For a few moments, the air between the two lay silent.
'Ah, why did I even tell her all of this?'
It was something Ixion meant to keep to himself until the grave.
Ixion brought his hand to his cheek and felt the wet trail.
'But I guess I've needed to tell someone.'
The burden of his plight was great. Too great for any one man to bear alone. Yet Ixion had to bear it. He had to, lest they all die pitifully, consumed by the Scourge.
A subdued laugh escaped his throat as he looked over his assassin, whose face was fluctuating in and out of expression.
"I'm sorry, Zabaniyah. I don't think anything you or others say will turn me from my path."
Zabaniyah slowly opened her mouth.
"Origin. Why didn't you try to Ascend?"
Ixion turned and set the book down, then looked away.
"I discovered the truth in one of my many lives… When one becomes a god, they lose their memory and will."
Turning back to Zabaniyah, he continued:
