Page 3935

Hmph. The guy could “see” that, huh? Hector wished he had a clearer picture of how this dude’s “sight” worked, but now wasn’t really the time for that conversation, he felt. They needed to get moving and soon. “If you must know,” said Hector, “we’re planning a quick trip. As a kind of trial run. So yeah, there is risk involved.”

“Then you must allow me to help,” said Caster. “These types of matters are my specialty. I’m sure I could eliminate any risk involved.”

Hector didn’t trust it. “You seem awfully eager.”

“Hah. Well, of course. I have some trust to win back, don’t I?”

He wasn’t wrong there, Hector supposed. But still. Hector was reluctant. Across multiple thought processes, he mulled the question over. Should he actually have this guy help them? Already, it seemed like Caster was finding his way into the fold, deeper than Hector was comfortable with. Having him help would only make that process even easier for Caster, wouldn’t it?

But wait. Maybe there was a different approach to take here.

“You want to tag along?” said Hector.

“I do,” said Caster with a smile, eyeing the Gate another time. “My curiosity is sufficiently piqued.”

“We’re headed to Intar,” said Hector, watching the other man’s aura closely.

“...Ah.” The fluctuation therein was briefly obvious before it regained its composure. “In that case, perhaps I shall return to my own business.”

Voreese snickered. ‘Oh, what’s the matter? Big, famous Abolisher doesn’t feel like waltzing right into the heart of Vanguardian territory?’

If he was irritated by her goading, Caster didn’t let it show, even in his aura. Instead, he returned a snicker of his own. “Yes, I would be in constant fear for my life. Not to mention, I’m sure I would attract all manner of unwanted attention toward your little party here. I doubt you would appreciate that, hmm?”

‘How thoughtful of you,’ said Voreese.

Caster raised a hand and waved his index finger about. “But! I can still provide aid!” Then he snapped his fingers.

And in an instant, a suspended window appeared next to him, and from it, Caster pulled a person through, much like Hector had just done to him.

It was Loren, Hector saw. And the guy was looking truly baffled as his shimmering eyes darted around.

“I cannot go with you personally,” said Caster, “but I can send my right-hand man along with you. If you’ll have him, that is.”

Next page on the 31st

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Page 3934

‘Sounds plausible enough,’ said Voreese, having hovered up next to Hector, just ahead of Roman. ‘Our world is one in which the physical and spiritual intersect. I don’t see how that theory is supposed to confuse us. Seems pretty simple to me.’

Caster regarded her for a lingering moment. “Well, it is part of a greater theory. The Theory of the Three Rivers. Perhaps you are familiar with it?”

‘Perhaps I am,’ said Voreese. ‘But tell it to me, anyway.’

“Heh. It is probably too much to explain in a single conversation, but when boiled down to its essence, the idea is that all of existence AND non-existence can be conceptualized as part of three great rivers, one of which would be the Veil. The other two are, supposedly, the Great Conduit and the Infinite Current. The hypothesis is that, at the beginning of time as we now perceive it, the Great Conduit and the Infinite Current collided, creating the Veil, wherein this mortal realm might exist.”

‘Uh-huh,’ said Voreese. ‘I’ve heard about this so-called Infinite Current before. Is that where you’re from?’

“Oho,” laughed Caster. “You ask that so casually, as if that very question has not plagued me and my brethren since time immemorial. Were we born of the Current? Or did we merely end up there, after first being born here, as mortals, in eons past? None of us know for sure.” He bobbed his head and breathed another quick laugh. “Though some claim to.”

Hector felt the need to interject now. “I was under the impression that the Infinite Current was an aspect of the Void. Like Chaos is. But you make it sound like the Current is... the totality of all non-existence.”

“I am just repeating the theory as I have seen it told,” said Caster. “In truth, while I do like it, I am also uncertain about its truth value. It does not make complete sense to me, either. But then, when contending with the subject of infinity, that may just be inevitable.”

‘I’ve never heard of the Great Conduit,’ said Voreese. ‘What do you know about that?’

Caster chortled again but also sighed. “Not much. But must we go over this now? We will be here all day, and I yet have matters to attend to. Let us stay on task, shall we?” He looked to the Gate again. “This monument of yours was how you were able to pull me here, yes? Would you like me to examine it for you while I am here?”

Hector didn’t even need to think. “That won’t be necessary.”

Caster turned and blinked at him. “No, I suppose not... but you do have plans for it, yes? And quite... risky ones, I sense? Guarded as you are, I do still see your uncertainty.”

Page 3933

Hector knew there was no point in trying to hide it. “It is. You can’t just start building here, though. This is a nationally protected nature reserve.”

“Heh. As well it should be.”

Hector cocked an eyebrow inside his helmet. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Only that the exceptionality of this place is obvious. ‘Tis worthy of being protected, I should think.”

Hmm. As he continued to look at the man, Hector was quite tempted to try and reconnect with the Gate’s spatial distortion detection. He had a feeling that this guy would be absolutely covered in them.

“Are you already familiar with this monument?” asked Hector.

“Indeed,” said Caster. “One of Rathmore’s playthings. Quite the character, that one.”

At that, Garovel decided to speak up. ‘You met him?’

“Oh yes,” said Caster. “Though it was not by any normal means. Rather difficult to explain, I’m afraid. I am unsure where I would even begin.”

‘Please try,’ said Garovel.

“Ah. Well. Let’s see here...” Caster scratched his brow. “Rathmore was... a rather troubled soul. As brilliant minds often are. And in his brilliance, he... well, he breached the Veil, I suppose. Made direct contact with things that... mortal eyes are simply not meant to witness. But that was where we met. I had not incarnated at that time, you see. He found me in the roiling mayhem of Chaos. Or I found him, perhaps. I forget which.”

‘What is the “Veil” you speak of, exactly?’ said Garovel.

“Hmm? Is that not clear? Ah, I suppose it is a rather opaque concept when you get into the details of it. Truth be told, even my brethren and I may not fully understand its intricacies, despite what some of them may claim. But most commonly, when we speak of the Veil, we are referring to the great rift between realms. Technically, there are many such rifts, but the main one is the rift between what is real and what is imaginary. That is the Veil.”

Huh. Hector waited for Garovel to ask something, but the reaper remained quiet.

After a moment, Caster continued on unprompted. “If you’d really like to be confused, however, then allow me to present you with a theory. There is an idea--one that I quite like, personally--that the Veil is actually here. In this realm. Completely enveloping it, rather than only existing at the fringes.”

Page 3932

“Well?” said Hector, removing the Amir-22 from his back and readying it in his hand. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“...It would appear I’ve upset you,” said Caster.

“Just a bit,” said Hector. “We were trying to build trust between us, weren’t we? And then you go and do something like this. I’m disappointed.”

“What, precisely, is it that you think I have done?”

Hector tilted his head slowly, feeling his irritation heighten. It was surely showing through in his aura, he knew. He didn’t even attempt to conceal it. “Oh... please don’t try to play dumb, now. This alliance won’t last much longer if you do that.”

And a pregnant silence arrived as Caster took his time responding.

Hector just waited for him. Watching.

At length, Caster inhaled heavily and brushed himself off. “Very well, then. No games, if you so insist. I was observing you, yes. I meant no harm. It is simply my way. A most ancient habit.”

