LoRG 3

Had Ileot really taken the time to copy so many people If the effort was as exhausting as Ileot had made it seem why would he go to the trouble of doing such a thing And why would he try and strengthen the Aether forces with these duplications if he always had some sort of mental attack that would turn the Nether Beasts against one another

Too much was happening and very little of it made sense Which meant that Randidly was clearly missing something After spending basically all of his energy and Willpower to earn a chance that was almost inconsequential next to this chaos Randidly was frustrated Immensely so

But there were some things that helped him reign in his annoyance Next to him Randidly could sense that the duplicated man he had been talking to was slowly calming down Whatever wild panic and fear that had been seizing his limbs was slowly forced out of his posture by this manÆs own determination

Not that it was ever his fault that negative emotions took control of him RandidlyÆs eyes turned sharp as he looked up toward the swirling darkness that was looming over the battlefield He didnÆt miss the fact that as more and more people died the smoky blackness grew larger and more dangerous It behaved a lot like coal fire smoke it left residue across everything it touched But it also was definitely energy being generated by the grand array

And although Randidly could burn it away with his image and pure Aether he couldnÆt protect everyone on the battlefield the reach of his image wasnÆt that wide He was quite thankful that it seemed like Salazar had a similarly cleansing effect against it but there was simply too much battlefield to cover The murky chaos in places other than Lady IellayaÆs camp became more pronounced every minute

Nether Beasts fought Nether Beasts Aether soldiers fought Aether soldiers Wounds grew from shallow to fatal And every death fed that terrible smog

perhaps this is why Ileot created so many duplicates Gritting his teeth Randidly furiously continued to try and recover his energy As fodder to die and fuel whatever fucked up thing this is The question is is this darkness the biggest threat we have to deal with right now

Randidly glanced sideways Lady Iellaya was clearly reaching the end of her Stamina but she continued to harry the four Nether Heralds as they retreated to help protect the grand working Over in front of the working Lord Miln burned with obvious power suppressing two Nether Heralds and setting up an opportunity for Ileot Swacc to calmly walk forward and stare upward to the strange shapes created by the blue veins

As though sensing the threat before it the blue veins began to twist and arrange themselves as fast as they could The formation itself was hurrying toward its conclusion

WhatÆs your name Randidly asked lightly turning to the man beside him

After blinking the man fell to one knee and bowed his head Although he was largely humanoid he did possess some animalistic characteristics At the end of the day he looked quite like a fox Heiffal Lennonoster Sir

Randidly felt the emotional gulf between them in that kneeling gesture as he looked down at the crown of HeiffalÆs head Outwardly Randidly Ghousthound smiled slightly but inwardly he sighed There are costs to acknowledging what it means to be a monarch But I suppose they are costs I could no longer afford to put off paying

Stand Heiffal Randidly turned away and closed his eyes It was more than enough to allow Grim Intuition to feed him information without continuing to strain his eyes Can you do something for me Get a count of how many we have within here that are like you And see if you can figure out how much of the command structure for the group is still in place

Yes sir

Randidly felt Heiffal bow again and stride away It wasnÆt that the man was suddenly filled with confidence but he had at least found his footing once more RandidlyÆs mouth twisted Now all I need to do was figure out what he should be doing right now Feels like a waste to just focus on resting again but

Certainly recovering was his primary concern Perhaps five minutes had passed since he had brought the forces back into Lady IellayaÆs base and in that time the worst of his headache had passed Yet the exhaustion remained his reserves were completely drained Even the thought of using his PhilosopherÆs Key again made Randidly grit his teeth His images were probably still usable but there would be a rapidly approaching expiration date if he attempted to use them now

Besides Randidly had to be realistic about his abilities to contest these sorts of foes Nether Gatekeepers already posed a huge challenge to him These Nether Heralds were more powerful and capable than them by a noticeable margin

which brought RandidlyÆs attention back around to the vanished form of Vualla Who after being smashed back up into the air partially by her own action hadnÆt returned from where ever she had landed And considering the fact that his Grim Intuition was roaring at full capacity it was extremely surprising that he hadnÆt found her

RandidlyÆs frown deepened But maybe the reason I cannot find her is I donÆt realize how much my weariness is blunting my senses

Still his Nether Ritual connection remained and informed him that she was safe In addition it made sense that Vualla would need some time to recover after all she had somehow gone from barely able to handle four Nether Gatekeepers to able to delay three Nether Heralds Which was a noticeable step forward Nether HeraldÆs physical bodies were clearly on another tier of power altogether from Nether Gatekeepers

The shift was abrupt During those few seconds of frantic clashing against several stronger enemies VuallaÆs image had been positively radiant It was the tool that she used to close the gap and Randidly suspected she could have held on for quite a bit longer if she had needed to

RandidlyÆs attention was dragged away as Ileot finally made his move With a wave of his hand he unleashed a blast of white light that became a surging river of power smashing upward toward whatever ritual the Nether King had been patiently arranging It was the most bright and eye catching thing that Randidly had ever seen practically blinding him with its brilliance and power even through the thin skin of his eyelids

oouunngg

A low echo creaked out of the Nether KingÆs mouth smashing into the terrible white light Even though the collision was far away from their current position the ground shook with the violence of the meeting The land in that area began to crack and float upward Toward the edge pieces of land were falling off into the Great Rift But even with the Nether King acting to defend the working a large chunk of the blue veins had been ripped to shreds

As the light dimmed Randidly opened his eyes and looked deeply at the power that Ileot Swacc had unleashed Even from here the raw power had been impressive It drifted downward in smoke and radiant debris almost like the end stage of a fireworks display The light that Ileot had produced was domineering and eye catching

Also extremely different from the sort of power from someone who was feeding such a vast darkness Randidly glanced upward Then he focused again on Ileot

The strange part was how mundane the image had seemed Certainly solid but it was the fuel that had made that attack powerful Ileot hadnÆt used much mental capacity to generate that power

He must have used liquified Aether to do it Randidly rubbed his chin But how do you create liquified Aether

Lord Miln looked away from the two Nether Heralds that he was keeping at bay and glared over his shoulder at Ileot Can you not control yourself An attack that eye catching will undoubtedly bring attention from the military checkpoint

Do you truly think its possible to keep a foe like the Nether King at bay while being covert Ileot asked contemptuously But he did look nervously up at the glittering aftereffects of his attack with a frown

To that question Lord Miln could say nothing And in fact he immediately needed to refocus his attentions on the two Nether Heralds They were both incredibly powerful definitely the two most powerful of the Nether KingÆs servants And although Lord Miln had deeply hidden his own strength he was still hard pressed to keep them both at bay

Luckily his elite forces moving in formation allowed them to briefly display a battle power that could at least delay the Nether Heralds earning Lord Miln a precious few seconds to reposition himself and re establish his control

He spread his hands and the image of heavy brass chains erupted from the ground The Nether Heralds were too quick to be easily caught but Lord Miln rushed forward and appeared before the stronger of the two His palm smashed forward forcing the Nether Herald to twist even further to dodge Which was just the time that his brass chains needed to wrap tightly around the filthy savage

To the other side his forces smashed their combined attack against the other Nether Herald Unfortunately it seemed to lower its head and just smash apart the attack forcefully Then it accelerated clearing meaning to cut into the numbers of Lord MilnÆs subordinates

Snorting Lord Miln cut sideways across the fighting space to meet that Nether Herald But as he did so there was a groaning and a sharp mental pain that sent Lord Miln stumbling Shocked he turned around to see the powerful Nether Herald simply ripping away his brass chain image and surging to attack him from behind

Ileot What are you waiting for I cannot keep this up forever Lord Miln growled For all that Ileot was the key figure at this point in their plans it was immensely frustrating to see Ileot simply standing there

As though he is waiting for something

IleotÆs mouth twitched as though he was smelling something unpleasant Ah yes of course

His hands cut upward in several sharp lines and another huge blast of power shot upward If the first was slightly off target this was directly aiming for the Nether King However Ileot had also made this blast of energy even more eye catching than the last It was a raging landslide of glimmering lights smashing up toward the Great Rift with unstoppable momentum

Still Lord Miln was inwardly furious You couldnÆt have created a more revealing attack if you tried

Chapter 1206

Randidly released a light breath with the second huge blast of power from Ileot the four Nether Heralds fighting Lady Iellaya immediate turned and fled to assist the Nether King This allowed a disdainful raven winged serpent covered in wounds to snort and lift its nose as though it couldnÆt be bothered to play with these fools another longer Randidly barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes

Seems Lady IellayaÆs pride is still an integral part of that image ThatÆs reassuring

Still the important point was what was going on in the conflict in the center Although the Nether King acted again to block a portion of IleotÆs attack this most recent blast knocked away even more of the blue veins that constituted the grand working so that only about half remained Huge holes had been ripped open by the last two attacks The sky glittered with the exploding lights that Ileot had produced illuminating exactly how much damage had been done

A second later Lady Iellaya was leaning against the edge of the battlements next to Randidly as she returned from her image avatar form you look worse than I feel

RandidlyÆs grin was bitter he couldnÆt deny that this was probably the case Still will be a little bit before I can honestly stand up here next to you and fight something like a Nether Herald Just call me during the next wide scale Nether invasion

Most people spend their entire lives trying to come within a little bitÆ of this amount of power Lady Iellaya used her hands to smooth her obsidian feathers and check for places where some had been ripped out during the fighting Then she cracked her fingers I would say you can be relatively satisfied with this performance But believe me you would be the first person I would call when the Nether invades again

For a second Randidly hummed He looked over the battlefield up at the darkness then over at the shattered working that seemed to be slowly falling apart Is this enough to kill the Nether King Or at least force him to retreat

How would I know Lady Iellaya shook her head But I believe we are about to find out

As the last vestiges of IleotÆs attack began to fade the incomplete formation of blue veins slowly began to glow From the strange luminous blue color the veins gradually brightened to a piercing yellow And what followed was the blooming of a fuzzy black flower sitting in the middle of that broken arrangement It started rapidly rotating and pulsing a strange bulging blub that squirmed and shifted

Hoonngg

Something in the air changed as that noise rippled outward Randidly didnÆt even need Grim Intuition to sense it probably everyone across the battlefront felt the change at that moment No longer was the Nether King hanging back gazing over the battlefield with lantern like eyes No the Nether King had endured long enough His strange resonate moan was filled with range and unwillingness It shook the air That bulb opened up and released all the power it had built up

The bulb bloomed Dark tendrils drifted outward seizing the surrounding working Energy began to pump outward Despite the fact that his vessel was flawed and filled with holes the Nether King moved with purpose Its voice smashed down against the battlefield

It was like some support system had been ripped away and the weight of the Great Rift crashed down against the battlefront along with the Nether KingÆs voice Behind Randidly in the courtyard SalazarÆs story faltered and stopped At the other camps all the infighting ceased as everyone was brought low by that pressure The noise was a direct attack on the physical and organized space of Aether The resonance struck out to sever the bonds between atoms destabilizing matter reducing everything to the primordial darkness of the Great Rift

Stone cracked Flesh trembled and tore Screams werenÆt drowned out by the noise so much as smothered Nothing existed but the looming Great Rift and the Nether KingÆs terrible rage

As the noise lowered its volume it dragged itself across RandidlyÆs skin like a rake of rusty nails His eyes bulged as the pain spiked upward The yellow of the Nether KingÆs working had gotten so bright that it was increasingly easy to overlook the vast holes that Ileot had punched in the formation seemingly without slowing it down in the slightest The pain was growing so intense that the exhausted version of Randidly could only tremble and struggle to endure it

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 251

This is the Nether King with a flawed weapon striking down at us Randidly could only grit his teeth as Grim Intuition stubbornly continued to feed him the visions of suffering from those individuals behind him in the courtyard Across the battlefield many people died directly as the Nether King roared their bodies destabilizing to the point they popped like overfilled water balloons This the Nether King

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 241

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix has grown to Level 225

Yet just as the physical pain grew close to the limits of RandidlyÆs endurance there was the sound of soft flapping wings and Randidly felt Lady IellayaÆs raven winged serpent image spread out to shield them all Panting Randidly looked over toward Lady Iellaya and saw her eyes were bloodshot The crimson lines crossing her imageÆs brown scales were so vividly scarlet that the drew the eye

These are my people Lady Iellaya hissed If you think I will let you harm a single hair on their heads I will break you

That loyalty to her subordinates hasnÆt changed either Randidly reflected Maybe I put too much stock in the strange darkness present now in her image

Yet even as the strain on Randidly eased he could see the tremors running through Lady IellayaÆs body Blocking out so much pressure was not an easy feat

Honng

The light above them flared and then went out With a strange sense of finality the bright yellow working shattered under the strain of amplifying the Nether KingÆs strength Instantly the pressure it unleashed dropped sharply downward but a wave of kinetic destruction spread outward with the echo of that final resonant noise The Great Rift opened up and dropped it downward

It hit the edges of the badlands first knocking up huge slabs of stone and then annihilating them as it bowled its way forward without a care for the damage it was doing It happened so quickly that the edges of their lands didnÆt even shake but were directly devoured as that wave spread outward

Lady Iellaya scrunched her eyes shut and braced herself Allowing himself one long sigh Randidly thought of absolutely nothing for a moment as the wave ripped its way forward through space leaving only darkness in its wake The physical ground was ripped to shreds Lord Miln and Ileot were lost in the spreading avalanche of debris while Lord MilnÆs subordinates seemed to be eviscerated by that terrible noise

The sky of the Aether was slowly deteriorating gobbled up by the Great Rift in a horrifying spread of darkness Tremors in the ground grew even more intense before the final wave arrived signaling how close to collapsing this base of Aether had become Earthquakes heaved beneath their feet

Be safe Vualla Randidly thought softly And then the brilliant light of the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis surged outward The ground behind Lady IellayaÆs camp was ripped to pieces slightly early as a small sapling poked itself out of the ground and then exploded upward in a twisting surging growth Soon it was a towering tree with rich brown bark covered in a sprawling golden script that told the history of all things that had been and will be

Its branches and canopy spread wide providing cover for Lady IellayaÆs camp The leaves rustled sending out powerful ripples of an image that Randidly was already having trouble projecting outward He simply hadnÆt had enough time to rest

Lady IellayaÆs jaw was so clenched that she spoke through her teeth at Randidly How much of this can you really withstand

Yet Randidly didnÆt flinch from her baleful gaze I guess IÆll need to handle whatever you cannot

Their gazes were locked for a second Lady Iellaya couldnÆt deny it but she refused to give any sense of acquiescence either The battlement between the cracked slightly as the foundation beneath their fort began to fall apart Then the noise rushed forward to hit them

For a brief moment Lady Iellaya tried to withstand the whole wave of pressure that the Nether King had produced as it had shattered its own working with this final effort Cracks snaked forward from the expanding Great Rift toward the base of Lady IellayaÆs camp Randidly saw the huge trench they had dug and the small fortifications beyond that slowly upended by the wave of force and then disintegrate as space began to destabilize

Then as Lady IellayaÆs pride was forced backward by the viciousness of the approaching destruction some of that pressure was passed onto Randidly Their two images spread out over the base The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil stretched underneath and seized hold of the ground forcefully resisting the destabilization of the surrounding ground

RandidlyÆs spine was on fire The pressure was like nothing he ever felt before The world was ripped away leaving away a weird skewed perception remaining to Randidly that were only colors The surrounding world was a deep deep black Lady Iellaya was a dim white light that was hovering next to him And his spine RandidlyÆs spine burned red staring with a luminous cherry at the base of his skull

Pain lost meaning it was only another color that pressed down over Randidly Yet even as RandidlyÆs mind struggled to protect him he couldnÆt escape the pain The red color grew brighter and brighter

Perhaps Randidly would have collapsed immediately from the terrible pain of hearing that noise but there were suddenly two hands on his shoulders Neveah was there mentally making her presence know for the first time through all the suffering that Randidly had endured on the frontlines

Your struggles are mine Neveah whispered Pain flowed out through Randidly toward Neveah located on the distant Earth We may live different lives but we are one

The pain eased somewhat Yet even with Neveah adding her mind to the effort RandidlyÆs image rapidly began to fail He had done too much for too long This battlefield was just beyond his abilities

I canÆt fail Randidly strange red existence was becoming increasingly feeble barely able to stand up to that horrible noise Even if he dearly wanted to protect all the people within Lady IellayaÆs camp who would be eviscerated by this terrible noise he didnÆt have the strength remaining to do so He had already given too much

The monarchÆs crown is heavy RandidlyÆs head fell farther forward But more hands caught him on the way down

Annie Sam Alana Mrs Hamilton Suddenly they were there hands on his arms to support him Even when the wave of pain spread outward through them they didnÆt waver

Randidly released a breath Then a new color was added to his warped perception emerald

Randidly opened his eyes and stood next to Lady Iellaya enduring the pain until the power unleashed by the Nether King had dissipated Because the monarch was never truly alone Not so long as there were people that called him liege and would support him when he needed it That was the truth of him Randidly Ghosthound had been built up by people who believed in him

That emerald color grew brighter As long as they are here I wonÆt fail

Chapter 1207

Randidly snapped back awake shocked to find that he was laying on battlements of Lady IellayaÆs camp The ground was clearly slightly sloped beneath him but his Absolute Timing informed him that he had only been unconscious for about a minute after the worst of it had passed

Some of the foundations had been eroded clearly but they had endured They had survived Randidly attempted to push himself up to a sitting position but his arms seemed like rubber and complained painfully when he tried to move them So Randidly simply focused on his breathing and tried to ascertain the extent of the damage he had endured

Abiodun

A voice filled with horror drifted over RandidlyÆs form And in response to the question there was only silence

RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition was barely functioning with the clogged and overstimulated state of his brain but he could sense the line of Lady IellayaÆs focus going to a figure that was standing in front of her fort with his arms crossed As RandidlyÆs focus began to waver and drift apart he felt that form in front of the fortÆs base lean forward and then fall Lady Iellaya instantly moved leaping over the battlements and catching the figure below

Then they were too distant for Randidly to follow further as the sphere of Grim Intuition slowly shrunk Even capturing that much had been a supreme effort Every part of Randidly hurt Everything was throbbing or rather RandidlyÆs own attention was throbbing after it had gone through so much in the last ten minutes He was completely spent

But even though Randidly was exhausted that same pride that had let him endure through the Nether KingÆs final attack meant that his mind was buzzing as much as he needed it he couldnÆt find it in him to rest right now

If I was stronger Even though I know its a futile thought

His emerald eyes flickered open and stared mutely up at the swirling shadows above them With the obvious devastation caused by the Nether KingÆs attack that darkness conjured by the grand formation had grown fat and rich RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition couldnÆt currently give him a full report on how the entire battlefield had handled it but the answer hanging above him was pretty clear evidence

Thousands of people had died With more slowly expiring every second He could practically taste their hatred fear unwillingness and regret that spiraled upward The shadowy darkness seemed to be humming with it

