LoRG 5

The orator cleared his throat Everyone is aware of the current state of the Nexus we are hounded constantly by malcontents and deviants who seek to undermine the structure and stability we have built While our leader Elhume handles those on the Path of the Pinnacle we need to handle the rabble nipping at his heels

However that is impossible without a firm hand at the helm For a brief moment the oratorÆs voice wavered It was clear he understood the significance of the moment and also the peril Yet he was a small character He quickly regained his balanced timber and continued Therefore I take great pleasure in introducing you all to Military High CommandÆs new leader We were so taken with her abilities that she has been granted the title of Actus Suprem holding unilateral power over all aspects of Military High Command and therefore the Nexus Greet the Leader

All Hail Actus Suprem Devick

All Hail The entire crowd cheered including Lady Iellaya and Commandant Wick Down the line Commandant Zettlequill grew pale but still said the words

Grinning like a lazy panther Devick sauntered down the aisle Even from afar her blood red hair cascading down her back drew the eye She didnÆt release a hint of an image but none dared underestimate her Around her neck she wore a golden chain that symbolized the office of Actus Suprem One side ended in a vicious looking spike the other in a hook

She had designed the chain herself Lady Iellaya had assured her earlier in the day that it was very intimidating which pleased Devick immensely

None dared even twitch as Devick slowly proceeded down the aisle Her eyes swept side to side inspecting them all for the tiniest flaws But eventually she arrived at the dais and walked to stand next to the orator He bowed and stepped away and she assumed control with a satisfied smile

Although I definitely deserve this position I would not be here today if not for my supporters Devick grinned Especially my dear friend Grand Marshal Ellios I was blindsided when he suggested me for this role but I immediately saw how necessary it was Truly without him I wouldnÆt have made it to where I am today

Her smile stretched a little wider Tragically he violated the orders of Elhume and entered the Path of the Pinnacle So I sentenced him to death However gone but not forgotten as they say eh

Chapter 1843

After receiving your most recent experiment Daniel leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers like the villain in a spy movie He was currently trying his hand at growing out a goatee and Sam believed it looked more wisp than hair but made the effect even more of a satire Mr Ozark is quite pleased with the result he told me that what they are really looking for are aspects that strengthen the use of images If you can make one of those and provide it for them they are willing to trade an Armament With an emphasis of your choosing

Behind them a child did cartwheels through the grassy field

Sam raised the wine glass to his lips and sipped Immediately he grimaced he just couldnÆt bring himself to enjoy white wine Huh Well the unusual raw materials are nice but what the hell is an Armament

From the way Ozark said it I didnÆt want to sound foolish by asking Daniel winced and pressed his hair back I hoped you knew IÆll send a message to Randidly to ask about it But can you do it Can you make equipment that benefits images

The duo sat at one end of a low topped oak picnic table their conversation covered up by the bubble of laughter and conversation from the other patrons at the winery Now that the chill winter of the Calamity had passed a blooming spring had come to Expira Their table sat on the rolling green laws of DonnytonÆs newest winery and right in front of them was the sprawling grape heavy trellis of the vineyard The sun sank toward the horizon its rays lengthening and darkening to orange and red

At the other end of the table were Regina Mrs Hamilton and Theodore Mrs HamiltonÆs increasingly serious boyfriend The three of them sampled the various and damningly white wine selections offered by the winery

All of them enjoyed it

Sam clicked his tongue while he watched a family play horseshoes off to the left Well theoretically yea IÆve done it before ItÆs just usually not my focus because the process takes time That sort of benefit needs to accumulate But so long as we figure out the Armament is worth something IÆll do it

Excellent DanielÆs expression brightened Then he produced an interspatial amulet and slid it across the table A discrete bonus Oh youÆll like this too The materials provided are apparently from some alien being that had been mutated by cosmic radiation

Randidly clicked his tongue as he considered his options After sleeping for several hours he recovered to his peak state Now he just had to decide how to proceed Upstodatee from

Claudette had already returned to her fatherÆs estate to take care of some personal matters before the looming party in six days Randidly briefly wondered whether the party would be postponed based on the state of the Nexus he had heard from Lady Iellaya about the constant infighting attacks and the fact that a madwoman had essentially become the supreme czar of Military High Command but it appeared that Don Beigon was not troubled by such developments His celebration remained on the schedule

As such Randidly wouldnÆt let it bother him either He needed to be ready

Still that preparedness could take several forms He could train his images with the Path of Dreams He could figure out how his attainments with energy ripples could be incorporated into his fighting style now that he had returned to the Nexus where images werenÆt suppressed to the point of uselessness And he could also investigate the process of evolving his Nether Core to the next Rarity and generating more Weight

Finally his third image appeared manifesting directly in front of his body The being was not human but took a humanoid shape even while powerful energies had completely evolved the interior beyond the physical limits of its original species With RandidlyÆs face it turned and looked at him almost sadly Its left arm was bulkier and armored while its right seemed more graceful and deadly Determination glittered in its eyes

The emotions around the Grey Creature began to seeth as all the bottledup fury and indignation Randidly experienced in his time under the thumb of the System came to the surface The air warped and popped destabilized to the point of implosion by the vehemency with which the Grey Creature wished to tear down the edifice above them It released a hissing misty breath

Someday Randidly closed his eyes Someday

When he opened his eyes RandidlyÆs three images floated down and superimposed themselves on his body With all three of his images operating at full force he began to look at the surroundings His lip curled upward at the dense network of ripples that rebounded endlessly off each other fueled by the existence of three powerful images even working in concert

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 603

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy of the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 585

If the ripples are this dense with just me activating my images Randidly thought with glittering eyes He looked down at his hands where natural force already had begun to accumulate The barest hint of a maelstrom swirled around his person naturally forming as energy seeped into the subconscious patterns he manifested What can I achieve in a fight Or on a battlefield like I had when the Swacc Family assaulted those Pinnacle Seekers

If I had another chance I could have directly annihilated that being possessing Techetadore

However Randidly pushed the speculation out of his mind He activated several of his more powerful Skills pushing them to the fullest and then noting what effects they had on the energy ripples

Steadily he consolidated his understanding of his Moirae of Ripples Skillset

Put simply it generally functioned as a support to the more powerful attacks that his images could unleash He could utilize Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko freely to improve his spear usage His understanding of energy and ripples also reduced drag on other attacks To his surprise this bonus was surprisingly high he received perhaps a 50% increase in raw power just from manipulating the patterns in the air into more agreeable shapes

At the same time the Skillset provided two steadily accumulating passive abilities First the three related Skills from the images rapidly gathered energy to create a force maelstrom around RandidlyÆs person Obviously this wouldnÆt stop a truly powerful energy opponent but weaker opponents would he effortlessly dominated once it gathered momentum and foes of RandidlyÆs power would be restricted by the swirling force

Secondly the energy maelstrom functioned as a growing bank of power that Randidly could unleash in a potent blast as he had once done previously He didnÆt dare experiment with how far he could push this considering the power it had displayed and the lack of a battlefield to pull from but his understanding of utilizing energy meant that he could channel a much larger amount of power

Alright Randidly said with a grin as he let his images die Time to head to a dinner

Chapter 1844

His confidence swiftly ran out From the jump the meeting with Nrorce was awkward

The goblin eyed Randidly with naked suspicion when he arrived at the entrance to NrorceÆs farming compound The proof of RandidlyÆs betrayal was in the pudding all around the goblinÆs base flowers were blooming The whole of the countryside now fueled with the abundant Aether of the Alpha Cosmos came alive

Despite NrorceÆs suicidal desires Randidly had saved the world

Otters played in streams Strange copper winged pigeons clustered on tree branches and cooed playfully at each other Wild strawberries grew rampant across the hillside their bright red color hinting at their tart sweetness

Randidly rubbed his cheek rather awkwardly Directly against NrorceÆs wishes he had consumed the goblinÆs homeworld in his Alpha Cosmos preventing the world from wasting away with Nrorce as he succumbed to his grief Not that Randidly regretted that decision he was very confident from the imprint of NrorceÆs daughter that she would have wanted it And in his mind his true debt was to her Plus it was the right thing to do

But standing in the face of the goblinÆs sour regard was a bit uncomfortable

Nrorce grunted and turned away finally ending the painful stare Alright alright Enough of the tearful reunion Come on in and harvest something fresh for dinner IÆll be in the kitchen

Randidly blinked in surprise and then followed the goblin through the cracked tunnel into the farm Obviously the invitation had been to dinner but were they really just going to have a meal together

With no tirade No slew of verbal abuse No acidic diatribe that cataloged RandidlyÆs failures

Looking around Randidly couldnÆt help but grimace it was clear that the transition into the Alpha Cosmos had not been easy for the farm Perhaps part of that was probably how near to stuffed Randidly had been at the time but it might also be related to the significance of this particular place Either way the heavy walls were cracked and the intricate Engravings were shattered Vines grew through the jagged ravines in the high walls and the farm had obviously gone wild

However Randidly was surprised to find that small central corners of the four farming quadrants saw hints of some use When they had last spoken Nrorce had been completely defeated and prepared to lay on his daughterÆs old bed until he wasted away When Randidly had left he had honestly believed he would never see him again And now

Could his continued vigor be because I went against his wishes and saved the world Randidly wondered as he gathered some fresh looking peppers and onions from the overgrown fields His lips twitched as the old habits of ripping out the weeds by hand came back over him Without the walls in place ambient images seeped into the plants but he still restrained himself perhaps he wanted to stay alive and spite me

Randidly straightened and crooked a finger rather than dwell on NrorceÆs motivations Natural energy without any associated images gathered around his hands His Grim Intuition gave him a perfect picture of the entire field around him His tail swished around and around as though stirring a cauldron And when he had gathered enough energy he unleashed it in a massive wave obliterating the weeds and leaving the vegetables untouched

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 381

I missed a huge aspect of this ability when I tested it in the shaft Who knew it would be so useful for gardening Randidly thought about his new Skillset with bemusement as he returned to NrorceÆs dwelling with an armful of vegetables

He thought about loneliness Then Randidly slapped his cheeks

Actually would you like to join me for dinner Randidly said See if you can track down Naffur and Miss Collins You guys do so much to support me I really think we should get to know each other better

For the first time since the conversation started there was a lull in responses When her answer finally came he could practically see TatianaÆs eyebrows rising Well well well Would you believe me if I say that even my Skill is surprised you suggested that ItÆs very out of character

Randidly ignored the twinge of guilt in his chest and opened a portal to Kharon

mm can you feel that sunlight little sis Actus Suprem Devick leaned back in her chair by the window and stretched her arms until her shoulder popped She practically beamed Seriously I have been in such a good mood lately

Yes it is indeed auspicious that you have finally been recognized for your talents Wick said woodenly He seemed already quite used to DevickÆs surprising insistence that she be complimented Lady Iellaya inwardly applauded how easily the Commandant adjusted his attitude when his boss was around

Especially now that she sat in his office near constantly Her new post involved much less work than the pomp to crown her suggested

But to even Lady IellayaÆs surprise Devick waved a hand and a flash of irritation crossed her face Not that I donÆt know itÆs hard for me to describe the feeling is slightly akin to scheduling a duel to publicly humiliate a sniveling whelp only to forget about the date Then the day of when IÆm reminded of what is to come the pure joy of thinking about killing him surges in my chest all over again

For a brief moment a pure smile crossed DevickÆs face Then she shrugged ThatÆs the feeling but I canÆt remember any duels coming up Hmm Perhaps a man Perhaps IÆve touched on the threads of fate and at Don BeigonÆs party IÆll encounter the love of my life

Surely there is no man worthy of you Lady Iellaya added when Commandant Wick remained silent and thoughtful

True

Lady Iellaya shivered when Devick spoke there was something horribly dangerous in her voice Madness unfolded into a thousand legged insect of violence bent on devouring the entire world But as the Actus Suprem continued Lady Iellaya wondered if she had just imagined it But still a girl can dream right Ah Wick IÆm guessing from your expression that you didnÆt manage to complete your mission

Wick paled but bowed his head in surrender Unfortunately Don Beigon insists on meeting you personally before issuing an invitation despite your status as Actus Suprem

Fine then LetÆs go introduce ourselves Devick said lightly Oh Wick Fetch me my chain would you

Chapter 1845

The boyÆs Class is literally Poltergeist Headmistress Collins held her head in her hands her elbows spread outward as a hastily erected support structure Naffur passed the pureed potatoes across the table to Tatiana and followed up with the sweet and savory honey sriracha drizzle Tatiana thanked him with such softness that Police Chief ArriettiÆs enthusiastic consumption of mutton covered the words Derek Moss regarded his food with the intense stoicism of a man who had heard similar complaints from his girlfriend for quite some time and realized that his attempts to assistÆ were not required or even wanted

After a deep sigh Headmistress Collins continued to speak there her fingers As a Class itÆs excellent it came with quality Skills too He learned Skills for wall walking short term invisibility some weak telekinesis the projection of intelligible whispers and the ability to inflict fear on a nearby target who observed his other Skills Obviously weÆve had problems with students using their ClassÆs abilities against each other and in immature ways in the past but I can already tell itÆs only going to get worse One of our professors was driven to hysterics before we realized what was happening And when I called him into my office he asked me how heÆs supposed to get better without using his Skills And I have no idea what to say to him

Arrietti dabbed his lips with a napkin Perhaps just one more mutton steak Truly the meat has been roasted to absolute perfection Mr Nrorce You are a meat savant The wood must have been hand picked this lingering flavor

RandidlyÆs lips twitched as Gertrude Collins unleashed an explosive sigh IÆm even considering creating a new special area A student run haunted house He can hone his Skills now against the fools who voluntarily want to test their bravery but for Halloween it can be a huge event Yet even with extra consideration I take a single look at him and know that heÆs gonna push boundaries

Tatiana shook her head A young man with the ability to walk through walls is going to find the justification to use the ability The combination of youth and capability makes fools of us all No wonder it feels like youÆve been so busy recently If you need any help please let me know

Gertrude flashed a brief and bright smile Yes Thank you I know itÆs not so bad So far he hasnÆt done anything directly against school rules So long as he can at least stand by the Kharon Academy Code of Conduct the best I can tell IÆll just try and not dwell on the things heÆs done and we just havenÆt caught him doing

Naffur set down his fork If you need any help tracking him down just say the word At least for now Vye is hanging around Kharon Even catching a ghost would be a breeze for her

By the way Naffur Tatiana said as she pivoted in her seat Are you still handling that Randidly fanatic

The what Randidly blurted out Most of the people at the table grinned Only Nrorce had a blank expression which he had been wearing since RandidlyÆs subordinates arrived for the dinner

He had taken RandidlyÆs request for more guests in stride but he remained aloof while the rest happily chatted

While Naffur seemed hesitant Tatiana gladly jumped in to supply the details She stabbed her fork into the vegetable medley for emphasis Obviously itÆs been an issue since the founding of Kharon that you have a strong influence on the population Randidly To the point that there is a plethora of products and memorabilia based on you including soaps cologne and trading cards Obsession finds an outlet right But always the most problematic has been those who claim to teach your fighting style because a certain amount of people starts to believe them and will accept ridiculous tuition fees to learn

Randidly glanced sideways when he caught a bit of movement Derek Moss lowered his head toward the table and flushed

typically we simply send an Order Ducis agent widely regarded as true representatives of the Ghosthound and challenge the leader of this school or martial academy Most of the people are delusional about their own capability they probably saw you fight at one point and received a Path for their troubles The Stat gains of such Paths are generally high and the final Skill is Rare or above inflating their heads However

Perhaps only one more mutton steak Commissioner Arrietti smacked his lips This pesto is simply sublime

This is what it means for us to become closer To shift more toward friends Randidly felt the transition happening slowly or at least starting to in their hopeful expressions And suddenly he could see where he had gone wrong in the past I might have checked in with how they were doing in the past and I also might have worn the consequences of my own adventures on my sleeve at some point but I never willingly opened up to them I was always distant And since I was the superior when I failed to make that step they respectfully gave me some space

He released a breath and pondered The loss of Helen had hurt him more deeply than he had been prepared to experience But at the same time he missed that camaraderie And he knew that the loneliness he experienced in the Nexus was only going to get worse So he opened his mouth and tried to explain

Well the big thing is preparing for ClaudetteÆs well essentially a coming of age ceremony Her father Don Beigon wants to marry her off for a political alliance the only way to avoid it is for her to have sufficient strength to demonstrate she can defend herself from the dangers of the Nexus But considering the sort of foes we will probably have to face

