Vilhelm wasn't the only one who felt the difference. Although Nero kept strict control over his emotions, not letting them bleed into Aetheric Halo, everything about him seemed different. To say that Nero had been treating the previous spars as a game would be incorrect - he had genuinely fought with the intention of winning.
There was, however, a difference between how he fought normally, and how he fought when everything was on the line. It was not something he noticed at first, since he hardly ever lost normally. Yet after repeated missions, Nero just realised that there was a difference. That is what he tried to teach Silas as well: to fight as if his life was on the line.
"Before we begin, I'd like to ask you a question," Nero said, his gaze locked onto Vilhelm. This time, he was not asking a question to mentally manipulate him. Rather, he just wanted to assess how many of his own speculations about Vilhelm and his life experiences were accurate.
