[Keeping himself awake until Kratos arrives is perhaps one of the hardest things Zelos has ever done in his life, second only to actually, you know, Living. Ha, ha, ha. The bitter laugh that escapes his lungs at that rakes his chest and brings more pain, which gives him a second wind to take a deep breath and open his eyes. He tries to keep them open even if his eyelids are growing heavier by the second.

Fortunately, Kratos arrives at least somewhat quickly enough. He wants to fret over Zelos and the Chosen lets him; really, with all the blood he's lost there's not much that Zelos can do to stop him, so he simply focuses on keeping himself awake and alert through the seraph's checkup and eventual questioning. It's hilarious, so Zelos laughs. It comes out as a wheezed breath of air rather than an actual goddamn delighted chuckle.] "Why didn't I think of that, huh?" [he slurs, trying so hard to keep his eyes open even if his head's starting to droop.] "Sure, lemme just... jeopardize evrerythin'. She's observant as fuck."

[He's becoming incoherent, which fucking sucks. Zelos tightly clings to whatever grasp he has on the present and tries not to think about how he's slowly, slowly bleeding out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with fucking Kratos as his last witness, tries to continue that thread of thought instead.]

"Would've... found me out. Questioned why." [He snorts.] "Not good for you, right?"