"Why am I still alive?"
Max narrowed his eyes as he studied the former Spirit Sovereign with amazement and suspicion. His void heart remained above the man's palm, spinning like an unstable orb of darkness and swallowing every trace of light that approached it.
"Because you are not physically here," the former Sovereign answered. "Only your consciousness entered this memory. I could tear you apart a hundred times, and your real body would remain unharmed."
He raised the void heart closer to his face and examined it from several directions, showing no concern when the darkness stretched toward his fingers.
"That hardly matters right now. This heart is magnificent." His smile widened as the darkness curled around his hand. "It is violent, far too hungry for its own good and darker than anything I encountered during my lifetime, yet I can still recognize the touch of its creator. Only one person could have made something like this."
