Slatera seemed slightly shocked. It was quite a rare occasion for Balsis to appear before Slatera. After all, Slatera was always an unwanted child. "A surprise to see you here... After all, I was merely an accident." He said, his voice as distorted as ever. "Crow? That is a nice name... For something that only brings omens of death. Why I changed such a creature... To only bring death. But be assured... Death is merely a means to the end. By now, your other children should be working on something... Albeit a sloppy creation. Without this 'crow', this creation would never exist... And your children would work endlessly to keep their creations happy."

His tone was the same as always. The first part of each sentence was calm, and collected. The other one seemed to be seething with rage, although Slatera never raised his voice above his usual calm and collected level.

"To answer your question, the bird was never tortured... Although he will never turn to his old self."