That's… almost romantic.
Ridiculous.
His aura—or whatever it was—shifted as he turned fully, the red-black shimmer rolled once like a disturbed current. And there it was again, gold, faint but unmistakable, threading through it, catching against his skin in a way that made the contrast almost painfully beautiful.Hewas beautiful. That realization landed quietly, without drama, which somehow made it worse.
"Can't sleep either?" he asked.
His voice was softer than it had been earlier. Not gentle, but unguarded, the edge blunted by fatigue. I shook my head. No words came. Not because I didn't have any—my mind was full ofthem—but because something lodged in my throat, a tightness that refused to let sound pass. I swallowed, annoyed with myself for the sudden, inexplicable emotion.
The silence stretched.
Not awkward.
Expectant.
The stars drifted slowly behind him, reflected faintly in the glass. I was keenly aware of how alone we were, even on this massive ship that easily housed ten thousand people. Here we were, just him and me, awake while the rest of the crew mostly slept, standing on opposite sides of something neither of us fully understood. I pressed my fingers together to steady myself.
"This ship has very… good insulation," I managed finally. "Hard to escape your thoughts."
His mouth curved slightly. "Yes, it does."
He went still for a moment, his eyes unfocused, his jaw tightening as if he were listening to something I couldn't hear. Then he shook his head once, sharp and dismissive.
"Are you okay?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"Just Nythor," he replied. "Intruding again."
I frowned. "What?"
"Nythor," he repeated, tapping two fingers lightly against his temple. "He keeps reaching out to me."
My stomach dropped.
"In your… head?" I asked carefully.
His gaze flicked back to me, assessing. "Where else?"
Oh.
Oh no.
The realization hit me with a clarity that had nothing to do with physics. He was talking about telepathy. He had implied it earlier, but there had been too much else going on for me to realize it. Now, it hit me full force. He thought this Nythor was talking to him telepathically. That was the one thing Ihadn't accounted for. Wormholes, alien empires, abyss-adjacent phenomena, I could stretch my mind around all of that. But this?
This was different.Oh my god. He's crazy. Batshit crazy.
No wonder he thought he was a god.
"He's talking to you right now?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain even.
"Yes."
I stared at him. He smirked, slow and knowing. "You don't believe me."
I took a step back before I realized I was doing it. The observation bay suddenly felt much larger and much emptier. No guards. No technicians. Just me and a massive, possibly delusional Arkhevari who claimed ancient beings spoke directly into his mind.
Keep him entertained,I told myself.De-escalate. Pacify. Pretend.
"What's he saying?" I asked.
