Violet afterglow leaks through the shattered mirror like a dying bruise. Dust drifts in the hush, and the chamber finally stops trembling.
Ysren steps closer, slow and careful, their gaze fixed on Xem as if reading a prayer they have almost forgotten.
Ysren
Tell me true. What did you recover, Xem, blessing... or curse?
The question hangs between them. Ysren’s shoulders remain tense, but their hands stay open, empty, no longer braced for a fight.
Xem
The power is still there, quiet now. It feels bound to him, but not asleep.
Ysren studies his face, then the faint shimmer lingering around his eyes, and the fear in their expression eases into something gentler.
Ysren
If you do not know yet, that is answer enough. We can take a breath before we ask the world for more.
✓ Quest Accepted
Decide whether to trust Ysren with the truth
“Don't tell him about my powers because I don't trust him”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Xem lets the silence answer first. He keeps the violet hush, and withholds the larger truth behind a steady stare.
Xem
Ysren gets only the surface of it, not the source.
The chamber stays still as the lie by omission settles between them, small but deliberate. Ysren does not press at once.
Ysren
That caution is fair.
Ysren
If you choose to keep that part hidden, I will not pry it out of you.
They draw back a half-step, palms open, as if making room for Xem's choice. The faint gold flicker in his eyes catches on the broken mirror shards.
Ysren
But if the power turns on you, I need to know the shape of the danger before it takes us both.