Hmph. “This is your only warning. Do that again, and we’re going to have a serious problem.”

Caster’s gaze was locked on him, rigid and serious. Not like the laidback expressions that Hector was accustomed to witnessing from this man. “Yes, I can see that,” said Caster. “I overstepped. My apologies.”

Well, that was something, at least. Hector didn’t get the impression that this man--or the ‘god’ inhabiting him, perhaps--was given to apologizing very often.

But at the same time, Hector needed a lot more than that. He racked his brain, trying to remember everything he’d done since his last meeting with Caster.

Maybe it was actually a good thing he’d spent so much time cooped up in his room, reading reports and managing Warrenhold’s affairs. None of that intel seemed terribly critical.

His meeting with Abbas, though... when he’d picked up the Kag and the new shield...

When he’d seen Abbas working directly with the Candle.

If Caster had seen that...

He couldn’t just come right out and ask about it, though. First, Hector needed more information. He decided to start with the unavoidable subject. “How much did you see just now?”

Caster looked around. “Nothing at all. I was busy observing someone else.” His gaze fell upon the Gate. “But apparently, that was a mistake. My, my. What do we have here? Might this be one of the locations that you promised to show me?”

Page 3931 -- CCCXVI.

Hector considered his options for a while longer, eventually settling on the opinion that he didn’t really have any. He simply couldn’t risk using the Gate while an unknown distortion was still attached to him. He had to learn more about it.

And so, after armoring back up, lowering himself and Garovel back down the ground, Hector took his first real action in harnessing the power of the Gate. Slowly, hesitantly, with his Kag-holding hand also touching the Gate while his other hand maintained a grip on the Core, Hector informed both the Core and the Gate itself of his desire.

The fourth function. Connecting the spatial distortion. Completing the path.

Nothing was immediately different. No surge of feeling or power. No obvious changes in the environment or world around him.

Hmm. But if it was just the completion of a path, then perhaps he needed to harness the teleportation power now. To see if there was a new window available.

So he did. The giant tower of windows reappeared all around him, and at first, he worried that he might not be able to tell which, if any, was new. But that didn’t last long.

He soon saw the bright window to his immediate left. It was sizable enough to fit through, and the image inside it was clearer than any of the others that he’d seen. Most noticeably of all, however, there was a face inside it. A quite familiar one, no less.

Caster Egmond.


Chapter Three Hundred Sixteen: ‘The Keeper’s sight...’
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It wasn’t just a flat image of his face, either. It seemed to be a live feed of the guy as his head turned about, looking here and there, speaking. Until he apparently noticed the window there in front of him, and his eyes widened.

Hector required no further explanation. He knew immediately what his next move was going to be. With clear intent in his mind, he reached through the window, grabbed Caster by the high collar of his coat, and yanked the man through in one smooth motion.

Caster spilled out onto the ground like a pile of laundry.

Hector gave him some space to stand up. “Hello again,” he said from inside his helmet, trying and failing to prevent annoyance from coloring his tone.

Caster took his time climbing to his feet. “Well, well, well... I must say, that was quite the surprise.”

“Was it really?” said Hector. “Because it seems to me that... you’ve been keeping an eye on me this whole time. Spying, some might say.”

Caster just returned a flat stare.

Page 3930

‘What’d it say?’ asked Garovel.

‘It has no idea.’

‘Hah! So it’s not all-knowing, then.’

‘Neither are you, Garovel.’

‘That’s yet to be empirically proven.’

‘Oh yeah? Why is there a spatial distortion on my body, then?’

‘Ooh, man, gosh, y’know. I’d love to tell you, but unfortunately, that’s above your pay grade. Sorry.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Look, I don’t make the rules.’

Hector decided to consult the Core again. ‘What about the Gate itself? Can it, uh... scan this distortion on my body and tell me more about it?’

The Core pulsed again. It told him to check the final function.

Alright, then. Hector stayed up on his platform as he brought the four main spheres back out and grabbed the last one.

And again, the change in the world was not immediately obvious. Even the wavering in his vision was no longer present now, but when he looked through the mirror one more time in order to check the distortion on his body, he saw that it was something different.

It was a little black orb. He had to twist in order to get a good view of it, but it was definitely there, hovering and glowing with an oddly dark light.

The Core began explaining.

The final function was for establishing new connection points. When an existing path was presented to the Gate, it could complete the route by anchoring the path to itself, allowing travel to previously inaccessible locations.

Hector needed a moment to mull that information over.

So... this distortion was a path, then?

‘Where does this distortion lead to?’ he asked.

The only way to find out would be to complete it, the Core informed him.

Great, Hector thought.

He took a deep breath, then sighed, thinking.

Completing it seemed like the impulsive, careless thing to do, but on the other hand, did he really want to just leave the thing alone and try to use the Gate with a distortion literally attached to his body? The Core had just explained how distortions could mess with its functionality. Not to mention, that the Gate would absorb and neutralize such threats to it.

Hector really didn’t feel like getting fused into this rock formation until the end of time.

But on the other other hand, perhaps the Gate would safely neutralize the distortion on his body without harming him at all. Perhaps that was even the preferred method of dealing with it.

Hmm.

He consulted the Core another time, but unfortunately, it did not have any of those answers for him. Nor could it tell him of any other way to remove the distortion.

Well, shit.

Page 3929

Hector was tempted to remove it right now, but then he’d have to either take it back to Warrenhold or lug it around Intar the whole time. Maybe it would be better to remove it after the return trip.

Yeah, okay.

As he was about to start heading back down, however, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and noticed something there. Another slight wavering in his vision.

But it looked a little different from the others. The previous waviness was radiating out from the mirror. That was still there, too, of course, but this looked like it had come from inside the mirror. From his reflection there.

From him.

Was he seeing things? He tried to look himself all over, but that was rather difficult, even if he hadn’t been wearing this bulky armor. So instead, he tried to reposition himself above the mirror so as to get a better view from its upward-facing reflection.

There it was. He saw it. On his right shoulder. No. On the back of his shoulder, actually.

Another spatial distortion.

What the heck? He contorted himself around, trying to get a clearer view of it, but it wasn’t working very well.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ said Garovel privately.

Hector didn’t even try to explain. He was too alarmed to be self-conscious, right now.

Why was there a spatial distortion on him? Was it coming from his armor? Or from his body? He had to know.

In an instant, he dematerialized most of the armor, leaving only enough to keep hold of the items he liked to carry inside the breastplate.

‘Ugh, no! Daylight!’

It was still there, Hector saw. Still on the back of his shoulder.

Holy fuck. It really was coming from his body.

That didn’t seem good.

‘What the hell, man?! Give a guy some warning next time!’ Garovel floated up behind him, peering into the mirror as well. ‘What’re we lookin’ at here?’

‘Can you see that?’ said Hector. ‘That waviness around my shoulder? Like a heat haze or something?’

‘Mm... Oh. Yeah, now that you mention it, I can. In fact, the whole mirror is kinda... Huh. What is that?’

‘A spatial distortion, apparently.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Something that can interfere with the Gate’s operation.’

‘Hmm. Grumpy Boy told you all that?’

‘Yep.’ He corrected his posture and then held the Core aloft again. ‘Why is there a distortion on my body?’

The Core did not know.