Randidly trailed off Commissioner Arrietti spoke into the silence Heh we understand the odds of standing up to the System well enough But you are exhausting yourself anyway yes No matter the odds

The assertion took Randidly by surprise then he laughed at the accuracy Ha Maybe Yes IÆve spent the previous few months doing some last minute training on a very special Mountain They called their focused method the Grand Pattern which was just a very pretentious way of describing minute control of energy and understanding of how different energies interact with each other Useful but not nearly as profound as they claimed

I proceeded up through the Mountain testing myself against different manifestations of these energy attacks Oh afterward I absorbed about half of the training areas on the Mountain when I finished youÆll notice them sitting on the dark side of the moon I havenÆt had the chance to utilize the Sea of Dreams but it should strain the shape of an image Meanwhile the Path of Blood is mainly focused on enduring the energy patterns with your body But anyway some various things happened but I managed to learn a lot and grow stronger due to the mountain ItÆs just a matter of whether it will be enough

For a split second Randidly frowned as his mind followed the complex difficulties that were waiting for him at the DonÆs party But then Miss Collins raised her hand distracting him Then when she didnÆt immediately speak he said Uh yes

You were rewarded with the ability to take away the training Paths for completing the Mountain She asked

Randidly licked his lips He felt a small prickle of guilt Well

Before he could even answer Tatiana shook her head Let me guess You destabilized the Mountain got involved in some inner conflict and then took advantage of the chaos to steal two of the training Paths

Randidly frowned You make it sound like I am an opportunist but believe me my presence was the only reason that they were able to wound the Master

Naffur snorted Does that make it better You are an agent of chaos

Kharon is a city that I founded Randidly huffed somewhat playfully If I really was an agent fo chaos none of you would have jobs

Even a broken clock is accurate twice a day Miss Collins observed Then the entire Kharon contingent broke out in laughter as Randidly frowned at them

Watching everything Nrorce tilted his head to the side

Chapter 1846

After the meal Randidly opened a portal back to Expira and most of his subordinates proceeded through the rift in a quick procession Derek Moss was still timid and bashful Commissioner Arrietti had dipped into some old ale Nrorce had fermented and now boisterously praised the blue goblinÆs food production capabilities to the high heavens Naffur looking much older than when he had originally been named the head of the Order Ducis shook RandidlyÆs head and then walked away with a confident gait

A lot of change that I caused even if I wasnÆt there for it Randidly thought as they left IÆm a part of their lives So itÆs better that IÆm making that decision purposefully from now on

Miss Collins went second to last having been the only individual who had managed to draw Nrorce into conversation of all things they spoke at length about the creation and uses of the image isolating Engravings Apparently she saw quite a bit of potential in adding such restrictions to certain areas of Kharon Academy

Tatiana brought up the rear She patted RandidlyÆs arm after the rest had left This was a good idea IÆm glad you did it Everyone needed a bit of a break from running the city The Wandering City is chaos and progress incarnate You purposefully made it strange and unmoored so we wouldnÆt fall into a rut but that strangeness makes our jobs a little more difficult

Thank you I appreciate that youÆve kept the trains on time while IÆm gone Randidly said seriously Without you

Tatiana waved her hand I handle the timetables but you provided all the materials ItÆs almost annoying how little IÆve needed to do to make Kharon a success your name is a big draw It would take a certain sort of genius to squander everything youÆve left for us

When RandidlyÆs subordinates had gone he turned back to look at Nrorce The blue goblin gestured sharply with his hand handle the dishes Randidly moved smoothly picking up the remnant plates and platters after his group had eaten their way through the meal Nrorce had prepared Balancing almost a dozen plates on his arm he walked through to the kitchen Flicks of his fingers mobilized natural energy annihilating the remnant sauce and gristle that lingered in the wake of the mutton steaks He then brought everything to the sink for a thorough scrubbing

The domestic tasks were rather mindless but Randidly enjoyed the combination of the simple motions and the pleasant buzz that had settled in his mind He still felt rather drained from his experience working his way up through the Mountain encountering the shades of Devick and challenging the Master but now that tension had eased from the simple conversation with his subordinates

We are all working for the same thing No need to bear the responsibility all on my own Just like Claudette wonÆt be alone when she stands up to her father For a brief moment Randidly clenched his hand The sharp outline of his strained tendons in his arm reminded him of those horrifically muscled statues and he shook himself He considered contacting Neveah to see if she could perhaps do something but then Randidly grimaced picturing NeveahÆs amused expression as she looked at the statue better not mention it She probably already knows considering her friendship with Tatiana but if she finds out it bothers me she might commission one herself

Congratulations Your Skill Soul Bond has grown to Level 415

RandidlyÆs breath hissed between his teeth but he did his best not to linger over what that notification might mean Instead he cocked his head and read the soft wind currents for signs of Nrorce To his surprise the goblin wasnÆt within the farmhouse he had climbed up the vine covered walls and now sat along the Western portion to watch the bleed crimson and maroon out through the clouds of this world

You took the rest of the population to a different planet Nrorce said when Randidly hopped up to join him Randidly nodded

Nrorce pursed his lips This place well I thought the entire world was empty after my daughter died But I suppose itÆs pretty empty now isnÆt it Lifeless

Randidly opened his mouth to respond but Nrorce was already waving his hand Alright IÆm tired from cooking And if you want this to happen again heh Do you take me for a fool You need to pay me if you want me to cater an entire party You are adult enough not to need to rely on charity from an old goblin

After studying NrorceÆs purposefully blank expression Randidly allowed a small smile to dance across his face Alright Next time IÆll pay

You better Nrorce grumbled After bowing toward his blue skinned back Randidly left the old goblin in peace Besides he had a lot on his own plate before the DonÆs party it was definitely time to confront the Patrons and make sure they werenÆt planning anything malicious for the Alpha Cosmos

There was an awkward silence as Randidly absorbed that and considered Then the seemingly innocuous Patron of Blades stepped forward We can give you our understanding but there is a lot we donÆt know as Sun implied Everything changed so quickly

During most of the Second Cohort we were all close All nine of us Elhume and his eight original Patrons Truth Abyss Blades Feathers Deep Sun Blooms and the Borrowed Elhume had used the Nexus to reach the Pinnacle but there were a few flaws with this method he wasnÆt invincible within the Nexus just the one that none of the other major factions wished to offend Even with that deterrent we had to fight constantly to defend the order in the sizable portion we controlled Outside of even our struggles various forces controlled small kingdoms that constantly warred with each other attempting to monopolize the influx of Aether from new worlds

You are primarily concerned with the way the Cohort ended right Well you need to go back a bit for that clusterfuck to make sense The Patron of Blades looked around at the other gathered Patrons It is somewhat humiliating to admit this but we we were the outer circle all of us The four closest to Elhume were Truth Borrowed Feathers and Deep Three of which are dead by ElhumeÆs hand and one which well she is still recovering from exposure to the bone charm When she wakes perhaps she can shed some more light on what happened By the way

I havenÆt finished examining the bone charm Randidly responded with a firm voice However I am able to handle it safely You donÆt need to worry about the Alpha Cosmos unraveling around you But please continue

The Patron of Blades nodded We had three big projects in those days First the creation of Elhumes or humans Elhume believed that if we wanted to extend our control of the Nexus we would need a more efficient way to gather subordinates This was before the Nexus Ways so we couldnÆt efficiently respond to threats Our standing army had to be ready in all locations Abyss and Deep were focused on this with Abyss only assisting with his understanding of potential and transformations The Patron of the DeepÆs unique power was the core of the project

Us three Sun Blooms and myself managed major points of entry into our area We were the guardians that defended the citizens against the chaos of the wider Nexus

Meanwhile Truth Feathers and Borrowed accompanied Elhume to slay a very dangerous individual They succeeded but they all returned slightly haunted Borrowed hid away unwilling to talk Truth seemed to look at the world with hollow eyes And Feathers well she didnÆt stray from ElhumeÆs side Usually after a long mission like that Elhume would call us back for a meal after a major mission He always liked to check in with each of us But that time he did not We didnÆt think much of it we each had too much on our own plate

Suddenly the Patron of the Abyss interrupted Within a week Elhume publicly killed the Patron of Truth He offered no explanation or apology

The Patron of Blades sighed Part of it seemed to be the stress of the Elhume project but there was also the issue that ElhumeÆs body started generating crystalized Aether around him faster than he could be rid of it Things spun wildly out of control He seemed suddenly possessed determined to begin the plan They activated the ritual to create Elhumes and the Patron of the Deep died in the process Officially it was an accident As for the Patron of the Borrowed as far as we can tell Elhume used his body to create the very first Armament With that he slew a particularly powerful head of a rival power that had routinely challenged his authority And with ease

But by then the other forces in the Nexus were calling for the Patrons to be sealed away Perhaps in retrospect it was a blessing they might have feared that Elhume would turn us all into weapons for his eight fists and become invincible I donÆt think they understood how bad the physical restrictions on his person were becoming

You always add too much detail The Patron of Blooms rearranged her face the roots and vines tightening and flexing into a haughty architecture What is there to say We believed we knew Elhume And perhaps there is some truth to his claim that something went wrong on their assassination mission But the harsh truth is this he realized he no longer needed us We were more useful to him as weapons than as companions So he cast us aside Our dream of creating paradise amounted to nothing

For several long seconds Randidly considered them Then he shook his head Who was so important that Elhume had to take three Patrons to kill them That was also when the strangeness started yes

Honestly We have no idea who it actually was Some leader of an ascendant faction in the Nexus The Patron of the Sun grunted and then folded his arms across his chest However the why has become relatively obvious to me

Do you think you can fool us with your pretentious act The Patron of Blooms popped up an eyebrow made of tiny petals

The Patron of Sun looked at her like she was an ugly slug Do you remember the Hierarchy of Karma ever being used

What No it was never used Just Then the Patron of Blooms frowned

Because if you check the current history books The Patron of the Sun spoke slowly YouÆll find that they now claimed it was used in the Second Cohort They arenÆt specific on the details but considering ElhumeÆs claims of contaminationÆ the answer is obvious Four individuals went to slay an individual who had been ordained to rule all of existence And afterward everything fell apart

Chapter 1847

The rest of the conversation with the Patrons was more of the same Or if anything the Patrons quickly got on each others’ nerves and began to snipe at each other more than they provided actual information no wonder they split up so quickly when left to their own devices Soon Randidly dismissed them all and returned to his own Skyisland floating above Kharon He put his chin in the palm of his hand and examined the star filled sky

Randidly didnÆt trust the Patrons entirely especially about their knowledge of ElhumeÆs abilities Even after he helped defend against ElhumeÆs attack against them His emotional senses might not be the sharpest but he felt how conflicted each of them was in regards to this powerful individual who ruled the Nexus In their own way each Patron held a raw wound in their chest that continued to linger they had fought by ElhumeÆs side for the sake of accomplishing a dream for too long to escape unscathed

Even now they didnÆt understand what exactly had happened to make Elhume abandon them With that question unanswered he wouldnÆt completely trust them

Especially because Randidly didnÆt quite believe Elhume could have so easily killed so many of the Patrons back then without assistance Even if he had become increasingly dominant since then everyone agreed that the Second Cohort Elhume was much more mortal Randidly couldnÆt catch a whiff during their talk but he worried about a rat

Still at least he had a few answers about what happened at the end of the Second Cohort Plus he was at least reassured that they were behaving He could use his deeper influence over Nether and significance in the Alpha Cosmos to find remnant traces of the different PatronsÆ movements Since he didnÆt notice anything suspicious he could at least relax about the presence of Patrons

Randidly rubbed his eyes One worry down A half dozen to go What a fun life I lead

During his conversation with the Patrons Claudette had sent Randidly an invitation to visit the Beigon Compound and have a last discussion in preparation to attend the party However that wasnÆt until the following morning Which left Randidly with enough time to focus on his Nether Core

He produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and created a portal down to the depths of the Kharon He found the humming stone room the tiered stone rings and that central pillar that bore the carvings of RandidlyÆs deepest core Shadows congealed in the corners but as soon as he took a breath all that accumulated power flowed into him

Influence +76 901

Influence +14 226

Influence +901

Randidly chuckled as he looked at the notifications A valuable boost in Influence But compared to devouring the MasterÆs connection to his Paths a bit of a letdown Stealing significance from others is honestly much more efficient than allowing it to accumulate on its own

Ha Back in the early days I needed to constantly deny that I was a Heretic Devour And yet now IÆm toeing the line a bit

His Nether Core hummed with pleasure as it spun and pulled all of the accumulated power out of this room As the darkness receded and the core area returned to its original state Randidly was surprised to see that two names marked along the walls two individuals had managed to make it all the way through the Kharon Labyrinth and leave their mark since he had been here

At first Randidly smiled to think of the people of Kharon growing more powerful Then he saw one of the names and scowled powerfully Alonso TreyÆs name featured very prominently along the one wall with a complex looking scrawl below the name

He took a steadying breath and then climbed next to the central pillar to make himself comfortable He refused to let that presence distract him He sat cross legged next to his Nether Core and allowed his mind to drift His worries and distractions fell away leaving the reassuring flow of energy in the surroundings Ripples in a dozen different varieties bounced off the walls of the enclosed space Although he sat down to begin the Nether Core transformation process he paused to examine the energy flows a bit more closely

So Randidly took a few minutes to trace the energy curling through his core area and out through the labyrinth He was surprised to find that there was a whole network of energy and airflow through the ventilation system of the place that created a strange resonance with the entirety of Kharon Academy He hadnÆt intended it this way but the significance that pooled here wasnÆt idle

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 439

Congratulations For Influence above 10 Weight +10

For Influence above 50 Weight +10

For Influence above 100 Weight +10

For Influence above 250 Weight +10

For Influence above 500 Weight +10

For Influence above 1000 Weight +10

For Influence above 2500 Weight +10

For Influence above 5000 Weight +10

For Influence above 10 000 Weight +10

For Influence above 50 000 Weight +10

For Influence above 100 000 Weight +10

For Influence above 250 000 Weight +10

For Influence above 500 000 Weight +10

For Influence above 1 000 000 Weight +10

For reaching the requisite Influence the Rarity of your Nether Sphere has increased to Legendary For reaching the Runic Rarity you have unlocked the Attribute Synechdochence

Congratulations Your Nether Core has gained the Attribute Synechdochence Initial Synechdochence set at 5%

Due to your accomplishments Synechdochence recognized at 13% Increase the fineness of your Nether Understanding in order to increase this number

RandidlyÆs lips twitched as the seething storm of Nether around him began to settle down I might have guessed this but all the work IÆve done to increase my Weight means that my Synechdochence is low Haah 13%

Then his eyes flashed Steadily a new awareness of the way his Nether could be leveraged was tingling at the edges of his consciousness But when it comes to learning to control energy IÆm quite confident in myself Before long that number will be shooting upward

Chapter 1848

Accomplishment recognized Synechdochence has increased to 29%

The small pinch of Nether exploded outward gobbling down a large chunk of the sky island and leave motes of hissing dust in its wake In terms of power it wasnÆt that much But Randidly had restrained himself since he was testing his new capabilities on his own skyisland A dozen similar ice cream scoops were dotted the surrounding space a testament to his steadily accumulating experience with weaponizing Nether

Randidly tapped his lip This shouldnÆt be my limit while remaining here and not punching out a large enough chunk that my skyisland crashed down on Kharon To learn to use my Nether as an aspect representing the whole I need to let loose a bit

He raised his head and looked toward the horizon Natural energy swirled in a constant rotation around the sky island the unconscious order that his Moirae of Ripples Skillset imposed on the surrounding area The sun was beginning to peak up above the distant mountains after a retrained night of experimenting with his new capabilities

Randidly looked down at his hands as he flexed his fingers The sensation his new Nether Core provided for him was a strange one As his Nether wove itself out into the storm he could briefly transform the disparate pieces into seeds for their own pattern The flood of sensations that resulted was dizzying even for Randidly Then these patterns could unleash new patterns spreading endlessly out into the surrounding air like a virulent plague

Eventually he brushed up against the edges of his Scope but the entire operation quickly collapsed underneath its own weight and his half hearted follow through Again the main problem was that Randidly didnÆt want to grip the surrounding space with the full force of his Nether releasing some of his significance assisted Kharon Academy students but that was a very different thing than weathering the full Weight of RandidlyÆs Nether Core

