Chapter 260: Admission
"You know, I used to like high places..." revealed Bonney, seated across from Vahn as they rode the first floor's Ferris wheel, her head against the window as she stared out over the floor below, her purple eyes reflecting the lights and images of the increasingly bustling streets and attractions.
"What changed your mind...?" asked Vahn, his expression a relaxed smile and his tone measured, unhurried, an implicit reminder that Bonney could share as much or as little as she pleased.
"It was the fact the Celestial Dragons lived atop the Red Line..." revealed Bonney, her brows furrowing as she explained, "Before, I liked high places because it made everything—all the problems people faced—feel tiny and inconsequential. When I later realized that was probably exactly how the Celestial Dragons felt, it made me sick to my stomach..."
"I see..." muttered Vahn, joining Bonney in resting his head against the window's interior, the faint glow of his aquamarine eyes shimmering as he contended, "But you're not a Celestial Dragon, Bonney. Your perspective and feelings are unique to you, and while we might empathize with others, we're each living our own lives. You don't have to feel guilty because your thoughts might match someone you've never met—because the emotions that led you to feel as you do are your own..."
"Obviously..." droned Bonney, a faint pout marring her face as the interior of the Ferris wheel compartment fell silent. The tragic truth of the matter was that Bonney was a Celestial Dragon, with her father being from one of the most affluent families in Mariejois, so she couldn't help comparing herself to her exceedingly inbred cousins and the extraordinary atrocities they committed despite being abandoned by her original family as a child and raised in a completely different environment.
"The Celestial Dragons..." started Bonney, keeping her head against the window's glass but shifting her gaze to Vahn as she asked, "You can do something about them, can't you? Everyone's talking about how strong the Dragon's Pavilion is after your win against the Imperial Court Guard Squads, and I saw the replay...with power like that, you could launch an attack on Mariejois, free all the slaves, and put every Celestial Dragon to death in one fell swoop..."
"It's possible..." confirmed Vahn, nodding.
"Then why don't you...!?" exclaimed Bonney, causing the compartment to shake as she bounced in her seat and glared at Vahn with indignation and a hint of betrayal in her teary eyes.
"There are many reasons..." responded Vahn, his voice level as he slowly shook his head, met Bonney's gaze, and calmly appended, "But the most important one is that the World Government isn't our adversary to pursue justice against, Bonney. That is the right of those, like you, who have been harmed by their actions..."
"So, because it's someone else's problem, you get to sit here, enjoying life and luxury in your palace while countless people can't even choose how they live or die...?" asked Bonney, her voice low and the muscles in her jaw tensing as she ground her molars and clenched her hands into white-knuckled fists.
Shaking his head, Vahn raised his hands to show he had no intention of fighting as he calmly appended, "You and your father wouldn't be here if we were doing nothing, Bonney. It's just that we have rules that we must abide and your world isn't the only one we're involved with. We may have the means, but we don't have the manpower or the right to destroy every malicious or despotic organization across innumerable worlds. That's why you and others like you were invited to become Ascendees—so you could become powerful enough to decide the fate of your world yourselves..."