[ Abel is a 'martyr' according to the brand on his inner wrist, yes; perhaps Estinien feels he is making good on his Legacy - but Abel doesn't intend to die in the name of his cause. the prices he expects to come due are not the sort that require the forfeit of his life - but time, blood, energy... perhaps.

but he feels that there is something he needs to clear up, here. ]

I can't save anyone or anything if I throw my life away. I hope you know that isn't my intention, and if it comes down to it-- if in the name of protecting you or any of those I've come to know as more than allies, but friends... I'm not afraid to do what I must.

[ even if there is regret, remorse, reluctance in those words - they ring firm and true. ]

You've known suffering, haven't you? You know what it's like to feel lost, to drown in something bigger than yourself. [ Abel can tell. he sees it, feels it in this man and the pain he had expressed in the cavern, the sensation of struggling against a force from within. ] ...If there were no kind hands to reach out to us when we've fallen, Estinien-- if someone had written us off as the enemy, where would we be?

...I have hope. I'll carry enough for you, too, if you need me to.

[ for Amos, for Misa, for Gen and Makoto and so many others-- this is not the way it has to be, and Abel refuses to accept it. ]