Although he was too far away to know what the last words they exchanged were Randidly felt something change below Lady Iellaya raised her head and let out a keening wail of grief unlike anything that he had heard from the prideful figure before RandidlyÆs eyes unfocused as even he responded to the death of Lady IellayaÆs right hand

Abiodun the solemn companion The bloodthirsty executioner Her most trustworthy ally The first of the individuals to become part of her potential The first of the individuals to sacrifice themselves for Lady Iellaya

Just ten minutes ago he had been glaring at Randidly as his orders took him away from Lady IellayaÆs side and left Randidly in his place A little over four hours ago he had been insisting Randidly take a break

Is it better or worse that he made it back here before the end Randidly wondered

While RandidlyÆs thoughts wandered Lady Iellaya continued to cry With the Great Rift looming above them beyond the swirling shadow it was certainly a bleak noise that fit a bleak landscape The sound of crumbling stone and collapsing walls were the only other noises that reached RandidlyÆs ears The emotion of Lady IellayaÆs cry slowly drifted upward joining the chorus of thousands of others amongst that shadowy energy

Within the energy as the emotions began to flow through it some of that shadowy substance began to condense into small drops of liquid RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened immediately

Is it really that simple RandidlyÆs heavy focus slowly shifted from the condensing drops of liquid above to his own inner world Eventually his drifting consciousness flowed into the area of himself dominated by the true Nether cores Even though the Nether energy in himself was extremely dense he hadnÆt been able to condense another Nether core in a long time Something was missing Some glue that would hold the energy together at a density that couldnÆt be achieved otherwise

Energy and emotion Memories and connection The Nether at RandidlyÆs core began to slowly rotate Is that enough to become strong

Grimacing Lord Miln pressed his hand to his chest and injected some energy into the wound to knit the flesh back together Despite the fact there was no one currently with the capability to watch him he refused to even appear weak Then he glanced around considering the losses the Nether KingÆs last attack had inflicted

There were only a few figures nearby that were staggering to their feet but Lord Miln could sense that most of his elite soldiers were still alive underneath the crumbling debris They were mostly just stunned The presence of himself and Ileot Swacc had acted as a screen for most of them allowing them to receive a much less concentrated dose of the Nether KingÆs power

But the ground in the surrounding area was destabilized and levitating Basically the kilometer of broken land that had been between them and the Great Rift originally had been devoured and now they floated on one of a series of smaller stone islands that were directly before the maw of the Great Rift And as Lord Miln looked around the stones at the edge were slowly being corroded and devoured by the vast darkness in front of them

The situation on the larger battlefield was even bleaker It looked like the bulk of the Nether Beast forces had been annihilated by that terrible noise but the real problem was that in other areas the Great Rift had advanced even further inland The area in front of the Aether Headquarters was now a peninsula sticking out into the darkness

Lord MilnÆs gaze continued to slide sideways Losses elsewhere were staggering Aside from Lady IellayaÆs camp which had inexplicably seemed to endure the force directly about 50% of the Aether forces had been killed immediately by the attack And it was difficult to tell how many more would die within the next few minutes

Continuing to pivot on his foot Lord Miln spun until he saw the form of Ileot Swacc With a wince Lord Miln walked over to stand next to the crouching form of Ileot

The ancient being was glaring down at the broken corpse of the Randidly Ghosthound duplication that he had made IleotÆs fingers flexed and danced like a spider as though he was considering how to deal with this

Surely he cannot also bring someone back on the dead That is a poor choice even at the best of times Most people who pass beyond the veil are broken by the passage

Lord Miln grimaced and shook such thoughts from his head It seemed that both of them had underestimated the Nether King Who would have guessed it could still produce such power even when half of its strange formation had been destroyed

Lord Miln cleared his throat to be sure Ileot was aware of his presence and then asked about the corpse Will this be a problem I remember you mentioning how complicated karma could get if something happened to a duplication

No this is only a partial copy ThatÆs why itÆs so inferior Ileot shook his head in annoyance ThatÆs why I had to make a partial copy the karma gets too complicated when you fully duplicate someone who is still living Sometimes there are consequences if something happens to one or the other Safer to choose someone without any remaining karma in this life No itÆs just IÆm angry Angry things turned out this way If itÆs like this again dammit I cannot just What the hell did I miss

Lord Miln forced a chuckle Well does it really matter now does it The losses were worse than expected but it seems your attack drove the Nether King back As long as we spin this right to the Nexus council

The look on IleotÆs face stopped Lord Miln dead Ileot Swacc was sneering at him like he was a pitiful schoolboy You you are more of a fool than even I suspected

What For a second Lord Miln was shocked Then his bewilderment turned to anger Without me none of this would have happened It was your failure that brought us here not mine You were protected as requested

If not for you undoubtedly making some sort of poorly timed lockdown at the military checkpoint how could this have happened Ileot SwaccÆs eyes blazed His jabbed his finger violently forward It was your pointless actions that ruined

Lord Miln snorted and crossed his arms Lockdown At the military checkpoint Why the hell would I do that Do you think I have sway enough to do that without someone asking questions

Then Ileot blinked Then a frowned More to himself Ileot muttered is someone targeting me

IÆm going to overlook the implication that you were going to betray me Lord Miln turned away with a tight expression Instead letÆs figure

Lord Miln froze His entire existence was plunged in ice There was a figure standing at the edge of their small floating island its body shifting and rippling That terrible chill invaded every part of Lord MilnÆs body as his eyes struggled to comprehend what he was seeing

Ileot began to laugh Truly you are so so young Do you think that the strike I unleashed was enough to wound one of this caliber Sure we inflicted a fatal flaw in its formation but its rage has not abated It was always going to descend to this place to extract a personal price In a way it is karma

The Nether KingÆs two lighthouse like eyes beamed across the twenty or so meters between them That gaze seemed to pin Lord Miln to his spot The Nether KingÆs body was tall perhaps four meters tall It was also humanoid possessing two arms two legs a torso and a head As for its body it was made out of a strangely liquid material so that its flesh always seemed to be weeping down its own body dripping onto the ground and evaporating into a sizzling mist

In addition its form was constantly flickering dozens of visual projections twitching and sliding sideways around its body The effect was that the Nether King seemed to be in a constant state of motion even when it was entirely still and staring over at Lord Miln

I suppose this has all turned to shit Ileot announced IÆll be taking my leave

Onng

The Nether King didnÆt have a mouth to open its whole body simply vibrated This noise possessed none of the deadly power that its previous attacks had inflicted on the battlefront but there also was a strange sense of constriction that settled around them

Ileot barred his teeth toward the distant figure You think you can keep me here My caution does not mean I fear you I have been avoiding that fate for far too long to stumble here If you force my hand I will tear you to shreds

Ong

With steps that possessed a thousand cascading afterimages the Nether King began to walk forward

Chapter 1208

Vualla had her hands behind her back and slowly walked up wooden stairs not in control of her own body One of her hands was clenched on the woolen shirt of an unconscious body dragging it over the lip of every stair The concern in her chest was extremely active but she couldnÆt do anything about it

Why are you going to him Vualla asked There was no response She simply continued to mechanically climb up the wooden steps toward the ruined battlements of Lady IellayaÆs fort

The strange darkness was currently manipulating her movements and there was little she could do to stop it With no real other choices Vualla cast her mind backward thinking of the times when the darkness had been very vocal and all the things it had told her

As the battle had been winding up Vualla had stood nervously at the edges of Lord TerithÆs camp and listened to her commanding officer worriedly whine about what was occurring in front of them After RandidlyÆs stunning performance earlier at buying their ground troops time the Nether King had lost his patience and sent the wave of Nether Gatekeepers down to fight against them

Still it had been nothing they couldnÆt handle even if her commanding officer continued to act like the sky was falling Or at least thatÆs what Vualla told herself

DonÆt die on me Randidly Vualla had tapped her metal gauntlets lightly together as an offering to the god of luck DonÆt die before we can tear down this System together

At that time as Vualla thought those words she noticed the special activity that the darkness took quickly cutting through all the superfluous emotions that she felt and grasping at the core of her feelings She ignored these movements By this point she had grown rather numb to the strangeness of the darkness she suddenly carried

But when that darkness tasted her core emotions and then spoke to her Vualla had stilled This hadnÆt happened before

Do you wish to win this battle

Vualla had frozen The strange dreams had been one thing and suddenly dealing with the darkness while walking around was another But also now the darkness spoke to her

Without waiting for Vualla to respond the darkness asked another question How many foes can you handle at your current strength Enough to save these people

What Vualla began but already the strange darkness shifted forward in her core Vualla had felt the way it was pulling itself more tightly together Where before it seemed like a layer of heavy gauze that muffled her entire experience now it spiraled together to form a heavy iron lock that seemed to be directly binding VuallaÆs heart Small tendrils spread outward undulating hypnotically

The darkness had observed VuallaÆs reaction for a few more seconds It was a heavy moment likely where it was considering whether it would use those tendrils to control her Then it had spoken again its voice lined with curiosity You know how to take more power Absorb it from these departing souls You cannot deny that your own power is insufficient Or that this will provide you with more power

When the darkness had asked that question Vualla had felt for the first time that she had the slightest insight into the darkness When it had asked that question it revealed a gaping wound in its soul that had haunted it for a long time As it spoke it revealed itself Vualla could hear the true question that it was asking

Why did you not choose my path

It was like a switch was flipped and Vualla understood the truth The darkness was Vualla The other Vualla The Vualla who had never gotten up the courage to even try and go see her father before he had died The Vualla who had never had the pleasure of meeting Randidly Ghosthound The Vualla had learned to profit off the deaths of others The Vualla who so pursued power that she had let everything fall away To the point that she had no desire to use the formidable power she had gathered

Compared to achieving the power to prevent anything she didnÆt desire from occurring nothing mattered Nothing remained of the old Vualla who had cared enough about the world to seek this power

Rather than fear Vualla had felt empathy toward the darkness So she had answered honestly PeopleÆs lives matter Taking them sucking their energy away at that moment where they are about to die I donÆt know if I believe something happens after death But if these lives that we can feast on are truly over would we be able to take strength at all from them

VuallaÆs question had hung in the air The core of darkness with its undulating tentacles had considered it It is true It is much more likely that we are harvesting their energy immediately prior to their death But it is certain that they would soon die anyway Is there any meaning in allowing them to suffer for a few more seconds Especially when our power can save so many

Have you used that power to save so many Vualla had begun to walk forward ignoring the questioning darkness in her chest This situation the realization that she was connected to her past self and that it was such an empty cold thing had been unnerving But that didnÆt mean that the Nether Gatekeepers would wait for her to come to terms with that knowledge The enemy was here she couldnÆt waste time engaging in a philosophical discussion with the darkness

Yet even as Vualla tried to move forward the darkness moved and seized control of her body Perhaps perhaps you are correct My path brought me nothing It is why I am so weak right now So weak that I needed to feed on your emotions to try and balance out my own negativity to the point I could rediscover the willingness to move

The truth is you are strong Strong in a way I am not You donÆt need me

But I need you self that might have been I need you to make sure that a sad sad man isnÆt able to escape his own karma

It was at that moment that VuallaÆs consciousness had been shoved to the side by that brutal cold Those tendrils of darkness stretched outward and seized her limbs and joints It was jerky at first but soon the darkness had complete control of VuallaÆs body ignoring her desperate struggles to recover control Gritting her teeth Vualla could only watch as her body surged forward to meet four Nether Gatekeepers with stiff strides

Needless to say the initial conflict didnÆt go well Even if the darkness could suppress her movements it couldnÆt truly empower her body very much it basically just had control of VuallaÆs own strength So she had been quickly pushed back dealing with attacks from too many directions in a body poorly controlled by darkness

Perhaps out of habit to ease the burden the darkness had stretched a tendril out into the air slowly gathering the energy of death from this chaotic field of battle and pulling it toward itself And in that moment Vualla had drawn on every bit of strength that she could manage and smashed her Willpower against that stretching tendril Instantly Vualla knocked away the energy it had gathered It dispersed into the air returning to the swirling maelstrom of darkness

The darkness Vualla was so surprised by the interference that she let VuallaÆs body get smashed backward by an attack from a Nether Gatekeeper Why

I believe I made my feelings on this subject clear Vualla refused to budge

We will die otherwise Your Randidly Ghosthound will be quite sad to see you gone

Even so I IÆm willing to die for this Path I can be strong without stealing life from others

It is absolute nonsense to try and hold your own life hostage to threaten me I have taken control of your body already There is nothing you can do to stop me

Vualla couldnÆt resist the laugh that was bubbling up out of her chest It was your own words You need me Not the other way around I donÆt understand what is going on with you but I wonÆt just let you desecrate my choices This is my body

The darkness had considered that for several long moments While the discussion was going on darkness Vualla had been focused on defending herself but was largely smashed back and forth by the strikes of the Nether Gatekeepers Due to the pressure she had to constantly give up ground If she gave up much more some of the average Aether soldiers would become involved

And then the darkness spoke again with an answer that surprised Vualla

fine

VuallaÆs body seemed to shiver and then she had stepped forward and swung her fist This time Vualla could see how the darkness controlled every minute detail of her body True to her reputation as the most ingenious manipulator of energy in the history of the System the darkness Vualla created destruction just from the mechanical movements of her body When the punch smashed into the Nether Gatekeeper in front of her it was strong enough to knock the Nether Gatekeeper backward

Again the darkness controlled VuallaÆs body like a puppet but the direction and application of force was so close to perfection that suddenly VuallaÆs body seemed to have transformed into something that she didnÆt recognize Yet the darkness binding her body didnÆt reach for the death energy again it was content just using her movements

Perhaps VuallaÆs shock had been extremely obvious because the darkness answered her unanswered question It is not that I agree with your decision But we are one and the same bound by the same karma I can certainly respect your wishes while I use this body

Then the darkness had controlled Vualla to look upward Besides my existence is just one half of this The other portion of myself is already utilizing the grand formation that I created along the frontlines to accomplish our goals But you will be glad that she is because without that strength we would not stop Eliot

VuallaÆs body shook even through the darknessÆs control as Vualla heard the response and could sense the truth of it in their intimate connection Eliot my brother

Then a surge of sadness and confusion ran through Vualla even as she was aware of her body methodically beginning to push back the surrounding Nether Gatekeepers But heÆs did Ileot copy him too I should have remembered he already died long ago HeÆs already

With every movement the darkness grew more adept at controlling the force through Vualla’s body Her sharp image of physical destruction running through her muscles got stronger and stronger As it became more dominant in the fight against the Nether Gatekeepers the darkness hummed and seemed to be considering something

I suppose there is no harm in this truth Our brother Eliot truly did die all those years ago but not before discovering his true strength He was always a boy interested in fantasy did you remember Locked in his room devouring books Until the day he was forced to follow in his brothersÆ footsteps and fight on the frontlines There at the moment of his death his desires morphed into an extremely twisted image With the full realization that he would die he gave himself another chance he duplicated his life and became Ileot

He copied himself Vualla frowned Then why did he copy me now And why didnÆt he say anything And these other copies

The darkness had shaken itself softly You are missing the terrible symmetry of his power Eliot and Ileot Swacc after him never simply duplicated people Ileot SwaccÆs game is duplicating entire worlds

Chapter 1209

Ileot SwaccÆs game is duplicating entire worlds

Slowly that statement from the darkness Vualla had percolated through VuallaÆs drifting consciousness It was a strange sort of relaxation to slowly unpack that statement as she had been lulled by the rhythmic motions of her own body fighting the Nether Gatekeepers Ileot Swacc duplicates worlds Then is this world

Amusement flowed out of the darkness as it pulled her limbs this way and that way Are you asking if this world is a duplication a dream No that line of thought means you both over and underestimate what Ileot can accomplish He cannot create true worlds After all he is just one man our brother but you should not underestimate what one individual can accomplish Because his ability makes very real people that have inhabited his projections

So all this that has happened meeting Randidly having the Nether King invade Vualla had released a sigh she hadnÆt known she was holding A sense of relief washed over her If all this had ended up being just a dream Her understanding of her current situation was tenuous enough as it was

All real

Despite the fact that the darkness Vualla had been spending a portion of her attention speaking it didnÆt seem to affect her ability to fight against the Nether Gatekeepers at all If anything the darkness was improving with every single movement constantly refining her ability to utilize VuallaÆs body to its fullest potential Always one step sharper with her movements always one iota more powerful with her punches The explosiveness and violence of her attacks was always improving The progress was so staggering that Vualla couldnÆt help but split her focus between the explanation that the darkness was giving and the deft way it manipulated VuallaÆs bodyÆs power

As the surrounding Nether Gatekeepers began to warily regard Vualla the darkness had spoken again Heh I hope your young boy will not follow the Path of your brother But IleotÆs ability seizes onto the origin of some individualÆs karma and uses that to create a projection of the world as it was for them at the moment of karma he selects He splits a thread of karma in two Because the source for the whole ability is that thread of karma the process of creating a single duplication inevitably creates more

Calling the karma he uses a thread is a misnomer but there simply isnÆt a better word Because it is truly more of a net than a simple thread The karma of one being is tightly tied into another endlessly they could not exist separately Even if his original intent was only to create a separate life for himself I think it is safe to say that Ileot cannot avoid the extras he creates

As he has grown more adept at his ability he has improved immensely in how wide of a world he can use as a playground to influence the split karma and change the fate of the duplication from what it originally was He has no small amount of influence in the projections he creates By adding elements to these projection world he can create duplications that are more powerful or weaker or loyal to him He has been using that ability desperately for his entire existence in order to survive

Her physical bodyÆs dominance over the surrounding Nether Gatekeepers had grown almost casual at this point When she moved the Nether Gatekeepers could only hastily stumble backward Her superiority only improved when one of the Nether Gatekeeper that was fighting her had been pulled over to help assist against the monstrous Lady Iellaya leaving shadow Vualla plenty of time and space to refine her strange new image

It added a strangely surreal feeling to the experience of disembodiment Vualla was going through First the strange assertions of the darkness manipulating her body Second the leisurely combat with Nether Gatekeepers a foe that Vualla had struggled so long against

Yet Vualla hadnÆt minded it had given her a great opportunity to slowly grow familiar enough with the image the darkness utilized so she could attempt to use it herself later

Desperately Vualla asked Why desperately Honestly that ability seems extremely powerful

It truly is One of the most powerful abilities in the Nexus but it was only activated under dire circumstances and exercised recklessly on the first occasion Which has left him struggling to pay the price of his first use to this day Suddenly the darkness had seemed extremely tired Its tight hold over VuallaÆs body had relaxed Vualla noticed but didnÆt attempt to try and seize control back After all it was clear she would be able to obtain more information as from this version of herself if she played meek Better to take things slow and only move when it was necessary

