(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

could slit the poor sod's throat out of mercy. It was almost hard to fear her,
this squat and senile wart-skinned creature. Nothing could possibly live up
to the stories of her evil, and this was perhaps what made Ravel so
dangerous. Those would-be apprentices must've underestimated Ravel's
cruelty.
I prayed that I wasn't so foolish.
The answer came gently, with a soft certainty to it, but it rang true as I
looked her in the eye.
"You, Ravel. As you changed my nature forever."
Her lips peeled back in to an evil smile, and she cocked her head, teasing
and coy. She seemed neither eager nor offended at the answer, and for a
moment that made me unsure. "And that is your answer...?" The veins in
Ravel's eyes began to shift slightly, "Be certain before you say."
"It may not be your answer, but it is my answer," I said, setting my jaw. My
fingers itched and I felt the power of the Art welling up in me, just in case.
"And that is all I wished for, my precious man." Ravel's smile relaxed. "A
simple answer, and in the end, many are the men have I laid low while they
sought MY answer."
I paused, stunned for a moment, and the tension fell away like rainwater
trickling off a roof. "That's it...? I thought..."
Ravel cackled. "Countless times has the question been asked, and not ONCE
did the pathetic shells who came a-fore me answered with THEIR answer,
but always sought to creep inside my mind and find what I thought... tchhh!
There is no truth in that."
"I... don't believe you. In fact, I don't think they ever could have answered
you true, even if it was true to them."
Ravel fell suddenly, strangely, silent. She watched me warily.
"You never cared about any answer other than mine. Ever. Did you? Yet still
you asked the question, knowing that no matter what the answer they gave,
they would die by your hand."
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