It’s not, [he agrees.] But we’ve all agreed to pursue it, haven’t we?
[Liem has spent long hours thinking about what else the Regent might want. His nights have been so often long and sleepless, his worries end up chasing themselves in circles until he’s too exhausted to put one thought in front of the other. Though the activity does little to bring him peace, he’s compelled to pursue it regardless. The question is too horrifyingly pertinent to set aside.
He folds his hands together again, glancing at Matt as he holds the flask out for him. After a moment’s stillness he takes it, and, leaning against the low wall behind them, drains the remainder of its contents in one long swallow.
And he thinks of Matt back in the Champion’s shrine, speaking with such brittle care as he called his own life pointless. He thinks of Amos saying most people are better than me, so easily and so simply. He thinks of Paul’s fervent desire to bring about the end of the world at his God’s behest. He thinks of the words he’d spoken the last time he was in Venera, two months ago:
I will end this sick world's suffering, and mine with it.
How many of them would really care if they didn’t live to see the world the Regent created? And why would a being who personified destruction and despair give a single thought to the birth of a new existence after this one was gone?]
no subject
[Liem has spent long hours thinking about what else the Regent might want. His nights have been so often long and sleepless, his worries end up chasing themselves in circles until he’s too exhausted to put one thought in front of the other. Though the activity does little to bring him peace, he’s compelled to pursue it regardless. The question is too horrifyingly pertinent to set aside.
He folds his hands together again, glancing at Matt as he holds the flask out for him. After a moment’s stillness he takes it, and, leaning against the low wall behind them, drains the remainder of its contents in one long swallow.
And he thinks of Matt back in the Champion’s shrine, speaking with such brittle care as he called his own life pointless. He thinks of Amos saying most people are better than me, so easily and so simply. He thinks of Paul’s fervent desire to bring about the end of the world at his God’s behest. He thinks of the words he’d spoken the last time he was in Venera, two months ago:
I will end this sick world's suffering, and mine with it.
How many of them would really care if they didn’t live to see the world the Regent created? And why would a being who personified destruction and despair give a single thought to the birth of a new existence after this one was gone?]
That wasn’t the part I was doubting.