Page 3928

Or, wait a minute. Had it actually been Rathmore’s doing? Hector recalled that these monuments were modified by Rathmore, not created by him. So there was no telling if he was solely responsible for all these different functions.

Well, whatever. He supposed it didn’t make much difference at this point. There probably wasn’t harm in--

Something stole his attention.

A slight wavering in his vision. Like a heat haze, perhaps, even though it wasn’t nearly hot enough out here for that type of thing.

It was coming from above, he realized, looking up.

Then he saw it. The mirror. The one that had gotten fused into the Gate.

He and Garovel had found it there in one of their previous visits to this place, and despite trying their best to either remove or activate it, they’d ultimately had to just leave it here, fused into the Gate indefinitely.

The mirror had been found in Himmekel during that weird little tournament, just like the Scarf of Amordiin, so Hector and Garovel had been quite disappointed to lose it like this. They never even discovered if it had any power in it like the Scarf did, though they’d theorized a bit.

Here and now, though? With the Living Core in hand? And perhaps the Gate’s assistance, too?

Maybe there was something yet to be learned about that mirror, still.

Hector raised a platform for himself and Garovel in order to get a closer look.

Yeah. The waviness in his vision was definitely coming from this thing. Hmm. He consulted the Core again.

Was this the kind of ‘spatial distortion’ that it had been referring to?

Yes, the Core told him. This one was already neutralized, however. There were lingering distortions, but they were small and now harmless to the Gate’s power.

That actually made a large degree of sense to Hector. He and Garovel had hypothesized that the power in the mirror might’ve gotten sucked out by the Gate.

Why was the mirror only partially fused with the Gate, though? Why hadn’t it been fully absorbed and disappeared completely?

Because the Gate only acted out of self-defense, the Core said. It absorbed enough to remove the threat to its functionality, but nothing more.

Interesting, Hector thought. Then was there a way to free the mirror and repair it?

Yes and no. The Gate could release it physically, but it could not return its lost power.

Dang.

Page 3927

The problem, the Core explained, was that “Intar” was an idea. A concept. And therefore, inextricably tied to the Heavens. But the intent, obviously, was to reach a real, physical destination--which tied it also to the World. And then, of course, the Self was always going to be a factor if he wanted to go anywhere.

Hector didn’t know how helpful that explanation was.

Was it possible to get to Intar or not?

Yes, the Core told him. But the pathways were ephemeral and dangerous. A route that appeared open and straightforward could close at the last moment or change into something much more convoluted.

Well, shit, Hector thought. Was there any way to mitigate the risk?

Regular maintenance, the Core said.

Agh, what the hell? By who?

By those knowledgeable of the Veil. There were many who might qualify. Stewards of the Current. Scions of the Sight. Students of Shapes. Perhaps even Servants of Destruction.

That information gave Hector pause.

Hmm.

Did he want to consult Caster on this?

No, not really.

Servants of Destruction, eh? Hector looked over at Nadim Saqqaf, who noticed his gaze.

That man there happened to be a destruction user, but from the sound of it, getting him directly involved in all of this weirdness would still be quite risky. Nadim was only supposed to be operational support, like Selena.

And... okay, maybe this did technically qualify as that... but still. It was a lot to ask.

Before resorting to that, perhaps it would be better to back out and look at the last two functions.

Hector returned to the four sphere and grabbed the third one this time.

Unlike the previous two instances, there was no obvious change in the world around him, which left Hector a bit surprised and curious. What was going on here? Was this function broken?

No, the Core said. This was the Gate’s spatial distortion detection. A kind of self-repair mechanism. Unlike many other, similar constructs in the world which required upkeep, the Gate was constantly assessing itself and its surroundings for signs of degradation, both physical and imaginary. Spatial distortions, while not always problematic, could sometimes disrupt the Gate’s functionality.

Unfortunately, the Gate could only take care of itself, not the pathways that it connected to, nor the destinations on the other side.

Huh.

Wow.

It might not have been immediately relevant to the situation, but Hector couldn’t help feeling impressed. Rathmore had really known what he was doing, hadn’t he?

Page 3926

The Core was trying to explain again, but it was also remaking the lights at the same time, perhaps in an attempt to simplify or otherwise clarify the visual representations, which only served to confuse the matter further. Now there were colors and lines and arrows everywhere.

Agh. This seemed like it was going to be a huge time sink, and they were burning daylight here while everyone else was standing around, waiting on him. He decided that he would figure this part out later.

Hopefully.

He returned to the main four spheres, then proceeded to grab the second one.

The world around him shifted again, and while there were lights this time, too, there was something much more noticeable now. Panels. Translucent and luminous. Some were the size of a standard notebook, while others were taller and wider than most doorways. Some had faint images within them, while others were simply blank.

Could this be the teleportation feature, he wondered?

Yes. The Core soon affirmed as much.

The panels were different sizes, because the destination points varied in receptive levels of power. And the ones that had images in them were active, while the blank ones were dormant, sealed off, or otherwise in need of repair. And moreover--

The Core told him to look up, and he did.

There were many, many more panels than he’d realized. What was that? Twenty stories tall? More?

Holy fuck.

The Core advised him to wave his hand with intent and bring those higher panels down to him.

He did so, and then the illusion reacted just as the Core said it would. The panels zoomed down to his level, while the ones that had previously been there vanished into the ground.

Some of these higher ones looked even more peculiar. They weren’t just small. They were tiny. Barely enough to poke a hand through. And they weren’t just blank, either. They were fuzzy and dark. A couple of them were even pitch black.

The Core had no explanation for those, apparently. They were theoretical points of connection, it said. But it had no idea how or even if they could ever be opened.

A little unsettling.

Hector tried to stay on task, though. Did any of these windows lead to Intar? And if so, how could he tell?

And again, he encountered difficulty. Determining exact locations wasn’t so simple, the Core told him, because the relative positions of the World, the Heavens, and the Self had to be accounted for at all times.

What the fuck?

Page 3925

Hector needed another few moments to think.

Man. If Garovel could actually see everything that he did just now, then that had some pretty serious implications, didn’t it? For one thing, it meant that, in all likelihood, Garovel would be able to interact with the Gate’s functionality as a soul compass.

And Garovel had a ton of souls memorized. Even if no other reapers could harness the Gate’s power like that--which wasn’t certain yet at all--then that would still open up quite a few possibilities for them, wouldn’t it?

Weren’t there some very important people out there that they would like to track down?

And not just allies, either. This thing could theoretically give them a much clearer picture of their enemies’ movements.

Such as Bloodeye.

They’d certainly met that motherfucker before. The clash at the Lorent-Callum border, when they’d rescued Hahl Saqqaf.

Hector decided to take a moment to explain everything he’d just learned to Garovel. He was a little afraid of getting sidetracked from their current objective, but this, at least, seemed like it wouldn’t take very long. Plus, being able to confirm that Bloodeye had indeed crossed into Intar was tremendously relevant to the mission.

In a background thought process, however, Hector was already assessing what other needs they might have for this soul compass. It seemed to him that this was a going to be a very important tool.

Three missing Elroy children? Hundreds of scattered Sandlords? One of whom was known to be carrying Ivan’s head? Royo Raju and Malast? The Hun’Sho of Himmekel, too? Hector and Garovel had been concerned about their well-being, wondering if Royo had done them any harm.

