LoRG 4

BertramÆs eyes scanned the area The more he saw the more he doubted his own senses At the far side of the area in the deepest shadow of the canyon walls a massive sapphire dragon crouched Next to it was two humanoids one woman with a spear and one man with a handheld projectile weapon On the other side of the second humanoid was a horse

To the left side of the clearing was tight ranks of several military men Just looking at them made Bertram nervous They stood smartly at attention with their hands above their backs Their gaze was on the central portion of the natural clearing where a spear sat leaning up against a closed wooden casket

As Bertram looked around a woman in a black silk dress walked forward and intercepted the Ghosthound Do you wish to say something before we begin Ah you must be HelenÆs mother IÆm Tatiana

The woman Tatiana offered her hand to Islinda Islinda pursed her lips and looked up at Randidly then back to the woman She reached forward and took the womanÆs hand You may call me Lady Isa And to answer your question he will definitely be speaking

Finally the somber expression on the GhosthoundÆs face shifted to troubled as he glanced at Islinda But HelenÆs mother only smirked at him What do you expect me to do it Do you want me to embarrass myself up there My daughter ran away from my house a decade ago to chase you take some responsibility

The GhosthoundÆs eyes turned flinty but he still nodded Then he rolled his shoulders and walked forward to stand next to the coffin The crowd quieted as more and more humanoids followed after Bertram and Ikaas down into the area

Islinda was led by Tatiana up to the lowest slab of stone and Bertram towed Ikaas after her They stood very close to the Ghosthound close enough that a spear could bridge the distance between them

Bertram watched the Ghosthound rub his thumb against the coffin as more and more people filed in and crowded together There were several different factions that kept to themselves but they all looked down at the coffin with sad eyes

Do all these people Bertram wondered Really know Helen

Chapter 1744

Influence +31

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and tried to ignore how nervous he was The cool air of the cavern was the only reason he could remain as calm as he was But even through the relief of the air an annoyance cropped up Why the hell do these notifications need to ruin every meaningful moment

Randidly had problems managing his guilt already He had been able to keep a clear head about it since he sparred with Bertram and felt the beginnings of HelenÆs Depths of Horror seeping into the Stillborn Phoenix but also the constant ache of her absence hadnÆt packed its bags and vacated the hollow under his heart Now to stand here above her coffin to be forced to speak and to feel himself benefiting front he experience

Influence +32

Stop it Randidly said to himself He stared at the coffin in front of him trying to ignore the people waiting behind him Waiting for him to speak You know the reason you are nervous has nothing to do with the accumulation of Influence

I just donÆt know what do you say about someone who gave their life to protect you Randidly chewed on his bottom lip for several seconds

Neveah stood over next to Wivanya and Alana but she reached through their connection Do you want a bit of advice

Yes Randidly replied honestly At the moment his mind was blank

Say what you would want to say to her now If she could still hear you

Randidly pressed his eyes shut and blew a breath out through his nose He opened his eyes and turned around to look at the people swimming in this same cool grief as him He forced himself to take another breath to steady himself

Heiffal and his subordinates who had served as Overseers with Helen stood on the right In the middle were representatives from the Order Ducis and Kharon who had either been trained by Helen or been trained by those Helen trained In addition Donnyton and many of the other Zones sent representatives who had assisted Helen in patrolling the Wildlands in the early days Beyond them were smaller clusters of people who came from Bubble Cities that Helen and the Order Ducis had liberated

To the left about half of the Elite Recruits stood with stern expressions At the front Charlotte Wick practically glowered forward burning a hole in the coffin with her intense gaze

As he had requested all the attendees held their weapons as they stood at HelenÆs funeral Randidly would have almost felt dumb for suggesting it in retrospect had not he seen how desperately everyone was clinging to the bits of metal bone and wood in their hands

We met as rivals I went to Tellus to pay a debt and she was one of the first powerful foes I faced I was lucky enough to defeat her But even in our first meeting Randidly shook his head slowly I felt how desperate she was How much she needed to improve I had learned to fight underneath the System and I had learned that I fought and won or I died Helen believed the same about her own situation she could not afford to lose So when I defeated her she decided to become my spear attendant

In her mind she had no other choice

Randidly took another breath His mouth was suddenly dry he should have prepared water With the brief respite he opened himself up and allowed Nether to flow freely out of him and swirling through the surrounding space Then he ignored the dryness and continued to speak

A lot of you likely those who didnÆt spend as much time with Helen are probably wondering why I insisted that everyone carry their weapons openly at this funeral and that she be buried with her spear RandidlyÆs lips twitched slightly as he looked around at the surrounding people The easy answer is that nothing brought Helen joy like competitive violence She was fiery and brutal both in conversation and in a fight The more complicated answer is that I would have told you before I had the last few weeks to reflect that so much of my relationship with her centered around sparring Sparring was her constant request to me Generally it was the only thing she asked of me

Randidly had the urge to scratch his neck but suppressed it But sparring was only the beginning I was a fool to think that was the defining mode of our relationship Because now when I think of Helen

His expression crumped Randidly needed to suck a breath in between his teeth before he could continue Now when I think of her I remember a woman who never doubted that I could accomplish something She was someone who would hear me make a sudden and strange request help me practice my new image teach these people how to use an image training these naive youths to become soldiers

Across the natural amphitheater Charlotte Wick fell to her knees and began to sob

anything Anything I asked any plan I made or any bizarre training regimen I wanted to try Helen was always there RandidlyÆs shoulder heaved as he continued to talk She was always there For years she has followed me without complaint And I to her I am so so very thankful I couldnÆt have gotten to this point without her She was my Knight the only one that IÆll ever have She was

But suddenly RandidlyÆs throat closed The words would no longer come His body rebelled against his desire to express the complex relationship he had built with Helen through all the years that he had known her Just like how Randidly felt like his body had been strained to bring a planet into his Alpha Cosmos he now felt strained releasing the truth of how much she meant to him into the world

His powerful body was an insufficient medium to convey the truth

Nether rolled off of his torso in thick ripples A strange stickiness accumulated in the air as the Nether filled all the available space and began to compress And in front of him Islinda removed a training spear from her interspatial device and gripped it tightly A single tear rolled down her cheek

Randidly closed his mouth He could feel his body beginning to heat the cavern his heart was beating too quickly He cleared his throat awkwardly and finally addressed the most common uncertainty floating around HelenÆs sudden death IÆll say this briefly just once HelenÆs death was not an accident It was a reminder of the sort of place that the Nexus is Of the reason why we need to work so hard to change things

He turned away from the crowd and peered at the coffin Thank you all for coming For the next hour sit and remember For Helen

Chapter 1745

Gradually the attendees dispersed from this deep place in the ground Most walked up to the coffin with bowed heads to pay their respects and then returned up the ravine to the windswept surface But Alana just patted WivanyaÆs neck and hopped onto the back of her dragon companion She spared one last glance for the exhausted looking Randidly and then allowed the Frost Dragon Brood Mother to crawl up the stone walls and escape the chilly crypt

A part of her wanted to say something to him But at the moment Alana Donal did not trust her mouth Her frustration would drive her to say something that she would regret

WivanyaÆs claws easily found purchase in the stone Should we not give our condolences to the Ghosthound

DidnÆt you look at him Today is a day that Randidly Ghosthound is being drowned in condolences from all sides Alana grunted Perhaps others would appreciate the sentiments but not him His experience with his grief will always be personal it is better to give him space to process this than offer unasked for comfort

Even though I wish there was something I could say Alana pulled back her lips to reveal her teeth Her grip on WivanyaÆs leather harness tightened The dozens of spars she shared with Helen existed with perfect clarity in her mind So much of her spear usage had been shaped by RandidlyÆs spear attendant Alana had been completely blindsided by her death But in the end today is not a day about me

They burst out of the ground and onto the dusty surface of the badlands and scared away a group of Level 47 Lizardmen Almost a dozen had been trooping across the flat ground but the sudden appearance of the Frost Dragon Broodmother sent them into a panic To these common monsters of the desert either of Alana and Wivanya possessed enough power to annihilate them let alone both

Wivanya growled and unleashed a blast of frost at their fleeing backs but she purposefully aimed to the side her beam hit a stone outcropping and blasted outward with freezing winds and frost Several of the lizard people were knocked to the ground and dropped some of their luggage but they scrambled up and continued to flee They held no weapons only clutched their worn cloaks around their bodies as they ran

Why let them go Wivanya swung her massive head around to look at Alana Her rumbling voice was curious rather than disappointed Wivanya no longer was the bloodthirsty monster that Alana had originally encountered

Alana sighed For whatever reason her mind kept drifting to the past today The process lost traction with the brutality of the Calamity but the System Pantheon made it known that there are certain processes that can be activated to transform pure monster races into normal species in the eyes of the Nexus Considering their intelligence the lizard people were one of the targets but now

Wivanya rumbled in understanding Considering the constant desperate struggle to hold the defensive lines over the past month few would look fondly at the prospect of recognizing another monster race More and more people subscribed to the credo Whole and Human even as ogres formed the bulk of Zone 1 and Zone 32Æs Northern defensive line

Even if the current state of these lizard people refugees carrying their belongings in burlap sacks through the desert probably meant that they were being similarly swarmed by the endless waves of monsters Even if this species would be another ally in this seemingly endless struggle against the Calamity

When Hank Howard rode his horse Ancho up to the crouching dragon Alana had spread out all of the items from one of the dropped backpacks and was sorting through the cargo She found several spare pieces of leather armor a few threadbare blankets a messy hand drawn map of the badlands a few shiny coins of ExpiraÆs universal currency several freshly harvested wolf pelts and a humanoid snakeskin doll Its eyes were made from small chunks of copper

What the hell is that Hank asked as he swung down off of his horse and jerked his chin at the doll ThingÆs ugly as hell darlinÆ DonÆt think even a gag gift like that will cheer the Ghosthound up right now

Alana snorted You know I hate it when you call me that And well you are right ItÆs ugly To me

Randidly felt his heart tighten as he saw Charlotte Wick abruptly twist around completely unprepared for the prim and self contained Islinda to march up to her and ask her question Especially that question CharlotteÆs furry brown face contracted and relaxed several times as emotions warred through her body

Basically all of the attendees had gone through the process of approaching HelenÆs coffin to pay their respects So the cool cavern was almost completely deserted aside from the three of them and HeiffalÆs troops As the sun sank toward the horizon the stone became grey and blue like the choppy water of the deep sea

When Randidly had invited the Elite recruits to the funeral he had sensed that Charlotte Wick took HelenÆs death harder than even Raymund and DiOrtho However at the time he was too distracted by his own grief to really remark upon that fact Randidly now looked deeply at Recruit Wick Does she feel guilty because her grandfather was responsible But the emotions that I sense from her

The grief around Charlotte was murky and complicated like a ball of tangled cords Even the Stillborn Phoenix had rarely been able to release such condensed emotions Randidly really couldnÆt understand from where this emotional potency emerged

Ah Charlotte blinked several times in the face of IslindaÆs patient stare Then she lowered her gaze and looked at the ground dark stone ground no not really I just she was the Overseer who trained us so

Huh Islinda said mildly She tilted her head to the side

Charlotte flushed Her fists clenched and Randidly thought for a bewildering moment that she was going to lash out at HelenÆs mother But instead Charlotte tapped her interspatial ring and removed a piece of paper I I know it isnÆt much but I really appreciated the lessons taught to me by your daughter She was a brilliant instructor I have a little talent in drawing and happened to do this in my spare time so

Islinda grasped the offered object by the corners using only her forefinger and thumb Then she held up the paper and squinted at the elegant lines of charcoal on the page Randidly raised his right hand and used his Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm to generate a bit of white light in the shadowy cavern His expression swiftly became solemn Helen wrought at her most violent and reckless dominated the page with her presence She held her spear aloft in a half crouch her face twisted into a snarl as she stared down a foe that was standing outside the scope of the drawing

RandidlyÆs skin prickled to look at this drawing Rather than imagined this truly had happened He had been the one that Helen glared at This moment had been plucked perfectly from one of the spars he did with Helen in front of the Elite Squad The artistÆs attempt to capture HelenÆs image wasnÆt quite perfect but the lines around her eyes and the tightness of HelenÆs hand on her spear were so well done RandidlyÆs heart twinged in sympathy

Randidly chewed on the inside of his cheek as he looked at Charlotte This also explains why I found those drawings in HelenÆs things

Islinda looked up at Charlotte for a few more seconds before looking back down at the drawing once more She kept her lips pursed bottling up the complex emotions that played across her features

Then she clicked her tongue DonÆt lie to me girl If you have truly drawn this then you didnÆt happen to do so in your spare time You probably have quite a few more of these

Charlotte Wick opened her mouth and just released a choking sound Her cheeks were so flushed that her complexion darkened even through the screen of her short fur She slowly shook her head but the denial did not fool anyone Randidly frowned over at the recruit who had inherited a portion of his image

Well thatÆs fine Do you have some time Come with me for a bit after this nonsense is done Islinda said to her Then HelenÆs mother turned to Randidly And you IÆm almost ready to go home But before that IÆd like to see my daughterÆs body

Chapter 1746

Randidly opened his mouth to tell her no Seeing Helen like this would just cause her pain But then he managed to stop himself He closed his mouth and looked more seriously at Islinda This woman is the one who raised Helen Even if Helen didnÆt agree with her mother she couldnÆt avoid being impacted by her If I was to bluntly tell Helen no in a situation like this

Randidly cleared his throat alright If thatÆs what you want

As he expected IslindaÆs face instantly erupted in a bitter grimace Hmph You would truly allow me to look at my daughter who has been slaughtered like livestock Since you kept the casket closed I know that her situation must be pretty grim If its grim now after you prettied her up pah I can only imagine what horrors my only daughter was forced to endure

Randidly kept his mouth shut even as Islinda continued to glare at him Charlotte looked confused but didnÆt speak up Eventually Islinda sighed and shook her head Shit You are no fun

TodayÆs not a fun day Randidly said gently His head throbbed from this womanÆs petty games but he knew this was just her way of grieving But immediately after he said those words he realized how thoughtless they sounded

How dare you say that to me Islinda seethed For the first time the woman lost control of that tight seal she kept over herself and showed genuine fury through the lens of her eyes Her suppressed emotions emerged with a horrible discordant resonance that set RandidlyÆs teeth on edge

There was no shape to the emotion laid bare Yet that formless intensity fixated at on Randidly

Just as quickly as the bare truth of IslindaÆs heart was revealed the tight lock snapped back into place and her gaze was mild She twisted her mouth You did that on purpose So it would be more funÆ for me Thank you I suppose Now take me home And you girl You will be coming with me so we can look at more of your drawings

Randidly bowed slightly and used the PhilosopherÆs Key to open up a portal back to Tellus Now that everything was within the Alpha Cosmos it was much quicker to open up portals to exact positions he didnÆt have to search at all They called Bertram and Ikaas back down and all four of them crossed over to Tellus

Islinda looked back over her shoulder once as he was closing the portal She was finally crying

Not knowing what else to do Randidly finished closing the portal on her and stood alone in the dark cavern But eventually he shook himself back to action

Randidly made a mental note to check back in on Charlotte Wick soon lest her sudden disappearance be noted and the Commandant learn of the news But the more Randidly thought about it the more savage his expression became

He stood in the deepening pool of shadow and Nether and allowed the Stillborn Phoenix to hum The impulse toward ferocity and violence tensed his muscles His realization drove him more fully into the role as the horrifying monster that lurked in the depths Honestly The Commandant wonÆt even care if I had stolen Charlotte as part of some petty revenge plan He would probably believe it immature but a sign that I was learning my fucking place in the Nexus

Randidly briefly lost control of his emotions He was violence in the shape of a beast all need and instinct The physical edges of him stretched and began to tear The air seemed to spark and suddenly the interior of this shadowy place was filled with spectral flames His Nether Weight squeezed the air with enough force that his ears popped I swear to god Commandant Wick I will make you pay for this

Then Randidly gathered himself back together He relaxed the Stillborn Phoenix The ghastly flames vanished like they were simply a mirage He sent an apologetic glance over toward Heiffal and his shaken subordinates Sorry about that

Randidly soon recognized what he was seeing even though it had been a long time since he last witnessed this inward facing energy flow He licked his lips and inhaled rapidly Then he looked around again trying to figure out why this had happened Eventually his gaze came back to rest on the coffin at the bottom of the gravel filled hole It will take a while but this someday Helen are you going to become a Nether Prince

The seed of energy at the core of the coffin had already formed It didnÆt bother to reply to RandidlyÆs speculation Two emotions smashed into each other both drawing power from the weeks of grief that had left him tortured and exhausted He was trembling On the one hand Randidly felt relief that Helen wasnÆt truly gone From his understanding of Nether Princes they could eventually evolve into sentience But on the other hand imagining someone from the Nexus discovering Helen and using her to empower some spoiled bratÆs image

Fuck Randidly spat out the word unable to reconcile the two emotions Then he shook himself Well I planned on protecting this place anyway This just makes it that much more of a priority

For another fifteen minutes Randidly stood and watched the energy flows He wondered if he was just jumping to conclusions the current energy flows somewhat resembled a Nether Prince but right now it was just connections forming within this Nether film Then he wracked his brain going over the steps he had taken to trigger the change Even with all his experience with Nether he couldnÆt figure it out

Eventually Randidly produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and tunneled through space to NeveahÆs cottage When he stepped out through the portal Randidly was greeted with a face full of slanting sleet He spat out a mouthful of the chilly precipitation and rolled his shoulders with vigor As his heartbeat quickened his skin soon heated beyond the limits of what a human body could produce Soon his body released so much heat that as soon as the icy rain hit him it began to evaporate

Feeling much more pleasant Randidly walked forward across the field to Claudette who was meditating and definitely intensifying the frigidity of the clouds above NeveahÆs house Likely sensing his presence ClaudetteÆs eyes snapped open as he approached She offered him a sympathetic glance Randidly IÆm so sorry about what happened to Helen If you need some more time before we work on my image

No Randidly said surprised with how calm his voice sounded It still sucked to be told that someone was sorry for his loss each time he heard it it felt like the speaker was slapping him with the news all over again But after honestly expressing himself and feeling the confusing shift in Nether Randidly felt like he could cope somewhat No we donÆt need to postpone the project There are just a few more details to work out I want to speak with Neveah and then rest so four days from now we should begin

if you think you are ready Claudette offered him a warm smile

Due to NeveahÆs casual talk about ClaudetteÆs mental state Randidly studied the smile longer than he normally would have As he did so he could see the cracks in her tranquil facade If she was really so upset that even he could tell Randidly coughed lightly and gestured around How about you How has your training been going Are you prepared

