Rhys began to notice one aspect about Cyrus stick out amid all else. He seemed highly attuned to the vices of the world, almost fixated on them, in fact. He wondered what it was that made him so suspicious of others, much like... Soren? No, it wasn't quite the same, but definitely reminiscent. What could have predisposed him to think this way, and so often?

But how could he argue? Hatred was never a good thing, at least in his mind. He never truly knew what it felt like to hate something, but he definitely had first row seats for the strife that the violence of others had produced. He never really grasped what could make people so prompt to spill the blood of their enemies when there were more peaceful ways to settle disputes. It was cruel and heartrending. Perhaps it was simply beyond his understanding.

So he said, "You're right... Violence and hatred are ugly things. But I don't think they've completely soiled the universe." He smiled again, this one softer, like it had been coaxed by the glide of a butterfly's wing. "After all, I could never say such, not when there are plenty of beautiful things in this world to make up for it."