"Now the foundation answers to you," Lustia continued, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur that seemed to vibrate through the very bones of the bathroom. "Those ancient doors that once stood as impenetrable barriers?"
"They are nothing more than doorways now."
"They exist only because the man holding the key, my apostle, walks among them."
"What was once a fortress has become a hallway, and it makes reaching you... infinitely easier."
Rex narrowed his eyes, his mind already cataloging the implications.
"Easier," he repeated, the word tasting like ash. He knew that in this world, nothing came without a price. "Easier isn't free, Lustia."
"No. It is anything but free." Her smile twisted into something wry, something almost pained. "This intrusion costs me a tremendous amount of essence."
"I am tearing at the seams of reality with bare hands, Rex."
"I cannot do this often, perhaps once a year, if I am exceptionally careful and ruthless with my resources."