Yes Claudette responded quickly This time Randidly flashed her a pained expression and she snorted Alright well Perhaps IÆm just a bit nervous If we fail here at my fatherÆs party

We wonÆt fail Randidly said softly His eyes were sharp and determined

Claudette stubbornly shook her head Denying reality gets you nowhere this is a gamble And if we donÆt manage to improve my image by a colossal amount

We Randidly hissed through his teeth and loosened some of the controls he kept over his mental state He was exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster of the last few hours but those emotional embers around his heart almost immediately flared to life He could still see Helen smell the blood oozing out of her shattered joints His emotion spun together with the significance of her death in his life slammed against the storm above WonÆt Fail This isnÆt about denying reality its about fighting to change it

Helen told you right We fight not because we think there is a reasonable chance at victory but because flinching from any desperate struggle means we will definitely die Randidly grunted and walked past Claudette Then he paused and spoke over his shoulder ThatÆs all there is to it Be prepared Four days from now

Then Randidly proceeded forward into NeveahÆs cottage

Chapter 1747

Zack Krum twisted and looked down the tunnel toward the tight entrance to the cave system One corpse had staggered past the blockade before succumbing to its significant wounds but most were piled up in the thin crevice that provided an entrance to the tunnel Corpses became the stopper that trapped them in this bottleÆ Blood oozed downward along the stone floor but no monster managed to penetrate their defenses

Several thorny roots undulated back and forth in the opening a part of the grand reach protecting all intelligent life on Expira while the Ghosthound went about his business today For now they were safe and protected But the leader of the Werewolves had noticed the sudden defenses and pulled his troops back Now they waited and plotted

These sharp eyed and hungry enemies would surely notice when the roots withdrew

We cannot stay here Zeta chirped It was using a rag provided by the goblins to thoroughly wipe the mechanisms of its arms clean The original beige rag was now an ugly brown Setting aside the issue of food and water there are no natural exits and I am not equipped for excavation When the GhosthoundÆs protections end the monsters will have the capability to force their way in and slaughter us We need a plan avoid death

Krum grunted and glanced over at the other three individuals sitting in the front room while most of the goblin people and a group of exhausted humans huddled in the deeper caves The leader of the floppy eared goblins Oaressel looked forward with exhaustion etched into every line of his face as he leaned against the cave wall He had already explained that while there were thousands of the goblins the individual strength of his people were quite weak Before they had discovered this cave they had already lost about half of their number to the constant waves of monsters that plagued Expira

They too were battered and exhausted The morale in the cave was disturbingly low

Which only made Zack Krum feel worse he didnÆt need Oaressel to point out that they had exposed themselves in order to protect the group of humans

Meanwhile Todd continued to Scrawl across the missile sized hunks of stone that the goblins had begun excavating for this exact purpose By now he had marked around fifty his hands shook as he continued to force his thin arms to work Krum couldnÆt help but be impressed by the kidÆs Mana Regeneration They only had a small amount of moss spirits that clung to them when they left Kharon so he could only manipulate a few at a time However if the werewolves did try and force their way into the cave

That tight entrance to the cave could be forcefully clogged with stone at least for a time

Although he saved her for last Krum felt his eyes immediately drawn to Luciana the last individual in the forward cave She had insisted that she participate in the planning due to the fact that it was her brother CosoÆs exclamation that had revealed their position in the streambed Krum had agreed if only just to keep her away from the silent Henrik Vaas That man glared balefully at the dark haired brother sister duo whenever they were nearby Krum could sense that the pressure of the last few days had destabilized the manÆs thoughts

But shit we donÆt have time for that Krum twisted again to look at the entrance to the tunnel In twenty four minutes their protection would expire Likely the Greater Werewolves lurking outside the tunnel would cautiously wait for a few minutes after that before investigating but the possibilities of the next hour made Krum sweat He could hold for a while without running out of Stamina maybe fifteen minutes at most But considering how many Greater Werewolves he could sense

Did you not understand my words Zeta asked in its solemn manner Its brass neck pivoted its head back and forth Why has no one offered a plan As I understand it humanoids possess excellent abilities to think up unconventional plans

ItÆs not that simple Zeta Krum said tiredly Then he looked over at the goblin again Sir Oaressel how many more arrows did you say you have

Thousands But considering the hide of these creatures Oaressel waved his tiny hands above his head If we set up only about a hundred archers in this tunnel they will last for quite a while But if even a single one of the Greater Werewolves breaks through

The goblinÆs expression crumpled All of our warriors sacrificed themselves for us to escape an early ambush To think we escaped the doom of our planet only to arrive at another planet being consumed by war Then the goblin began to speak more quietly almost to himself Perhaps Nrorce was correct At least we would have passed gracefully in the old world

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 199

Almost exactly sixty hours later Randidly came back to himself He felt like shit but it was a dreary and soggy emotional shit not a mental shit that had been baked into thinly sliced shit chips by a seemingly endless series of lightning bolts Randidly twisted and stretched in the dreary Shaft to get his blood flowing through his body Gradually his physical state recovered to its peak even while his mood remained depressed

Randidly allowed himself one bitter smile up toward the Nexus I buried her and said my piece but grief isnÆt a simple thing is it

Then he checked in on his images and body while simultaneously sending Neveah a message Randidly had moved on to thoroughly parsing apart the flow of significance through his Nether Core by the time Neveah replied

The protections around HelenÆs gravesite are now in place right now no one on Expira has the power to break them aside from me Well perhaps Alana Donal but I doubt she will try and bust down the seal IÆm almost finished with the formation for ClaudetteÆs image refinement Sydney has been an invaluable guinea pig in improving the formula I believe the processes that Claudette wanted to use meant well but most include safeguards against overstraining the RefinerÆs body

Randidly snorted Yea that wonÆt be a problem

Exactly Neveah briefly flashed some very intricate patterns of Engraved lines to Randidly to show the differences between the original version and the shapes after her adjustments He believed he understood about fifty percent of what he was seeing IÆm finalizing the details right now I should be done by tonight

Randidly drifted away from the connection and considered what he should do next If most of what he needed was going to be mental strength as he combed through the details he didnÆt want to face the monstrous problem of a Nether Ritual to pull out all the observational Aether constructs quite yet that would need to wait until after the image refinement as done And as he was currently with the time dilation of the Shaft he should not need to worry about the Nexus recovering its observational apparatus quite yet

But to be sure Randidly created a tentacle of significance with Nether to send a message out to Octavius telling him to give Randidly a heads up if anything changed

Then Randidly contacted DiOrtho Vant and brought the ram demon out into the shaft once more He knew asking this was a mistake but Randidly still said How much of the first layer do you think you can handle

I gained a lot of Skill Levels from the training so adding one more layer to the earlier regimen should be fine DiOrtho Vant said

Randidly sighed inwardly as he examined his subordinateÆs serious expression What the hell is happening When did I become the type of person to worry that someone was ignoring their emotional problems

But even if Randidly was aware that it was happening he didnÆt try to dissuade DiOrtho A similar grief was smoldering in both of their guts He unleashed six levels of electromagnetic radiation on the manÆs body soon transforming him into a twitching approximation of a humanoid Then Randidly allowed the other fourteen to ineffectual squeeze at his muscles while the painful blast of light radiation from the second layer began to sear through to his internal organs

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 420

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 417

Chapter 1748

Randidly stood next to the grand Engraving they had created on the moon above Expira and allowed the whole of twenty levels of the Hierarchy of BurdenÆs electromagnetic radiation to ravage him This time it wasnÆt as a training exercise instead Randidly had found that the electricity was excellent at superheating his metal left arm

They had chosen the arm because NeveahÆs experiments revealed that the Engraving affected a rather large area extrapolating from her earlier patterns this Engraving would take up the same amount of size as a small city Part of the safety constructs removed included a pattern that would tie the refining process solely to Randidly The mechanism would have been useful but Neveah insisted that for the refinement magnification was more important And the safety construct took up too much space

So now Randidly stood on the grey stone of the atmosphere less celestial body his toes digging into moondust Ideally the Engraving wouldnÆt be so large that anyone would notice on Expira

When the conductive metal of his arm became malleable he then ceased using the Fatepiece and wrought some small adjustments to his fingers and upper arm along the limb to slightly repair the damage he had inflicted in his earlier grief In the absolute landslide of tasks that he needed to address remaking his metal arm had somehow fallen through the cracks

Neveah walked up next to him having walked the circuit of the giant working and scrutinized every inch of the Engraving She said to Randidly IÆve set up a broader Engraving around this area to maintain a semblance of an atmosphere You donÆt typically need to breathe but IÆm unsure how long this process will take we might as well prepare for the worst There will be a significant amount of energy flowing through your body due to the formation but it isnÆt even half of what your Fatepiece can produce in the first layer IÆll be supplying the energy so your focus will be entirely on your work Do you need anything else before you begin

Randidly shook his head but inwardly he spoke to himself to calm his impatience You are here to learn how to improve images Mastering that skill will take you closer to your goal of getting revenge on Commandant Wick Besides you owe Claudette When you are ready to improve your Nether Core the materials she provided will be invaluable

Neveah wandered off doing some last minute projections in her head Randidly grinned across the Engraving at Claudette She stood above five hundred meters away from him in the central portion of the Engraving He made sure to exaggerate his words so she could read his lips What about you are you ready

You werenÆt lying about four days Claudette shook her head But now that he knew what he was looking for her raw nerves were obvious to RandidlyÆs senses She shrugged I wish I had more time to prepare but we donÆt do we To finish we need to begin So letÆs just begin YouÆll be doing most of the work anyway IÆm just your malleable clay DonÆt take advantage of me Mr Ghosthound

Randidly didnÆt bother to acknowledge the combination of playfulness and genuine fear in ClaudetteÆs final sentence he knew she only took this gamble because she had no choice He looked to Neveah Alright then LetÆs begin

Neveah raised her slender arms spots of light gleaming from her fingers Randidly felt her channeling a huge amount of raw Aether through his body and into the Engraving The thick lines on the grey ground began to release waves of golden light The desolate surface of the moon bloomed in front of him like a field of sunflowers

That golden light started at the edges and steadily seeped inward like cold syrup running back up to the top of a mound of pancakes Soon the edges had turned blinding and the area around ClaudetteÆs body began to crackle with power Randidly heard her release a shuddering breath and then her eyes fluttered and shut After one more pulse of power the whole Engraving flashed and suddenly a silvery dome stood in front of Randidly Swirls of black lines spun and swam through the silver surface

Yet what instantly seized his attention was the waves of raw energy radiating off of this thing

Randidly turned to Neveah and raised his eyebrows She shrugged Part of the reason that this isnÆt a more common method of improving an image is how much raw Aether is required to sustain the expansion and magnification I didnÆt mention this to Claudette but a lot of compromises were made in the typical orthodox constructs to lower the cost of the refinement As a courtesy I arranged the Engraving so it cut no corners she probably is experiencing the most lavish image refinement in the history of the Nexus

Thanks Neveah Randidly nodded several times to reassure himself Now I just need to help her take advantage of this opportunity

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 483

Once Randidly had drawn the clouds he spent quite a bit of time fussing with the details of their look and shape He did not skimp on the reality of the clouds Broadly Claudette BeigonÆs image centered around a sword from ice so potent that it had destroyed a world Being sheathed into the ground was enough for this sword to slowly smother the life from the surface of the planet A portion of that environmental destruction was related to weather

The clouds should be distant and looming but not so aggressive that you feel like a storm is rolling in quickly The doom this sword brings is slow and irresistible Randidly decided He put his hands on his hips and created a heavy cloud bank that hung above the horizon in every direction He even added a few distant booms of thunder to add to the immersion

Then Randidly stopped to scratch his head He started to have a few doubts as he looked at the heavy clods This influence is easy to abuse The guide had been making positive noises but I really just

Randidly stopped himself and huffed out a breath This might be his first time working through another personÆs image but he knew his own Besides the details he currently toyed with were small in the whole of Claudette that much was clear by the sheer size of this place

Randidly spun around but there were no distinguishing characteristics He could only see clouds and plains driven by a chill wind

He glanced at the guide spirit Do you know the way to the core of your image

Rather than humming one of the guideÆs arms moved However the thing moved only one joint at a time So its finger extended its wrist straightened its elbow stretched and then finally its shoulder lifted the arm and pointed in a certain direction Randidly shook his head and tried not to think about how creepy the guide was going to be for however long this project took

Then he rolled his shoulders and began to seriously arrange the air currents of this place Weather wasnÆt just isolated events it was a grand interlocking pattern

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 49

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 484

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 71

After upping the chill factor and making the wind come in a constant howl rather than occasional gusts Randidly sighed He suddenly felt the enormity of the task in front of him Working with the details made him realize that there probably would not be any one sign to reveal he had succeeded either Randidly glanced over his shoulder at the floating guide Perhaps the Nether Ritual to rip out the NexusÆs observation Aether constructs would have been the quicker project

Too late now Randidly said aloud To his surprise ghost Claudette hummed its agreement He glanced at his wide and gloomy mouth before glancing away He could already feel his mental strength ebbing but he didnÆt intend to take a break now Randidly was only just building up some momentum But he had to admit to himself that the best way to do this was to use his secret weapon

Randidly pulled out the Visage of Obsession and squeezed the thick canvas between his fingers for several seconds Then he unrolled the mysterious painting and stared down at what was on the page

Chapter 1749

Upon the canvas Fatepiece lines bloomed outward from an inky core of darkness The first few changes seeped outward with all the speed of dripping blood but soon everything accelerated In only a few seconds Randidly saw a black spiral staircase leading down upon the backdrop of a sky blue void

Seeing was being for the Visage of Obsession he immediately found himself standing on the highest stair on that black pillar He glanced left and right but there were no distinguishing features of this empty place The steps beneath his feet were wide and smooth The colors were surprisingly rigid compared to his prior activation

He released a breath IÆm here to improve my image sharpening skills and to use those skill to refine Claudette s image to the point she can resist the machinations of her father This time that goal will be my obsession

Randidly took his first step down the stairwell Beneath his feet the material felt solid To his surprise it only took eleven steps downward to arrive at a landingÆ guarded by a projected Claudette with a sweet smile on her face She clapped her hands once Welcome Due to the fact that this is your second time activating this particular Fatepiece you are afforded certain benefits while using it The first sacrifice is a freebie as you activate that ability Step through the barrier and see a whole new world

Not that Randidly believed his Fatepiece would lie to him but he narrowed his eyes at this enthusiastic reception from the Visage of Obsession He regarded the fuzzy screen of darkness in front of him dubiously A horizontal barrier completely blocked his view of the next step he could be stepping into an endless abyss for all he knew

However arenÆt I essentially doing that by agreeing to activate this particular Fatepiece Randidly crouched down and stretched his metal fingers out to draw lazy circles in the material the thick darkness rippled but otherwise showed no response

Randidly glanced one more time at Claudette Her face seemed to have been carved into the expression of the warm smile but as her face lingered in that position it almost became mocking He could only shake his head This sort of thing makes me worried about the state of my subconscious

Randidly took the next step and watched his bare feet sink into the dark barrier The reassuring solidity of another stair was waiting for him beyond the limits of his senses So he continued to descend until his head broke through the layer of shadow On the other side a notification popped up in front of him

Congratulations Familiarity with your Fatepiece is triggering a special effect

Congratulations For the remainder of your usage of the Visage of Obsession you are under the effect of Enhanced Obsession (Tier I) Warning entering combat with an outside foe will forcefully interrupt the Obsession resulting in severe mental damage Please make sure you are in a secure location before continuing

Enhanced Obsession (Tier I) While the Obsession is in effect your Skills will be 10% more effective Your recovery will be 20% faster You will experience time 30% more slowly

So it really is a buff although IÆm quite vulnerable to external attacks while itÆs active I wonder what the System considers severe mental damage Randidly briefly pulled his awareness out of the Aether Engraving then back to himself inside the Visage of Obsession inside ClaudetteÆs projected world Being on the moon in the Alpha Cosmos and deep within the Shaft in the Nexus is probably as safe a place as I can find Especially since Edraine still hasnÆt contacted us

Randidly blinked and looked around at the world inside his Fatepiece He could feel the effect of the time shift As he lowered his foot onto the next step his body seemed to drag through the air on its way to the ground At first the feeling was uncomfortable but Randidly soon grew used to the sensation The surroundings remained relatively unchanged he still stood on a black spiral staircase that descended into a blue abyss If he had to point at something else that changed perhaps the blue backdrop was stained imperceptibly by shadow

Flexing his hands Randidly pulled himself back out of his Fatepiece and stored away the canvas painting For a few seconds he waved his hands through the air fascinated by the strange hint of delay that he experienced as a result of his Enhanced Obsession (Tier I) Then he focused back on the task and continued to work his way through ClaudetteÆs image A cold wind blew past him but suddenly Randidly realized the surroundings remained silent

Randidly grinned Definitely need to add some rustling before I delve deeper

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 487

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 72

His three toed feet drunkenly swung to position themselves in front of each other over and over again DÆmin glanced upward to distract himself Snow continued to drift lightly down erasing the details of their task At this point the chill had seeped into his bones This storm If not for this storm our defenses would have held could the Calamity influence the weather

Will the Central Hatchery be safe Kirkrik asked anxiously for the sixth time since they had set off from the runes of their prior Hatchery Which the monsters had transformed into a butchery

DÆmin nodded solemnly To acknowledge any other destination but sanctuary was to surrender to the cold to allow the corpse of his father to die without being returned to the warm embrace of the Patron of the Sun Our broodÆs sacrifice at the hands of these Calamity monsters was to ensure that the Central Hatchery remained untouched it is a tragedy But we have served a greater purpose

We have served a greater purpose Those were the words spoken to the Lizakh by the Patron of the Sun Saying them now DÆmin felt as though he had swallowed the bitter gallbladder of a desert viper Especially consider the line that generally followed

Individual life is meaningless

But how much longer Kirkrik asked He was forced to lower DÆminÆs javelin and allow the butt of the weapon to dragon along the ground leaving a small rut in the snow His arms were trembling either from exertion or the cold We have been walking for hours

Soon DÆmin whispered through dry lips He could not bear to meet Kirkrik yellow eyes lest his brother sense the lie

The one benefit of the cold was that DÆminÆs wounds had long ceased bothering him He had not been able to escape unscathed when the Sky Otters had used the storm as cover to raid their hatchery

