A year and several multiverses worth of knowledge is shared and processed faster than the speed of thought. It's going to take K much longer to process everything in the metaphorical sense, particularly the emotional resonance, but one thing is immediately obvious to him.
Though he witnesses events from Viktor's limited point of view, he has the benefit of being able to parse everything from an outsider's perspective. An outsider who happens to know Viktor and his way of thinking very well, or he'd like to think he does, at least.
"'You were being manipulated the whole time... The hexcore was using you."
Is still using him? Is it the only thing keeping him alive now? The questions are clear in K's expression as he looks at Viktor and his altered form. Jayce had made that choice for him against his explicitly stated wishes, betrayed him to save him... and K can't help wondering what he would have done if faced with the same circumstances. It's painful to even think about, but he can also understand why Jayce chose what he did, where Viktor is concerned. Continuing to weaponise hextech after promising not to is another matter, one that he isn't sure he'll ever know the full story on. He wishes Jayce was still here.
Contrary to what Viktor is expecting from him, K simply leans back in until their foreheads are touching again and then gathers Viktor into his arms, holding him tight. He knows it's more complicated than blaming Viktor's choices and actions entirely on the hexcore's influence. He knows some of Viktor's guilt may be warranted and that he'll have to live with the weight of that for the rest of his days. He knows, because they're not so different. Only the government-sanctioned executions of K's own kind that he'd been ordered to carry out never held the guise of truly helping anyone, not in the same way that Viktor had originally tried to aid and uplift those in dire need.
"I'm so sorry for what was done to you," he murmurs. "And all of those people." K's feelings toward humanity may be complicated and rarely positive, but Viktor's pain matters more to him than his own. And it doesn't take having an empathic bond to tell how much Viktor is hurting right now. K fully intends to keep the promise they both made — as long as they have each other, neither of them has to be alone again. He wants to be with Viktor. That hasn't changed.
no subject
Though he witnesses events from Viktor's limited point of view, he has the benefit of being able to parse everything from an outsider's perspective. An outsider who happens to know Viktor and his way of thinking very well, or he'd like to think he does, at least.
"'You were being manipulated the whole time... The hexcore was using you."
Is still using him? Is it the only thing keeping him alive now? The questions are clear in K's expression as he looks at Viktor and his altered form. Jayce had made that choice for him against his explicitly stated wishes, betrayed him to save him... and K can't help wondering what he would have done if faced with the same circumstances. It's painful to even think about, but he can also understand why Jayce chose what he did, where Viktor is concerned. Continuing to weaponise hextech after promising not to is another matter, one that he isn't sure he'll ever know the full story on. He wishes Jayce was still here.
Contrary to what Viktor is expecting from him, K simply leans back in until their foreheads are touching again and then gathers Viktor into his arms, holding him tight. He knows it's more complicated than blaming Viktor's choices and actions entirely on the hexcore's influence. He knows some of Viktor's guilt may be warranted and that he'll have to live with the weight of that for the rest of his days. He knows, because they're not so different. Only the government-sanctioned executions of K's own kind that he'd been ordered to carry out never held the guise of truly helping anyone, not in the same way that Viktor had originally tried to aid and uplift those in dire need.
"I'm so sorry for what was done to you," he murmurs. "And all of those people." K's feelings toward humanity may be complicated and rarely positive, but Viktor's pain matters more to him than his own. And it doesn't take having an empathic bond to tell how much Viktor is hurting right now. K fully intends to keep the promise they both made — as long as they have each other, neither of them has to be alone again. He wants to be with Viktor. That hasn't changed.