Lonely? She knew not the meaning of the word. Not yet at least.

"No," he spoke as though trying to laugh. "No, you were something else once."

The formation and manipulation of bone never became a pleasant experience after all these years, but the current task at hand wracked him. Lye struggled to get his body to respond, even to the commanding and absolute will he possessed. Whether it be the residual toxins or something else entirely, his body screamed in pain as he tried to accomplish such a simple task. The only other time his memory could recall such a struggle was that year beneath the Seventh Sanctum. Celestial essence - Angel's blood.

"I trusted you to stay in the Sanctum," Lye continued in strained words. "Shinsou, Vincent, Jake, Taka, the Ixian witch... Noel... You just couldn't leave well enough alone. Could you?"

Lye's hand reached up to his chest and dabbed at his injury. His vision slowly crawled back to light. Less red than before transferred to the blur that was his palm.

"How many enemies will you bring to my doorstep?" Lye turned to her. "Look what your actions have done."

He couldn't make out the details of her face, the cracks, or the red dress that once belonged to someone far more important to him. He saw red. Red, black, and the pastel tones of flesh, backlit by the orange glow from the fire.

"You were something once," Lye admitted. "Then, you became this. Whatever, this is."