Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three: ‘Countenance in greed and fury...’

Two days transpired as the group tried in vain to work out their next move. According to the reapers, the titanic battle above Himmekel had not ceased, and according to the various Hun’Sho they spoke to, it would not be ceasing any time soon, either.

“Enkir and Dunikei have been locked in a stalemate for generations,” a Hun’Sho by the name of Torveis had told them.

Hector had been surprised that any of the Hun’Sho could speak Mohssian at all, much less modern Mohssian, but all was explained when Carver revealed that he had taught them several of the surface world’s languages.

“It may be many years before they decide to take another break,” Torveis had said. “The worms are a more recent threat, though I imagine they may prove an even bigger obstacle if you all wish to leave Himmekel soon.”

Without any clear objective or direction, everyone in the group spent most of their time mingling among the Hun’Sho. The four reapers practically insisted on it, though their servants didn’t require much convincing, save perhaps Zeff.

Unsurprisingly, the Lord Elroy seemed the most anxious to leave and expressed little interest in the Hun’Sho or Himmekel or even the Sosho’Diyu.

That last one was almost certainly what was on everyone else’s mind the most, Hector felt. They all seemed convinced that it was here, somewhere, which made him rather dubious about the sincerity of their attempts to “learn about Hun’Sho culture,” as Diego Redwater had put it. Without a doubt, that man seemed the most determined to stay, though Hector did notice the Hun’Kui behaving somewhat similarly. In particular, it was in the way they followed Diego around. They probably figured that if anyone was going to find it, it would be him.

But still. As unsavory as Hector found their behavior, he knew that he was not so different himself. When he thought about what he might be able to do with such an apparently valuable treasure... When he thought about Warrenhold and all the money it would need... not to mention all the people who would be staying there...

Assuming it really was money. He’d been starting to wonder what really qualified as treasure. There were certainly other things in this world that could be considered far more valuable than gold or gems or whatever. He was carrying one such item already, he knew. And he hadn’t forgotten all those weird names that reapers had rattled off not so long ago.

Garovel, at least, seemed certain that the treasure was something along those lines.

‘Do you have any specific theories about what it could be?’ Hector had asked him.

‘One or two, maybe,’ Garovel had said. ‘But I’m not prepared to share them yet.’

‘Why not? You’re always trying to tell me about your dumb theories.’

‘Hey. You’re hurting my feelings.’

‘If I apologize, will you tell me?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Then maybe I’m sorry.’

‘Sheesh. I’m thinking that the treasure might have something to do with Rathmore. Since his Flame is so near, then it would stand to reason.’

‘That doesn’t tell me much, Garovel. Or anything, really.’

‘Yeah, well, I don’t want to make a specific prediction and then turn out to be completely wrong later.’

‘Oh, come on. I don’t care if you’re wrong.’

‘Yeah, but I do. I hate being wrong.’

‘Believe me, I’ve noticed.’

‘Oh, shut up and go back to your meditation or practice or whatever you’re doing over there by yourself.’

With everyone else on the job, Hector didn’t feel the need to socialize with the Hun’Sho as much. He did, however, feel the need to keep up with his training, especially now that he could use temperature manipulation.

Just being outside of Carver’s biosphere afforded Hector ample opportunity for practice. Zeff had not been kidding when he said that he wouldn’t be making armor for him anymore, so that was what Hector had been doing for himself: creating freezing cold iron armor.

Over and over and over again.

It tended to heat up pretty damn quickly, so he constantly had to annihilate and remake it. At first, he struggled just to make it not crack and shatter immediately. That was a thing, apparently. These sorts of extreme temperature differences caused instantaneous and even explosive structural damage to his iron.

Garovel had been more than happy to explain that lovely little aspect of thermodynamics after Hector nearly tore his own head off.

In time, though, he managed to stabilize his work. Adding his soul to his iron helped, though not by much. Really, his most significant breakthrough was simply deciding to give his armor layers. The outermost layer was the hottest and therefore least likely to crack or break under the Undercrust's heat, while the inner layers were progressively colder, providing degrees of both insulation and structural support.

