Clearly, the negotiations were nearing collapse.
But Alvin had seen this sort of situation plenty of times. You had to suppress first before raising the stakes, laying the groundwork for what came next.
He picked up the glass of Amasec before him and took a natural sip.
The high-proof alcohol flooded his mouth, carrying a faint buzz with it as he turned to look at Zephlin.
"Did you know that in my homeland, there is a very special kind of bird?" Alvin spoke slowly. "They sing in spring, at the first break of dawn. Their song is so beautiful that it is said to awaken the sleeping earth. But... they sing only at that first dawn, and then they die."
As a Dark Eldar, Zephlin naturally knew nothing of the human world, but he understood what "spring" represented.
"What are you trying to say?" He frowned, a trace of mockery in his gaze. "That you're using your so-called poetry to conceal your indifference toward those who sacrificed themselves?"
"No, I mean..."
Alvin turned around and met Zephlin's eyes. "We will never know that bird's name.
"But whenever its song rises, we know spring has arrived. The ice and snow will melt, the seeds will sprout, and the hard frozen earth covering the land will thaw beneath the first ray of dawn—because we all know... it once came!"
He dipped his finger in the liquor and drew the current situation between the rebels and the cabal on the dark crystal table.
Then he circled several key points, marking the areas controlled by each side.
"Felix Jin." Alvin spoke the name, and his voice carried an unimaginable weight. "You were right. I truly don't know his name, but I know... just how timely the intelligence he sent was."
"The intelligence he sent