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When trying to get someone to open up about their hardships or trauma, there's a story Harlos might occasionally tell them of the "Sea of Suffering"; a mysterious body of water he came across one time in his past. He never really explains where it is, or how he happened to be there, and many who hear this story simply believe he made it up as an analogy or fable; the validity of this belief has never been confirmed or denied. Harlos will explain that while the Sea of Suffering can be safely crossed by boat or flight just like any other body of water, it cannot be swam through by any creature that has ever experienced pain, guilt, sadness, or any other sort of suffering. Any such creature that falls in will have no buoyancy and their efforts to swim will be in vain: even attempting to walk on the seafloor is impossible. "However," Harlos will clarify, "this is not a guaranteed death sentence, as there have been survivors, myself included." In his supposed recounting, Harlos had been on a boat with others and had gotten into a scuffle when he ended up falling overboard into the cold waters below. He remembers hearing eerie whispers as he sank like a boulder towards the seafloor; whispers that peeked into his memories and commented on his past. Harlos tried to shut out the whispers as he panicked and drowned, just like any other creature that wanted to live. As his lungs burned, the whispers gave him an offer: "Show me your wounds, and you shall be free of my grasp." In a desperate act of trust, Harlos opened the memories of his suffering to the whispers; and just as his vision began to fade, he found his buoyancy restored and swam for the surface. From here, Harlos would conclude his story by revealing the difference between drowning and surviving in the Sea of Suffering: "As it turns out, while the Sea of Suffering is cursed, it is not malicious. You can struggle silently as you keep your pain bottled up, or you can demonstrate trust and show your pain in exchange for a fighting chance to return to the surface." His story doesn't always succeed in getting others to open up, and he knows better than to pry at someone's past when they've doubled down on silence: he's no psychologist after all. But whether his tale is truth or fiction, Harlos's belief is clear: it is better to talk with someone about your past rather than suffer the pain by yourself.