Nero paused, the silence stretching between us like a physical void. I didn't interrupt; I could feel a shift in the air, a transition from the playful banter of a former emperor to the cold, transactional nature of a divine envoy.
Something about his posture felt off, a sudden rigidity that signalled the end of the "guest" portion of our meeting.
"As you asked for a price to join a pantheon," he began slowly, the embers in his eyes glowing with a renewed intensity, "we also have a price for you to pay."
"Your pantheon is asking me for a price?" I raised an eyebrow, my voice laced with genuine surprise.
"Shouldn't it be the other way around? In this apocalypse, higher powers usually seek out the outstanding humans to act as their anchors. Why are you making me work for it?"
"No, you have it backward," Nero said, shaking his head with a slight, condescending smirk.
