"Dying sucks," Magnus points out, automatically. "Trust me, bro, I've done it a lot of times in a lot of different ways and none of them are fun." Then he winces, and tilts his head, still cuddled against Galahad, so he can see his face better. "Sorry, dude. I get that living is also hard." He doesn't really share that opinion, but he gets how people can have it.

"But like, maybe a purpose doesn't have to be big. Like, I guess I have 'a purpose'" -- here, he does scarequotes in the air with his free hand -- "But you know what I was saying about trying to live in the moment better, instead of just worrying about the future? It's hard, but it's really helpful for not thinking about how my final death is foretold, too, and my entire job is to die fighting so the world can end. I can focus on littler purposes. Like... the Chase Space. That's this big old home I got, a reward for beating Loki, so I can help other homeless kids in Boston. Food, shelter, tutoring, you know. Or helping Jack find a girlfriend blade. Or making Alex laugh. Or teasing Sam and Amir about their betrothal. Or, I guess since I got here, learning more skills and hanging out and talking about the big scary stuff with my best friend so that it feels a little less big and scary."