The hand on his shoulder comes as a surprise, but not one he acknowledges out loud. He glances back, and despite the weight of everything still feeling as though it was doing all it can to suffocate him, he manages a weak smile. It's not much, but hopefully it's enough to let her know that he does appreciate it.

"It is, but... it could always be worse," He lets out a huff of a dry laugh. "I could have found out on the day the barrier goes down. Could you imagine? I decide I'm leaving, I'm already to go, and now I've got to stop and decide if going back to things the way they were before is worth ending the world."