"I... I won't..."
It was hard, but Lusca steeled herself; Even in the face of what felt like despair, she searched as far within her soul as she could for her courage, and held tight to it. "I won't... let you take him. Because... he... even if it was a lie... even if I deluded myself into thinking it... He was my friend!" She proclaimed, her fists clinched and shaking, but her stance firm. It seemed she wasn't going to run away after all.
The clatter of chains shifting and constricting rang out louder as Godfrey, in a righteous rage, attempted to lash out at Kuo-- only to be stopped by the entwining coils. Kuo, meanwhile, was still very much taken aback; His eyes fixed on the dragon before him, as though she were some sort of unfathomable concept. Counter-offers and equivalencies... This was truly turning out to be one of the more complicated contracts he'd ever written. As Godfrey began to sob in despair and Lusca's unwavering resolve made itself manifest, the Keeper of Temperance closed his eyes for a moment, and thought long and hard about the circumstances at hand... before reaching a relatively satisfying conclusion in his mind.
"...It's odd. I must admit that I though I understood the extent of your minds... of your dreams." Kuo spoke aloud, before opening his crimson eyes once more and staring upward, into the void of chains which surrounded the three of them. "There are certainly many lessons to be had here... Even I have learned something. Godfrey," He began, looking back to the boy with a changed expression-- not one of amusement or vindication, but a warm, yet admonishing gaze. "It's normally not my place to speak in defense of my clients. As I mentioned before, I am but a humble merchant-- My place is merely to give, and take, as my clients desire. However... The heart, the human heart, is a fickle thing. It wants what it wants, and will burn away the world-- and so many beautiful things within it-- to have it. Unmastered, it will rule you... and it's distorted desires will bring you nothing but hardship. Learn to master your heart, Godfrey. You need not temper your desires... but you must learn to discern the truth behind what it is you really, truly want. Perhaps, when that day comes... you might find the words to save her, as a proper hero should." He lectured, his words firm, yet with a layer of compassion behind them that they'd lacked before; And as he finished, he gave a smile. It was an oddly serene, soothing look for Kuo... one that told Godfrey, without so much as a word, not to worry-- that somehow, everything would work out fine.
That said, he turned to Lusca and approached her; The chains surrounding him allowing him freedom enough to walk for a time. He reached her after a few moments, and lowered himself to a knee-- just enough so that his slender, deft hand could take her by the chin and raise her crying eyes to meet his own. "Luscatella... Never have I seen a more beautiful, vivid dream. To some degree, I suppose I knew, all along. The dream that lured me here wasn't Godfrey's... it was yours. Even as your body lay desecrated and defiled beneath the depths of the ocean, you never truly died, did you? You chose to dream, instead... to hold on to some glimmer of life, an impossibility. And what a dream it was... a dream of happiness. A dream to live once more; To fly through the skies, and swim through the oceans. A dream to taste so many delicacies... A dream to find someone that would cherish you. A dream to cherish someone, with all of your being. Such a pure, dazzling dream... like a blinding light in the depths of darkness. And you would throw it away for someone else. You see such value in the world-- it's people, it's cuisine, it's wonders... but so little in yourself. I would ask that you value yourself a little more... A soul as bright as yours is invaluable."
He let her go, before standing once more, pondering to himself. "And I... have learned much. About the darkness within men's hearts, which resides alongside light... as well as more about the nature of dreams, and how the boundary between them can be used to change one's fate. You have both taught me quite a bit... It only makes sense that I would favor the two of you, if only a little." And so, the self-same chains that held Godfrey in place lashed out once more; This time, taking hold of the semi-translucent Luscatella, and surprising her as they forced her to her feet-- coiling around her in the same manner that they now coiled around Godfrey. Among those chains, both Kuo's right arm and Lusca's were connected by one-- In a similar manner to minutes prior, that chain pulled them together, resulting in Kuo's hand and Lusca's meeting; A strange, 'forced' handshake, that neither seemed to be resisting. "The deal... is sealed. Alas, Luscatella... your body fell in combat, deep beneath the depth of the Tuor ocean. Yet yours is quite the invaluable soul; That of a dragon. I can't offer you so little as my friendship... So I'll throw in this, as well."
And suddenly, a great flash of blinding purple exploded forth from Lusca's body, enveloping her in an instant-- Kuo would be next, then Godfrey, and before long the entirety of the world of chains was consumed by the bright, purple light. It lingered for a while-- longer than it was welcomed-- before dying down slowly, and revealing that, after everything that had happened, they were 'back' in the ruins... and the rains had died down. The chains were gone-- even the ones that wrapped around Godfrey had disappeared in the light. It was just he and Kuo now... and Lusca, who, to her own surprise, could feel the damp air of the ruins on her skin, and smell the humidity of the after-rain in the air. She looked down at her hands, at her feet, shifting her tail-- she could feel it. All of it. The cold... it was gone. "I... I'm... I'm alive...?" She could barely find the words-- her mind struggling to comprehend what was happening to her-- what had happened to her. Indeed, she was no longer translucent... though her body had changed, in many ways. The bioluminescence that brightened her more draconic features showed off a new gold-and-purple glow, as opposed to the blues and greens it did before. Even her physical form had, somehow, aged quite a bit; She no longer looked so young, her body filling out here and there as if she'd taken to adolescence in an instant. If nothing else, she looked somewhere around the same age as the two men who stood before her... Though she couldn't understand why.
"Close to it, at least." Kuo finally spoke up, after having taken a moment to examine the changes in her as well. "You did die, after all. That is a reality that cannot be denied so long as there are those who acknowledge it. The naga, for example... and Godfrey." He thought for a moment about what he'd say next; He could see Lusca's face visibly darken with despair at the very mention of that day, likely reliving the trauma of her own demise in her mind. "And yet you still dream. You still exist, if only in that dream. And so, I made a very minor impossibility happen in order honor our deal... and brought your dream into reality." At the mention of this, Lusca's eyes snapped back to Kuo in shock. Her dream... into reality? Was such a thing even truly possible? What was he saying?
"Th-then, I really am--"
"Alive, in a sense, yes. But you did trade your undying loyalty until the end of days for it. In a sense, you work for me now. Forever." The young man explained, as Lusca struggled to take in his words. "I believe this arrangement meets all of our requirements. The price of your soul is far greater than that of a human's, after all. I shall be by your side-- an advisor, or an overseer... or a friend, if you need one. I share with you my gift... that you may visit and leave the world of dreams as you will... and interact with the boundary between the two." He paused, gesturing to Lusca's new form-- as she was to understand it, a clear side-effect of Kuo sharing his powers with her. "I am, however, a merchant by nature... and I must continue to ply my trade. I should like your help with that-- collecting what needs to be collected, and providing what is agreed upon-- for the rest of time." He spoke in clear, certain terms; His voice never wavering, his gaze on her never faltering. Lusca began to react-- She started to refuse, to say something, anything-- before catching herself and pausing, taking a moment to truly consider her circumstances... and quietly nodding. "...I understand." She replied, her gaze cast away from both Kuo and Godfrey.