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‘Yeah. That does suck. But hey, on the bright side, the Moon’s Wrath is fully charged again, and it was practically empty before. That was a really good hit you just landed.’

‘That stupid laser isn’t gonna help, either, Garovel!’

‘Mm, maybe not, but it’s important to stay positive, Hector.’

‘Since when?!’

‘Since now! I’ve been trying really hard not to panic during all of this, okay?!’

‘I’ve noticed!’

‘What?! What do you mean, you’ve noticed?! Why didn’t you say anything, then?!’

‘Because I’ve been busy trying to keep us alive!’

‘Well, now I feel like a jackass!’

‘Good!’

‘Fuck you! Hurry up and beat this worm already!’

‘How, goddammit?!’

‘I don’t know! Use the Scarf or something! Do more cool flips! I’m sure that’ll help!’

‘Give me some real advice, asshole!’

‘Have you tried talking it into submission?!’

‘What?!’

‘Well, it worked against the Salesman, didn’t it?!’

‘Agh! I should just let it kill us!’

‘C’mon, Hector, buddy! Don’t give up yet! You can save us, probably! I believe in you, kind of!’

More iron and rock exploded as lightning crashed above his head, forcing Hector to make a hard right turn mid-gallop. He launched himself up and away again, trying to build more distance so that he had time to think.

‘Do you need more positive thinking?’ said Garovel, calmer again. ‘Because if so, I’ve got you covered. Let’s see, um--Oh. With all this ardor-lightning destroying everything, it’s way more spacious in here now. Isn’t that great?’

Hector didn’t answer him.

‘It’s more room for you to maneuver,’ the reaper continued, undeterred. ‘That’s good, right? Especially with the Scarf of Amordiin? I mean, shit. I thought improved spatial awareness would just enhance your materialization. I didn’t think it would turn you into some kind of iron ninja.’

Still, Hector was more concerned with trying to come up with a new plan.

‘Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and the worm will blast us a tunnel out of here.’

That was an interesting idea. But it was still pretty useless, he figured after a moment. Trying to direct the worm to dig in a particular spot might have been possible, but there was no way to know WHICH spot to choose. It all looked the same, and Garovel couldn’t help with that, either, because his reaper’s sense was blocked by all the ardor in the rock.

Ugh.

Failed plan after failed plan. And even though there was definitely more space to run around in now, all the debris was slowly adding to the worm’s bulk.

And that was going to become a real problem sooner or later, Hector felt. The larger the worm grew, the more difficult it would become to avoid.

So maybe that was what he should have been focusing on. Preventing its growth.

In fact... maybe he could even take that a step further. Maybe he could whittle the worm down, bit by bit.

Hmm.

Well, it was a new plan, at least.