Something terrible -- over, and over, and over. And here, where they are outside the infinite spiral pattern but the Dreaming has an odd relationship to life -- Zephyr doesn't want to test what he might be capable of. That's not going to be a fun or bloodless test.

So he shifts left, waits for X to mirror him, then gathers his weight and bolts right, aiming around X and through the door. There's the benefit of having done this before, Zephyr thinks bitterly; he doesn't need to adjust for the changes, knows exactly the weight of the Niddhogg-arm.

He's sorry. He really is. But he's not about to spend his breath on it, not when it's more important to get away.