Not to mention, Prince David. His whereabouts were slightly worrying, also. Might not hurt to check on him real quick, even if only to confirm that he was where he said he was.

That was all way too much to dive into, right now. And yet it was all feeling quite urgent, as well.

So they tried to conduct a few experiments. First attempts. With Garovel and the Core’s assistance, Hector harnessed the soul compass immediately.

The world of lights returned, this time while Hector was touching the Gate directly.

But it was surprisingly difficult to navigate.

Hector had hoped that the Core would make it easy, but that wasn’t to be, it seemed. There was definitely a learning curve here, at least. The main reason seemed to be understanding the relative positions of himself and the target person. Finding the desired soul among the ocean of others was indeed trivial, but actually comprehending the location was not.

Page 3924

There were four spheres. Each one represented a different, complex ability of the Gate. To learn more, he needed only to grab a sphere with the conscious intent to understand it. The reason his hand had phased through was because he had done so unthinkingly, without intent.

Alright. Hector grabbed the leftmost one.

It reacted to his touch and expanded greatly, filling his vision.

Hector’s eyes widened as he bore witness to an avalanche of information.

Souls. Everywhere. People and lives. Crowds in all direction. And yet, they were still somehow individually discernible. Easy to pick out from the rest with only a look.

The Core began pulsing yet again, explaining further.

This was the Gate’s functionality as a so-called “soul compass.” It could locate just about anyone in the world, so long as he had a clear memory of that person’s soul signature. And even if not, it might still be possible to find them if he had spent a long time with the person and developed a strong enough connection.

All these floating lights in front of him were souls represented in an illusory medium. And any one of them could be focused on and located, if he wished. All he had to do was touch the monument and concentrate on what he wanted.

Traditional soul compasses were not nearly this flexible and powerful, but admittedly, they were also much more compact and therefore usable as tracking devices over long distances. The fact that the Gate was completely immobile meant that this function had been largely ignored and even forgotten over the Ages.

Hector released the sphere, and the world of lights around him snapped back to normal, leaving him to reel back a step as he tried to process everything he’d just learned. Hell, for that matter, he wasn’t even sure how he’d “released” the sphere just now. Had his hands actually been gripping anything?

When he looked around again, everyone was just staring at him.

Before opening his mouth and potentially saying something dumb, he decided to consult Garovel. ‘...Uh, did you see any of that just now?’

‘I did, yeah,’ said the reaper privately.

Hector blinked again. ‘Wha? Then why didn’t you react at all?’

‘Knowing you, I figured you had it handled. I was paying more attention to everyone else. They definitely didn’t see shit, by the way.’

‘Really? How can you be sure?’

‘Because despite practically being flashbanged, they didn’t even flinch.’

‘Huh...’

Page 3923

Since then, Hector had used his standard training and meditating time in order to experiment with the new shield and learn a bit more about about it, but even now, he still felt like there were things that he’d yet to uncover.

None of that was on his mind at the moment, however. Right now, he was focused entirely on the Gate.

And the Kag.

He pressed his soul into it. With the shield on his back, both hands were free to wield the Kag and the Core with ease.

The Gate responded. He felt it, both mentally and physically. A quaking pulse under his feet. A shivering wave over his body.

Whoa. It gave him pause. He was already quite close to the Gate, and now he was wary of taking another step. What if proximity was the main trigger for teleportation? That seemed unlikely, considering how he remembered the teleportation being conducted by Malast and Royo in the Undercrust, but still.

He wanted to be careful.

He turned to the Core for assistance.

It was certainly awake now. Not lethargic or grumpy at all.

It was intrigued. In awe? Eager to examine the moving energies in the air. In the ground. All around them.

But it was waiting for his permission.

‘Go on, then,’ thought Hector, holding the Core aloft. ‘This is Rathmore’s Gate. Tell me what it can do.’

A series of pulses arrived, this time from the Core, running down the length of his arm. It wasn’t actually telling him anything yet, though. It was just expressing its exuberance.

Wow. Hector hadn’t known it very long, but this behavior was definitely new.

‘Anything?’ said Garovel privately.

‘This thing’s like a kid in a candy shop, right now.’

And they waited a bit longer, while the Core conducted its examination. At length, it began feeding Hector so much information at once that he was having trouble parsing it all.

‘Whoa, whoa, slow down,’ said Hector, rethinking. ‘Can you just... show me?’

The core took another moment, then pulsed with happy acknowledgment.

A set of translucent spheres appeared in front of Hector, hovering there in midair.

He blinked inside his helmet. He hadn’t quite been sure what to expect when he’d made that request, but this certainly wasn’t it. Impulsively, he reached a hand out toward one of the spheres, and it passed right through it.

Uh...

‘What am I looking at here?’ he asked.

The Core pulsed again, explaining.

Page 3922

The Core had been behaving itself, as of late--at least insofar as it hadn’t been trying to do anything without his permission. Mostly, it just slept, only waking up when Hector touched it, but occasionally, he’d found it demonstrating curiosity about Warrenhold.

He was starting to think that it wanted him to give it a full tour of the place.

Which was quite a tall order, given the castle’s size, but maybe Hector would make time for that, eventually. When things calmed down a little more.

Which, on second thought, might mean never.

Abbas had instructed him in how to properly use the Kag, and it seemed simple enough. All Hector had to do was press his soul into it while the Kag was close enough to the Gate. Then the Gate was supposed to establish something called a “soul-ardor resonance.”

“...Okay,” Hector had told him. “So what happens after that?”

And for a time, Abbas had just stared at him. Then he shrugged.

“Are you kidding me?” said Hector.

“Once the connection with the Gate is achieved, the full extent of its capabilities should become available to you. But what exactly that entails... is still a mystery. You mentioned it was capable of teleportation, so that will almost certainly be an option. But if it can do anything else, then... well, I suppose the only way to find out is to test it.”

“Great. Awesome. Love hearing that.”

“I suggest making use of the Living Core again. It should, theoretically, allow you to examine the Gate’s full capabilities without accidentally triggering any of them.”

“What do you mean ‘theoretically?’”

“I mean, I designed it for precisely such purposes. But... it has also taken some rather mysterious qualities of its own.”

“Right...”

“So have caution.”

“Hmm. Wait, you make it sound like you won’t be there when we test it.”

“I probably won’t be.”

“Are you serious? Why not? This is a pretty important, science-y thing, isn’t it?”

“...Eh. I have more interesting projects to work on.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Too early to discuss. Oh, but here. Take this with you, as well.” And after rummaging through a pile of books and machine parts, he’d shoved a new heater shield into Hector’s hands. “The Amir-22.”

At that, Hector had done a double take. “Wait, what? Twenty-two? The last one you gave me was only ten.”

“Yes. There were some failures. And successes. Trifles. Nothing terribly impressive. Do not expect the world. But when you can, please report back with an assessment of its performance.”

“Uh. An assessment? Okay. Um. W-what, er... what new features does this one have?”

But the question went unanswered, because the man had already walked away. Worse still, he’d been in pan-rozum the whole time, so even Worwal didn’t offer an explanation. They just returned to working with the Candle, which roared to life with a vigor that Hector had not previously seen from Abbas. It was comparable only to Agrian, one of the Candle’s creators.

And something about seeing that had made Hector want to cut Abbas a little extra slack. Not bother him then and there with more questions.