The foes of the Lizakh had apparently ridden high on the storm and then glided down with the worse of the snow The Sky OttersÆ wickedly sharp claws had eviscerated their guard posts allowing their companions to sneak closer on the ground By the time alarm had been raised at least a hundred of the gluttons had been amongst the juveniles disabling them and snacking on their small organs

If DÆmin had any spare energy he would be angry But he did not have anything to spare

The attack hadnÆt even been a surprise violence was common between the different species of monsters utilized by the Nexus to hone the images of lesser planets They fought for territory and influence so they could gather power to truly strike a blow at the native populations The Lazakh in particular fought because every life they took was a sacrifice to the Patron of the Sun who would someday return to the apex of the Nexus And when that hallowed individual ascended they would return and bring the LIzakh out of these hellish battlefields

DÆmin raised his eyes and glanced around They walked along the highest point of a stone ridge but the constant snow softened the edges of the horizon and rubbed away at his understanding of their position Exhaustion and blood loss made the experience even more confusing With the screen of frozen white particles drawn across them all of the canyons in the surrounding area looked the same

One of them housed the hatchery that they were seeking But DÆmin could not distinguish which was the correct path And if he remained exposed in the cold for much longer

Kirkrik could you carry both myself and father DÆmin thought sadly He shook his head It was impossible

Both of the Lizakh brothers froze and straightened They would recognize that noise anywhere it was the call of the Sky Otters that had slaughtered their family

DÆmin adjusted his grip on his fatherÆs body and then reached to snatch his javelin from Kirkrik The noise had spurred one sluggish pulse of adrenaline through his veins Follow Observe the surroundings before you reveal yourself

Then the lizardman planted his foot and sprinted believing in his heart that this would be his last crusade to harvest life for the Patron of the Sun

Chapter Book 1 Release

Just wanted to make a post to thank everyone for the (in some cases) years of support that I’ve received for Randidly Ghosthound

Anyway I polished and rewrote so much of the early stuff The links are above Definitely made Randidly a fuller character and gave some care to some unpopular early characters Please read and rate on Amazon it really helps

Let’s keep making imaginary worlds together

Chapter Pause Week

First a big thanks to all the support for LoRG Book 1 I really appreciate it y’all

Second the bad news There will be no chapters this week I’m feeling a bit conflicted

But I want to post to bring attention to something that happened recently Royalroad stopped showing books that have portions on Kindle Unlimited on their lists

Yet I thought Royalroad and I had a deeper relationship than my story just vanishing

Because the part that sticks in my throat is this the reason this hasn’t been an issue until now for Royalroad is that the big names leave They make their own site They publish and take everything down But I always intended to stay because I appreciated what the site had done for me So that someone (who started in the right time window) would be able to read the entirety of my story on RR for free before I polished it back up and published

Now I’m not so sure

Chapter 1750

The snowstorm blanketed noise as well as vision but the clash from the depths of one canyon boomed outward to fill the surroundings the remainder of the LizakhÆs forces on Expira were fighting for their existence against the monsters of the Calamity So DÆmin could make a shaking beeline for the canyon that housed the central hatchery

Bodies of his kin lay sprawled across the stone pathway their entrails having been ruthlessly yanked out and left strewn between them The snow around them had been dyed a delicate pink With his eyes burning DÆmin paused and lay his father down on the ground with the other corpses If we do not stop this attack there will be no meaning to bringing you back father Forgive me

DÆminÆs breath caught in his throat as he imagined the snort of disbelief that his stern father would have made at his excuses Had made only yesterday when he had been unable to provide the evening meal at its usual time But DÆmin squeezed those memories out of his head by tightening his hands on the shaft of his spear and rushed forward to the depths of the canyon

He rushed down the slope into the largest portion of the canyon DÆmin occasionally staggered and hit against the stone outcroppings but largely remained on his feet The reason the Lizakh had chosen this area was because of the tunnels that ran through the surrounding hills Even before the Calamity itself arrived DÆminÆs people were having difficulty keeping up with the growing average Level of the people of Expira They were forced below the surface to endure

DÆmin felt his foot catch in a small crack and he lurked to the side to stay on his feet He slammed his knee against the side of the gorge drawing a long hiss out of his mouth The snow on the ground wasnÆt thick enough to cushion his fall Using his javelin as leverage he pushed himself back onto his feet and tested his knee at the very least it did not give out when he put weight on it So DÆmin hobbled onward

The noises of battle were grand specters sweeping back and forth through the twisting gusts of snow However DÆmin only managed to catch up to their shadows He found broken weapons and pools of cooling blood at the edge of the stone canyon DÆmin choked back a stop and forced his legs to keep moving

The snowfall seemed to be growing heavier but the clash of claws on metal that DÆmin heard reverberating through the stone canyon confirmed his worst fears about this attack Even worse the chirps of the Sky Otters were growing louder while the sonorous bellows of Lizakh warriors fell silent one by one A low undercurrent of desperate shouts and sobbing lay beneath everything else forcing DÆminÆs imagination to picture that his people were being driven underground as the Sky Otters continued to slaughter their guards

Every part of DÆminÆs body was cold If we die here will everything we have done be meaningless Without the LIzakh will the Patron of the Sun simply remain sealed for the rest of its existence

Will we simply become collateral damage in another planetÆs Calamity

DÆmin rounded a bend in the ravine and stopped short in front of a pile of fresh bodies Almost a score of the Lizakh lay twisted and broken their cavities excavated of their organs They lay discarded in the snow like peanut shells Meanwhile only three Sky Otters lay dead opposite them a grim example of the very real difference in fighting capabilities between the two species Although DÆminÆs people used weapons they could not bridge the gap in base physical gifts between them

As a whole we are inferior DÆmin urged himself forward The thick blizzard in front of him covered everything in a white dusting Now he flinched away from every stone bulging out of the ground afraid that it might be another pile of Lizakh corpses The sounds of fighting in front of him were loud They whispered horrible prophecies of what he would find at the end of this desperate dash We are weak So why after all that we have done for the Patron of the Sun is that grand figure truly going to let us die like this

Have we accomplished nothing

Unless DÆmin was so cold as he forced his feet to carry him forward He saw vague shapes blurring through the air in front of him Finally he had arrived at the loudest point in the blood soaked canyon

The Sky Otters truly had corralled the other Lizakh back to their caves and were now viciously assaulting the core of the hatchery at their leisure DÆmin could make out the remainder of the Lizakh resistance standing just within the shadows of their caves wielding steel to exact a bitter price on the invading monsters to proceed any deeper They stood above small grey walls that must have been recently erected to deal with the sudden attack

Because the dangerous flight abilities of the Sky Otters were sealed the fighting was even more intense But DÆmin knew they would not last long More Sky Otters glided overhead waiting for their chance to land and attack Others charged forward their thick hides absorbing the strikes from the finest Lizakh weapons ever forged

Unless all weÆve done has been for nothing Unless the Patron of the Sun doesnÆt even exist DÆmin forced himself to move He gripped his own javelin and raised it above his head Habit took over then leaning his body back and then whipping himself straight earning a series of cracks from his mistreated joints

The javelin zipped forward blasting apart the swirling snow DÆminÆs target stumbled forward when the javelin sunk into the small of its back his aim had been true But then it reached around and cracked the shaft in haft It spun to face DÆmin with cruelty in its eyes

Not that the pain had gone anywhere even when he was busy the absence in his Aether Crossroads still set Randidly to trembling when he considered the sensation too directly But the continued expression of that grief this past few weeks had done a lot to develop a certain exhausted mental fortitude The loss no longer destroyed him it had just become one more burden that he had to carry

A burden he owed it to Helen to continue carrying A wave crashed against the rocky shore beneath him and sprayed him in freezing water He stoically allowed the salty liquid to run along his jaw and drip back onto the stone beneath him

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 372

Soon the seed of a headache had been erased and Randidly could thankfully busy himself once more He began to thoroughly re landscape the border of this central land he had almost completely remade the vague periphery of her image Yet ClaudetteÆs focus had likely been still on more central themes than this border so the edge of the sea was as bland as grey as what Randidly had found on the other side

Here he began to spread a bleak and featureless tundra He made the ground rough and the layer of topsoil frozen The horizon was monochrome drawn with grey black and white in various quantities

The terrain also sloped upward a pair of looming mountains above the shoreline kept those ominous stormclouds from descending upon this desolate place The heavy slabs of rock made a poor path upward toward the central engine that drove this image world and filled NeveahÆs Aether constructs with humming purpose

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 123

Even if this stretch is bland there can at least be a crushing sense of consistency to it Randidly reflected as he slowly moved up over the jutting stone outcroppings This emptiness this was the place where ClaudetteÆs image strangled out its competition Was there life in this place originally Should I add a few skeletons in the more icy portions

At the base of the twin mountains Randidly paused again He warred inwardly with himself Not that he tired of the training he quite enjoyed the task of improving the details of ClaudetteÆs image But he couldnÆt deny that all this time to rest and feel the horrible loss of Helen left him impatient with his current speed

The thinking between sprees of activity was slowly killing him

So even if he could have continued forward for an amount of time Randidly pulled out his Visage of Obsession and looked at the canvas once more

As soon as he was on the solid black staircase Randidly began to descend His steps were even leading him in a gradually descending circle The stillness of this version of his Fatepiece continued to unnerve him even though he welcomed the chance to spend some time away from the creepy image guide

After two hundred and twenty two steps Randidly found another smiling Claudette waiting above a horizontal screen of darkness that bisected this world She regarded him with a knowing look You came back quickly I applaud how thoroughly you are embracing your obsession this time Previously you went deeper only when you had no other recourse But now

WhatÆs the price to continue Randidly interrupted He hoped that the projection changed soon so he would no longer be hounded by ClaudetteÆs image everywhere he turned

Ah The faux Claudette clapped her hand twice Well this one might be difficult to accept but it is necessary to accomplish your goal To continue you must give up your ability to sense temperature

Randidly pressed his lips together Due to the freebie this was the second sacrifice he needed to make to continue But considering the context it was difficult for him to accept How will I be able to refine ClaudetteÆs image without being able to feel cold

A cold that is only a temperature will never be able to save her The projection replied DonÆt you agree

Chapter 1751

Cold without temperature huh

Ultimately Randidly walked down through the screen of shadow and entered into a new stage of the endless staircase honestly he didnÆt have much choice At this point he had already committed to the Visage of Obsession He sunk into the shadow and felt one more piece of himself being restricted to streamline his pursuit of his goal

When he left the Fatepiece and returned to the image world he spun on a slate grey stone pillar he had made for this purpose and simply experienced the environment Randidly could still feel the wind brushing up against him and he felt his hair stand on end as the tiny follicles usually did when he was exposed to cold but everything just felt like pressure Similarly he pushed his body until he increased his heartbeat and his skin reddened but he also felt no overwhelming sense of heat

Randidly quickly calmed his body lest he interfere with ClaudetteÆs image and considered this problem very seriously Well perhaps the Fatepiece makes a good point about not missing the details by focusing too much on temperature But it is definitely an overly pretentious point So without actually feeling the frigid temperature what would make a place cold

What do cold environments have in common How can I strengthen that feeling here

Very quickly the dull ache of his Aether Crossroads took the opportunity to reassert itself few things had made Randidly feel as cold as the emptiness radiating from the area his connection to Helen had once occupied Further the loneliness of thinking of the support she had given him and the current absence left him feeling a definite mental chill

Randidly raised his head and looked out at the badlands around him with dullness in his emerald eyes If grief can chill me ravage me with this suffocating sense of loss then it sure as hell can renovate this whole image into the worst sort of icy blade against the plots of her father

For the moment Randidly closed his eyes and allowed the details of the projected world around him to fall away If he wanted to take this route physical details wouldnÆt be enough Instead he used the emotional perception he had honed during his first journey in the Shaft and examined the interior of ClaudetteÆs image through that lens

For a while he found nothing In a strange mirroring of the empty stretches of dead grasslands and sea Randidly had highlighted above the emotional aspect of this image was empty Which was a confusing result considering that Claudette felt pressured enough to take this desperate gamble

Aether was the energy of shape and emotion Claudette was a capable Pinnacle Seeker she needed strong emotions in her image to have made it this far

So he kept looking He scoured the surroundings feeling the shapes of her chilling image even if he could no longer experience that biting sensation with his body The process took so long that Randidly had to pause three times and allow his mind to rest But now that he understood the way that his own grief could benefit him a sadistic part of himself enjoyed the torture of the rest breaks

In those moments he allowed his mind to drift back to his interactions with Helen He let his punishingly detailed memory examine all his favorite moments with her All their spars on Expira and Tellus plus the exhausting battlefield they shared on the frontlines Randidly knew that this was the sort of behavior that Neveah would strongly disapprove of but he didnÆt care a slice of his motivation was to punish himself for allowing Helen to die

He had found the way he could weaponize his grief The current Randidly could not resist this chance to turn his greatest failure into a tool he could use to prevent the same thing from ever happening again

Finally after scouring the strangely thorned terrain in the interior of ClaudetteÆs image that Randidly hadnÆt yet explored physically he found the faintest trace of emotion It lingered in those core areas like a crimson ribbing Its very existence arrested RandidlyÆs attention

Claudette radiated intense disappointment in that small whiff of emotion

And once he had the trail Randidly rapidly followed the scent back to the core of ClaudetteÆs image There he found a deep seed of emotion that had been isolated and frozen in the very heart of the world Everything else that Claudette eventually built was based on this crystallized nucleus

Of course Randidly knew that he was being discourteous to the projection his shift had altered ClaudetteÆs image more violently than perhaps he had intended However he had already taken the critical step He could not simply shore up that flaw now Instead he cleared his throat and vocalized his idea Your sword that seal on your emotions was always flawed The essence of you had been leaking out through the tiniest crack in your frozen sword Or perhaps a horrifying otherÆ exists within that weapon attempting to escape and slaughter you This is why you had no choice but to sheath that gloomy weapon within the vulnerable flesh of this world

The stone and dirt of the ground is not a complete seal but it is better than simply allowing that desolation to escape

The rumbling of the ground grew more intense During the resettling of the image world Randidly didnÆt need the spirit guide to tell him which direction the core lay He could pivot and stare toward the source of the disturbance his expression slowly twisting as regret solidified in his chest Was I too impatient in making this change

The ground didnÆt crack just shuddered beneath the force of the energies at work

But almost in answer to his secret fear Randidly felt a deep blue taint seeping out from the blade of the sealing sword RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition could feel the fingers of that existence within the sword reaching outward and working their way deeper into the substance of this world Randidly hummed to himself and rapidly began to wield his Willpower to deepen the details of the world in response

The more substance this world possessed the more that the desolation Claudette hosted could claim as its own

Perhaps because of how recent the change was the spreading deep blue taint soon ran out of steam The speed of its expansion halted But when Randidly raised his head toward the sky he could practically see the horrifying sword breathing releasing the slightest hint of the doom it carried upward into the grey sky RandidlyÆs eyes glittered as he guided those flows into the swirling storms he had already made fueling the transformation of the image even further

Congratulations Your Skil Grand Perspective has grown to Level 124

Randidly released a breath His skin still felt completely neutral the sensation of temperature was now barred to him Instead he focused on the creeping accumulation of fear in this world He twisted and looked back toward the edges of this planet that he had previously been sharpening If there was originally a race of this world they would have fled as far from the source of their doom as possible Or they would have rushed toward it attempting to solve the problem Hmm

What sort of people were the original residents of this place

A few remnant tremors shook the ground beneath him Randidly flexed his toes and savored the grittiness of the dirt on which he was standing But before he continued he forced himself to look over at ClaudetteÆs image guide Its eyes dominated its face almost transforming its being into a mirror that reflected the worst of RandidlyÆs fears back at him

You alright Randidly asked awkwardly The projection hummed uncertainly But at the very least the rumbles became more infrequent as the world adjusted to its new state of existence where some force imprisoned in a sword dug its fingers into the bedrock of this planet

Randidly scratched his neck and turned away Next the victims to add depth The creatures who existed here need to play a part in this story So while Claudette possesses the image of desolation and cold the original population of this world worship the sun Perhaps due to the SystemÆs influence the being they worship is the Patron of the Sun

His eyes rapidly brightened As though the imagined race already existed he could feel his rapidly digging up the various details that shaped them He was surprised by how simple the brainstorming became They are called the Lizakh Like the people of Tellus they are a civilization that runs of pride They worship the sun so they can be scaled reptile humanoids When ClaudetteÆs image first arrived at this place they retreated from the horrifying cold assuming that it was just one of the dangerous ice ages spoken of in their ancestral records But when the cold persisted spread and worsened they finally resolved themselves to do something about it

Randidly pursed his lips So they selected a champion to lead an expedition to the heart of the threat LetÆs call him DÆmin Rrshk

Chapter 1752

Winds and emotions swirled together into a grass mass of darkness The dim illumination of this world was completely screened What remained was a bleak half light as the desolation spread

ClaudetteÆs image projection had been irrevocably altered by Randidly reaching into its heart and adding a flaw to the emotional core The stable path of its existence shifted as liberated forces seeped downward and upward upending the previous status quo

Randidly licked his lips and clapped his hands against his cheeks as he pulled himself out of one of his rest breaks I need to get everything in place before the image begins to settle again or the shifts will be that much more difficult I canÆt slow down now

His Willpower billowed outward sewing the small changes he desired in the infinite folds of this image He continued to refine the terrain at the periphery of the image world adding abandoned stone settlements where the Lizahk had bunkered down to escape the grasping frost taking over their world Randidly could feel ClaudetteÆs emotional truth attempting to find its place in this altered state waiting to settle and push itself toward emotional stasis once more

But Randidly continued to work to the point he possessed a blinding headache unwilling to let the spirit of this image settle quite yet The darkness in the sky deepened as he pushed back the original foundation to reshape the whole of the image Visitt for the latest updates

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 125

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 144

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 499

He felt a flicker of anticipation as he got his Conviction to Level 499 but for now the mental strain quickly soured the brief flicker in his mood Randidly raised his eyes and looked at the swirling grey clouds that bubbled along the horizon He had expanded the scope of the mountains keeping the chaotic weather in check giving the core area of ClaudetteÆs image a towering barrier of unfriendly granite to protect the interior However the emotional force leaking upward from the flawed sword was stronger than Randidly had anticipated looking at the crackling lightning in those dense clouds he worried they would soon break out and spread over the world

The guide Claudette kept her mouth closed but looked toward the horizon and hooted her worry Her eyes were wide and white

That release would create a horrifying storm that would ravage the world likely adding some weight to what Randidly had created with his details But at the same time the potent tension that currently filled the image would naturally dissipate Some of the momentum for further change will have been lost

