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And Hector looked, but no one else was around. So this asshole was the real Agrian, then? He'd kinda suspected as much. What he hadn't expected, though, was the expression on the guy's face.

He almost looked like a different person. Not quite older, exactly, but definitely more haggard, like most of the life had been drained out of him. The smug smile that had seemed a permanent fixture on his face before was nowhere to be found now.

And actually, Hector could see that he was crying.

Damn.

Hector's gaze fell to the tombstone. He couldn't read the inscription on it, but he had a pretty good idea who it must've been for. He just wished he'd gotten the poor guy's name. Maybe Rasalased or Abbas would be able to tell him later.

But the Forge wasn't yet complete, Hector recalled. And the only one here now was Agrian, who seemed to be pretty torn up about the original creator's death. Did that mean...?

As the vision began to speed up again, Hector saw Agrian lingering around the tree for many days. Months, maybe. The man just seemed to be examining everything closely. Hector wasn't sure what he was doing until Agrian finally set to work.

Perhaps he'd just been trying to understand his friend's creation this whole time.

Had they actually been friends, though? Hector had to wonder.

Hmm. Life could be weird like that, he supposed. Old enemies being future allies.

But wait a minute. Didn't this mean that Agrian still tried to name the Forge after himself? Even after all the shit the original guy went through?

It did, didn't it? Wow, so he really was an asshole, then. Hector had been prepared to give him a bit of sympathy, but now that was all dried up again.

But he supposed that did technically mean that the Candle had two creators. Hence the Forge's confusing "yes and no" answer.