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Abbas chewed on that question for a bit as he met Hector’s gaze. He decided against answering it straight away. “The Void... that is what Abolish calls it. Their god.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think it’s as simple as that,” said Hector. He squinted. “And something tells me that you don’t think so, either.”

Hmm. “What do you know of the Void?” said Abbas.

“...I asked you first,” said Hector. “You’re not trying to avoid my question, are you?”

Hmph. He supposed there was no point in trying to hide anything, considering how invested he and his kin already were with this young man. “...No, that was not my first time encountering it. I’ve glimpsed it before. A few different times, in truth.”

Hector’s head reared back a little, but the stern expression on his face didn’t change into one of surprise. “So you knew the danger. And did it, anyway.”

Abbas pulled his legs over to the side of the bed and sat on the edge, putting his back to Hector but not standing to his feet just yet. “Of course I did.”

“Then why did you--? Agh. That was so reckless!”

“Hah! Hector. This is the risk we take. This is the nature of working with a Fusion Forge. I told you before, did I not? The Candle may be “gentle,” but that does not make it harmless. In some ways, that may even make it more dangerous. It can lure one into a false sense of security.”

“I understand that,” said Hector. “But you still could have at least told me you were planning to do something risky. That way, I would’ve been more prepared to help you, if something went wrong. Like it did.”

“Hector. Every time I use the Forge, this can happen. There is no safe handling of it. I knew the danger, yes, but I had no reason to think that this instance would be any different from the others. Because, frankly, it wasn’t. This was just the first time things went wrong.” He stood up and straightened his robe. “There will probably be more.”

The young Lord of Warrenhold stood up, too. “Respectfully, Lord Abbas, that’s a stupid approach to take. And unlike you.”

Abbas chortled. “I don’t disagree. But I’m not going to stop using the Forge.”

“I’m not saying you should,” said Hector. “I’m saying you should be smarter about it. We should be smarter about it. Let me help you.”