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Hector wasn’t quite sure what the reaper meant. ‘So, what? You’re saying... someone in Abolish actually has a smart plan for overthrowing their own boss?’

‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ said Garovel. ‘Maybe it’s a good plan. Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s not a plan at all, and I’m completely misreading everything. All I’m really saying is that I think something big is happening within Abolish right now. Something that could threaten the status quo--or dare I say, even destroy it.’

‘You sound surprisingly optimistic.’

‘Is it so surprising, though? Abolish has been getting its ass handed to it, lately. You heard the news about Jackson taking down not just one, but TWO of Abolish’s biggest threats, didn’t you?’

Hector certainly did. He recalled Asad’s sister going around and telling everyone. ‘The Star of the West. Wonder what he’s like.’

‘I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. And now it sounds like he’s the de facto second-in-command for the Vanguard.’

‘I wonder what he would think of this whole Rainlord situation.’

‘Assuming he knew the whole story? Tough to say. But even then, I doubt he would side against the Vanguard.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Whatever the case, Abolish is gonna have a hard time dealing with him.’ Garovel broke for a laugh. ‘And YOU, apparently. Lest we forget how you made Abolish eat shit AGAIN when you took down Ivan.’

‘I definitely did NOT take him down.’

‘Completely on your own. No help needed. Made him look like a punk bitch.’

Hector sighed but couldn’t help laughing just a little.

‘At least, that’s what I’ve been telling everyone,’ said Garovel.

Hector’s eyes widened at the mere thought of that. ‘You’re just joking, right?!’

‘I am. Calm down. Hilarious as that would be, I don’t think I’d be laughing when Morgunov himself showed up to take revenge on you.’

‘Ugh...’

Hector turned a corner and found himself in an apparent park. It was small, but there was a walled off pool of lava in the middle with a tall, sharp monument rising out of it like a rocky needle. The area also boasted a cliffside view of Himmekel to Hector’s right, along with a few stone benches where a handful of Hun’Sho were seated.

Someone else was with them, Hector noticed as he got closer. Someone in a climate-controlled suit.

“--like you wouldn’t believe!” came a familiarly deep voice. “Why, in six months’ time, I could have quarterly shipments arriving here all the way from Boregard! There would be no need to leave! I could bring the wonders of the surface world directly to you! Convenience at its finest!”

“Boregard is the name of your homeland?” said one of the Hun’Sho.

“My hometown, actually,” said Mr. Robert Sheridan. “My homeland is a place called Intar. Quite lovely this time of year, if you can get used to the clamor. It’s the center of the world, you know! Busiest country on the planet! And the most productive, when accounting for quality.”