[...How very... Luke. Asch watches his replica for a long moment, scrutinizing his expression. It's harder now, not being able to just poke at the link and get a feel for Luke's thoughts and emotions. That part of him's been cut out, and the hole left behind is still bleeding uncertainty. All he has is the memories, now, and at least they're somewhat helpful. It's not as if this is the first time he's dealt with Luke getting upset over his death.]

No one's happy about it. We cooperate because it's better than dying, but we've been searching for ways to escape this prison for years. The problem is that getting beyond the barrier isn't freedom, not with the world in the state it's in. If it isn't the barrier, it's the Malnosso. If it isn't the Malnosso, it's these cultists. And if it isn't the cultists, it's the world itself pulling us back in.

[Or, you know. Whatever drags them here. They still don't have the answers for that yet, either.]

It's like Auldrant. Sort out one problem and two more crop up. This world has a lot of issues to fix before we really get to live in it. Until then all we can do is deal.