Despair grew a light smile.
A feigned smile.
One that had no chance of tricking Ixion.
With a warm tone, Despair 'kindly' demanded:
"Hand her over."
Ixion drew Dia into a princess carry, her hat slipping off her head, letting her thick hair cascade freely.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. At least, not until you answer some questions of mine."
Despair's smile vanished as he looked left and right.
"Well, then. Why don't we relocate? I don't think it would be good for either of us if I'm spotted."
***
Ixion found himself sitting in a temple of some forgotten god.
Despair's thralls surrounded the place as wards.
Ixion hummed and tapped his foot while he leaned against a faceless stone statue.
"Alright, you can have Dia back if you… Hmm… Tell me everything. All your juicy secrets. First and foremost — where have you been? And how can you evade my detection?"
Once again, Despair's face remained stoic as he stood in front of Ixion.
"Just hand over the girl, Ixion."
