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‘He joined Abolish,’ said Garovel.

Hector’s brow rose.

‘Went on to do many horrific things after that, though the world seems to have forgotten much of it, just because he did some great things when he was younger. Really bothers me, that.’

Hector was almost afraid to ask, but he had to. “What, exactly... did he do that was so bad?”

Garovel looked up at the sky. ‘He poisoned three countries. Contaminated their water. Created an awful disease and the worst acid rain I’ve ever witnessed. Killed millions in the span of a year or two.’

“Holy fuck...”

‘Yeah.’ The reaper paused. ‘But I suppose, in fairness, I should mention that there is some contention over whether or not he was the one responsible for it. Part of the reason his crimes have been largely forgotten, I suspect, is because there was a lack of proof of culpability.’

“But you believe he did it?”

‘I'd love to be proven wrong, but yes. I think I do.’

“How come?”

‘Because I talked to him, near the end. And while he didn’t explicitly confirm it, he was just... so pleased about the situation. And so insane. He talked about people who’d been dead for half a century as if they were right there next to him. Anicca, in particular. Her death... broke him, I think.’

Hector didn’t know what to say. The pain in the reaper’s voice was not something he’d heard many times before.

Garovel wasn’t saying anything, either, and a heavy silence drew out.

After a while, Hector exhaled slowly and decided to change the subject, if only slightly. “...It’s still crazy to me that Abolish has been around for that long,” he said. “I mean, you’re talking about, like, two thousand years ago, right?”

‘Thereabouts.’

“And they’ve really been at war with the Vanguard the entire time?”

‘More or less. There have been periods of peace between the two, here and there. And there have also been periods when one side seemed to achieve true victory over the other, only for the loser to reemerge years later and continue the fight.’

“Man...”

‘The problem, I think, is that the two sides are more ideologically driven than anything. And ideas are very hard to kill. If not impossible. Even if you manage to wipe out everyone who thinks a certain way, someone brand new could be born who eventually arrives at those same ideas all on their own.’

“Hmm. But both sides kept the name the whole time? Like, every iteration of the Vanguard has always referred to itself as such? And Abolish, too? That seems a little weird.”