Valeria tilted her head slightly. "Care to explain, Emperor?"
Zen didn't respond immediately. He let a few seconds to pass before he did.
"Explain?" he asked in a cold, sharp voice, cutting right through the roaring heat of the room.
Without stepping back or showing a trace of fear, he walked right up to the Goddess of War, never once blinking even in the face of the terrifying, blinding light of her golden magic.
"You want an explanation, Valeria?" Zen asked, his voice growing louder. "Look at me."
Valeria's crazy, glowing eyes snapped to his face. She was breathing heavily, her golden armor humming with deadly power.
"I was dying in that dungeon," Zen said coldly. He pointed a finger at his own chest. "A boss monster ripped me open. I was bleeding out on the cold stone floor. My core was shattered. My heart was stopping."
Valeria's golden aura flickered. The murderous rage in her eyes shifted for a second.
