Page 1103

Even so, he still tried. Maybe it was impossible to think in this state, but there was no harm in trying. Probably. He wasn’t sure of that, either, now that he was thinking about it.

Hold on. He WAS thinking now. And it felt strange. Like he’d wrapped a blanket around his mind, every thought cradled in an intangible headspace. It was strangely easy. But he still wasn’t solidifying each thought yet like he had to do when talking to Garovel privately. Maybe that would be the difference.

‘...Hmm,’ he tried.

And the whole world resounded with that one syllable. He sensed it--felt it. Each crack reverberated against his soundless voice, stirring all at once for a moment. But only for a moment.

‘...Is anyone there?’ said Hector.

And the world lit up again, trembling, echoing.

‘Please,’ Hector went on, ‘if you’re there, say something. Please.’

The echo hardened and sustained itself. It grew. And grew. And grew still more. And Hector began to feel like he’d been caught in an earthquake.

‘On second thought, if you’d rather not be bothered--’

The cracks exploded, and a wave hit him, punching him clean out of his meditation.

Hector struggled to regather himself. ‘...Garovel?’

‘Back already?’ the reaper said. ‘That didn’t take very long.’

‘...Did I fuck that up?’ said Hector.

‘What?’

As his sense returned to him, he realized that nothing was different. It was just the four of them there, still.

And then it wasn’t.

An ocean converged on them. From seemingly nowhere, Hector sensed its arrival. Soul power. Endless, as far as he could tell. Crushingly strong, pressuring him from every conceivable direction.

‘Oh shit,’ said Garovel.