Ben did not react to Taleth's outburst.
He only smirked.
"You want to destroy those who hurt you and your mother?
Fine.
Let's say you succeed," Ben said. "Then what?
Get captured, tortured to death, and turned into a public warning?
Make the other Velmora suffer when they take revenge for what you did?"
Taleth fell silent.
His hands clenched.
"I can tell you're serious," Ben went on. "But you're not stupid.
You know the consequences.
As long as the Ashking rules, the Velmora will never be free."
Taleth looked away.
He knew Ben was right.
That truth had always hung over him like a noose.
He had known his own limits from the start, but he still kept moving forward, chasing a hopeless goal because he had nothing else.
Ben let out a cold chuckle.
He grabbed Taleth by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
Taleth gagged, his boots scraping against the wall as he tried to find support.
A black appendage slid out from Ben's back.
