Then, softly, almost like a sigh to himself, the old man murmured, "So this… this is another way I could have saved Amelia."
Kaal stiffened.
' That name Amelia. Did he just…? '
But before he could finish the thought, the Founder's gaze lifted and locked with his.
It was not the look of a cultivator evaluating a junior.
It was the look of a man staring at his younger self, and wondering what he would have done differently.
"Child," Arthur said, his voice gentle but unflinching. "Do you not feel guilt for the lives you sacrificed? The miners. The children. The innocents. All crushed beneath your goal."
The words were not accusing. They were not cruel.
They were real.
And somehow, that made them hit harder than a sword to the chest.
Kaal's thoughts spun. This wasn't a normal projection. Not a relic of Qi programmed to speak pre-written lines.