Humming the darkness continued to speak to her Duplicating karma it is something that should not be done casually especially when the original karma thread is present in the world Because karma is sensitive Two of the same strands of karma existing means that they will inevitably interact They cannot be kept apart they will eventually be one as they were in the beginning before IleotÆs ability split them That is karma

if IÆm being honest I donÆt quite understand karma Vualla had responded carefully

The darkness locking her heart and controlling her body had pulsed with amusement Few do Least of all Ileot or else he would not have such difficulty escaping his own karma Or rather he would not have allowed his karma to become so knotted in the first place Karma is the set of intangible things that people would look at when something tragic happens in your life to determine blame Those things will enable them to say it is deservedÆ or it is undeservedÆ when referring to your tragedy Karma is the cycle of sowing and reaping at their proper times It is what is present when people make sense of patterns and symbols It can be considered most broadly to be a universal set of principles inelegantly perceived by humans

It is the most powerful force in the universe Yet the paradox is that you could very easily live your entire life without ever even guessing at its existence It is a thing that is invisible if you do not look for it And sometimes it is invisible even if you seek it your entire existence

Such might be your karma

Vualla had thought at that moment slightly sourly that the darkness hadnÆt provided a very helpful answer to what karma actually was But she could sense the general shape from the circular explanation that the darkness provided Karma was a set of universal rules for how things can and would be connected

A broad answer but one would have to do for now So Vualla had shifted her focus back onto the problem at hand Then what is the karma of Ileot that you were talking about The karma he is trying to escape

A good question A tragic karma The darkness had casually used one of VuallaÆs fists to crack open the carapace of a Nether Gatekeeper in front of her For after Eliot duplicated his life and created Ileot the two connected karmas that had taken different Paths touched and resonated And then in the seconds after their connection had been established the injury that had driven him to such lengths that he had discovered his power finally won Eliot died on that battlefield In fact it was right here in this place during an attack by a Nether King several thousand years ago

For a portion of the newly connected karma to die suddenly that destiny of death became almost inescapable for Ileot It is why he has brought us all back here to forcefully overcome his own destiny with all the original players present

While Vualla mulled that over the darkness continued to speak Yet in his millennia of skulking around and avoiding facing his karma Ileot certainly has become quite the plotter He seems to have hoped to gather several chess pieces at once to fight against his destiny

For example your boy Randidly was another possible future resource his unique physique giving Ileot some inspiration on how to escape his Fate Meanwhile he was also utilizing the duplicated version of us for energy well it might have just been an added benefit A well manipulated advantage based on the necessary evil of recreating a portion of the battlefield where he died So that he can finally escape his own death permanently

Both of them had fallen into thoughtful silence after that Vualla partially because she had been increasingly focused on familiarizing herself with the image the darkness used to imbue her own body with power the darkness because it had its own thoughts But also Vualla was still having some difficulty understanding the situation around Ileot Meanwhile the rather relaxing honing of the image continued as the darkness had landed blow after blow on the increasingly miserable Nether Gatekeepers

Until to VuallaÆs surprise the darkness broke the silence

I have missed this The easy pleasure of possessing a body It is enjoyable

Feeling rather foolish Vualla had responded Are you dead A vestige of your soul left in the System Or even karma

The darkness had laughed Ha No IÆm very much alive Although barely anyone would know it anymore My experiments with the imitation Nether Cores well it certainly advanced the study of power utilization by generations But it had a great cost The energies didnÆt mix well inside of me Bit by bit my senses were numbed and muffled by the imitation Nether My ability to move fell away Yet I had already given so much up for power and knowledge it seemed like a small thing to give up my body Eventually I was nothing more than a statue inside and out I can still remember that feeling That deep weight of pointlessness that smothered me

My existence was only meaningful because I had power and could continue to learn But as I cashed in even my ability to learn for power eventually all that was left was the emptiness So I sought oblivion in myself while alive letting everything about me slowly atrophy and vanish

VuallaÆs hand had snaked outward seizing a Nether Gatekeeper by the neck With a brutally sharp twist she cracked the neck and then tossed the lulling body into the path of another Nether Gatekeeper Then she stepped forward and began to brutalize a third Nether Gatekeeper that got isolated while the others struggled

I honestly cannot even remember why I was so depressed It was like well You are no doubt uninterested in my own struggles And in fact EliotÆs certainty that I had died is the only reason that he was willing to duplicate his family once more As he found with himself duplicating karma while another thread of it is still active in the world can have complex side effects Suddenly there are too many factors present in one individual

In fact I would likely still be sleeping in that empty oblivion if our connection didnÆt allow some portion of your life and emotions to flow into me slowly waking me up slowly reminding myself that life isnÆt pointless It was welcome

While Vualla appreciated learning more she was slowly becoming frustrated with the spoon feeding arrangement when the answers that the darkness provided created even more questions in her mind than they answered But Vualla did her best to control her rising temper when she had spoken again But what I donÆt understand is why you are here trying to stop him HeÆs our brother right

For the first time in a while the darknessÆ grip on Vualla heart tightened Even in the middle of the fight the darkness twisted VuallaÆs head to look upward to the swirling and strange darkness that slowly wafted up out of corpses and became a part of the grand array such is our karma

Then the darkness had gone silent Vualla had attempted to ask additional questions but the darkness largely ignored her So Vualla had simply focused on watching how the darkness used her body and slowly began to appreciate the principles of energy conservation contained within its movements She did her best to ignore the ominous words the darkness had said before it had gone silent

So she had watched as her body had vanquished the foes in front of Commander TerithÆs camp and the battle had focused on Lady Iellaya

Vualla had also been forced to endure as the shadow used her mouth to speak to Randidly and request that he make her new gauntlets that were heavier than the masterwork pieces that her father had gifter to Vualla for her fifteenth birthday And of course Randidly had looked at her with his serious emerald eyes and nodded Of course he could do that Because he was Randidly Ghosthound

There had been a moment when Randidly had kissed her lightly on the lips and the darkness was shocked by the intimacy of that touch that Vualla had pressed forward and ripped her body back from this strange other self She had tried to warn Randidly that the other Vualla was controlling her body but very swiftly the darkness had recovered from its shock and knocked VuallaÆs consciousness back again

After Randidly had left the darkness raised VuallaÆs fingers and pressed them against her lips That that might have been my first kiss Took me a bit by surprise

Then Vualla had felt her own mouth twist into a crooked grin DonÆt be a sore loser Let me have my fun for a while longer

Chapter 1210

Vualla had also watched quite a bit shocked as somehow the darkness was able to use her body to stall out the oppressive Nether Heralds for several seconds It was clear that the darkness struggled with the task but still It had made VuallaÆs heart flutter With the darkness controlling her body she had wielded power

If I train can I really reach this amount of strength just by relying on my body

Perhaps It still feels wasteful There are less arduous Paths

I never cared how difficult the Path would be Just that it was the one that I picked

Because the truth was that after Vualla had so staunchly stopped the darkness from reaching for the death energy that was extremely prevalent on the battlefield the darkness had respected her wishes It had only used its vast experience to develop a workable image that swiftly improved VuallaÆs fighting strength It hadnÆt even taken that long for the darkness to come up with something extremely potent

In a way it was like the darkness was validating that VuallaÆs Path could progress forward The dreams she had finally found the determination to walk toward And honestly that knowledge might even be worth losing control of her body for a short while

Of course that acceptance of the situation quickly fled as Vualla watched in horror as the darkness used her body to escape to the back line by absorbing one of the Nether HeraldÆs blows and then ambush Abiodun and the representative of the Xyrt Brigade in an absolute bloodbath That image that Vualla had previously so admired became a sharp blade that the darkness Vualla used to butcher them within seconds

With three strikes Vualla had knocked Abiodun into a state of complete helplessness and knocked the Xyrt Brigade member into the ground Yet the darkness didnÆt stop there It was only after thoroughly beating the representative into submission that the darkness had opened VuallaÆs mouth and said So you are working with Ileot Swacc to slay the Nether King correct But that cannot happen It was never meant to end that way

Blood dripped slowly down the heavy gauntlets that Randidly had made for her while the darkness waited for an answer Perhaps the most annoying part was that the darkness had been right using heavier gauntlets made expressing the image even more effective

The representativeÆs eyes which were partially swollen shut at this point widened what If you know that why are you interfering There is a Xyrt Brigade Strike Team waiting for my signal A full thirty experts that will quickly realize something is wrong when they donÆt hear from me They will slaughter you if they find out the truth Believe me your life will be a living hell if you donÆt

IÆve carried hell in my chest for three thousand two hundred and ninety years Vualla had said dully Her tone was low and gravelly Then the darkness had tilted her head to the side as it slipped a hand out of one of the gauntlets That hand went to the Xyrt Brigade memberÆs neck Any last words

It isnÆt too late The representative had said clearly in a panic His eyes were brown They flicked side to side searching for something anything The white portions of his eyes were extremely large His pupils had dilated as his searching gaze found nothing Licking his lips he had tried and failed to speak several times The words kept getting stuck in his throat as the darkness urged VuallaÆs hand to tighten

Vualla had watched the realization form in his eyes that he was going to die I swear I wonÆt report you if you just if you just

The darkness had felt no pity VuallaÆs body had ripped off the manÆs head The sensation had felt so easy that even Vualla was shocked that the rumored Xyrt Brigade only amounted to this

Then she had been forced to watch as a different heavier darkness forced its way into AbiodunÆs body

Vualla had quickly become furious With blood dripping wet and warm down over her bodyÆs hands her plan to bide her time went out the window So is the other version of you now doing the same thing you are doing to me Is all of this really necessary The body snatching The killing Why do you want to make so sure that Eliot dies

To VuallaÆs surprise she felt guilt radiating out of the darkness Its thin tendrils that manipulated her limbs seemed to tremble and sigh as they stood before that wafting darkness that now forced itself down AbiodunÆs throat I wish it were not the case But you can rest assured that my other half will not control AbiodunÆs body as I have been forced to do with you That is not her way She will simply amplify certain portions of himself that are already there

VuallaÆs attention sharpened with fury And after that What will happen to him

Few beings survive carrying my darkness for long It is The darkness in VuallaÆs chest hesitated

Vualla snorted derisively Let me guess it is karma

The darkness hadnÆt bothered to respond and the two simply watched AbiodunÆs struggles against the darkness His hands grabbed at his own neck then he had tried to cover his eyes and ears with his palms and then finally he just spasmed His whole body began to seize as an internal struggle ripped through him After a while the jerky movements calmed down but Vualla couldnÆt forget the terrible sense of dread that began building as she watched AbiodunÆs struggles Her mind drifted back to the strange phrase that the darkness had used

Few beings survive carrying my darkness for long

So Vualla had watched as Abidoun blearily struggled to his feet and began to mutter to himself She listened to his rough voice as he wondered aloud why Lady Iellaya didnÆt need him anymore Then she followed some distance behind as he began to hurry back to his QueenÆs side And Vualla felt only a terrible pity that was tinged with guilt wafting out of the darkness that controlled her

However as the Nether King began to send out his sonorous attacks across the frontlines the darkness Vualla pulled her body away speeding it along the supply track toward the supply headquarters She passed by many individuals who had collapsed and were foaming at the mouth as they struggled to endure the Nether KingÆs attacks

Even Vualla herself was profoundly uncomfortable as wave after wave of force blasted outward from the Nether King grinding at some vital part of herself Yet very quickly she had arrived over a familiar collapsed form

Eliot Vualla had blinked Confused she had asked the darkness But why are you saving this duplication I thought

EliotÆs destiny is already determined he cannot escape it The darkness used VuallaÆs body to gently pick the collapsed Eliot off of the ground Her image wafted outward to protect him from the worst of the Nether KingÆs damage But even so this man is an innocent He is still the one who would make a terrible mistake in order to survive if he had the chance but he has not made the mistake yet So He is still my brother

Which was why at this current moment the darkness controlled VuallaÆs body to drag EliotÆs unconscious form up the stairs Below Vualla could sense Lady Iellaya going to AbiodunÆs side and keening over his feeble form She could practically feel the life slipping away from his body Yet VuallaÆs true attention was drawn upward toward their destination

VuallaÆs consciousness slowly grew solemn as the ascended the wobbling wooden steps of Lady IellayaÆs fort why are we walking up here

After all they were heading right toward Randidly She could feel the bridge of warmth between them now as she was within twenty meters of his body Even being this near to him seemed to allow a strange flow of energy to pass between them It might be her imagination but Vualla believed that she was slowly becoming stronger because of that flow Every step up on those stairs that had been completely strained by the attack from the Nether King meant another pulse of warmth flowed into Vualla

Hopefully those pulses would make her strong enough to once more take control of her body if necessary

Yet the darkness that manipulated her like a puppet seemed amused by her worry Relax I wish no harm to come to your boy In fact we owe him much Your brush with him is what set you on another Path than ours And also his well we shall go investigate the situation I suspect that something extremely interesting is happening to that boy right now

What Vualla hissed in confusion But the darkness did not answer It simply continued to walk forward carrying her up the wooden stairs to the portion of the battlements where Randidly was laying

Yet when Vualla laid her eyes on Randidly she couldnÆt help but be shocked He lay on the warped and cracked battlements which had suffered dearly under the attacks of the Nether King The area had sustained so much damage that the floor underneath Randidly was no longer level But the real shock was the strange flow of every around Randidly There was a darkly shimmering veil cast across Randidly spreading out about a meter around his figure It was a thin thing that seemed almost aflame as it rippled slowly above him In addition two hovering white lights were floating above RandidlyÆs chest slowly growing brighter

And it was only due to that veil pressing away other energies and protecting those two warm lights above his chest that Vualla realized how tainted with darkness the surrounding air That veil was like a strange shadow edged soap bubble that kept him pure

Fascinating The darkness controlled Vualla to walk slowly and stand above Randidly With a flick of VuallaÆs finger it sent a blast of force outward to test the shimmering veil When the force impacted it the veil was warped slightly but soon snapped back to its original shape in a surge of fiery shadows Next Vualla waved her hand and caused and even larger flaw to emerge but it quickly recovered with an even more impressive display of energy from the veil

It was only as Randidly stirred that the darkness lowered VuallaÆs arm IÆve never seen anything like this An exterior barrier of Nether but within that he is currently refining Aether into a liquid form He clearly possesses an Aether Tithe of a Citizen in the Nexus Yet his energy is so pure where does it come from

Yet that wasnÆt had VuallaÆs attention In her shock she could resist blurting out her first instinct He feels like a Nether Gatekeeper

The dense Nether that fed into the bubble around Randidly shimmered playfully belying how dangerous it was Hiding how much Vualla had fought tooth and nail to damage barriers almost exactly like this in the past The more Vualla looked the more she could see how the Aether and Nether seemed to be naturally flowing into each other There was no rejection The two energies were moving as one as Randidly slept fitfully

Unfortunately we have no more time to waste Karma waits for no one But I hope for his and your sake that your boy finishes this transformation before its too late Then the darkness manipulated VuallaÆs body to look down over the edge to Lady IellayaÆs form who held the limp Abiodun in her arms Behind her back energy from the sea of darkness gathered by the grand formation in the sky was slowly gathering forming two enormous black wings that attached to her back Those vast wings began to beat very slowly as Lady Iellaya let AbiodunÆs body drop to the ground and then turned forward toward the Great Rift

Then the darkness insider his body had Vualla follow Lady IellayaÆs gaze toward the frantic battle between the Nether King and Ileot Swacc IÆm sorry for what is about to happen But Lady IellayaÆs assistance will not be enough It has to be you

Vualla felt something heavy settle into place in her stomach What do you need me to do

Chapter 1211

Lady Iellaya couldnÆt control her own mouth Despite the fact that she made serious efforts to close it again and again as she drifted down from the battlements to the ground below it remained open Her will seemed to be split into two portions the primal mind and the thinking mind She continued to release a mixture of shock and terrible grief in the form of a keening wail The primal mind was slowly collapsing as she looked at AbiodunÆs body Landing on the ground she took several staggering steps forward to his side

There had been a moment when the Nether King attacked that Lady Iellaya had felt a bit of existential dread even while relying on Randidly Ghosthound to take care of some of the load they had been very close to being overwhelmed by that attack They simply werenÆt the same tier of existence as the Nether King Some quick calculations had informed her that even with RandidlyÆs impressive resilience it would not be enough

They would be overwhelmed They would die

Yet at that moment where the Great Rift was rolling swiftly forward and the stone ground beneath them was cracking there had been an inexplicable sense of comfort that touched upon Lady Iellaya The weirdest certainty that everything would be okay had been there when she needed it With that certainty she had found the resolve to continue Her image had held against the Nether King

Now it was clear that the sudden bit of space she had sensed wasnÆt a coincidence Someone had forcibly inserted their body in order to buy a little bit of time for her camp Even as that terrible noise ground against her senses she had noticed the slight effect that individual had

And who else could it have been but Abiodun The man who had been her first and strongest supporter The man who she had ages ago told that she would conquer the world for him And he had believed her The man who would know when he needed more than anyone else could ever hope to rival

Why did I send you away Why didnÆt I think about your safety when the Nether KingÆs attack came That primal mind inside of Lady Iellaya continued breaking as she arrived at his side and kneeled beside him His stony exterior was cracked revealing internal organs that were reduced to a soup like mixture With trembling hands she reached down to lift him up off the cracked ground The Great Rift loomed ominously above them shedding no light on their final moment together

AbiodunÆs eyelids fluttered Of course Lady Iellaya knew why she had not thought about Abiodun in those chaotic moments He should have been away from the battlefield and retrieving the representative of the Xyrt Brigade There had been so much distance to cover to fulfill the important mission that would finally give her an advantage over Lord Miln So why was he here

Yet before Lady Iellaya could ask the question Abiodun stirred again Even as his stone body cracked and oozed far too much blood for Lady Iellaya to doubt how this would end his eyes focused immediately on her A smile slowly stretched across his face revealing shattered teeth IÆm glad I made it back ItÆs selfish but even if you no longer need me by your side I wanted to see you At least for me you always were

Of course I still need you Lady Iellaya leaned forward the words tumbling out of her throat and across her tongue faster than she could speak them Her hands were trembling as her instincts screamed for her to tightly grip hip yet she forcefully restrained herself from worsening his wounds You were always my

If you had truly needed me you wouldnÆt have sent me away Abiodun spoke with a gentle bleakness that left Lady Iellaya unable to reply There was a dark finality there that was so large that Lady Iellaya didnÆt dare to face it Not when her emotions were already so chaotic And sure she had grown in strength recently and she had sacrificed so much to reach this point but that didnÆt mean that she didnÆt need him

Your wounds Lady Iellaya licked her lips If Randidly comes down quickly

Even now you cannot lie to me my Queen That strange bleak smile remained on AbiodunÆs face It filled her will dread

Lady Iellaya pressed her lips together and looked at AbiodunÆs broken limbs It was honestly a miracle that he had managed to receive only these injuries after enduring the Nether KingÆs attack It was because his body could only block a small portion and hadnÆt attempted to spread itself out and cover an entire fort like they had Yet that small portion became just enough for them to endure

