Dear grimoire,

Among mortals, curiosity is a two-sided coin. It instils pleasure and a desire for learning and knowledge, but it can also be seen as an 'ugly flaw' if this desire for knowledge leads to subjects considered dangerous or ethically dubious. Nevertheless, like everything else, curiosity is merely an impulse. The result of this drive is learning. In this, everything is neutral. But for the curious, the result of this learning can lead to variable consequences.

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The snake-woman took advantage of the Owlverlord coming out of its laboratory to call out to it.
-Massster ! I have a question, pleassse.
-Nāga ? I am listening.
-A creature hasss entered the Manor, a creature withhh the sssmell of... It isss hard to dessscribe. Like the sssmell of black water. Who wasss it ? He didn't come down but I could sssmell the ssscent of magic coming down here !
-They are a deity of the Abyss, Nāga. It is Roham. I invited them to negotiate.
-Oh... Did... Did they call you 'Orphan of the Void'?, she tried timidly.
-Where did you hear that ?
-... Hageshiiomo wasss talking in hisss sssleep the lassst time I visssited him, she invented quickly.
-They are the ones who use that nickname, yes. Despite the monotone voice, an echo dubbed neither feminine nor masculine, the sentence seemed tinged with age-old frustration.
-May I ask why, Massster ?

The owl-masked shadow did not answer, staring into Nāga's with its empty eye sockets. After a silence that was far too long, its dark mass grew noticeably larger, its surface trembling, in front of the snake-woman.

-Curiosity... is an excellent teacher, Nāga. But ask the wrong question and you will suffer eternal agony.

Frightened, Nāga tried to back away. For the first time, there was anger in its voice, a new gleam in the empty eye sockets of the mask. An anger not feigned to stir up a reaction in his interlocutor, but genuine, sincere anger. Despite this... Her instincts were not wrong and her new Master would provide her with far more torment than the owl could inflict.

-And... I accept... The lesssson it will teach me. she asserted, summoning up all her courage. How did you become an Orphan of the Void ?