[Flashback]
"I'm sorry, Master," Doctor Wesley said quietly, as though he himself could hardly believe the diagnosis he was delivering.
He glanced at Lucian's face. The stoic expression hadn't changed. Doctor Wesley exhaled sharply and pressed on.
"There are available treatments, Master," he said. "The fact that we caught it early is in your favor — we can begin treatment to slow the progression."
He kept talking, laying out the options one by one. But the more he spoke, the more distant his own voice seemed to grow, until all Lucian could hear was a flat ringing in his ears.
"Will it cure it?"
The question cut cleanly through Doctor Wesley's explanation.
Lucian turned his head and looked at him directly. "Will these treatments… cure it?"
Doctor Wesley's mouth opened. Then it closed.
That alone was answer enough.
