"You must be happy," Xander continued, not surprised to find another Original involved in his years of torture. "You wanted the threat to the mortal realm gone, and now it is."
"That was my goal. I wish I'd been involved in the latest war to protect my kind. I guess that's the punishment for our roles in the Schism - being pushed aside and forced to watch," Eden said, referring to the war that severed the two realms completely from one another. It took the magic of all the Original Beings to support the cause Eden had dedicated her life to.
It's what earned all the Originals their ten thousand year prison terms.
Eden was troubled. Xander didn't expect to see the emotion from the woman who all-but-raised him.
"What're you doing here, Eden?" he asked.
"Curiosity. Boredom." Eden said, gaze stormy. "I remember you differently."
"Born a predator, turned into a killer by none other than you."
"Exactly. Not sure what you are now."
"You created this version of me as well."
"Do you hate me for it?"
Xander considered for a moment. "I don't open wounds that are healed, Eden."
"Good philosophy to have. Humans are a little different. We tend to never forget."
"What do you want?"
Eden leaned back. "I guess to ask you another question, if you'll answer."
"No guarantees."
"Understood, son. I spent my eternity dedicated to protecting the human realm from the immortal one. It fell, and I had nothing to do with it, but I'll be Machiavellian about it and simply appreciate the end result," Eden said and then paused. She was pensive for a moment. "You lived for nothing but revenge. You got your vengeance, just as I saw my goal realized. What comes next?"
"You sought me out for advice?" Xander asked with a laugh.
"We are all that remain from our time. Tell me you did not seek out Jule when you stumbled back into this realm."
Xander was silent, recalling how Eden always found a way to push past his defenses enough to manipulate him. Older and wiser, Xander was aware of what she did now, just as he was starting to understand the identity crisis that caused Eden to seek him out.
At one point, after he succeeded in killing his father, he did hate the woman who taught him bloodlust and war, then slammed on the brakes to cage the beast she created. Eden used Xander for her own means and yet, the Original Human's final acts of limiting Xander's power had been selfless. She had a weapon capable of destroying the immortal realm but had chosen not to unleash Xander completely, knowing what might happen if she did.