Corvo gasped as the blades zipped by his ear and bit into the surface of the door. Out of pure reflex, he immediately spun around and dropped into a combat stance, expecting the next blade to strike for his heart. What followed however were only the spymaster's words, yet spoken harshly as they were, they struck more truly than any weapon could and Corvo found himself unable to meet Gerhardt's eyes as the man exploded in fury and frustration.

At first the prince's own anger had evaporated into shame and guilt, subsumed by the greater storm before him and he quietly endured it. Admittedly, he had forgotten that Gerhardt had suffered just as much as he had, if not more. He wanted to say so himself, but the dam had broken and now all the weight of everything they had both endured from Belisio to here was spilling out in this room. All the words unsaid, the thoughts unshared, they were coming out now only when they had a chance to stop and the more Gerhardt spoke in honest anger, the more unfair it seemed to Corvo to not do likewise.

"You don't think I know that?" he said, quietly at first as Gerhardt made his predictions. Then the spymaster whipped his cup at the prince's head and whether it would have struck or not, Corvo deflected it anyway with the back of his fist as he shouted, "YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT?"

The cup bounced violently off the other side of the room as the prince continued, "I was there! You don't have to remind me, beacuse i was right there! I am still there, every single fucking night and it's all I can think about! You don't think I know the consequences of failure? I just fucking lived it! We both did! How is it any different over here when we're just as surrounded by enemies? At least over there, I could... I could..."

Corvo wanted to say more, but found himself struggling to articulate his thoughts into words and in a sudden desire to breathe some fresh air, he hurried to open the door and step outside. He only meant to take pause to gather himself, but the spymaster was not done with him yet.

"Go ahead! Go and run! You'd best hurry 'your majesty'," Gerhardt snarked before adding.
"Grow a spine boy. Save your regrets and anger for when you're actually in a position to use them. But if I wasted and risked my life for an impetuous ingrate, by all means leave and save me the trouble of actually caring." He picked up the chair and made a dismissive wave to Corvo. "Either you put some faith in us or you fuck off and do whatever you think is best."

In response, Corvo slammed the door shut so hard that it rattled on its hinges, knocking the three blades loose and sending them clattering to the floor. It was no use. He had no stomach for bickering anymore and further argument would only lead to more hurt. Words were simply not enough anymore. All he could do was look up at the bright blue sky, glimpsing it briefly before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. Then for the second time in his life, he let out a shout so fierce that it seemed to make the world shake.

Without thought or intention, Corvo had channelled all the energies of his soul into that shout and like thunder it rumbled through the air, causing the very walls of the house to vibrate. Imbued with so much ki, it would have carried enough destructive force to break through stone or tear a person asunder. Aimed towards the sky however, it harmed only the peace of the neighbourhood as well as the eardrums of whoever happened to be nearby.

Corvo however did not realize how loud it had been nor that his eyes had been closed until he opened them, seeing the old man named Castille who was still seated against the wall of the building. In that moment, Corvo had been blind, deaf and dumb to his own power, and thinking nothing of it, he pointed towards the door with a sheepish expression on his face as he said to the old man, "Sorry, I don't suppose you heard all that?"