Arc 1, Thread 2: Bughunt (Lyla)
"That's correct. But the Neomah and the rest of the demons needed her to step up. She's been... unhappy... with the arrangement, for the most part. That hasn't stopped her from doing what needs to be done. For one of our younger generations, she's done well."
Sonia steers her to a glass bridge between Neomah warrens, giving Lyla a brilliant view of Core's enclosure- a center of light and gravity. The other Neomah give them a wide berth.
"You remind this one, in many ways, of a Solar this one met in our ancient lands. This one barely escaped with her life. Time has worn down her legend, shaved it down to chips and dust, and nowadays her exploits are reduced to a single story. A tent peg through the temple, if only it were so mundane! Now all lost; the ancient lands, the world, the legends, the belief."
Sonia stops mid-bridge and looks up at Core.
"Now we put faith in a new sacrifice, the Antichrist Michael Florentine. The demons praise his scripture of mathematics and medicine, and his sacrificial foresight. The humans praise a Second Coming who can't decide whether he is man or devil. The gods praise their own dead, and are only a step away from becoming one with the void. In this world of dying titans, the old hero simply- slips through the cracks."
Sonia looks at Lyla pointedly.
"You're wise to stay in the cracks. That's where good things leak out and bad things squirm in."