[ She opens her eyes, looking upon him sorrowfully at first, but then her lips curve into a smile at seeing his own. ] Xie Lian... I'm... truly sorry, for what has happened in your past. [ She'll begin with that. ] And while I can't hope to understand all that has happened to you, I want you to know that from...

[ A pause, a small, hesitant pause. ]

From now on, I will be there to... believe in you. [ She wonders, does her faith even count for anything, if she is not human? Ah, well. Maybe it doesn't matter. ] I want to believe that there is a better future, too, that those here will be safe...

But above any of that, I want you to be happy. For what sort of world would it be, knowing that all creation smiles while walking upon the earth, while the gods do not? [ It would be a terrible world. It would be a dying one. It would be hers.

Hopefully he'll get her message, but if not, she says, uncharacteristically sober. ] A world in which the god doesn't smile as well, isn't truly one that is blessed by its heavenly sentinels. [ This is a very real feeling to her; and, she hopes, that he will eventually become a god that can smile along with those he cherishes. ]