After the evolution of his Nether Core to Legendary he had a renewed appreciation for how much damage his Nether could do to any substance less durable than his body

However another problem was actually understanding the way the patterns cascaded outward Randidly had believed he understood organic energy systems relatively well but his experience centered on small scale battlefields When he spread his Nether out to the limit of his scope those previously simple interactions became almost self defeating Small amounts of radiation from the patterns began to weigh heavily against certain portions of the whole which could then destabilize everything

Randidly hummed to himself then pulled the flows of Nether back to within his body It was time to meet Claudette he could find a more desolate location and push his limits without worrying about the consequences after

He opened a portal directly to an antechamber as he had been directed by Claudette A man wearing a shroud was already kneeling on the ground when Randidly arrived He raised his head but did not look directly at Randidly as he spoke Master Ghosthound we have been expecting you Please follow me to the tea chamber The rest of the guests have already arrived

Randidly kept his face neutral even while composing a message to Claudette Other guests

Neshamah Rex The reply came quickly Have you spurned her romantic advances or something The woman is desperate to get some face time with you Her political clout is useful but Randidly I hope you know I never wanted you to sell your body for me

Randidly couldnÆt help but snort

Randidly decided to ignore him and walk forward even as Don Beigon cheerily rolled back up the ramp behind him and kept up a constant stream of compliments Truly looking at you is to lay your eyes on the figure of a hero In all my years in the Nexus I havenÆt seen a similarly talented individual Your rise is meteoric

They passed onto an upper walkway with emerald seahorses the size of dogs peeking out of side corridors to look at the pedestrians In front of them Randidly could see a silver pavilion which was probably the location of the meeting

But you know

Randidly paused in his walk The DonÆs tone had changed He pivoted on his heel and looked at the old man in the bamboo wheelchair that had stopped behind him The DonÆs eyes were extremely sharp as he looked at Randidly You are of course invited to my third Mille party I would be disappointed if you did not come considering how successful youÆve been recently But let me remind you of two things

The air around the Don shimmered as intense emotional force gathered with enough potency to warp the physical realm Despite the cool sapphire water RandidlyÆs skin prickled with wariness This is why we spent so much time and effort training Because the top figures of the Nexus are monsters

First you cannot use the debt I owe you to affect the issue of Claudette She will be devoured without the proper protection And as her father I will pay any price to keep her safe Second a Mille is a thousand I have three Skills that have reached one thousand I can only think of two other individuals who have gotten to their third Mille However and dearest Claudette will explain the details of this when you meet her in recognition of her improvement and your efforts IÆve made a small game to determine her fate And all of the competitors aside from yourself and Claudette have achieved their first Mille You are outmatched Randidly of the impressive talent You do not have time to close that gap

Don Beigon wheeled himself around and then head back away from the silver pavilion Yet strangely Randidly felt the intense expression on the DonÆs face even more clearly now that he couldnÆt see it The liquid around the Don began to bubble underneath the pressure of his monstrous emotions Before absolute power no amount of piecemeal accumulation can resist

Randidly grinned despite himself He refused to back down no matter how powerful the images he faced would be No matter how many Skill Levels he would need to withstand IÆve heard that before And yet I m still here So far my efforts have not been in vain

This time the Don paused To RandidlyÆs surprise the old man also had a wicked smile as he twisted around to look at Randidly That dangerous edge of his image dissipated leaving the surrounding liquid tranquil I quite like you Mr Ghosthound And you are right there is no greater accomplishment than surviving I honestly wish you luck Heh the rules of this game are quite special So do your best

With that the old man left However what kept Randidly transfixed for several seconds was the fact that nearly a third of the debt that the Don owed him vanished Randidly pressed his lips together Based on the result he truly gave me a massive advantage in the game He probably believes that the advantage wonÆt be enough to make a difference against the other competitors But the fact that he still talks about his daughterÆs fate as a game

Releasing a breath to calm himself Randidly proceeded to the silver pavilion Within three figures sat in billowing lounge hammocks made of seaweed sipping out of golden decanters and engaging in polite conversation All three looked up as Randidly entered Claudette offered him a small warm smile A man with the head of a tiger that Randidly didnÆt recognize watched him with extreme interest

Neshamah Rex bounded to her feet Then she put her hands to her mouth Oh my Mr Ghosthound youÆve already improved your Nether Core And your aura well thereÆs no need for me to wonder any longer So you are the mysterious Skull Shadow

Randidly blinked in utter confusion Skull Shadow was definitely a nickname he would remember earning

Chapter 1849

When Neshamah didnÆt elaborate on her strange and sudden nickname just kept looking at Randidly with an enthusiastic expression he eventually cleared his throat IÆm sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about Skull Shadow

She laughed and winked at him Of course of course Considering your attitude I shanÆt say any more on that subject How have you been Randidly YouÆve been quite busy recently

Randidly cast a questioning glance toward Claudette Quickly he received a message from her Skull Shadow is one of the two figures who gobbled up a significant portion of the Engraving GuildÆs Nether Lattice Compared to the other person who had been a close disciple of Lathis NÆGick basically nothing is known about Skull Shadow Many are scrambling to find out who it is The Engraving Guild is keeping its mouth shut about the issue

IÆm not sure why Neshamah thinks you are Skull Shadow but it will probably make the negotiations easier

Randidly turned back to Neshamah The most likely reason for her misunderstanding was the improvement of his Nether Core combined with a fast rise of a mysterious figure of Nether it seemed like the two factions who had the capability to form Nether Cores still thought he had utilized the method of the other to do so

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 440

Congratulations Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath has grown to Level 448

His eyes opened and he viewed Neshamah with the whole of his senses Nether glittered in the air around her definitely thinner than his own but also possessing an impressive fineness to its flow If Randidly sat in the middle of a maelstrom of Nether that constantly churned the Nether Core of Neshamah Rex was as light and airy as a circus tent held aloft by a playful breeze The construction possessed simplicity and grace that demonstrated an entirely different understanding of Nether

Out of curiosity Randidly manipulated a pinch of his Nether to flow toward NeshamahÆs graceful arrangement When the two interacted Randidly half heartedly demonstrated his newly acquired Synechdochence with an implosion of physical force That pinch flared and Neshamah grinned a swirling mote of her own Nether moving to meet the challenge

A ripple ran through the sapphire water that surrounded them all as the two forces met Nether crackled and spat unleash a gasp of bubbles Neshamah laughed out loud at the result the sound completely clear despite the water Impressive as always Mr Ghosthound Not only have you successfully created a Legendary Nether Core since we last met but based on the Weight you have likely accumulated is your Synechdochence already past 50% Honestly excellence seems to be the norm for you

Randidly gave her a slow nod of acknowledgment he filed away the fact that his 29% effort registered as almost 50% for Neshamah In addition it was difficult to say whether that attempt truly represented what he could accomplish at the moment

But even as he felt a rush of confidence RandidlyÆs expression hardened The emotional intensity from his memory seemed to have grown even stronger swirling in his subconscious a constant reminder of the danger If I were to compare this Nether trick to the solidity of the look the Don gave me

He shook himself to push that brief flared emotional power away and looked at the stranger the man with a tiger head And who are you

Pinnacle Seeker Moonlight Blade stroked the bracer on his left arm savoring the sensation of his claws running through the furr Even now he felt the intoxicating potential waiting within the equipment only needing some time to blossom A small wind rustled across the clearing winding its way through the stone pillars carved with the names of powerful foes that Moonlight Blade slew in the past

The two individuals in front of him continued to kneel waiting for the pleasure of his permission before they spoke Moonlight Blade appreciated the fact that they understood their position Many of his other subordinates let their accomplishments get to their head in situations like this

Yet these two continue to kneel Moonlight BladeÆs lip curled upward Then he forced it down Although his instincts screamed that these two were weak and he could easily rip out their throats and lap up their blood he suppressed it These two remained useful so long as they could provide him with similar equipment

Besides neither of them would be worthy of a stone pillar He might sate his aggression but he would find no honor in hunting them

Moonlight Blade lowered his head and rubbed his nose against the bracer mixing his scent with the equipmentÆs Already he could feel some small budding image beginning to form His heartbeat quickened at the possibility of growing stronger even while he avoided stepping into the image fulfillment stage

This was the key he had been waiting for And then

Moonlight Blade raised his head They had proven their patience So The rest of the equipment

The minor Pinnacle Seeker pressed his forehead against the ground with additional force To avoid the artisan taking advantage of us we have provided him with various random ingredients and asked him to generate similar results to make sure that bracer wasnÆt a fluke About 50% of the time he succeeds

Why bother Moonlight Blade sniffed Capture the artisan and his family I shall give you a thousand winged wolves capture his entire people If he refuses to work with us we will teach him the meaning of fear

Of course that was my first thought as well The Pinnacle Seeker replied quickly into the grass However there is something strange about his home planet Expira Based on System records its clearly in the Seventh Cohort However all attempts to locate the planet have failed Unfortunately due to the recent destruction of the record keeping

Amateurs This time Moonlight Blade didnÆt bother to hide his bloodlust Both shivered and cowered on the ground which did a little to alleviate Moonlight BladeÆs annoyance He suppressed the impulse to howl upward calling his endless wolf horde to devour their flesh and leave him the bones to gnaw to alleviate his boredom Despite the failure he knew this Pinnacle Seeker was competent if he could not find the planet the issue wasnÆt simple

However Moonlight Blade instead turned to the smaller figure And you Why are you here I do not know you

I am Ozark Great One the individual was so fearful that his words came out in pants partially muffled by the grassy ground The obvious show of submission at least was the proper respect Moonlight Blade deserved I am the one who discovered the bracer Immediately I thought of you Great One and

You are a poor storyteller Moonlight Blade said sharply He shifted on his throne But apparently you are a talented porter For your contributions you will be my servant when I attend that foolish DonÆs party Heh and if you do well there IÆll even let you watch as I win the rights to his daughter and devour her

Chapter 1850

Randidly looked around at the rainforest surrounding him Already moisture clung to his skin and made him uncomfortable He had chosen one of the completely abandoned portions in ExpiraÆs Southern hemisphere a vast monster wonderland that even Kharon and the Order Ducis was having trouble clearing enough to make a safe road North

With this much space I can go wild to my heartÆs content Randidly felt his blood pumping through his body He clenched his fists No regrets I need to make sure Nether is an area in which no one can rival me Right now IÆm probably a little less sophisticated than Neshamah even if my usage of Nether is more geared toward power But I know I can be better than that

I need to be better than that

His Nether Core swirled with gathering momentum as he floated in the sky But Randidly couldnÆt help but grin around him because he wasnÆt alone in this humid jungle Looks like youÆve been breeding out here without any supervision Are your lives so short and your minds so small that youÆve forgotten how dangerous humans can be

Shadows flitted up out of the trees and moved to surround him

Calamitous Bloodsuckers Lvl 85

As soon as the first ones saw him more came flooding out Nearly a hundred horse sized mosquitos had flown out of the dense tree cover with scores more streaming out every second Likely soon so many would appear that Kharon would see them and assume it was just a large storm cloud on the horizon

RandidlyÆs expression became increasingly brittle as the chorus of buzzes increased in volume Since I founded Kharon and it will be down this way in a few days I donÆt mind reeducating some dumb insects Especially when youÆve so generously offered to help me with my Nether Core training

A wave of Nether exploded out of Randidly as the first Bloodsuckers zipped toward him with their sharp tube like mouths Instantly Motif of the Hungry Deep guided the Nether into specific patterns As he spread out his awareness Synechdochence became a double edge sword Miniature cascading arrangements made and remade themselves separating into a thousand propagating pinches of Nether

Theoretically he could generate a certain percentage of his actual force an infinite number of times However in practice each time he split his attention required an extra bit of process power Perhaps it would have been more intelligent for him to instead work at perfecting his Synechdochence by practicing only a few pinches to perfection

Yet that look the Don had given him wouldnÆt leave the forefront of his mind That emotional potency reminded him of the distance that still existed between where he was and where he needed to be That difference set him on fire he couldnÆt bear not to throw everything he had into this training so he unleashed an avalanche of Nether pinches RandidlyÆs grasp of control of them was still rather fuzzy but he burned with resolve

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 468

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 441

Acri Randidly thought right before he unleashed himself His body began to steam from the incendiary heat of his determination Make sure you skim this experience

In the first wave Randidly unleashed about a hundred pinches of Nether that imploded a space the size of a basketball The flared power cut off wings crunched bodies and ripped holes in stingers of all of the nearby monsters that swarmed toward him As their remnant pieces fell like rain those that lived through the initial burst keened a mournful song

Accomplishment recognized Synechdochence increased to 34%

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 442

The buzzing of their wings grew worse as more and more Bloodsuckers flew out of the treetops Thousands began to stream upward in a massive river of monster flesh Randidly just released a steaming breath and began to gather the ripples he created as he killed the first chunk He felt the destructive force of his Nether but he wasnÆt satisfied The Don wouldnÆt even blink at that display And now since so many delivered themselves to him

More RandidlyÆs eyes were bright and emerald as his entire focus flowed in through his Nether Core I can do better than this Sharper More exact Violent and domineering When it comes to Nether I need to be unrivaled

His second detonation of pinches created about five hundred attacks each of which continued to annihilate the bugs but also grew to be about the size of an inflatable pool volleyball More and more ripples were produced which he happily gathered into the building storm

He felt the pressure building behind his eyes The more pinches he activated the more strain his Mental Stats were forced to endure But he continued to barrel forward brute forcing his way into gathering a sea of experience with manipulating Synechdochence

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 471

More bodies fell their blood dripping down over the leaves of the bushy ferns that covered the rain forest floor Some of the nearby trees creaked and groaned collapsing after RandidlyÆs Nether cut chunks out of their trunks and the remnant pieces couldnÆt endure The ground covered was unceremoniously ripped up and tossed aside by the winds of RandidlyÆs maelstrom leaving him with a fluttering grass landing space as he raised his hand and pressed it against his face

Rather than pain what IÆm feeling is heat Randidly squinted measuring the physical discomfort Like a computer right now my brain is literally being fed more information than it can handle Of course

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 472

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 511

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 480

By forcing myself beyond my limits I can gather Skill Levels relatively easily I can close that gap Randidly forced himself to raise his head His entire body pulsed with the Nether stretching out from his body connecting him to the thousands of flickering marble of Nether he maintained His Synechdochence gradually shifted adopting the wide active method that Randidly used to engage When the various monsters around him managed to struggle close enough to one of the pinches of Nether they activated the dormant power

A blossom of power warped the air Randidly examined it with a cool expression Even if I want a broader reach this efficiency isnÆt nearly enough The pattern needs to be adjusted at its base

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 468

There was a pop and then a rapidly expanding balloon of darkness that devoured flesh feathers skin grass dirt everything RandidlyÆs mind hummed just a little more with the influx of feedback from the newest spurt of Nether He examined the pattern with a brief moment of intense clarity before the next bit of information arrived knocking the previous pattern out of his head

Each time he made minute adjustments seeking the streamlined pattern he needed

He continued to cackle feeling NeveahÆs consciousness coming to him and trying to ease the strain he was under but he waved her away The intensity of Don Beigon hovered in front of RandidlyÆs face taunting him Did he have enough to rival that emotional intensity To face the monsters of the Nexus

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 499

IÆm afraid Neveah Randidly felt blood dribble out his nose But his whole being was consumed by the thrum of resonance flowing up out of his Nether Core His mind burned with the flood of complicated interactions playing out over the desolate ground around him His increasing Synechdochence came with a steep cost Dimly Randidly could feel himself loosening his control on where the Nether pinches appeared More and more spurts of Nether flared up annihilating a wider swathe of the environment Afraid that I wonÆt be enough That IÆm finally going to hit this wall

Meanwhile Motif of the Hungry Deep continued to gather all the energy ripples from the sudden Nether explosions and gathered them into a horrifying landscape crushing storm Those few trees that were lucky enough to not get caught in the Nether implosions were ripped up by the greedy fingers of wind and shredded before they hit the ground

Neveah pulsed again trying to calm him down You donÆt need to push yourself like this Randidly

Maybe Randidly raised his head and cackled The waves of Nether he released spread further and further More and more near boiling blood dribbled out of his nose as his superheated brain attempted to keep up with the patterns in the Nether The crimson drops that fell from his nose were spirited away by the wind before they could hit the ground But I can handle this My high Stats make this dangerous path possible for me And if I balk here

