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How had it gotten this bad, Hector wondered? As old as this guy was, as connected as he was, people must have been lining up to help him throughout history. Surely, others within the Vanguard must have noticed all this within their leader. Hector had already met Xander, and that dude had been insightful as hell, so he must've been able to see that--

Ah.

Perhaps Sermung could sense his brewing questions, because now memories were bubbling en masse. Shadowed and murky but still intelligible. Of course others had been able to see this. Not many, admittedly, but enough.

And it had caused problems. Many problems. Because not all were helpful of spirit. Some only saw weakness.

Opportunity.

Were you the same, Hector Goffe of Atreya? And if not now, then would you become so, in time? Yet another friend turned enemy?

The aura behind those questions wasn't even threatening, though logically-speaking it should have been. Instead, it felt remorseful. As if already regretting the future. And perhaps this whole conversation.

Didn't mean to draw you in like this. One more person wrapped up in inevitable tragedy. Fated misery. Was it ever avoidable? He wanted to think so. He always wanted to think so.

Hector was getting annoyed now. Talk about presumptuous. Was that where the question about destiny came from? This shit right here? Why were you dwelling on this so much? You knew better. At your age? Pondering the unknowable? Of course you knew better.

Hmph. If only it were as simple as deciding not to dwell on something. One might put it off, sure. Distract oneself with more pressing matters. But it always comes back, in time. And when one is immortal, there truly is no escape, is there? You'll see, young one.

It might not be simple, no. But that doesn't make it impossible, either. Something that helped me was understanding the fruitlessness of it. It's pointless to dwell on pointlessness.

Hah. A fun turn of phrase, perhaps, but ultimately, as you say, pointless. Meaningless. Meager human souls were never meant to live so long. This was always going to be the destination. And it always will be, no matter much we might try to deny it.

There you go with that destiny talk again. You still haven't told me why you seem to believe in the concept so much. What if it's just a load of horseshit?

Whoa. Hector could sense a fluctuation in Sermung's aura now. Annoyance? That was new. Perhaps the man had already sensed the same thing in Hector and was responding in kind.