And the thought of losing Abiodun filled Lady Iellaya with fear

At the same time another part of Lady Iellaya whispered that what she was feeling now was just sentimentality With her current power how could Abiodun truly be of use to her Losing him would actually change very little of her capability

Some things arenÆt all about capability Lady Iellaya bit her lip hard enough that she tasted the coppery tang of her blood ItÆs about the promise I made to the people who follow me And this is a failure I failed to protect my greatest supporter

As she was engaged in this inner struggle Abiodun spoke again yes exactly You see it too How your future should be much brighter than this You need to move on from me But still My Queen Hey do you remember that first day we met

There were tears in Lady IellayaÆs eyes This couldnÆt be happening She was sobbing her voice once more slipping out of her mouth before she could control it So she could only nod to AbiodunÆs question

So many lives had been sacrificed to raise Lady Iellaya while her world was in the vast gap of time of the Third Calamity where energy was extremely difficult to find At some point there werenÆt enough villagers to sustain her any longer As a teenager she had led her few remaining tribe members in a crusade against AbiodunÆs tribe in order to plunder enough energy to grow

It had been a civil affair all things considered They had picked champions It was simply the way of there world All understood this If they did not fight both would die At least they would save one village So the fourteen year old Iellaya had stood opposite a forty six year old Abiodun in a circular sand arena Right before the match started Iellaya had perfunctorily made attempts to press her unruly feathers down so they didnÆt stick up in every direction

Abiodun had smirked

They had fought without pulling their punches Their blows were aimed to maim and tear

Iellaya had won even though she was half as tall and one tenth as heavy as Abiodun Abiodun had laid injured in a much less serious way than he was now and had looked up in wonder at this feathered young girl Then he opened his mouth to speak

You what are your plans

IÆm going to conquer the world obviously

A simple exchange Immediately afterward Abiodun had pledged himself to her and teenager Iellaya had used the techniques she had learned from her parents to make AbiodunÆs potential a part of her own

Of course I remember Lady Iellaya sighed She wanted to rub the tears from her cheeks but she didnÆt dare take her hands away from AbiodunÆs shoulders He seemed so frail If she let go for even a second he would vanish

I couldnÆt fulfill my promise but that doesnÆt mean you canÆt still fulfill yours AbiodunÆs eyes closed Conquer it all my Queen If itÆs you then definitely

Abiodun died in Lady IellayaÆs arms and she was thinking about his promise he made that night It was later after he had donated his potential to her and Abiodun gave her the maps his tribe had gathered on the movements of surrounding groups He had called her Lady Iellaya for the first time and she had paused and rubbed her chin while looking down at the spread out maps with a furrowed brow

By the way Abiodun how big is the world

For a second he had stared at her Then he had laughed and laughed and laughed slapping his hand against his knee Seemingly helpless he had eventually answered while still chuckling big But I promise that IÆll show it to you IÆll lead you forward and you will conquer it Until there is nothing that can threaten you

Threaten US Abiodun We are one now after all

A part of her died as Abiodun died That was the promise they made That was the price she now paid

When Lady Iellaya lowered AbiodunÆs body to the ground she had gone silent her wail had finally stopped Not because of her own Willpower finally managing to overpower her grief but because she now felt like she was being strangled by a vast guilt that pressed warm and cloying against her windpipe A strange sense of dark certainty filled her growing stronger with every breath she took

This is my fault Lady Iellaya managed to whisper That much was immediately clear She had felt invincible after Randidly had made the change to her Class The power of her image had improved so much that she had gotten sloppy with her attention to detail She fought aggressively with no thought on how dangerous her actions were Despite Lord MilnÆs obvious confidence Lady Iellaya had taken no precautions against his arrogant certainty

Abiodun had paid the price for that mistake

Now her greatest pillar of support was gone

The guilt seemed to be eating at the edges of her brain slowly stealing away the brain cells that could think about anything but any of the numerous ways that Lady Iellaya could have prevented this if she had just pulled her head out of her own ass The precautions that she could have taken came easily to her now Even though it was too late and punishing herself accomplished nothing that vast smothering guilt seemed to want her to simply sit and think over and over again what she could have done differently

It wanted her to simply live in that guilt never moving from this spot allowing the world to pass her by as she continued to mourn Perhaps until the moment she found release in the embrace of death

Yet the bright noises and impacts from the battle happening over in front of Aether Headquarters slowly drew Lady IellayaÆs gaze upward With a grim detachment she forced her body to stand Her Perception shot forward examining the distant battlefield

Ultimately she was at fault for failing to realize the danger She had been drunk on her newfound power and had ignored the risks Yet the architect of this disaster still was walking around fighting against Nether Heralds across the battlefield Lord Miln the Supreme Commander who cared so little for his subordinates that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of the whole battlefront in order to achieve the merits he desperately craved

I might be just as merit obsessed as you Lady Iellaya bared her teeth and allowed her rage to rapidly build Even without even using her image she felt like she current possessed titanicly large wings that could drown the world in darkness Her rage urged her to do it But I can learn to be better You it is clear itÆs too late for you Thank you for this lesson YouÆre welcome for me ensuring that you donÆt ever get the chance to play with the lives of others again

Lady Iellaya slowly began to walk forward with heavy steps In her numbed and grieving state she didnÆt much pay attention to the world around her But even she couldnÆt miss the darkness swirling around her Or the fact that it felt like something was attached to her back and she was steadily dragging it forward to that battlefield

It was shaped like wings but Lady Iellaya knew that she was carrying a blade She continued forward without looking back

Chapter 1212

Ileot Swacc barred his teeth and suppressed a curse as he was forced to use his arms to defend against one of the Nether KingÆs quick attacks Bad enough that it could utilize its sound wave attacks to blast him from across the rapidly disintegrating stone island on which they fought Even worse was the being forced to endure that terrible resonance when their blows crossed

His skin against the weird liquid Nether was the perfect conduit for its attacks

As a gleaming and sparkling orb of power condensed in IleotÆs right hand his left block the enormous dripping arm of the Nether King that whipped toward him IleotÆs image steadied his physical body in the face of the Nether King but that terrible dissonance that formed the core of the Nether King spilled over into Ileot in that brief second of contact

His organs trembled and tightened His skin in the area surrounding the contact point quickly became inflamed then ripped like wax paper

All the emotions that animated the Nether King all of the violent desires and swirling connections were a furious cacophony that drove the body forward like an engine Then veins in IleotÆs left arm bulged outward as he strained to endure the slow spread of that resonance through his limbs Surging forward the Nether King raised its other arm to strike from the side The ground beneath its feat visibly cracked and disintegrated as it charged forward

It was disaster incarnate

Luckily Ileot managed to unleash another eye catching blast of white lightning and smash the Nether King in the chest It stumbled backward allowing Ileot to tear his arm away and take a few steadying steps to the side With his high base Stats IleotÆs flesh quickly mended But this was still probing sort of engagement nether Ileot nor the Nether King had truly made any all out attempts to kill the other as of yet

The Nether KingÆs liquid Nether body splashed to the side from the impact and revealed a gleaming core of energy but the surrounding body quickly began to ooze back downward Within a moment the vulnerable core was covered once more Ileot attempted to gather more of his image into a strike but a Nether Herald lashed out at Ileot from the side in a sharply timed ambush

Snorting Ileot spun around the Nether HeraldÆs blow and pressed a palm to the Nether HeraldÆs side Unlike the Nether King these Heralds were much easier to get close to and sustain contact with With that contact Ileot smashed his image of a projected world directly against the HeraldÆs core It staggered backward reeling from the weight that a worldÆs worth of details could carry

But before Ileot could finish it off the Nether King was back

Do you think IÆm afraid of you Ileot spat out as he unleashed two more beams of brilliant energy to press the Nether King backward But even as he spoke a tremor ran through his voice One that Ileot couldnÆt ignore His eyes narrowed in hatred

The situation was not good He couldnÆt inflict significant damage on this foe unless he knocked away the Nether KingÆs liquid exterior but he was only willing to do that if he had the opportunity to strike a truly decisive blow immediately afterward And as long as the two Nether Heralds that kept ambushing him wouldnÆt let Ileot gather that sort of momentum that was impossible

Because the truth was that the liquid exterior of the Nether King served two roles it protected itself from outside interference with its core but it also greatly weakened the coreÆs offensive power That terrible height of emotion that reverberated outward was the true core and strength of a Nether King Casually engaging that wasnÆt something that Ileot was willing to risk

Ileot cast a hateful glance to the side where Lord Miln was currently struggling He wished to blame Lord Miln for failing to keep the Nether HeraldÆs off of him but the truth was that Lord Miln was contributing by barely holding his own fighting against four Nether Heralds One of them was crippled by Lady IellayaÆs earlier actions but still The feat was impressive enough that even a desperate Ileot wasnÆt willing to release any cutting remarks

But if itÆs like this damnit Why did it turn out like this

Lightning quick the Nether King kicked upward with one of its tree trunk wide legs Ileot scrambled sideways but the Nether King spun like a top and brought one of its arms crashing sideways toward him Although the Nether King had started off slow it was clear that it was gradually becoming familiar with the body it needed to control as it descended into an area controlled by Aether As a result the force of its movements was quickly reaching the point that the air seemed to rip like paper when it moved

This blow was another one that Ileot couldnÆt dodge but he saw how the two Nether Heralds were waiting for him to commit to blocking so they could strike at his back Furious Ileot raised his head and unleashed a piercing scream White lightning blasted outward in a forking nova slowing the Nether King slightly but sending the two Nether Heralds stumbling back With a little bit of space Ileot raised both hands and met the ominous strike of the Nether King

The impact shook the air and jarred Ileot The ground beneath his feet fractured as some of that horrible noise was transferred through his body into the orange stone beneath him All the hate and rage that the Nether King felt became a physical sensation in IleotÆs spine that was near agonizing Yet this time IleotÆs fingers couldnÆt help but tighten on the mucous y limb that sent such force outward This was his fated foe Despite the many visual variations that radiated outward IleotÆs eyes were fixed on the Nether KingÆs blank face and bright eyes

By this point it was clear that the Xyrt Brigade Strike Team he had arranged was not arriving It was incredibly frustrating but Ileot had to admit that something was going wrong some force that he didnÆt understand was present on the battlefield Surely it wasnÆt just that they had been surprised by the suddenness of the Nether KingÆs assault right

Would it be worth it to buy another ten minutes’ worth of time to see if they arrived late

DO YOU THINK I FEAR YOU Ileot bellowed looking his worst fear that he had avoided for his entire existence full in the face He did not blink He could feel his blood pounding in his eyes Breathing heavily Ileot prepared to mobilize the last bit of liquid Aether that he had painstakingly refined No matter if things had gone off the rails Ileot refused to allow this chance to slip through his grasp If he didnÆt have an opening he could make one Because he was Ileot Swacc the Duplicator

In the Nexus he was respected And for good reason He had three thousand years’ worth of power and influence at his back

Yet Ileot couldnÆt escape the truth that his if had been a life of fear that Ileot had lived for the past three thousand years Growing stronger avoiding the frontlines enduring the increasingly frequent nightmares that forced him to relive the experience of his original body dying right before his eyes Ileot hadnÆt put much stock in karma but he couldnÆt deny that he had at least a terrible mental scar from the experience No matter how he attempted to run away his feet always seemed to lead him back toward that moment where he had died

It happened twice in the past where he had gone to investigate some matter for the Nexus and found a Nether King inexplicably there around the site of the investigation Both times he had panicked and fled immediately But afterward Ileot resolved to not let it happen a third time So he had begun to make preparations to face this strange complex that he possessed

He had refined his ability to create larger projection worlds and bring more duplications out from them into the real world He had made a deal with Lord Miln and obtained enough Aether to create the largest world he had ever attempted He had even involved other plots planning to obtain the body of Randidly Ghosthound so he could study the unique physique he possessed and gain any small advantage for the final confrontation

Most of all Ileot had allowed himself the indulgence of spending time with the projection of his deceased sister the one for whom he had sacrificed everything in the past

With the grand projection he had created with Lord MilnÆs Aether Ileot Swacc created duplications of both the Nether forces and Aether forces from the battlefield that died He allowed the Nether forces to freely join the other Nether but he had kept the Aether forces separate to use them when he needed them And then Ileot Swacc had then used the Nether forces that had been a part of the projection as a way to locate a Nether Prince a target that would definitively bring the ire of the Nether King toward their location

Then when the Nether King attacked he had severed the protection he offered the duplications and they were forced to face the truth that they were copies of individuals who had already died An existential dread that Ileot knew all too well Even the Nether forces had reacted poorly opening up a path for them to move forward and strike at the Nether King directly

I was so careful So why

The longer that IleotÆs hands gripped the Nether KingÆs arm the more of that vast emotion made terrible noise that he was forced to endure Once more his skin ripped and his veins bulged Yet some portion of IleotÆs good sense had been ripped away by the budding fear and heady excitement he felt as he forced himself to face his long held fear No matter what strange complication had occurred this was the day that he finally escaped this weakness If he could slay this Nether King

The Nether Heralds were surging forward clearly sensing the powerful energy that was moving within Ileot to strike at their King But it was too late Ileot had enough time The liquid Aether within him began to burn as he fed it into his image

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye as two figures arrived on the battlefield

Instantly Ileot forcefully stopped the liquid Aether from igniting and threw himself backward in order to avoid a sudden follow up blow from the Nether King When he landed he took several staggering steps backward his body struggling to withstand all the damage it had taken in that long moment of contact between him and the Nether King

The Nether King accelerated forward but IleotÆs panic had found a new target New fears rapidly multiplied in his heart He raised both of his hands and unleashed a blast of white lightning again holding nothing back Another river of light smashed forward It didnÆt have enough piercing power to hurt the Nether King but it was enough to launch it back off the edge of the floating stone island and out into the Great Rift

It quickly stabilized itself and hurried back but Ileot had already turned away from it He was looking with a face steeped in dread toward the two individuals who had arrived at the edge of the floating island

Lady Iellaya dragging behind her two vast wings made of pitch black smog There were strange bags under her eyes and in her gaze there was a familiar intensity that Ileot had only seen in one individual before Next to her came the duplicated Vualla But after using the core of peopleÆs lives to duplicate them how could Ileot miss the fact that there was currently two VuallaÆs present in one body

In total three VuallaÆs were arrayed before him staring over toward Ileot

How is this possible Ileot was trembling Trembling because there could only be one reason that Vualla came here You were dead I tested it I experimented with your life core for so long before I settled on you as the base for the projected world There was no response You had ceased to exist

The three Vualla consciousnesses all watched him Ileot could feel their differences In the most recent Vualla there was only confusion and general disbelief In the Vualla controlling that body there was a seething sea of guilt and depression And also a sprinkling of pity

Perhaps the worst was the Vualla that formed Lady IellayaÆs terrible ethereal wings There was nothing in her heart just the certainty of purpose Just the dedication to accomplishing the task set before her

Because that dead souled Vualla was a monster that Ileot had created On that battlefield three thousand two hundred and ninety years ago Vualla had been in trouble and he had selflessly leapt to her defense After a lifetime of being a coward he had found it in himself to be a better brother than he had ever been in the past

Yet although he managed to protect her he sustained a mortal wound in the process And in those last fleeting moments he had dearly wished he could go back and try again living a life where he would become strong A life where he had taken his fatherÆs ominous warnings seriously

In his desperation his abilities had activated Eliot became Ileot He had lived a life and lived it harshly He fought early and often stealing and taken anything he could in order to grow stronger more quickly So much so that Ileot practically destroyed his family in his desperation to be prepared for that day where he would be so close to death For the him that had felt the hand of death on his shoulder no cost was too great to pay for power

And perhaps because she was the reason that Ileot originally desired that power to protect he had brutally taught little Vualla those same lessons In fact it would be fair to say that he subjected her to pretty constant mental and physical torture All in the name of learning the value of power

So Ileot had come back to the present as the differentÆ version of Eliot who had paid the right prices to become strong He appeared on that battlefield next to his dying body ready to save the day

But he didnÆt return to the present alone Even with that first projection his power was larger than just himself That Vualla that he had so warped with violence had come back to the present with him Their lives were already too tightly twined for him to separate their return And that twisted Vualla had merged with the original Vualla just as Ileot and Eliot became connected with each other But the Vualla that Ileot had raised on harsh lessons had overpowered her meeker self in seconds

And then that monster that Ileot had created stole the fading life of Eliot in order to become powerful slowly transforming into something completely unrecognizable before IleotÆs eyes

And Ileot was immediately certain she had come here now for the same reason to ensure that Ileot could no longer escape from death by her hands

Chapter 1213

When those tiny motes of darkness gathered into an oily liquid that radiated palpable power Randidly closed his eyes His focus went inward toward the almost uneasy heaviness that suffused the part of him that was filled to the brim with Nether The part of him that couldnÆt proceed any further down this path

Time slipped away as he followed the inspiration he had seen from that strange hovering darkness above him and began to push the density of energy inside of his body steadily up toward the tipping point

It wasnÆt a complicated thought energy could be marked by emotions and images Or rather that prolonged exposure to those things would mark energy It wasnÆt even a thought that came as a sudden bolt of shock out of a clear sky to Randidly Since his earliest arrival in the System he had learned that the SystemÆs Aether was naturally more rigid and uncompromising than the pureÆ Aether that he would eventually possess That had always just been a fact of life One that gave Randidly one of his many advantages against individuals who grew up normally in the System

He had never really thought deeply about why this was it had just seemed like a consequence of that Aether having existed for a long time Over time the Aether aged Time was a powerful force over all things

But Randidly had never considered what the benefits were that having energy marked by those images might have

Having seen that strange image of darkness slowly seep into the energy that it had gathered to itself brought Randidly and epiphany in that regard This stiff and unhelpful Aether wasnÆt just a side effect of the passage of time in a way it was exactly the point The only problem was that the System attempted to recycle Aether through continuously putting those who came later at a severe disadvantage to the earlier Cohorts Latecomers would need to find images and Paths already present in the shaped Aether in order to advance whereas Randidly could create his own

Perhaps the System even understood the problem and created the role of Patrons in order to alleviate some of those difficulties

Still none of that mattered now Ignition Essence seemed to burn like a bonfire in his chest urging him forward toward this transformation The emerald and orange tongues of flame danced like revelers in a grand wheel of exultation Randidly became so wrapped up in impressing his own image upon the energy that he let all the distractions fall away He started with his Nether Cores seeking to push his density up to that next level

Unexpectedly he spent quite a bit of time simply failing to accomplish anything The Nether was pressed in close and closer in his chest to form a rumbling obsidian sphere but his emotions didnÆt bind the Nether together like Randidly figured it should Gradually that Nether forced itself back outward Yet Randidly had no way of knowing what he was doing wrong So he stubbornly continued to attempt the process Gradually the strength of his emotions ramped upward With increasing force Randidly attempted to force all the emotions into a box