Page 3921

Hector didn’t know how crazy things were going to get over there, but he figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to keep that little promise. Just had to find a nice souvenir shop or something.

And this was Intar they were talking about. One of the three most powerful countries on the Eloan continent. With Jackson and his forces there protecting it, no less.

From a purely logical standpoint, Hector knew that there probably wouldn’t be much need for him and Roman to get involved in any fights. Their goal was just to reach Prince David and ensure his safety.

Whether that meant bringing him home or not... well, that was still to be decided. Hector had called him up just before setting out, and the man had made it clear that he still felt perfectly safe at Livingston.

<“Hoho. Are you worried about me, Lord Goffe?”>

“Uh. Yeah. You’re kind of important to the nation, your highness.”

<“Well, thank you. But your man Vito has taken good care of me. You chose well. Perhaps you should relax.”>

“Did you not hear me when I said that Bloodeye’s forces are invading via Sair?”

<“I did. But Sair is actually quite far, you know. Intar is not like Atreya. The distances involved just in trying to get from one city to another... they truly boggle the mind. And there is plenty of security around. You should not fuss over me. I am well-protected.”>

“Prince David... the more I hear you say that, the less convinced I am.”

<“How curious. Do you not trust my word?”>

“...Frankly, sir? No. I kinda don’t.”

And the prince had laughed. <“Oh my. Well, if you insist on paying me a visit, then I suppose I can’t stop you. Just know that it may be a wasted trip.”>

Which was another reason why Hector wanted to try using the Gate here, first. If it actually worked as hoped, then it would be much faster than a plane--and therefore, also quicker to return in case the trip really did turn out to be an unnecessary one.

It all depended on this old monument here, though.

Rathmore’s Gate.

As he drew close to it, Hector created a gap in his armor. He reached in and gripped the Kag there, as well as the Living Core.

The latter reacted to his touch. Waking up.

As usual, it was in a bad mood. Grouchy. But Hector also sensed curiosity in there. It wanted to know what they were doing. Where they were going.

Page 3920

Hector had considered bringing even more people along, but the more he’d thought about it, the more strongly he’d felt that Warrenhold needed as much protection as possible, just in case anything unexpected happened. He’d messaged Raheem about having more Saqqafs stay in the castle while he was away, and the man had agreed, but even still. Hector knew that Abbas himself was too caught up in his work right now to be serving as a guard for Warrenhold in case of an attack that, in all likelihood, wasn’t even coming.

Abbas’ sons were definitely strong. But if this was all some sort of feint by Bloodeye, then even they would struggle to defend the place until Abbas got there. Hell, maybe even after.

Matteo Delaguna had not appreciated that decision very much. The guy hadn’t actually said anything, but Hector could see the displeasure and disappointment in his face when he’d asked him to stay behind and help protect everyone instead of coming along, as usual. Instead, Matteo had merely nodded, as did his reaper.

That was normal behavior for them. Being silent shadows was their whole job, apparently. But it was also making Hector wonder if they were actually going to listen. Sure, they’d seemed pretty obedient toward Lord Salvador and the other heads, but that didn’t mean they would be so toward him.

Thus far, at least, they’d listened. Hector had been wary of anyone following along, and he hadn’t sensed anyone, nor had Garovel.

He’d been especially mindful of Pauline. He’d thought for sure that, even after asking her to stay behind and her agreeing to do so, she would try to follow him, anyway.

But if she was, then he hadn’t noticed her yet.

In fairness, though, he’d really tried to impress upon her the importance of her staying.

“Without you up here in your nest, Warrenhold might not have survived that last attack,” he’d told her.

“Hmm,” she’d mused through her human avatar. “Flattery, eh? It’ll take more than that to move my heart, you know.” Then she’d paused. “But don’t stop. You’ve still got lots more compliments left, don’t you?”

“I’ll have a lot more confidence in everyone else’s ability to protect this place if you’re here to give them advance warning like you did for me.”

“Yeah, sure, but your Saqqafs have anti-invisibility stuff already, right? So am I really that needed?”

“Yes. That tech is great and all, but it’s still... pretty new. I’m not sure how reliable it is just yet.”

“Ooh. I’m gonna tell them you said that.”

“Please don’t.”

“Then you’d better bring me back something nice. Like, really nice!”

“Something like what, exactly?”

“Mm. I don’t know. Something... mm... something Intarian! Exotic and foreign! You know my tastes by now, right? Surprise me!”

“A-alright...”

Page 3919

‘I suppose you’re right,’ Hector had said. ‘I can also block the chest more easily with the shield. So it’s probably the safest spot. But how are your senses in there?’

‘They are a little suppressed, admittedly. But that’s why moving around is good. I can peek through the cracks in order to get a clearer reading on the surroundings, if I really need to.’

‘The more I think about you crawling around inside my armor, the more unsettling it becomes.’

‘Well, I AM a grim reaper. Unsettling comes with the territory.’

‘No, but this is like you’re an infestation of parasites or something. Waiting to burst out of my chest or ooze out of my eyeballs.’

‘I’m inside your armor, not your body.’

‘Yeah, well, my armor kinda feels like an extension of my body, sometimes.’

‘Okay, shut up. I refuse to let you make this weird. I’m comfortable, dammit. I’ve found something I like, and you’re not going to take it away from me, you gaslighting prick.’

‘How was that gaslighting?’

‘Because you’re trying to convince me that I’m some kind of freaky parasite, when the reality is the furthest thing from it. I’m like your own, personal guardian angel.’

‘Aren’t I the one doing the guarding?’

‘...Your own, personal consultation angel.’

‘Okay, I guess that works.’

Aside from Hector, Roman, and Nadim, there was one other servant coming along, whom Hector had carried here.

Selena Cortes.

Even now, Hector was a little torn about bringing her, and in all honesty, part of him was hoping that the Gate didn’t work so that he would have more of an excuse to take her and Nadim back to Warrenhold.

But her mother and father, Joana and Rick, had very politely requested that Hector take her, as a form of field training for her in operational support.

It was also meant to be an important step forward for Selena and her reaper, Ojarea, who was staying behind to relay intel back to Warrenhold. The two of them had been undergoing therapy for some months now after they had quite the blow up during the journey through the Undercrust.

Frankly, Hector had been surprised that Selena herself would agree to come. But then again, she was difficult to predict. Even after getting to know her a bit better while she was working in the kitchens under Lluis and Margot Delaguna, he never could tell what was going through her mind.

He’d been under the impression that she didn’t want to go on any field missions ever again, but clearly, he was mistaken.

She seemed pretty pumped for this one now.

Page 3918

Maybe this wasn’t appropriate--experimenting on some ancient, mysterious monument at a time like this. Maybe it would’ve been smarter to charter a plane and head over to Intar immediately. Roman could’ve hooked him up quickly, Hector knew.

But the travel concerns were a factor, with much of the public air traffic in Intar being limited or even shut down entirely. They might fly all the way there, only to get told that they have to turn around and go home.

Which was perhaps motivation to simply fly there under his own power, instead. No plane necessary.

But Hector could easily do that if this teleportation attempt didn’t pan out. And he was also hoping to bring along a few other people as backup, not all of whom could fly.

And besides, he had a feeling that this trip could end up taking a while. If it was anything like his trip to Sair, then he might not return for quite some time, meaning that this was his last opportunity to do anything with the Gate here.

