After a deathly silence, a voice came from the motionless statue once more.
"You truly have overthought this. I never intended to harm him. Some matters are far more complicated than you imagine. If you were a human born and raised among humans, you would certainly understand why the divine war broke out back then, and why it ultimately ended with the collapse of antiquity."
"Bloodline is not the only bond. Among you humans, are there really so few who stood with the gods?" There was a trace of mockery in Black Shadow's words.
"What you say is indeed correct. The concept of race is not bound solely by bloodline. Those who look like humans are not necessarily human, nor are those who look different necessarily inhuman."
The statue remained motionless, its tone tinged with melancholy.
"At the dawn of eternity, humanity's forebears had no choice but to seek ways to obtain power everywhere in order to survive. Among countless methods, no one could have known from the very beginning which path was right.
Nor could later generations deny their achievements merely because some paths chosen by their forebears were not suitable for everyone.
The vanished Winged People, Demon People, Beast People, and the like—no one could say that they were not human.
On the contrary, many of those most human in appearance were not human at all.
Just like you. You are not a pure-blooded human, yet you are more human than quite a few humans."
The statue's words seemed to stir up some old memories in Black Shadow's heart. His expression darkened, and he fell silent.
"You need not worry too much. My original intention has never changed. It is only that some matters cannot be controlled by human effort. Any great change requires an unimaginable price, even