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Dreams again, growing stranger and stranger with each passing night. Laurence would be a liar if he said he was not apprehensive. There was no shame, he reasoned, in being wary of oblivion. His entire life, he had been taught that faith and a good heart would pave a path to Heaven. Now, he was denying himself that chance for Him. Would it be painful, he wondered privately to himself, refusing to allow Shuo knowledge of these thoughts. Would his consciousness wink away into nothing?

A restless mind and wandering feet soon led him again into the gardens of the Pantheon. His hands tucked themselves into his pockets so that he could better stare up at the newly reborn sky, marveling quietly at His work. It really didn't matter, he supposed, in the end. If he would be helping Lord Harmodius, then one life sacrificed was worth endless agony if it meant the rest of the world could live on in peace.

Still, he could not help but feel melancholy. For the first time in his life, Laurence wanted a drink strong enough to knock him out.

There were only a few people who knew his name around the Pantheon, and that was enough to jerk him out of his thoughts. When his eyes fell upon the young god's face--what else could it be, with eyes like that and those markings?--Laurence found himself at a loss for words.

Even more unexpectedly was the deep, bass-like hum that built up slowly in the back of his mind, a sound he'd come to recognize as one of pleasure. Shuo was quite happy upon seeing this new arrival, but why?

"Uh," The priest finally managed once he'd remembered how to make his tongue work, trying and failing to keep himself from staring. "Yes." Yes, he was Laurence. Laurence was him.

"Kios....?" Laurence breathed, sounding like he'd been punched in the gut. "You're serious." That didn't deserve a response--it was more like he was trying to confirm it for himself. Yes, he could see signs. The eyes, the hair color, the paleness of the skin... "How did... What did you do?"

Shuo was mentally shaking his head. Couldn't his host see that clearly the boy had grown? Really, it was fascinating how Laurence's mind sought to deny the truth even when it was laid bare in front of him!

Fortunately for poor Kios, Laurence seemed to realize he was making the boy--man--god?--uncomfortable, and with effort, cleared his throat. "Sorry. Sorry, you just look--really, really different. Not bad," He amended hastily, "Just. Different."

What was with the boy's hand? It looked burned somehow, or rotten. "You look... well, like a god now." He finally said, a smile flickering uneasily to his features despite himself. "When did it... happen?"

That made his lips quirk again, and Laurence seemed to relax a bit more. "Still writing?" Kios had struck him a bit as someone who had his head in the clouds more often than not. Not a bad trait, certainly. "Bet your mother and father are proud."

That was right--Nergal. Just thinking about how this was Nergal's son made the priest mentally want to his himself across the face.

A smile touched his lips at that, a bit distant, but Laurence understood. "Proud, too, I'm sure." Or something. Gods were like humans in some ways, and then completely different, in others.

And then, grudgingly, because the dragon had been listening the entire time. "Shuo says hello. And that he's proud of you."

Kios needn't have worried; Shuo was not the sort to take offense if he could help it, and it was much easier to speak with whoever was in charge of the body. Besides, he wasn't feeling very talkative himself, and, so long as god knew that he had extended a greeting, all was well.

The priest was caught off guard at the offering, a mixture of emotions flashing over his face. Surprise, wariness, embarrassment. "It's going to sound stupid," Was the first thing he thought to say, resisting the urge to sigh at himself even as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"I think the--the merging, or the fusion, or whatever it is--might be close." He finally said, his eyes fixed pointedly on the sky once more. "And though I don't regret a thing...I am apprehensive."

"Well," The priest said ruefully, "I imagine it was a little unexpected. And sudden." Humans didn't just grow like godlings apparently did. Or, you know, at all like godlings did. "Maybe I just have a thing against surprises." Laurence wasn't fond of anything that he hadn't already figured out or predicted. In short, he was a spoilsport, and had a very narrow view of fun.

Laurence smiled, though it was a weary one. "Yeah. Me neither. And Shuo doesn't remember..." Because the dragon had a host before--a host that didn't survive the process, and had taken a valuable part of the dragon's memory along with it. "I have to wonder, if other gods had children... Like..." He paused for a moment, frowning as he tried to decide how to word it without sounding incompetent.

"Was there a gem for a god of Lament before? Does it not matter because you're here now? Or are you... well, you don't have any memories of a past life, do you?"