Might as well give it a shot, at least.

Roman and Voreese touched down behind him, along with another figure that Roman had been carrying.

That was Nadim Saqqaf, another of Abbas’ many sons. The third youngest, in fact, which made him younger than several of Abbas’ great-grandchildren.

The more Hector had learned about that family, the more confused he felt about who was who.

Nadim, though, had been surprisingly easy to remember, thanks to Garovel deciding to privately nickname him “Meteorite.” Because apparently, that was the name that Worwal had wanted to go with but Abbas overruled him on. And now Garovel just found it too amusing to not use.

One of these times, Garovel was going to accidentally call him that publicly. Hector just knew it.

Either that, or Hector himself would. And then he’d feel like a huge dumbass.

Garovel, meanwhile, was already inside Hector’s armor with him, having decided that he quite liked it in there.

‘It’s like I’m the brain of a robot,’ Garovel had told him privately a while ago. ‘An all-powerful, super intelligent pilot. What’s not to like about that, huh?’

‘So I’m just an unthinking automaton, now?’

‘Don’t think about it that way, buddy. In fact, don’t think at all. Just do as I say, and everything will be fine.’

‘If you’re supposed to be the brain, then why are you inside the breastplate instead of the helmet?’

‘A robot wouldn’t keep its most crucial systems in the least-protected part of its body. I’m where the protection is the strongest.’

‘And where the biggest target is. If I do take a hit, it’s most likely to be in the chest, isn’t it?’

‘Well, I reserve the right to move around as I see fit.’

Page 3917

He was a little surprised that Queen Helen had not already asked him to go to Intar. He wondered what Prince David might’ve been telling her to assuage her concerns about his well-being. Or perhaps she was simply too busy with all her own stuff to worry about that, right now.

Or... perhaps she just didn’t want to lean on Hector again.

He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case.

A knock arrived at his door, and rather than immediately answering, Hector instinctively reached out with the Scarf of Amordiin in order to figure out who was on the other side of the nightrock.

Tough to say. Judging by the silhouette and considering who the most likely candidates were, he was guessing that it was Ms. Rogers.

“Come in,” he said aloud, remaining seated at his desk.

To his surprise, his guess had been wrong. It was actually Joana Cortes, sharply dressed in a long skirt, glasses, and carrying a folder under her arm.

Huh. She didn’t normally wear glasses, he was pretty sure.

“Hello, lord,” she said, closing the heavy door behind her. “Updated report for you from Isaac’s team.” She waved the folder in front of her.

He blinked and stood up to take it. “Already? The last one wasn’t that long ago.”

“Apparently, he thought it was important enough to tell us right away.”

Hector wasted no time and began skimming the document.

With the help of the reinforcements he’d sent them, they’d expanded their operations deeper into the Wetlands for recon.

Oof. Risky move, but he understood the decision. He hadn’t sent them backup so that they could just sit there, twiddling their thumbs.

Bloodeye’s forces had increased in size again, and there were rumors going around that Jercash was nearby.

Worse news, Hector was struggling to imagine.

But there was more. Despite the obvious increase in manpower, Bloodeye was not using them in order to press an advantage against the battered Vanguardian forces stationed there.

Instead, they were splitting up and heading across the border into Intar.

Okay, that might be worse news.

-+-+-+-+-

Rathmore’s Gate stood in the evening twilight, waiting in silence as Hector approached it.

After getting that report, he’d moved quickly, making sure the intel got relayed back over to Vito, as well as Queen Helen. On the flight over here, he’d gotten plenty more time to contemplate this decision.

Page 3916

There was also the matter of the bank’s expansion into Lorent. In that effort, things were beginning to pick up more steam, as apparently the Madame Carthrace wanted to move swiftly. Already, they had found several vacant properties within the southern Jagwa territory to begin renting with an option to buy. Construction efforts were underway, and new employees were being hired.

Soon enough, the Darksteel National Bank would have a physical presence in multiple Lorentian towns. A marketing campaign was also being prepared, and Hector had a rather strong feeling that it was going to put his name in the news again.

He preferred not to pay much attention to that kind of thing, but ignoring the press entirely also seemed like it might be a bad idea. Thankfully, Gina had been gracious enough to keep up with all that stuff and tell him about anything she deemed important enough.

But technically, she worked for Roman, so Hector felt a little bad having her do all that. She hadn’t expressed any reservations about it, nor had Roman, but still. Hector was beginning to wonder if he should hire a PR person or something.

One more thing to consult Ms. Rogers about, he decided.

As for the Stewardess of Warrenhold, she was as busy as ever, managing the comings and goings of the Rainlords and Sandlords as Hector had been reorganizing them into different scouting teams. Not to mention, the Rainlords who’d been staying here the whole time had moved forward with their education plans for the children, which Ms. Rogers had been assisting with.

Hector learned that she was a frequent guest speaker in their classes--so frequent, in fact, that many of the kids seemed to be under the impression that she was just another one of their teachers. She was even helping with planning some of their curriculum.

It was all fairly amusing to witness, Hector thought, but he also couldn’t shake the absolutely dreadful feeling that someone was going to ask him to be a guest speaker, one of these days.

For now, though, he was trying to remain focused on the grander scheme of things. In terms of his decision, after looking everything over one more time, he was leaning towards a visit to Intar. Checking up on the situation there felt pretty important, given its proximity to Sair. He just wanted a bit more intel on the movements of Bloodeye’s forces, first.

Perhaps that was too much to ask for, though.

Page 3915

He decided not to tell Ravi about Caster’s status as a reincarnated vessel of Zirat, since he wasn’t sure where to begin with all that. Plus, it just seemed like bad form to go spilling someone else’s ancient secrets like that.

He might still tell someone, though. Just depended on who. And if it felt relevant or important.

And in fairness, Caster had already begun keeping up his end of the bargain. Hector had received a document detailing various Abolish higher-ups, including Morgunov.

The intel wasn’t exhaustive, by any means, but it was a start. And one that Hector greatly appreciated, because Bloodeye and several of his men were included in it, which allowed Hector to corroborate a lot of the information that the Rainlords and Sandlords had already gathered on them.

There was even some information on this so-called “chaos form” that Banda had been using. Nothing that Hector didn’t already know, though. In fact, with his connection to the Magician of Light, it seemed like Hector might already be more informed about that than Caster was.

Additionally, there was plenty of other news from around the world about people in need of help after the floods. Even if the immediate danger had finally passed, there was still incalculable damage that had been done, and the need for materials to begin rebuilding was quite apparent. Hector was wondering if he might be in a position to help with that, somehow.

Agh, perhaps that was asking too much of himself. He had so many things on his plate already.

But on the other hand... after listening to Caster talk about building a network for long-distance teleportation, Hector couldn’t get the idea out of his head that Rathmore’s Gate might already allow for him to do precisely that, now that he had the Kag.

Meaning that he could... hypothetically... pop right on over to some of those devastated places on the other side of the world and deliver some supplies.

But where would he get said supplies? And precisely how powerful was the teleportation capability of the Gate? Could it move tons of materials at once? Or could it only move a few people? And did it have limits to where it could go? That seemed fairly likely.

The more he thought about it, the more he figured that he had no choice but to conduct some real tests on the Gate before any other plans could be made.

