent, or self-destructive, series of actions. A paradox of unfairness and mysteries and miseries. But what's the beauty of living if you don't experience any of this?
"Detective?" Kim's voice snapped him out of his trance of thoughts. He was looking at him. He must have spaced out for a moment.
"You know what, Kim?" Harry replied, a grin forming on his face. "Let's dance."
The Lieutenant's eyes widened a little. He wasn't expecting this.
"Come on, let's go."
"Tequila Sunset, baby." Electrochemistry said.
As the tape recorder spun, the two danced along the rhythm. It was awkward, but they were having fun. The Expression was plastered on Harrier's face, while Kim wore a small smile. Scattered laughter rang across the room while one or both of them accidentally stepped on each other's feet or missed a move.
Eventually, some rays of pale sunshine came in through the windows. Outside, dawn was slowly rising.