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 529

Achievement recognized Your Synechdochence increased to 50

I wonÆt be able to live with myself Randidly closed his eyes listening to the keening song of his tornado of a Nether Core and seeing the endless cascade of his significance play out in front of him

No regrets

Chapter 1851

RandidlyÆs eyelids fluttered

Evolution occurring Due to extreme stress and ambient energy a change is occurring within the core of your being Biological functions being analyzed Examining shift

Everything pulsed with the beating of his heart Such was the heat dripping from his brain down through his spine that air flared and ignited when it brushed up against the skin of his neck His blood howled through his body driving him to new heights However rather than his physical body that had been remade from its human origins this heat burned away his more complicated and delicate grey matter allowing something new and profound to grow in its place

Randidly could feel his tail twitching and his Nether running with around him but other than that

Your Stat Wisdom is evolving

The heat rolled off his body in waves The muscles of RandidlyÆs jaw tightened and popped as he struggled to contain the strain running through him And the pain

Congratulations Your Stat Wisdom has evolved into Unnatural Capacity Efficacy of each Stat point increased Adds a small boost to the Mental portion of Reaction It becomes easier to recognize patterns more quickly

A switch was flicked New hardware engaged with the horrifying avalanche of information The molten heat through his brain began to ease Slowly his eyes opened His awareness gradually returned finding that the storm of natural energy had dispersed during those two hours where he had given himself over to the heat

Randidly looked up at the sky and heaved a breath out of his chest The ground around him was the damp black unearthed loam that represented a hundred years’ worth of fallen leaves and small animals decomposing on the forest floor With the grey clouds above the flickering points of Nether and the black dirt below he lived in a world of monochrome

Finally returned to consciousness his tail began to flick purposefully gathering natural energy and recreating his storm

That black and pockmarked desolation spread around him for about a kilometer in every direction Small sparks of Nether still intermittently flickered in the air around him but they silently chomped out clumps of dirt without fanfare Other than that the surrounding area had been abandoned

About ten minutes after Randidly had unleashed himself even the mosquitos had learned their lesson and fled the surrounding area As he had said when he started he taught them to fear humanity He now had an entire stretch just to himself

Steam hissed out his nose The heat had spread from his head where a remnant inferno still bogged down his thoughts and spread slowly down his spine A needle of lava dripped slowly down inflaming his nerves and leaving him feeling extremely overexposed As Randidly had expected overtaxing his brain and nervous system led to an increased acuity of sensation The evolution of his Stat was just a happy accident The cascading interaction of patterns because easier for Randidly to follow

His Willpower flexed and spun Gushing rivers of Nether wormed their way through the storm around him darkening the winds and thickening the air With the topsoil annihilated the heavy stone bedrock was steadily unearthed below And before RandidlyÆs rapidly growing power that dense stone was scoured away

Randidly flared his Nether again and again in powerful flashes His eyes grew bloodshot as he kept tracking the patterns as they mixed and combined As soon as the Nether ripples were created he gobbled them up and strengthened his influence in the air He did his best to smooth everything down back to normal

However the more he looked the more he realized how difficult it was to remove the minute fluctuations in power Pain made his mind fuzzy but his stubbornness meant that he didnÆt waver He exploded his pinches of Nether examined the surroundings tightened his control then tried again The oppression of the storm climbed

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 551

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 605

His senses grew more acute and he found the small mistakes in adjustments he had made Randidly corrected them even as his brain began to vibrate itself apart He could feel his body trembling in response Unnatural Capacity could transform his ability to recognize and respond to information but he just approached Nether with even more greed Randidly groped around with his awareness attempting to perfect the flared power of Nether

Just a little more Randidly sucked away all the reverberations pulling the Nether energy into the storm Lightning cracked up and down around his body due to the strange electromagnetic field conjured by the churning storm The winds were dark and shadowy an ominous cloud over this destroyed land

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 530

A pinch of Nether ballooned outward in the air in front of Randidly devouring the nearby atmosphere with fangs of Nether Weight Randidly grinned

Achievement recognized Synechdochence increased to 65%

This feel as long as I push it RandidlyÆs eyes burned He created two hundred more flared bursts of Nether that were almost as effective as the first He gathered the remnant bits of Nether into the storm Plus I have another way to cheat Synechdochence now that I know these mechanisms

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 415

Randidly looked up at the storm swirling around him He licked his lips his tongue tingling with heat up and down the fleshy appendage as all the nerve endings were remade You cannot add your NetherÆs force together through Synechdochence but I can manifest my Nether in a hundred different spots at once Those activations create ripples And from there

Randidly sucked in a breath pulling in all the kinetic energy of the storm into his limbs The winds and lightning vanished leaving only the unnatural darkness of Nether His muscles were already warmed based on the shift in RandidlyÆs nerves but suddenly they too sizzled with heat He felt the strain of containing this much energy but RandidlyÆs abilities to manipulate force had been honed to a razorÆs edge on the Mountain

Above him thick coiling tentacles of Nether spun around a dense core of significance that clustered around his body Heatwaves demolished what little visibility remained in that air He clenched his fists

The kinetic force sang in RandidlyÆs body He lifted his head and yelled with all his might

An enormous beam of raw power shot upward ripping through the Nether and obliterating the low hanging cloud cover Air along the edge of the blast was so superheated that it became plasma burning and sizzling away the atmosphere and spreading outward growing in size until the sky above Randidly seemed to become a sea of flames

His eyes glittered A little rough in the execution but this is exactly what I need ItÆs nowhere near as consistent as being able to manifest a super powerful image but for a brief moment hopefully I can flare brightly enough to make a difference

Chapter 1852

Tatiana raised a cup of tea to her lips and sipped the liquid Beside her Naffur rubbed his chin as he stared at the darkness staining the horizon Even from here both could feel the hairs on their arms standing on end as they looked at the display So letÆs adjust our heading

Yes I suppose we will have to Tatiana sighed because they were already behind schedule Below them the tireless legs of Kharon carried the Wandering City forward across the dense rain forest This area bristled with high Level monsters so several powerful Order Ducis agents were on high alert constantly reading to prevent any from flying up around and attacking the meandering trail of skyislands that followed the city

And the journey South had been rather difficult for the first part of their journey that was why all of TatianaÆs carefully arranged timetables were currently thrown in disarray Yet not everyone shared he anxiousness Even as fire breathing toucans and gem scaled boas managed to infiltrate the city the students of Kharon Academy were extremely carefree They used Scrawl covered bits of wood to whip through the air whooping and laughing right above some of the brutal defensive battles that were being fought both by the Order Ducis and the cityÆs other brass defenders

A group even went exploring the surrounding jungle and returned several hours late wandering back to the city gearing up for search and rescue wondering what everyone was doing

Yet several days ago the situation had changed Dark clouds arrived on the horizon and her instincts were quite sure that Randidly was responsible Immediately afterward a flood of monsters rushed for them not to attack Kharon but to get as far as possible from that growing maelstrom of oblivion Then after several hours of watching the monsters rush away the exodus had stopped

Now the jungle was ominously silent More appropriate for exploration but even the students seemed unnerved by those massive black clouds churning in the distance

Circle further West then Naffur grunted

Tatiana opened her mouth to respond in the affirmative but a brilliant lime green beam of energy ripped up from the storm clouds in the distance The beam released so much light that it carved a place on TatianaÆs retinas for several blink filled seconds The clouds were obliterated and the beam expanded to become a sea of golden green flames that raced across the sky

quite a bit further West I think Tatiana shook her head even while she was inwardly quite impressed by how much power Randidly wielded

As she turned away from the window to set down her cup of tea she paused Streams of moss spirits flowed up and out toward that burning sky in a wide convoy However considering she had meetings with the Founding Day planning board and then with the stubborn Alonso Trey Tatiana didnÆt have the spare attention to investigate the moss spirits

At the very least she trusted them more than some of KharonÆs youth

So several hours later as Tatiana had on a nightgown and was curling up with a recently released semi fictionalized account of the SystemÆs arrival the lurching movement of the city underneath her caught her completely off guard The book tumbled from her grasp then was immediately snatched out of the air as her System enhanced Stats caught up with what was happening

She could feel Kharon vibrating beneath her in a way she didnÆt recognize

Wrapping a thicker wool robe around herself Tatiana hurried up to her balcony and then hopped up onto the roof She peered around fearing a new monster attack However his insight into the wellbeing of Kharon gave her no warnings

She quickly located the most eye catching sight in the night sky the moss spirits returned to Kharon in just as massive a group as they had left The only difference was

Well shit TatianaÆs eyes widened They are bringing back some of the energy he released Then

Claudette fussed with her necklace then reached up to touch her hair before forcefully stopping herself and squeezing her hands on her lap In her heart she could feel the desolate blade Clarent crooning softly to comfort her although the only way it could express itself was by corrupting and destroying Mentally she ran her awareness along the sharp edge of that blade and felt how deadly it could be

She had grown

But today was the day of her party The day that would determine the rest of her life They had made so many preparations but she felt no different than she had before not truly compared to the domineering determination of her father Her head felt hollow Her fingers felt so frail and thin as they twisted back and forth like paper cranes wrestling with one another

She stood up abruptly shimmying to adjust the fit of her dress before walking to a basin on the far wall of her room and splashing her face with water We have done so much more than I expected And now we just need to rely on our training What does Randidly always say We will succeed because failure means death

A knock at the door brought ClaudetteÆs head whipping around Her heart constricted but that knock was not the knock of her father She brought up a soft towel to dab at the remnant moisture on her cheeks checked her teeth for any lipstick marks and then turned around However her walk to the door became smooth and languid she felt the frigid edges of the storm that had decimated the Lizakh running through her veins

Even she was somewhat impressed by how calm and poised she seemed when she opened the door to a familiar face Ah Neshamah you arrived early

Neshamah Rex looked quite stunning with a sleek glittering silver dress She looked down at herself and then shrugged Yes well Although I donÆt think any of our targets will bother monitoring us there isnÆt any need to keep our alliance a secret I think itÆs best for us all to go together Yust should be along shortly And then when our fourth conspirer is here we will make quite the foursome eh Unless heÆs already waiting within

Unfortunately Claudette shook her head slightly It looks like Randidly will be slightly late So the three of us will have to proceed first

The disappointment that Claudette expected flashed across NeshamahÆs face the woman clearly wanted more time with Randidly But what she hadnÆt expected was the follow up eye roll That man is quite the diva Does he want to make a dramatic entrance at the eleventh hour to come to our rescue

I made him promise it wouldnÆt be a minute past the ninth Claudette replied feeling the tightness in her chest alleviate somewhat Although she was manipulating her body down to the smallest detail she believed her smile was suitably stretched between acceptance and tension Did you remember to bring your invitation

Neshamah nodded then flicked her wrist and produced two I even brought along YustÆs because you can never trust a Pinnacle Seeker to arrive on time

I heard that A deep voice rumbled from the hallway The tiger headed Colm Yust walked up and leaned against ClaudetteÆs doorframe wearing a burnt orange suit that brought out the liveliness in the fur that covered his face You realize that the myth that Pinnacle Seekers are always late was started by the NLC in the Fifth Cohort to justify the discrimination right

For a moment there was a strained silence as Yust looked intently at Neshamah and the woman lifted her chin stubbornly in response Then Claudette cleared her throat IÆm sure both of you would love to discuss the history of the Nexus but right now we have a party to attend

What about the Ghosthound Yust tilted her head to the side

Some of the casual ease with which Claudette was operating began to flake away She bit her lip He will be a little bit late but that just means he will miss the speeches portion of the party

Lucky bastard Neshamah muttered

Chapter 1853

Everyone ready Claudette asked the other two as they walked down the corridor Although most needed to go to the highest central point at the Nexus to use the portal to Alymian they approached one of the calm courtyards of the Beigon Estate to use a private entrance For whatever reason Claudette felt her spine straightening as she saw the brief hesitation that flashed across YustÆs face as she asked the question Her resolve firmed Knowing that she wasnÆt the only one who was worried about how this party would go make her feel slightly more in control

Although if he fails his teacherÆs rival will just continue to live without worry in the Nexus If ClaudetteÆs heart hadnÆt been encased in ice she might have felt dread as she considered the possible consequences Meanwhile if I fail

It has been quite a while since IÆve been to Alymian Neshamah said out loud Then she shook her head If IÆm being honest I donÆt like being there I know the experience is part of the appeal but that feeling of weakness still makes me uncomfortable

LetÆs do it quickly then Claudette said with false cheer There was a single spirit standing guard at the private entrance to Alymian absolutely still during their brief conference Only when Claudette stepped forward and offered the three invitations did the spirit raise its insubstantial arm and absorb the material Behind it a strange whirlpool of energy appeared in the air tinted at the edges by darkness while the central portion began to glow with a golden light

Claudette led the way stepping through the threshold She stepped through the doorway that would probably determine the rest of her life The transition was not an easy one

The process of heading to Alymian is akin to being squeezed by a vice so you can be stuffed through a keyhole ClaudetteÆs breath steadily escaped her mouth and nose forced out of her by the chaotic stream of energy that connected the two universes The Nexus was governed by one set of laws while Alymian was governed by another altogether much more strict set of laws The chilling song of Clarent began to steadily recede within her leaving Claudette with only her body and her dress All other excess had been compressed out of existence

In that brief moment of transfer Claudette had been reduced to almost a normal person The usual entrance tickets to Alymian would do exactly that completely suppress your connection to all of the various improvements that Aether allowed in your body Even your images were impossible to manifest

These invitations were a bit more forgiving The slightest echo of your images and powers remained Just enough that you couldnÆt forget what you had lost It would not all be posturing when a powerful individual arrogantly regarded the other attendees at the DonÆs party

Obviously travelers werenÆt permanently weakened you would regain access to all the benefits Aether had given you when you returned to the Nexus but many used Alymian as a way to separate themselves from their image so they could return and view what they had made with fresh eyes But at the moment the restriction only made ClaudetteÆs anxiety worse Upstodatee from

Today IÆll show my father that IÆm no longer that weak little girl who just watches the world pass her by

After that hanging moment of squeezing Claudette stumbled forward Her fancy shoes sank into warm sand almost causing her to topple over Only after a strained sway did she recover her balance She released a breath her expression turning bitter as she looked around at the gorgeous pink sand beach dyed further by the sun sinking below the sea on the horizon The sound of waves crashing against the beach and softly rushed away felt so familiar The few clouds that lingered in the wide blue sky were painted orange and maroon

Here of all places

Champagne A cheery shirtless man with a tray of drinks walked up to the trio Claudette blinked to see that almost a dozen other servers were eyeing the man with envy after all they were the only guests that had arrived so far To the Alymian natives that her father had trained nothing was more important than being a good host

Without a word Claudette took two glasses and chugged the first one A warm bubbly feeling took up residence in her stomach

Neshamah watched the display carefully taking a glass but not drinking from it Is this a good idea Since we are in Alymian and our Stats are suppressed back to base levels youÆll actually be able to get drunk

But when the competition actually starts our power will be restored She put the empty glass back on the smiling waiterÆs tray but only sipped the second Claudette shook out her hair so it glittered in a river of molten gold down her back I need at least this much if IÆm going to make it to the competition without tearing someoneÆs head off

The trio drifted to one of the long tables of food and picked at small plates for the next hour when the rest of the guests began to arrive Perhaps it was the several flutes of champagne that she had imbibed but Claudette needed to raise a hand to cover her mouth as more and more people began to arrive about half having fallen prey to the sudden lack of power and precarious footing combination just as Yust had

I have no doubt that father planned it this way Claudette thought almost wistfully as she saw the usually perfect elite of the Nexus looking disheveled A powerful Pinnacle Seeker with gold horns growing out of his head still had particles of sand stuck behind his ears as he stomped toward the food tables and began to devour whole steaks holding them above his head and letting them slide down his throat with no perceptible swallowing A few early arriving women wearing NLC badges watched the man and tittered even though two of the three had also arrived with sand in their green hair

As the time approached the hour and a half mark past when the party was supposed to begin individuals began to arrive more quickly And finally the first of the three targets of the group walked into the pavilion

Kyl MacDuul a squat retired Military High Command Commandant was unfortunately not one of the arrivals that had fallen His beady eyes immediately scanned the crowd alighting briefly on Claudette as though to confirm she was present and then looking around Finding neither her father nor his competitors his expression settled on disinterest He waddled forward previously arrived Military High Command members moving to his side to greet him

