Galisk's eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, the stone bench creaking softly beneath him. "Could you repeat what you said to me before?"
Alister met his father's stare with equal intensity. The rune-light painted his face in pale gold; for a moment he looked less like a man and more like an emblem. "In order to secure my people's survival," he said slowly, "humanity will have to be used as a stepping stone to my dream, so they will either bow to me or be eradicated."
The words fell like a dropped blade. Miyu's tail twitched.
Galisk's hand went cold against his knee. "Is such drastic action really necessary?" he asked, not yet condemning, only trying to find footing in a shifting world.
"My people and my mythos are at stake," Alister replied. "This is simply one of many steps that must be taken to arrive at the ending I desire."
Galisk watched the younger man's eyes, those impossible, ancient eyes, and felt the old impulse to retreat, to bargain.
