"There's no need for that." An old voice, devoid of its usual flair, cut through the brief silence like a thunderclap in still rain.
It wasn't that Nando chose this exact moment to speak.
He just lucked out in timing, and quite frankly, he was still unsure of what he was doing.
This was what he wanted to do, but at the same time, something within him protested, clawing at the walls of his heart and mind.
He had attempted to complete his quest more than a few dozen times, and the only time he was on the verge of success, he would fall to something as stupid as sentiment!
Hadn't he lost that long ago?
Why? Why did this particular group of wretches have to be so likable…so earnest? Had they not been so, throwing them to a deadly, extra toil would have been easy!
A few would've returned to their worlds, and he would regain his youth and restore his world, whatever that would mean.
This vagueness of the second reward, however, was what threw him off.
