"So you’re certain we’ll agree?" one of the Eredar Twins asked, arching a brow. "Careful, little warlock. Confidence has a way of embarrassing people. Tell us what you have in mind first."
"I will." Evenson leaned back in his chair. "But before that... I want to hear what you think of this world. You’ve had enough time to get a feel for it by now."
The twins exchanged a glance.
Outwardly, they looked utterly composed, the picture of confidence. Anyone watching would have assumed they’d already unraveled every secret Earth had to offer.
In reality, an entirely different conversation flashed between them.
We spent most of our time enjoying ourselves instead of studying the place.
We can’t admit that.
Keep a straight face. Say something broad and philosophical.
Centuries of fighting side by side had forged a bond that required little more than a glance.
"Pain."
"Confusion."
"Suspicion."
"Hatred."
"Hold on." Evenson raised both hands before they could continue. "Are you seriously giving me the dramatic opening speech?"
"You wouldn’t understand," Aurecess snapped, more irritated at being interrupted than anything else.
"Those are our conclusions," Sacrolash smoothly continued. "Negative emotions saturate this world."
"People endure suffering until they become numb," Aurecess said, gesturing toward the massive one way window overlooking the nightclub below. "Oppression breeds despair..."
"...which becomes indulgence, hypocrisy..." Sacrolash added.
"...and rage."
As if the universe wanted to illustrate the point, two men on the dance floor erupted into a violent brawl after one accidentally spilled a drink on the other.
Neither held back.
Every punch was thrown with enough force to cripple.
Neither seemed to care whether the other survived.
Luther arrived moments later with a squad of enforcers. They flattened both men in seconds, then spent another minute kicking them while they lay on the floor.
Only when Luther judged they were one stomp away from death did he wave his men off.
The unconscious troublemakers were dragged outside and dumped into the street.
Luther grabbed the microphone.
"Drinks are on the house! One free cocktail for everyone!"
A roar of celebration answered him.
Within seconds the heavy music swallowed the room again, and the crowd returned to dancing as though the fight had never happened.
"...Apathy," Evenson said quietly while watching through the glass.
"Exactly." Sacrolash slowly ran her tongue across her lips. "It’s almost beautiful."
"A living hell."
"Interesting." Evenson picked up a bottle of whiskey from the table.
He uncorked it, sniffed to make sure nobody had slipped anything into it, then took a long drink straight from the bottle.
"Not quite the answer I expected... but it tells me enough."
"You seem pleased," Aurecess observed.
"I am."
She wasn’t wrong.
The specifics of their answer had never mattered.
Even if they had somehow memorized Earth’s geography, political systems, and economic data, it wouldn’t have changed his plan.
The only question that mattered was simple.
Are they happy here?
The answer was obvious.
They loved it.
Earth overflowed with fear, anger, despair, greed, and every other delicious emotion that empowered demons. Compared to the endless wastelands of the Twisting Nether, this planet was practically a luxury resort.
Good.
That made convincing them much easier.
Evenson set the bottle down and deliberately let his expression darken.
"Unfortunately... the life you’re enjoying is incredibly fragile."
"How fragile?" Sacrolash asked without much concern.
"This world is constantly flirting with extinction."
He rose to his feet and swept one hand through the air.
Green fel light gathered into a holographic globe.
He pointed toward the poles.
"The planet is warming. Keep going long enough, and these ice caps disappear. Coastlines vanish beneath the sea. Humanity isn’t going to evolve into naga to compensate."
The twins blinked.
Then he pointed elsewhere on the globe.
"Food production is already struggling to keep pace with population growth. Eventually that becomes famine. Famine becomes war."
He looked at them.
"And those wars won’t be fought over ideology. They’ll be fought because starving people will kill for a loaf of bread."
A pause.
"You’ve heard of nuclear weapons?"
"We have," Sacrolash answered. "We’ve seen recordings. Impressive enough."
Aurecess shrugged.
"Still weaker than guiding the Argus Worldbreaker onto a target."
She wasn’t wrong.
The Legion’s interdimensional fel bombardment made humanity’s nuclear arsenal look quaint.
"True," Evenson admitted. "But nuclear war would still be more than enough to destroy civilization."
Most of what he described wasn’t an immediate threat.
Climate collapse and resource wars were decades away, perhaps longer.
Still...
The twins’ expressions gradually stiffened.
They had only just found a paradise overflowing with delicious emotions.
The idea that someone might ruin it was deeply offensive.
"And that’s only Earth’s internal problems."
The holographic globe dissolved into a stream of floating symbols.
Hydra’s octopus insignia.
Occult sigils.
Alien emblems.
"The planet has plenty of organizations that would happily burn everything down for their own ideals. Fanatics aren’t unique to the Twilight’s Hammer."
He waved again.
A gigantic biomechanical worm materialized in illusion and circled lazily around him before dissolving into countless stars.
"And Earth isn’t threatened only from within."
"The Burning Legion isn’t the only force that invades other worlds."
"Some civilizations want Earth’s resources."
"Others want to reshape reality itself."
"Some simply conquer because that’s what they do."
"No matter which one succeeds..."
He let the sentence hang.
"...the world dies."
Silence settled over the room.
"So," Evenson finally concluded, "if we’re ever going to deliver this planet intact to the Legion..."
He noticed the twins looking distinctly less invested than he’d hoped.
He added the real incentive.
"...and if we’d like to keep enjoying everything Earth has to offer..."
Both sisters answered immediately.
"Then we stop anyone else from destroying it."
"For the Legion."
Their response came just a fraction too late.
Not because they were inspired by loyalty.
Because they had needed a heartbeat to remember they were supposed to say for the Legion before for ourselves.
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