Page 3914

Hector had not actually told Caster about Rathmore’s Gate yet, and he wasn’t sure he was going to, either. While it was almost certainly the exact type of land that the guy was looking for, it was also part of a long-term research project for Garovel. Something the reaper had been trying to keep relatively secret, at least until more about its true nature was revealed.

Therefore, telling some weird, god-possessed dude who had very strong ties to Abolish... didn’t seem like the wisest course of action.

At least, for now. Hector wasn’t entirely convinced that he even could keep it a secret from Caster for very long. Within Atreya, Rathmore’s Gate was already fairly famous in its own right. There was a decent chance that Caster would learn about it on his own, especially if he ended up spending much time here.

For the time being, however, Caster and Loren were remaining in Boland to work on a tower there--a “node in the network,” as Caster had put it.

Hector had already told Ravi Zaman about Caster, and even though it had been over the phone, the man’s reaction had not been terribly difficult to read.

<“You met WHO?!”>

“Caster Egmond.”

<“The Marauder of Calthos?!”>

“That’s the guy.”

<“You--?! He--?! But--!”>

It had taken a while to work through Ravi’s disbelieving phase and onto the more productive part of the conversation.

<“He wants to form an alliance with you?!”>

“Yeah. What’s your opinion of him?”

<“I... he’s... agh...”>

Hector just waited.

<“He is a very powerful man. In more ways than one.”>

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

<“Well, um. The Fellowship had been after him for a while, believing him to be a good fit for us, but he refused us for years. I’m not sure why. The news that he finally joined came as quite a shock to many of us...”>

That did track with the story that Caster gave him about being a changed man or whatever.

<“I did not expect to have an encounter with him so soon... You said he wants to meet with me?”>

Hector tilted his head at the man’s marveling tone. Was Ravi starstruck? “That’s right.”

In the end, Ravi had’t proved particularly helpful in trying to discern anything about Caster or his motives. He advised Ravi to be careful, but at that point, it seemed like the guy was hardly even listening.

Page 3913

Hector had to wonder if part of Haqq’s problem had anything to do with Abbas. From what he understood, the two of them used to work together quite a bit, such as on the Amir-9 shield and on Abbas’ powered armor, but as of late, it seemed like Abbas was too engrossed in his own work to bother collaborating. And of course, he was guarding the Candle rather obsessively, too.

Even during the floods, Abbas hadn’t come out of his workshop very much. Instead, he’d actually lent his armor out to his eldest son, Raheem, so that the man could venture out to provide aid while he continued working.

Unfortunately, Hector didn’t get to witness Raheem in the armor at all, because he used the suit’s incredible range and speed in order to help people much farther away, citing that “The Lord Goffe had this region covered.”

Something for which the man had gotten chastised, actually. Abbas had not appreciated Raheem risking the suit in far-off lands, where it could have become lost and very difficult to recover, especially since it was only Raheem’s second time ever piloting the suit.

But apparently, the guy had managed to save lives even along the western Ardoran coastlines, where the waves had been at their most devastating. Gina had showed Hector some reports online about a “metal angel” descending from the heavens and rescuing hundreds of people there. And when Hector in turn showed Abbas, the man didn’t say anything, but there was definitely a noticeable change in his aura.

A tinge of pride, Hector was pretty sure.

Plus, even if Hector didn’t know the inner workings of the suit’s operation, he knew that Abbas wanted to make more for his brethren to wear. So this was probably a test for the armor as much as it was for Raheem. And it seemed like both had passed with flying colors, even if Abbas didn’t want to admit it.

Additionally, Abbas had also completed work on the Kag for Rathmore’s Gate, though Hector had yet to test it out. He was a little afraid to, honestly, and with so many other things demanding his attention, putting it off was easy.

That previous experience with the Gate had certainly been something. More than he’d bargained for, definitely. How much crazier might it be now that he had a working Kag for it?

But as he was mulling over his decision here, regarding where he should go, the Gate was seeming quite relevant to that choice. Especially with the added wrinkle of Caster Egmond’s presence.

Page 3912

All of this--combined with Vito’s previous reports about an Abolish attack on Livingston Grand Castle--was enough to give Hector serious pause. With Prince David now apparently being “stuck” over there, thanks to the travel problems, Hector had been considering going there himself in order to ensure the Prince’s safety.

But was the Prince actually stuck? Or was he just telling Vito to report that, because he wanted to stay in Intar, despite the obvious danger? It was certainly curious how the Prince didn’t seem to be making any requests for further assistance, either with security or travel. Almost like he didn’t want anyone else finding out what he was up to.

Hmm.

Honestly, if that was the case, then that would be even more reason for Hector to go. Prince David may have been smart as hell, but sometimes, smart people had their own way of being stupid.

He didn’t want to have to put the screws to Vito in order to get the full truth, but perhaps that was exactly what needed to be done.

Really, though, the main thing preventing Hector from setting out right away was the concern of leaving Warrenhold and Lorent undefended from another Abolish incursion.

After the battle with Banda, when he’d called back the treasure-hunting teams from abroad, Garovel convinced him to retask some of them with scouting missions instead of just keeping them all here for extra defense.

‘Right now, intel is more valuable than military might or any amount of treasure,’ the reaper had told him.

And so those who’d been willing to go--of which there’d been several--had set out to investigate the different fronts of the continental war. Isaac Sebolt’s team, which had already been scouting Sair, also received a few reinforcements, including some powerful volunteers from Hahl Saqqaf.

The attack on Warrenhold by Banda Toro had been far too close of a call for Hector’s liking. If not for Pauline’s help, the bastards might’ve actually infiltrated the castle without anyone realizing.

And there was no telling what might’ve happened then.

That was why Isaac’s team was so important, right now. They needed sharp eyes on Bloodeye’s armies.

To that end, the Sandlords had come up with some anti-invisibility tech that they were happy to share--Haqq Najir, especially. When he wasn’t hassling Hector for extra funding, the man had been working himself ragged. Apparently, he’d been quite displeased with the results of Hahl Saqqaf’s recent projects, and he was in no way keeping that displeasure to himself.

Page 3911

As expected, there were plenty of reports about the Rainlords conducting rescue operations after Hurricane Deva, but there was just something peculiar about the way they were being written. They were different in tone, compared to the reports that had been coming in before.

For one thing, they were extremely terse. Minimal details. And they were always requesting more scouting information from the other teams abroad, despite there not being a clear, operational need for such intel.

Garovel had advised Hector to take extra precautions and not fulfill said requests.

‘What if they get mad?’ Hector had asked.

‘Let them,’ the reaper had told him. ‘There are times when you have to put your foot down, Hector, and this is one of them. Operational security is not some silly thing that we only worry about when it won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Sharing information that the other teams have gathered could put those teams in jeopardy. We don’t know the full extent of what’s going on in Vantalay, and the Rainlords there don’t need the distraction, either. We can fill them in once they’ve returned. For now, it’s better if they stay focused on their objectives.’

That seemed like yet another difficult conversation that was brewing, but Hector did find himself agreeing with the reaper.

And besides, there was just some... inexplicable feeling that he was getting from these reports. Something he couldn’t quite pinpoint or articulate.

