"I know." Luka sighs, a fraction of Garrot's anguish reflected in his voice. "How many lives has this whole affair ruined?"

He doesn't expect an answer, but he lets the rhetorical question linger in the air for a moment.

"That's why we have to end it this year, so no more children have to lose their parents. Whatever it takes, if we can actually end this cycle it would be the best thing we could do for the future. That's why we can't just throw Sxicq back in their cage. It won't end."