His lower hand tightens further on Ren's, almost to a claw. If any of those gods out there are trustworthy, let one hear him right now. "You said it back when we were fighting all the time. Just don't climb up the tree. Stay in the lowlands where I belong. Shit, maybe it's even why you're sitting in this alley, I don't know."

One more breath. One god to hear him, if Ren still can't. "That's your distortion, Ren. Your worthlessness. Your lack of belonging. It's not real."