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Maybe all this stuff was just what Zirat wanted people to believe.

Or maybe just some of it was. Key parts. Stuff that would be difficult to pinpoint as false. Things that would swing the overall narrative in a more favorable direction for him while still allowing for deniability.

Yeah.

That seemed likely. And as much as Hector wanted to be able to trust these new aura reading senses of his, he didn’t think they guaranteed anything, especially with this guy’s own fortress-like aura around him.

But he supposed they could move on to another pressing topic. There was only one more line of questioning that Hector was curious about before they did. “...Is Skapa still alive?”

“I don’t believe so, no.”

“You don’t sound certain.”

“When it comes to him, I never have been.”

“How did he die?”

“My peers hunted him down. It took quite a long time, as I’ve heard the story told.”

“And you don’t think he... could’ve reincarnated, like you?”

“No. But as I said, with him, I’m never sure. Perhaps he secretly stole that from us, as well.” Caster’s expression twitched. “Excuse me. Replicated.”

Hmm. “...So if servant powers come from you guys, then where do your powers come from?”

“We are simply born with them.”

That sounded like bullshit.

“Heh. You doubt me?”

Hector didn’t feel like dancing around it. “Yeah. I do.”

Caster breathed half a laugh. “Fair enough. And while I was not lying, I will admit to being somewhat... loose with terms, perhaps. A very old habit, you see. Difficult to stop doing.”

“Loose how?”

“Well, after all, what actually constitutes one of us being ‘born?’ That is a rather murky concept, even for us.”

Hector also noticed that the man was still not using the term ‘Primordial,’ either, even though he was sure that’s what was being continually referred to here. Maybe that just wasn’t how they referred to themselves. A question for later, he supposed. “You don’t know how you’re born?”

“There is no set path to godhood,” said Caster. “Our origins are as varied as we ourselves are.”

“...How many of you are there?”

“Oh, I lost track long ago. Sometimes, we lose ourselves and blend together within the bowels of Chaos, and when we reemerge--if ever we do--it is as someone new. Not just a new incarnation like me, but an entirely new being with new values and motivations. And other times, the exact opposite occurs, instead. So a number can be quite difficult, you see.”

“What do you mean by the opposite occurring?”