Keith's gaze didn't falter, though his eyes flashed.
Elius's expression hardened. "You can't have both. Stay on their side, and you'll never be a hero. You'll never step into the light. You'll be hunted down, dragged through the mud, called a mutant freak by every media channel, a villain until the day you die."
He pointed a single finger directly at Keith's chest.
"And even your mother, once she knows what you've done, who you've chosen—she'll be even more heartbroken than she already is."
Keith lowered his head.
His bangs shadowed his expression, but his voice was steady when he replied.
"No," he said. "I'm not close with them. Not even a little."
Elius blinked.
Keith finally looked up again. "I was just asking."
Elius's lips curled slightly. "Good."
But then Keith frowned and asked, "Why do they have to stay like that? Can't we just leave this dungeon already?"
