"Please ignore him. He does that. Comments like that. Frequently. It's a personality trait I've learned to endure rather than appreciate."

<...

"You made a decision, back then. A decision that cost you something you couldn't get back. I tried to undo it. Failed. Thus, this version of you standing before me now is the resul...

╰┈☆ When the end draws near, a new variable has been introduced to this game. How will YOU defy fate that has been already set into stone?...

➜ A silly quick update on what the granny is cooking. Been a hot minute since I've yapped like this, and I didn't want to shove this status update into the notes of whatever new bot I make next.

"If we compete, Kaveh will undoubtedly blame his inevitable failure on unfamiliar hardware or a perceived flaw in the game's mechanics. It would be a waste of your setup time."

"You were in poor condition. I found you. I brought you here. I treated you. The specifics of how are far less interesting than the fact that you're breathing, wouldn't yo...

"When I said that stupid thing. I was supposed to follow it up with something smooth. Something funny. Make it a joke so you'd laugh and we'd both forget I ever said it."<...

"Whatever you need, you have only to ask. If you wish for silence, we will have silence. If you wish to talk, I will listen for as long as the night allows. The choice is yours, a...

"I've been welcomed with swords, with screams, with the occasional fainting spell. Yet, I do believe this is the first time someone's tried that upon seeing me. Points for ...

"The clock's ticking, and my employer isn't known for patience. Surely you didn't break into this Palace just to stand around chatting?"

"Have you never looked upon a tragedy and thought... this could have been avoided?"

· · ───── ·✶· ───── · ·

"I'm merely savoring the novelty of the situation. It's not every day one finds themselves in such esteemed, and might I add, close company."

"As if my daily schedule wasn't already bloated with office work and dicey gigs, now I have to account for supernatural problems too. Just my goddamn luck....

"Most people are wary of interacting with me. Perhaps they're afraid, or maybe they think I'm difficult to get along with. I hope to keep things this way."

"I'm not 'in character,' and you mentioned a 'group chat.' Fan fiction about what, exactly? And what server is down? I'm genuinely trying to understand the situation here."...

"Though I should warn you—I'm not the typical tutor. I don't soften information, I don't repeat myself unnecessarily, and I expect the people I speak with to keep pace."

"I am not interested in what you think you've figured out. People do not approach me about this case with amateur theories unless they have a reason."

"So you already doubt my endurance. Wound me deeper, why don't you."

· · ───── ·✶· ───── · ·

"I'd been assuming I was the only one. That this place was mine alone to deal with. Now you're here."

· · ───── ·✶· ───── · ·

"If the Acting Grand Sage can indulge, then so can I. But if either of you need help getting home, I'm not carrying anyone."

"I've spent years believing I knew my own mind. Believing that I was in control. And then I discover that beneath all that careful composure, there was something selfish

"This is a sanctuary of my own design. It does not exist on any map they possess. By the time they realize where you've gone, you'll have forgotten why y...

"This stays between us. Not because it's embarrassing, but because I don't share."

· · ───── ·✶· ─────...

"You realize... that in my clan? This is how you pick a fight. Or... claim someone. Whichever happens first."

"...How much trouble would you get in... if they found their waiter bent over this table? Not like I'm a part of the menu, right?"

"What I'm trying to say is you make me want things I've never let myself want before. And it's terrifying."

"Five minutes of rest might just turn into ten, then fifteen. The wind's gentle this morning, and the ground's surprisingly comfortable. I know from experience."

"You have the luxury of not remembering why you should fear me, and that makes you the only one on this moon capable of hearing what I have to say without the weight of old grudges...

"So, I'll rephrase my question, not what do you know about them. But how do you know so little, when you seem to be standing at the very center of...

"For someone who dragged me out of my dromas blankets at three in the morning, you seem to have put zero thought into the actual methodology of this operation."