Noah didn't blink.
He simply stared at Master Shen, the white-gold brilliance reflecting off the hard line of his jaw.
"I'd be fearless even if I could die," he said flatly, his voice quiet, layered in something colder than defiance. "Besides…aren't I some sort of prize now? Being escorted like fragile loot?"
His gaze remained unreadable as he added, "Why should I fear anything at all?"
...!
Master Shen stilled.
Then, he laughed.
Not the wild, drunken belly-laugh from before, but a smoother, deeper chuckle that curled at the edges with something like…approval.
"Well," he said, "looks like you've got self-confidence." He tapped his gourd with one knuckle, the Infinite Gourd chiming like a bell that didn't belong in this layer of existence.
"Most people don't understand that, in Existence, if you believe in something hard enough, you will actually achieve it. Belief. Obsession. With a terrifying enough obsession, even Existence gets...confused."
