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Sermung's gaze lingered on Hector for a quiet moment, and then he took a deliberate breath, exhaling slowly. "Sorry. Maybe I'm getting a bit too stuffy for my own good. You're not really like that, are you? I should relax."

And Hector was lost. What was he talking about? And there was something else in the aura now--yet another new thing that he couldn't quite pin down. Was that disappointment, maybe? Mixed with nostalgia? Agh, neither of those felt quite right.

"My bad, kiddo."

What the hell? "Why do you keep apologizing?"

"Because I keep presuming too much. You really are so innocent and kind. I can see it in you, plain as day. Good-hearted in the extreme. You should go back home to Atreya as soon as you can."

Hector's irritation was rising up again. While a lot of those words sounded like compliments, the aura was adding a certain subtext that he didn't much appreciate. Pity and sadness. Not just toward Hector, either. Toward himself.

Why was the man pitying himself, right now?

What a weirdo. Just a complete wall of indecipherable emotion and history, despite seemingly being such an open book before. And distracted, too. The guy's mind was still elsewhere. Wandering off into the distance. Wandering back in time. Even wandering inward, if that were possible.

Sad and bored and tired, yet still somehow supremely confident and warm and welcoming.

This man made no sense. An enigma cloaked in contradictions.

Hector found himself drawing comparisons with Malast. He hadn't actually been able to sense Malast's aura, of course, but the longer this conversation went, the more he felt like the God of Boredom might be quite similar to this, if only a bit more extreme in certain ways.

And much like with Malast, the more he spoke to this guy, the more difficult it was to not get pissed off. Especially because, unlike with Malast, this guy, ultimately, was still just a dude. A normal human. Undead, sure, but still human. Not some ancient god or whatever.

Somewhere in there, buried under that mountain of bullshit, was just a regular guy. Hector felt like he'd glimpsed it a few times, but it kept disappearing. Even this new version, speaking so casually, wasn't actually him, was it? Just another front.

But of course, that also made sense. This dude had layers. And plenty to hide. Naturally. There was plenty to learn from here, Hector knew.

Next page tomorrow

Thanks for reading, everybody.

Page 4125

Back in the normal world, their second conversation was continuing, too.

"What'll you do with all these giant boxes?" said Hector.

"Return the Idkin to where they belong," said Sermung. "That will take time, however. I must discern the correct destination first. Or destinations, most likely. I doubt they have all come from the same place."

"Do you know how Jercash would've brought them here?"

"With the aid of one of his madmen, no doubt. His most dangerous quality is his ability to engender the cooperation of others--even those who might otherwise remain lone operators. But tell me: if you are from Atreya, then how came you to be here in Andeyal?"

"My country's prince is currently stuck in the city, due to everything going on. I came here to ensure his safety."

"But how did you arrive, if as you said, my men have the city under a lockdown?"

Ah. Hector saw what he was getting at but hesitated. That was quite sensitive information, he felt, but this was also Sermung he was talking to here. Maybe the most trustworthy man in the entire world, if reputation was anything to go by.

But it wasn't.

Hector didn't know him. Not like that, anyway.

And sure, perhaps they were getting to know each other extremely quickly thanks to their auras, but in a weird way, that was actually making it clear to Hector just how much he didn't know about this living legend in front of him--how much he couldn't know. There was far too much in that aura. Both concealed and not. Too many things for Hector to wrap his head around, especially in a single conversation.

"You are wary of me," observed Sermung. "Perhaps that is wise, though I can't help feeling somewhat slighted, seeing how much I have already shared with you."

"You volunteered all that," said Hector. "And I appreciate it, but... we also just met, you know."

"Your secret is that valuable to you, is it? Very well. I shall not pry."

"Are you sure about that? I get the feeling you can already see just about anything you want."

"Hah. It is never that simple. Prodding into others' secrets always carries with it some level of risk. But... perhaps you should be taking further measures to guard yourself, as well? You may have been sharing more than you intended. And future encounters of this nature may not be as benign. You understand my meaning?"

Hmm. "I think so."