[They did used to be better. Kratos probably would have been able to pinpoint the problem, once upon a time; even with Yuan's grumpy mental poke, Kratos should have been able to tell. But he can't, because the mental link, so recently renewed, is still so recent.

[So Kratos prods back, faintly exasperated but still questioning.]

I could say the same about me and the seal. You didn't step away then.

[It's not exactly the same, if only in scale, but it's similar enough, he thinks -- without knowing exactly the problem.]