Bruce saw, for the first time, just how critical Vale's condition was. These were likely his final words, unless the blood he'd spilled could rejuvenate him. This, rather than any real consideration for his warnings, halted his progress, though the door was within a few sprinting strides. 

He turned away from the sight of the vampire's wound, looking through the door rather than at it, seeing nothing. He scoffed.

[color=0072bc]"Death."[/color] he said. It seemed the draw to banter with the vampire was a temptation Bruce would rather not resist. 

[color=0072bc]"Why do people fear it? It only does one thing. [i]Dying[/i] can be unique, torturous, painful, swift, merciful. But no, we focus instead on death,"[/color] Bruce said, idly feeling the elastic material of the hairband around his wrist.
[color=0072bc]"We waste time running from it, some by seeking it out. It comes all the same. Even the elements meet an end, in their own way."[/color]

Bruce looked at Vale again, his eyes lidded and gaze thoughtful though determined.

[color=0072bc]"What would you have us do? Mortality will catch up to all of us. You once wielded a blade that saw all futures- we turn back now, go home, wait for the fabric of reality to tear itself apart. Death. Some epiphany strikes upon this patriarch you refer to, and he retreats from this dimension without intervention on our part. Death will come. We barge inside, get picked off in some order, and we die. Or,"[/color] Bruce paused, gripping the hilt of his sword with one hand. [color=0072bc]"We follow through on everything we've done, take back our part of the universe we were born to, and we succeed. Even then, we'll meet our end some other day."[/color]

[color=0072bc]"I do not fear death, Vale. I fear dying having not earned the right to live."[/color]