[He resists the urge to step back, yet he seems to draw away from her.

It's not just the Apocryphos, the Noah and the threat of execution that chased him away from the Order. He's the reason, he's the problem, and that hasn't changed, no matter the world. He needs to tame his monsters before he can come back.

He doesn't know how to tell her that. Where to start with any of it. The smile fades, not as smoothly as it'd come.]

I wasn't

ready to be found. [ before she can speak up- ]

You know that no matter what, I'm always on your side, that I'll never do anything to hurt you, right? That won't ever change.

[ But. ]

But things are different now, I can't just- return to the life I had here, before...