[ Despite the smoothing influence of the liquor, Matt bristles slightly, defensively, at the timbre of Liem's question. ]

She's dangerous, [ he says. ] I mean, I don't think it's her fault, it might kinda be ours. But still, she almost annihilated like ... several people I really like. And Venera. There's no way we can change the universe if all the people with the power to do it get subsumed.

[ He pauses, gaze falling to his left wrist. The smooth bump at the wrist-bone, the cliff that follows it. ]

Xishen also said that the sacrifice might yield longer-term results. For me.