It worked surprisingly well, even if it was a bit bulky. Whenever he started feeling too warm, he simply annihilated the outermost layer and then added a new innermost layer. This way, he could maintain a relatively cool temperature around himself at all times, rather than having to deal with sudden flashes of flesh-melting heat and bone-chilling cold like he’d been doing in the beginning.

He ended up quite pleased with the result, but his new armor also had a secondary effect which he did not expect.

It made him more approachable.

He still had streaks of steam rising off of his armor--a fact which he found quite interesting--but it was nothing like it was before. To the Hun’Kui, Zeff’s misting armor must have made him look like a walking cloud of freezing death, whereas this armor looked much more solid and humanoid.

Eventually, one of the Hun’Kui decided to come talk to him while he was trying to meditate in front of Himmekel’s massive lavafall.

Unfortunately, the Hun’Kui man was speaking Hunese, and Garovel was off somewhere with Diego.

He thought he heard the word “Senmurai” again, but that was about all he caught. He tried to explain that he didn’t understand, and eventually, it seemed to sink in. The Hun’Kui nodded furiously and left him alone again, but he occasionally still spotted one or two of them watching him from afar.

It was a bit unsettling, but he figured they didn’t mean any harm.

He tried to focus on his meditation. It was more difficult than it had ever been, since he had to constantly maintain his armor, but he enjoyed the added challenge, even if he didn’t see much in the way of success. It was like trying to achieve a new level of concentration. Clearing his mind of all obfuscating thoughts, while at the same time materializing new layers of his armor at regular intervals.

He felt like it was possible. He just had to keep trying.

Toward the end of the first day of training, however, there had been another important interruption. He hadn’t recognized what it was, at first, as he’d nearly forgotten what this strange, pulsing sensation meant. As soon as he remembered that it was the Shard calling out to him, he scrambled to find it among his scant belongings.

He’d decided to stow it among the spare clothes that he was borrowing from Carver, since the climate-controlled environment of the dome was probably safer than carrying it around everywhere. On the one hand, he didn’t really think that the Undercrust’s heat would melt one of the Shards created by Rasalased, but on the other, he doubted the heat would be good for it, either. And he did recall Qorvass mentioning that there used to be a lot more Shards, suggesting that they were, in fact, not indestructible.

As soon as he had the Shard in hand again, he reached out with his mind. ‘Emiliana?’

‘...Yes, I am here.’

He had about a thousand questions for sure, but just hearing her response was a relief in itself. At least now he’d be able to tell Zeff something about how she was doing. Maybe that would be enough to make the man stop looking at him like he wanted to choke him.

‘Hector, before I say anything further... please, you mustn’t tell my father that I am contacting you.’

Well, shit.

‘It is not that I want him to worry. It is just that... I...’

Hector more or less got the picture. ‘You’re worried FOR him.’

‘Yes...’

He rubbed his forehead as he sat down on the edge of his bed. ‘Look, uh... I have to tell him that you’re okay, at least. Whatever else is going on with you right now, he deserves to know that much, doesn’t he?’

‘...He deserves much more than that. But he... well, you...’ She paused for a sigh. ‘You are still with him, are you not?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How is he?’

‘...Better than I would be, if I were in his shoes.’

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‘...A non-answer.’

Hector took a curt breath. ‘He’s... persevering.’

‘So, then... you think that if you were to tell him that I do not wish him to know where I am, he would take that news well?’

Abso-fucking-lutely not. But from her tone, the question sounded rhetorical, so Hector decided not to answer it directly. Instead, he chose to take a different approach. ‘However he takes it, it’s not really your problem, is it?’

‘...Excuse me?’

‘I mean... even if he gets super pissed off, his reaction will be MY problem to deal with, not yours. Because he won’t know where to find you unless you tell us.’

There came a rather long pause. ‘I suppose you have a point. I had not thought of it that way.’

‘So you don’t mind if I tell him you’re okay?’

More silence.

A terrible thought occurred to Hector. ‘You ARE okay, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I am fine. Gohvis is not mistreating me, if that is what you are implying.’

