Ning frowned slightly at the mention of the war and was about to ask what had happened, but Crownus spoke before he could.
"There is no need to concern yourself with it yet. We can discuss it later."
Ning accepted that for the moment. If Crownus had been willing to continue studying him while the war unfolded across the galaxy, then whatever was happening had apparently not reached the point where either of them needed to intervene immediately. There was something else Ning wanted to know first anyway, especially since the changes to Crownus suggested that far more time had passed than he had realized.
"How long have we been here?" Ning asked.
"Approximately one hundred and thirty thousand years."
Ning looked at Crownus for a moment before turning his gaze across the barren landscape around them, almost as though the planet might offer some sign that such an absurd amount of time had passed.
"One hundred and thirty thousand years?" he asked.
"Yes."
"That's… quite a while."
