[ There's a brief pause. ] There were no mages left in these walls by my time.
[ The last had been the ones during the Trials. And he can admit that he feels nothing about their loss. Not satisfaction, not regret. Just an absence. He wonders if he should. It's the reason there can't be more of his kind, but—
He isn't certain that's a downside. It's hard to know how to feel about it: that place that sits between the ache of understanding only a handful of them remain and his complete lack of desire to inflict the ugly process on any more stolen children.
A quiet huff escapes him. He gets the temptation, even if he still believes Alucard hiding away is only asking for more trouble here. Retreating has its own appeal.
But at least Alucard has enough sense and respect for him to do as he will away from Geralt's doorstep. In the end, that's all he ever asks for. ]
Ours were lost in the fires. [ The research, he means. Most of it. What remains can't be used. ] For the best.
no subject
[ The last had been the ones during the Trials. And he can admit that he feels nothing about their loss. Not satisfaction, not regret. Just an absence. He wonders if he should. It's the reason there can't be more of his kind, but—
He isn't certain that's a downside. It's hard to know how to feel about it: that place that sits between the ache of understanding only a handful of them remain and his complete lack of desire to inflict the ugly process on any more stolen children.
A quiet huff escapes him. He gets the temptation, even if he still believes Alucard hiding away is only asking for more trouble here. Retreating has its own appeal.
But at least Alucard has enough sense and respect for him to do as he will away from Geralt's doorstep. In the end, that's all he ever asks for. ]
Ours were lost in the fires. [ The research, he means. Most of it. What remains can't be used. ] For the best.