His eyes drop to the gesture, and maybe more than anything else, it resonates with Vanitas. Like a focal point to all the words, pulling them in to the a middle place and cementing it where it belongs. In his heart. What would it have been like, to have that for himself? Is this what Ventus felt, on the other side? Is this the feeling that drives Sora to such outrageous ends, throwing himself with reckless abandon after his friends? Is this what makes Riku so dedicated to his cause?

It makes me feel alive. Remembering what it felt like inside that memory, the way Alice made his heart pound...

The only things Vanitas ever felt were rage, and despair, and loneliness. A hatred that consumed him from the inside out. But if he didn't have those things, he wouldn't have felt anything at all. At the time it was better than nothing— until the pain was unending, until all Vanitas really wanted was peace. Having a good feeling to replace the bad was no longer important in the end.

Bitterness is tangy on the back of his tongue. Riku had said something similar, that it was worth it to try. But Vanitas can't shake the fear of losing the things he's gained.

"I'd rather feel nothing at all." Vanitas finally says, and pulls Quentin's opal out of his pocket, opening his palm to offer it back to him.