“Pretty words with your Automatons trying to kill me,” Vir rasped, pressing his blade against the demon’s throat as they continued to sink.
“Very well,” Saunak said coolly, showing not a single sign of panic.
Is he hiding his fear? Or is he truly unafraid? Was experiencing the Shadow Realm once enough to cure his fear of it?
The Automatons backed away, sinking into nearby walls.
“Happy?”
Vir slowly retracted his weapon, and after a moment, he canceled Dance of the Shadow Demon.
“Look, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot,” Saunak said, scratching his head with embarrassment.
“And who’s fault is that?” Vir shot back, once again trying to free Cirayus. This time, a shock passed through his hand the moment he did, forcing him back.
“The thing is, the moment I set that brute free, he’ll lop off my head,” Saunak said calmly. “My only chance at surviving this is by convincing you that I’m worth more to you alive than dead. Then, you can stop him from harming me.”
“You presume a lot,” Vir said. “Who’s saying I don’t agree with Cirayus? You’re smart, Saunak, but you’re crazy.”
He was expecting a retort, but none came.
“He can’t hear us anymore. Thought we could use a bit of privacy,” Saunak replied, walking away. The wall in front of him dissolved, revealing the table he’d set Cirayus’ guidance Artifact on. His hands played over a series of floating windows while Vir waited several paces away. Well within range of Blink, should he need to threaten the demon again.
“So,” Saunak said while he worked. “The Akh Nara. The fabled Bringer of New Eras… Eras?”
Vir frowned. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Hmm,” Saunak continued, muttering to himself. “The son of Maion and Shari Garga. Spirited away at birth. Turmoil with the Chitrans. Except now… the Akh Nara, too. I see. Yes. Yes, it has to be, doesn’t it?”
“What are you rambling on about?” Vir asked, growing frustrated. He was beginning to suspect Saunak’s veneer of sanity was paper thin.
“Tell me, Cirayus. What exactly have you told the boy?” Saunak asked, not turning from his work.
“Saunak! I’ll have your head for this,” Cirayus’ disembodied voice roared.
“Typical. He’s always been this way, you know?” Saunak sneered. “Always thinking with his fists. Never his head.”
“Then it seems you’re talking about someone else,” Vir replied defiantly. “The Cirayus I know is wise, patient, and strong.”
Saunak snorted. “Then he’s corrupted you as well. Tragic. Anyway, let me guess. Cirayus told you the Chitrans attacked your clan. Perhaps because of the Ash’s ever-expanding boundary, yes? The Chits have always been up in arms about that, after all.”
“That’s… right,” Vir replied, once again taken aback by the demon’s formidable powers of deduction.
“Doesn’t that strike you as odd, though?” Saunak asked without turning around. “What are the chances that the Chitrans would launch their plan so suddenly? It all seems a little… coincidental, don’t you think?”
The demon had stopped what he was doing and was now making eye contact with Vir.
“That’s…”
“Think about it,” Saunak said. “Was it just the Chitrans who launched their attack? Or did they have help?”
Vir’s expression darkened. “They united the clans against the Garga.”
“Don’t listen to him, lad!” Cirayus shouted, and Vir swore he heard a trace of panic.
“Well, now. That’s quite interesting, isn’t it? Why would the other clans help the Chitrans in a war they launched without provocation? If anything, wouldn’t they have protected the noble Garga Clan?”
“The Chitrans had operatives in the other clans,” Vir replied, repeating Cirayus’ own words. “They’ve been planning this for centuries.”
“Cirayus told you that, did he? He’s quite right. They do. But again, doesn’t the timing still feel too convenient?” Saunak repeated.
“What are you getting at?” Vir replied calmly, but his heart was pounding against his chest.
Could it be? Does that mean… No. No way. Right?
“Allow me to offer a more likely scenario,” Saunak said with a knowing grin. “The reincarnation of the Akh Nara is born to Maion and Shari Garga. Upon learning this, several clans have immediate reservations. Will he usher in an era of prosperity and greatness? Or will he be the ruin of them all? You have to admit, your prior incarnations’ track record isn’t great. What with Reaper Ekanai causing the mayhem he did, and Parai the Ancient abandoning his people…”
“Don’t listen to this madness, Vir!” Cirayus said. “The Chitrans instigated a war unprompted. What more is there to say?”
“There is value in the truth,” Saunak said somberly, shaking his head. “There is always value in the truth.”
“It’s alright, Cirayus,” Vir said, finding himself agreeing with the thaumaturge. “Let him continue.”
“The thing is,” Saunak said, “Cirayus is right about the Chits. They are wily chals. As scheming as they come. They’d have seen the hesitation in the other clans…”
“You’re saying…” Vir’s voice was hoarse. “That the Chitran’s war… the reason the clans attacked the Garga… was because of me?”
“I think it’s far more plausible than the story Cirayus fed you, at least. You represent something that strikes fear in the hearts of demons, boy. You represent change. Even when the change is for the better, people resist it. And with you,” he said, pointing a finger at Vir, “it is not always for the better.”
A hushed silence filled the room, and not even Cirayus broke it.
“Is it true?” Vir asked the air, his question intended for Cirayus. “Is what he said true?”
His words came out sharp. Sharper than he’d intended.
“Lad, you are not to blame for the Chitrans’ actions. Inciting the other clans to war? Invading the innocent Garga? The blame rests squarely on their shoulders.”
“Is… It… True?”
Cirayus’ silence told him everything.
“You lied to me,” Vir whispered.
“Lad, you nearly crumbled under the pressure of the sacrifice your parents and retainers made for you. Knowing that half a million demons got caught up in a war centered on you would only have broken your mind.”
Half a million! Vir thought, panicking. Five hundred thousand people had been put in jeopardy because of him?
“How many died in the war? How many Gargans?”
“What good will that knowledge do you, other than to cripple you with guilt?” Cirayus said.
Saunak furrowed his brows. “Assuming an all-out war, with the eventual sacking of Samar Patag… calculating for demonkind’s tendencies, Chitran’s Demonic Overlord and Coerscion Bloodline Arts… I’d say at least forty thousand.”
“No,” Cirayus said. “Less than that. Maion did everything in his power to minimize casualties.”
“How much?” Vir asked, his patience growing thin.
“Around thirty,” Cirayus said quietly.
Thirty thousand souls. When Vir realized the figure likely included women and children, his stomach churned and he felt sick. Wars seldom cared about who got caught in the crossfire, after all.
So many had died.
“All because of me…”
“Lad, don’t you dare think that. Your parents—your clan who fought for you—do you think they wished for such a thing?”