[ shame? he scoffs at that before he can stop himself. ]
That's not it. Both outcomes mean the same. The cost is the same. My enemies die, and then I die. When I die, so does the sun.
[ he imagines she can figure out what happens to anyone still alive after the sun dies for herself. ]
Choosing a world that's not my own is enough to Harmonise, but that's all it means. I want the truth. I want to know why the Tree tells us one thing and the factions tell another. I won't decide the fate of worlds on faith, which is what they want us to do. That's the part I can't abide, not the choice itself.
[ john won't admit that the events in his past are why he feels so strongly that what he's doing is correct. the Tree gives them life and protects them. it mourns them when they die. it tries to guide them in its way, which is sometimes strange and inhuman, but it's not the Tree's fault that they have limitations.
he looks at her intently, placing the full weight of his awful gaze on her. he means for her to know what he says next is serious: ]
You need to be careful. There is a lot more going on here than it seems, and it's likely you won't expect where the danger will come from.
[ he can't say exactly what — half-bound to secrecy and half-simply lacking the information — but john knows beyond a doubt that there is something worth warning her about. he's sure that akua is always looking out for a plot, but it's different when you know the danger is there but hidden. ]
no subject
That's not it. Both outcomes mean the same. The cost is the same. My enemies die, and then I die. When I die, so does the sun.
[ he imagines she can figure out what happens to anyone still alive after the sun dies for herself. ]
Choosing a world that's not my own is enough to Harmonise, but that's all it means. I want the truth. I want to know why the Tree tells us one thing and the factions tell another. I won't decide the fate of worlds on faith, which is what they want us to do. That's the part I can't abide, not the choice itself.
[ john won't admit that the events in his past are why he feels so strongly that what he's doing is correct. the Tree gives them life and protects them. it mourns them when they die. it tries to guide them in its way, which is sometimes strange and inhuman, but it's not the Tree's fault that they have limitations.
he looks at her intently, placing the full weight of his awful gaze on her. he means for her to know what he says next is serious: ]
You need to be careful. There is a lot more going on here than it seems, and it's likely you won't expect where the danger will come from.
[ he can't say exactly what — half-bound to secrecy and half-simply lacking the information — but john knows beyond a doubt that there is something worth warning her about. he's sure that akua is always looking out for a plot, but it's different when you know the danger is there but hidden. ]