In a way it worked Gradually the core of Nether he attempted to create became denser and denser Yet the emotions didnÆt seem to be enough The energy persistently wiggled out of his grasp

After about twenty attempts Randidly began to chuckle he had been an idiot Using emotions was the binding of Aether Of course it would be ineffective to use as a way condense Nether

Which was a useful realization to have but then it left Randidly with a larger question What bound Nether together

It didnÆt take Randidly long to stumble upon the answer once he started experimenting with everything he could think of In the end it was his exposure to the Nether Prince was invaluable for helping him understand the process Very soon he found that what he needed to possess in order to draw Nether together was significance

Significance Something slightly different than meaning something ethereal and personal Nether was the energy of memory and connection So to lend significance to those things made them permanent and important It granted them a life beyond the fact that they had once happened in the past

Slowly beads of dense Nether energy swirled inward gradually joining into a core that rumbled ominously even as it formed Randidly was eventually forced to keep his focus away from the core itself but it possessed the curious singular property of devouring attention that was given to it too directly During the process Randidly almost lost track of what he was thinking about as he focused instead on the significance he had been teleported into the memory He saw himself in the past lost and desperate wandering through the Dungeon alone

He had chosen the moment when Randidly had returned to the safe room in the Dungeon only to find Shal sitting there in the healing pool The first time that they had met It was a day that his life had changed

Faster and faster the Nether in RandidlyÆs chest spiraled inward In a second all of the Nether in his body was sucked away into that inconspicuous core that had formed and his Nether Wells had to surge to life to provide more energy for the transformation Gradually RandidlyÆs breathing quickened

On that day Randidly had started down the path of the spear It was the day that he had begun to advance without regrets Without that moment none of this would have been possible Without that strange contrived intersection of fate that had been orchestrated by the Creature the Randidly of today would never exist

The Nether Wells produced more and more Nether to fuel the transformation The core didnÆt grow any larger but it seemed to move throughout Randidly It left the portion of his inner space that he had dedicated to the flows of Nether and affixed itself deep in RandidlyÆs physical body Distantly he could feel the way it also began to become a stabilizing influence for the admittedly chaotic remnants of Nether that had been present in the Alpha Cosmos

The new Nether Core became the center of RandidlyÆs body and then began to gleam with cosmic light

Nether fire forced itself through RandidlyÆs arteries As his body trembled even RandidlyÆs consciousness within the memory paused The veins on his arms and legs slowly darkened to black as Nether permeated into his physical make up in a way that he had thus far avoided On an extremely basic level RandidlyÆs Nether and Aether were being integrated in an instinctual way Nether was working its way deeper as its meaning in RandidlyÆs life became vital His skin began to itch and burn as the very substance of his body began to change

Just like his life had changed when he met Shal Such changes held ramifications that would always remain significant

Extraordinary So you do not have a class Or a level That would make things difficult Normally I would not mind helping you some secure some kills in the area so you can find your feet but

Yes they are basic vigor crystals They can be refined into Health and Mana potions But although they are in a Lvl 35 dungeon they are just the basic kind put next to a safe room to help truly desperate individuals I would say even a master Alchemist could only create potions that restore 100 Health or Mana from them

That moment when Randidly had pressed his hand against the door to the Dungeon and gotten rejected by the System hung heavy in RandidlyÆs heart It had been his only hope that was quickly extinguished by reality Yet Shal had just laughed and beckoned him forward while Randidly was despairing

No no no there are no more avenues of retreat But you can always move forward

A new core formed in RandidlyÆs heart that was buoyed in power by the significance of those early memories of Shal A ripple ran through RandidlyÆs body More and more Nether began to flow outward causing all the other cores that Randidly had created to slowly orbit around this new core

A Ritual formed organically in RandidlyÆs chest as these cores arranged themselves in a natural pattern The connections between them became stronger Vast clouds of Nether flowed into that pattern and escaped as spun threads of dense energy That dense energy transformed his inner world

Breathing softly Randidly allowed a new balance between Nether and Aether to be achieved in his chest Gradually his body acclimated to the change and the weight of the new energy Randidly possessed settled down into place reinforcing the new equilibrium The Nether Ritual continued to hum busily

And since Randidly was already focused on this wondrous transformation that he could create RandidlyÆs attention immediately shifted to what he could do with Aether This time the powerful emotions that he had gradually cultivated to try and pin down the Nether were allowed to move freely through his Aether energy

Immediately the Aether began to slowly gather Righteous fury against the System warmth and compassion for those of Kharon and the Order Ducis that followed him a strange budding vulnerability toward VuallaÆs existence With great difficulty Randidly released the control he held over his emotions and allowed them to freely spread out through his inner world

Very quickly after that however Randidly could only grimace The two processes were clearly different While Nether required a certain amount of significance for each sharp step of improvement Aether required that he slowly refine the energy with emotion over a longer period of time A snap change would not occur as it had with RandidlyÆs Nether core It would take time and concerted effort in order to refine Aether into its liquid form

And honestly Randidly was short of both time and effort at this point

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 111

Randidly was pleased to check and find that only nine minutes had passed since he had fallen into a brief recovery coma but that was still nine minutes on a battlefield that was fraught with danger Especially after that last attack Vualla

In fact Randidly might have forced himself out of the strange trance he now found himself in if he hadnÆt sensed that Vualla had come near him to check on him before quickly departing It was enough to know that she was at least well enough to move

But how much longer should Randidly spend like this creating liquid Aether

For a few more minutes Randidly set that question to the side and dedicated every bit of his still shaky Willpower toward the task at hand With all of his attention continuing to feed emotion into an area rich in pure Aether the process sped up Gradually he could feel the Aether change as his continued focus on emotion affected the Aether in a vital way It shifted to become his Aether marked forever by that image and emotion And as it did so the chaotic flow of the Aether changed before his eyes

It condensed It spiraled inward It gradually began to move toward a shimmering liquid drop

It will take almost seven minutes to finish a single drop while I m giving it my all Randidly hesitated so I will only make two One to help me physically and mentally recover so I can return to the battlefield and one to be an attack to help me fight beyond my actual power Any more than that

plus that completely ignores the mental toll I can already feel Making two at a time right now might be my limit

Fourteen minutes was already a lot Yet Randidly had no choice He had seen the effects that Ileot could manage when he utilized liquid Aether against the Nether Randidly could use those same principles to help with the fight if necessary

If he waited any longer than fourteen minutes Randidly shivered He didnÆt want to leave Vualla alone for too long right now The confidence of Lord Miln the darkness in the sky and the strange grey flower that had bloomed within Lady IellayaÆs potential all made him extremely wary

The faster he could be at her side the better

Chapter 1214

I refuse the newest incarnation of Vualla said sharply as she stared with a firm gaze toward the frozen figure of Ileot Swacc and the frantic form of Lord Miln surrounded by Nether Heralds There wasnÆt a single tremor of emotion through her heart At this point she appeared to have mastered herself well enough to disguise her inner dialogue

The Vualla who was a lock of darkness sitting over that VuallaÆs heart and in fact was the original meek Vualla sighed at this reaction It was a foolish and pointless show of defiance We all must play a role in this farce that Eliot has created It is not a happy thing but we have no

I refuse the stubborn Vualla who had been touched by Randidly Ghosthound repeated Still not a tremor of emotion Still no attempt to retake control of her body should the tendrils of darkness that controlled her force the issue

The darkness Vualla hesitated She knew that without this Vualla existing without those strong and pure emotions that she had experienced over the past six months the original Vualla never would have awakened from the sea of despair in which she had been drowning As for the third of their number

The darkness manipulated this body to look sideways as Lady Iellaya and her vast smoggy wings For all that the Vualla who had been birthed by the same world projection as Ileot Swacc himself was an oppressing and aggressive personality her single minded pursuit of power meant that she would never have escaped the trap of her own existence She needed to be physically carried like an overburdened satchel to the destination

Or more accurate like a load of dynamite Once she was there she could destroy everything in the vicinity But before reaching a destination She was content to brood

Inwardly the darkness Vualla was actually quite relieved to be free of that VuallaÆs depressing thirst for power Let Lady Iellaya bear that burden for a while She had been forced to endure it for long enough

Ileot was finally forced to tear his gaze away from the three silent VuallaÆs because the Nether King surged back forward to lash out at him Once more the intense fighting between those two resumed The Nether King released ominous chimes and Ileot blasted white lightning in every direction But this time Ileot gradually sustained worse and worse wounds as he couldnÆt help but glance suspiciously over toward the Vuallas waiting for them to make their inevitable move

The original Vualla turned body snatcher used her tendrils to make the possessed body sigh It matters not which role you take But if you do not take this role a harsher role awaits you It is our karma We cannot escape our relationship with our brother

The newest Vualla remained silent her resolve firm Even as a pang of guilt shook the original Vualla she gave a meaningful glance toward Lady Iellaya

Instantly a surge of emotions could be seen in Lady IellayaÆs rapidly changing expressions Her lips and eyebrows arched and quirked then scrunched themselves together Finally the power obsessed Vualla fed into Lady IellayaÆs desire for power and revenge and overwhelmed whatever else she had been thinking of doing Her gaze fixated on Lord MilnÆs sorry figure across the battlefield By the end of the mercurial parade of emotions a crazed grin was painted across Lady IellayaÆs face

She began to walk forward dragging those vast wings behind her They stretched upward and upward seemingly with their tips dipping into the Great Rift above them With each step Lady Iellaya took her body accelerated As she began to sprint forward across the floating stone island a terrible cry was ripped from her lips

Lord Miln

Lord Miln looked around in shock but the Nether Heralds reacted faster One of the two completely healthy Nether Heralds that had been ambushing Ileot split off and rushed to intercept this new threat Especially because the Nether Heralds had already seen the chaos that Lady Iellaya had caused

The darkness Vualla measured this one that moved forward This was the second strongest of the Nether Heralds and would have been an even foe for her originally But no longer

As Lady Iellaya howled those vast wings stirred One moment they were so wide that it was impossible to see the distant tips of her feathers the next those huge wings beat downward in a blur of motion colliding at their massive tips directly onto the approaching Nether Herald The concussive force of the abrupt movement created a ten meter crater that simply seemed to materialize and freeze the Nether Herald for a split second A strange thump reverberated outward

Even the flexible Nether Herald yelped from the sudden blunt force Its legs cracked and began to spurt shimmering black ichor that burned at the orange stones beneath it Before it could even recover Lady Iellaya had shifted into the form of her image The brown scaled raven winged serpent slithered rapidly forward its mouth wide open and revealing row after row of jagged and rotting teeth

The crimson patterns once more covered its scales but even though it no longer possessed any wounds it seemed that those lines were comprised of oozing liquid rather than a sketched pattern It was like every beat of the serpentÆs heart had it shedding drops of precious life blood that made a maze like pattern across its scales

Lightning fast the wounded Nether Herald spun backward but Lord Miln belated realized that an ally had arrived Although he was wounded he still sharply dodged another Nether Herald and unleashed an attack that forced the Nether Herald that Lady Iellaya was pursing to pause briefly

Which was all the time she needed

Lady Iellaya devoured this Nether Herald almost immediately relying on the horrific power that the Vualla riding her provided The raven winged serpentÆs throat moved grotesquely as she forced the body down into her stomach The bulge slid almost tranquilly along the length of her body before vanishing into her stomach Then she surged forward making a beeline toward Lord Miln

Was this worth it The serpent hissed Drops of blood began to spatter on the stone ground as they fell off of the crimson patterns on her scales Was all of this worth it

Lord Miln seemed immensely confused as a huge aura of rage and grief floated outward from someone he had thought to be reinforcements The darkness Vualla controlling the most recent VuallaÆs body focused its Perception then released a sigh of relief the power obsessed Vualla had understood her intention with the earlier gaze Hidden within Lady IellayaÆs image was a tangible whiff of another image one she had internalized not long ago

Within Lady IellayaÆs image was a distinct trace of the Nether Prince proving she had a hand in its death

The Nether KingÆs terrible fury was a physical force hitting the entire area and creating a huge fissure that ran directly through the center of the stone island Gradually those two halves began to slowly drift apart from each other

Ileot had born the brunt of the Nether KingÆs attack and stumbled backward while hissing in pain But the Nether Kind didnÆt follow up on him Instead it surged forward past Ileot and leaped across the one meter gap between the two halves of the island and to rush forward to Lady Iellaya

Very quickly the confusion on Lord MilnÆs face left as absolute panic took its place Without much choice the confrontation between Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln was tabled as even a Lady Iellaya apoplectic with rage had to admit that the Nether King was the more pressing foe She quickly used her vast wings again to smash back the Nether Heralds and turned to face the charging Nether King with Lord Miln at her side

And what poison it must have been to Lady Iellaya to be so near to the foe that had orchestrated placing them all in such danger and needing to work with him to survive Another bleeding wound in her heart that the power obsessed Vualla would use as leverage to manipulate her

Ileot was torn looking from the Nether King to Vualla At this point only Ileot Swacc and Vualla stood on this half of the sundered stone island while all the others were all fighting on the other half The distance between the two islands widened to two meters When the darkness manipulated VuallaÆs body to walk to the edge of the fissure Ileot cautiously joined her

For a few seconds the two were silent watching the fight Honestly it couldnÆt even be called a fight Although Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln were talented individuals they were simply too young for their images to withstand the fury of a Nether King Its every attack reverberated with that destructive emotion forcing both of the Aether warriors to bleed from their eyes and mouth even with they dodged the attacks

And when the attacks landed

They could only give ground helpless before the Nether King

IleotÆs face slowly transformed into fury you truly wish to create the same circumstances as the past Even though I somehow missed the fact that you yet lived it will not be enough That Vualla her life threatened by a Nether King Do you expect me to be overwhelmed with emotion and help her like I did in the past The reverence you give to karma is laughable I will not follow your wishes I will watch her die I am not bound by the past Your precious karma doesnÆt exist

Ignoring the most recent VuallaÆs duplications subtle agreement with Ileot the original Vualla manipulated this body to turn and regard Ileot solemnly So you will run away once more

IleotÆs face twisted immediately with hatred but he was able to suppress that emotion Pah Childish tricks are just as useless as karma I will not intervene

You donÆt need to Vualla turned back to look toward the fight Inside of her the possessed Vualla released a wave of horror as she finally understood what was about to happen Both watched as the Nether King swung its arm and shattered Lady IellayaÆs right arm from the elbow down

Do you truly think karma will compel me to act Ileot laughed derisively

The original Vualla ignored him Then she hopped across the fissure that had widened to three meters and crossed over the widening gulf that revealed the Great Rift waiting below them When she landed she ripped off the powerful veil that she had carefully woven on the walk over here to hide the object she held in her right hand With a casual flick she threw that object toward the Nether KingÆs back

Immediately Ileot was confused This his expression transformed into bewilderment and then apprehension What Why ThatÆs impossible I specifically chose a life core moment from Vualla after I had been at the war for years My entire childhood was spent locked up in the library we barely interacted Then with me fighting at the frontline for eight years

He truly is so tied up in his own little worlds that he misses so much The darkness Vualla said for the benefit of the most recent duplication This is the cost of ignoring karma and believing you know better you are so sure of yourself you overlook your own presence in your projection because you assumed you knew how important you were to the individual you used as a base for your projected world

Meanwhile Ileot began to pant His voice was high and squeaky I wasnÆt important enough to be included in that projection world It was only when I went back and lived my life differently that I mattered to you

The original Vualla used this new body to smile sadly back at Ileot I was never brave enough to write to you Just like I was too cowardly to visit father before he died But do you know how much it changed my life when you came back for DalusÆ funeral and you brought me orange juice to try A gift just for me At the time when father was withdrawing into the war effort Mother locked herself in her room and our third brother in had died you gave me hope

Did you know the reason I was driven to run away from home and go to the frontlines was the letter that informed us you had been crippled in the fighting and were reassigned to the supply contingent The day mother truly broke and refused to eat any longer The day I couldnÆt stand it anymore Eliot you always mattered to me

The recent duplication of Eliot still unconscious thrown by the original Vualla controlling the most recently duplicated Vualla collided with the Nether KingÆs back The Nether King paused in its attack of Lady Iellaya long enough to twist and smack away the limp body with the respect as if it was swatting away a buzzing fly

Eliot was smashed into the stone ground immediately poised so directly on the boundary of life and death that even VuallaÆs sharp senses couldn’t determine his fate And his intervention gave Lady Iellaya a desperately needed moment to open up some space and lash out at one of the harrying Nether Heralds wounding it deeply and greatly lowering the pressure she faced

For a split second both sides gathered themselves There was a strange fuzzy static in the air Images of another time another place began to flicker over their current situation The air was heavy with Nether and the Nether remembered the distant past where this same situation had occurred

This is karma the original Vualla said again more to herself than to anyone else Then her focus went to the Vualla she was manipulating And now itÆs time for a role that you cannot avoid If you will not be the one that he saves you will take my role And I will overpower you so you finally take your brotherÆs life and drink it for strength

Chapter 1215

Vualla felt the assurance in the darkness that manipulated her limbs as it stated that it would overpower her and take the life of the unconscious Eliot But simultaneously Vualla also felt the constant stream of warmth that flowed from Randidly to her In a way that the darkness Vualla clearly couldnÆt feel a handprint of fire burned on her back That warmth was glimmering with strange motes of invigorating energy that made her consciousness tingle

VuallaÆs attention was razor sharp as she felt the tendrils of darkness moving through her body expertly manipulating her muscles For most of the past few hours she had ceased struggling against the motions it was enough for Vualla to simply observe the surrounding action The things she witnessed included but were not limited to the growing proficiency with which the shadow in her body controlled its image

Secretly VuallaÆs own image slowly shifted to match it

She had also learned a lot by listening to the darkness that was one of her other selves Despite their differences of opinion she could truly feel how they had originated from the same core And with that growing empathy Vualla believed that she had slowly begun to parse apart the goals of the lock of darkness by feeling the pulses of emotions that were periodically released Which was why Vualla felt rather confident now in asking a question as the darkness manipulated her body to cross the shuddering battlefield toward the spot where EliotÆs body had landed

Why canÆt this role be avoided WouldnÆt it be better to save Eliot You Vualla stilled herself just as she was about to remind the darkness of all the care she had given to the body when they had recovered it from the rubble Moving too quickly here wouldnÆt help better to go about this persuasion slowly

Because Vualla knew that when they started directly addressing the issue she believed to have sensed in the darkness VuallaÆs emotions there was no turning back So for now Vualla just allowed the opening question to hang in the air

Because it is karma The darkness rebuked gently It manipulated VuallaÆs body to scurry behind a large boulder as a wave of horrendous sound blasted outward from the Nether KingÆs body By this point the floating island had shrunk that any of its attacks would basically hurt everyone else in the surrounding area This this is how it always must be CanÆt you feel it in the air There is no choice left to us

