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‘Things have reached a kind of stalemate, I suppose. Big shifts in power generally require these rising stars--that is, servants whose power is skyrocketing because they’re constantly involved in huge conflicts. Which happens quite a lot, actually, but I think the trouble nowadays is that the emperors are all paying close attention to this. When they see some young gun making waves in the world, they don’t just ignore that person.’

‘What, so they just kill them?’

‘Or recruit them, yeah. That’s the deadliest time period in a servant’s growth. You suddenly have four giants breathing down your neck, and you’re left with a choice: pick a side, or try to survive long enough to become an emperor yourself. Which isn’t exactly a fun dilemma to be in. I know a lot of reapers intentionally release their servants before they reach that threshold just so they won’t be targeted.’

Hector’s eyes widened, and he shifted his hands. ‘A-are you gonna do that with me?’

‘Don’t be stupid. Of course not.’

‘But then... are you saying you want me to join the Vanguard? Or... become an emperor? Because I wasn’t really planning on, uh... I mean, I...’

Garovel laughed. ‘I just want you to stay alive, Hector.’

‘I... I mean, you’re talking about all this crazy stuff, but... I just wanna protect people... y’know, if I can...’

‘That’s good enough for me. We’ll worry about it later.’

Abruptly, Hector noticed a highway police truck coming the opposite direction. His posture went rigid, and he held his breath as he waited for it to pass. It did, and he watched in his side mirror, making sure it didn’t suddenly turn around.

After a few minutes, he relaxed again. Then he took the next turn too wide, ran off the road, and flipped the bike into a ditch.