Xue Lian remained silent for several seconds.
Damon waited.
This time, he did not try to fill the space with sarcasm. If she truly believed her own death was the only way out, he wanted to hear every part of the logic before he started dismantling it.
"My authority is not merely tied to my body," Xue Lian finally said. "It uses my existence as a reference."
"That's still vague."
"If my heart stops, it doesn't matter."
"Great."
"If my soul is destroyed, that doesn't matter either."
Damon frowned.
"Less great."
"As long as some part of what the world recognizes as Xue Lian remains, the authority will continue searching for a center."
"Memory?"
"Counts."
"Name?"
"Sometimes."
"Root?"
"Especially."
Damon rested his chin on one hand.
"So killing your body isn't enough."
"No."
"But you just asked me to kill you."
"After destroying everything that can sustain the reference."
"Then the real objective isn't killing you."
Xue Lian watched him.
