It strikes him in a way that he can't quite define, when she explains her reasoning. In a way he can't relate to it, having always been aware of the power he's had and the things he's capable of. But in others, he does understand. In his mind, he's been discarded just as she was, made to feel unimportant. The difference between them is that Rey accepted it as truth and Kylo refused to believe it.

Certainly in a way she might seem like "nothing," a scavenger from a dead planet in the middle of nowhere, with no past connections to anyone who means anything. But she's already proven herself to be something. She proved that the moment she resisted his attempts to get the map, even if now there's so much more to it than that.

Even if she's turned her gaze away, Kylo keeps his eyes on her, trying to lean in a way that will catch her attention.

"You don't have to pretend."