Naoto's voice reaches through the thick fog in Souji's soul and it made him realize it wasn't as silent there as he'd thought. He can still hear echoes, voices that sound like his friends, his classmates, everyone else he knows in Inaba, and beyond that, he can hear Igor and Margaret and all of the myriad voices recorded in Margaret's book.

Without opening his eyes, he starts to push himself up. They need him. The need him and he's not going to let them down. They've given him more than they will ever know, too much for him to leave them hanging. It's him they're fighting, after all, or some part of him, and he has to take responsibility for the things that came out of him as much as he has to take responsibility for his actions or his words.

It's hard to get to his feet, but he manages it. The Shadow screams at him, but he can't tell if it's furious or plaintive, and he doesn't have to open his eyes to know what kind of pain the Shadow's in because it was his to begin with.

"It...it's okay."

Rise turns her head to look at Souji. "S-senpai...?!"

Souji doesn't answer, staggering forward, pulling his glasses off as he does.