[Aether listens, silent for a moment. He can't even begin to imagine how much Ryoji went through and the more he hears about the entire thing, the more he wishes he could've done something for his friend.]

Even so... Death isn't permanent here.

[And he would argue it's rarely enough of a punishment anyway.]

I'll keep an eye on him. I don't want him to ever hurt you again... or anyone else.