The second arrival was the old monster of Tier III Citizenship Tyune had waxy grey skin and the slender body of a preteen He looked around in much of the same way but didnÆt even acknowledge Claudette He moved to a corner and refused all the trays brought to him by the servers He produced two small needed and appeared to be knitting an extremely small set of clothes

The bloodthirsty Moonlight Blade arrived last followed by a single servant The tall wolfman grinned around at the gathering his tongue lolling out of his mouth Finally his eyes settled on Claudette remaining there for much longer than the other two His hunger was obvious as he looked at her

Would that sort of man keep me safe father ClaudetteÆs eyes blazed Do you really have the gall to look me in the eye and say this is all for me

Chapter 1854

A single drop of rain fell silently landing on his cheek His long eyelashes stirred

Memories flashed across his mind at that moment A sudden epiphany A perfect environment The accumulation The instincts to carry him forward The manifestation of one of his core desires becoming a power that he could wield

An overwhelming desire forged into a concrete existence

Randidly yawned expansively and sat up His mind was bleary as he dragged himself up to wakefulness he had places to be today Or rather the soft rain that began to fall on his skin handled the lionÆs share of the waking up part leaving him to fuzzily stretch and crack his back

The rain began to intensify quickening the process Randidly came back to himself laying in the bottom of a massive crater while water pooled in the small circular hollows that dotted the area around him These hollows were ubiquitous except for the area immediately around him that portion was completely smooth With another yawn he reached up and rubbed his eyes

Then he pressed his fingers to the ground and tossed himself up into a standing position In every direction the massive crater stretched nearly as far as Randidly could see Part of it was the fact he was at the bottom of the crater but he also had to wince as he looked around at the area he had completely terraformed

His Nether Core shifted portions flared while others withdrew Significance seethed through those gaps a hint of what he had accomplished by intuition in those moments early this morning Compared to his discovery of a method for rapidly gathering natural energy his second breakthrough in the past three days had even more of a ridiculous effect The flat and unmarred ground beneath him glittered

But even setting aside I did it Randidly clenched his hands as he looked at his Synechdochence line in his Nether Sphere Attributes

Synechdochence 105%

Randidly calmed down his excitement and admitted to himself something he had realized earlier in his training Synechdochence was an easy Attribute to fleece Theoretically it was possible for Randidly to wield force greater than the actual power of his Nether Core after he had streamlined his methods And in practice he had done it once to be recognized by the System But it required obscene amounts of natural energy and his own significance using the Moirae of Ripples Skillset to create a perfectly synergistic environment around him With those prerequisites Randidly wielded a pinch of Nether and could break the balance of equivalent exchange albeit briefly

Now to do it while fighting Randidly shook his head helplessly It was completely unrealistic He continued to improve but the closer he moved toward perfect understanding of the environment the more factors he discovered that prevented him from reaching that state An asymptote existed there making the training meaningful but the progress arduous and slow

Still this new evolution Randidly grinned to himself Then he slapped his cheeks and looked at his Status screen

Level 63 (89%)

Health(/R per hour) 13815/13815 (9627)

Mana(/R per hour) 13262/13262 (3313)

Stam(/R per min) 9696/9696 (3317)

Uncommon Metabolism (Un) 1342

End 1107

Primordial Nether Juju 1492

Dreadful Alacrity 1677

Reaction 1537

Resistance 1331

Randidly nodded Without the storm to support it I can probably wield almost 90% of my Weight away from my body For basic combat that should be enough

Compared to the Nether that Neshamah seems to have access to I might be almost unstoppable with this

Then Randidly pulled out his Philosopher’s Key and opened a portal He paused before went through the opening for the first time his Motif of the Hungry Deep had grown to the point that he could see the ripples of interference thrown off by his Fatepiece It only took a moment for those reverberations to vanish but that only made him look at the key with more respect How the hell is the portal it opened so efficient If I can study it

Still that was a distraction So he passed through the portal and arrived in the middle of the Beigon Estate He began to bound down the corridor to the entrance that Claudette had told him about but he skidded to a halt just as soon as he started Wincing he checked one of the side rooms and let himself in Then he took out one of the fitted suits that Tatiana had made for him after his physical body shifted away from humanity His tail flicked out the back doing a lively impression of a conductor

Save the grandstanding for the party Randidly said while rolling his eyes and adjusting his cuffs He felt good both mentally and physically He felt strong And he knew that he should have enough hidden trump cards to take advantage of the powerful in the Nexus underestimating him He could strike a few decisive blows and get an advantage

Or at least thatÆs what needs to happen Randidly thought to himself as he returned to the corridor and strode across the wooden floor Because otherwise

A strange specter guarded the entrance not even acknowledging Randidly as he walked up to the portal However when he produced the entrance ticket its spectral arm lifted and made the entrance ticket disappear Around his back the Stillborn PhoenixÆs two lingering Unborn souls chittered their sharp teeth suggesting that they devour the shade But Randidly stopped them instead looking at the golden and black portal that appeared in front of him

Huh Even more released energy than the Philosopher’s Key tsk tsk how inefficient Also will I be able to head to Alymian anytime I want from now on Randidly mused idly as he stepped forward into the portal

Almost immediately he grimaced More than a portal the energy transfer was a process He wriggled his body forcefully breaking through the physical restrictions that attempted to compress him The force came back stronger wrapping around him like a boa constrictor Randidly showed his teeth but this time didnÆt struggle he had heard that most individuals completely lost their power in Alymian This was likely part of that

He floated forward through the cramped portal being squeezed tighter and tighter as though being forced through a narrowing funnel His hackles rose almost instinctively forcing Randidly to close his eyes and calm his body If I can handle being physically restricted by the Mountain I can handle Alymian

But as soon as Randidly thought that and allowed the restrictions to tighten again making him feel like his body was being stuffed into a soft sausage skin version of himself the restrictions changed A bolt of lightning snaked forward and smashed toward his accumulated Nether From the sudden and violent discharge it was obvious the goal was obliteration

He was taken off guard but the bolt hit against the dense significance that Randidly possessed and shattered like an egg thrown against a brick wall While he was trying to figure out from where that pathetic attempt at an attack had originated a being of yellow crackling lightning formed in front of him barring his path to Alymian

The figure looked Randidly over with disdain You have accumulated a fair amount of memory of another world but that is not allowed within Alymian Suppress your Nether or I will be forced to do it for you And that will not be pleasant

Randidly chuckled at the provocation But ultimately he didnÆt want to make a big stink when he needed to come to ClaudetteÆs aid He spun his Nether Core as quickly as he could pressuring all of his abundant significance into a tiny core within his body He even withdrew the flows of Nether that ran through his veins alongside his blood Folding everything inward strained his Willpower but was possible He released a long breath his Nether Core now all weaving itself inward and spread his arms Happy

Suppress your Nether in the next five seconds The lightning guardian responded I will allow no insolence

Randidly pressed his lips together My Nether IS suppressed Can you sense it at all

This is not about manifestations The guardianÆs eyes began to burn with a bright light It took a step forward This is about the extra Weight you carry Discard it immediately Or else

Randidly blinked I need to get rid of my Weight But how damn if this happens to everyone who enters Alymian there is undoubtedly a method and Neshamah heh She probably assumed I knew it or obtained it from the Engraving Guild For the first time her assuming I learned Nether Core information from someone else came back to bite me

Are you going to call for help Randidly decided to stall for some time while he thought

The being of lightning folded its crackling arms How dare you I alone am enough to handle one such as you

Well then since itÆs come to this RandidlyÆs eyes glittered His Nether Core continued to rotate quickly but he unleashed all of his significance and Weight into the dark compressed passage Lightning crackled around for an entirely different reason as he destabilized a space I suppose letÆs settle it the old fashioned way

You will regret earning my ire The guardian intoned Then it raised its arm and unleashed two powerful bolts that crossed the distance and slammed into RandidlyÆs chest

RandidlyÆs grin widened as the attacks left him essentially unharmed Maybe if you used another element IÆd be worried but when it comes to lightning IÆm very confident in my ability to endure Still I have somewhere to be So if you donÆt step aside IÆll move you

Apparently the time for talking had passed because the lightning guardian didnÆt even acknowledge him It just unleashed more blasts of lightning that were similarly ineffective against him

Shaking his head slowly Randidly said Fine then I needed a guinea pig anyway to see the limits of this new ability His Nether Core couldnÆt rotate any faster but the patterns that constituted the base began to disentangle themselves They spread outward around his Nether Core two laying dormant but the third burning with long tongues of spectral Nether flames LetÆs see how well you can handle my First Authority

Chapter 1855

The band began playing and ClaudetteÆs father moved smoothly through the small groups addressing every one of note He met Kyl MacDuul Tyune and Moonlight Blade with the same warm smile and boisterous laugh

She tried not to display how anxious it made her to see them talking Next to her Neshamah laid a hand on her arm DonÆt let it bother you If nothing else these small talks are definitely meaningless Your father wouldnÆt just leave things to chance

Yes I know Claudette replied in a tight voice Then she spared a glance for Yust who simply glowered toward Moonlight Blade not even bothering to hide his antagonism ClaudetteÆs anxiety was such that she almost snapped at him to stop but she also knew that it didnÆt matter In a way being here was a slow release relief

Soon the pretenses would be laid bare

After a suitable amount of time had passed the Don rolled himself forward into the middle of the party and gathered the attention to himself His speech began with a rousing flourish Claudette folded her arms across her chest and listened to him wax poetic about how the structure of the System had prodded him on to greatness always demanding more

With the SystemÆs help the Don had discovered he could be more And for that he would be forever grateful

The numerous and diverse figures many which even Claudette didnÆt recognize listened silently to the monologue They gathered in a loose circle giving the Don their full attention while the workers made minute adjustments to some cleverly hidden mirrors directly a spot like type effect toward the Don His smile was wide and his eyes were sharp in the center of that illumination

He was a talented orator grabbing the attention of these figures But at the same time it was slightly more complicated than that Everyone gave him this moment no matter their previous history because pushing a Skill to a thousand was not a casual thing let alone accomplishing this milestone three times

I bet I can guess what all of you are wondering The Don looked around with glittering eyes What three Skills have reached a Mille Well since you all have so politely gathered in my honor I see no harm and allowing you to peer behind my magnificent curtain and view my admirable clockwork

A strange hush fell over the crowd Even Claudette stood a little bit straighter After her shock at the revelation came wariness Revealing which Skills had grown was not a usual part of these celebrations And considering her father he would not give something without cause

The attendees knew it too Their eyes became somewhat harsh everyone understood the influence that the Don could wield when you owed him even the slightest favor Yet no one spoke out against him Because while they feared the consequences of his influence they couldnÆt help but be curious They wished to understand what sort of foe Don Beigon would be

The first of my Mille milestones was Unilateral Bargain After using it so much that one has continued to grow haha IÆd ask you to guess how high the Level has become but I almost think no one will believe me even if I tell you The Don looked teasingly around at the room which regarded him stoically No one needed to be informed about his ability to wield favors like daggers

He raised a hand to his head and sighed a victimized innocent So letÆs dispense with that waste of time The second Mille was Audacious Declaration You know about a hundred years ago when my dearest Claudette was born He moved his hand and reached out toward her as though to stroke her cheek from a distance She forced herself not to recoil I swore to myself that I would reach a third Mille And look Just like that IÆve arrived

A few people clapped politely Claudette flushed

As for my final Mille it came from a relatively new Skill Ruinous Determination This Skill is the most unusual of the three but IÆve found Her fatherÆs expression shifted and his eyes locked onto Claudette that this Skill fits my personality more closely than any of the others Sometimes all it takes is one particular Skill to change your entire outlook To change your entire life to fit a new plan for the future

Anyway I have one last announcement to reveal before I allow you to head outside and enjoy the enthusiastic nighttime hospitality of the people of Alymian The DonÆs grin widened and something built in the air around him ClaudetteÆs hair stood on end wondering if this would be the moment that started sealing her fate After licking his lips he continued Today let it be known that I Don Raphael Beigon will soon challenge

Commandant Wick his arms folded behind his back walked down onto the sandy beach His face burned with displeasure as he stalked down the bamboo stairwell toward Randidly You make a nuisance of yourself in front of your superiors Have you forgotten the last lesson that I endeavored to teach you Should I break another one of your subordinates so it sticks Perhaps this time the process will go more smoothly if I do it right in front of you

For the first few seconds after his arrival RandidlyÆs face seemed clouded by confusion and exhaustion His dark hair was messy even as little bits of static discharge jumped across his head His eyes were clouded That clouded gaze shifted to the Commandant as he walked down to the beach and Claudette could almost see the words register in his mind and suddenly his eyes ignited

Pressure ThatÆs what Claudette felt from Randidly Ghosthound Not the presence of an image or the power of physical stats but an expansion of his self so that he seemed to be leaning against the whole of the beach pressing it beneath the whole of him

Even the Commandant stiffened in front of that wild viciousness What Do you have something to say

Commandant please letÆs be civil DevickÆs voice was breezy as she sauntered forward Her eyes were bright as she examined Randidly You you must be Randidly Ghosthound IÆve heard

Devick Randidly blurted out his shock briefly overtaking his fury as he looked at the masked woman

The entire gathering jolted slightly at the strangely intimate address Even the Actus Suprem seemed to be taken aback by RandidlyÆs tone Her golden masked face tilted to the side You know me Ah You went to the Mountain and caused a ruckus So Heh and I sense two very familiar presences around your back Ahh How nostalgic Randidly Ghosthound you are truly everything IÆve heard and so much more hehehe

She waved her fingers at him Then Devick shrugged However it would be inappropriate for me to interfere in a little quarrel between two subordinates yes Oh Mr Ghosthound IÆm little WickÆs boss so donÆt worry about holding back Fight to your heartÆs content IÆll accept the result no matter which of you wins

Randidly was still confused as his gaze flicked to the ornate mask and headdress that Devick wore and then back to Commandant Wick but once more that all consuming fury rose within him washing away his hesitation But then with a great effort of will he tore his gaze away from Wick He looked toward Claudette and met her eyes

She watched him assert control and corral his emotions Then he walked past Wick and Devick without acknowledging them In order to not make things worse for Claudette Randidly bit down his pride and desire for revenge and turned away

Unfortunately the two people Randidly dealt with were not so easily handled

Punk DonÆt you dare ignore me Wick stepped in his path What was her name again Helen Perhaps the two of you had a shallower connection than I thought WouldnÆt she be hurt by how quickly youÆve forgotten the lesson she died to teach you

You Spectral flames gushed across RandidlyÆs body with enough force that Claudette felt Wick waver She could feel the sudden power that Randidly manifested like a slap in the face even across the intervening distance Beyond that his emotions rose like a tidal wave and drowned out everything else on the beach

He seemed only a moment away from lashing out from crumbling beneath his fury and giving in to the violent impulses Then slightly at first but with growing determination Randidly wrestled his own fury back

A small smile played across ClaudetteÆs face as she watched it Then she sent him a message Randidly you donÆt need to do this for me If anything my father would be somewhat pleased if you beat the shit out of Commandant Wick

So donÆt hold back Give them a taste of what we the younger generation have to say for the plans theyÆve made without consulting us

Chapter 1856

Randidly burned He felt tired and rubbed raw even though he had arrived late precisely so he would be in his perfect state Apparently no matter what he tried today it would not turn out how he planned

After manifesting his first Authority granted to him by his Mythic Nether Core his energies were drained and spent His core worked tireless to gather dense Nether to him but too much had been expended in that initial activation before he realized how precious the power he obtained truly was

He had carved out his vital bits and weaponized them Which left him hollow

Then he arrived on the beach still stunned and exhausted Wick became the first concrete detail that he saw After seeing came the fixation Those long hairs his stubby snout the crinkling lines around his eyes the arrogance of his demeanor the way he instantly made RandidlyÆs arrival about him all of it brought the memories back Again and again the flickering still of Helen broken on the ground flashes before RandidlyÆs eyes

His hands tingled and he felt dizzy and hot Inaction burned at him urging him toward violence

Yet Randidly had intended to ignore him and walk past him but then the Commandant had stepped forward and directly antagonized him The Commandant said her name RandidlyÆs raw and wild Nether whipped through his veins faster and faster damaging this body that had most of his usual physical Stats suppressed Unbidden flames of Nether Weight sprang up across his body Even more oppressively the specter of his First Authority hung over the space

But Randidly pulled all that back into himself He forced out a breath and noticed the familiar hair and aura the real evolved version of the third Devick stood in front of him decked out in a golden mask and very official looking regalia Based on her dress she was even higher on the MIlitary High Command totem poll than he was

