Ben finished his story about the group that split into two, the ones who tried to fix their mistake and the ones who doubled down, and how the surface world was destroyed afterward.
Elvira sat still and silent.
She was processing everything.
Ben waited a moment, then added, "She thinks my existence confirms someone might be trying to bring the Daemon back.
Or maybe it never went away."
Elvira's eyes sharpened.
Her thoughts sped up. "That would explain a lot," she said quietly.
Her tone grew thoughtful as pieces from her past lives started to click into place.
In both timelines, she had always found it strange how her peaceful clan suddenly fell into chaos.
Her own family had turned on her and tried to kill her.
For what?
Power?
Influence?
Wealth?
Elvira had never cared about those things.
All she had ever wanted was knowledge.
To invent.
To push magic further.
Everyone had known that.
