Shade

In the meantime, the illusory Amaurot still illuminated the dark reaches of the Tempest. And Ryusei thought someone should visit every so often to keep Hythlodaeus company. They stood on a balcony high up one of the many residential buildings, gazing out over the eerie dead city.

A shadow passed overhead. They both glanced up.

“Ah!” Hythlodaeus exclaimed. “A shark! How delightful!”

“Delightful?” Ryusei repeated, eyebrow half-lifted.

“Indeed. I’m sure you now know that many and more of the lifeforms extant on this star were conceived of by my contemporaries, and that in my duties as Chief of the Bureau of the Architect, I oversaw their creations, approving and denying as necessary. Sharks were a particularly common trend at one point. At first it was just, well…” He gestured a hand up toward the normal-looking shark that swam overhead, mere yalms from the edge of the bubble. “But ere long, many unique and diverse variants on the concept sprang forth. People submitted concepts of flying sharks, land sharks, two-headed sharks, and oh, it was wonderful to see such passion on display.” A smile crept into his voice.

“You… really think so?”

“Of course I think so!” Hythlodaeus paused and tilted his head. “I must have thought so. After all, I approved every single one.”