Sunny's eyes went wide for a fraction of a second, a flicker of genuine shock that would have been a game over in any other negotiation.
But behind the impenetrable, cosmic luster of his mask, that momentary lapse was invisible.
To Lom, the Emperor remained a statue of starlight, silent, unreadable, and terrifyingly mysterious.
'Worthy of being chosen by the Void itself,' Lom thought, his projection shimmering with a mixture of respect and suppressed envy.
'Look at him. Even the mention of the Nihilium doesn't break his composure. He sits there like he's already mastered the very fate I'm trying to sell back to him.'
Lom's mind raced, filling the silence with his own anxieties. 'The Void Mother must have told him everything. He knows he's being hunted. He probably has a dozen escape routes already mapped out through the deep layers of space. If I want to be his ally..... And then the next Void Emperor, I need to show him that I'm more than just a messenger.'
