Jason finally stood and turned to face Cersai once he was done inspecting the Rune. Cersai was staring back at Jason with a calm gaze that didn’t show a hint of fear, but Jason’s advanced senses allowed him to see the way Cersai’s hands were slightly twitching. Cersai was more than aware of how vulnerable he was at this moment, and it was obvious that he didn’t like it.
"I hoped things wouldn’t have to come to this, Cersai. You knew my father, and I thought you would be someone I could trust to teach me more about him. I thought you would be a reasonable person. But it turns out I was wrong."
Jason spoke with a slightly wistful expression in his voice, almost like he regretted the fact that things had to get this bad. But there was a resolve in his eyes that terrified Cersai, and Cersai raised a hand towards Jason and spoke in a calm voice.
"Jason, let’s not do anything hasty. I was brought here without even knowing what I did wrong or what you’re so angry about. Why are you doing this?"
A silent moment passed in the room as the two men simply looked at each other. Jason had one hand in his pocket while he held the rune paper in his other, and when he finally spoke, there was a deep anger laced in every word.
"You know, when you told me that there were sacrifices that had to be made to make sure people were protected, I knew that you weren’t wrong. This world isn’t a fairytale, so there’ll definitely be some loss before you can make any gain. There are times when you have no choice but to sacrifice the few to save the many. But back then, I thought you were just a pragmatic person who was willing to do the needful — a realist like me. But what I didn’t know is that you weren’t some fucking pragmatist. You’re just a crazy man drunk on the power he holds over others. You’re a mindless dictator who demands things go your way every time. But I’m a benevolent person, so I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself to me. Why did you erase the existence of other worlds from the memories of the civilians?"
Jason stared Cersai in the eyes like an eagle staring down its prey, and Cersai felt like the room had suddenly been transformed into a court of law. Cersai was in the stands, trying to defend himself, and Jason was the judge, the jury, and the executioner! Cersai knew that he didn’t have any power over Jason here, and he cursed his own lack of foresight. Cersai thought that Jason would be like his father. Jason’s father had been stronger than Jason was right now, but he had never involved himself in the things that Cersai did because he was a very passive person who only cared about protecting his family. But it was obvious that Jason was not the same. Jason was willing to speak out for those he didn’t even know, and Cersai cursed himself for not noticing this sooner.
But even though things looked bad, Cersai was not the Head of Gaia for no reason. Even in the worst situations, Cersai knew exactly how to handle himself, and he knew that he had more than enough skill to talk his way out of this situation. Cersai spoke up while standing taller and folding his hands across his chest.
"Is that really what you’re angry about? You’re angry that some random civilians had their memories altered in order to keep the peace among the people and prevent panic? I thought you were more rational than this, Jason. I didn’t think you were such a fucking bleeding-hearted hero! Wake the fuck up, Jason! This is the fucking real world, and whatever fantastical delusion you have about the masses doesn’t have anything to do with the real world! Don’t you see it!? These humans are animals! They don’t know what it means to understand reality! What do you think would have happened if I had allowed them to keep those memories!? You think they would have simply accepted the existence of other worlds!? Do you think they would accept that there are creatures and people out there that could eradicate us or enslave us without any effort at all!? There would have been riots on the streets! Anarchy and madness would spread! You don’t know anything about humans, Jason! I have been to the deepest hells in this world! I have seen what happens when people are pushed to the brink, and it has never been a good thing! Humans are animals, and these animals need to be kept on a leash!"
Jason’s expression was completely neutral throughout Cersai’s speech, and Jason could feel all the empathy he had felt for Cersai slowly bleeding away. It was obvious that Cersai’s mind had been warped by the things he had seen out there in the world. Cersai was not wrong about humans being prone to panic — Jason knew there was no way you could introduce humans to something as twisted as the Primordial Expanse and expect them not to panic — but that didn’t mean it was right either. There would be panic for a time, but there would also be acceptance, and eventually, there would be progress. Cersai was a relic of the past, hanging on desperately to the remnants of what had once been. He didn’t want to accept that the world was changing and that he needed to change with it as well. Cersai was hellbent on retaining the power he held over the superhuman world, and he was willing to use any method to keep that power. But Jason wasn’t going to allow that to continue.
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed from somewhere outside the building, and Jason knew that it had to be the agents from Gaia who had found Cersai’s location. But Jason wasn’t worried about them at all. Jason had told Jaraht, Azrael, and the Sovereign that he didn’t want to be disturbed, so the three of them were standing guard around the house to make sure no one could come in. There was a higher chance of the world ending than any humans getting through those three monsters. Cersai looked up when he felt the explosion, and a strange sense of relief washed over him when he realized the rescue team had come, but he suddenly took a step back when Jason started to walk toward him. One of Jason’s subordinates blocked Cersai’s path to make sure he couldn’t run, and Jason spoke calmly as he continued to approach.
"I understand where you’re coming from, Cersai. But you see, you failed to take one thing into account. You failed to remember that you are also a human. And just as you believe that the others would panic when they hear about the other worlds and the existence of the Primordials, it’s obvious that you also panicked when you heard about it. I’ve seen the things you’ve hidden in those labs of yours, Cersai — the underground experimentation centers in Greenland and Antarctica. Your desperate attempts to create weapons of mass destruction. Did you really think no one would figure out what you’ve been doing?"
Cersai felt his eyes widen in shock when he heard Jason mention the labs. Those labs were something that Cersai had hidden from everyone in the world. Not even the president knew that Gaia held labs in those locations. The labs had been created by Gaia a long time ago to help them properly understand the genetic and biological makeup of the various creatures that came to their world, but over time, as Gaia understood more of the world and realised just how helpless humanity was compared to some of the creatures out there, Gaia changed their goal from understanding these creatures to learning how to destroy them.