Hearing Lox's statement, utterly devoid of any performative element, Kua's lingering remnant seemed to freeze in the air. Then, a smile filled with relief and comfort rose from the depths of his soul and spread through his consciousness.
"It seems... entrusting our legacy to your hands was indeed the right choice."
His gaze seemed to drift, intentionally or otherwise, toward Cegorach in the distance, who was pretending nothing was amiss.
"At the very least, you possess more of this awareness than the Aeldari we created. Thinking back, perhaps we should have added a little more responsibility and morality to their genetic sequences when we created them?"
Cegorach, who was pretending to converse with Trazyn in the distance, stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Clearly, Kua's casual assessment had struck precisely at this Aeldari god's weakness and sore spot.
Lox naturally understood the meaning behind Kua's words.
Near the end of the War in Heaven, when the defeated Old One alliance tried to retreat into the Webway to regroup, the ancient Aeldari who had been expanding and repairing the Webway at the time refused to let them in.
Perhaps they resented the Old Ones for making them build the Webway without end, or perhaps the ceaseless wars had caused enormous Aeldari casualties. In any case, they committed an act that could only be defined as betrayal.
That was also why Cegorach had always deliberately avoided direct contact with Kua, an Old One.
As a member of the Aeldari pantheon, he could not possibly disentangle himself from that dark chapter of ancient Aeldari history.
No matter how mild Kua's temperament was, how could he harbor no resentment toward a race that had so brutally betrayed his people?
Not wanting the atmosphere to become too awkward, Lox immediately steered the conversation toward more practical strategic matters.