He's quiet for several moments, processing that. Someone with a purpose isn't broken. Would Compassion as it had been or Cole as he had been see this form as something not broken? Anders can't say, and if the Cole before him says he's not broken, he has enough, then who is Anders to say otherwise? Just because Anders feels divided and conflicted and a mess doesn't mean anything. Part of why he speaks to Cole, beyond simply liking the boy, is because he seems far more whole than Anders has achieved.

"It's enough to know what you're supposed to be," he agrees after that time. He's not sure he knows what he's supposed to be. Not this. Not being in fear that Justice will harm someone, not struggling to find balance. He needs to find a way. A purpose that's more concrete than mage freedom, because there are a thousand ways to work toward that.

"How did you figure that out?"