Too much was happening too quickly Spending his Nether Core to activate his authority had blunted his edge Everything was raw and chaotic in RandidlyÆs mind

With all these strange things combined Randidly looked around and found ClaudetteÆs face in the crowd It took some time to sift through all the strange and likely influential figures watching him but he soon found her golden hair and sapphire eyes Seeing her features noticing the small lines around her eyes and the tension in her mouth helped him push down the sudden urge to lay into Wick right then Even fury could only give way before necessity

He stepped to the side and walked toward the party Wick stepped in front of him and spoke again Punk DonÆt you dare ignore me What was her name again Helen Perhaps the two of you had a shallower connection than I thought WouldnÆt she be hurt by how quickly youÆve forgotten the lesson she died to teach you

You All that carefully stitched together control that Randidly had gathered was obliterated by the sneering arrogance with which Wick used HelenÆs name His hands slowly tightened into fists the Nether in his body becoming a volcano with impatient magma ready to erupt He took a half step forward seeing WickÆs perfectly uniform and cruelty and almost lashing out immediately with a blast of Nether

But there was a reason that Randidly had worked so hard for this day The man who had killed Helen stood in front of him but Helen had been the closest relationship he had in recent years Some sort of kindred spirit and perhaps even something more might be incubating between himself and Vualla but they just hadnÆt had enough time or interactions to make that connection solid Meanwhile Helen had always been there and losing her made him realize how important it was that he cultivate relationships

Like the relationship he had with Claudette And this day was about her escaping her father not about Randidly selfishly lashing out at this bully As galling as it would be Randidly would rather accept this rebuke from Wick for now so he could focus on the real issue

One day someday soon Randidly would get even for what had happened with Helen But without preparation he did not need to make today that day

Randidly felt the change in Wick as his superior stopped underestimating him and brought his combat experience as a Commandant to bear He fell into a fighting stance releasing a probing and stalwart palm strike in RandidlyÆs direction But from a single look Randidly could tell that the motion was inefficient and hadnÆt been practiced in a long while

Wick is rusty

He sidestepped and looped his arm around WickÆs attack Before the bearman could pull his arm back Randidly braced the thick arm against his side with one arm and a tail and brought his other hand down in a hacking bash that shattered WickÆs forearm Stepping forward again Randidly whipped his body around and brought his elbow slamming against WickÆs collarbone

His lip curled in distaste as he took a half step back Likely fractured but not broken LetÆs fix that This is for Helen you fucking prick

Wick recovered quickly even while nursing his right arm He adopted a different stance a tight sort of boxing where his still powerful left arm flashed out in several quick jabs But the agony of hosting his own Nether in this weakened body was starting to pay dividends Randidly felt how his significance had recovered and stamped his foot with unnatural momentum All that extra Weight that he possed smashed into the ground sending a wave of sand that obscured the surrounding area for a brief moment

Wick moved backward but Randidly rushed in on the heels of that sand wave The impact of WickÆs unavoidable first jab to his chest hurt like hell on top of the pain he was already enduring but then Randidly closed the distance and whipped his leg around into the side of WickÆs knee

Howling the Commandant folded down on his shattered joint leaving Randidly standing above him almost shocked by how easily he went down His lips curled back to reveal his teeth as he started raining blows down on the crumpled form of Commandant Wick You little shit How long has it been since youÆve needed to fight with your body

Something ugly and vindictive and scarred rose in RandidlyÆs body smashing his fists again and again against Commandant WickÆs weakness Each strike was driven by that immortal image of Helen laying on the ground Each hit sprayed flecks of blood that hit the sand and remained there tiny crimson gemstones After four quick hammer blows WickÆs face was beaten to a pulp but Randidly could barely move his shattered and bleeding knuckles Growling out his frustration Randidly reached down and forced his hand closed around WickÆs lower jaw

Wick almost immediately attempted to bit down on RandidlyÆs hand but Nether Weight gave him more physical presence than could be resisted With a wet squelch Randidly pulled until he ripped out his superiorÆs lower jaw Gore spray sideways and then dripped from the rigid bit of bone and cartilage he held

For several seconds he stood there his chest heaving But the adrenaline began to drain out of him

The Wick in front of him vanished as though by magic Randidly looked at his now empty hand where the jaw had once been There were several wounds on his palm more from him gripping too tightly than Wick biting him He heaved out a shuddering sigh It was probably too much to hope for that this would seriously hurt him It felt good to punish Wick for treating Helen so casually But what this had really done was tear off all pretenses between himself and Wick

Outside Alymian I have no doubt that you will now be making preparations to get back at me Randidly trembled this body pushed to its limits by hosting Nether for as long as it did So be it Just like I m ready to stand up against the peak powers in the Nexus I m ready to fight to the death with their pathetic lackeys

Now that my subordinates are hidden away in the Alpha Cosmos do your worst Wick

Bravo To RandidlyÆs surprise Devick broke the awkward silence with enthusiastic applause With her in the lead the rest of the DonÆs party followed clapping their hands as Randidly stood in front of them blood dripping down out of his hand and nose to pool on the sand

A headache was already building behind his eyes as he looked at Devick Your madness has only gotten worse since leaving the mountain hasnÆt it

Chapter 1857

The applause continued for several seconds until it tapered off sharply following the movements of Devick

But the ache in RandidlyÆs right hand was growing drawing his attention back down to the state of his body Blood dribbled out of his shredded knuckles and onto the sand beneath him compressed by Alymian to the blood of a mundane human He pursed his lips Looks like IÆve really grown to rely on my body Without it handling the force in my Nether Core is impossible

IÆve judged Neshamah a tiny bit for how limited her power seemed but maybe its as much as she can safely handle IÆll need to do some experiments to find out if IÆm about to bite off more Nether than I can safely chew

Also the prospect of activating my Authority with this body

Well The Don brought his hands sharply together Several uniformed individuals rushed forward with rakes quickly burying the blood that had dripped on the sand A woman approached Randidly with a bowl of water and a towel to clean off his hand He regretted not using Sulfur to strike more but Sulfur’s presence was muted apparently Alymian affected him too

The Don continued to speak This is as good a time as any to transition to the bonfire Mr Ghosthound so wonderful of you to make it thank you for christening the beach Undoubtedly it will bring us all good fortune Maybe even in fifty years youÆll reach your own Mille eh

Oh Don This towering horrifying true incarnation of Devick turned and looked at the Don I just remembered I feel slightly guilty DidnÆt you have some ritual you were performing No need to move forward on our account play out your little skit if you please We are all dying to see what sort of declaration you want to make

Randidly almost snorted watching irritation flick across the face of Don Beigon In addition to the madness this Devick appeared to possess a keen intellect and cruelty in spades She sensed weakness the way a shark tasted blood But the wily old man quickly masked his emotions and released a self conscious laugh Things like this canÆt be forced Since the moment has passed why donÆt we

Okay okay beach time everyone Devick said cheerily leading the group down onto the sand and leaving the Don with a stiff expression facing her back He handed the blood stained rag back to the employee and watched with bemusement At the very least Randidly was impressed by the lack of any sort of violent emotion targeting Devick because she was clearly antagonizing him His emotional mastery was certainly worth emulating Not an iota of his personalityÆs force was wasted

Still one question nagged Randidly Why was Devick working so hard to antagonize the Don Was it just because she could Because she lived to drag others into her own variety of insanity Or was she targeting him for another reason

Randidly shook his head His temples ached and he couldn’t figure out what she was doing it aside from instigating chaos Right now his mind wasnÆt up to the task of unearthing any more information than that

Randidly moved down to the beach but he rapidly stiffened His skin then crawled as Devick paused in front of him Behind him the workers on the beach rushed to finish completing the bonfire and get the flames started now that the guests marched down the bamboo steps and onto the sand He could hear the smile in her voice although her face was covered with that impassive gold mask Mr Ghosthound I have to say for as much as I admire what youÆve done here today one particular thing about you bothers me Why are you allowing those two slugs to parasitize you They will bring bad luck Such things shouldnÆt exist They donÆt exist not truly

Randidly frowned the pain in his hands was getting worse as the last dregs of adrenaline left his body The ache in his temples grew more demanding He really wished he didnÆt have to deal with this erratic version of Devick while feeling so drained Slugs You mean the Unborn

A foolish statement One of the retired Military High Command Commandants wandered over to join the conversation Not the one that Moonlight Blade informed Ozark to watch out for so he continued to hang back while the more powerful figures discussed This man sneered at the lumpy body of the first speaker You say Nether is a Path to quick power If that was the case far more individuals would attempt to create their own Nether Cores If anything Aether is the quick path to power which is likely why Elhume in his wisdom saw fit to use it as the basis for the Nexus

The Tier III citizenship figure drew himself up to his full if lopsided height Oh and you would know so much about Nether Core Your generation barely had to fight against the Nether forces when they were at their height They bred like flies They swarmed toward us day and night So yes it is a quick

Several more figures drifted over interested in the discussion but Moonlight Blade gave Ozark a look and the two of them walked around the side of the fire Then they stopped standing alone in the flicker shadows at the edge of the firelight and Ozark looked at the Pinnacle Seeker questioningly The wolfman shook his head arrogantly he wasnÆt willing to explain

Then Actus Suprem Devick who had been communicating with a harried and exhausted looking representative from the Engraving Guild glided across the sand right where they had been about to walk She made a beeline for the growing group that argued over the relative merits of Nether Cores versus the risk of being punished by the Orthodox Nexus for using them publicly

When she had gone Moonlight Blade moved forward slowly finding a new spot to stand A servant brought a tray with drinks and to OzarkÆs surprise the Pinnacle Seeker took one He drank the entire thing down in a gulp crushed the glass in his hand and then tossed the broken pieces behind him to mix with the sand and frothing edges of the ocean

Moonlight Blade spoke softly as the wolfman watched Devick move into the group and dominate the conversation Something strange is developing in the Nexus Those fools they donÆt even notice it Where has Elhume been for the past several weeks Why are the Tier III citizenship geezers moving so openly Where did this Devick come from with such force IÆve encountered individuals who have completed their image fulfillment before but none have felt as dangerous as her Even I heh

Ozark jumped as a wave of bloodlust erupted from the wolfman and practically sizzled against his skin Then it disappeared and Moonlight Blade patted him on the shoulder Thank you for knowing your place My instincts regarding that woman are confusing

For a second they stood in silence Moonlight Blade feeling much more approachable than usual as he studied the laughing Devick on the opposite side of the bonfire Ozark licked his lips he knew that this was an opportunity both by coming here and to earn the Pinnacle SeekerÆs attention What What do you think is happening In the Nexus

You think this issue is within a realm where your curiosity has a place Moonlight Blade flared his bloodlust again and Ozark hurriedly lowered his head remembering how cruel this master could be But it seemed that the Pinnacle Seeker was more amused than anything else Well I do also wish to understand Do you perhaps have any insight Mister Tyune

Suddenly a figure Ozark hadnÆt noticed before seemed to congeal out of the shadows behind them The mysterious Tyune tilted his head to the side You noticed me Interesting But why would I tell you Are we not competing for WickÆs offspring

IÆve heard you love to show off your knowledge Moonlight Blade responded shamelessly

And IÆve heard you know nothing of manners or flattery Tyune returned in a flat tone But then the strange waxy skinned being shrugged I suppose there is no harm in telling you you will not understand the implications of the information anyway

Elhume is the cause but the reason he moved was that his wife died I do not know the details but she apparently held some restrictive power on him even though she had not been seen in two thousand years She possessed a weapon or a method or a key there are various rumors among the what was your term Tier III citizenship geezersÆ

Chapter 1858

Claudette felt her breathing ease as she looked down The predictable sound the stillness the reassuring presence all of it combined to reassure her After the night she had so far it was a welcome shift

NeshamahÆs lips twitched as she looked over at Randidly laying on the cool sand underneath the tiki bar His chest rose and fell at regular intervals I cannot believe he can lay down and fall asleep right now

His ability to handle tension is refreshing Claudette spoke with a wry smile looking at Randidly with affection bubbling in her chest And despite this display heÆs always been quite reliable Even from the moment we met he seemed to have confidence that everything would be alright IÆm starting to see that itÆs just his inner determination Something that IÆm slowly learning to possess

With that ClaudetteÆs expression firmed up She glanced at Neshamah and Yust Speaking of which we shouldnÆt waste this opportunity While the other attendees are mingling I have no doubt my father is making his final preparations We need to be doing the same If either of you has any ideas

YustÆs eyes flashed His lips curled back to reveal his long tiger canines You know watching the Ghosthound gave me an idea can I not do the same thing to Moonlight Blade that he did to Wick If he is forced to deactivate his connection to Alymian and return to the Nexus he will no longer be a threat IÆm very confident in my

Neshamah punched him lightly in the shoulder Bad idea Randidly has the benefit of his Nether Core to give him an edge plus his physical Stats are She and Claudette shared an understanding and slightly bewildered glance difficult to rival Even reduced here he might be a match for some old monsters in the Nexus Besides Moonlight Blade is a very different warrior from Commandant Wick More experienced and more primal He might even be excited if you challenged him like that The last thing we want to give him is an appetizer

Yust raised his chin stubbornly Pride flashed in his eyes I If you did not trust my abilities why did you invite me to join your conspiracy

Perhaps on another night Claudette would have sweet talked Yust out of his horrible prideful idea However despite the recent easing of her tension she just didn’t have the spare energy to deal with him Yet at the same time she was unwilling to allow him to so obvious poison the well So she lowered her stance and then brought her fist whipping around to slam into his chest right in the diaphragm

YustÆs eyes grew very wide First he stumbled then he collapsed fully on the ground as his body briefly seized up preventing him from breathing Claudette put her fists on her hips and glared down at him We do trust you But that doesnÆt mean we can be foolhardy Thinking about this if I can knock you out in a single blow even if it was a cheap shot will Moonlight Blade miss such an opening

Then she looked at Neshamah Make sure heÆs alright And that no one tries to do anything to Randidly while he sleeps I do have one more person that IÆd like to talk to just in case we can get a little extra assistance

Claudette walked down the beach toward the water following the edge of the sea away from the tiki bar and the light from the bonfire Distant palm trees swayed in the wind as she moved determinedly forward She eventually reached a loose ring of locals that spoke in soft voices and indicated that Claudette should return to the party She ignored their soft pleases and pointed fingers and strode right past them They did not attempt to stop her

Further down the beach as the well maintained sand turned to rocks and the light and noise from the party had been eroded almost entirely by the sound of the waves she found who she was looking for Claudette bowed to the figure Pinnacle Seeker Thousand Bones My martial grandmother IÆm glad you came to this party IÆve missed you

The massive owl woman clicked her beak and ruffled her feathers her gaze never wavering from the direction of the party She shifted her weight from one scaled leg to the other Keh Girl child you know I would not leave you along in your time of need Especially considering how much your Mistress has done for me in the past By the way have you heard any news

Claudette shook her head Unfortunately I have discovered nothing about the Frost Matriarch After the incident with the Nether King she appears to have gone into hiding Even from me

Claudette stood her hands clenched into fists Her chest burned and bubbled So what So I should accept that he always knows better than I do To be a doll that he can pose for the rest of my life

For the first time Thousand Bones condensed her body into a smaller figure drawing the feathers more tightly against her flesh Her eyes remained dim I understand why you would be upset to hear this but in your mind it is completely unacceptable to allow your father to plan for you And admittedly the method he is using is not kind But also perhaps the consequences wonÆt be as dire as you believe

Claudette bit her lip for several seconds Then she shook her head and said Being safe and well cared for is not all there is to life It is not enough

That is true Especially for you Thousand Bones spoke in a soft voice You are one of those individuals who cannot subsist solely within the control of another Especially recently I can see the way the last several months have shaped who you are becoming The possibilities might be faint but I can see a few lives where you transform into something marvelous

The tone of Thousand Bones helped alleviate some of ClaudetteÆs fury and frustration but she still couldnÆt help but glare briefly at the powerful Pinnacle Seeker The old owl chuckled and twisted her head back and forth rotating her head almost 180 degrees

And the last thing Claudette finally found her voice

For the first time Thousand Bones spread out her wide wings the feathers on her aging body looking extremely thin and wan even in the darkness of the rocky beach I cannot tell you much but I think perhaps the true target of your fatherÆs plotting and the one who is the greatest threat to that resplendent version of yourself is not one of the three you have been planning to neutralize

