The old man studied Cain in silence, his eyes narrowing with the weight of long years spent confronting horrors. The stranger before him looked human at first glance, but there was something unmistakably different in the radiance of his bloodline and the pressure that clung to him like an unseen mantle.
"Human, yet not human," Duncan thought. Even if he could not recognize a Primordial on sight, he understood instinctively that Cain Laurifer was not simply another member of the Godslayer Humankind.
Still, Duncan did not allow awe or uncertainty to sway his composure.
He straightened his back, lifted his chin, and answered with a steady voice that did not tremble. "I am Duncan Inao, Leader of the Light Army. Do you come to us as an enemy… or as a friend?"
Cain watched him for a moment. Duncan fully understood the chasm between their strengths, yet chose to stand tall regardless, ready to face death if that was the price.
