Noah's expression turned heavy, and he prepared for anything, every Foundation coiled, THE Loyal Reach a thought away, his people held tight inside his blue. And yet the vessel made no further move. It had taken the Fifth and Fourth Scale Gilded Ones in its opening breath, and now it simply floated in the blood-colored sky.
And it looked at Noah.
"My dear, defiant Osmont," THE Sealed One said, warm as an old friend. "How has existence been treating you? You've been moving around a great deal, I've noticed. Doing things here, doing things there. Stripping my Gilded, eating my hand, speaking my name in polite company." The borrowed face smiled.
"No matter. None of it matters, truthfully. I am here today for a lesson. A small one, on Choices, and Consequence. You made choices. I made choices. And today, both of us will pay the consequences of them together. Are you ready?"
HUUM!
