[ Ripples wobble out from around Link's body as that vicious snarl causes him to recoil in muted surprise. He knows that look — he's seen it before, on the face of a cruel man, fueled by a millennia-old curse, to tear down and set aflame everything Link had ever loved and fought for. His expression hardens. He doesn't dare look away from Akua as she speaks, not does he relax once she leans back to signal the end of her tale.

He doesn't know what to make of that look. It's almost completely overridden his interest in what they had been talking about before. But after a pause, he swallows, and asks carefully, ]

If motivation was all that mattered, I'd have found a solution already. Before I was even born... in a previous life.

Like I told Set... I'm not like you. I'm not a god, or a wizard... I can't just "make" things different.

[ The answer is as much as he can muster in this moment, as he's finding himself uneasy being in Akua's presence now. ]