Cale and opening himself again
I have been rereading TCF, and I want to talk about something I realized. Cale Henituse, previously Kim Rok Soo, easily accepts his new reality. His new "him." He keeps everyone at arm's length, just like in the past. But why the change?
1. Thanks to reading BoAH, Cale knows the characters and the world, so he doesn't have his defenses up and isn't in survival mode at every instance. He has data, to his relief. He isn't on Earth, so his trauma slowly fades. He isn't confronted with records of destruction, despair, blood, and death every moment of his day. He isn't in the Company, where he made many memories with his first Team. There aren't monsters in Nameless 1, so, in some way, he is "able to move on."
2. He thought TBoah was just a book, so he (at first) saw the people there as characters. He knew them like that, so there was already a connection (reader and character). Moreover, Cale knows how strong they are, so they can protect themselves. Being powerful is important to become part of Cale's group.
3.The kids! The kids are the ones who made him soften and start caring for—and becoming close to—others again. He did care for his old Team in his own way, but they weren't close. Also, it isn't the same type of care. He—because he assumed the responsibility of taking care of them—has to do it right. Cale knows what children need so well, and in that way, he provides them with physical affection and words that make them feel safe and confident about themselves.
4. He doesn't feel attached to his past world. (Which I believe isn't just because of the transmigration, but because of something that had been inside him for a long time. He was just surviving, not living at all.) He begins to see himself as Cale, sees Roan as his kingdom, and the Henituses as his family. He acts like trash (well, tries to), because that's how he's supposed to be.
He detaches himself from his past because he embraces "Cale Henituse." Who was he? Kim Rok Soo, an orphan and an office worker. He doesn't mention the apocalypse at all when thinking about his past. While it makes sense that it isn't mentioned at all at the start (because, for readers, it would be very confusing and the surprise factor later would be lost), I believe it's because Cale didn't want to remember it. It was painful. He was leaving that behind.