After chewing on his lip for several seconds Randidly nodded slowly Time to head deeper I canÆt miss this chance especially not after IÆve pushed things beyond the point of no return with the flaw in her image

Randidly pulled out the Visage of Obsession and steadied his breathing His headache was painful but he could already feel Yggdrasil beginning to blunt the edges of his exhaustion very quickly his eyes settled on the dark staircase and then he was there within the Fatepiece Randidly began to descend the slap of his feet against the sturdy steps echoing in the empty stillness of this fake world

As he predicted the descent this time required three thousand three hundred and thirty three steps Which was fine in this case but RandidlyÆs mouth twisted as he approached the gatekeeper of the Visage of Obsession Right now its manageable but if the required steps continue to escalate at this rate Heh IÆll need to set aside a bit of time to descend to the next level

A grey haired Mrs Hamilton waited for Randidly above the severing shadow that lay across the staircase and this entire world Randidly cocked an eyebrow up at her and she laughed Believe me sometimes there is no deeper meaning to what gets regurgitated from the subconscious Or it could be said that deeper meaning of each choice is always assigned after the fact and some truths are a better fit for the chaos of life than others

How long have we been fighting Krum reached up to rub the sweat from his eyes but really just smeared blood across his forehead Before he could try and correct the situation more Greater Werewolves surged out of the passage followed by one of the tan Calamity Touched variety

Zeta bravely moved forward and began to attack the frontrunners and Krum hovered behind the machine man waiting to assist when the powerful foe made its move

But to both of their surprises the tan Werewolf didnÆt attempt to attack instead it began rapidly dissecting one of the corpses of its fellows left slumped where Zeta had bisected it a few minutes earlier Its claws made short work of an elbow joint

What KrumÆs mind struggled to understand why it would act that way but then he saw its purpose as the monster twisted and whipped a severed arm through the air Krum kicked off the ground and then off the wall attempting to intercept the projectile Shit ItÆs targeting the torches

He moved too late the Calamity Touched Werewolf threw the arm quickly and accurately whizzing the projectile past KrumÆs outstretched fingers and splattering the burning torch with flesh and blood The illumination was knocked from its perch and sizzled out in a pool of blood The shadows in the passage deepened

Before Krum had even touched the ground the tan enemy had done the same to the other two torches in the area leaving Krum and Zeta in partial darkness There was a torch back by the goblins and the fighters could still see in the darkness but not as well as their opponents And just as Krum landed

A horrible scratching and cracking noise followed the howl as the leader of the werewolves used the cover of darkness to forcefully rip its way into the cave Krum shivered and swayed suddenly unsure of what to do Based on the volume it is just as superior to the Calamity Touched Werewolves as they are to the base troops Even if I was at my peak

Get back

Krum whipped around A bloody and dirty Todd stood beneath the remaining torch His arms trembled and his glasses were smudged but he held four stone spikes aloft with the assistance of the moss spirits Releasing a sigh Krum leapt forward and wrapped his arm around ZetaÆs waist As they retreated he shouted Use the horn Zeta

We may need that as a strategic asset in the future Zeta replied Perhaps

Shadows hid most of the detail but a claw large enough to palm one of the diminutive goblins ripped through the cramped entrance to the stone tunnel and sunk into one of the restrictive walls Then it ripped backward pulling a chunk of stone with it and reveal a glowing violet eye through the opening

Without bothering to continue arguing ZetaÆs chest cavity adjusted into a sonic cannon Krum set the brass warrior onto the ground and it unleashed a piercing high pitched noise toward the approaching Werewolves The frequency of the noise was theoretically too high for Krum to hear but as he stood next to the machine one of the fillings in his teeth rattled in place until his jaw ached

The Werewolf leader howled in agony and pulled back leaving its subordinates slumped and mewing from the sonic blast The goblins were already retreating in good order so Krum picked up Zeta again and gestured to Todd The kid jabbed his finger forward and the stone spikes ripped forward to smash into the cave entrance causing a small collapse Hopefully the stone would keep the werewolves at bay for a while

You cleared the Rift Krum asked tiredly Todd nodded

Zeta chirped almost in surprise Then it is time for exploration of a new location Do you also feel that tickling in your emotional cavities Is this the human emotion of excitement

Chapter 1753

Randidly returned to the image world from the Visage of Obsession and still needed to spend some time recovering his mental state He anxiously felt the storms both above and beneath the ground inching closer but he also knew that it was useless to push himself he did his best work when he was in his best state It was that simple

Until the Visage of Obsession forced him not to take breaks he would take care of himself So he meditated trying and failing over and over again to picture someoneÆs face

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 376

When Randidly opened his eyes the image around him hadnÆt settled into a new normal pressure continued to build So he returned to the frantic series of tasks taking advantage of the very slight increase in efficiency as one part of his usual mental shape was folded back Of course currently he had no idea why the Visage of Obsession had chosen to take away his ability to recognize faces But he was too busy to dwell on the issue

As disturbing as his earlier failures to remember faces were he had bigger fish to fry The gathering storm meant that he didnÆt have much time to spare

Randidly built additional settlements for the Lizahk and invented architecture for their culture He increased the salt content of the sea and added some fossilized remains in the depths of the murky water Then he created large deposits of broken sand and bones on the shore to add a sense of natural history Following that Randidly twisted and began to work more finely with air currents to feed into this building storm vibe

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 145

His emerald eyes flashed as a thought occurred to him Randidly peered up at the storm IÆm doing this the hard way but there is a certain framework already in place right And if thatÆs true

Randidly activated Ripple of Amenonuhoko and his vision was instantly filled with the ripples from the potent natural forces of the storm Chuckling to himself he raised his finger and began to manipulate the forces directly without trying to change the image In terms of mental energy working with the natural forces directly was much cheaper

Congratulations Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 371

Still Randidly quickly felt himself reaching the end of his mental fortitude Perhaps it was the increased efficiency with his deepening usage of the Fatepiece but he felt like he needed those breaks after a shorter and shorter amount of time No sooner had he basically finished one task than he spun and began to adjust another

He created the remnants of plant life in small corners of the frigid planet and then he took a break He allowed his mind back to spin back to his full capacity but that too felt unnaturally quick

Randidly blinked and moved on to the next task He moved up the slopes increasing the treacherous cliffs around the barrier mountain range His tail flicked back and forth nudging the natural ripples of the rock face toward a harmonious barrier With his spear as a tail he carved majesty into the mountains

Congratulations Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 372

Randidly pulled back from physical details and reached out once more for the emotional affect of this place ClaudetteÆs image guide continued to hoot at this point it seemed thoroughly overwhelmed by the changes he was making

He drank deeply from ClaudetteÆs loneliness internalizing that poignant sensation

Determined I 0/100

Is this a joke Randidly growled Obviously the System didnÆt answer him Other than this extremely cheap new arrival the Paths available to him remained unchanged Pushing a Transcendent Skill to Level 500 was not an accomplishment worth rewarding it seemed

Or perhaps at this point the Nexus didnÆt want very much to keep giving him rewards

Still Randidly couldnÆt help but wonder if he was overthinking the first option it was a multi part Path so perhaps the latter versions would be more impactful Besides the first step only cost 100 PP He currently possessed 1903 PP so he just dumped a hundred into the Path And didnÆt earn even a single Stat for his trouble

His mouth twitched even before he read the Path Completion Notification

Congratulations You have completed the Determined I Path Although you have risen to great heights certain confusing opportunities still arrive before you It is unclear how heading down these digressions will benefit you but your determination to improve yourself drives you to hone your edge no matter how small the chance of improvement may be And while minor these Paths remain novel enough to catch your eye

Branching Path After completing your brief adventure you understand that such a small deviation can do little for a powerful being such as yourself Would you like to accept an extremely small reward now or defer the reward until later

Randidly pursed his lips Suddenly the Path label of determination made quite a bit of sense to him Considering his options he rubbed his chin So itÆs a test of how long someone is willing to defer gratification huh Well considering the speed I can earn a hundred PP waiting on it for now isnÆt a big deal The real question is how much the next Path will cost

With that in mind Randidly chose to defer his reward

Congratulations You have waited to receive your true reward Health Mana and Stamina +20

Randidly rolled his eyes at the nominal reward for completing the Path and looked back into the Menu After completing the first step he now had access to the Determined II 0/200 Path Which left him torn again having the Path give him nothing and increase the cost by a hundred was much different than the cost doubling every time he finished it

Well those can wait Randidly glanced up at a particularly aggressive bolt of lightning that crashed overhead the natural energy of ClaudetteÆs image world was rising toward a crescendo In the aftermath of the discharge frost condensed on Randidly skin a testament to the arctic blast it released He wiped the softening substance off his arms and returned to the task of refining ClaudetteÆs image He reached into the heart of the mountain and continued to imagine a partially excavated gold mine

Soon he felt his mental energy depleting so he paused and rested The sense of acceleration returned as he fell into the repeated image refinement task Pressure continued to build in the grey clouds above his head

Randidly continued to dig Even before ClaudetteÆs sword arrived on this planet the environment up at the top of the peaks was dangerous So they likely needed some underground living quarters to escape the elements

Once the base was built his focus shifted to emotions again He needed to create a sense of peace prosperity and worship within the grand temple on top of the mountain That way ClaudetteÆs image could steadily erode what the Lazakh had built

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 501

Chapter 1754

The assembled Lizakh were quiet their heads lowered out of respect for the woman with her finger steepled in front of them Their Savior even in stillness burned with energy and holy light Toward her the remnants of the civilization had the utmost respect

Because if she had not intervened the eggs would have been shattered and devoured by the Sky Otters

DÆmin Rrshk raised his head to take a peek at her because he couldnÆt resist the impulse Compared to the distant and shadowy figure of the Patron of the Sun Alana Donal was a much more approachable object of worship she was physically here in front of him But just as quickly as he glanced upward he lowered his gaze

The group had been brought here by AlanaÆs request DÆmin had only been included because the damage done to the central hatchery was so much worse than he feared Out of their hundreds of elite warriors seven survived the bloody defense of the caves Most could only nominally be referred to as warriors these were the oldest and most infirm who had been charged with guarding the chambers of the egg clutches while the more able warriors guarded the cave entrances Only YnÆulk Govern of the Egg Guardians remained alive

He had lost two fingers from his left hand for his troubles but by some miracle he possessed a remnant spark of life when the Savior began spreading Health Potions to the Lizakh A few drops on his lips and the powerful fighter coughed up blood and pushed himself into a sitting position desperately asking what happened to the eggs

The rest of YnÆulkÆs Egg Guardians well DÆminÆs eyes crinkled in sadness and tried not to think about the ripped limbs and shattered bones Instead he looked at those gathered near him Admittedly the other survivors were just as pathetic as he The ten greatest fighters of the Lizakh were gathered before their savior Alana Donal in a feeding hall and he wasnÆt even the weakest of the group

My father would have been so proud DÆminÆs eyes were gaunt as he stared at the dirt ground

Savior Donal weighed the group taking the time to look at each of the warriors in turn She took the time to examine the weapons of each too To the side a Lizakh elder watched nervously currently the relations with the Savior were quite strained After the triumphant defeat of the Sky Otters she had been lavishly welcomed as the representative of the Patron of the Sun However she had immediately denied that and told them that she was just a follower of the Ghosthound

The Lizakh elders were still in a heated debate over what exactly this meant for their rituals For now they adopted a wait and see approach No matter what she represented she had definitely saved them from the Sky Otters

Finally the Savior cleared her throat IÆll keep this short You are probably wondering why I called you here But I meant what I said earlier there is a path for your people to stop being monsters and to become actual citizens of this world For better or for worse The SaviorÆs expression narrowed into a grimace the consent of the planetÆs original population is necessary There will be no vote but its a matter of acceptance toward your species They must truly believe that allowing you to become fellow citizens of the planet is in their best interest

We will do whatever you believe is necessary Savior YnÆulk bent his muscular body at the waist His movement was so controlled that neither of the twin sabers at his waist stirred Even amongst the Lizakh warriors he was truly the perfect specimen His tail was long and robust and his scales were tiny and numerous DÆmin knew that YnÆulk had fertilized many of their precious eggs in the hope that the next generation would contain many such individuals

With the eggs fertilized we just need time to recover DÆmin recalled the piles of scaled bodies that filled the canyon and shivered His thoughts turned to the nervous form of his younger brother As long as my life can buy an opportunity for the next generation to mature

The Calamity presents a unique opportunity Right now Expira desperately needs heroes The Savior continued She once more looked at each of the ten warriorsÆ present in front of her However itÆs clear that your current strength is hardly sufficient to win the trust and admiration of the native population even if weÆve finally discovered the method to end this Calamity So for now you ten will be personally trained by me within a Dungeon so you can contribute

For the first time the elder in the corner stepped forward Admirable Savior Child of the Sun we appreciate your assistance but these these are all the warriors that we have Without someone here to guard the egg clutches

IÆll call in a favor The Savior glanced at him her eyes flashing The elder flinched and lowered his head You wonÆt have to worry about your eggs while we are gone All you need to do is live up to my expectations

Without any more hesitation Randidly stepped down into the shadowy layer below the next step As it had been before the shadow resisted for the smallest amount of time before his weight pushed him downward Releasing a breath he took several steps fully immersing himself in shadow

The barrier silently swallowed him liberating him of his physical form

When he opened his eyes he immediately had the strangest sense of vertigo he could no longer feel his eyes For a few seconds he was still trying to get used to the sensation of body less ness But the howl of the breaking storm soon pulled him back to the very pressing matter occurring in ClaudetteÆs image He set his discomfort aside and spread out his perception

The only possible downside of this Randidly spared the spirit guide a glance with humor bubbling through his heart Hopefully the fact that I am now also a spirit thing doesnÆt make it more friendly

He quickly banished that thought and got to work His senses shot upward through the grey clouds and touched upon the fear and self loathing and the dread that swirled through the storm and drove it forward His now disembodied Willpower tingled as it grappled with these charged emotions as always he couldnÆt help but feel quite impressed with how powerful ClaudetteÆs suppressed emotions were

The storm swelled as it sped across the sea until the grey wall of wind and snow slammed into the desolate grasslands on the other side Randidly rode in the rumbling core his sense of self twisting and contracting every time one of those cobalt bolts of lightning ripped past him But soon the details of the clouds around him fell away as he spread his awareness out and watched as the snow very literally carried doom and frozen suffocation out across the whole of this world

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 147

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 502

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 167

Without his body RandidlyÆs mind could just barely stay abreast with the complex intersection of physical details and surging emotional forces Although he wasnÆt able to sense the cold he could simply watch snow and frost accumulate over the vast grasslands as the storm raged if he needed proof of ClaudetteÆs image A thick layer of white normalized the sense of desolation spreading it across an increasingly featureless world

His understanding of the way ClaudetteÆs image functioned had grown quite satisfactorily in the process But as the clouds separated from a thundering whole into more spotty coverage he felt his mental energy flagging Randidly withdrew back into himself and descended onto the ground Ugh this mental form I have now feels so feeble when I run out of energy haah

But even if he currently felt uncomfortable Randidly felt a few sparks of self satisfaction running through him Today he witnessed the overwhelming power of ClaudetteÆs image the changes he had made were pushing her in the right direction

RandidlyÆs awareness narrowed in a certain direction following the trail of seeping emotion back to the core Now all that remained was for Randidly to head toward the inner area and shape the horrifying core that had poisoned this whole world

Somehow he sensed that it would be much more fraught work than the detail refining he had done thus far

Chapter 1755

Influence +67

Between his frantic management of ClaudetteÆs images and the headaches that eventually forced Randidly to pause and take breaks his sense of time became relatively murky That rising sense of momentum carried him ceaselessly from one task to the next The entire world was rocked by the force of the unleashed blizzard giving him endless opportunities to sharpen ClaudetteÆs image

He couldnÆt feel temperature but looking at the world Randidly etched coldÆ into the bedrock of this abandoned place

However this chance to alter her image in such a critical way wouldnÆt last forever When he reached a point where he was satisfied with the desolation that Claudette had unleashed and turned his attention to the core areas the storm had drifted apart leaving only a few soft snow flurries in its wake

RandidlyÆs mental nucleus rapidly ascended the mountains passing right by the temple to the Patron of the Sun that had been completely smothered by the snow and then descended to the next area

He was somewhat thrown by the strange curving hooks of stone that jutted out of the ground every few meters in the area below the mountain range The storm had only built here not dumped its payload like the rest of the world had been forced to experience so the stone talons were covered with a thick layer of dark blue frost but largely visible They were as tall as a man forming a bizarre field of shadows and sharp edges

He hummed with curiosity why the hell had Claudette added these things to her image

He drifted amongst them carefully sharpening their points and magnifying the brutality of their shape As he refined this field of talons he decided that this couldnÆt have been caused by the arrival of ClaudetteÆs sword No in the history of this world this was a strange phenomenon that was already present Which meant that it probably played a large role in the history of the Lizakh

Randidly allowed his awareness to fall away as he cast his mind into the creative space where he could develop the history of the Lizakh He envisioned them as a budding population spreading outward from the cradle of this world on the other side of the sea First with towns then with cities and finally with an empire that set sail to find more land They built their high temple underneath the watchful gaze of the sun and then descended to find this warped field

A holy site but a different sort of location Randidly buzzed In his swirling perspective he could almost see those first warriors looking solemnly out at the strange outcroppings of stone A hell created by the Patron of the Sun to punish those who fell from grace

Wind flowed wildly through the stone talons drawing out a constant hum as the air caressed the strange protuberances To the first Lizakh who arrived here it would have sounded like the cries of the damned The picture in RandidlyÆs mind became even more clear

Then Randidly had a flash of inspiration he moved past the talon fields to an area very near the stretch of tundra that housed ClaudetteÆs image sword There several low hills clustered together to form a valley insulated from the wind He walked into that space and carefully observed the surroundings Within that valley several natural hot springs spurted upward from the core of this world warming the valley to livable temperatures for the reptilian people

And here they built a great city a triumph of the Sun over the horrid field of talons Randidly stretched out his mental energies and quickly threw together several densely connected buildings Due to the heat and the strange climate Randidly took care to imagine great glass gardens and sun bathing locations using the heat from below to make up for the pale rays that came from the sun This city had been called Tunathia the City of the Cold Sun

Of course when the sword eventually arrived The light and warmth that had been present in RandidlyÆs imagination began to be tainted with the cold fingers of baleful isolation that crept down from the sword Under the influence of ClaudetteÆs frigid aura the buildings sagged and aged Those warm flows that had previously kept the city alive were gradually infected with the swordÆs dangerous emotions The effect was small at first a member of the Lizakh exposed too directly to the whispering darkness would walk out into the wilderness around Tunathia and never return

