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‘I don’t sense any kind of change in them yet,’ said Dozer.

‘Could still be a ways off,’ said Morgunov. ‘If the Void State is only preparing for the new arrival, then maybe it’s still a few minutes away. Or hours, even! With how long these fights can last, there’s no telling!’

‘If that is so, then it is almost as if the Void State is telling us to kill them both before one of them breaches through.’

‘Eheh. Maybe it is! Do you think the Void cares about the two of us that much?’

Now there was a loaded question. He decided to ignore it. ‘There IS another explanation for this, you know.’

‘Sure. But if it’s Sermung, he wouldn’t already be attuned to the Void State, right? He’d need a bit of time within the fury of battle.’

‘Unless, perhaps, he has been fighting elsewhere.’

‘What, you mean he’s pre-gaming? For a fight against BOTH of us? I mean, that’s just insulting. He wouldn’t want to come into this tired.’

‘Tired? You and I are not tired, and we made it here. Why would he need to be?”

‘Actually, I’m feelin’ pretty winded.’

‘Mm. Pitiful.’

‘Okay, man, I’ve been fighting for like two weeks straight. You don’t get to make fun of me yet. Not until your old ass has been in the fryer for at least as long.’

‘If it is Sermung, then he must be about to teleport in, because I do not sense his presence anywhere nearby.’

‘Tch, I hate that he can do that.’

‘You hate that you were not able to replicate it.’

‘I could’ve! If I’d kept working the problem, I could’ve!’

‘So why didn’t you?’

‘I got distracted.’

‘That is equivalent to failure.’

‘Nuh-uh! A victory delayed is still a victory earned!’

‘Not if Sermung kills you today.’

‘Puh! Worry about yourself, old man.’

‘That was not worry. I assure you.’

‘Whoop. I sense another change. Whoever it is, they’re close now.’

Indeed, Dozer could sense it, too. The Void State was practically trembling. A hidden earthquake, of sorts. Perceptible only to him and Morgunov.

And then there was enough. The new presence began to crystalize, and he could finally tell who it was.

‘Nooo!’ laughed the Mad Demon, disbelief in his tone.

It was a rare moment of shared sentiment between them, because Dozer could hardly believe it himself.

How many years had it been since Sai-hee, the Empress Peacemaker, had decided to make such a bold move as this?