Rudra stared at Vahn with a complex mixture of suspicion and grudging respect. The boy's calm demeanor in the face of a true Patriarch's pressure, followed by the audacious challenge, forced his hand. It was a risky gamble to take a nobody back to the Holy Land, but leaving him to be snatched by a powerful rival would be an even greater humiliation, especially if the boy truly possessed an identity from the Darkness Creed.
Rudra finally nodded curtly.
"Very well. If you are an outer disciple of the Darkness Creed, you will come with me now. We will verify your identity immediately," Rudra stated with cold authority. "But if you are lying, no one in the Empire, not even your so-called insignificant self, will save you from the consequences."
He then turned his sharp gaze toward the Violet Sun Patriarch, who stood frozen by Vahn's gambit.