Then the hot springs began to fail One by one the sources of warmth around this city died And without that warmth the insidious influence within ClaudetteÆs sword began to run rampant A darkness settled into the hearts of most of the population which culminated into a night of violence and death where the Lizakh gave in to their base desires and attacked their neighbors in a blind rage

DÆmin sat on a large stone stained maroon by the violence of that night three days ago and watched his juvenile brother Kirkrik struggle to hoe the rocky ground in the middle of the canyon The young Lizakh dragged the implement across the ground until it caught on a stone causing the scrawny young lizard to lurch sideways

He was so so weak still

DÆmin felt a tang of sympathy for his brother but there was nothing he could do His brother was one of a score of skinny Lizakh juveniles forced to work in order to help their species recover They raised the hoes above their head in a cluster of trembling arms before swinging them down into the dirt Despite the SaviorÆs reassurances it was difficult for the elders to accept that they would be safe increasing their zone of activity

So they needed to develop this area as soon as possible

After the central hatchery recovered enough to return to normalcy they had reached out to the other sub hatcheries to recall the eggs To their horror they discovered that the Sky Otters had simultaneously attacked and destroyed all the other remaining Lizakh settlements If nothing else the beasts had been thorough

In a single night a population of tens of thousands was reduced to a little over three thousand one hundred And most of those were juveniles

Kirkrik brought his hoe down onto the rough soil and clanged the edge off a stone He then hunched over and began to wrestle a stone the size of his head out of the ground Two other juveniles needed to come over and work together in order to dislodge the impediment Then Kirkrik proudly carried his prize over to the debris pile laughing and bragging before his peers

We have fallen so far To DÆminÆs surprise he felt something scalding emerge in his chest Yet did our Patron do anything to help us If this powerful figure needs us so much it is beyond time that we receive some assistance in return Or I fucking hope that it remains sealed forever

Soldier DÆmin

DÆmin shivered shame and fear over his inner thoughts immediately replacing his private fury YnÆulk stood behind him his muscular arms folded in front of his body He jerked his chin over to the side The Savior has called us It is time to proceed to the Dungeon for our training For the glory of the sun

I yes IÆll head over immediately DÆmin said But as he stood something occurred to him Tentatively he asked The Savior said will someone be here protecting our people

YnÆulk just pointed DÆmin followed his finger and saw a massive reptilian form lounging on top of the cliff above the canyon It breathed out through its noise and released gouts of ice and snow that hung in the air for several seconds As though sensing his gaze the Frost Dragon Broodmother raised its head and looked down at DÆmin

Even from afar the eyes of that beast reached into the LizardmanÆs chest and forced the air out of his lungs

Then it snorted and lowered its head for a nap

We do not need to worry about common monsters bothering us YnÆulk said in a low voice Even he seemed intimidated as he gazed up at the massive dragon

Chapter 1756

The only positive aspect of the training was the sun After a day of work DÆmin could collapse on a stone and simply bask in the warm radiation from the heavenly body The biome of the Dungeon was swampy which meant that the experience was sticky and humid but anything was better than the winter that gripped Expira

You javelin user DÆminÆs eyelids fluttered and he sat up Around him the other exhausted Lizakh were already standing The Savior looked at him with hard eyes Get up Break time is over

The Savior seemed to possess an entirely different understanding of what they should be able to accomplish Her training methods were brutal and violent For the weaker warriors the Level 55 Horror Sludges within the Dungeon were more than enough to push them to the brink of death For YnÆulk and another veteran warrior the Savior trained them personally setting them to strenuous physical activity between spars

After only two days within the Dungeon DÆmin wondered if it would have been better to just give up and drown himself in the calf deep water of this Dungeon His scales were broken and oozing blood in a dozen places His muscles felt like worn cotton His javelin had been shattered within the jelly like body of one of the monsters

Yet he was improving Inexplicably he had gained more Levels and Skill Levels in the past forty eight hours than the prior year During the lecture portion as the Savior talked about the importance of images DÆmin genuinely felt himself making some progress

He confided the strange surging sensation in his chest to TeÆLeto one of the other warriors that came along with the Savior The older Lizakh had grunted You are probably light headed Monsters such as us cannot develop images we can only have meaning by providing tribute to the Patron of the Sun

However after a long pause TeÆLeto continued but I have to admit that I have felt strange stirrings within myself Could could the Savior truly be sent by the Patron of the Sun to change the fate of the Lizakh

She has nothing to do with the Patron of the Sun DÆmin thought but he was too exhausted to correct the older man Instead he kept his thoughts to himself as he considered the figure that the Savior claimed to follow The Ghosthound

Randidly methodically sketched out the desolate cities and the fallen scaleless Lizakh that lurked within the talon fields after they succumbed to corruption Then he filled some secret warrens with their rotting dead as their poisoned scaleless bodies eventually failed As he worked tirelessly on the details of the inner area he could feel those meaningful changes spreading slowly outward

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 170

The greater the shift within the middle the more the periphery benefitted without him having to even lift a finger The current changes were small but he gradually felt the way that an image possessed internal integrity His adjustments were small steps in preparation for the larger alteration that was looming in front of Randidly

Soon he needed to step onto the corrupted field that currently served as the swordÆs sheath Sharpening the core meant more than all the foundational detail put together

Still Randidly wanted to do a few more things before heading toward that final and vital portion of ClaudetteÆs image First he went back to his Path screen and spent the two hundred PP to complete the Determined II Path Again he received nothing for the two hundred PP spent which was a bit harder to stomach than last time

Not that I really need more Stats Randidly thought sourly But to really get nothing for my troubles

Congratulations Your Skill the Grey Creature Witnesses Providence has grown to Level 387

Then Randidly felt himself surging at the core of a complex network of Aether and Nether energies threatening to destabilize his own Enhanced Obsession A part of Randidly urged himself to ignore the consequences and follow this sudden epiphany down the path of madness and vengeance With this momentum he could burn his way to Military High Command and tear down the edifice brick by brick The imagined satisfaction from such an action filled him with wild glee

For several long seconds he wavered at the precipice ready to give in to the grief and shatter everything around him

Perhaps he really would have and damn the consequences to himself if he had not felt NeveahÆs image projection Engraving strain and shudder underneath his weaponized Nether Weight Suddenly he recalled his promise to Claudette Groaning Randidly forced his Nether Core to cease its wild acceleration and quieted his images

The emotions did not withdraw easily but soon they had settled back into his Soulspace to simmer

There were a few more dangerous ripples running through him but Randidly schooled himself and focused on the staircase The Mrs Hamilton projection watched him with knowing eyes but he ignored it Alright then letÆs get this over with

After Randidly had stuck his foot down into the oily shadow Mrs Hamilton spoke up again Not to spoil the surprise but the price this time isnÆt what you are thinking Being connected to you makes it too simple to tease you You arenÆt being forbidden from resting almost the opposite You simply wonÆt be able to control when you rest

What Randidly frowned over at the projection but the thing just smiled at him and refused to elaborate Feeling a strange sense of foreboding Randidly allowed himself to submerge in the shadow

When his awareness came back to himself he immediately understood the snide comments from the Fatepiece he had been put on a strict twelve hour alternating schedule between working on ClaudetteÆs image and resting His face warped into a grimace unable to understand why the Visage of Obsession would undermine his pursuit of his goal WasnÆt the point of the Fatepiece that he could completely devote himself to a single task

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 200

Even more annoying than the mandatory twelve hour breaks was the fact that the clock wasnÆt reset by the sudden arrival of the rule he was already three minutes away from a forced break This seems like such a fucking waste Especially when I just experienced that surge of grief The only reason I can think that the Fatepiece would do this is perhaps perhaps finishing the ClaudetteÆs image isnÆt the goal its guiding me toward

But even that didnÆt make much sense Rather than preventing him from working on the image it was a poorly designed program to ensure that he had an adequate amount of rest Randidly hissed in annoyance and wished he still possessed a body to kick the dirt This just made the process more obnoxious

Feeling that the time until his next break continued to mercilessly tick down Randidly focused on his immediate surroundings A few minutes wasnÆt enough to accomplish anything large but he viewed the ground and shaped the frigid topsoil to add texture His mind flitted back and forth laboring as much as he could He was creating some small stretches of ice when the timer hit zero

Immediately his focus narrowed The projected image world fell away as he was dragged into a fuzzy darkness For a few seconds he was horrified that he would be left in this isolated place for the entire twelve hours but then his unconsciousness began to blur Before he had a chance to be surprised Randidly was asleep

And because he slept he began to dream

Chapter 1757

His surroundings oozed into place like cold syrup but even once they settled they sometimes wobbled underneath the weight of his attention or some subconscious impulse Everything was made of jelly

Randidly sat in a dark room He rubbed the worn dinosaur comforter atop him between his thumb and forefinger almost in awe of how realistic the cotton sensation on his fingers was even as the walls swayed He also knew that the swirling world he occupied was a dream but he still couldnÆt help but enjoy the sensation

So now what Fatepiece Randidly thought as he stared up at the rippling ceiling

A loud laugh drifted in from the other room and Randidly couldnÆt help but shiver That laugh was so achingly reminiscent of his childhood that he couldnÆt help but clench his teeth Something woke up in his chest and urged him to cover himself with the blanket But he sat up in his bed suddenly aware that the bed he laid upon was stretched to a comically large size so that it filled up almost the entire room

Opposite the bed was the door leading to the rest of the house which shuddered whenever that shrill laughter echoed out from the other side Other than that the only other feature of the room was a window with the curtains drawn

RandidlyÆs body felt miniature and feeble as he crawled across the bed toward the window He kept tumbling over his own hands and falling into the plush mattress The bed was practically a sea unto itself full of blanket waves and wild currents Whenever he stopped moving he sunk into the bed his childhood comforter becoming a binding layer that kept him from escaping

Yet as always the laugh boomed out through the door Randidly felt something bleeding near his heart that had rubbed itself raw from that noise

His heartbeat accelerated and he felt himself panic but that sense of fear shook the last of the sleepiness from RandidlyÆs mind Even in the dream world he could marshall his significance Willpower as he observed the bed around him Randidly couldnÆt help but be shocked by how powerful his emotional reaction to the dream was

Perhaps thatÆs why it is worth coming here Randidly thought as he tried to soothe his aching heart Still he wasnÆt just going to sit here and torture himself like this Not with this memory He raised his tiny hand and grasped preparing to tear the bed

Keep it down in there honey Mom has a guest The shrill voice seemed to speak from directly behind the child Randidly causing him to flinch and twist around Someone jabbed a thumb into the oozing emotional sore But there was nothing behind him but the blanket he was completely alone in this room

The door rattled with the womanÆs shrill laughter

This fucking Fatepiece His expression furious Randidly finished the trek across the bed and pushed himself off the wobbling piece of furniture To his annoyance the bed was taller than he was so he had to move in its shadow as he walked over to the window His frown deepened when he saw that someone had messily nailed the curtains to the wall He tugged on the material but his small hands were strong enough to rip it Visitt for the latest updates

He pressed his hands up against the nails feeling the cool circles of their heads Weirdly that coolness helped dampen his instinctual panic

If this exit is blocked that only leaves the door Randidly used his tiny legs to carry himself to the high wooden door The closer he came to it the more the woman on the other side laughed and the more the doorknob jittered up and down The sides of the door frame flexed in and out like it was breathing There was a madness in the womanÆs voice that preyed on something in RandidlyÆs chest but he had come a long way from being scared of his distant past

No matter what Randidly stood on his tiptoes to reach the doorknob The metal was warm to his fingers I hope you are still alive mom

Despite himself Randidly was still somewhat nervous about what he would see when he whipped open the door He desperately hoped that his subconscious wouldnÆt be too accurate concerning what his mom did with those guests she invited over But to his relief he opened the door and it led to a howling void Glad to be out of here he hopped off into the darkness

His consciousness turned blurry as the dream transitioned from one place to another For a brief moment he was back in that bed freezing cold even with the comforter wrapped around him Then the shrill laughter was deafening and his heart wrung blood out of itself in its haste to make itself as small as possible Then he continued to tumble through the darkness twisting slowly mid air

No This is about helping Claudette with her problems This was an agreement that she has already paid for I canÆt just take advantage of the control I have and use her for my own ends LetÆs just work on the image

Randidly forced his mind away from the possibility and focused on the image He dedicated himself to deepening the history of the Lizakh He created their paths between settlements and allowed them then to be worn away by the passage of time He made the world of ClaudetteÆs image as inhospitable and abandoned as possible He incorporated a bit of that emotional memory of being alone in his room to the vast world

Even if he didnÆt completely embrace that loneliness Randidly reflected on how he felt lying in that bed and incorporate notes into the surroundings

For the moment he still stayed out of the core area Obviously he couldnÆt yet be trusted to behave responsibly with ClaudetteÆs image In the meantime he began to draw the history of the final mission to save the planet as the Lizakh created an expedition to the frozen North led by DÆmin and YnÆulk

The ache in his heart didnÆt just vanish If anything his current conflict worsened his emotional turmoil Randidly knew that the real reason that he had been able to resist the impulse to make use of Claudette was the vast guilt that HelenÆs death left with him A deep whirlpool tugged at him constantly as long as Commandant Wick remained unpunished some of his energy would be devoured by his previous failure

If he were to weaponize Claudette now Well Randidly didnÆt need another reason to feel like all his training efforts amounted to nothing

So he continued to refine ClaudetteÆs image one tiny detail at a time The process felt slightly listless Not that he didnÆt care deeply about each change he made he was very purposeful about what he adjusted But there was a spark of life missing to RandidlyÆs image refinement He couldnÆt quite capture the sort of epiphany that he employed to such great effect when he worked on his own images The pain in his chest added the slightest hesitation to his work that he couldnÆt eliminate just by wishing

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 175

Is it because IÆm working on someone else’s image Or perhaps because Claudette is unconscious The slight difficulty in finding the final image for Claudette steadily added up to a knot of tension within him that he really didnÆt need After hesitating for a second Randidly ignored the sense of difficulty and continued to sharpen details

Just like the texts said this is work Randidly tried to reassure himself Fabricating images creating there is a certain freedom to it yes And in those moments where your own images blossom nothing can compare to that feeling But at the end of the day I was hired by Claudette to accomplish a task I need to focus on that

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 203

Further internal arguments were interrupted by the end of RandidlyÆs work period As before his mental energies spun inward into a tight seed His consciousness grew foggy and he sank into the realm of deep dreams

The images this time were much more fractured than his previous experience He swam through a frigid sea suddenly restored his ability to sense cold Above him a boat sailed past but Randidly could suppress his shivers long enough to call out for help His bones rattled with the intensity of his shivers

Then he was floating in the Shaft looking down into the depths He couldnÆt shake the feeling that something hungry looked back up at him A horrible dread crawled up the back of his throat and sealed his mouth shut He could only watch and wake

His heart whimpered Fear and the cloying sense of powerlessness he remembered from his childhood smothered Randidly

Then he was on his skyisland above Kharon moonlight spirits spiraling around him Randidly instantly tensed looking around warily All his thoughts about chill and loneliness clearly had a profoundly negative effect on his dreams But as time passed and he simply remained sitting on the edge of his island with the silver spirits drifting around him he gradually relaxed

With this brief respite the knot of tension he carried had the chance to ease He stretched out his arms and leaned back then paused as his hand brushed up against something Straightening he pulled the Visage of Obsession in front of him and glanced down at it

Chapter 1758

As soon as he was standing on the dark staircase in the blank world Randidly froze The dream wooziness vanished Did I seriously just activate my Fatepiece in a dream

Only about a day had passed since he had made the last sacrifice to his obsession losing his ability to control when he was taking breaks And honestly the time off from work had just served to distract him and frazzle him rather than enriching his efforts So Randidly was not keen on losing something else so quickly

However he could feel the Visage of Obsession laughing around him The steps beneath his feet hummed One could only advance or pause through this tool never retreat So Randidly shook his head and stomped down the over six and a half million stairs to reach the next barrier of shadow that was waiting to chop off a portion of him

RandidlyÆs skin prickled as he arrived at the end of his spinning journey this time the projection had taken the form of Shal His teacher looked at Randidly with a frown on his face Do you have a problem with this form

No Randidly said quietly Different thoughts swirled through his heart different sentiments he wanted to express to the man who had altered his life His mood quickly soured Of course he kept his mouth shut saying those thoughts to his own subconscious wouldnÆt absolve Randidly of the guilt he felt

But Shal was definitely correct when he explained the world to me all those years ago in the Dungeon Randidly looked down at his forearms Life does not become simpler when you grow stronger You need to continue to advance always or you will be crushed by the weight of the world

YouÆve been distracted Shal interrupted RandidlyÆs thoughts It is time for that to end Your next sacrifice will be your ability to contact the outside world Until you accomplish your Obsession or are forcefully knocked out of it no more communication with anyone unrelated to your task

He pressed his eyes shut Randidly knew it would be pointless to point out that most of the relevant distractions came from his own emotions rather than any external contact His only communication had been with Alana and it had taken all of ten seconds for him to put it to the side and continue to work He simply descended and allowed the shadow to pass over him

Then next twelve hours of work passed with almost agonizing slowness Yet at the same time even Randidly had to admit that he was doing excellent work creating a constant oppressive ambiance of cold despite the fact that he couldnÆt feel temperature And in a way he began to see the shape of what the Fatepiece was doing

It isolated him completely blinded him to faces and even took away his body Then it took away control of when he could do what Very directly it forced him to remember some of the worst times in his life when he had been in similar situations Those memories brought out truly unpleasant emotions but ones that were relevant Through his dreams the Fatepiece made him swim in those horrible moments

Now ClaudetteÆs image world possessed an inescapable grey dreariness even on the rare occasions when the sun pushed aside the cloud cover The heavy chill existed beyond the spectrum of temperature The heavy mountain range around her core area was cast from stones so dark that their total absence of light was visible even at night

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 507

Congratulations Your Skill Grand Perspective has grown to Level 188

Yet that didnÆt mean Randidly enjoyed the experience His emotions curdled in his chest leaving him sour and vaguely nauseous Every glance toward the core of the image reminded Randidly of his still insistent impulse to coopt this refinement to his own purposes Each self condemnation pressed him a little deeper into a morass of guilt

And his dreams

The puppet Claudette attempted to smile Whereas the original would have made the expression bright and charming this version of her could only reveal a lopsided and hollow simper I donÆt really like the current me very much

