Page 3575

“You conflate the two when you should not,” said Germal. “Chaos may be an aspect of the Void, but that does not mean they have the same desires. Does your stomach always want what you do?”

“I mean, usually. I’ve never been big on dieting.”

“Even so, that is the essence of it. The Void believes that it knows best. It often tries, foolishly, to ignore its many competing instincts.”

“Interesting. So what does that make you, then? A stomach virus?”

Germal laughed outright. “From your perspective, perhaps so! But you’ll have to forgive me if I do not measure my self-worth by the judgments of a gleeful, mass murdering psychopath.”

“Mmhmm. You say that, but if you’re really a Primordial, then the odds are quite good that you’ve dabbled in a bit of mass murder and/or psychopathy yourself.”

“A fair statement. Incorrect, but fair.”

“Oh? Which Primordial do you claim to be, then?”

“Ah-ah. It is still my turn. And you have yet to answer my question. The Vessel. Where is it located?”

“Fine, fine. I have it, actually. Locked up tight in one of my warehouses.”

“Which warehouse?”

“Lemme go, and I’ll take you there!”

“How kind of you to offer. But I shall make do with just the location, if you please.”

“Hmph. It’s in Luugh. Outside a little town called Ragayo. That specific enough for you?”

“No. What is the exact address?”

Tch. “Doesn’t have one. No road nearby. Won’t show up on a map, either.”

“Landmarks?”

“It’s surrounded by trees. Squirreled away, out of sight. I like my hidden things to remain hidden, y’know?”

“Security?”

“None at all.”

“You’re lying. I can tell. How much security is there?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing a tough guy like you can’t handle.”

“Specifics, Demon. Answering to my satisfaction is was your rule, remember?”

“Ugh, so dull! Can’t you just appreciate a good surprise, every now and then?”

“No.”

“Alright, alright. Lemme think. Umm. There were... twelve automatic turrets along the perimeter. Programmed to stun, not kill. Thirty-seven mines dotted the outer walls. Oh, and a small platoon of Roberts.”

“Roberts?”

“My tin soldiers. That’s what I call ‘em.”

“...How small is this platoon, precisely?”

“Oh, I, mm... sixty-eight.”

“Sixty-eight of those monstrosities?”

Morgunov could not help feeling immensely pleased by the bastard’s worried tone. “You and your boys made short work of them back at my workshop. And without me there to feed them orders, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble.” Assuming Germal actually brought all his buddies along to help, which seemed unlikely.

Eheh.

Page 3574

“The Vessel of Trenoyis,” said Germal. “Where is it?”

“Trenoyis,” echoed Morguonv. “Hmm. Have you checked Trenoy? I hear they named that place after him.”

“Cute. You know this does not work if you refuse to answer, yes? You must answer to my satisfaction. You know the Vessel’s whereabouts, don’t you?”

“Do I? Why don’t you just read my mind and see for yourself?”

“You know why.”

“Oh, come now. Are you tellin’ me that my measly little psychic defenses are able to thwart the efforts of a big, bad Primordial like yourself? Surely not.”

“Measly, are they? You’ve created an entire labyrinth full of coma-inducing booby traps.”

“What can I say? I don’t like people rooting around in there without my permission.”

“What if I promise to be gentle?”

“Oh, sure, but you have to let me run some experiments on you, first. I promise that I’ll be equally gentle.”

“Kehe. Indeed. We’ve arrived at yet another impasse, it would seem.”

“Shocker, eh? And hey, let’s not pretend like you psychics don’t deserve a bit of backlash for all the stuff you’ve gotten up to over the years. Rifling through other people’s memories--is there any greater invasion of privacy than that? I think not. And that’s just one of the messed up things you’ve been doing!”

“The pot is truly screaming at the kettle, now.”

“Eheh. I never said I don’t have some backlash coming, too.”

“Oh? Are you perhaps acknowledging that ambush is deserved?”

“In general sense? Yeah, maybe. But I don’t recall ever wronging you specifically.”

“No? You have been hunting me for decades.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? I just wanted to have a nice chat. You’re the one who made it weird.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Now answer my question. Where is the Vessel?”

“What’s your interest in it?”

“Can you not guess, based on everything else I’ve already told you?”

“Maybe I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Are you a horse god, Germy? I bet you are, aren’t you? I feel like that’d suit you.”

“The Vessel shall help me free Trenoyis.”

“You don’t say? Are you sure you want to do that? What would the Void think?”

A brief silence arrived. “Kehehe. Not much of anything, I suspect. Your faith in that being is misplaced, I’m afraid.”

Hmm. Morgunov wanted to scratch his chin. “So despite being of Chaos, you’re going against the Void’s will? Hmm. Now that just don’t seem right.”

Page 3573

Well.

On second thought, he knew exactly how someone could believe that. He was suddenly reminded of his youth--of that special breed of proud, malicious ignorance that seemed to possess everyone around him in those days.

‘Anti-knowledge,’ he’d called it. Not just the desire to remain ignorant. No. It went a step further and sought to destroy the knowledge of others, too. To humiliate them for even having the gall to pursue said knowledge in the first place.

There was nothing in this universe that Morgunov hated more than that.

And his confusion, his disbelieve--they melted gradually away.

Replaced in their entirety with rage. The kind he hadn’t felt in countless years. The kind that threatened to overtake every cogent thought in his mind.

It was all he could do to contain himself. If the two of them were not already trapped, he would have killed Germal instantly. No games. No toying with his food. No experimenting with some untested invention. No saving his real trump cards for later. Not even any capturing for future study.

This creature in here with him--whatever it was--it needed to die.

“...You’ve fallen quiet,” said Germal.

Morgunov said nothing.

“Kehe. It seems I’ve accomplished the impossible.”

Morgunov knew he needed to steady himself. He’d allowed his emotions to rise too much.

He knew that.

And yet he didn’t entirely care. The thought occurred to him that, yes, if Germal could really read minds, then the bastard could be reading this, right now. That he--no, it--could’ve even known ahead of time exactly what to say in order to provoke this very reaction.

That it could’ve all been a lie, said for no other reason than to get under his skin.

If so, then Morgunov could admit: it had worked. And this bastard was going to regret it with every fiber of its being.

But for some reason, Morgunov felt like that wasn’t the case, either. That really was how Germal viewed the world, wasn’t it? Perhaps that was even how all the Primordials viewed it.

Which would certainly explain why the Void decided to rip them from this plane of existence.

Because they deserved it. And worse.

“Is it my turn, now?” said Germal. “Have I answered to your satisfaction?”

Still, Morgunov almost remained silent. But after a moment, he found enough poise to say, “Yes. Go ahead.”