That brought a bucket of metaphorical cold water crashing down on ClaudetteÆs mood What are you talking about

The Pinnacle Seeker released a long breath that whistled through her beak Hoo it is hard to say I can just glimpse the shape of something on this beach in the way that the various powers are arraying themselves and the way the Don is moving between the groups Something inevitable is unfolding that is not obvious on the surface Only out of the corner of my eye only when IÆm not looking for it at all And the more I seem to glimpse it the more I feel it receding as though it senses my observation Even for you child I dare not observe more closely

For several long seconds Claudette was silent She stood on the beach but she felt herself sinking into the chilling waters that had submerged her for most of her life She drifted down small metaphorical bubbles fluttering out from her lips and rushing up to the surface of the water Eventually she hit the bottom and could sink back and regress to an observer Everything around her was insulated she felt the familiar numbness settling across her skin The pressure of the water kept her still restricting her movements

But in that familiar darkness where the world around her manipulated her entire life a soft noise began to rise in her ears The desolate blade Clarent sung crooning softly to her Even if everything else abandoned her that horrifying curse of destruction was truly hers The chilling cold that could seal light and warmth would always remain within her

A blade that Randidly Ghosthound had exhausted himself to create A blade that had been baptized in the blood of the Lizakh people People like

Sucking in a breath Claudette took a step forward It will be fine

Her voice was soft but the more she spoke the more confidently she felt the words coming It will be fine she said again Because it has to be Because I cannot afford to be anything less than fine today

Chapter 1859

Claudette returned from the meeting in the darkness to the party happy to see both Randidly snoring away peacefully and that Yust remained with Neshamah even if the tiger man was clearly surly from her earlier strike Booming laugher came from the area of her father while slightly shrill titters came from the Actus Suprem Devick Compared to them all other noises fell away Those two figures became the axises around which the party spun her father for hosting and Devick likely because the woman wanted to needle the Don

Their laughter became the support structure to the project to deprive Claudette of her freedom For that reason something deep inside of her soul hardened She wished she had more time more opportunities a more reliable method to resist this

However the massive bonfire steadily burned down until only embers remained Time rushed forward heedless of her feelings The mood at the party steadily changed the tension crept up the beach on the heels of the receding firelight

All at once all of the playful preamble had run its course and everyone knew it The Don soon turned to face the group pushed through the difficult sand by one of the employees Well everyone thank you so much for attending this party and celebrating with me It warms my heart to know that I have so many bosom friends in the Nexus

All are welcome to remain but as some of you know the next portion of the party will be a little different from the purely celebratory segment The low firelight sent chaotic fissures of shadow across the DonÆs face His low voice seemed to grow in the areas of the beach without light warping into something monstrous and unfamiliar Claudette Beigon my beautiful daughter has grown up and become her own person Nothing brings me more joy than seeing her accumulating capability and independence Slowly my whole personality has been eclipsed by the pride I feel watching her transform into a young woman To me nothing else is as important as that

Claudette looked at her father and felt like his hands were tightening around her throat Feeling the genuine warmth in his tone contrasting with the words themselves it was hard to even speak Seeing his eyes on her Claudette could acknowledge that what Pinnacle Seeker Thousand Bones had said is correct her father did genuinely believe what he did for her was for the best More than that he thought that this public grand display of it was necessary He was daring her to speak out publicly against him

The shadows on Don BeigonÆs face spoke to her in that intimate and unfamiliar voice You donÆt understand the way the world works

Claudette lifted her chin Her eyes burned even as her throat quivered Yet you are responsible for that are you not

Considering the auspiciousness of this occasion the Don continued almost constantly prodding Claudette to speak against him as he maintained eye contact I think itÆs only appropriate that we announce the Beigon FamilyÆs intent to enter into an alliance with another powerful force in the Nexus This force will assist with the running of Alymian and receive access to the Beigon fortune in return However we here are nothing if not fair to all comers the new partnership will be decided based on a contest A treasure hunt arranged by me

The crowd was silent There was not even a hint of surprise in the air apparently most of the attendees knew what was coming Most seemed to just be settling in to watch the show

The Don spread his arms wide Suddenly a bright like flared in front of him like a star winking into existence A womanÆs head her eyes closed and her long hairs fluttering down around her as if she was constantly buffeted by a wind that didnÆt exist Even in Alymian where some of the Skull of TruthÆs power was suppressed it still managed to affect the entire beach Claudette watched with narrowed eyes

Don Beigon gave the head an affectionate smile then looked around the beach once more Now that the bonfire was gone the light of the Skull of Truth made it impossible for the attention not to fixate on him For this special event IÆve prepared a unique venue within the Skull of Truth itself that way each of you will be able to manifest your talents despite competing within the restrictive laws of Alymian Those of you who wish to be involved please step forward

The rebels glared at the Pinnacle Seeker who barked out his bloodthirsty amusement Yet suddenly Claudette became very aware of the way Randidly continued to stare at the floating Skull of Truth still dripping long tendrils of light out of its inert nose mouth and the corners of its eyes Unbidden the words of Thousand Bones rose in ClaudetteÆs mind once more

After a moment of hesitation she leaned sideways and whispered to him Randidly

DonÆt trust the Skull of Truth Randidly said solemnly at almost the same time she had spoken He blinked and looked away from the treasure Oh what What were you saying

nothing Claudette replied shaking her head with a small smile on her face Just good luck This is what we trained for right

Mostly I was just bored Randidly said with forced casualness The attempt at humor was more perfunctory than anything else but still Claudette appreciated it They had made their preparations now it was time to find out how much those were worth

The DonÆs gaze swept around almost erased from visibility by the blinding radiance that the Skull of Truth released The light thickened swimming around them all Well then letÆs officially start

Ah wait Devick cheerily interrupted She took a step forward Her golden mask reflected the growing wave of light seeming to give her the face of a god Is it too late to throw my hat in the ring It seems like fun

Honestly The Don smiled with genuine sweetness at Devick The light had become so thick that Claudette couldnÆt make out the details but she knew her fatherÆs expressions very well I would have disappointed if you had not

Devick took a step forward The light reached a crescendo illuminating with such vigor that the air seemed to vibrate Watching this sudden development Claudette felt a sudden sinking in her heart Thousand Bones had spoken of a fourth party that was the true target of this alliance Was this why father put up with all of her needling and interruptions Because he had already agreed to an alliance with her

Or was he sounding her out seeing if she was truly as powerful as everyone said But if this is truly the real target why did Thousand Bones warn me away from Randidly due to the presence of Devick

One thing was for sure in those last moments Claudette realized that there was something that she didnÆt know about the contest And that made her very afraid

Then the light carried them away

Chapter 1860

Randidly looked around warily as the light began to fade and reveal the surroundings within the Skull of Truth Sensations arrived gradually First he felt suddenly freed of the lingering headache that crouched on the bridge of his nose due to the fact he hadnÆt had enough time to sleep during the second half of the party Second he became abruptly aware that his body was morphing and swelling beneath him into something grotesque

Alarmed he made to move back but his form simply rippled His hair grew and thickened into vines sporting dangerously sharp thorns His joints grew chitinous grey spikes and his limbs stretched and flexed Meanwhile his ribcage appeared to be opening up like a blooming flower revealing a vast seed of darkness that sought to devour everything Tongues of oblivion flicked out tasting the air

With a firm application of Willpower those shifts halted and then began to reverse The misbehaving limbs pouted but obeyed His strange metabolism came under his control and his form shifted back toward his current physical look But Randidly examined his fingers in wonder An image body Is this how we will be competing That does not bode well for our ability to resist My control is comparatively lacking

However more than that the sense of wrongness is even stronger here This Skull of Truth

Welcome all A voice brought RandidlyÆs focus up Don Beigon floated in the middle of the softly glowing space beaming around at them all Occasionally an amorphous shape briefly condensed behind him but mostly they seemed to be suspended in an oblivion of soft illumination Randidly glanced back and forth noticing he was just one in a long line of similarly monstrous figures

None of them flickered earning a small frown from Randidly it was clear that most relied so constantly upon their images that they were dependably solid It was only from a golden haired maven holding the keening blade Clarent that he saw other signs of instability but considering how recently Claudette had acquired the image it made some sense

Looking around Randidly once more felt that strange worrisome instinct as he looked at the soft white space Those shapes came and went quickly Their construction seemed to speak to him The Nether King told me not to trust the Skull of Truth but even without that warning there is definitely something wrong with the space What the hell are these patterns IÆm sensing They make my hair stand on end

This is an interior space within the Skull of Truth The Don boomed without noticing RandidlyÆs discomfort IÆve deactivated the image reflection function that youÆve likely heard so much about for now be satisfied with your current images They are your greatest weapons IÆve projected you outside your bodies but just to have a bit of fun There is a physical location waiting below for the treasure hunt but the body you use there doesnÆt necessarily have to be your own

IÆve randomly assigned an order to all of you and youÆll pick which body you use So first Allilia Dusseau

The soft light in front of them parted revealing a long line of bodies opposite the image projections Randidly felt his neck shifting into a thick trunk with several leafy protrusions as he turned to look down the line of consciousnesses waiting to choose Most Randidly didnÆt recognize based on their image body But he realized they were already in line because the person three to his left pulsed and release a voice it had been the central figure of the rebels Her melodic voice was extremely memorable

I choose my own body

The Don cheerily accepted and suddenly the woman stood where her image projection had been wearing her worn leather armor and looking around warily She flexed her hands checking her own condition

As it proceeded down the line Randidly announced his intent to use his own body just like every other person In the first half of the group there were two of the rebels Kyl MacDuul Randidly the Engraving Guild representative and Moonlight Blade As each asked for their own body Randidly identified Claudette obviously but also Yust and Neshamah further down in the queue

The idle call and response from Don gave Randidly more time to examine the surroundings He tried sensing the emotions and the ripples and viewing the intermittent shapes from that perspective but he could glean nothing The source of the wrongness eluded him

He spun slowly in place trying to see if he could find out the source was As he did so something caught his eye that made his expression go blank Another version of him stumbled down the slope clearly having trouble controlling the physical power of RandidlyÆs body That version of him lost his balance stepped but ended up just stomping hard enough to crack the ground and force in his bare foot

One foot transfixed that individual flopped forward onto his stomach and cursed

RandidlyÆs lips twitched Well I donÆt want to jump to conclusions but it really seems like that Randidly isnÆt Devick If I had to guess Yust Yea that curse has the right amount of bluster for the tiger man

Randidly hopped down a little deeper in the canyon intending to head over to speak to this struggling and inept version of himself But he stiffened as there were suddenly two additional RandidlyÆs on each side of him moving carefully down the slope into the lowest area clearly making a beeline for the struggling him

Shutting his mouth Randidly planted his foot and streaked through the intervening space and arrived at the fallen Randidly Compared to the other two this one was more trustworthy if just for the abject lack of threat he represented The fallen fellow in his body squawked and wheeled around cracking the ground further with his flailing arms Randidly easily grabbed him underneath the armpits and lifted him out and onto his feet

Even if we both have the same body being able to keep up with the information it feeds you will take some work Randidly said lightly as he looked at a very wide eyed version of himself Then he raised a finger to his lips and used his other arm to point But we donÆt have time to have you slowly find your feet we have company

Wait The Randidly at the base of the canyon bounded forward clearly underestimating his strength and then scrambling to catch himself in a patch of tiny bushes That Randidly straightened and patted himself down with his hands when he regained control of his momentum We are working together IÆm Claudette

And IÆm Neshamah The final Randidly sidled down out of the hills Compared to the others this one garnered the most suspicion with his movements Although this Randidly moved slowly he was definitely more sure of his footing than either of the other two

Randidly looked back and forth looking at the energy ripples they released His frown brought the lingering headache back to the forefront of his mind All three of these individuals seemed relatively calm as well as he attempted to taste their emotional state Is this a coincidence that we are all here Or did the Don arrange that the groups would be dropped near to each other Claudette is also probably who she claims to be but could the final me just be Devick pretending She might not know how to be me but sheÆs definitely monstrously clever

The Randidly who claimed to be Claudette cleared her throat I know it will be difficult to get rid of all suspicion but I think if we spend some time talking

The impact wasnÆt close to them but the force shook the ridges and sent pebbles skittering down the slope in a wild scramble Randidly crouched while even the third suspicious Randidly windmilled his arms and attempted to keep his balance The Yust Randidly directly flopped onto his back trying to maintain his standing position and slamming the back of his head into the ground

On the heels of the impact a voice boomed out over the mountain Bahahaha It is I Randidly Ghosthound Elhume can go fuck himself The Nexus is shit and everyone is just the stinky assholes How dares challenge me to single combat LetÆs have some fun Hehe

His three teammates within his body shared awkward smiles Randidly reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose Well at least that takes care of that problem

Chapter 1861

The rumbles continued in the distance as the very vocal and domineering Randidly GhosthoundÆ stomped across the desert apparently more interesting in testing out the limits of his body than seeking the prize Ridges collapsed and new canyons were carved all while Devick unleashed a constant slew of hate for the Nexus and every person of power within the Nexus aside from herself Upstodatee from eanwhile Yust was now hopping excitedly from side to side then throwing out jabs so quick the air hummed with their passage His enthusiasm was palpable How is your body so strong

More than that how are your veins so robust Neshamah was staring down at RandidlyÆs hand which glimmered with the pale flames of her Nether Weight Apparently she had access to her own Nether Core despite being in his body Do you circulate Nether through your body almost constantly The Engraving Guild definitely does not have a method to acquire this sort of perfect body for Nether ItÆs breathtaking

Jeez Neshamah keep it in your pants Claudette teased even while poking prodding and pinching every portion of RandidlyÆs body that she could reach She squeezed and groped his tail Then she raised her foot off the ground and wiggled her toes at Neshamah You can stop going on about his perfect body ItÆs giving me the creeps

Neshamah frowned using RandidlyÆs face He watched the thin lines form between his brows and felt oddly tingly to watch himself She spoke seriously ignoring the jibe It is hard to comprehend for those who do not use Nether but there is always at least a little bit of rejection between Aether and Nether But even though this is not my body the rejection is less than it normally is

Devick leveled another mountain cackling the entire time and calling for the capitulation of all Overseers to the dominion of Randidly Ghosthound There was some loud cursing apparently this time she had discovered another one of the competitors in the wide swath of devastation she created A powerful image flared to life A strange amorphous thing with many legs and a horrible stickiness that made even the air in the desert briefly damp

ThatÆs TyuneÆs image Claudette observed quietly finally ceasing her exploration of RandidlyÆs body If they defeat each other it would make our job much easier

I actually have a question Randidly said looking around at the three of them He ignored the powerful clashes and DevickÆs (and also his) mad laughter that filled the air Things moved pretty fast to get us in here so I didnÆt have the chance to ask do we know the object we are looking for The reward to end this

The other three exchanged glances Then Claudette shook her head Father didnÆt mention the details of the item we are looking for but considering his pride it will not be difficult to identify the right object Just searching for the most ostentatious and large will likely get us halfway But in addition it wonÆt just be laying out in the sand underneath a cactus Considering the fact that this is a desert I would suspect our first goal should be finding an oasis

Randidly nodded slowly and raised his head He looked at the chaotic mass of ripples that met in the sky as Devick and Tyune continued their frantic battle They were clear even through the strange obscuration of the senses How large of an area is this though

Neshamah chimed in I donÆt think the Skull of Truth possesses any time dilation functions and the Don implied that the treasure hunt should be finished within the day Rather than large I would suspect that the location would be complex Flying up would give us a better lay of the land but if we attract attention

Everyone knows that a group of Ghosthounds is our group Yust said quietly He glanced nervously around as though others would be peering over the edge of the nearby orange stone outcroppings ready to ambush them

But Randidly just rolled his eyes and chuckled He flexed his shoulders and unleashed Grim Intuition and Motif of the Rising Deep That wrongness to the air might rub the edges of his hearing sight and smell but energy ripples didnÆt lie His senses flowed around using the rebounding energies to reconstruct the surrounding area Compared to his training to unleash Synechdochence working around two people fighting was childÆs play

I wonder if this is why the Don knew I would have an advantage Randidly wondered Then suddenly through the winding maze of stark stone outcroppings and tiny canyons Randidly found what he was looking for A brilliant spot of moisture a glittering lake

If you make too much noise youÆll attract DevickÆs attention Claudette said quietly

