I stared at Theras for several seconds, unable to understand how someone could speak so calmly about the deaths of entire universes. His words carried none of the hesitation I had expected, as though the lives he had consumed were nothing more than numbers on a page and their suffering merely an unavoidable step toward something greater.
"You keep talking about that throne as though reaching it makes everything you have done acceptable," I finally said. "Tell me something, Theras. Do you ever think about the people you have killed?"
His expression remained unchanged, but his crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Of course I do."
The answer surprised me.
"You think I have forgotten them? The beings whose fates I consumed, the universes that disappeared because I needed their power, the countless people who became nothing more than fuel for my advancement? I remember them."
His voice became quieter as he continued.
"Every single one."
I watched him carefully.
