What a vile man.
Liron cut his fish into pieces. How tender the flesh was. He hoped Adenius's body would offer more resistance. Perhaps he should take a dull blade for it.
"How does killin' my parents help me?" Liron asked instead.
"Isn't it obvious?" Adenius asked, taking a sip of his wine. Liron nipped at his. It tasted like piss.
"Probably something about forcin' me to grow."
"Ah, so you've spoken to your sister. As you should. She's that last family you have, after all."
Liron's hand slipped, his knife carving into his plate.
"Caution, Liron," Adenius said. "This is the finest porcelain. It would be a shame to waste it."
Liron put down his cutlery, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten over me."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. My dear Liron, you have to learn to tame your temper. Such a gaffe could cost you in the future. Not that one will await you. But, to answer your question. Yes, turning your parents into my loyal servants and erasing them has forced your hand. Your heart and soul must burn upon seeing me.
"It will keep you warm on the coldest nights, and it won't allow a single second to rest. All you have ever been has been altered to suit one purpose. Killing me. You have great potential, Liron. I wanted to make sure you would realize some of it when we clash for the final time."
"So you can have your good hunt?"
"Great hunt," Adenius corrected Liron. "A good hunt promises a decent challenge. My prey will die fighting, but alas, it will die. With a great one, my prey escapes my comprehension and strikes me with strategies or angles I could have never predicted. There is no greater joy than being surprised, Liron.
"Up until now, you have yet to do so, I fear. Perhaps I should have crippled your sister or tortured her. Anginseran would have mended her, but her mind would have remained broken. But pondering the wrong turns we took leads nowhere worthwhile. You, Liron, will offer me a great hunt. One where I will fear my death every second until I have brought you down."
"That has started already, right?"
Adenius tilted his head. Even hidden underneath his mask, his confusion was palpable.
Stabbing a piece of fish with his knife, Liron held it up to his mouth, pulling it off with his teeth. "Can't convince me that the Inquisition isn't railin' after what you did," Liron said with a full mouth. "Military hates your guys' guts, right? The Inquisition is probably tryin' to keep it hidden. But once they learn of it, they will need a good excuse."
Adenius put his open palms on the table. "Some might call me a gambling man. I also have to make the hunt more exciting from my side. After all, I killed your parents. Then it's not too much to ask for some sacrifices from my side. "
Adenius followed Liron's example, eating a piece of his fish in the same way, all decorum forgotten. "Say, Liron, what kind of value does knowledge bring?"
Liron rolled his eyes, using the knife to pull out a piece of fish from his teeth. "Is this your stick about makin' all your dear friends? Givin' 'em information so they behave like you intend it?"
Adenius bumped the table with his fist, performing a silly outrage. "Unheard of! Emma, this little party pooper told you everything. What a shame. I was looking forward to seeing your reaction. Would you have crumbled underneath it or steeled your mind? Either way, I would have gotten what I wanted."
"Emma told me already. And Angin did say you're full of shit. You ass have no plan. You act based on your instinct and just want to create as much chaos as possible. Stop with your act and get to your point."
Adenius giggled, his mask distorting it into something vile. "I can't remember the last time my prey pushed me like this. You are a boy of fourteen, and you hold your own where hardened rebels and criminals failed miserably."
"Unlike them, I'm not alone," Liron said, pointing the knife at the Inquisitor. "You, on the other hand, are. You have no one in your corner. The Inquisition will only accept you back if you bring them my head, and without their support, the Empire will learn of your crimes. Military and whoever else will gladly put your crimes out there."
"Like I said, it makes it more exciting. But, as I tried to compliment you, you are my greatest prey up until now. Everybody I hunted before failed and disappointed me. How many did I have to catch earlier than I had hoped because they showed no potential? I kept you alive for this very reason, Liron.
"Hyal would have wanted me to kill you the first opportunity I got. Or so I think. The Sleeping Snake is nigh impossible to predict sometimes. As are you. I will be honest with you. When you fell for my trap at the start of the Raven Hunt, I was thoroughly disappointed. But I knew there was still hope should you survive the following day. And survive you did. Not just that, you flourished, my dear Liron."
"That I did," Liron said, taking another piece from his food.
"You know, Liron, I love this. Never before did I get the chance to converse with my prey like this. We always communicated with each other through our approaches, traps, and bloody fights. But our friendship is deeper than this. After all, only friends can eat like this together. And only friends can help each other flourish. Once I have cut off your head and fed your sister to my Sintara, I will have grown as an Inquisitor."
Adenius could yap like no one else. Liron would give him that. Another one of his tricks. One that Liron would break.
"So, Adenius," Liron said. "Let's talk about the Empire."
The Inquisitor paused, playing with his food. "A peculiar change of topic. Well, I invited you here so we can talk. Ask away, Liron."
"What do you think about it?"
"My, that's a broad question. Mhm… how to properly answer it? Excuse my hesitation, Liron, but this demands a thought-out response. But let's separate it into smaller steps, shall we?"
Adenius cleared most of the food on his plate to its edge. He only left his remaining fish in the middle, shoving it around with his courtesy to illustrate everything he said. "The Empire should be regarded from several lenses. First, it is built in the name of Harras. All the Empire does, it does so to serve His heavenly will. This gives it a divine nature, which immunizes it from all grander critique. After all, questioning the Empire means questioning Harras. And who would do such a thing but a follower of Drom or a Qilesh?
"Of course, my abilities as well as any Warpriest's or Michon's are proof beyond doubt that Harras is on our side. Otherwise, how can you explain why no other nation on Ekon receives His blessing? Janloo follows Harras, as do the druids of the Alder Expanse, while they prefer Solia. The same goes for the Frederick-Tolpert University and the Tos on Aras. All of them perform miracles, but they never originate from Harras. Janloo flies because of their Alchemy, the druids have tamed the Alder Expanse through their deep connection with nature, the University are true masters of Magic, and the Tos have altered their bodies thanks to Aras's special property."
"Guess that's not enough, though?" Liron said. "You're sayin' that the Empire is so much more than its faith."
Adenius pointed at Liron, giving him a nod. "Exactly. Many would be content with religion as the only pillar holding up the Empire. But as you have said. It is so much more than this."
He placed the slices of fish on top of one another, building little pillars. "The Empire is also a war effort. It was forged underneath the Qilesh's first assault against Ekon. Casar created it for one singular purpose."
Adenius stopped, looking at Liron. "To kill all Qilesh?" Liron asked.
"To serve Harras. And there is no greater form of service than eradicating the Xenrus taint. But this war offers the Empire more than a clear direction. It forces unity on us. All the Institutions work together as they know what would await them should they war against one another.
"Furthermore, the great riches we are mining and have been mining in Sannara for the last three centuries are directly invested into Military and the greater infrastructure of the Empire. All of this to allow the population to function and produce enough soldiers and equipment to continue the holy crusade. Without the war, the highborns, Sacred Houses, the Institutions, and the Emperor would pocket all the wealth generated through the Silvered Gold. The plebs would not see as much of it as they do now. And all because the war forces it to be allocated appropriately."
Allocated appropriately? Liron hadn't seen much wealth while living in Eisenrahm.
Two out of the three pillars explained. "What's the last standing for? The Empire is holy and good for war, that I get. What's the third?"
Adenius giggled again, scooping up the sauce and piece of potatoes he had pushed away and plunging them on the last pillar. He used his fork to mix them, creating a mess out of the third pillar.
"The last one, you ask?" Adenius said. "Simple. The Empire is a beast doomed to die."