Next page on the 5th

Need a little more time. Sorry. Thanks for reading, as always.

Page 4120

He remained steady. And aware. Dividing his attention between these two starkly different worlds. That was very much necessary, at the moment. The world of darkness that he'd stepped into. And the normal world--which also wasn't looking terribly normal at the moment, what with these giant black monoliths everywhere and the floating man in gleaming armor right in front of him.

A man who was still speaking to him so casually, too, even though Hector could tell that his attention was also split, right now. What a supremely odd feeling.

"Apologies if I'm coming across a bit mopey," Sermung was saying. "Nostalgia is sometimes a double-edged sword, I feel."

"...Is this armor reminding you of someone in particular?" said Hector.

The man paused at that. The distracted aspect of his aura shifted. More of his attention was turning toward Hector now. "Not just your armor," he said slowly. "You carry yourself in a similar manner, as well. I find it... hmm..."

Hector didn't push. He understood where that sentence had been going and didn't need the man to articulate it aloud. "It's okay," he said. "I'd like to help you, if I can."

And beneath, in the other world, so many things were still being revealed to him. Too many, quite frankly. So much information at once.

This guy was suddenly an open book.

Or seemed to be, at least. This was an emperor, after all. There had to be all sorts of operational secrets that the guy didn't wish to share, of course, but Hector wasn't interested in any of that. And perhaps he could tell. Perhaps that was why he was willing to share so much.

"Sorry again," said Sermung. "I don't mean to bombard you. It's the strangest thing, I--"

"It's alright," said Hector, even as he sifted through it all. So much suffering. Holy fucking shit. It reminded him of the Candle's memories but so much more potent. So much more personal. Truly, deeply felt.

The Candle's memories had felt more like observations. Largely neutral in terms of emotions, even if when they were revealing utterly horrific events.

But these were soaked with emotion. Like bleeding wounds. Hector very nearly confused them with his own emotions. If he didn't catch himself--guard himself--he might've very well gotten swept away in the tide.

He had to concentrate. Bring everything to bear. No distraction. Sort through as much as he could with as many different thought processes as he could. While still remaining awake and cogent in the real world, too.

Wow.