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The Dark Mirror Court were not exactly Hvergelmir's friends, lately. To be fair, they weren't her enemies either, per se -- she tried not to have enemies whenever possible -- but the pain of Persephone's corruption still loomed large in her heart, as did the knowledge of Chariklo's purification. The Court had reason enough to take issue with Hvergelmir, if they chose to -- and Hvergelmir, for her part, took private issue with them.

They wanted to go to space. To repopulate. That was what they claimed they were trying to achieve -- to get to space.

It was like watching a group of people who'd fallen or jumped into a pit trying to grab other people to drag down into that pit with them, hoping if they amassed enough bodies, they'd climb their way out. The sales pitch was fundamentally flawed.

It was not worth serving Chaos for. Hvergelmir's private opinion was that the Dark Mirror Court didn't yet know what it was they were getting into bed with -- but whatever the long-term strategy was, on Chaos's part, Hvergelmir hadn't seen it yet.

She didn't have proof: only suspicions.

This turned out, however, not to be terribly relevant for the present moment. The aura she'd sensed belonged to a senshi dressed in deep flame reds, her black uniform glinting. She appeared to be more or less friendly.

"We're both magical, then," she said, smiling across the way. "Hvergelmir Knight of the Cosmos." She put out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, miss . . . ?"

So she was new, then -- in one way or another. Hvergelmir couldn't really judge anyone, in that respect. Her own first year as a knight had been terribly quiet.

Well, it was an opportunity to make some inroads, then. To create a good impression before too many other people could influence Asmodeus's worldview.

"That's okay," she said. "You're not missing out on anything good. It's a jungle out there." Hvergelmir offered a smile. "So what brings you out today?"

Hvergelmir nodded sympathetically. "I'd heard that the Dark Mirror Court do that," she agreed. "I'm not sure I'd have the stomach for it."

That was generally not true. In fact, she was dead sure she didn't have the stomach for it -- she was vehemently opposed to it. But sometimes, tact was called for. Soft phrasing. A willingness not to be stingy on sympathy just because someone else came from a different place in life. So she allowed for the fact that she didn't know Asmodeus's life, her experiences; she could not truly say whether, if she'd lived Asmodeus's life instead of her own, she could've brought herself to send people's shadows out to steal from them.

The world was full of countless lives, and she had only lived one.

"Do you have to do it very often?"

Hvergelmir nodded at Asmodeus's assessment, though her expression was one of neutrality, not agreement. On the issue of whether or not the Dark Mirror Court would miss Asmodeus's contributions to its coffers of stolen energy, she couldn't really say. After all, she had no real idea why exactly the Dark Mirror Court justified any of the things it did. The seemed to have no distinct agenda other than propagating their own ranks.

Not yet, anyway. She supposed it suited their purposes to wait to reveal any great ambitions until they'd safely swelled their ranks to bursting.

"How exactly did you come to join the Dark Mirror Court?" she asked, curious.

Hvergelmir absorbed this information. It was like Chariklo -- here was another person who'd seen what the future held in store, and couldn't abide just standing by while their Dark Mirror Court took no stance. She wanted more than just to save her own skin. She saw a bigger picture, and felt the weight of it.

Perhaps she, too, longed to stretch her wings. To be free to live by her own beliefs.

"The future is yours to rewrite," she offered as her assurance. "None of us are tied to that path. It's not too late to change your fate -- it never is. Fight for the future you want to create."

Hvergelmir smiled, waving a dismissive hand. "You needed someone to talk to. I promise, that's a good enough reason for me." She glanced up at the sky for a moment, imagining stars she couldn't see. Perhaps it had been some time since her mission had just been interviewing Negaverse agents about their propaganda, anyhow. Perhaps her goals had always been evolving. "I don't see what good it does, asking for anyone's resumé to see if they meet my criteria or not. If you need someone again -- I'll still be here. That offer stands as long as I do."