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((The 14 pages of Valentine's Day + Double Wednesday -- Page 14 of 16))
“...And what about everyone who was with me?” said Hector.

“They must prostrate themselves likewise,” said Seyos. “Mercy must be earned.”

“I don’t think they’d agree to that,” said Hector.

“Neither do I,” said Seyos.

And there was silence again.

Seyos readied himself beneath the Deceiver’s Cloak. Within its billowing and distorted visage, he was able to hold many more items than he would have otherwise been able to carry. He reached first for the item which had subdued Diego, the Orb of Tranquility.

There existed no better tool for dealing with servants. Ever confident in their power, they never saw it coming, this item which could suppress the synchronicity of their soul with that of their reaper. As soon as a servant laid eyes on it, the Orb rendered them no better than the corpse that they truly were.

And so would it be here. As soon as this Hector looked at the Orb...

As soon as he looked at it...

Hector would be...

What?

Seyos didn’t understand. He’d presented the Orb. Hector was staring right at it, and yet he was still standing there, unfazed.

How could--?

Agh...

The Supreme Will.

It played a role here, too?

How intolerably obnoxious.

“What’s that?” said Hector plainly, as if trying to kill Seyos with irritation alone.

“Nothing,” growled Seyos. He returned the Orb to the Cloak and began deliberating.

The Fists of Enkir. The Shield of Hamenszoon. The Twin Blades of Boros. The Mask of Amordiin. The Deceiver’s Dagger. The Deceiver’s Eye. The Black Spindle. The Box of Perdition.

Ugh...

The Orb of Tranquility had been ideal precisely because of how innocuous it appeared. The other items he had to choose from were not nearly so. As soon as he pulled one of them out and began using it, Hector would realize something was wrong and no doubt mount some sort of counteroffensive.

And that would be most undesirable.

Seyos had not survived all this time by actually bothering to fight servants. They were far too troublesome for that.

But Seyos did have something else up his sleeve--or rather, around his neck.

The Pendant of Unso, though it was meant to be used in conjunction with the Staff of Unso, was still far from useless on its own. And Malast did say that there were no other rules to this tournament, so there was no reason he couldn’t use it.

Very well.

“Pardon me for one moment,” said Seyos. He gripped the Pendant with one hand and focused on the desired room. “I will return shortly with a gift.”

“Wha--?”

Distorted space enveloped him, and Seyos closed his eyes to mitigate the disorientation.

In an instant, he arrived precisely where he meant to.

His home for the last millennia.

It was far from the life of luxury that he had enjoyed during his time as Guong before the Great Fall, but he had come to hold affection for this place, in a strange way. The feeling of safety was comforting enough.

And the mirrors. The many, many mirrors.