"What?"
Cades didn't even know how to react to that question, well, he of course knew that he liked those fruits, those very fruits his parents had eaten the day everything ended on ehetria, the fruit that was part of some of his most dear memories when he had thought back on his parents, the fruit that he was truly starving for, be it that he was starving for literally every single kind of food there was in existence.
Neither did he even realize that the clothes the old man, still brimming with the eternal vitality, wore were changing once more, turning into what resembled the clothes of an elegant jester, the hair parting ways and going up before falling back down, becoming as short and proper as before, the robe reminiscent of the cultural image of how an angel had to look switching places with an elegant tuxedo that parted behind the man, one that showed the broad shoulders the being could claim it's own, or at least Cades assumed so, other than that he also didn't realize that he suddenly had glasses behind which the eternal glint of madness that did not seem to resemble madness or insanity was still gleaming, more powerful than before even.
In the end, as Cades was about to answer the question, feeling his heart normalize, his brains stopping the thoughts of this place for good, the being wore a simple tuxedo, elegant hair that was often seen on older people, a tuxedo parting behind the person, all in black, aside from a white undershirt Cades did not even really manage to realize had suddenly appeared from nowhere, as he had not really noticed any of the changes, just looking at the face of the being, believing it to be unchanging, unmoving, a stone amidst waves, until he answered and something changed, the old man answering as soon as he finished his answer, beginning a flow that he could barely follow.
"Yes.."
"I take it that you prefer it being cooked into the form of spaghetti, but might I ask when you first ate those, those trabara spaghetti, your favourite meal?"
Cades didn't even know how they might've possibly known that, but still, he answered faithfully, looking at the old man, still as calm as can be amidst the fact that he was standing on, or rather, within, an endlessly big hand that might've belonged to even a spider, or perhaps, even Cades himself wearing a clown costume from what he was able to tell, though he was fairly certain that the second idea was most likely just his own brain coming up with insanity so he wouldn't go insane.
Either way, he answered truthfully, he wanted to, he wanted to understand the man, but more so, his heart calmed down as soon as he heard the man's voice, and his soul grew lighter as he was asked a normal question, one that might even be asked to a normal person, one that might be asked to a child by their parents, one that might be posed to a friend visiting another, he yearned for such normalcy, and as such, his soul and mind responded truthfully, quickly putting more and more trust into the man that was already weirdly trustable from their point of view.
"Yes, I like spaghetti trabara, why do you ask?"
He didn't even notice it, he didn't want to notice it either, but his mind was being lulled into being calm, into understanding this world no more, and as such, as the being began to answer the question, Cades was barely able to even understand that it was saying something, he only listened to a melancholic, calming voice, his brain not even wishing to understand it, his soul wishing to never forget the voice that he was more so being forced to love and listen to than anything else.
"I ask and I speak right now so that you will be distracted while your body and mind get used to the fact of where you are, and so that your mind won't quite literally turn intro a liquid, begin to boil, and make your entire skull go poof. I do however find it understandable to like spaghetti, though I personally prefer strawberries, if you've ever heard from them, I can't really stop talking, otherwise you'll just turn into goo, so bear with me, you can't hear what I'm saying anyways so I'll just start the mandatory introduction as I always do, people piss their pants otherwise and I only really have to convey it in an audial way right now.."
And indeed he couldn't, Cades could not hear anything they were truly saying, he could only really feel that something was being said, but it was like thunder, thousands of miles away, barely a sound, and not any light visible, at least not from where he stood, and as such he didn't even understand what the being said next, despite this being quite concerning had he been able to hear it at all, something that would've made him run away, or perhaps just something he wouldn't even have been able to react to, though, soon after, the being was destined to stop talking and Cades was destined to realize what was going on, though he might never be able to remember what was being said right now.
"I am the high pillar of inspiration, I am the glint of madness causing people to kill others, I am the muse you watch as you draw, I am the being that whispers ideas into ones head, I am there as one of the eldest, I am one of the many who wish for others to progress, I am the source of countless hate, I am the source of ideas, I am the inventions many claim as their own, I am the history, I am the cause of war, I am the decider of competitions, I am the bringer of inspiration, and I welcome you, as is my job, to the trial of the great pillar of motion, Cades Kirgun, son of ehetria."
And indeed, Cades was not able to understand anything the being had just said, it's tone still seemingly bored, be it with a sly smile at the end when it said his name, causing him to snap out of it, his mind now normal, his fear of the beings around him now all but gone, his eyes darting to see at the man, the being he had no idea of what it was, though, he did believe it to be powerful.