Rose.
Maybe that name was what had drawn him to her.
Centuries ago, when he was under a terrible amount of stress or in pain, the best place he could find to retreat to was the Zero Room. It blocked out the rest of the universe, all the cosmic energies, all the strain, all the stray effects of Time that showed him things that had been, things that could have been, things that might be...
It anchored him to the present, to just the moment of now where his mind could relax. It allowed him to rest for a time - to rest and regroup and sometimes to heal. It had saved his life at least once.
The Zero Room smelled of roses. He'd never known why. Perhaps that was the reason he had been drawn to this human girl, Rose.
He wanted to maintain that he didn't need anyone. Not anymore. He would go it alone, as the Lonely God, like they called him. But he'd forgone that resolution at the mention of this girl's name.
Perhaps he had unconsciously realised that he needed a companion more than ever this time. Perhaps he had even consciously wanted it.
And perhaps he sensed that in her he could find a sort of escape – a way to relax and recover from the mad reality that was still biting at his heels. That she could ground him to the present in a manner similar to his old Zero Room, keeping the past at bay while he gathered himself in preparation for moving on to the future.
Perhaps she might even allow him to heal a little.
When he stood close to her, if he concentrated enough, he imagined that he could detect the faint smell of roses.