Regardless, he was glad that Garovel had asked the reapers here to organize the received intel into written reports for him to look over. They hadn’t seemed too pleased about the added responsibility, but it was definitely helpful when trying to gain a grander view of everything going on.

That, and Joana Cortes seemed to have taken a liking to the task. Apparently, she had a real thing about being organized. She even had some of the kids helping her as personal assistants.

Apart from Vantalay, however, the news out of Intar was increasingly concerning. Vito Sebolt was reporting a case of mass hysteria gripping the capital city of Andeyal. While it apparently wasn’t affecting everyone, it was affecting enough of them to make travel a real problem.

According to Vito, people were roaming the streets aimlessly, forgetting where they were, and even leaving their jobs in the middle of the day without a word to anyone. A toll booth operator, for example, might just walk out and not come back, letting traffic pile up for miles and miles before anyone realized.

Page 3910 -- CCCXV.

Chapter Three Hundred Fifteen: ‘O, trembling foundations...’
Click to display entire chapter at once -- (mobile link)

The mouth of a great cavern sat there, waiting in a rare bath of crossed light. Red-orange hues from the east, and blue-green hues from the west.

They did not mix. Purple hues could not emerge. There was too much pride at work. Too much stubbornness and history.

A boulder stood at the entrance. It was cracked and crumbling in places. But still there. Still persisting. It inched closer to the cave, leaving an engraved trail behind in the dirt.

As it was about to pass into the path of the crossed light, however, it hesitated. A chirp sounded from within its heart. A repeating resonance. Once, twice, thrice. Then a pause. Once, twice, thrice again. Pause again. Over and over.

The boulder shifted. Cracks appeared and disappeared all along its hulking form. Dirt and dust unsettled then resettled, absorbing back into its packed body, turning gooey and amorphous before sharpening back into a pristine shine that made the boulder look like a freshly cut monolith.

Then it was still. It sat there for a long while. Deliberating.

This wasn’t the first time the call had come.

But these trips were getting longer and longer. More costly, too. More difficult, instead of easier as hoped. The distortions were growing stronger as the enemy took greater precautions.

Air released from the boulder. Pressurized gas escaping through sudden cracks that then vanished again.

A sigh.

It was time to return. This place would still be here when he got back. Of course it would.

That was the whole problem.

But at least he’d put them on the defensive. Hopefully, that would be enough for a while longer.

-+-+-+-+-

Hector rubbed his forehead as he looked over the papers on his desk. He hadn’t used this thing much at all since materializing it here in his room in the Tower of Night, and the longer he sat here, the more certain he became that he did not wish for this to become a regular occurrence.

But for the moment, at least, it was helpful in trying to parse through all the information that had been flooding in, recently.

He had a decision to make. He knew he did.

Garovel hovered over his shoulder, reading the same materials.

They’d discussed everything a couple times already, but they’d yet to reach a conclusion.

He and Garovel both couldn’t shake the feeling that the news they’d been receiving out of Vantalay was... odd.

Page 3909

“Why is he here?” said Graves, also sounding quite calm. And maybe a little annoyed.

“He’s hunting,” said Jun. “And I’m fairly certain that he is the reason Sai-hee is dead.”

What in the hell?!

“What?” said Graves, a bit less calm now.

“Please, do not provoke him,” said Jun. “Right now, we’re okay. Just don’t move. He can’t sense us.”

What? Why? Because of this blurry fog in the room? Something to do with the Phantom’s power, obviously.

The Man-Eater, however, sauntered over to Zeff, right up to his face. And the true scale of the animal became more apparent than he’d ever wanted to know. That huge snout was sucking in air so loudly that it sounded like a wind tunnel in Zeff’s ear.

“Just stay still,” Jun reassured him. “He doesn’t know you’re there.”

The wolf licked Zeff’s face.

Zeff flinched, blinking repeatedly. Stunned.

“Okay, maybe he knows you’re there.”

What in the world was happening, right now? Zeff couldn’t even process it.

And the wolf licked him a second time.

“Friend of yours?” said Graves.

Zeff had no idea what to say.

Then the Man-Eater moved away from him, heading over towards Jun.

“Ah, uh... Good boy... Oh, you’re such a good boy. Don’t eat mama, now. Please. Please, don’t--” And she flinched, as well, as the wolf sniffed around her.

Zeff could only watch with utter confusion. This creature had killed Sai-hee? What? Seeing Jun’s reaction to it was adding quite a bit of credibility to the claim. Certainly, she seemed to be believe it, at least.

He exchanged looks with Graves, who actually seemed to be enjoying himself now.

The wolf sat down again, right in front of Jun. And he just stared at her. Right into her face.

She gave a nervous laugh. “I suppose you’re... here for me, after all, huh? But you’re not going to attack? Do you want me to pet you?” She raised a hand toward him.

He growled.

She recoiled. “Oh. Okay. Alright. Message received.”

A beat passed, and her eyes moved between the wolf, Zeff, and Graves.

“...So, um. What do you want from me, then?” she asked.

The wolf snorted. Then gave another low growl, showing his teeth this time.

Jun smacked her lips. “Hmm...”

Graves interjected. “You said he was hunting, didn’t you?”

“I did...”

“How do you know that?”

“Um. Call it a hunch.”

“Mm. Then perhaps you should use that hunch to assist him with his hunt. Before his patience runs out.”

The Man-eater bobbed his head up and down, then snorted again.

Jun sighed. “Ah, man... my friend group really sucks...”

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Unless there was more to it. Perhaps Graves had not been powerful enough when he was younger. Perhaps older memories were more difficult to influence. Zeff recalled Hector mentioning something about that, and the boy seemed rather knowledgeable about such things now that he was friends with the Gaolanets.

Whatever the case, Zeff expected Graves to know quite a bit about the fragments. Which could greatly affect this entire conversation, depending on what information Graves decided to volunteer to Jun here.

Agh.

The silence in the chamber drew out as Zeff deliberated on how he should respond. He was a bit surprised to find Graves waiting for him, instead of trying to take the reigns and negotiate terms on behalf of the Rainlords--or some such thing.

Why was this man so difficult to understand?

Before Zeff could finish formulating his answer, however, a completely different interruption arrived. One he could not have possibly been prepared for.

There was a wolf in the room.

A giant one.

It appeared there in an instant. A shaded blink. So sudden that Zeff required a few moments to even register what his eyes were telling him.

“No one move,” said Jun, her voice calm and soft, yet still with an underlying sense of urgency. A slight wavering in the tone.

Zeff could feel the pressure in the room skyrocket. The presence of domineering power. Pushing against his mind and his chest.

But the wolf, for its part, looked quite nonchalant. It was already sitting, even. And looking around slowly, turning its nose up in the air and sniffing audibly.

Zeff wanted to ask a question, but he wasn’t sure what. The circumstance was too abrupt and strange. Where had this creature come from? What did it want? Was it some kind of--

Then he recalled. He’d seen this wolf before, albeit only briefly. It was twenty years ago, during a great battle in Lyste.

This was the Silver Devil of Dante. The Man-eater of Melmoore.

It was a powerful agent of Abolish, though it had hardly seemed like it at the time. In that particular battle, Zeff remembered what a curious sight the wolf had been on the battlefield, mainly just sitting there among all those psychopaths, not doing very much until someone attacked it.

Then it had become a tornado of death, tearing warriors apart in a flurry of carnage.