[ Maruki knows well that true privacy doesn't exist in Somnius. He's under no delusion that it does. He simply thinks that if they have this conversation anywhere but out in the open air, he'll suffocate.

A laugh bursts out of him, short and mirthless, at what finally breaks the silence. ]

Yes, actually. It doesn't work on me.

[ His hands in his pockets feel clammy. Pinpricks of dread all up and down his nerves. He doesn't know where they're walking. Toward the lake, maybe. Where his secrets began unraveling around Akechi against his will.

Maruki doesn't look over at him. Keeps his gaze trained forward, voice steady. Quiet. ]

Like you, I have the ability to alter another's cognition. But not my own. That's part of why I was so shocked by what happened to you.

[ The other part, of course, was the targeted homicidal rampage. ]