“Ironically, the only constant in life is change. We all slip into our routines, our assumptions about the world, what we consider an ‘understanding’… Because the illusion of certainty is comforting, more than a hug from a loved one, more than a blanket lulling you to restful sleep… But the world is in flux, and so are we all. We’d know that more than most, right Ayame?”
“When we first saw one another, we were such different creatures. I was bright-eyed and naive, colourful, giving… And weak. You lived not amongst man, but among the beasts in the forest, even physically looking different. Not much time has passed since, yet it seems like an eternity ago. You went from the Wolf Fang to the Dragon Princess. Not the most fitting of names mind you, given how potent fire seems to be against you, hm?”
“It wasn’t a dragon you became, it was something else entirely. Despite us establishing the irrelevance a given name can hold, fittingly your metamorphosis mirrors that of the wolf. We’re all familiar with that animal – a cunning and merciless hunter, relentless and ravenous. While wolves may still exist, they are more relevant to modern society via the legacy they have left… Their descendants.”
“Somewhere between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago, mankind achieved a great ‘first’ – the domestication of a wild animal. I think you know what animal it was by the fact I’m bringing it up – the wolf. Dogs are descended from gray wolves, and since then have developed into a wide range of shapes and sizes… And none of them spark as much fear as the sight of a wolf.”
“Whilst the path I am walking on sharpens my claws and and toughens my hide, yours shrinks your teeth and softens your coat. I went from a victim to a killer, and you went from a killer to a loyal companion, and victim is one step away. In a perverse way, I need you, Ayame. You are the catalyst of my change. Our sights have been set on one another since the genesis of Eclipse, and much to my shame, annoyance and absolute fury, you beat me when we faced one another previously. I haven’t forgotten, and I can’t until I right that wrong.”
“Knowing our trajectories isn’t enough. Knowing you’re meekly descending the same mountain I’m climbing is not sufficient. I need that tangible evidence to validate what I already know, even if it results in being stained with your blood. In my heart I know I am facing no wolf, but a gormless pug stuffed into some c-list celeb’s Balenciaga tote bag as an accessory.”
“Last week I burned off what I have been referring to as your muzzle… Only because I want the world to see first-hand that you have been defanged. I want the world to see you for the ineffectual, pathetic wretch you are, because then and only then can they view me in contrast and understand the apex predator I have become, when I feast on your flesh in the ashes of all that you love.