‘You’re sure? You can tell me. I won’t...’ He won’t what? He won’t tell Zeff? Ugh. This whole situation was quickly becoming a conversational nightmare, Hector felt.

‘I am sure,’ said Emiliana. ‘Gohvis may not be... well, I do not know what to think of him. He has not harmed me nor Chergoa, however, nor do I get the impression that he intends to.’

Good news, certainly, but it still left Hector with the million troas question. ‘Why did he kidnap you, then? He even went against his own allies.’

‘He wants to study my mutation ability. Even I do not quite understand. He has yet to fully explain himself. I’m not sure he ever will, either.’

‘Huh...’

‘But none of this is why I wished to talk to you right now.’

He took a long breath, as if to prepare himself for whatever crazy new shit she was about to tell him. ‘O-okay. I’m listening.’

‘I want you to... ask me questions about various subjects.’

Not nearly as crazy as he’d been expecting. Way more confusing, though. ‘I don’t follow.’

‘Agh...’ She broke for another small sigh. ‘How do I explain without giving too much away...?’

Hector was lost as he waited in silence.

‘Let’s just say... that for the foreseeable future, it appears as though I will have considerable free time on my hands. Free time which I will be using... in order to conduct various types of research.’

‘Uh...?’

‘So... I was thinking that I would prefer to focus my research into things which might be beneficial to you and my father and everyone else.’

Hector’s brow lowered as he processed what she had told him.

‘Do you understand?’ she asked.

‘I... think so.’ So in other words, Hector gathered, wherever she was, she had easy access to a large amount of information. Like some kind of Abolish database? He supposed that would make a certain degree of sense, given Gohvis’ status.

‘So ask me something,’ she said. ‘It does not matter how old the information you’re looking for is. There is a good chance I’ll be able to find something about it.’

‘H-hold on,’ said Hector. ‘Isn’t this incredibly dangerous? What if someone catches you?’

‘Oh. No. It’s not like that. I do not have to hide my research. In fact, Gohvis is... encouraging me to pursue whatever interests me.’

What the hell? Hector would’ve liked to ask more about that, but he felt as though she would recoil from the conversation entirely if he started trying to figure out what she was clearly intending to keep secret from him and her father.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t still try, though. It just meant that he didn’t want her to realize he was doing that.

But trying to suss out her secret could wait, he supposed. Right now, it sounded like she was just trying to be helpful however she could, and considering his own circumstances, he could probably use a little help. ‘Uh... okay, but I’m still not sure what sort of questions you want me to ask,’ he said.

‘Just. Anything that you think might be useful. About science. Or history. It could be almost any subject, I think.’

Hector wondered if Zeff would approve of this, but he also didn’t see any point in turning the offer down. And hell, maybe she would be able to find something that would help them get out of this place. Or... find the treasure?

Wouldn’t that be nice. And way too good to be true.

Regardless, he tried to think of a question that would be relevant to their most immediate problems.

‘...I don’t suppose you could tell me anything about worms, could you?’

‘Worms?’ said Emiliana.

Oh right, she probably thought he was talking about normal, tiny worms on the surface.

‘Do you mean worms from the Undercrust?’

Or maybe not. ‘You know about them?’ he said.

‘It just so happens that I recently heard quite a lot about them. From Ibai, actually.’

Hector blinked. Somehow, he’d forgotten about Ibai Blackburn. ‘So Ibai is with you, then.’

‘Ah. Yes, he is. There have been a few times when I thought Gohvis would kill him for sure, but they seem to be getting along now. Somewhat.’

Hector still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that guy, but after working together with him at Dunehall, he found it hard to think badly of him. If not for Ibai’s actions, Hector was sure that the Rainlords would have suffered far more casualties than they did--or simply been wiped out completely.

Which put a very difficult question in Hector’s mind. The few times that he’d managed to actually talk to Emiliana for any real length of time, that topic had yet to come up. The casualties at Dunehall.

Should he tell her, he wondered? She had a right to know, certainly. Ibai, as well. But would they be better off not knowing? They were in a precarious position, no doubt. Perhaps telling them about their murdered kin would only make things worse.

