Nyx stared at him, waiting for it—that familiar look of pure horror. The shock, the gasp of blasphemy she knew other races always wore when they heard such words.
Yet the wanderer's frown only deepened. He seemed uncomfortable, yes—disturbed, even—but not in the way she expected.
After all, the dark god Merionine was among the most malevolent beings in existence. A creature of endless greed and chaos.
It was a terrible thing to say—that she was a saint to such a vile being. No… not a saint. A divine vessel of its will.
Nezra was disturbed, even if he hid it well. Naturally, he didn't want to believe it. But the heavy well of divinity coiled within Nyx's soul told him the idea was not far-fetched.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly. "Aren't you scared? That I could betray you… tell the world? That the entire world would rejoice at your downfall? Or worse—that I might kill you myself?"
"Strange," Nyx mused. She didn't miss how easily he took her words at face value.
Then she chuckled. It lasted only a moment before fading into something colder.
"Actually, I was hoping you would," she said. Her voice dropped into something darker. "Then I'd have a reason to kill you."
The wanderer smiled amicably. "Why do you need a reason to kill me, Nyx of Arel'thor?"
"I'm not a bloodthirsty monster," she replied flatly. "No matter what you imagine the Avatar of Merionine to be."
"Then why do you want to kill me?" His tone never changed.
Nyx paused, as if considering it—but in truth, she already knew.
She had taken an interest in the distant young man.
"When people look at a demon," she said slowly, "there are always three things in their gaze: hatred, terror… or compassion."
"I see none of those in your eyes. No disgust. No hatred. But that's where the problem lies."
"There's no compassion either. That pity—those looks of sympathy I always find in others' eyes… it isn't there in yours."
"I don't see you looking at me like a monster. But you don't see me as a victim either. You don't pity me—not because you think I don't deserve it, but because you don't see a reason to."
"You just look at me the way a human looks at another human. Like I'm ordinary."
She exhaled softly.
"It feels… liberating. And yet…" her gaze sharpened slightly, "…I can't tell whether you are a threat or an asset."
He met her stare, eyes unreadable.
"You seem pretty certain you're capable of killing me."