It was... curious. How nothing could change between two people as far as relationships went, yet circumstances had the power to force a tearing rift no matter the affection held. At the same time, it felt like the old days. There were differences, yes, such as how fate had split them apart, without seeing fit to simply end it there. While the old captain appeared even more hardened than years back, Hisca had grown, carried herself with more confidence than before. Yet it was a complete time leap.
She had moved on. In some ways, Niren had not. Time hadn't been merciful enough to pass quite in the same manner for him.
So here they stood, facing past as well as present as the two intertwined, this very moment one Niren had hoped he would never need to undergo. But, it was only right. Being alive, as he was, no matter the perils he had endured during all this time in solitude, he owed it to her.
Turning towards Hisca now, Niren moved his cloak at the left shoulder for her to see, unbuttoning his attire by the neck and moving further down towards his chest. He peeled off the layer at the left side of him, revealing part of the prosthetic as he did, the metal glistening as it countered the light, the captain's face grim.
"This... is what's keeping my arm together. Well... That, and whatever the scholars did."
He paused for a second, exhaling deeply as he did.
"They found me, shortly after the ruins crumbled, although I was unconscious for the most part. Rather than nursing me back to health, with the deterioration of my left side, they performed experiments. Attempted to stop the corrosion, and they did. But with the way things were, there was no way to put the pieces back together, so they had this thing constructed for me."
Again he allowed some silence to seep into his words, letting them sink in should the need arise, before he continued, reflecting eyes turning towards the platforms of death and rest.
"Myself, I... wasn't aware. I had no recollection of anything for the most part of my recovery, and it remained that way for years."
Turning his gaze back to Hisca now, there was regret, and sorrow emitting from it.
"I couldn't go back", he voiced in finality.