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Hopefully, the progress they'd made with their respective hunts wouldn't be totally lost. With any luck, they would be able to pick up where they left off once this whole mess was sorted out.

Hmm. Sorted out? A spare thought process wondered about that sentiment. Wasn't it a bit assumptive on his part to think that way? So casually? This was a fucking war. The sovereignty of Lorent and probably also Atreya were on the line here, as were the lives of everyone in both countries.

And yet...

He was not afraid. He wasn't even all that worried, actually. He felt exceptionally calm.

He hoped he wasn't becoming arrogant. There was no reason to think that he could defeat Bloodeye in a normal fight. And for all they knew, Morgunov could show up, too. By all metrics, Hector should've been nervous as fuck, right now.

But he wasn't. His head was clear. Seemingly clear, at least.

He hardly felt like himself, though. Hell, he hardly even knew what "himself" was supposed to feel like.

All the crazy shit that he'd been through lately made this situation feel somehow smaller. Less terrifying. But it was that last trip through the Fusion Forge that had really messed with him. He wondered if he was even the same person, now.

Bloodeye. Also known as the Red Devil of Horsht. Full name: Neville Cornelius Roy. Born in Horsht 133 years ago. Regarded as one of the most dangerous men in the world.

How in the world had Hector learned all of that? He looked the guy up on the internet, only to discover those little details were indeed accurate.

There was so much information rolling around in his head now. Taken from the Candle itself. But it seemed incredibly strange that the Candle would know something like that despite having been half-broken and dormant for eons.