Again Vualla suppressed her immediate thought If that were truly the case why are we physically approaching Eliot to do this

Yet despite the fact that it was clear there was more to this situation than the other version of herself wanted to admit Vualla couldnÆt deny that there was a strange resonance in the air She had felt it originally but it had grown much stronger once Eliot had distracted the Nether King and allowed Lady Iellaya to catch her breath These moments had happened before

Behind them Ileot Swacc stood at the edge of the widening chasm between the two sundered halves of the floating island and followed VuallaÆs movements with bulging eyes It was clear that he was torn between staying as far away as possible from Vualla and wanting to move to stop her For the time being he was completely frozen by indecision

Meanwhile Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln had found a new equilibrium with the Nether King As its terrible roars continued to strike at some vital part of the surrounding space Lady Iellaya experienced a sudden and noticeable improvement in power to the point that she was capable of fighting the Nether King to a standstill In that opening Lord Miln was rapidly able to isolate the wounded Nether Heralds and strike crippling blows At this point he had forcefully suppressed the remaining number down to four and two of the survivors were oozing ichor as they fought

Seems like that shadow energy version of me isnÆt playing the damsel in distress anymore Vualla thought to herself as she eyed the darkening wings on Lady IellayaÆs back But immediately after the destructive hymn that the Nether King released began to fade away the darkness inside her body urged Vualla forward

So once more Vualla spoke directly to the darkness She didnÆt have much time to spare You have given me some description of what karma is But you made karma out to be a universal accounting system One that tracked your actions and perhaps judged you Or give you an evaluation But I fail to see why that score would mean it is necessary to do this

Those who do not understand karma often believe that they possess a great deal of freedom in life the darkness mused as it moved Vualla alongside a rapidly widening fissure to skirt the edges of the main battlefield Small pebbles buzzed on the ground from the Nether KingÆs reverberations But everything is connected Your actions have meaning and with meaning comes consequences

This time Vualla let some of her rage show through the controlled silence she had maintained for a while IÆll be blunt I donÆt get what you are saying So answer me this what is the mechanism by which karma forces us to act this way

Pah Unfortunately for you only experiencing the horror of karma will teach you these lessons With a short dash the darkness had VuallaÆs body cross the remaining distance and appear before the pile of broken stone that covered EliotÆs body With the Nether King being occupied and Ileot still torn on what course of action to take the shadow began to patiently shift the stones to the side Then you will understand

What I UNDERSTAND is that I can feel the way this moment mirrors one that had happened in the past The air is heavy with it ItÆs like this place remembers the shape of things I can feel that and I suppose that is karma Yet what happened then was a tragedy thatÆs something I bet you wonÆt deny There is meaning in this choice because it was made before but there is no terrible punishment waiting if you want to change what happened here Eliot doesnÆt need to die Vualla urged

For the briefest moment the darkness faltered in its control over VuallaÆs body A baseball sized shard of stone fell out of its hand and hit the ground Yet then the darkness shook VuallaÆs head and continued to methodically dig You think there is no punishment for dodging karma Heh If we do not do this we will be the ones to die young one The Nether King is strong too strong for any one of us to defeat alone Yet we are connected intimately with Eliot Our karma can be united That blade of karma we quenched in the ashes of his life can bleed the Nether King Without that it will kill us You would rather have us all die than sacrifice a single

You know what I think That you are afraid Vualla interrupted With their shared senses both could sense how close they were nearing to EliotÆs body They had cleared out a reasonably sized indentation in the pile of rubble and while reaching down to find him they had moved into the pile of stones So they were isolated from the rest of the chaotic battlefield

The darkness pulsed with indignation and annoyance I am not afraid child

but you are guilty Vualla said slowly to the darkness that she could have been Guilty because when the other Vualla came when that other version of yourself came and demanded that you take EliotÆs life in order to survive you gave way to her will You agreed You allowed your brother to die because you were afraid of what would happen if you didnÆt and that sudden darkness seemed so sure

It was necessary the darkness hissed Its control over VuallaÆs hands wavered without her even interfering in the thin tendrils that allowed darkness Vualla to control her body Yet even if her fingers were ripped open by stone warped beyond recognition by Nether the darkness continued using VuallaÆs hands to rake away the last few pieces of rubble to reveal Eliot If I had not agreed we would have died pointlessly ALL of us would have died for nothing

You donÆt know that

I know karma And that was the karma of that day The darkness VuallaÆs emotions were running wild now surging back and forth through its body This this role his death this is how the moment was meant to go This was our destiny

You cannot hide how you feel from me Vualla whispered You can feel my emotions did you think that I canÆt feel yours You wish there was another way to survive You wish that Eliot didnÆt have to die So let me help you find that Path forward

Approving of the result doesnÆt mean I donÆt mourn for the costs Of course I wish he could be saved But he cannot That is his karma Child karma is much more complicated than you think Or rather perhaps it isnÆt But if you can feel the echo of this moment in the past you know why I cannot deviate My karma is set If I do not rely on my karma

ThereÆs a big difference between allowing something to happen and taking my body and forcing it to occur Vualla paid very close attention to the terrible feelings of responsibility depression and guilt that wafted off of the darkness Do you truly mean to be the ones to take EliotÆs life HeÆs our brother Making that choice will change you

ThereÆs no other choice but to accept that Immediately emotions stopped flowing out of the core of darkness that settled over VuallaÆs heart The tremors running through it slowed and then ceased With renewed vigor it controlled VuallaÆs body to remove a few slabs of stone and reveal EliotÆs bruised face

Warmth continued to flow into Vualla through her connection to Randidly Her nerves were practically buzzing with Eliot so close It was a risk to wait so long to act But she wanted to try For the sake of the woman she might have been who had been driven to these lengths she would offer her one more chance

Vualla watched the darkness move within her body and said He brought us orange juice

ThereÆs no choice The darkness hissed Yet the original version of Vualla controlled the current version to brush a lock of EliotÆs hair away from his face

ItÆs not that thereÆs no choice ItÆs just that the choice would mean you no longer know how this moment will go Vualla took a deep breath This would probably be her last chance to convince the darkness Vualla If she failed here Well then she would deal with it one way or another But Vualla dearly wanted to make this other version of herself understand the box she had painted herself into

You would need to fight in a much more disadvantageous battle without taking EliotÆs life And you might lose But you might win too without having to kill your brother to achieve victory Karma isnÆt determinative ItÆs just a record of what is YOU are the one making this decision And you can choose to save your brotherÆs life

Please Make that choice Let me help you discover a new future

For a second the darkness Vualla was silent She looked out through VuallaÆs eyes at the familiar dark blue hair of her brother And then with a heavy finality the darkness sighed And this is why the young would drive our world to ruin by ignoring the wisdom and weight of history child karma is not simply a record It is also the very real connections we have made those that continue to affect us It is the patterns that we use to define our own lives It is impossible to escape karma Ignoring it and choosing ignorance is the path of a fool

Vualla felt the darkness version of herself begin to move in a way that she had refrained from doing since Vualla had stopped her earlier a tendril of darkness stretched outward toward Eliot to take the dimming fires of his life for her own gain

In a purposeful mirroring of the darknessÆ sigh Vualla also sighed I suppose that is your choice to make To remain too afraid to deviate

Ha You talked so much about how easy it is to avoid karma yet now you acquiesce just as I did The tendril of darkness shot outward and pierced into EliotÆs chest Perhaps the lesson eh You

Vualla surged forward with those strange glimmering bits of warmth she had carefully gathered from Randidly and smashed her will against the darkness For a second it struggled yet whenever Vualla needed more energy she just drew deeper and deeper from her connection to Randidly The tendril of darkness in EliotÆs chest was retrained and then pulled backward

The darkness Vualla very quickly realized what was happening and began to struggle more directly to suppress VuallaÆs consciousness Her thoughts and desires smashed against VuallaÆs For several seconds they groaned against each other the two forces almost equal The darkness Vualla possessed much stronger images but Vualla could rely on the potent energy from Randidly to make up for a lot of that difference

More than that VuallaÆs own images were no longer as weak and shallow as they once had been She truly had been carefully studying the darknessÆ image for hours an image that was extremely compatible with her

She could perhaps only wield 75% of what she had witnessed But with those strange invigorating motes of energy it was enough to buy time for the emotions that both versions of Vualla felt to come into play As the images strained like stuck machinery the emotions spread quickly outward They met

Vualla dearly wanted to save her brother

The original Vualla felt like she had no choice but to kill him

VuallaÆs want began to devour the sense of fearful certainty the original Vualla felt The difference between the purity of those images quickly became clear

Bit by bit Vualla burned away the darkness and regained control of her body

What are you doing The original Vualla howled But the current Vualla used her own face to smile Her eyes opened of her own will for the first time in hours

fine then If you insist on going by karma we can go that route Vualla said lightly Her grin stretched wider and wider But you know the bit of karma that I find the most compelling The one where your wishes get pushed to the side by another version of yourself So for the second time in your existence watch carefully this is a life that you could have lived

Vualla pressed her hand to EliotÆs chest and poured some of that nourishing warmth she obtained from Randidly into her unconscious brother

Chapter 1216

Two events transpired with such a small amount of time between them that they almost seemed connected although though Lord Miln objectively knew that they were not But it was clear from both events that there was an almost unspoken agreement across the fraught battle that things were about to change

The first even was that Lord Miln received the first good news he had heard in hours in the form of IleotÆs voice whispering in his ear You wonÆt have to last much longer I realized the only that all I need to do is destroy the Nether King Then everythingÆs solved Buy me some time and I will take care of it

The brief and unspoken betrayal that Ileot had obviously committed continued to lay between them but Lord Miln was at least happy that he now had a goal buy time And also he now had a way to achieve his goal of earning merit in this battle

The second event was that the Nether King hit Lady Iellaya with such violence that she was driven several meters backward After stabilizing herself a trail of blood and bile dribbled out of the corner of her mouth The Nether King roared in triumph

Perversely Lord Miln felt a great deal of relief as their frantic struggle against the Nether King took a turn for the worse When the Nether King now swung its arms it was able to force Lady IellayaÆs vast wings steadily backward

Not that Lord Miln left her alone to face this foe far from it But the thick liquid that continuously seeped from its body muted the sharpness of Lord MilnÆs ambushes and barely slowed the monster as it continued spinning forward to throw a vicious roundhouse kick toward Lady IellayaÆs chest

Yet despite the growing difficulty in buying Ileot time Lord Miln still felt relieved Because the shift in the state of the battle meant that Lady Iellaya was no longer demonstrating power enough that Lord Miln dreaded the battle being over and her attention focusing solely on him

The Nether KingÆs roundhouse kick arrived before Lady Iellaya About ten seconds ago she had met that sort of blow gallantly and forced the Nether King to a jarring halt Now Lady IellayaÆs mouth twisted open in a grimace and she rapidly spun out of the way to avoid the strike Luckily for her even if her power was slowly dropping her speed had not done the same

It seemed the Nether King sensed Lady IellayaÆs declining power too because it unleashed a blast of noise that cracked the surrounding ground and had what little of the floating island remained grinding against each other Body of the powerful Aether users froze for a split second as they struggled to overcome the noise Then while one remained at its side the other three Nether Heralds sprinted out to box Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln into a smaller area

Finally run out of gas Lord Miln panted taking a spare moment to wipe blood from his cracked lips Even he winced at the playful notes in his voice now wasnÆt the time to be flippant in front of the Nether King Lady Iellaya ignored him the air around her chilly enough to put out a campfire But it didnÆt escape Lord MilnÆs notice that a lot of that frosty intensity had ebbed as the battle had dragged onward Lady Iellaya couldnÆt keep this up much longer

After all over the last few minutes of fighting he had never completely let Lady Iellaya escape his focus He was extremely wary of some small move that would inconvenience him and put him in danger of a mortal blow The comment was just another way to test how focused she was on putting up a united front before the Nether King

this can be considered barely a pass Lord Miln thought sourly

Still Lord Miln wasnÆt a fool With Lady Iellaya quickly fading something needed to change if they were to survive this ordeal Because as of yet Lord Miln hadnÆt earned the merits that he had planned In fact he had simply allowed his army to sustain an unbelievable amount of casualties Even if Ileot did strike soon and force the Nether King to retreat Lord Miln desperately needed to be a vital part of that effort

And for all Lady IellayaÆs flaws she would not lie If he acted to help pin the Nether King down she would dutifully report it

Without a tangible achievement to hold up next to that raw casualty numbers Lord Miln would be court martialed without a chance of even defending himself The Nexus Council wouldnÆt care that he had been tricked by Ileot Swacc

ONG

This noise was a concerted burst of power signaling the beginning of the brutal assault from the assembled Nether beings The three Nether Heralds came like small tornados their flexible limbs lashing out high and low to limit their mobility With a surge of momentum that cracked the ground beneath it the Nether King went directly forward to smash apart the pinned down duo

Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln exchanged an extremely heavy glance as the forces of Nether rushed toward them In it Lady Iellaya expressed some of her doubts that she could handle the Nether King much longer and also barred the naked hatred that she felt toward Lord Miln Yet she begrudgingly asked for his assistance

In his glance Lord Miln allowed that he could help her with the worst of the Nether King and that he had already understood that after this battle things between them could no longer remain with even the pretense of civility There would be a reckoning between them

But they were both beings of Aether On this they agreed

Despite the fact that it was covered in deep wounds Lady IellayaÆs raven winged serpent image charged forward valiantly smashing against the Nether KingÆs chest But at this point the foe of all Aether was a juggernaut that could only be slowed by a small margin by an image projection

Still that small margin was enough time for Lord Miln to act He knew the risks but Lord Miln decided to trust the plea that he had seen in Lady IellayaÆs heavy glance now wasnÆt the time to hold anything back

All of the power he had managed to gather during his stint as Supreme Commander was finally let loose Utilizing all the secrets and tricks he had extracted from the bodies that he kept in his headquarters he surged into motion animated by foreign Aether Despite the physical reactions that Nether Heralds possessed Lord MilnÆs violence was so abrupt that the first one that he approached couldnÆt bring its guard up in time

Lord MilnÆs hand swerved around the hasty block the Nether Herald threw up with its arm and pierced into its chest Its exterior was tough but Lord Miln was no longer holding anything back His palm impacted the Nether HeraldÆs core and shattered it in a single blow Then even as the Nether Herald continued to spasm on the end of his arm Lord Miln twisted and threw the limp body of the Nether Herald in the path of the Nether King

Just need another few fractions of a second Lord Miln thought as he twisted to find Lady Iellaya literally ripping the last wounded Nether Herald in half Ichor spattered down her chest and her armor began to steam making her look like she had been splashed with boiling oil He didnÆt miss how she had moved and exposed her own back to him while they were working together Lord MilnÆs eyes continued forward to the final two Nether Heralds

On the opposite side the Nether King couldnÆt even help itself it caught the thrown body clumsily in its thick arms Whatever liquid formed the outer layer of its body continued to flow downward quickly encasing the corpse like a coffin of quick drying cement

Yea yea I get it Lord Miln muttered stepping forward and using about half of his remaining energy to simply mitigate the damage the Nether KingÆs scream The ground beneath them cracked further making their footing even more precarious To avoid the problem entirely Lady Iellaya once more shifted to her battered image avatar and sprung toward the weaker of the two Nether Heralds

Gritting his teeth Lord Miln stepped forward to stand directly in front of the Nether King This was the part that was going to be rough But standing there being the last line of defense as Lady Iellaya continued to pursue its subordinates really hit home how dangerous a foe it was

Finally looking the charging Nether King full in the wide lantern like eyes Lord Miln felt the changes to the surrounding space and was horrified

It was a gradual thing but each time it screamed Lord Miln had felt the damage the Nether King released decreasing At first Lord Miln thought this was a positive thing but now it struck him how foolish a hope that thought really was the truth was just that the Nether KingÆs noises were now affecting a larger area so Lord Miln had to handle a smaller portion of it

And the reason that the sphere of influence was growing was that the Nether King was warping the surrounding space to no longer remaining purely spatial in nature

That grinding assault that occurred on an almost atomic level from the horrendous sounds was finally showing fruit In fact the facts had been present for a while but it was only facing the Nether King directly that Lord Miln realized what had occurred Because as the Nether King surged forward it was larger than he had ever seen it before and behind it was a series of phantom folding geometric shapes As it continued to press on the structure of Aether in the area the more it warped space to unfurl itself

The more it unfurled the more it could utilize some of its own strength And the more that Lord Miln felt like his images were traveling underwater in order to effect change in the world

Maybe Iellaya isnÆt weakening Lord Miln thought solemnly as he stared at those strange shapes Maybe this bastard is just continuing to grow accustomed to the fighting

Behind him Lord Miln sensed Lady Iellaya inflict a deep wound on one Nether Herald while taking a wound herself from the other in exchange But then the Nether King was before Lord Miln and he couldnÆt afford to allow his attention to waver

The only source of hope was the figure standing on the other half of the sundered floating island and the growing orb of white lightning appearing above his head Already it pulsed with potency holding within it the capability to strike a real blow against this Nether King

Twisting sideways Lord Miln did his best to present the smallest target possible and smashed his way directly through the sound attack Then the Nether KingÆs two limbs rumbled outward the visual distortions around them so intense that it was difficult to find the true blow within all of the distractions

I canÆt handle this normally Gritting his teeth Lord Miln did some rapid calculates in his head Then he sighed

Even though Lord Miln knew there would be consequences for this action later he activated a partial array of his own invention within his body There was no other choice Just like he did for the conscripts that came to the frontlines the array would isolate his image But rather than forcefully separating said image form his body this version of the array forcefully suppressed the other aspects of his personality so that the image would benefit from all of the mental resources at his bodyÆs disposal

A blade is the most reliable weapon for a reason itÆs best to be sharp Lord Miln thought to himself as he felt himself changing No longer was he the Supreme Commander of the frontlines trying to earn merit but he was his strongest image a magenta orchid with gleaming petals

Rather than trying to resist the raw power of the Nether King Lord Miln became a small and sharp image that forced its way forward The orchid fluttered as though a terrible windstorm was blowing above but its petals seemed to become increasingly luminous Those petals became razors to sheer through the Nether and create an opening

Spinning Lord Miln slipped underneath the Nether KingÆs blow and arrived at its side His fingers stretched outward and his body became a dazzling orchid Bright magenta petals erupted outward in a flurry cutting deeply into the geometric shapes of the Nether King It erupted in another vengeful roar and Lord Miln wavered like a leaf in the middle of a rainstorm in front of its ire

But as it tried to retaliate Lord Miln had already forcefully suppressed his injuries and moved behind it The flower did not stand up to the storm it endured it Once more the orchid bloomed in an unexpected location and once more Lord MilnÆs image cut into the Nether King in front of it

Yet just as Lord Miln was about to strike again aiming to eviscerate the Nether King something changed

