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“He flew into a rage and attacked Avar. Yet, Avar was the God of Fire, and Secho was only mortal. Avar subdued him without difficulty and spared his life, believing Secho to be of no threat. However, instead of quitting himself of his quest as Avar told him to do, Secho waited four days, until Avar fell asleep, and then snuck into the Sanctum without waking him.”

“Gods need sleep?” Hector asked.

Royo smirked. “So it would seem.”

“Hmm. What happened next?”

“Secho met with the Heart of the World, who--”

“Ah--sorry to keep interrupting, but... what is the Heart of the World, exactly?”

“The answer to that would depend on whom you ask. In this particular story, it is depicted as a sentient presence encased in a giant orb.”

“That’s... strange.”

“Mm. Shall I continue?”

“Please.”

“Secho met with the Heart of the World, who already knew that Secho had entered the Sanctum when he was not supposed to. Rather than killing or banishing him, however, the Heart of the World gave him a choice. Secho was presented with two goblets. If he drank from the left goblet, his wife would be cured. If he drank from the right goblet, he would be granted godlike powers, but his wife would die.”

“How would him drinking from the goblet cure someone else?”

Royo snickered. “You are a stickler for details, I see.”

“I’m just... trying to understand.”

“The veracity of these tales is not why they have survived for millennia, I feel. They were meant to impart wisdom via the means of a constructed narrative. It may be better to think of them as a manner of... primitive thought experiment. An early mechanism of hypotheticality by which the illiterate masses might be taught a sense of morality or wisdom--and hopefully, improve civilization as a whole thereby.”

“Ah... Okay, sure, that’s... that’s a really good point. But, I mean... if the writers wanted me to believe this stuff, then they should’ve worked harder to make it more believable, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps you are being a bit too hard on said writers. They did not have the benefit of a thousand extra years of accumulated knowledge as you and I do.”

“...A likely excuse.”

That earned a laugh from Royo. “Would you like me to continue with the story? Or have you grown too weary of it?”

“...Sorry, go on.”

“Very well. Where was I?”

“The Heart of the World gave Secho a choice between godlike power or his wife.”

“Ah. This is the part of the story I find most appealing. The decision. Secho was an ambitious man. And indeed, it was that very ambition which had caused him to ‘fail’ one of his tests, according to Avar. But after his encounter with Avar, Secho realized this about himself. And perhaps even more importantly, he had heard over the course of his journey about the capriciousness of the Heart of the World. Therefore, he did not trust this choice as it was presented to him and believed it to be some form of trickery.”