[ The tension in his body unwinds like a taut string dropped. His wings stop flailing, his muscles stop jerking. Now that the pain relented, Soren could scale back his mental tumble down the precipice of madness. That sort of fall has been alarmingly frequent since he became a Monster. It must be the magic imbued in the ink that helps to stabilize him even more amid the surge of aggression flaring up within him. He takes labored shallow breaths, his mind hovering over Caster's question with more clarity than before. He wipes the spittle off his chin with the back of his sleeve and a touch of embarrassment, keeping his eyes down to the ground. ]

Naturally.

[ He's being lectured, isn't he? Probably something about his defiance even in the face of gods or his heated dismissal of symbols and meanings, which do have currency here in better understanding what kind of situation they are in. He must seem awfully hot-headed right now, spouting such ill-advised determination. Ill-advised or not, it doesn't erase his conviction to return to Ike's side again: whatever the cost, he will pay. And that feeling had taken the helm of him: an emotional outburst for someone who claims to be a logical person. The first embers of combativeness still burn in his blood. Once provoked, it's become difficult to recover from. His jaw feels tight around his embittered words. ]

But if the very heavens are against us meeting, then that pits them against me. What are they going to do, strike me down where I stand? [ A derisive puff of air leaves his nostrils. ] Back where I come from, the goddesses weren't even aware of my existence.