He rubbed his forehead again. Between this and trying to figure out what he was going to tell Zeff later, Hector felt like he was seeing a sudden spike in impossible decisions.

Emiliana wasn’t done talking, however, and Hector tried not to become so distracted that he stopped listening. ‘Ibai wouldn’t stop going on about worms and greatworms the other day. He spoke with such enthusiasm that I probably absorbed more of it than I intended to. Is there anything in particular that you would like to know about them?’

‘...Their weaknesses, if they have any.’

There came a pause. ‘Why do you want to know that, might I ask?’

He grit his teeth at that question and hesitated. He felt like he should just come right out and tell her. He felt like she’d probably figured it out already, anyway. But still, he hesitated.

‘Hector, just tell me. And please... please don’t lie. Because, right now, it’s just... Chergoa, Ibai... and you. You’re the only ones I can trust, so... please, just...’

Hector had no defense against her words or her pleading tone. ‘Okay,’ he finally said. ‘The truth is... we’re in the Undercrust right now, trying to avoid the Vanguard. We’re on our way back to Warrenhold, and yeah... we’ve been fighting a lot. Worms are really... annoying and hard to kill.’

She paused again. ‘Has anyone gotten hurt? Or...?’

He knew what she was really wanting to ask, but he didn’t actually know if the worms had killed anyone.

But he did know about Dunehall. And if there was ever a time to bring it up, now was it. He had to make a decision, he knew. Putting it off wouldn’t be avoiding anything. That would be a decision, too. And his gut was telling him that he shouldn’t keep it from them. They deserved to know. Especially Ibai. The man’s father had been killed, after all.

He took a deliberate breath.

‘...It’s been pretty chaotic, so I’m not sure if the worms have killed any of us. However... I should tell you that... back at Dunehall, after you left... there were many casualties.’ He allowed a beat to pass, in case she wanted to say anything, but when she didn’t, he kept going. ‘Ismael Blackburn was among them. He and his reaper... were murdered by Ivan.’

‘How horrible...’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bring it up, but... I thought Ibai should know.’

‘I-I understand. Thank you for telling me. I will relay it to him.’ She paused another time, perhaps considering her next words. ‘Who... who else was killed? And, and how many casualties were there, exactly?’

Both of those were questions he had trouble answering--partly because he simply didn’t want to and partly because he wasn’t sure he could remember everyone. He didn’t want to suddenly reach out to Garovel with such awful questions, but in the end, that was exactly what he did. The reaper handled it with more grace than surprise, and Emiliana mostly just waited and listened quietly.

It took a while.

‘...Thank you for telling me,’ she eventually said, once Hector and Garovel had finished going down the list. She remained quiet for a while longer after that, perhaps talking to Ibai, perhaps just processing everything.

Hector didn’t know how to revive the conversation. Or even if he should.

But he could tell that she was still there. It was more obvious than ever. He could feel something from the Shard that he never had previously. Some sort of... intensity in his head and in his heart. A heaviness that seemed not to be his own, somehow.

It was her sorrow, he eventually realized. He could actually feel her sorrow.

This was a first.

He’d never been able to actually sense her emotions before. Why was that, he wondered? Why now? It wasn’t like she didn’t have emotions any of the other times they’d communicated via the Shard like this.

Perhaps it was simply because of how strong this particular emotion was. Perhaps normal feelings couldn’t make the telepathic trip or whatever. He might’ve asked Garovel about it, but the reaper had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t understand how the Shards worked, so he didn’t see much point.

A sudden wetness around his eyes made Hector squint and blink, and he found himself wiping tears away.

‘Holy shit,’ he thought explicitly.

‘What’s the matter?’ said Garovel.

‘What is it?’ said Emiliana.

‘Uh, ah, n-nothing,’ Hector floundered. He’d accidentally talked to both at once when he hadn’t meant to say anything to either of them.

‘Just tell me,’ said Emiliana.

‘Didn’t sound like nothing,’ said Garovel.

