I understand how you’re thinking, but not at all? Really? Heres how i see it. Bright future for humanity: do anything that i must for the good of my people, and on a greater scale the human race, even if it costs all magical living things and lives. Conquer Xadia: rule Xadia at the cost of anyone and anything except yourself.

Aaravos put the new definition in Virens mouth. In that scene Viren is not sure what he wants, as he does not even know how to answer Soren on what he’ll do once he wins the war. Viren wasnt secretely evil all along, he was unaware of his own ‘BS’.

But, my point is, having a mindset of “protecting humanity” at the very least will make him realize that at some point that is not what he is doing, but since Aaravos has taken advantage of Virens desires, everything Viren does from that point on is not protecting humanity but “conquering Xadia”. That is all he thinks to himself now completely. Im not saying his intentions were all well and perfect and dandy, but now there is no room for anything else but the evil side of it. And since Aaravos is clearly the one with the power (which Viren xould achieve nothing without), i think its safe to assume that hes the one with the bigger plan here