The wind of this desolate image howled around him His carefully curated grey world spread out in every direction devoid of life And Randidly examined this broken and mechanical puppet for a long time even after the spark of consciousness faded from its eyes His mouth twisted as a thought occurred to him What if I was wrong the whole time I assumed that the spirit guide functioned in such an eerie manner because of the way Neveah adjusted the projection Engraving to focus on the actual projecting But what if this puppet is just the way Claudette sees herself

And if this stuttering being is the source of this horrifying loneliness

Gradually heat returned to Randidly But he didnÆt allow everything to flare up into a dangerous conflagration He kept the heat low and constant pulsing out through his mental space and filling him with energy The fires seared shut the wound he had allowed to fester on his heart for the past two days

I was being a bit self absorbed wasnÆt I Randidly said out loud He pivoted and looked toward the central area Then his spectral body drifted forward into the central area The dirt was stained blue black by the strange corruption that spread from the blade I let my grief engulf me completely But I donÆt need to feel guilty about what we do here I let myself forget the desperation of both of our existences

Warm hatred galloped through RandidlyÆs mind Those emotions began to bleed out from him as he neared that small field where the core of ClaudetteÆs image sat He had approached the emotional spectrum in the past but the physical realm was also warped by the glacial influence of this weapon

Truly the core of ClaudetteÆs image was powerful

Its aura attempted to slow him but his hatred flared keeping its restrictive influence at bay Even if the chill made use of this entire world he had provided for it still it wasnÆt enough to reach him being an architect of the image had some natural perks

Randidly floated closer to the blade sticking out of the hoarfrost If I donÆt improve Commandant Wick will run out of patience and bind me to him with his horrifying image If you donÆt improve your father will sell off your body and soul to the highest bidder in order to prepare for his own attempt to reach the Pinnacle I felt like I should be bettering your image But thatÆs not why we are here is it That isnÆt why you chose me to be your image refiner

You picked me because I dared to stand against the aftershocks between a Nether King and the Speculum Randidly continued to talk that need for revenge rising in contrast to the constricting energy of the sword And because I managed to do it I cannot do everything but what I can do I do well

Hatred and abandonment warred in the image projection The violence of the clash between the emotions warped the air as they neared one another Randidly felt crackles of potent discharge spreading throughout ClaudetteÆs image but he didnÆt care He could shore up the details later For now

His mental energies seized upon the hilt of ClaudetteÆs heart sword and drew it from the ground Almost instantly a new layer of slate grey clouds condensed above this central valley Thick strands of corrupting blackness writhed off of the pale blade Randidly looked at them and saw a touch similar to the influence of the original Vualla driven so far by grief that she destroyed everything she touched

I can work with this Randidly thought

Claudette did not have the power or perseverance of the original Vualla yet but he could feel that her image would eventually lead her to that same place of deep darkness RandidlyÆs grip on the blade tightened

He didnÆt have a body but the weapon was lighter than he had been expecting The leather grip the pale blade the tentacles of darkness all of it moved easily within his grasp once his hatred neutralized the demanding desolation of this weapon The sword was almost insubstantial

He raised the blade and eyed the edge For now he needed to make a weapon that could wound the Nexus

Chapter 1759

DÆmin thrust his javelin deep into the body of the jiggling Horror Sludge The cursed thing wiggled its core out of the way of the attack but DÆmin planted his feet and gripped his weapon with both hands while a mixture of mood and ichor gooped down onto him The tendons along his arms bulged as he forced his weapon sideways through the brown grey gunk of the creature and cut into its vulnerable core

His breath hissed out through his teeth Just die

Right as the Horror Sludge was about the pierce DÆminÆs shoulder with its barbed tentacles his blow landed The thing sagged like a rotten fruit and he collapsed next to it with a splash Without the core animating it most of the gunk of its body sank into the swampy ground For several seconds he just spent his time breathing All his energy went into his diaphragm and lungs

With a grimace DÆmin leveraged himself out of the shallow water of the wetlands and brushed dead grass and leaves from his scales Then he did his best to scrape off the worst of the mud from his back and tail Above the sun blurred the air with heatwaves

He still hated this damn Dungeon but he was too weary to care that if he didnÆt meticulously clean each one of his scales at night moss would creep across his body He did take the time to check his javelin for any nicks in the blade or shaft but then he started wading forward again unwilling to make their Savior Alana Donal wait too long

The ten lizard warriors had now been within the Dungeon for three full months In that time not only had the Savior personally sparred with each one of them but she had forced them to struggle against a half dozen Horror Sludges at once while she watched Only YnÆulk was strong enough to defeat these foes without help but mostly the process had been so she could recommend what types of training they needed to do to improve

DÆmin paused when he saw a clump of trees above the constantly rippling reeds of this horrid area His tongue danced in his mouth as he considered The air was too humid for him to read any sort of scent from the wind There probably would be more danger in the small tree copse but it might also provide some brief shelter

As he waded through the marsh flatlands DÆmin remembered what the Savior had said to him after she watched his own desperate struggle You your biggest problem is effort Perhaps even you donÆt realize it but something happens when you truly feel threatened or you are too exhausted to think you might not have Stamina but your attacks are cleaner and sharper You have two gears you need to train yourself to stop using the first gear and always jump straight to the second

Because someday you will definitely meet a foe that wonÆt give you the chance to switch

About ten meters away from the hunched and leafy trees DÆmin paused His tongue flicked out again He reversed his grip on his javelin raised his body and then whipped his weapon forward The javelin throw earned him a squawk as he lanced through a Knife Beaked Green Heron and pinned it to a tree trunk For a few seconds it struggled but soon blood gurgled up through its thin throat and the thing collapsed

DÆmin crept closer still wary Its feathers meant the bird had been mostly camouflaged against the leafy canopies of the trees but he had already been ambushed too many times for this to work against him

Three months was long enough to begin to adapt even if he wasnÆt as talented as YnÆulk

DÆminÆs movements drew out no further predators The thick roots of the threes clumped together in the middle of the canopy creating a frame that allowed one to stand above the ground without being ankle deep in water The hollow in the middle of the tree clump was relatively small but it was just perfect for DÆmin He crawled between the slender trunks and released a long breath

The current task was a graduation exerciseÆ in the words of the Savior Although she remained disappointing at how intangible and vague their images were it was now time to return to Expira So she had given herself an hour head start and said that whoever managed to find her first in the wide wetlands would be rewarded

YnÆulk the other elderly warrior subordinate and TeÆLeto knew something of tracking so they eyed each other warily as they hurried out after the Savior into the featureless swamp Meanwhile DÆmin literally had no idea how to make heads or tails from the smorgasbord of puddles ponds mud and reeds inside the Dungeon

So he wandered He set his own goals Even if he couldnÆt find the Savior he could still test himself

The urge to do so was new but to know that that the monsters of this Dungeon used to fill him with fear and now he could walk amongst them with impunity

Maybe not impunity As long as I keep my wits about me DÆmin narrowed his eyes Second gear always Cannot rest for too long

He flexed his scaled toes which complained that they had only now begun to dry Then he splashed back into the wetland and waded forward Unfortunately for him the water level was rising And the Dungeon remained sweltering He raised a hand to cover his eyes and peered around for some sense of direction He saw still water and waving reeds and not much else But it did seem like the vegetation was a bit lusher to his East so DÆmin randomly decided to head that way

The puppet Claudette mewed in discomfort but she didnÆt try to stop him as his fingers sizzled against the biting sword perhaps she too realized that she couldnÆt avoid pain as the core of her image was reshaped

However before Randidly had even finished the preparatory work his mental energies started to run low He needed to maintain his Nether Weight to cut through the chaff of her image while also focusing on his emotional needs A small change here was one thousand times more difficult than the superficial details heÆd been handling so far

However he was unwilling to stick a pin in this insight he received now was not the time for a rest break He rolled his shoulders and flared Yggdrasil to life When one Skill wasnÆt enough he spun three together to try and keep him at his most alert

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 380

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 372

Congratulations Your Skill YggdrasilÆs Unruly Ichor has grown to Level 356

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 399

He pulled deeply with Golden Roots of Yggdrasil filling him with life and energy He felt the projection around him flicker slightly but Randidly didnÆt worry too much about it if he really drank too deeply of the ambient energy in the area he wasnÆt worried about killing off anything on the moon above Expira

His work resumed The tongues of Nether Weight became knives

Yet still Randidly felt himself slowly growing foggy as he carved away the last of the pointless illumination that was left on ClaudetteÆs sword H needed a little bit more of a boost So he turned to the Grey Creature which barred its pearly teeth and began to take from the surroundings

Congratulations Your Skill the Wandering Deity Demands has grown to Level 369

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 510

Congratulations Your Skill the Wandering Deity Demands has grown to Level 393

The Grey Creature raised its head and demanded fealty The universe answered Randidly finally felt himself stabilizing He cut away the rest of the light and was left with a floating sword Sometimes the details rippled but the blade of dark blue ice remained constant Meanwhile the hilt

A pulse of desolate loneliness and fear when he peered too closely at the hilt made Randidly growl It was definitely not ready to be examined at least not willingly Randidly finally turned to the Stillborn Phoenix IÆll need you too Too much is going to go into this

The Stillborn Phoenix gleefully opened its wide maw and began to absorb emotional threads in the surrounding space Darkness crept outward from the left orb his Willpower had condensed The green darkened to pure black

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 355

With physical mental and emotional energies being steadily fed into him Randidly lowered his consciousness toward the blade Time to fix you up Claudette

Chapter 1760

His spectral fingers crackled and spat out strange emotional discharge The natural essence of ClaudetteÆs sword and the shroud of hate that he used to resist it did not mix well Randidly didnÆt let it distract him even for a second

This was why Claudette had chosen him for this because he had demonstrated the resolve to pursue a goal without flinching

The first large change that Randidly made was to name the sword Shuddering at the intersection between fear and grief in his hands Randidly lifted the dark blue blade His words were slow and ponderous as he approached the name You will be called Clarent

A sword that was not supposed to be a sword The guiding spirit remained silent just watching the flickering flame form of Randidly with vacant eyes After her brief explanation he had not seen even a hint of ClaudetteÆs consciousness returning

The name didnÆt have any special significance to Randidly But just possessing the name as the focal point intensified the darkening clouds above and gave renewed structure to the underpinning of Nether that he had created His Willpower squeezed around the weapon tightening his mental grip until he could press that name directly into the essence of its existence

Clarent The floating orbs impressed that name as deeply as they could manage into the frozen seal of the weapon in his hands Clarent

Afterward he needed several moments to suck in deep breaths with his three images to recover When his first few breathsÆ didnÆt provide everything he needed Randidly reached further out beyond the edge of the image projection The Fatepiece meant that he couldnÆt truly sense the scope of his reach but when he didnÆt suddenly yank away a huge chunk of life energy he was confident he didnÆt stretch far enough to touch the surface of Expira

As long as he kept his efforts contained on the moon no one should notice

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 356

Reinvigorated he continued his work His grip sizzled

What came next was a decision that would frame his changes going forward was Claudette the sword itself or one who used the sword

All of the tight momentum that Randidly had accumulated stalled he was flummoxed by this choice Because he knew there were advantages to both ClaudetteÆs new image would combine his desire for revenge and need to survive with her isolating loneliness and frigid sense of abandonment Different pieces of those emotions would be empowered by either option

He looked at ClaudetteÆs puppet ignoring the continued conflict between his spectral grip and the sword that just wanted to be left alone Looking at her empty features and near mechanical face remembered the broken way her joints shifted Randidly found his answer Of course Claudette was the sword She looks more like a toy than a person So then she began as

RandidlyÆs thoughts rapidly shut down he had reached the end of his working time His face twisted into a grimace but he quickly lowered the sword back into its resting place in the ground the blade sunk up to its hilt in the corrupted ground His flames of Nether Weight vanished and then his mental energies dispersed as he sank into a deep sleep

Influence +71

For the next twelve hours Randidly dreamt of a mistreated sword His thoughts planted seeds that bloomed into watercolor frescos that illustrated his imagination

A young woman was raised by her father who doted on her every day of her life Yet many others came between them For he was one of the four Skykings a grand being who dwelt on warm clouds that glimmered with golden motes of light He and his fellow Skykings ruled fairly over the seraphim pure angels of light and water that populated their world They constantly waged a war against the darkness and always were victorious

And although Clarent was born pale and gloomy while the other residents of the world were brilliant and warm her father always comforted You might be different but thatÆs what makes you special You are your fatherÆs greatest pride and joy Æ

The image of the LizakhÆs savior was full of faith and certainty And resolve too As he looked into her eyes he could see the depths of her willingness to sacrifice for her people or the force that she followed

Being in contact with her directly seared DÆmin Compared to his fluttered and ethereal attempts at images what he felt was overwhelming and concrete Through the haze of stunned awe he hoped that amongst the humans the Savior was particularly powerful Because the Lizakh were doomed if every single human on Expira could match this brilliance

Tears flowed freely down DÆminÆs cheeks by the time the demonstration was over He fell back and sat unable to elicit a response from his own body he was overstimulated His ears were ringing A notification popped up in front of him

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Rigid Comprehension Lvl 1

Rigid comprehension DÆmin thought vaguely But his attention was soon pulled back to his surroundings as he felt a rush of air behind him Still sitting on the ground DÆmin twisted around and saw YnÆulk had closed his eyes and concrete flickering shapes formed in the air behind him A long scaled monster reminiscent of the Sludge Bottom Horror wrought of gold could be seen in those brief flickers

Apparently the demonstration had given the LizakhÆs greatest champion the inspiration that he needed to finally condense his image DÆmin watched him for a few seconds his eyes bulging with naked envy

Come The Savior said her eyes also on YnÆulk It appears your companion has had a breakthrough letÆs gather the rest of the Lizakh in preparation to return

DÆmin numbly followed her direction They returned the way he came walking around the stinking river bank His mind spun as he tried to cope with having his confidence crushed by the Boss the sudden growth of YnÆulk who already had every advantage and then his own appropriate but disappointing gain from the SaviorÆs demonstration Rigid Comprehension

He tried to calm himself by asking the Savior a question as they waded back through the wetlands Can you tell me about the Ghosthound

The Savior favored DÆmin with a wide smile and began to talk about her experiences with the Ghosthound She explained how he had started out a young man with just a little bit of an edge on the people around him but he very quickly accelerated and left everyone on his home planet in the dust

The Lizakh warrior listened with a solemn expression as Alana Donal explained that the Ghosthound moved on from just his home planet and went to another planet to assist his teacher They found the other Lizakh trainees who joined quietly quickly becoming engrossed in the saga of the Ghosthound

They were reaching the point that the Ghosthound came back to his home planet and began railing against the archaic systems of government when YnÆulk caught up with them He offered a brief apology but the Savior waved her hand DonÆt worry about it IÆm glad that you two were able to gain something from my image Now letÆs hurry back

The Lizakh all nodded DÆmin included Although they understood time flowed differently inside of the Dungeon it had still been three months since they had seen their hatchery And because they had experienced an attack right before they left

The group trooped out of the exit near the cave of the Sludge Bottom Horror Just like that they were back on Expira They quickly turned around to look at their Savior but her gaze was instantly drawn upward Her brows knit together DÆmin craned his neck upward to follow her gaze wondering what could be the matter

It did not take long to see what grabbed her attention

It was not yet evening and the moon hung low in the sky Yet on the moon a swirling read maelstrom was clearly visible almost like the pupil of a massive eye Considering how distant the celestial body was the phenomenon on it must be absolutely enormous to be visible from here

Is that YnÆulk frowned Related to the Calamity

I donÆt know Alana responded seriously But letÆs hurry back

Chapter 1761

When Randidly woke back up from his twelve hour rest he returned to the forming of ClaudetteÆs blade He approached the toil with the determined familiarity of a spouse in a bitterly unhappy marriage Hatred became a seething pair of gloves that protected him from the strangling sense of abandonment as he worked

His gaze was clear and without reproach he did not resent ClaudetteÆs image for its thorns If anything he inwardly rejoiced it was only because of the dangerous edges that Randidly would be able to create something worthy of slaying one of the powerful figures of the Nexus

The bellows beneath his heart pumped ceaselessly His emotions buzzed

The dream he just had was only part of the story of Clarent but Randidly began to see the patterns of how the story would develop He darkened the blade at the edges and created black veins that ran inward toward the core within the hilt Much to his chagrin Randidly also re introduced light blasting outward from the sword But now that light had more focus it was clustered around three glowing stars that were sealed within the actual blade of her image

The black veins werenÆt exactly jail bars However it was clear that their pulses weakened the orbs of light within the weapon Those small conduits were the physical representation of the restrictiveness that Claudette carried with her every moment of her existence Considering the light hearted young woman that Randidly had gradually come to know he was surprised when he very easily drew out a deep darkness from her subconscious

The suffocating blackness ate through RandidlyÆs emotional gloves even more quickly than the sense of desolation But at the same time he perhaps understood this side of Claudette Because she had grown up in the Nexus She had no choice

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 512

Randidly carefully sharpened the branching lines of those veins After experiencing Nether flowing through his body he easily replicated the pulsing shadows of that substance existing inside of him Clarent was Claudette but within her she held those three struggling points of light completely suppressing them with a deep frigid isolation

However Randidly was quickly forced to grimace and withdraw his tight focus His Grim Intuition began to swim around him from overuse Working directly with the sword is even more exhausting than I thought Even if I keep my images flared IÆm emptying my mental reserves as soon as they creep back up to healthy levels And taking breaks in the middle of the work is so inefficient

Gah At this rate Well might as well risk heading deeper into the Fatepiece

Randidly laid the chill weapon to rest within the ground once more and pulled out his Visage of Obsession To his surprise the painting had changed The dark staircase still dominated the central area but in the distance Randidly could just make up a mist covered ground that stretched endlessly below

which remained extremely distant even as he spun down through seventy seven million steps to reach the barrier of liquid shade with Shal standing guard with his hands folded in front of him He showed Randidly his teeth Are you prepared The next sacrifice is your ability to choose when you activate your Fatepiece You will have totally given up control

Randidly took the news stoically which earned a bark of laughter from Shal Despite these restrictive prices of using the Visage of Obsession the current progression was definitely an improvement from his previous delirium after activating it He wouldnÆt complain about this flimsy price

He descended through the shadow his skin crawling as he felt something shift inside of him but what really brought Randidly up short was the fact that when he passed through the barrier he was still standing on the staircase The dull coolness of the heavy black stairs remained a constant presence Immediately he could feel that the Fatepiece had activated its capability and made him descend two levels back to back

