"…You really are making this 'Great One' sound like some sort of omnipotent god who's just been living in the shadows all this time," Alice said after a long pause, her tone halfway between mockery and genuine curiosity. Her golden eyes glimmered dangerously. "Anyway… in this so-called group or organization of yours, are there any members who can actually survive after taking my full strength head-on?"
The corner of my mouth twitched under the mask.
Of course not. There weren't any members in the first place.
Right now, the grand 'organization' I was painting for her was nothing more than me, myself, and a stubborn belief I could spin gold out of smoke. In fact, the whole reason I was standing here was to recruit villain No. 2—her.
But she didn't need to know that. I couldn't break character.
So, I let the silence linger a beat too long, just enough to make her think I was considering the weight of her question.
[You mistake His silence for absence.]
