Elliot narrowed his eyes slightly.
What the hell was all this nonsense??
One word from you, and suddenly I wasn't Elliot anymore?
But Phoenix's words contained an enormous amount of information. Even a little thought revealed several layers.
First, he had said, "Elliot died in the Frostmoon Uprising. The one who survived was Duke Sterling." That was clearly a metaphor.
Did he mean that Elliot's historical self had undergone a drastic change in temperament after the Frostmoon Uprising?
That was quite possible. After all, his memories had only begun after the Frostmoon Uprising. He had no recollection of anything before that, so a change in personality would have been perfectly natural.
But then he had said they were both people abandoned by history, which was rather baffling.
Did he mean that they both existed outside history and were unaffected by it?
That wasn't implausible either. After all, Elliot had the Difference Engine, so history might not necessarily be able to affect him easily.
Everything was ambiguous. Everything was possible.
Elliot frowned unconsciously, momentarily feeling faced with countless tangled threads, unsure which one to seize.
What next? Playing along clearly offered the greatest benefit. Should I keep going?
Elliot stared hard at Phoenix, and suddenly something occurred to him.
Perhaps... he was approaching this from the wrong angle.
The Phoenix before him was a traitor to the Hollow Cathedral, someone who could even evade Lillian's pursuit. Without a fortunate coincidence, Elliot would never have caught him.
This was an old fox, one who had lived for who knew how long.
Following his train of thought would only lead straight into his trap!
Elliot narrowed his eyes slightly.
Since he couldn't distinguish truth from falsehood in the man's words, he might as well stop trying.
He would simply assume that Phoenix was