[ Once again, the answer — or at least some facet of it — is clear in Emmrich's features before he even opens his mouth to speak. This is a question that he knows how to ford, that he has a concrete, unwavering answer to because it's been his calling for nearly as long as he can remember. ]

I practice for peace, [ he begins, holding August's gaze. ] I practice to protect the living — to ease the passing of the dead — as best I can. Such is the mandate of the Mourn Watch, and such is the north by which I align my personal compass.

[ A direction which had not steered him wrong, necessarily, but certainly into deeper waters than he'd expected, and at a much higher cost. ]

For better or worse, I still believe that learning more about the source of the magic in this place will bring us closer to being able to escape its hold, or at least give us some answers as to why — and how — we've all come to be here.

[ He leaves the rest unsaid, presuming August to be smart enough to pick up the threads of what he's spoken aloud and tie them to what he's already said on the network — that he knows he needs to reassess his approach, that he doesn't mean to dive so blindly into it all again. ]