And he could feel it. The life, this brightness, leaving him, like it had done what it felt like a hundred times before that, only to be instantly brought back along with a different body. A stranger's body.
Had it always felt like this? Had the pain always been this strong? Had he always had such a strong attachement to a… a mere vessel?
(Rose.)
He always had a companion with him, that's how it worked. Sometimes he died for them, sometimes they could be saved.
(Rose.)
But he couldn't save her.
(Rose.)
Yeah, she was alive, but she wasn't with him anymore.
And why did that bother him so much? Why couldn't he let go?
(And he heard the answer, ringing in his ears, as this life finally left him)
Rose.