Ben looked at Apophis and smiled.
Then he laughed.
It was not warm.
It was not amused.
It was cold.
Apophis blinked, slightly off balance.
She had not expected that reaction.
"Did it feel good?" Ben asked.
His gaze was sharp and cold. "Looking down on me?"
Before she could answer, he stepped forward.
"You are no different from those guidelines," he said. "You are just trying to manipulate me into doing what you want."
His voice stayed calm, but anger burned under the surface.
"I do not know about the other daemons," he said. "But you, Apophis, you need me right now.
You need me to free you.
And that is going to take more than brute force."
Apophis's smile faded a little.
Ben did not stop.
"You are wasting all this effort on seduction, half-truths, and riddles," he said. "Not because you care, but because you cannot act without me.
And do not pretend otherwise.
If you could have killed me and waited for the next guy, you would have done it already."
