[You have developed a Trait: Defiance]
Vale didn't need to open up his status and peer at it to know what it was and what it did — nothing. A Trait that gave him nothing.
Because it was something that he decided: to defy.
He decided he wouldn't let his mind be tampered with; he wouldn't let fate control him.
His very being — his self, his soul — ardently denied it.
It defied fate by seeking to rise above it all.
Then once at the pinnacle, he'd look down. Stomp on it. Twist his heel. Spit. And turn away.
Vale, standing on the water, overtop Diligence's reflection, slid his foot back so he could see her face.
A beautiful face. One wearing a warm, caring smile. Her neatly tied, silky black hair pinned with a glowing butterfly ornament.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk, Diligence. Tell me, what more do you have to say?"
"Oh? What happened? You seem to have done a little more than bounce back… Did you decide Fleur meant nothing to you?"
Vale smiled — a sinister smile.
