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Judging by the man's reaction--the words, the microexpressions, and even the aura--Jercash was already quite satisfied. Lozaro wasn't planning anything against him, at the moment. He could just let the matter drop and move on.

In a minute.

First, Jercash had to take his own aura in hand, lean in close to Lozaro with wide-eyes and a smile, place a hand on his shoulder, and ask him one more question. "Is there anything else you've forgotten to tell me?"

And he allowed his domain to surge outward, just enough to envelop the two of them in their own private little world. In his private little world. Giving Lozaro a glimpse into the depths of power which Jercash maintained access to.

The depths of Chaos.

Lozaro, if he was being attentive, would be able to see that the Yigorosks were now there, too. Newly sprinkled among the hordes. Not these intelligent ones, of course. Not yet.

But in time, who knew what was possible? Lozaro would be catching a glimpse of that, too. The possibilities. Shadows of the future. Including his own mutilated husk of a corpse, if need be. His own smeared psyche. His own mind, fractured into a cascade of barely recognizable madness. All very possible. Even probable, one might say.

Jercash could see him sweating, keeping his eyes down, trying not to look around at it all. It didn't matter, of course. In this place, he would see everything that Jercash wanted him to see, even if he plucked out his own eyes to avoid it.

He seemed a bit frozen now, though. Trembling and pale. That was no good.

Jercash gave his shoulder a light jostle. "Answer me, Loz."

"N-no, sir, I-I haven't forgotten to tell you anything."

Hmm. Jercash let the domain linger as he observed the man's aura a moment longer.

Then he let go, and the domain popped like a harmless bubble. "Okay. That's all I wanted to know. By the way, great work, pal! You've really been killing it, lately! I'm proud of you!"

Lozaro, shaking, manged to return a stilted nod.

"In fact, I'd say that I gotta reward you for all your efforts. And before you say anything--I know that's not why you do it. You're just a curious fella by nature. A pure academic. I get it. But I can't let good work go unrecognized, either. So what do you want, huh? Just name it, and I'll see about makin' it happen! I've got a lot of great connections these days, you know!"

The other man merely remained silent, still trying to steady himself, apparently.

"You're too humble by a half, you know that?! Well, that's okay! I'll think of somethin' for ya!"