For the second time in only a few minutes two things happened almost at once

The first was the more eye catching of the two events There was a huge noise like a bear being roused to wakefulness and the remaining bits of Aether sky trembled All the energy in the surrounding area began to churn Then there was an ominous rustling and a huge gleaming tree appeared in the sky above them More than that the surrounding space was punctured and ripped as thousand of thin golden roots abruptly surged upward from the original landmass and stretched upward to the floating islands that were sinking into the Great Rift

While the towering tree gleamed with a luminous golden script it was the image of the golden roots that was suddenly the most pervasive They pulsed with energy stretching wider and wider branching and stretching outward in a mesmerizing pattern They pierced up through the island and anchored it back to the remaining bastion of Aether They wiggled upward several passing only a meter or so away from the blooming orchid

Their appearance and aura of power was so shocking that even the Nether King was briefly bound by them The strangest part was the way that they moved freely between Aether and Nether apparently perfectly satisfied in existing in either

The second after they appeared and launched themselves outward these distant portions of the vast tree began to drink the surrounding energy In enormous quantities Those golden roots were like the veins of a primordial beast pumping obvious power to that enormous trunk that towered over them

The image of Randidly Ghosthound Lord Miln thought dumbly But with everything but his core image cut off by the array he couldnÆt understand where it had come from Or why it was no so much stronger than it had been in the past

The second thing that happened was that there was suddenly a hand pressed against the small of Lord MilnÆs back

Turning around he saw Lady IellayaÆs gaunt face She had one hand against his back and another lightly touching one of the nearby golden veins Lord Miln saw her take a breath witnessed her divert the energy flowing within that root through her fingers and into her body

Then she unleashed an attack one with enough piercing power to rip both through his body and into the Nether King

Chapter 1217

Ileot Swacc was forced to make his decision when he saw Vualla begin to treat his duplicationÆs body with basic first aid and healing Skills He was already furious enough that he hadnÆt thought it necessary to check for a duplication for himself in the projection it made him mortified So despite the fact that it seemed inevitable that this version of himself would suffer the same fate as the original Ileot could accept that Such a fear was a familiar entity in his heart Ileot was already swearing vengeance when he realized that wasnÆt what happened

Vualla had begun to heal Eliot

Which could only mean one thing she had a much more sinister plan in store for him

When he realized that Ileot had felt a deep primal fear of the unknown that overwhelmed all of his carefully prepared contingency plans It was a type of fear that he didnÆt even feel toward the Nether King itself A fear that he could only feel toward the sister that had internalized his lessons in the projected world and became something worse than a monster

She was a monster that wore a face he once loved

But Ileot Swacc was also furious at this latest betrayal of expectation And that anger provided him with a very satisfactory and direct solution Burn the rest of the liquid Aether in your position Kill them all The Nether King the VuallaÆs your own duplication just erase them all from existence Bury this meaningless karma once and for all

The plan came with high costs he would be extremely weak afterward with no more hidden tricks Burning liquid Aether had the effect of pushing away System Aether in the surrounding area so it would be hard to recover much strength Especially with the Nether Rift gradually spreading to cover their position

But even so it was the only hope Ileot found He was prepared to bet everything on it

I want this all to be over I want to just rest finally

So Ileot began to slowly gather himself preparing to unleash a blast of incandescent energy that would burn all the reserves of liquid Aether that he had managed to carefully create in his three thousand year existence It pained him to do so but Ileot dearly wanted freedom from that constant fear that had dogged him all his life He was tired of needing to look over his shoulder and avoid the looming threat of the Nether Kings

He was tired of wondering if karma was a real thing or just a boogyman used to scare children

His Aether began to burn and his attack took shape First he held a small orb of white lightning but as he rapidly condensed his power that small orb grew to a bonfire Soon it was a river of liquid sparkling white fire that flowed around his body It snapped and cracked melting the surrounding stones as Ileot looked across the widening gap toward the dwindling island on which the fighting was occurring

From here the sound of Nether KingÆs ongs were almost distant It was the crackle and snap of white lightning turning to fire that filled IleotÆs ears with a roaring cacophony

As Ileot built up more and more momentum he carefully split the power he was gathering into two different forms The first was a more violent and unpredictable form that was probably three fourths of his power It formed the frothing river that spun rapidly around him growing in size every moment And then there was an extremely condensed piercing tongue of white flame that was the other fourth of his power It was a seed slowly sprouting in his right hand

His power continued to build as he examined the battlefield The river of fire and lighting grew to the side of a large building around him Panting Ileot couldnÆt keep his hands from beginning to tremble Finally after so long it will all be over All I need to do is just

Everything was under his control He held the tightly leashed power in his hands that would allow him to seize his destiny This was the key to his future All he needed now was the perfect opportunity

Just the thought made IleotÆs heart tremble Fear surged up from the depths of his heart frigid and grasping What if he missed that chance Yet he had now lived for three thousand years No matter how exciting his last few hours had been no matter what shocking things he had learned he still had enough presence of mind to ignore the fear

I can grasp this chance ItÆs the last step After that

So Ileot waited with the fear constantly whispering that he would miss this chance It was a constant distraction Lord Miln and Lady Iellaya began struggling against the Nether King and switched their focus to eliminating the Nether Heralds As he saw the change Ileot considered striking But he stayed his hand creating a feedback loop with his energy around him

The building of white lightning and fire had grown to a mountain The larger energy grew increasingly violent while that seed became a concentrated tongue of flame that was almost unmoving Yet as Ileot considered the attack that he was slowly creating within his right hand the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end

When the moment came Ileot did not miss it

Through the hazy of fear anxiety and reverberating battle he found his chance to strike pretty easily Because for a split second the entire battlefield was stunned into stillness by the long shadow cast by the image of Randidly Ghosthound That vast network of glimmering golden roots stretched outward without any apparent strain and everyone stared in wonder The vast image was so self evidently powerful that not even Ileot could believe what the boy had managed to accomplish His mind almost denied what he was seeing

Truthfully everyone froze except a single individual Lady Iellaya used the moment of hanging time to position herself next to one of the golden roots with Lord Miln and the Nether King in front of her One hand went to the root and Ileot watched in fascination as she absorbed a portion of the golden light and unleashed a devastating attack that pinned Lord Miln and the Nether King together for an extra second

Even as Ileot activated the powers he had created he narrowed his eyes The mountain of roaring energy around him stirred Of course she would be prepared The Ghosthound is her subordinate But the real question is how his image became so much more powerful than it was earlier

IleotÆs power crackled and spat as he blasted it forward across the Great Rift and hit the other floating stone island As the white lightning and flames spread outward it became a huge wave of sparkling light that engulfed that island It was a sea of luminous diamonds It was a beautiful way to die Ileot distantly felt RandidlyÆs image of the World Tree fade and his power began attacking the remaining combatants on the far island

Ileot didnÆt bother to protect those individuals who had been on the island but neither did he attempt to focus any power on them they were all secondary targets Them being injured by the attack was a nice bonus but Ileot would face Vualla only after the Nether King had been finished off He would deal with one foe at a time

After annihilating the remaining stone in the area and knocking away the other bodies IleotÆs energies curved back on themselves and began to whirl like a tornado grinding away at the Nether KingÆs exterior

Bit by bit its liquid armor was forced away IleotÆs hand the one holding the single tongue of horrifyingly condensed flame spasmed as his eyes were trained on that figure As its exterior is ripped away only then

However it appeared the Nether King understood IleotÆs plan Rather than letting him grind away at it and face its core its body began producing quite a quantity of the strange liquid that functioned as its skin It became a battle of endurance Sighing Ileot forcefully continued to rip those defenses away More and more of his liquid Aether drained away But the tedious game of chicken did give him a bit of a chance to reflect on what he had seen from Randidly GhosthoundÆs image

Very quickly Ileot identified three factors as to why the image had improved drastically in power But even after finding those three things it was hard for Ileot to believe that these explanations really justified that overwhelming image that had stilled the entire battlefield

Not even Ileot could deny it The World Tree had been breathtaking in a way that shouldnÆt have been possible It had felt real

The first reason Ileot noted and perhaps the most understandable reason for the jump in strength was that the Ghosthound fueled his Skill using liquid Aether It would certainly explain an improvement but it left Ileot with a lot of questions Hed hadnÆt detected any liquid Aether in the Ghosthound in their previous encounters And given the horrendous difficulty in condensing liquid Aether

Perhaps Vualla provided him some liquid Aether But no that shouldnÆt be it either

Although explaining away the Ghosthound having liquid Aether by using Vualla was convenient it was directly contradicted by the second factor in IleotÆs analysis that the liquid Aether that was used by the Ghosthound was almost perfectly synchronized with his image It had a multiplicative effect on the imageÆs potency And if he hadnÆt condensed it himself that sort of synchronization would be almost impossible

And honestly the image and energy had been basically perfectly aligned Ileot had never heard of liquid Aether taking so well to an image before even if someone had spent a hundred years repeatedly refining a single drop for a specific Skill

IleotÆs eyes narrowed as he maintained some attention to his current task Luckily the skin of the Nether King couldnÆt keep up with him burning all of his liquid Aether With every rotation of his energy around its body its defenses were being sheered away Slowly Ileot Swacc raised his hand

But itÆs the third reason for the GhosthoundÆs strength that is the most dangerous Ileot hummed to himself

Because the reason that the image had proliferated so quickly and so completely throughout the battlefield was due to the fact that it ran along the hotly contested divide between Aether and Nether That is to say that image could move seemingly freely between Aether and Nether It could exist safely in either Those cracks of space opened up by the damage the two energies did to each other were filled in an instant by that energy Those cracks had become roads for that image

In that way the image had frozen the efforts of both sides Because it was relying on the energiesÆ weights on either side to keep the other from acting to dislodge it And it had worked

For the duration of its existence both sides had been helpless before it

The Nether KingÆs defenses became so thin that the liquid covering its chest was more insubstantial that gauze Ileot flicked his wrist and sent that small tongue of flame shooting forward The timing of this was extremely important As Ileot had noted earlier the exterior acted as a defense but also as a limiter on the Nether KingÆs abilities Once that defense was breached the Nether KingÆs capabilities would transform radically

Which meant Ileot needed to inflict a deep wound before that transformation could be completed

In a second that tongue of white fire crossed the gap between the two figures and arrived next to the Nether King Clenching his other fist Ileot increased the ferocity of the swirling vortex of white lightning around the Nether King That last bit of liquid Nether armor was evaporated by IleotÆs assault

After the Nether King then best to suppress the Ghosthound as quickly as possible His powers are unpredictable

A reverberation at an entirely different level of volume shook the surrounding area as the Nether KingÆs core was finally revealed Ileot smashed that core with that condensed tongue of flame and sharply cut off the noise

Chapter 1218

After fourteen minutes RandidlyÆs black eyelashes fluttered It was with an exhausted relief that Randidly opened his eyes Hopefully it didnÆt take too long And now to get ready for the big fight

Sitting up Randidly felt extremely strange There were strange sensations across his skin like he was existing in a carbonated soda can that was constantly fizzing around him Standing up he did his best to ignore the sensation Then he flexed his legs cracked his neck and shook out his arms

His body was light but similarly extremely strange Sensations were extremely crisp and vivid Frowning down at the fingers of his right hand Randidly moved his hand back and forth to test if the sensation grew worse at the high speeds that would be required in a fight

The movements were so quick that his fingers became a blur The tingling did increase but not to an uncomfortable amount Randidly dubiously had to consider the fact that he might be groggy from his earlier mental strain But when Randidly took a deep breath the air seemed so pure and clean that it was sweet on his tongue

I figured there would be a change but

Acri and Sulfur hummed in concern at his confusion Randidly could only shake his head helplessly Hopefully itÆs nothing Guess we just hope that this recovery goes even more smoothly than I had planned luckily most health problems just sort themselves out with the System around

Randidly turned his attention inward At his core a huge mass of spiraling energy spread out in a disk like nova Around that huge Nether core the smaller Nether cores slowly orbited But Randidly didnÆt miss how already the pull from the central core was causing the outer ones to fall to pieces that would eventually be brought into the larger nova

From there moving onto the next step probably involves forces the nova back into a single core Randidly tapped his lip but his attention moved away from his Nether cores to the flip side of his inner world where two violet drops of liquid pulsed with power

Sighing lightly Randidly reached out and touched one of the two drops of liquid Aether His heart ached slightly to use something that ended up being so difficult to create but it wasnÆt like he had much choice Although he seemed fine on the surface RandidlyÆs images would still be quite insubstantial from his use of the PhilosopherÆs Key He needed to draw some mental energy back into himself extremely quickly

The fuzzing and pleasant popping bubbles continued around him even as his attention was focused inward Mentally Randidly extended a finger and touched one of the drops of liquid Aether Even being near it he remained the experience of allowing his emotions to be drained in order to form liquid Aether

It wasnÆt exactly mental strength that he used but it wasnÆt exactly dissimilar The part of himself that he had poured into the process would take a while to recover Forming two drops in his current condition was already relatively impressive

When his hand was on the drop of liquid Aether the use came to him instinctively Randidly let out a breath then breathed in while activating Golden Roots of Yggdrasil The drop of liquid Aether inside of him began to burn Suddenly Golden Roots stretched to fill the surrounding area

Congratulations Your Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 226

Congratulations Your Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 227

Congratulations Your Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 228

Hupp Randidly gasped as his senses were overwhelmed with a surging tidal wave of energy The second that his image spread to cover the surrounding area information and power were poured into Randidly so quickly that he quickly had to set the information to the side and focus on digesting all the energy If he hadnÆt he might have burst The buzzing grew worse as though the rapid gathering of energy only turned up the volume on a radio station rife with static

RandidlyÆs mind became white almost overwhelmed by it all It took him fully another minute to digest all the energy and allow it to nourish his body and mind And certainly afterward Randidly felt immensely more well rested Yet the buzzing popping sensation had only become more noticeable As RandidlyÆs body and mind healed his Grim Intuition just continued to feed him that confusing tingle from all around him

Not just exhaustion then Randidly snorted out a breath Then what could it be Such an unfamiliar sensation but not uncomfortable

But his internal examinations of his own situation were blown away by a huge explosion of white fire and lightning that occurred at the edge of the Great Rift The brightness was almost blinding even from this distance The power of it was so great that a wave of tremors spread out from the ominously flickering light and cracked the ground beneath him

Grooaann

The sound of the wooden support structures of the fort failing beneath him finally snapped RandidlyÆs attention back to his current priorities He hadnÆt recovered a great deal of Mana even with the Skill using liquid Aether but he had plenty to utilize Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Just as the walls began to sag and tumble forward Randidly carefully propped them all up with vines

First thingÆs first Randidly grimaced as he looked behind him When he hopped down from the battlements into the courtyard below the tingling continued But as he landed Randidly relaxed immensely as he realized something

ItÆs not that IÆm exhausted itÆs just that the sensation of using my images in the surrounding area feels so Scratching his chin Randidly shook his head and scanned the limp bodies in the courtyard for anyone requiring immediate aid to survive Luckily it seemed that most were just knocked unconscious As quickly as possible Randidly wanted to hurry toward that huge explosion and figure out what had happened But he also didnÆt want to just abandon these people here

Especially when his interference was the only reason that the fort hadnÆt collapsed like a house of cards on top of them

The warmth flowing through his connection with Vualla continued to flow reassuringly even as the amount of Aether she was using had grown again So despite the obvious urgency Randidly wasnÆt willing to overlook these wounded individuals It made a certain sense that her capacity would improve as she utilized her new image but the amount of growth she was experiencing was preposterous

I suppose thatÆs what I get for getting involved with the greatest energy utilization genius the System had ever seen But Randidly dropped that thought when he saw a few soldiers groaning and sitting up

Randidly strode quickly over and unleashed a direct blast of Aether into the air to try and aid in these soldiersÆ recovery For a brief second Randidly was distracted by the way the Aether began to behave strangely only a meter away from his body But after seeing that he could force the Aether to continue to diffuse out over the wounded crowd he bent over and met the eyes of an individual with the body of an insect Of them all he seemed the most coherent You alright

The soldier nodded nervously then abruptly straightened as he recognized Randidly a few seconds later

Mirroring the nod Randidly continued See if you can get the rest of the people up here up DonÆt leave anyone behind Rouse everyone And once you do retreat At least far enough that you canÆt see any more cracks in the ground I think there isnÆt much a point to defending this place any longer

The soldier nodded again

Not super talkative huh probably for the best Saves me time Standing Randidly turned away But a voice manifested right as Randidly was about to accelerate toward the door to exit the fort

What about you Why why not come with us

Randidly grinned back at the soldier I have a weird feeling that todayÆs fighting isnÆt over quite yet Besides my friends are fighting still For now I need to go out there

Although it was difficult to see through his insectoid face Randidly could sense the soldierÆs resolve firm then we will stay too

Chuckling Randidly allowed the image of the Grim Chimera to descend around him for a split second The ghastly aura wafted away from him filling the surrounding air Randidly didnÆt miss the way the buzzing intensified His skin tingled pleasantly

The soldier flinched

You are weak soldier This isnÆt your fight Randidly said lightly We all have roles Yours right now is to follow orders Withdraw so you will be more prepared next time Understood

Randidly didnÆt even wait to hear the soldiers answer He simply turned and accelerated out of Lady IellayaÆs fort His limbs moved smoothly and blood pumped through his veins The tingling bubbles continued but slowly grew less attention grabbing Beyond the gate were floating platforms and pillars of stone which were all that remained of the edge of the continent

Grinning in pleasure Randidly leapt back and forth from to cross the intervening distance The force of his steps and landings cracked and shattered the drifting pieces further but he didnÆt think his biggest worry would be the return journey

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 179

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes stretched sideways into crescents as he watched Aether sluggishly be forced out of the way by the speed of his acceleration Again the buzzing grew stronger Then when he reached the Great Rift Randidly dived forward out into the vast darkness At this point it was almost instinctual to use Nether propel himself forward toward the rapidly diminishing fragments of stone floating out there

ThatÆs what the sensation is The new Nether core creates a bubble around me that I can use as a defensive barrier Randidly mused as he shot rapidly forward If anything he was faster in the Nether than when running through Aether space But not only that because the Nether is actually balanced with my Aether it acts as a screen that keeps foreign Aether out completely Not just Aether out either

Randidly flexed his hands and used Cursed Appetite of a Wraith to suck in a breath that absorbed some of the energy from the surrounding Nether Yet when that Nether was pulled in toward his body the energy needed to pass through the substantial energy field around him For the Nether it wasnÆt the bubble that his core created that impeded its progress but the pure Aether that filled the air between RandidlyÆs body and the bubble

And the reason for the sensation of tingling that was slowly vanishing was that all of RandidlyÆs Skills now ran entirely on his own purified Aether Not even a whiff of the SystemÆs Aether was allowed near the balanced energies in RandidlyÆs body any longer With only his pure Aether as fuel Randidly had already noticed that his Skills were markedly more effective

