"What did you wish to speak with me about?" Auris asks quietly; kneels and watches Juniera as she stares over the cliff's edge.

She doesn't respond, at least not right away. And once she does, she breezes right past Auris' question and asks one of her own.

"What makes you believe that you deserve my love? That you deserve me?"

Auris opens their mouth, only to find they have no response. They hardly believe they deserve anything, much less Juniera. Her interest in them had been a miracle in of itself, and Auris had hardly believed it when she'd asked them to pledge themself to her.

"Your love is false." Juniera's voice pulls them from their thoughts. "You never have. And what use are you, then?" She moves a step closer and leans down, caressing Auris' face with a gentle touch. "I suppose what I am trying to say, is that I no longer need you." Her gentle caress becomes a claw as her nails dig into Auris' cheek, and confusion clouds their mind.

"What- what do you mean? Of course I love you!" Auris fights their muddled and anxious thoughts, the tears threatening to soak their cheeks, and pleads with her, "I- I would do anything and everything for you; I would die for you."

A smile plays along Juniera's lips at their words, and she steps away, releases them. "Then prove your love to me; die for me, just as you say you would." Venom drips from her words as she gestures towards the cliff's edge; venom that Auris is all but blind to.

Auris stands, sets their jaw, and steps towards the edge of the cliff. Obviously this must be some kind of test; Juniera would never let them die. This is simply a test to prove their loyalty and faith.

They turn to glance at her, but she is no longer there. Air replaces solid ground. Only a small inhale betrays Auris' panic as they twist in midair and manage to grab ahold of a rocky ledge. They glance upwards, confusion even more prominent than before as a shrill laugh echoes. Juniera stands above, making no move to help as Auris tightens their grip.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet Auris. Still, you do not see. This is no test." Her voice is a sharp dagger, gleaming and sharp as it splits Auris' heart into pieces. "You are nothing more than a broken tool; worthless, weak, gullible. Best to throw out before you cause someone else damage."

Auris lets their tears flow freely, this time. They choke on crumbling meanings and meaningless words, "You- You told me you loved me. That if I obeyed, and followed command, that you always would."

Juniera smiles as if they amuse her, only for her demeanor to change in an instant; one unrecognizable to Auris, yet much more natural to her. "I never once loved you." She slams her foot onto Auris' right hand, forcing them to let go with a cry of pain. "After all, who would love a monster such as yourself? A murderer, preying on innocent victims." She positions her foot over Auris' left, a gleam of something almost like excitement sparkling in her eyes as they let out a hiccuping sob.

"Please, please let me prove myself; Let me love you. I have made and kept each and every promise. I am yours, always."

She pauses, for a moment, as if considering their words. Allows a small glimmer of hope to rekindle, only to crush it with a sneer and words aimed to kill. "Pathetic. To think you even earned a name for yourself when you are worth less than a sprite."

The cliff falls away with another pained cry that Auris hardly recognizes as their own; a cry that turns into a scream, only to cut short as the speed of their descent causes the world to darken around them, and oblivion claims them.

Juniera stepped back from the cliff, free of the parasite she’d so carefully nurtured up until this point. There was no way Auris could have survived that fall, and every single one of her enemies had been slain by Auris at her command. She was happy, for once. Confident in her abilities. And with her only threat gone, she could do as she pleased. The Shroud was no more.