YouÆve got to be fucking kidding me Randidly muttered If you were going to do this why not just make whatever this sacrifice is the previous one We donÆt have that many left

He looked so small and frail

Randidly licked his lips as he watched the shifting layers of the world in front of him He understood was seeing yet somehow couldnÆt put a name on it The more he struggled to catch that vague understanding the more it seemed to come apart and disperse In its wake he only felt vaguely puzzled

As his awareness spread out to take in the whole of the world the disorientation worsened The layers did not coat the world evenly Sometimes thriving cities filled certain areas the next they would be filled with decaying runes Even worse sometimes the grand edifices vanished altogether leaving a pristine and untouched world before even the Lizakh developed

The worst part of all of the strange blending that he experienced was the humanoids themselves Occasionally layers full of bodies dominated the surroundings Because the Fatepiece had taken away his ability to recognize faces even amongst the Lizakh Even if he focused on them the details of their features melted away and left the front of their heads eerily smooth Randidly walked amongst a billion faceless beings and then other moments he was left entirely alone on the planet Sometimes he could recognize particularly important individuals based on their image but otherwise

The beings around him might as well be fickle ghosts He wasnÆt one to get easily spooked but the experience did make his skin crawl

Still he didnÆt forget why he was here he needed to improve ClaudetteÆs image So he buckled down and focused on whatever was in front of him Randidly felt a vague capability to influence which of the spectrum of scenes he was seeing between all the different layers but he couldnÆt quite control it At least not yet He flowed freely between the different moments and utilized a surprising amount of mental potency to refine the image

Perhaps the biggest shift was his outlook the current Randidly had an ease to his convictions that definitely empowered his image refining

When Clarent was before him Randidly used his hatred and desire for revenge to rip the sword out of the ground and hold it aloft The veins were soon clearly defined stretched upward from a pale blue sword that housed three disparate points of light Perhaps the wickedly sharp blade of Clarent had even originally been completely transparent but the influence of those veins was relentless The area around those stretching tentacles grew murky and dim

Does that mean that Claudette herself is the source of the corruption Randidly wondered Then the scene in front of him shifted He watched again as DÆmin struggled to approach the unholy sword that poisoned his planet

Randidly felt a certain sort of guilt as he looked on at the scene DÆmin staggered sideways barely able to remain upright under the force of ClarentÆs aura Unlike Randidly the Lizakh did not possess the WIllpower to inoculate himself against its influence The lizardman could only rely on grit and determination to put one foot in front of the other His shoulders trembled but he steadily advanced

As he watched the scene play out Randidly reached out and smoothed the blurry lines he solidified the end of this planetÆs tragedy The thought process of the Lizakh was simple they didnÆt understand the totality of their doom even as they lost ground to the desolation The expedition led by DÆmin and YnÆulk was to investigate the source of the corruption which they had correctly identified as this sword

However after the group passed through the crumbling remnants of the Sun Temple things did not go well for the expedition But the reason this blow was so fatal was because it came from within

Aside from the cold the expedition had encountered no real obstacles YnÆulk who heard his fellows continually praise DÆmin for his leadership began to grow bitter One long night as the group camped on the edge of the Field of Talons YnÆulk convinced a few of his followers to leave with him they did not need DÆminÆs leadership

Of course as soon as they moved into the Field of Talons the fallen Lizakh found them With only a few warriors the fallen Lizakh strangled YnÆulkÆs group through sheer numbers

And the meet from these poor souls only served to whet the appetite of the cursed creatures that danced to the desolate song of Clarent

Chapter 1762

Randidly felt like he painted the gruesome image of YnÆulk and his followers for almost an hour Each time he moved his gaze he found a new frosted talon that could be slathered liberally with the blood of the foolish group And once the marking had been made he needed to watch the blood flow back through the air and into the body of a Lizakh and experience a horrible sort of recovery

For whatever reason when Randidly gripped tightly to a single story the layers were surprisingly well behaved

On the other hand the fallen Lizakh were wild and corrupted Randidly felt quite sour as he shaped them traced their stinking warrens and horrible madness Their weapons were rusted and partially blunt Crafting the entire scene felt quite a lot like moving through the most recent barrier in the Visage of Obsession

Yet by manipulating the layers he lessened the mental blow against himself He traveled backward from wound to wholeness In that manner Randidly sunk willingly to shade his guilt wearing off as the suddenly the group was arrogant and safe again

That was RandidlyÆs favorite moment of this tragedy He paused there for a while taking care to perfect that feeling Their baseless confidence and excitement as they hurried into the Field of Talons sure that they would soon save their civilization He could not see their expressions but he felt their pure desire to overcome this desolation even if it manifested as something selfish

He made sure to pause in these moments and add his own precious insights into the image Suddenly Randidly was back in his cabin in the Southern portion of the not yet established DonnytonÆs valley He helped Donny and Daniel and Lyra sharing his own experience with Paths from his time in the Dungeon

We made it past the initial shock of the System and we started to believe that we could live like this Randidly lived those moments His own layers briefly held sway he physically occupied the role of himself but a different version The weakness of the body was unfamiliar and his left arm felt strange and hot But he still smiled It was a fragile joy We knew nothing about what still lay before us

Still Randidly turned back to the site of the ambush of YnÆulk The other layers receded The talons flickered and suddenly the worst of ambushers were there The fallen Lizakh crouched over the bodies and ripped through their scales with their teeth Our wake up call was a bit gentler than this

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 513

Then time began steadily unwinding The corpses lay beneath the iced talons and rotted DÆmin stood above them Randidly couldnÆt read his expression with the price exacted by his Fatepiece but he drew from his clear memory of HelenÆs death Grief and vague self doubt hung across the LizakhÆs shoulders causing them to droop

He blames himself And he should He had no way of knowing that this was coming but he was the one who was supposed to bear the consequences

Randidly turned his gaze away from DÆminÆs pathetic figure looking across the Field of Talons One moment the cursed sword was gone one moment a giant pillar of ice had grown atop the weapon to seal it further then next DÆmin was there again staggering across the black moor Randidly drifted after him pulling with his three images to fill himself with energy

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 390

The pain from the mental strain eased but only somewhat Yet now was not the time for a break His attention gathered up on DÆminÆs uneven gait He needed to accentuate this progression to the best of his ability

The field was pitted and rocky By the time DÆmin arrived before the sword he was shivering Two orbs condensed once more one black and one emerald observing the throbbing veins that stretched down from the poisonous hilt and covered the icy blade Most of the weapon was hidden in the ground but these shifting layers allowed Randidly to see this moment in its totality

Below the ground horror seethed pumping out and poisoning the planet

You and I are so similar Together we are the perfect sword Æ The Limina whispered to Clarent as it made itself at home inside of her body

The images in front of Randidly began to dissipate he was waking up He let them go viewing the backstory of ClaudetteÆs image with the same dispassionate attention that he viewed all of his strange dreams The images and emotions he saw flowed through him and then out The current Randidly moved from sleep to wakefulness with a calm intensity

The world in front of him was occasionally populated with faceless Lizakh and sometimes gripped in a chill so permanent that RandidlyÆs Perception tingled Occasionally a horrible storm stomped down from the high mountain ranges and across the sea threatening to end the world Of course a world was a durable thing Despite the howling winds and precipitous drop in temperature the world endured

Yet Randidly took a few moments to sink into the surface of the world and trace the steadily accumulating corruption that oozed toward the core

DÆmin looked forward at the spray of seawater with wide eyes It was still too cold for his taste here but that was the least of his concerns The Lizakh knew of larger bodies of water but DÆmin had never seen anything bigger than a river And the Great Sea of Expira in front of him consumed the entirety of the horizon

But quickly the Savior dragged back his attention with her words She pointed to a small concrete fort on one of the cliffs above the sea Even from this distance DÆmin could make out a thick layer of bodies layer around the base of the compound Head there this is where the forces of Expira are gathering for the expedition into the Calamity I need to contact King Phirun and see if the politics of this are still fucked

Will we be allowed to approach YnÆulk had the presence of mind to ask After leaving the Frost Dragon Wivanya in charge of their base they had traveled with the Savior to this coastal area Her presence meant that they had never been in any real danger the Revelations that she revealed were overwhelmingly powerful But the Lizakh warriors had been fighting against the spawns of the Calamity almost constantly

DÆmin looked again at the corpses strewn outside of the fort It appears as though most of them are aquatic creatures that crawled out of the sea If we are mistaken for monsters Well we still are monsters

Just seem intelligent There are several recognized non human races on Expira Flare your image if they flare theirs YnÆulk you should be responsible for that Alana nodded to them all There are some things I can protect you from but youÆll also need to experience some things for yourself Inside of the fort are some of the strongest warriors on Expira And to be frank each one is greedy for the opportunity to defeat the Calamity

So be prepared to prove yourself Have confidence The Savior nodded once Then she grinned viciously at them But if someone gives you any problems tell them you are under the protection of Alana Donal

Then she turned and left kicking off the ground and condensing brilliant pearly wings that stretched from her helmet With a few beats she ascended like a radiant star and pierced through the clouds The whole sky rippled with her passage

YnÆulk looked around Tight formation We might be in a strange situation but we are still Lizakh We have our pride We will take this chance given to us by the Patron of the Sun and seize it

The warriors responded quickly their formations had been drilled into them since their juvenile period Without them physically more imposing monsters would have long defeated and devoured the Lizakh

TeÆLeto fell into place next to DÆmin And to his surprise the older warrior spoke in a low voice covered up by their shifting armor and weapons If this opportunity is related to the Patron of the Sun at all

DÆmin gave a slight nod in response as they walked toward official contact with the humans of Expira

Chapter 1763

As the Savior had suggested there was the slightest pulse of an image when the Lizakh group approached the gate of the fort The slightest tang of pewter rang out YnÆulk released a slightly less refined pulse of his monstrous image in response but it was by far the most well developed of the group Naturally their speed lowered as they waited for a response Each one of the Lizakh tightened their grips on their weapon

There was no further response from the gate DÆmin wondered if the humans had recognized that they had previously been trying to kill them as sacrifices to their Patron

But neither did the invisible guards attack The fort remained unmoving before them Eventually YnÆulk grunted Keep heading forward Trust in the words of the Savior

The group picked up their speed Now that they were nearer the smell of salt and rotting fish was overwhelming And true to the SaviorÆs words the heavy metal doors swung inward as the group approached Two bored looking tattooed humanoids gave the group a couple of looks but otherwise ignored them They were well muscled more in line with YnÆulkÆs physique than DÆminÆs But their chests were bare despite the cool air

Past the wall as a short passage and then several stacks of wooden crates Most of the Lizakh looked to YnÆulk as they stood in the entrance unsure of what to do In response the muscular lizard man cleared his throat We are proud members of the Lizakh here to fight against the Calamity

Head to the central area A guard spat to the side Tide is coming in soon you donÆt want to be wandering around when the monsters begin washing up onshore Such a bother

YnÆulk nodded his eyes tight with irritation at being interrupted But he gestured and all the Lizakh DÆmin included followed him Beyond the crates were two squat grey buildings that looked to be an armory and mess hall A few similarly bare chested guards loitered around DÆmin took some time to examine their intricate tattoos done in either blue green or purple These humans too only gave the group a few looks before returning to their task

After squeezing between a narrow passage between the two buildings they found the central area they had been told to seek And once there DÆminÆs scales tingled he might only have a rudimentary ability to manifest his own but he was quite proficient at sensing images Each and every person already waiting in the clearing pulsed with potency

There were at least a hundred of them

The first horrifying image to catch DÆminÆs attention drifted out from a lanky man with long red hair and a massive saber by his side His eyes opened briefly to scan the Lizakh group but he apparently found nothing worthy of his interest His attention turned inward again almost immediately

Other than him on the left side of the open area there a dozen ogres with their three headed leader releasing a crushing pressure Opposite the ogres on the right were a score of strange cavalry The mounts were strange possessing chitinous armor and segmented joints The riders sparred on the ground with their long lances Based on their slow and steady movements this was more for entertainment purposes than training

The main area was occupied with more humans in the dress of the guards Their bodies were the most heavily tattooed that DÆmin had seen Grand swirls and harsh sigils add flashes of color to their bodies They wore necklaces with shark teeth and sharpened heavy brutal weapons In addition there were a dozen smaller groups around the size of the Lizakh that all wore different emblems representing various human organizations

So many representatives from different areas so this is the power of Expira Could we really join them DÆmin wondered as he looked around Very quickly two groups pressed against the far wall grabbed his attention Because as soon as he laid eyes on them he sucked in a breath He hadnÆt sensed them before but once he tasted their image

A muscular man with a shaved head cracked his knuckles DonÆt even bother to join the final expedition We will handle this ourselves the old fashioned way

If brute force could really solve the problem would we still be swimming in monsters A slender dark haired man made a long knife dance across his fingers His eyes never let his rival Relax and leave this to the true professionals

The muscular manÆs smile darkened The only profession you can claim is sous chef How does it feel to always play second fiddle to me

At her question the image in front of Randidly flickered He saw the thick lines of the seraphim holding their burning lances and standing at strict attention They kept their wings folded at their back the picture of military discipline

Randidly heard the long sigh of ClarentÆs father They lust for control my pride They come to oust me Which is why your return is so important Without you I would be weaponless But with your help I can make these fools pay for underestimating me Æ

The image faded back to the room where the Skyking licked his lips while looking down at the sword he had been anticipating for so long Clarent was confused by his words not even noticing his expression But I what do you mean I know the Limina did something strange to me but IÆm not a sword Æ

Clarent daughter Æ Her father shook his head sadly Look at yourself Truly look at yourself If you are not a sword what are you Æ

A mirror blossomed into place across the wall in front of Clarent And she could not avoid looking at the black hilt with its curling veins the transparent blade and the gemstone of pure darkness that was her core As Clarent stared at herself she could not tell which portion came from the Limina and which came from her

Somehow on the journey back to her father they had blended together fully They were one

She was speechless as her father took her into his hands and swung her experimentally The sensation of powerlessness and weightlessness squeezed her confusion and worry into something tight and anxious It lodged in her throat and she couldnÆt breathe around it But already her father was laughing with joy and striding out of the dark room in the corner of his castle

That joy gave her pause If its just for now if it makes him happy maybe it is alright to be a sword for a while

They strode into the audience chamber and found the three other Skykings waiting for them Each was flanked by two powerful guards radiating the illuminating light from the sun Perhaps due to the habits of the Limina Clarent felt herself shrinking back from that exploratory light afraid of what they could see of her Of what too much exposure to the light would reveal

However her fatherÆs hands on her hilt were warm and firm

The central Skyking glowered at her father What have you done What sort of monstrous creature have you made Æ

Do not speak to my daughter in such a manner Æ Her father replied primly

The Skyking on the right threw his hands up in the air Such a weapon is capable of severing light What madness would possess you to nurture such a foul thing in your home no less We did not comment when you detached a portion of the Great Shadow and raised it within your own home But now to reunite it with its power Æ

If we control the Great Shadow can you not understand how much our influence will expand Æ ClarentÆs father took a step forward into the center of the room Light slanted through the window a concentrated on that central point making him radiant Why stop at the sky With this weapon we can expand to other planets Our empire will reach across the whole of the universe Æ

You are mad Æ The Skyking on the left spat on the ground The guards raised their weapons and began to stalk forward

Fine then choose the path of destruction Æ ClarentÆs father sneered at the three other Skykings and the expression transformed his entire face into something sinister and dark Some portion of that strangeness lingered as he then smiled down at Clarent My daughter it is time For all my hard work I have given for you sing for me Make these ignorant fools pay Æ

Chapter 1764

Randidly had waded through violence since the System had arrived Almost immediately he had been tossed into a Dungeon and forced to struggle to live Something tried to trample him and then something else tried to melt him with acid Monkeys had Then Shal had arrived and shown him how to rigorously encourage his acceptance of pain and violence In his masterÆs mind such things were simply a part of life

In a lot of ways the past ten years had proved Shal right

But Clarent had not been the one who had lived through those experiences She had grown up under the peaceful rule of the Skykings She was lonely and ostracized but that did not prepare her for the sensation of her blade sinking into the chest of the first Skyking

The squelching noise the surprising spurt of warm blood the dull grinding as she ripped through the manÆs ribcage all of these shook Clarent to her core And she was so numb and shocked that she didnÆt even notice the instincts she had inherited from the Limina rising within her

The central jewel of her existence allowed not even the slightest glimmer The black veins of her hilt pulsed and she began to suck out the light from the Skyking By the time her father hand planted his foot against the chest of the man and kicked the body away he was but a husk of his former self

And being stabbed with a sword was only the second worst of his wounds

What have you done Æ The central Skyking gasped Guards Guards Æ

Weirdly through the numbness and unfamiliarity of her current form Clarent felt the hint of warmth for the first time in her life She sensed the powerful spark of light she had stolen from the Skyking floating in her body She clustered around it desperate to feel more of that warmth especially now in this horrid situation where she was powerless yet soaked in blood

The more her veins sucked at the light for more the more the spark dimmed Simultaneously she felt her own darkness growing more sinister and hungry Although sucking away the light’s power briefly titillated her with the sensation of warmth it faded just as quickly In its wake the absence of that warmth made her ache with the craving for more

Clarent was still coping with the rapid series of developments but her father was not distracted from his task He lowered his stance and accelerated forward He cut down a guard with a blow to the side of her knee and spun out of the way of anotherÆs thrust Then he smashed the hilt of Clarent into the jaw of the central Skyking crushing the bone

The man yelped and fell backward When he was sprawled out on the floor Clarent barely even whispered as she slid down through his heart This time her father had avoided the ribcage

It was so so easy

Clarent reflexively sucked out the second spark of life in only a half a second Her darkness greedily spread and began to feed even more actively on her captive energies

Then ClarentÆs father turned to face the final Skyking His guards were ashen faced but he was not afraid He spoke quietly full of urging You must stop You will regret this Æ

He did not dodge as ClarentÆs wickedly sharp blade cleaved into his gut And she could feel him willingly surrender his spark of life Suddenly her once transparent blade housed three drifting sparks of light and warmth that could do nothing to make Clarent feel any less alone Worse the scent of them invigorated her dark veins Seemingly of their own accord they stretched upward the weight of their desire slowly warping the purity of her blade with their need

Quickly her father finished off the remaining guards Unfortunately word had gotten out due to the SkykingÆs yells the waiting army had retreated horrified by the violent actions of ClarentÆs father For now her father did not pursue Instead he retired to his chambers and favored Clarent with a smile Sleep child TodayÆs work is done The rest can wait until tomorrow Æ

