Around them, several people listening nearby had gone pale.
Mercer laughed bitterly under his breath.
"That kind of trauma broke people."
His eyes narrowed sharply at Eli.
"Some went insane. Some couldn't even speak afterward. Some fell into comas despite being perfectly healthy."
The arcade suddenly felt colder.
"People are terrified to sleep because they remember burning alive." Mercer's voice cracked slightly near the end. "Kids wake up screaming in the middle of the night because they remember being crushed under buildings."
For the first time since the argument started, Eli's expression wavered… but it didn't seem like worry or doubt, his expression simply became calm.
But Mercer wasn't finished.
"And you're standing here talking about worshipping the things responsible for that?" he asked quietly. "How the hell am I supposed to look at you right now, Eli?"
Eli let out a long sigh, rubbing the side of his bruised face.
