[The speedy confirmation Lessa offers him is reassuring. The yaksha does not wish to be misunderstood here; his insistence about the karmic debt is not an attempt to estrange the other man because Xiao mislikes his company, after all. He observes as Lessa lays a hand over his chest, a small spike of anxiety rising within him at the motion. Does Lessa feel it already? But, fortunately, it seems that is not the case—at least, not yet.]

You may not realize it is affecting you, initially. [A beat.] I will return to your other question, but first—you are neither mortal nor human, correct? I ask because if both are true, you may find yourself more resistant to the karmic debt I bear. At least, that is the case in my world.

If it is affecting you, you may begin to feel discomfort where there was none previously. There will be an increase in negative emotions clouding your heart. Eventually, agony and madness will overtake you.

As for my sins… [Xiao looks away, ashamed. He stares at Quetzalcoatl's temple in silence, wondering what its owner would make of him. Would they be as kind as Rex Lapis?] I once was enslaved and used as a weapon against mortals. I stole lives. I devoured their good dreams and sowed nightmares in my wake.

[Literally.]

But the reason I carry this karma is more complicated than that, though I do so in order to repent. Does that satisfy your curiosity?