Clarent could not sleep She was a sword So she just watched her father horrified at how easily he could rest after having destroyed the order of things Through the window of his chambers she could see that twilight shrouded the whole of the world It seemed that the lights she had taken were not just the lives of the Skykings

When he woke her father walked back over to him Now it is time to finish things With me wielding you we can completely eradicate those that would resist us Æ

RandidlyÆs vision split as his emotions roared to life independently of each other One was black and grey filled with guilt and depression He saw Helen broken and opened left dead on the ground as a message for him The other was red and violent full of rage and hate and an endless craving for revenge He heard Commandant WickÆs dismissive snort These emotions would both be his gloves today as he deftly guided the emotions around his hands

With these gauntlets he would finish forging Clarent

There are something things that cannot be done without you Randidly answered He could not cry but he ached as Helen raised a brow at his mysterious response even as the mirage dissipated and spun around the seething furnace of emotions within him His images were forced to expand slightly and draw again from the atmosphere pulling in more vital energy to sustain his high functioning state

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 361

Congratulations Your Skill The Wandering Deity Demands has grown to Level 399

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 396

Is that a yes This time Helen raised her spear and faced off against him with her swirling lines of wicker blackness orbiting her The Depths of Horror Domain flared In the dark waves of energy behind her something stirred

Randidly absorbed his roaring emotions from this image too taking everything into his hands one grey one red Yes You are my knight Always

In that moment Randidly felt the whole of himself He saw his journey under the System all culminating to this moment as he forged ClaudetteÆs image He was a broad sea constructed of strokes of color that flowed and eddied After he met Helen he could see the way that they had impacted each other the way their colors had steadily stained each other Their seas rippled and seethed

Always Helen was there within his Dreamcatcher tears in her eyes as she realized why he looked at her so solemnly

He felt her death hit him with the same force as it had at the moment it had happened her broken body reminding Randidly of all the ways that he had failed now and would fail again Yet simultaneously he could see that the single event of her death changed nothing he would remain stained by her Their interactions had no beginning and no end

Time would not affect that

Always

Yet that word and the shattering of Helen in front of him darkened his thoughts RandidlyÆs awareness expanded forward following the mark that she had left on him He rushed forward to find his revenge on the Commandant but was stopped by Yggdrasil

Why He thought he spoke only mentally but he felt the whole of NeveahÆs Engraving shudder beneath the weight of that world The grey hand and the red one moved restlessly the knuckles straightening and tightening His Nether Core used three grey bubbles to anchor itself and still it was almost collapsing inward with the ferocity of its rotations

Yggdrasil shook its canopy Some things should not be known Not now You have another task a task that requires the touch of Helen your greatest Knight

Randidly pursed his lips But still he turned away accepting the word of Yggdrasil The layers fluttered past like pages of a book Suddenly he was back at the edge of that black moor watching DÆmin pray to his Patron of the Sun as he was consumed by Clarent

His gauntlets of emotional power crackled as Randidly drifted forward preparing himself for the final adjustments

Chapter 1765

The Lizakh had been assigned to the left flank of the expedition told loosely to follow the Lancers of the Baleful Court and the ogre delegation from the Nordawn Mountainous Region They marched up a low slope to top a dusty ridge in the three day window before the portal manifested On the exposed hill the wind forced DÆmin to clutch the thick cloak heÆd been given tightly around his scaled body They had moved away from the sea but the wind remained a constant companion

Finally it is time to act he thought tiredly He meant it as a way of cheering himself up but it just made him more depressed His fingers tightened on the cloak Right now it was hard to imagine the group of ten Lizakh could do much to help Expira

Of course even the chilling wind was better than the waiting had been After a day of long and grueling arguments that DÆmin didnÆt really follow the group gathered at that fort on the sea had finally received word regarding a Major Calamity Rift which would give them the time for the entirety of the seven hundred strong expedition to proceed to the source of the Calamity

Most of the arguments concerned how much additional support the various political organizations would give the Expedition beyond what they already had Specifically King Phirun who hosted the Expedition and along whose coast the Major Calamity Rift was appearing asked for some additional forces to help clear the path and make their entrance easier

With the exception of Zone 32 every other Zone denied the request And went as far as to claim that sending additional manpower was impossible What made matters worse was that from what DÆmin understood Zone 32 didnÆt have many troops to spare So King Phirun had attacked Zone 1 and Zone 7 demanding they send some of their reserves

The representative from Zone 1 had sneered Why not ask for help from Kharon

The three headed ogre raised his head His eyes flashed As I have said I am here as an individual to help lead my people My presence does not reflect on the policy of Kharon as a whole

Ha who could believe that Tatiana would willingly let go of her precious secretary Are you trying to say you are here on a vacation Another representative had muttered The ogreÆs left head turned and glared earning a gulp from the speaker

But ultimately the pleas fell on deaf ears King Phirun had stormed out of the meeting room in a fury but the Expedition members didnÆt seem to mind at all Considering the powerful auras that DÆmin was becoming increasingly adept at sensing he could understand why they were confident no matter what

However the day had been even more disappointing for the Lizakh Under the lead of YnÆulk they had tried to create relations with many of the other factions preparing themselves to set out The Lancers looked at them when they approached but didnÆt bother to vocally answer The Ogres seemed uninterested in anything but listening to the stories of their leader Wolfram who DÆmin gathered had spent most of the last five years in this strange Kharon

The humans looked like they were sucking on lemons when the Lizakh tried to make polite conversation although most did try to make their distaste unobtrusive At the end of that final day in that fort the Lizakh warriors camped alone by a small fire doing their best to ignore the laughter and comradery they heard from the other members of the expedition

DÆmin looked up at the stars and felt profoundly alone

The group finally made it to the top of the ridge Following the Lancers the Lizakh flowed down to the Southeast making room for the human warriors of the Great Sea that followed them There was another ridge between them and their destination but the Greater Calamity Rift pulsed with gathering power that leaked over the obstruction and warned of its coming

The Expedition leader Tosam signaled a six hour break they had plenty of time before the rift would open after all The various groups hunkered down for a short rest before they made their approach Meanwhile DÆmin stood slightly stunned looking over at the bleeding light of the rift He had never seen the source of the Calamity monsters up close Behind him YnÆulk began leading the other Lizakh in a ritualistic prayer to the Patron of the Sun a tradition before the battle

Ultimately he nodded Yes I am different from them

Perhaps it was due to the blurring of the boundaries between states but RandidlyÆs walk to Clarent seemed to stretch and meander His presence wavered and flickered He felt like his person had a strange sort of emotional dragÆ as he carried the black and the red gauntlets forward charged with all of the intensity he could muster

His very passage dug a furrow in the Aether of this place His potency left NeveahÆs working fizzling and trembling in his wake

This much should still be fine After a slight pause to inspect the damage gathering up so much emotion inflicted Randidly resumed his approach

He didnÆt waste that extra time by trying to inject tranquility into his movements He focused his mind and let the ripples spread out as they will NeveahÆs construction could withstand some abuse

He dug deep into the actions of DÆmin upping the desperation of his pleas The Lizakh held Clarent and prayed even as black frost crept down his fingers and over his trembling wrists He was still barred from experiencing temperature but Randidly felt the sharp frigidity as he watched the swaying of that lonely figure on the black moor

The layers of the world fluttered and suddenly Randidly witnessed the slow and sputtering end of the hero The ice covered his shoulders and head steadily marching to cover his mouth and seal off his prayers forever Frost had won Just as it would win and claim the entire planet

Still the voice persisted Please Oh Patron of the Sun hear the prayers of your people Without you we

Randidly sighed The red gauntlet hummed in sympathy Without interference from some outside force you will be nothing Your people will vanish

The layers of the world shifted again and Randidly traveled far forward DÆminÆ hands had been reduced but bones corroded by the touch of Clarent while the rest of him was stuck in the same horrified posture his flesh perfectly preserved in the ice pillar Meanwhile the black tendrils that stretched out from the hilt grew running down his finger bones and squeezing Beneath his frozen feet the ground trembled The center of this planet had been tainted it was only a matter of time before it all collapsed

Randidly shifted his focus his expression softened as DÆmin revived before him once more shivering and begging as he slipped through the fluttering layers The red gauntlet of righteous fury hummed again so he reached out with that powerful emotional accumulation and squeezed his hand around the hands of DÆmin His grip was crushing

A wave of red emotion erupted down and surrounded Clarent Randidly two glowing orbs of observation brightened he could feel the pleas resonating down the connection to the Patron of the Sun There was no response from the other end of that System tether So he allowed that pent up fury and helplessness of his gauntlet cut that tie and seized upon those released prayers

Randidly eased his voice into the ear of DÆmin There is a way but youÆll need to act as a conduit for my power Are you willing

Chapter 1766

The desperate Lizakh agreed immediately sobbing in praises and thanks for the Patron of the Sun The current Randidly accepted these misplaced prayers without comment what Randidly needed right now truly was concrete details of ClaudetteÆs image through which he could funnel his emotional energy

The red gauntlet was all his fire all his fury and force he would spend to drag down Commandant Wick But as powerful as that emotional energy could be his current task was to create a weapon of frost and desolation All that power couldnÆt be easily incorporated into ClaudetteÆs image at least not directly

DÆmin serves admirably for the red gauntlet His desperation makes the resonance between them high As for the black gauntlet Randidly scrutinized the cracked gemstone in the middle of ClarentÆs hilt for several seconds Then he shook himself That can wait

Just like his cold determination to kill Wick could wait as long as it needed to

DÆmin gasped as hot wrath and indignation seethed through his veins His eyes widened and energy rushed to his hands holding the taint of Clarent at bay for now The option presented to him by Randidly was simple if he truly wished to save his planet he would need to master the desolate sword Clarent Either by absorbing the destructive energies into himself or by turning them on another target

Randidly would simply provide the energy to make the options feasible The decision belonged to DÆmin alone

RandidlyÆs manifestation shook itself We are getting beyond the point where I can do all the work for you Claudette These last few steps need to be yours

While the image aspect attempted to grapple with all the emotional power that filled him and continued to rattle NeveahÆs Engraving Randidly sank into his body and utilized his perception to truly look at Clarent And using the ambient waves of red fury that radiated outward he began to fine tune the details of the blade

The lusterless black gem was the centerpiece of Clarent marred by a jagged lightning bolt crack down the middle But Randidly avoided that area for now Instead he adjusted the terrifying woven tentacles of the hilt They came together in a tight mesh that both supported and restricted the central jewel

The red energy undulated up the blade from the hilt adding a slight wave to the edge as it sharpened it That fury concentrated at the sharp tip adding the scent of death all along the crystal’s edge In addition some of the ambient energy seeped into the sealed area within the sword steadily transforming into the emotions of the trapped life essence of the Skykings Two released murky emotions in response but the third Skyking pulsed regularly with bursts of pure light

That clear essence rapidly gobbled up the ambient red energy turning it into a rainbow sunburst that attempted to reach down toward the sundered gem The radiance somehow managed to refract RandidlyÆs rage over HelenÆs death into dozens of subtle emotions Randidly felt a grim satisfaction as he watched the pieces begin to shift The rumblings through the image refining Engraving continued to intensify

However ultimately the fulcrum of this gauntlet would be DÆmin So he shifted his attention back to the target

The layers of the world flickered They arrived in a fork between two possible futures Just like Randidly borrowed the senses of DÆmin he granted the lizard man a vision of the possibilities laid before him His two orbs sank into the lizardmanÆs skull one of DÆminÆs eyes glowed emerald the other black

In one future perhaps the easier future all that remained in this place would be a black skeleton with a sword driven through its chest The process was slow and the Lizakh would struggle for generations but gradually the world would recover With the force of crimson fury empowering him DÆmin would be able to fight Clarent to a draw for all eternity

Randidly turned to the sundered gem There wasnÆt even a flicker in response to that projection The black gauntlet flowing with liquid hate twisted in sneering disappointment So Randidly looked toward the other future

In that version DÆmin managed to wield Clarent the violent emotions acted as a medium of mastery He ascended to an even more vaunted status amongst his people as he gradually turned the vicious force of the weapon outward He learned to control Clarent to accomplish impossible tasks

However the damage had already done their world was hollowed Due to DÆmin ingenuity and the bladeÆs fell power the Lizakh embarked on interstellar travel heading to a distant world to plunder the resources that had been consumed by the sword when it was running wild

They fled across the stars like refugees searching for resources The first few months were the worst They found innumerable empty rocks before they found the barest hint of life Thousands starved But then DÆmin grew to understand the hunger of the sword for life which could lead them right to what they needed

At first it was simple but then the Lizakh encountered intelligent life

The LizakhÆs expression was heavy as he stared down at the imagined Clarent He knew that he would not go back peacefully Even if he needed to teach the council a lesson

Buzz

All at once Clarent could withstand it no longer The sleeping gem at the core of the desolate sword awoke A blast of freezing cold swept outward and flash froze DÆmin he died instantly still picturing himself slowly turning into a tyrant A part of RandidlyÆs heart squeezed at the cruel sort of death but he had finally achieved the result he wanted

Light flickered from ClarentÆs jewel and he heard ClaudetteÆs voice I get it I get what you are saying As long as this is the way I see myself its only a matter of time before I become a tool for someone I need to not just be the blade but the hand that wields it

Randidly was silent although he was pleased that he had reached her again The red gauntlet flickered and faded completely spent to push DÆmin along that journey Instead the black gauntlet of hatred floated forward Tears of pure hatred rolled off of the thick fingers and dripped into the lightning bolt crack that split ClarentÆs jewel

But there is a reason that I am the tool Randidly ClaudetteÆs voice fell to a whisper IÆm weak IÆm not strong enough to control this power

IsnÆt the power yours Randidly drew deeply from his three images He felt the aura he manifested outside of the Engraving grow but he believed it should be fine Because even honed to an efficient point the amount of emotional detail howling through him was almost beyond what he could manage His Nether Core barely managed to stabilize him

Claudette remained silent So he gestured mentally mobilizing the energy he had gathered A ripple spread through the dying image world But RandidlyÆs gesture couldnÆt wound this place his work up until this point had steadily deepened the foundation and history here His formless mental pressure might shatter the Engraving that expanded it for convenience but the image could withstand it

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 516

No matter what we do it canÆt compare to the accumulation my father has gathered Claudette whispered She stank of fear

Randidly almost wanted to chuckle He imagined that the drops of hatred that soaked into the jewelÆs cracks were sweet Do you want it Do you want this power to be yours

Fear made hatred patient Fear made hatred smart

The spirit guide reappeared all wooden expressions and stiff limbs She looked down at ClarentÆs blade for several seconds and then joint by joint delicately moved to take the weapon from DÆminÆs dead grasp When she held the sword of herself the black tentacles of the hilt wiggled gleefully The lights within the blade pulsed

I donÆt want to be used Claudette said Her eyes reflected that bright central light within the blade The connection was so potent that even in his current focus Randidly was briefly swayed He couldnÆt help but wonder what the real inspiration for those sealed lights was that it could seize her attention like this

The black gauntlet of hatred reached down and tightened around the jewel More and more concentrated emotions seeped into the blade through the wound in ClaudetteÆs heart Randidly could feel the pulse of Claudette a distant beat that tried to hide within the dead jewel But steadily that pulse was gaining intensity The pulse of light from the blade especially the radiant one that had willingly given his life soon synced up with it

Then what do you want Randidly asked

There was a long moment of silence as the puppet looked down at the weapon Even through the strange restrictions of the Visage of Obsession he understood he wasnÆt giving her any choice She either accepted the flood of chilling hatred that Randidly had prepared or most of the effort he had poured into the refining would be wasted

But despite those dangers the light within ClarentÆs jewels stirred It began to absorb the drops of hatred that Randidly fed to it Steadily the jewel knit itself back together

Randidly felt his mind grow fuzzy Not with a forced break but with completion He drifted softly down through the mists of the Visage of Obsession and then touched the ground

An enormous rumble ripped through NeveahÆs Engraving as the forces of ClaudetteÆs image began to churn in a new pattern And Randidly shivered gripped by a horrifying cold that he could suddenly feel

Chapter 1767

For several long seconds Randidly sat and watched the churning blizzard that radiated out from Clarent without even blinking His eyes captured the tumbling ice crystals that were driven to become such vicious gusts If before those storms were environmental creations the important current shift was that Claudette herself had ascended to become the howling engine that spewed desolation across the surroundings

Sensation gradually drifted back to Randidly His body tingled his head ached

The Engraving continued to loyally absorb Aether and struggle to cope with the image forces that spun together in new patterns But the power of Claudette/Clarent was quickly tumbling out of control The transformation in front of him was not clean or convenient Huge waves of navy blue frost burst outward thoroughly covering all the details that Randidly had painstakingly refined

RandidlyÆs lips twitched but he accepted this outcome The sharpness he had added was being dulled but the core of ClaudetteÆs image reinvented itself with every second She used all that patient and insistent hatred that he had squeezed out of himself to prop her psyche up And then she unleashed all the force of her own loneliness and desolation the bleak helplessness of a life where she had always thought she had no control

What he currently witnessed was her taking back her own power If he hadnÆt felt so completely horrible he would feel proud to have assisted Claudette with the process As it was he could only groan and blearily inspect himself to figure out why it felt like he had been run over by the moon rather than sat on it for

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 204

The Skill Level gain brought with it the knowledge he was seeking Ah NeveahÆs Engraving had some time acceleration functions Seems like I spent about a year in there working on ClaudetteÆs image And that time period doesnÆt count the fact that the Visage of Obsession kindly let me experience time more slowly That compression is probably why I feel like hell

The storm of frost and desolation rumbled and suddenly smashed down into the ground Not only did NeveahÆs Engraving take some serious damage but the moonÆs surface shook His joints creaking Randidly pressed his hands against the ground Even if he was done guiding Claudette forward he could still keep the periphery of her image from being eroded by the force of her current transformation

The violence of this transformation is pretty strong RandidlyÆs tired mind grasped for a word but found nothing worthwhile He shook his head But because of that I bet Helen would have been proud to be a part of it

He realized that he was still sitting on the ground while NeveahÆs Engraving began to fail and tried to stand once more But his powerful Willpower couldnÆt find a grip on his body His effort seemed to ooze out of him and dissipate The destructive storm roiled and pulsed tearing another dangerous hole in the Engraving As he watched the destructive afterbirth Randidly felt himself sinking lightly through a heavy bank of fog still drifting downward in the Visage of Obsession

The last sacrifice the shortest The lines on RandidlyÆs face tightened as he understood his situation Giving up all control and being forced to watch The rest truly is up to Claudette