105 To brave the storm of dread and embarrassment

"You're what?"

Ah...now I know what it meant when people said the coldness of Nightmare derived from fear. I felt it like a thin prickling blizzard, belting at the surface of my nape. Natha's voice sounded no different than his usual tone, but I felt like it was getting heavier to breathe already.

When I slowly turned my head to look at him, he was smiling slightly, but it only made the coldness in his eyes more suffocating.

Ah...I'm screwed. It was literally the only thing I could think of at that time.

"A moment," he said calmly, without removing his gaze from me, and I was petrified like a frozen fish in a blast chiller.