Hiro  collapsed to his knees when he was dropped to the ground.  His heart was beating a mile a minute, his breath was ragged.  He was scared more than he'd ever been before.  Like a switch, the God went from being a monster, to his seemingly normal charming self..  The God could probably see the color had drained from his face.

"H-holy shit."  He was breathless.  He was lifted up to his feet and brushed off, but when the scene changed with a snap of the God's fingers, he felt woozy, dropping into the first chair that was offered to him.  Hiro stared at his hands, they were shaking..  He was offered a mug of ale.  He looked at the mug, and was assured it was not poisoned or anything.  He took it and took a long drink from it, to steady his nerves.  He released a deep breath when he was done.

"Right . . . right,  Just scared the hell out of me, is all.  Need to make sure I'm not out to hurt her, or you.  I don't think my nerves have been this shot before.  I've been in life threatening situations before.  I've had the crap beaten out of me, and obviously I've survived.  The fight with the Fire Giant, he was stronger than me, physically, but I could withstand his heat, I could move faster than him, I could use finesse, and I used magic to compensate for the strength difference.  Like Father taught me.  He taught me magic augmentation, I could increase my strength and agility by flipping a magic switch.  But I just . .  I couldn't survive the drop like that, and my body just froze, I would have died, if you wanted me to.  That . . . scares me."

"Its a lesson that unfortunately some people learn the hard way," Drae commented as he sat across from Hiro. "Nothing is forever, not even the Gods or the World Trees," he said, almost reverently. "Even those who naturally do not feel the kiss of death by way of time. No matter how much power, wealth or skill, death eventually takes all of us. And I do not mean the Harbinger, she and I are good friends. No, I speak of True Death, moving on from this plane of existence to the next. Everyone fears their mortality, but no matter how they try to delay it, it catches us all in time. Hubris is the greatest weakness of all sentient beings. That is something I am confident that Sapphire would tell you. Hubris gets more men killed than any war. Now that you have had a taste of what it is like to be helpless, to not be able to save yourself, you have learned that there will always be a situation that will overcome you. Whether it means your death, or just injury in the end, you now have the knowledge that EVERYONE is vulnerable somehow,"  he said. "Even the Gods… Even the World Tree…" 

He waved a finger and refilled Hiro's mug before he summoned himself a glass of wine. He took a slow and thoughtful sip of the grape derivative, regarding Hiro over the rim of his glass. "It is better that you learn that lesson here and now, than later when you find yourself in a position where you are incapable of keeping the promises you made to me in the Occulus. Fates forbid it ever happens, but the future is an uncertain thing."