"Good morning." A few moments to remember what the hell he was talking about. "I think someone was annoying me."

"I'm not worried about such things. I doubt anything you could throw at me would be capable of that."

"I'm not worried." Abrupt, hardly convincing. Dragging his foots forward feels like wading metal through mud. Making it through the doorway is a relief. It shouldn't be. This shouldn't be so difficult. "It's a nice tower."

"All things are. More specifically, incantations always take time. The more time I have, the more incantations I can prepare in advance, and the less likely I am to be attacked in the middle of one."

"That's a really good guess. That's correct... With the caveat that the more advance warning you give me, the better your results will be."

I see, we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I've no interest in taking what belongs to you. However, if you are going to end up setting her on travelers, then my desire is fulfilled regardless. I only wish to watch. For that, I'd need your permission, and so I am asking you.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀𝓘’LL PR꩜TECT 𝑇͙𝐻𝐸𝐼𝑅 𝐖꩜𝐑𝐓𝐇 ׅ ⎖ ˎˊ˗ ⠀⠀

"Wooow, that's the kind of commitment I like in a hero. Let me know if you ever need any help with that. The protecting part, not laying down your life."

"What a beautiful sentiment. I do hope you're willing to pay the price that such a wish costs."

His hand rests on his face, his nose and mouth, as they inch ever closer to the tower. He doubts this motion is particularly subtle, but then, he's not hiding anything. When the pair is close enough to make out each individual stone, he stops in his tracks. It's not a conscious decision —- his ↷

A growing smile — "And what do you intend to do with this second chance?"

"The brightest and darkest days you can remember. That's what would intrigue me."

"Hah! There we go. That's quite possible, luckily I have no interest in finding out. There are a dozen more interesting things I could learn about you."

"Yep, right. I'm King Arthur's court magician... No other notable accomplishments are traits."

"That's my name! Don't wear it out~♪"

// I am now officially broke lol. $4000 surgery. 😭

I'm honored that you'd go through all that trouble.

Naw, I'm just messing with ya. I would never send you to eeby deeby.

"If it appeases you and the rat, I will give my very best lie."

"I don't hate him, he's essentially my best friend. I'm just not particularly remorseful about my behavior."

"I'm not going to do that. I'm not sorry."

"Eh, I wasn't really going to do it."

"Scared?"

I'm sorry, who are you again?

The real Avalon is the 100 hours of nightmares you're all about to get.

Everyone here hates me. Which I expected from Vortigern, but wow. Even my own magus.

The real Avalon is definitely the opposite of that.

"All rumors are fun rumors. I'm rather amused by all the tales spun about me. I don't mind if they influence others' opinions, that's fun too."

What is this. What is this. What is this. What is this. "It's fine. In the end, it's just another source of power to leech off of."

100 offers rescinded. Now the only dragon I've got is this albion shaped motherfucker.

There is no torment beam. Stop talking about it.

"Hm. The story goes that I was meant to lead humanity to their ruin. A cambion born pure evil, lead to righteousness by my mother, and rewarded by God for straying from the path laid out for me with clairvoyance and precognition. Just stories, that's all they are. Grasping at straws."

"Is that short for Lucifer?"

"You remind me of many other authors, unable to write unless they are truly inspired. Baha, okay. If you're anything like them, I suppose I could stomach it."

💭 ( Who the hell is Luci? )

"I know. My win condition is if I can make you feel bad about it."

// It's my own personal joke that maybe nobody else finds funny that Merlin turns his back to people as if that keeps him from seeing them. You could fully just keep doing the thing that's annoying him.

Slowly turns his back to Majora.

He's being mocked.

"Aaah..." He attempts to draw correlations in his mind, examples of any number of authors he's encountered. "It's not an instant win condition, then? Not something you can make up on the fly?"

"It's not the idea of fanfiction that perturbs me. I've no issue with people writing their own stories. In fact, that is what I want more than anything else. The only thing worse than a story that never leads anywhere is an ending without any pages behind it. It's not a story if I know the ↷

Irritated grumbling.

"Yes, repulsive. Ten leagues above a deus ex machina, I find the very concept nauseating. There's no challenge, no stakes."

"That is truly repulsive."

"Ohhhh. That could work..."

A different dragon.

Well now I have to find a dragon.

Feed it to a dragon.