Aesmirius let out a long, steady breath, the kind that signaled he had resigned himself to yet another round of explanations.
"Where the Aether Shard is secured on Jhuntar, there is a guardian stationed there," he said, his tone flat and expression unreadable. "They are designed to eliminate anyone who isn't me."
Liam blinked once, slowly, then narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell would you put a guardian over the weapon? Aren't the things in that realm just mindless creatures with scraps of intelligence? Nothing capable of wielding the Aether Shard."
"Not entirely," Aesmirius replied. "There are also civilized species on Jhuntar. Not human, but intelligent—on par with humans or even surpassing them. So yes, installing a guardian was necessary."
