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“Soul division,” said Caster. “One becoming two. Or three. Or ten, even. Though that would be quite extreme. And then those can go off, blend and merge, twist and change. In fact, I would say it is even more likely for them to do so, once they’ve diminished the first time. They need to amass new strength. Or at least, that is my limited understanding of the rather opaque process.”

“...Did you ever go through that?”

“Me? No, of course not. I am an unchangeable monolith. Eternal.”

More bullshit.

“...Okay, fine. In truth, I do not know. Do you remember anything from before you were born?”

“I’m not sure that’s a fair comparison when you’re an ancient, reincarnating entity.”

“Perhaps.”

Hector waited.

“Or perhaps not.”

There it was. “Alright,” said Hector. “Let’s move on. You mentioned something about a monstrous wolf earlier.”

“Yes. The Eternal Hunter. As I understand, he has been dormant for many years, but as ever, he has returned. Reborn just the other day in the midst of the storm which has caused devastation around the world. That should tell you something about how dangerous he is.”

“And you think he’s coming after you?”

“Oh, I know he is.”

“What’s his problem with you, exactly?”

“Problem? As in, morally? I doubt he harbors such thoughts. He is a beast of instinct. And we simply have opposing natures. He was created for the Hunt. That is his life’s purpose; and as far as I know, none have ever swayed him from it.”

“It’s what he was created for?” said Hector. “How do you know that? And who created him?”

“We have been studying him for millennia, trying to discover a method of dealing with him permanently. In the beginning, it was just mayhem. No understanding or reasoning. Just war. Blood and death. But over time, we came to connect dots. The nature of his power, for example, has striking similarities to our own. It is quite likely, therefore, that he sources it from a similar place. Meaning his creator would also be one who is familiar to us: the God of All That is Not. The antithesis of not just us, but of existence itself.”

Damn, that was a lot to take in. Hector was trying to not get lost in the weeds here, but that name. The God of All That is Not. He recognized that one well enough.

That was another name for the Void. One of many.