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And that first encounter hadn't even been the only time. The second encounter with Chaos had been at Bellvine, when those mad creatures began showing up--and more importantly, when Morgunov had gotten ahold of both Damian and Germal at once.

That entire battle had become a mad haze in his memory over the years, but here and now, thinking back on it with this new context fresh in his mind, that particular was feeling especially clear.

Morgunov had gotten to Germal. Holding him by his head. Seemingly to 'show' him something. And then done the same thing to Damian, hadn't he?

Parson had fought to free them both, but in the end, he had also ended up in basically the same position, at the Mad Demon's mercy.

And Morgunov had been about to 'show' him something, too, judging from the way he'd been talking. The only reason he hadn't done so... was because...

The wolf.

Parson's mind refocused. Reprioritized. And then he remembered everything Morgunov had said to the beast. Along with everything he'd witnessed in the recent battle.

What monstrous power the wolf had wielded. Incredible all those years ago, but now even moreso.

"Koh is the key," he found himself saying. "The Prime Hunt, yes? That's what Morgunov called it, back when he was possessed at Bellvine. And in this latest fight, Koh... clearly, something changed with him. He turned on Germal. Or Ettol, rather, didn't he?"

"Mm," hummed Damian. "So if we can learn more about him, then perhaps we can learn more about this enemy."

'Easier said than done,' said Feromas. 'It's not like we never tried. Even the Prime Archivers in Luugh couldn't help us when we sought to learn more about Koh.'

'Hmm, I wonder about that,' said Overra.

'What do you mean?' said Feromas.

'The Archivers are supposedly neutral,' she said, 'but I have long had my suspicions about that. Just because they do not side with either the Vanguard or Abolish does not mean that they are without an agenda of their own.'

'Well, of course that one. Everyone does. But what relevance does that have here? Do you have some reason to believe that they are untrustworthy on this particular subject?'

'Think about it. If these Primordials are such an ancient and powerful fixture of the world, then why is so little known about them?'

'You're implying the Archivers are in league with them?'

'Someone must be. And they seem well-positioned.'

"Sounds worth investigating," said Damian.

Next page on the 18th

Thanks for reading, everybody.

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"I'm sure the Vanguard has valuable intel about the state of the world, right now," said Damian. "That's intel we may need."

'Good thing we've got other ways of acquiring it, then,' said Overra. 'And what about you? How's your network of contacts, currently?'

"...Serviceable," said Damian.

'If you've been able to keep tabs on us with it, then I suspect it's better than merely serviceable.'

"I'm not making any promises after going mad for half a century."

And again, Parson found himself circling back to the point that he'd been trying not to dwell on. "...Are you implying that you're cured now?" he said.

"No," said Damian. But then he paused. "I don't know. Truth be told, I can still feel it. The memories are vibrant. It wasn't some other personality like... Jonah struggled with. It was me. And yet now, I... agh, it's difficult to explain."

'Try,' said Overra. 'Do you feel like yourself again?'

"Not exactly. I feel like someone new. I feel more in control than I've ever been, sure, but I also can't forget the..." He trailed off.

Parson had to push him. "Can't forget what?"

The other man leveled a stare at him. "The things I saw."

Impulsively, Parson wanted to ask what he meant, but he stopped himself. He instead had a very sudden and strong feeling that he already knew exactly what Damian was talking about--or a close approximation of it, perhaps.

Parson had his own encounter with the otherworldly, after all. With non-existence in the realm of Chaos. Or the Void. Or whatever it was called.

It hadn't amounted to much, of course, but he'd never forgotten the time he touched that black sludge on the outskirts of Montero in Korgum.

Which also had happened to be his very first encounter with the name Ettol.

Certainly not a coincidence, now that he was looking back on it.

But in his encounter, Parson had merely looked at the madness that lay within Chaos. A detached observer. It hadn't affected him in the slightest. He'd even felt disappointed by it, somehow.

But now... seeing what had become of Damian...

He could understand how lucky he had been at that time. How close he'd gotten to losing himself.

It was now quite easy to imagine what might have happened if he'd been fully immersed in those sights at the time--if he hadn't felt so safely detached.

Not to mention, there was probably so much more that Damian had witnessed, too. Things that Parson couldn't even begin to conceptualize.