[It's true: Mettaton remembers him shoved in a corner of a cell, injured and defeated. His only other measure comes from memories, and that feels like a completely different, and unfair, measure. Mettaton wondered to himself shortly why Emet-Selch in his memories and Emet-Selch in Aefenglom differed in any way, and it felt to him clear as day. The one in his memories at least had his powers, a goal. A future. Of course there would be some energy present for that cause. The man who stands before him has nothing left but added trauma and despair. The promise of death.

He strokes his neck. Mettaton still keeps him laced in one arm with a looser grip, letting himself get distracted by sight and sensation before he's treated to sound. He hums at his reciprocal kiss, pleased to hear him confirm that he's feeling better.

But everything that follows earns a drop in his expression. He has to run over it a few times. His jaw almost drops, but instead he just opens his mouth and pauses, trying to say something other than "What?!"]

Halved.

[That about expresses that surprise sufficiently enough. His brow knits in concern.]

I heard about Mira... She called me, and told me. She was near tears. [A suggestion that he might have more to say on that.] But... you annulled with someone else, too. Why?

[Irhya or K'rihnn. It's hard to make any guesses without having an answer, but if it's for any reason similar to Mira's... Talk about a wild ride for Emet-Selch, too. Surely having two conversations that hurt him enough to want to end two of his Bonds so strongly that he'd be this dismissive over it. As though they were unwanted entirely. "Freeing," he says.]

This is a drastic change, darling. Going from resisting any reduction of Bonds, to your detriment... To cutting off two. There's a story there.