“This is my grave."
He studied the old man standing in front of him for a short while, then said evenly:
“Jest of Clan Dagonet... if memory serves, you were in charge of the ambush that destroyed my original body. It happened right here on the Chained Isles, all those years ago. And yet here we are. Funny how life is sometimes, isn't it?"
Jest stared at him for a moment, then chuckled.
“Life is the funniest thing, indeed. It's all one big, horrible joke... the worst joke ever."
He remained silent for a bit before asking in a calm tone:
“I am not making it out of here alive, am I?"
Mordret studied him for a while.
Eventually, he said:
"You've been very loyal to my family, haven't you? Surely, such loyalty should be rewarded. Ah, but what about blind loyalty... blind loyalty is quite different. While loyalty is a virtue, blind loyalty is simply vile."
Jest stared at him for a while, then raised his chin slightly.
He inhaled deeply and looked Mordret in the eye.
“It wasn't blind."
Mordret met his gaze, his expression growing cold and ruthless.
Then, he took a step forward, patted Jest on the shoulder, and walked past him.
“Live a little longer, old man."
As Mordret took a few steps away, Jest blinked, and then asked in a bewildered tone:
“You're... not going to kill me? But why?"
Mordret shrugged.
“Maybe I simply don't have a reason to kill you."
He stopped, looked back, and smiled.
“Perhaps I want to pay a visit to your family and make you watch them die first. Who knows?"
Jest gritted his teeth.
"Curse you!"
Mordret shrugged, then looked up and spoke into the air, as if addressing someone.
“Cassia? Is that you?"
He paused for a moment, and then asked in a quiet, mournful tone:
“You knew, didn't you? About what was going to happen to us."
Mordret chuckled and shook his head.
"Somehow, I find it hard to believe. But it doesn't really matter, I suppose. What is it that you want me to do?"
He remained motionless for a moment, then sighed.
"Oh, that? Well... sure. That can be arranged."
The corpses of the soldiers of the Hunger Domain littered the floor around him, surrounded by a pool of blood.
Mordret disappeared into the reflections glistening on the surface of that pool.
..A moment later, he appeared on the deck of the Night Garden. The living hull of the titanic ship tried to swallow him, but he simply bent and brought his fist on the ancient wood, shattering it.
The defenders of the Great Citadel — the Saints of Night, their patriarch, and the rest — were already surrounding him by then.
Facing them, Mordret smiled pleasantly.
“Good day, gentlemen. I feel like I must warn you — there are two ways to settle this situation. A pleasant one, and a gruesome one. The choice is yours. I will settle for the former... ah, but I do hope that you'll choose the latter..."