They couldn’t hear each other, Hector knew, and he didn’t want to try to explain whatever the hell was happening, right now. So he spoke to Garovel first. ‘Sorry, I meant to say that to Emiliana, and I, uh... got my wires crossed, I guess.’

‘Ah,’ was all the reaper said, seemingly satisfied.

Then he tried to give the reverse excuse to Emiliana. ‘Sorry, I meant to say that to Garovel and just accidentally said it to you...’

‘Is something happening over there?’ she asked.

That was not the response he’d been hoping for. ‘N-no.’ How was he supposed to explain this? Tell her that she’d made him cry? Somehow, that seemed like the worst thing he could say to her right now.

‘...Are you lying to me?’ She sounded a little annoyed. ‘Didn’t I just ask you not to lie to me?’

He could feel himself losing composure. Anxiety welling up. He thought he’d been getting better about this, yet here it was again, strong as ever, paralyzing his thoughts, squeezing breath out of his lungs.

He had to tell her something. It was just going to get worse, if he didn’t. And if he told her the wrong thing, the conversation would spiral out of control, and she would start to hate him or perhaps just begin to realize how pathetic he really was beneath this desperate facade that he’d been trying so hard to--

‘Are you alright?’ she asked.

He couldn’t answer that.

‘Hector?’

His eyes widened with horror.

She’d felt his anxiety just now, hadn’t she?

Fuck fuck fuck fuck--

‘Hect--?’

He let go of the Shard.

This was not okay.

He held his hand tightly over his mouth and shut his eyes, trying to steady his breathing and hopefully his mind.

Letting someone hear his intentional thoughts was one thing. That was fine. He could control that. More or less. But letting someone sense whatever stupid, panicky, humiliating feelings he was having?

No. That was a bridge too far.

It wasn’t like he even knew this girl all that well, either. He was supposed to just show her all the worst parts of himself, now? Parts that he didn’t even want himself to see?

That was just impossible.

But...

His conversation with Emiliana was not yet done, he knew. She hadn’t gotten around to telling him what she knew about worms.

And that was important, goddammit. Certainly more important than all his stupid insecurities.

He opened his eyes, grit his teeth, growled to himself, and then scratched his brow hard enough to leave marks. He stared at that damn red crystal lying there on his bed, able to sense its calling pulse again.

He sighed angrily and picked it back up.

‘--there?’ came her voice again. ‘Ah! You’re back! What happened? Where did you go?’

He figured he should apologize first, even though a rather large part of him didn’t want to. ‘S-sorry, I, uh... I dropped the Shard accidentally.’

She took a while to respond. ‘...Is that really true?’ she said, taking that irritated tone with him again, this time more strongly. ‘Hector, I just--I feel like you’re not telling me something, and I don’t appreciate--’

‘Stop,’ he said, perhaps more firmly than he’d intended. ‘Just. Stop.’

And she did.

His anxiety from earlier was still there, though it had been significantly lessened by his mounting frustration. And he figured out what he wanted to say to her now. ‘If you want to keep your location and circumstances a secret... and if you want me to lie to your father about you... then fine. I get it. But you don’t get to do all that and then chastise ME for keeping a few things to myself. Okay? You just--’ He sighed through his nostrils. ‘You don’t get to do that.’

Emiliana made no response.

As the silence drew out, he began to worry that he’d upset her. But he didn’t regret what he’d said. He tried to sense what she was feeling again, but there was nothing. He supposed it didn’t work like that. He decided that his theory from earlier was probably correct after all. Her feelings must have needed to be extraordinarily strong in order for him to sense them, and right now, they simply weren’t.

Perhaps he needed to say more.

‘Look,’ he tried, ‘I... I don’t mean to be rude. And you CAN trust me. I want to help your family however I can. Okay? I really do.’

Still, she remained quiet.

He wasn’t sure what else he could say without backpedaling completely. And he refused to do that.

Eventually, however, she finally said, ‘...Okay.’

And then he sensed her let go of her Shard. He waited to see if she would come back right away like he had. He tried calling out to her through the Shard, wanting her to at least come back and finish whatever she was going to say about worms.

But she didn’t.

“Shit...” He was beginning to see a family resemblance.