[And hearing that, it’s made even more apparent how heavy that guilt must be; yet it makes sense, in its own way. An ailing loved one is a difficult subject , and Noctis simply not wanting to face it as reality is perhaps a more common coping mechanism than he might believe.

Yet it’s a subject they can loop back around to. Noctis wants to hear about Carl, and Markus has to steady his own thoughts as he lets a moment hang between them, deciding on a suitable answer.

It’s hard. He can think of more than one moment, made clearer by the poignancy of hindsight.]

Happiest… I think, were the quiet moments. He was already weak, and some days were better than others — but the good ones, where he could spend all day in his studio and I could just watch his thought process unfold with each creative decision he made… I think those were my favorite.

[…]

You know, it hasn’t even been that long. Since things changed for me, I mean. But it’s funny how it feels like it was a lifetime ago. Like I was a different person, then.