It would take time he didnÆt currently have to see the extent that his Skills were improved but it seemed that they were almost 30% more powerful just from removing the trace amounts of System Aether that Randidly had been subconsciously from the air And the effect was especially noticeable when his Skills manifested within that two meter sphere around Randidly

But RandidlyÆs expression quickly grew serious as he continued onward His eyes were on the distant battlefield where the fading light and chaotic energies were making it difficult for his Grim Intuition But even with those improvements fighting against a Nether King this wonÆt be easy

As Randidly approached the battlefield there was an extremely low frequency noise that was steadily gaining volume It wasnÆt aggressive but it was clearly some version of those noises that the Nether King produced Worrying that it was building its strength for something Randidly accelerated even faster

His eyes narrowed as he attempted to gather what information he could A little to the left there was a small platform of stone that had been the origin of that powerful earlier attack Opposite that there was an impenetrable grey cloud that was surrounded by white and black lightning It was from that cloud that the low frequency noise was emerging

ThatÆs the Nether King Randidly wondered His eyes continued to search Other than that most of the surrounding area was just filled with drifting debris For whatever reason he still hadnÆt managed to locate Vualla

A blast of white lightning screamed across the battlefield Taken by surprise it was only when it was a short distance away that Randidly realized it was heading directly for his beating heart

RandidlyÆs eyes burned emerald as his gaze fixed on his attacker Ileot Swacc

Chapter 1219

Lady Iellaya drifted in the darkness surrounded by fizzing chunks of orange She blinked slowly and her eyes focused allowing her to watch the inky blackness slowly dissolve the nearby stones The stump of her right arm was still warm a phantom sensation of when she had touched ord MilnÆs back The righteous fury she had felt when she had struck him and pinned him to the Nether King still felt amazing

The empty space where her forearm had once been was curiously cool completely severed by that strange white lightning that Ileot used in his strike The charred skin of Lady IellayaÆs elbow twinged in discomfort

I avenged you Abiodun Lady Iellaya worked her mouth tasting blood on her tongue Her head throbbed painfully All she wanted was a well deserved nap You can rest in peace

A voice continued to whisper persistently in her ear despite the fact that she allowed most of her consciousness to settle into numbed silence The once familiar tone it used suddenly felt extremely strange We failed we couldnÆt protect Abiodun Everything we touch is cursed to die Better to just drift here

Lady Iellaya frowned and gently chided herself Why had the voice made her current action out to be so bleak This rest isn’t a permanent state Not so long as there are still other subordinates who have sworn their lives to me I made a mistake and lost Abiodun but that is a lesson for the future I cannot stop here As soon as I recover

The voice grew louder and continued as though it hadnÆt even heard her words Lady IellayaÆs skin itched to hear it so shrilly in her ear Hate Hate them ItÆs their fault This world these lives they could all be

What the hell are you Lady Iellaya whispered She forced her eyes open To her horror she found that her whole body had been covered in a sea of feathers They grew increasingly thick over all of her body submerging her toes legs abdomen and torso until only her face was currently bare And as her skin continued to itch Lady Iellaya felt those feathers slowly sprout out of her neck and creep upward like a beard

I am the path you have chosen The Path of vengeance Seeking power to avenge your Abiodun at any cost

I donÆt choose you The pounding in Lady IellayaÆs head grew worse A dawning horror seized her chest as the voice in the back of her head sounded less and less familiar Those huge throbbing wings she had dragged behind her began pulling her even more deeply into the darkness They were rivers of feathers an endless burial in an oily dark flow

You needed power The voice insisted We all need power Only with power can we be saved You let me into your heart We want the same thing Only with power can we avoid failing again But we will always fail Our touch is poison The power we want is a perfect power that has no reason to be used Because by using it weÆd swallow everything up

As the black feathers began to sprout from her face Lady Iellaya smiled Am I really like you Whatever you are you have no future And I wonÆt let you devour mine No not when I hold the future that Abiodun dreamed of in his life The dream of the whole world belonging to me

You want to swallow the world just like

As the feathers began to spread across her high cheekbones and obscured Lady IellayaÆs vision the raven winged serpent roared With its short and sharp jaws Lady Iellaya began to gnaw her way out of the sea of feathers that surrounded her

RandidlyÆs skin tingled as the beam of white lightning cut toward him through the intervening space His instincts made it quite clear that this wasnÆt something that he should face directly Its power seemed to curdle the Nether of the Great Rift around it leaving a trail of grey goop as the two powers rubbed against each other with enough friction to spark

Randidly instantly surged into motion His image spread out through the pure Aether maintained by his Nether Gatekeeper bubble With his skin tingling Randidly gritted his teeth and twisted out of the way to avoid the sudden attack Chimeric Avoidance

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 232

The beam of sizzling lightning ripped across the edge of RandidlyÆs ribs melting through SulfurÆs exterior rigid in a heartbeat Glaring upward at Ileot Swacc Randidly activated Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes The empowered Skill surged into action mobilizing RandidlyÆs own Nether to turn his body into a torpedo that surged forward toward Ileot But just as quickly as he activated it Randidly was forced to desperately activate the Skill again in a different direction as Ileot unleashed a bombardment of three more blasts of white lightning toward his vital points

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 193

Gritting his teeth Randidly could only flex his body to disperse his momentum into the surrounding space The blasts whizzed by harmlessly but Randidly could see that several more flames condensed around IleotÆs distant figure ready to be shot forward Yet Randidly couldnÆt help but think there was something wrong with Ileot His posture was rigid and his face was locked into a constant sneer

But most strangely Ileot had seemed to Randidly to be someone who loved the sound of his own voice Yet now he attacked him without even speaking And the quality of these lightning blasts

The performance of my Skills certainly has improved but IleotÆs attacks are even faster than mine If we were fighting near each other there wouldnÆt be any way for me to dodge but still RandidlyÆs eyes tightened Even if IÆve improved it should still be easy for someone like Ileot to crush me with his image So why isnÆt he doing that

IleotÆs eyes were half closed completely preventing Randidly from discerning any of his emotions or intentions If Randidly didnÆt know better it would seem like Ileot was dozing off Yet as Randidly paused and scanned his sudden attacker three more blasts of white lightning shot down toward him Swearing quietly Randidly rolled to the side and quickly avoided the blasts

DoesnÆt he want to talk Guess we arenÆt friends any longer RandidlyÆs gaze was sharp as he looked up at Ileot once more There were no words waiting for him in IleotÆs half closed eyes only more tongues of white flame that sprung into existence around his foe Either way I wonÆt be able to do anything from this far away But if I move closer too recklessly

Damnit What the hell is going on

Then RandidlyÆs eyes widened as an idea occurred to him He began to chuckle Then he cracked his knuckles Alright then LetÆs do this the hard way Even if you are more powerful than me I donÆt think you can compete with me in the Great Rift

None will leave this place alive Ileot whispered

When Ileot spoke the short phrase RandidlyÆs grin only widened With those words most of RandidlyÆs confusion was satisfied even if he didnÆt understand the situation the clarity that Ileot had become an enemy took away all of RandidlyÆs mental stress

The familiar sensation of the Grim ChimeraÆs wild glee during its earlier missions into the Great Rift returned suddenly to Randidly The danger had his blood smoldering But the current Randidly Ghosthound had gone far down the Path of Nether If Ileot Swacc was going to force them to be enemies Randidly didnÆt mind demonstrating how much he had grown

After all Randidly sincerely doubted that his ability to use Nether was as grand a secret as the Alpha Cosmos If he had no choice but to fight there was no reason to keep this secret hidden

His large Nether core began to spin even faster slowly dismantling the surrounding cores Ripples began to spread through the bubble around Randidly Still standing perfectly straight and still Ileot unleashed more blasts of power As Ileot attacked the image of the Grim Intuition came into being around Randidly and expertly wove its way through the blasts

All the while RandidlyÆs preparations continued in secret

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 120

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 121

As Randidly quickly wove his Nether RItual he brought the image of Yggdrasil to life behind him He considered using the drop of liquid Aether but decided against it He would save that for a decisive blow

The enormous brown trunk shot upward its twisting branches and golden roots spreading to fill the surrounding area Golden script glittered mesmerizingly across all of the World Tree For the first time since the fight began IleotÆs eyes narrowed it was clear he recognized the image as a threat Yet after a hesitation Ileot didnÆt attempt to contest the spreading reach of the tree at all Instead he just conjured more blasts of white lightning and unleashed them all at once toward Randidly

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 122

Randidly grimaced as the six shot volley Ileot unleashed crossed in complicated patterns too quickly for his eyes to follow Without much choice Randidly allowed one of the beams to pierce directly through the flesh of his thigh to avoid taking more serious injuries To RandidlyÆs horror he immediately felt the blast drain a fraction of his energy Behind his back that beam twisted around as though alive and aimed for RandidlyÆs spine

The trick is to avoid them so they donÆt build up any energy huh With how much power it took it probably can still circle around a few times

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 123

But as Randidly expertly used Chimeric Avoidance to avoid the one blast that curved around and the four more that Ileot unleashed his face curled into a smile itÆs such a pity that IÆm no longer bound by just relying on Aether to fight you any longer Honestly I might actually be stronger as a Nether Beast than as an Aether soldier

At that thought RandidlyÆs body began to ripple His limbs stretched and darkened transforming partially into the vision of the Grim Chimera His two long bone tails swung impatiently side to side as he glared up at Ileot Acri trilled in pleasure and spun together to form its enormous lance form Sulfur hummed in understanding and the three heavy fingers it had on RandidlyÆs left arm gradually sharpened into wickedly curved talons

IleotÆs eyes narrowed in annoyance at the same moment that the Ritual finished Yggdrasil surrounded them its branches stretching out in every direction its roots forming a wide base They fought beneath YggdrasilÆs auspices As the curving beam twisted again to aim at Randidly and Ileot hemmed in his movements with more attacks Randidly reached out and touched a gnarled branch next to him

In the next instant Randidly was gone The blasts of white lightning passed harmlessly through the void he left behind The leaves of Yggdrasil rustled

For a long second Ileot stood on his basketball courtÆs worth of stone and looked at the spot where Randidly disappeared with blank eyes The beam that had pierced through Randidly gradually ran out of its stolen energy and faded like its fellows With a sudden sharpness Ileot looked up and saw Randidly holding a burning beacon of emerald and orange fire in his left hand while accelerating down toward him

Moving with all of the power that Randidly expected from an expert of IleotÆs abilities Ileot Swacc twisted and unleashed almost a dozen curving arcs of incandescent electricity toward Randidly With so many at once they resembled the jaws of a wolf closing in to swallow him whole

Yet once more Randidly reached out and touched a nearby branch of Yggdrasil With the same sort of capability that the blue veins in the Great Rift possessed Randidly followed that connection and appeared at one of the innumerable roots of the World Tree With Randidly disappearing once more the roots and branches in the surrounding area shifted once more wriggling outward

Before Ileot could react the remaining stone beneath him shattered and Randidly surged upward the glowing ember at the center of a bonfire FIrebirdÆs Lament

Congratulations Your Skill FIrebirdÆs Lament has grown to Level 86

Congratulations Your Skill FIrebirdÆs Lament has grown to Level 101

Flames blasted outward knocking Ileot backward Although the Skill wasnÆt a powerful one the evolved form of Verdant Nova had the most concussive force and rampant energies than most of RandidlyÆs abilities In addition it bought Randidly a split second to examine Ileot in close proximity Because honestly he hadnÆt expected that Skill to hit Both this and the prior movements were designed to draw out his strength so that Randidly could judge how aggressively he should engage in this fight

Yet as Randidly studied his foe with Aether Detection his eyes widened in recognition of what was happening in IleotÆs body The reason heÆs so stiff is that heÆs suffering from Aether Sickness That last attack depleted most of his strength and now that heÆs suspended in the Great Rift With how large his inner world is with how long he lived it must require a ridiculous amount of Aether to maintain his peak strength

Just the Aether cost of supporting himself means heÆs running at a deficit ThatÆs why these attacks are condensed and designed to steal energy for fuel Ileot looks like heÆs dozing off because thatÆs actually whatÆs happening

Although Ileot was something akin to an apex predator compared to Randidly its ribs were showing through its patchy fire ItÆs enormously powerful body had turned to eating itself in order to survive

Chapter 1220

Yet even as Randidly realized the weak state that Ileot was in his face tightened into a scowl He hadnÆt noticed it at first but Ileot had minutely adjusted his position as though he had known Randidly would attack from below previously The blast from RandidlyÆs Skill currently had him careening back toward the edge of the Great Rift and the world of Aether beyond that

As Randidly reached out and touched a branch of Yggdrasil that grew outward to give him a connection Ileot expertly fired a dozen blasts of white lightning toward the roots and branches that were only a few meters away from his current position Although the roots and branches swayed and repositioned themselves it bought Ileot enough time to continue toward Aether

Without much choice Randidly allowed his body to flow through the connection and appear slightly farther away than he would have liked About eight meters separated himself and Ileot

Seeing RandidlyÆs new position Ileot conjured around twenty more tongues of white flame to float around his shoulders Yet he did not unleash attacks The two individuals simply stared at one another as Ileot moved closer and closer toward Aether to replenish his stores After all Ileot was perfectly fine to maintain the status quo now that he had some momentum

Chuckling Randidly gathered the image of the Grim Chimera to himself Did you think that I canÆt do anything to you just if you keep some distance And I donÆt need to step into a trap in order to make you waste Mana Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Randidly breathed in and pulled at the energies in the surrounding area Nether stirred around him but Randidly was already filled to bursting with Nether His Nether Gatekeeper bubble was robust and unblemished No when Randidly pulled at the energies he rather directly attacked the small amount of Aether that he could sense within IleotÆs chest

Immediately IleotÆs face tightened in fury as a sizable portion of his remaining energy slipped out of his grasp Yet before Randidly could even target that weakness IleotÆs face closed like a nighttime childrenÆs story It was only by an obvious effort of will that Ileot was able to keep himself awake The flames around him dimmed

Ileot had conjured those twenty flames thinking he had a certain amount of Aether remaining and suddenly he only had three fourths as much Both men did mental calculations and realized that even at the new pace Ileot would still make it if Randidly maintained his distance Barely

Randidly pulled again with Cursed Appetite of a Wraith but Ileot had already seen that trick and had a tight grip on his remaining Aether Deciding it was better to take a risk now than letting him get back to Aether Randidly manipulated the surrounding Nether to shoot himself downward toward Ileot As he expected IleotÆs eyes narrowed to slits and he barred his teeth as Randidly neared him They had crossed perhaps half the distance between the battlefield and the boundary between Aether and Nether White lightning blasted forward to intercept RandidlyÆs path With a small smile he reached out toward a leafy branch of the World Tree

Already IleotÆs eyes scanned the surrounding area for attack angles that his foe could take which was why his expression turned blank as Randidly didnÆt activate the Nether Ritual he had woven through the World Tree after touching it Two of IleotÆs lightning blasts hit him immediately stealing a bit of RandidlyÆs energy and spinning around behind him to strike again

Those lightning blasts hurt like a bitch but the expression on his face is worth it

Before Ileot could recover enough to defend himself RandidlyÆs blurred body rippled and the large claw of the Grim Chimera tightened and dug its talons into the flex of IleotÆs right shoulder

People arenÆt toys to play with Randidly whispered Then he took another deep breath and activated Cursed Appetite of a Wraith This time when Randidly pulled his physical proximity to Ileot allowed him to forcibly rip away another large chunk of Aether leaving Ileot with only a breath of energy In addition he yanked his energy out of the two lightning blasts having them dissipate harmlessly

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 271

Immediately IleotÆs eyes closed His remaining Aether in his chest bottomed out His body relaxed Randidly could see the Aether constructs at IleotÆs core swy dangerously Yet just as fast Grim Intuition screamed that Randidly needed to open up some distance

Even with Chimeric Avoidance MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality and Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil working in concert Randidly couldnÆt move as quickly as Ileot Suddenly his eyes shot open Randidly witnessed in detached fascination as he forcibly ripped apart a Skill in his chest and recycledÆ its Aether to buy himself a few more seconds of activity

RandidlyÆs pupils narrowed to points as a hand wreathed in white lightning surged toward his head But he was able to catch the flicker of movement behind IleotÆs back that gave him some hope

I suppose this is what I get for pushing Ileot into a desperate situation

Nether was memory and connection So when Randidly mobilized his thick bubble that he had received with his new Nether Gatekeeper style core it came together instantly into a thick rubbery rind in front of IleotÆs hand The two forces clashed Rather predictably RandidlyÆs hastily erected shield could only last for a brief moment of course Ileot could destroy Nether Gatekeepers as easy as breathing

But it bought enough time Before Ileot could rip off RandidlyÆs head he was smashed in the small of his back by a powerful fist

Wincing Randidly twisted away as Ileot was knocked off of his previous path and back into the Great Rift His right hand went up to his right eye which burned painfully IleotÆs fingernail had been so close to seizing RandidlyÆs face that its passage had left a small papercut on the surface of RandidlyÆs eye Some remnant of IleotÆs image was there too which caused the wound to be extremely painful

But Randidly ignored the pain and turned to face the figure that helped him Even as a thin trail of blood dripped down his cheek his grin was beaming Good timing

Vualla shook her head in faux sorrow This is why so many people hold grudges against you Randidly Ghosthound You are supposed to be weaker when fighting in the Great Rift Not stronger CanÆt you just behave normally for once

Lowering his hand and wiping away the blood coming from his eye Randidly shrugged The pain ceased as he used raw Aether to smother IleotÆs image Sorry nope IÆm an unrepentant weirdo

Well itÆs certainly illuminating I learned a lot from watching you Vualla floated easily into RandidlyÆs Nether Gatekeeper bubble and kissed him Then she pulled back and said seriously In the same way that you learn lessons by watching a deranged mental patient dance at the edge of a ten story buildingÆs roof

As he laughed helplessly Randidly felt warmth pass between them More than enough to be a fair trade for the Aether that he provided to her Then his expression turned serious as he scanned the extremely complicated Aether around Vualla Are you alright

ItÆs just been a long day Vualla sighed and looked down at her hands IÆve got some pretty bad burns but I can move for now I avoided the worse of his attack against the Nether King

Then both turned to regard Ileot who had stabilized himself and was glaring hatefully at Vualla and Randidly Randidly didnÆt miss the way that Ileot decisively sacrificed several more of his minor Skills and reaped the Aether from them

I didnÆt see what happened with the Nether King is it out of commission That noise Randidly gestured over toward the continually rumbling cloud surrounded by black and white lightning

Vualla hesitated Ileot Swacc definitely hit it hard He wouldnÆt be so exhausted otherwise So at the very least its wounded For now Ileot is probably the main threat Especially if he is willing to just ambush you out of the blue Also saying something like none will leave this place aliveÆ I sincerely doubt that he didnÆt notice that I was still here