>>713783884
I'm assuming it's solely this, but there might be other hints deeper into the story

>>713733758
>>713733897
Kris does care about her, but he distances himself for some reason

I can see her dying to the prophecy and he resets as a result, there is evidence that he's looping trying to save everyone
It could be Dess and having a repeat incident of Dess with Noelle
The other option is that he fears her potential and knows something super fucked up about her that she doesn't show anymore

>>713630072
It's meant to be just that, weird
The game gives you hints towards doing it in Ch. 3's Mantle so you're expected to learn about it and are intended to pursue it at least once

This isn't a repeat of Genocide, this is something completely different