Pinnacle Seeker Moonlight Blade just chuckled If she comes I will fight her I will not flinch before any sort of battle Even if fate brings me into conflict with a Full Comprehension foe I will fight to the death Such is my Path But right now well the only foes here are you right And none of you are a threat to me

His tone became cruel and mocking Randidly clenched his fists and analyzed the surrounding ripples preparing to test out the efficacy of his Synechdochence in an actual battle but he received a message from Claudette to prepare to lead the way to the oasis he discovered His disbelief must have shown upon his face because Moonlight Blade gave him a curious look and Claudette sent another message

Did you think we brought Yust for no reason This is his fight

I will spare your life after IÆve triumphed over you Randidly Ghosthound Moonlight Blade continued He was only ten meters away now and a swirling darkness began to build behind him Randidly could see several spectral wolves drooling as they stared with eyes that labeled them all prey Most annoyingly the Pinnacle Seeker looked directly at Randidly seemingly able to tell which was which You have potential You should grow before we face each other truly But for now

Now Claudette said She and Neshamah hurried backward even as Moonlight Blade pounced forward His Stats were high especially for someone who respected the limits of the System but Randidly had enough an edge to spend a moment agonizing about whether to lash out first or simply to move and lead the way to the Oasis

The two Unborn poked out from behind his back and rearranged their lopsided faces antagonizing the spectral wolves

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fate of the Unborn Duo has grown to Level 388

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fate of the Unborn Duo has grown to Level 389

In the end he planted his foot and twisted away A single step practically teleported Randidly in front of the other two RandidlyÆs guiding them deeper into the canyon toward the deceptive crevasse which would lead them to their destination the other two just didnÆt understand how to make use of Dreadful Alacrity

Besides Randidly glanced back over his shoulder as he paused giving the two following RandidlyÆs time to reorient themselves to his position Yust was stepping forward to block Moonlight Blade It wonÆt be too late to throw some extra Nether at him if Yust canÆt handle it

Then RandidlyÆs expression changed His nose wrinkled Because a horrifying sickly green tiger condensed and roared above YustÆs head Its fur almost seemed neon with a deep dark green in the black portions of his stripes A smell like old meat rotten eggs trapped sweat and rot billowed out from the majestic tiger

Mid pounce Moonlight Blade sneezed and started shaking his snout His feet dug into the sand as he attempted to stop dashing into the depths of the stink cloud

See Claudette said Then she shrugged ItÆs not an honorable image and there is no way for the current Yust to overcome Moonlight Blade but that isnÆt the point His master cultivated him for a hundred years all to bring misery to his greatest rival IsnÆt the Nexus a wonderful place

For a powerful image user itÆs easy to suppress the senses when it isnÆt a surprise Neshamah observed We must hurry

Chapter 1862

Every second that they lingered the smell grew more pervasive

Although they hadnÆt grown used to RandidlyÆs body both Claudette and Neshamah followed quickly enough after him as he made a beeline for a small ridge that seemed to dance with patterns of rejections Feeling weirdly sick to his stomach with the wrongness of this place and the smell he swiped a hand and took off a portion of stone blocking the way Then they were through the narrow passage while a massive roar blasted out from behind them

In the next instant the smell grew noticeably worse Randidly wrinkled his nose even as a wave of green gas passed above the high canyons and seeped down toward their position Neshamah shook her head He must have held back initially to keep us out of the blast Despite his attitude Yust might be surprisingly conscientious

More likely ClaudetteÆs lips curled up into a smile even as she wrinkled her nose He realize Moonlight Blade would kill him if he didnÆt use everything at his disposal Looks like your body will be put to the test eh Randidly

Moonlight Blade with regret underestimating how tenacious my Stats will let Yust be Randidly gestured sharply bringing them left at a branching fork in the stone path The walls pressed in tighter so that he could raise his hands and brush his fingers along the walls on both sides of them But in the end he just planted his foot and accelerated pushing the two women to keep up with his movements

Then a new presence arrived on the battlefield behind them

What the hell is this smell After a massive impact a familiar voice echoed out above the area I Randidly Ghsothound will rid the world of this horrid wretched pestilence

You Moonlight Blade howled Then his voice came out low and rough like a growl had to tear itself out of his throat Everyone knows you are not Randidly Ghosthound Devick

This impact was strong enough that even Randidly lost his balance The stones around them rumbled and cracked A portion of the passage behind them fractured and collapsed spraying them with dust Claudette stumbled and crashed into a stone outcropping using RandidlyÆs tough forehead to hammer it to powder After a short silence RandidlyÆs borrow voice rose with fury How dare you refer to the gorgeous and lovely Actus Suprem without using her proper title In her place I will thoroughly discipline you for your transgression against her honor Consider yourself lucky that she wasnÆt here personally the things she would have done to you

You Let go of me

A horrifying wave of noise arose behind them as Randidly helped Claudette to her feet Moonlight Blade unleashed his spectral wolves and they swarmed in the sky above them aiding in the fight against Devick Yet based on the continued howls of pain and frustration from Moonlight Blade the combination of DevickÆs instincts and RandidlyÆs body was fatal

When it came to brutality not even Pinnacle Seeker Moonlight Blade could rival Devick

Will the Don allow us to die in this place Neshamah asked quietly Claudette shook her head but the answer seemed less like a no and more of an expression of uncertainty at the prospect After all all the powerful individuals in the Nexus understood the risks of engaging in this sort of competition

As far as jokes went even Randidly heard how hollow and desperate it was But he knew why Claudette was feeling so anxious and said nothing

Neshamah gave Randidly a helpless look but both of them followed after her Randidly understood where they were both coming from still having difficulty tearing his eyes away from the pulsing surface of the water IÆm not sure how much Neshamah can sense but that lake is definitely not normal And whatÆs waiting at the bottom haah I wouldnÆt investigate it casually Especially not when IÆm still experiencing some leftover mental strain

After scanning the surroundings Randidly reached out and grabbed ClaudetteÆs arm They were only a few meters away from the door Wait There is a strange Engraving built into the rock

All three spread out and released soft touches of their images Underneath the energy pressure the Engraving flared defensively to life allowing them to see the lines of power that animated it Claudette spoke slowly From the arrangement itÆs a keyed lock And the lock is relatively simple but

Claudette gritted her teeth You need several people to open the door Four to be exact So we need to wait

Rustling on the other side of the lake drew all of their attention From a different path than the Randidly squad used the rebel leader Allilia stumbled out of the bush and was quickly joined by one of her subordinates Both looked bedraggled and had splashes of blood across their leather armor Their third member was nowhere to be seen

The two glanced around and spotted the Randidlys Both groups regarded each other with suspicion while Randidly cursed himself for just relying on his natural Grim Intuition The fuzzy wrongness of the stitching of this world interfered so subtly in his senses that he missed it and allowed these groups to catch them by surprise

If he wanted to know information he needed to read the ripples So he raised his gaze and examined the surroundings

For a split second his face split into a grimace but he masked it quickly Then he coughed and called out to the Nexus rebels Come over here This should be the passage to the next portion but it requires a certain amount of people to open LetÆs work together and move forward

It requires four people and there are five of us Neshamah pointed out quietly as the two rebels exchanged glances and then walked over toward the Randidlys And these are known malcontents whatever they intend here it likely wonÆt end peacefully

One problem at a time Randidly answered just as quietly Besides IÆll stay behind I really do want to take a dip in the lake At least for a while

Claudette looked over at him with a deceptively mild glance Randidly couldnÆt bring himself to meet her his own eyes

They quickly figured out the mechanism and Claudette Neshamah and the two rebels moved into position to activate the door There was a flash of light and the golden inlay along the frame became radiant The wooden doors swung open while a barrier appeared keeping Randidly unable to rush through the opening

The foursome moved cautiously forward Only at the last moment did Claudette pause and look back at him This is going to be the second time youÆve kept me waiting Randidly

I know He sighed

Then they were gone the door closing and the Engraving shifting now it required three people to proceed through the door When Randidly turned all the way back to the lake the approaching threat he had sensed finally arrived

Well well A Randidly Ghosthound with an expression animated from jarred madness grinned over at him When the Actus Suprem Devick rode his body his grin became sharp and biting The air oozed with tension she sauntered forward every inch of an arch villain Opening the door will require three bodies eh I guess we have no choice but to play around until someone else shows up

Chapter 1863

RandidlyÆs blood heated as he looked at the shit eating grin on his own face Devick as Randidly just released that much pressure as she walked forward The worst part was there wasnÆt even the hint of an image around her as with her earlier clashes with Tyne and Moonlight Blade she relied just on his body and her fighting related Skills to suppress her opponents

ThatÆs where the pressure comes from Randidly realized Her monstrously developed Skills Even without transforming them into an image I can feel their effect on the way she moves ThatÆs right Devick is quite old as well I wonder how close she is to a Mille

Still Randidly lifted his head without flinching before her He had a solid foundation for his own confidence especially when he was in his own body His Nether Core steadily accelerated Silky liquid Nether twisted and twined through his veins empowering his body He took a steadying breath and settled into a fighting stance

Devick chuckled and then affected a look of shock Aw imposter I wanted to just spend some time chatting But if you insist on combat

She planted her foot and practically vanished she clearly had no difficulty adjusting to Dreadful Alacrity His heart pounding Randidly took an even faster step and moved to meet her Their blurred forms neared each other and then accelerated further

She spun sideways whipping her leg around in a sweeping kick at his waist Randidly used a single hand to catch the strike and raised his other hand The impact jarred his bones but it was manageable Before he could unleash an attack Devick twisted and brought her other heel slicing toward his head This time RandidlyÆs tail snaked out and encircled the heel kick The grip strained but it slowed the strike down enough for his other hand to clench into a fist

Both her legs were entangled and Devick lay midair with her back to Randidly Still she bridged her body folding back toward him and bringing both her hands stabbing toward RandidlyÆs midsection If nothing else her decisiveness was impressive

His emerald eyes flashed to see himself contorting like this Am I really this flexible But definitely her combat Skills are high Level I can feel the sharpness of everything she does Huh I wonder if she can tap into old Skill fragments in my body or if this is just a common enough Skill

Then his expression hardened But there is one problem youÆve been enjoying my body so far but you havenÆt spent much fighting against it Strikes like that

Randidly ignored the stabbing hands despite the razor tips at the point of his fingers They hit his side and drew small blotches of blood but they only prickled him like stray thorns Meanwhile his right hand finally hammered down striking Devick in the small of her back and smashing her into the ground

With a grunt Devick hit the ground and rolled Randidly bounded after her Nether and evaporating blood filling his veins His heart pounded and filled him with strength Already the small marks that Devick had inflicted on him were healing She flipped up to her feet grinning at him Heh yeah I get it Soft strikes like that wonÆt do much not with this fun bod But how about this

Her left arm exploded forward morphing into a deadly lance of momentum aimed at his face But at almost the same moment RandidlyÆs left eye flashed with darkness Revelation energy warned him of the strike and he jerked his head to the side Before she even struck he foresaw the dangerous possibility

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 500

That miss allowed Randidly to close the distance between them and he clenched his left fist and brutally struck at her side with a hook Devick blocked with almost casual speed Meanwhile RandidlyÆs right hand stabbed forward aiming for her throat This Devick also intercepted but a few inches too late so that his hand was on her neck and her hand tightened around his wrist

Still a bit behind when it comes to handling a lot of information with my senses RandidlyÆs eyes blazed as he slammed his forehead against his own nose and felt the cartilage shatter

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Her excess is a chance I can seize

Truth be told Randidly very rarely utilized his full physical capabilities He simply couldnÆt without a sufficiently strong base to achieve leverage RandidlyÆs Primordial Nether Juju would obliterate most physical substances even if they had passively absorbed Aether to become much stronger than their original forms It was a hidden restriction of surpassing the System limits

No platform could allow him to truly go all out Shifting his weight while throwing a punch with his full power ruptured the ground beneath him before he was even halfway through the motion

Which was why while Devick as Randidly was a walking Calamity whose steps heralded destruction all he did was tap a toe and throw himself forward With none of the bluster he moved even more quickly than she He twisted to duck under DevickÆs fearsome strike concentrated both on his Nether and upon his own emotional force and spear tackled her out of the air

She gasped in shock the force of their combined and opposite momentums enough to even jar his powerful body Randidly twisted to slam her into the ground but felt a tingle on the back of his neck at the last second He released her and rolled sideways still receiving an immense force on his shoulder that launched him downward and bounced him off the disintegrating stone ground

He regained his feet and prepared himself for another attack but Devick stood still looking with interest at her own arms and legs

Fascinating She announced as she looked up and met RandidlyÆs gaze You are well past the System limit arenÆt you

RandidlyÆs lips twitched at how quickly she dropped the charade of being him but didnÆt say anything about it Even from their brief interactions he knew that being snarky in front of her would just come back to bite him Better to just go with the flow and accept the attitude change At the very least she was no longer growling about retribution

However She continued She raised her head and gave Randidly a wide smile DidnÆt you know that there was an easy fix With as much power as we have you simply force your will onto the universe And then

As though in a demonstration Devick brought that emotional force down to her feet and created a brief but concrete foothold beneath her feet He could literally see how she did it but using the flexible substance of image to ground herself Yet to accomplish it so quickly

Perhaps Randidly would be the only one surprised that in the next instant DevickÆs fist was in his stomach arriving with the full speed that RandidlyÆs Stats could allow when the foundation was provided Then he was tumbling across the ground and then skidding across the sapphire lake his body aching and his head ringing from the speed and his stomach twisting at the wrongness he sensed in the liquid

It was almost a relief when he crashed into the stone outcropping on the other side of the lake causing a small avalanche of orange stone to collapse on top of him Snorting out through his nose Randidly shoved away the rock dust and clambered out His abdomen ached but the blunt force would heal quickly

They stood on opposite shores this time Randidly brushing himself off Devick stood with her hands on his hips and grinned over at him Did you get the trick from my little tutorial If not I can demonstrate a few more times for you

What she didnÆt need to say was that they would be using his body as a prop in these demonstrationsÆ Randidly rolled his shoulders and stopped limiting the flow of his Nether It began to spool out in long tendrils that spread across the edges of the lake avoiding touching the strange water

Time to test out what Synechdochence can do in an actual battle Randidly clenched his fist Damnit when the hell is someone else going to show up Devick is not the one IÆm supposed to be wasting time fighting

But I suppose I wonÆt reject her teaching RandidlyÆs expression turned solemn Under the influence of Nether he began to float forward keeping well away from the surface of the lake When it comes to growing at ludicrous speeds I donÆt think I know anyone as impressive as Devick

Chapter 1864

In a quiet portion of the desert devastation reigned supreme Chaos sprawled out across the landscape and now slumbered

Shattered and blasted stones lay strewn out over a large area An entire swimming pool sized hole in the ground smoked vaguely even twenty minutes after the fighting had ceased The nearby ridges had been obliterated and leveled with new gorges being dug with the violence of the clash

A lizard that had somehow slumbered through the noise and quakes would wake up bewildered finding its home and yard totally renovated But honestly it should probably just be glad that it had survived

Occasionally a soft wind brushed the rough edges of these new landmarks and pushed a few pebbles to skitter down their faces but otherwise all was still

Strange smelling green stains lingered upon the stone ground Spectral remnants of the thousands of wolves were scattered across the ground like sewn seeds from a lazy farmer becoming tiny beads of hunger and ferocity that barely maintained their form What lingered here were the remnants of an absolute force tearing any opposition to shreds

Occasionally the ghost of DevickÆs laugh drifted back from distant hills

Suddenly a small pile of stones trembled With great care a bedraggled Moonlight Blade shifted the stones out of the way and raised his head out of the rubble His expression morphed between shock fear and frustration As he had expected playing dead for long enough meant that Devick had grown born and wandered away from him However the fact that he had been forced into submission

Is she gone The Randidly clone on his back whispered giving all of his fury a concrete target

You little shit Moonlight Blade hissed through gritted teeth He reached around and dug his claws into this RandidlyÆs shoulder The young man skittered sideways avoiding most of the force of the attack His claws ripped up long gashes on his shoulder but due to the bodyÆs powerful regenerative properties those wounds began to close almost as soon as he made them And that was even when Moonlight Blade injected his image into his powerful claws

Of course he knew that this Randidly was not the real one this was the foolish student of that old and fat tiger all made to spite him But the combination proved extremely aggravating

Moonlight Blade stood abruptly hoping to dislodge YustÆs grip while he was shifting Several rocks were knocked sideways and he froze for a long moment as his instincts reminded him why he had lingered here But the noise did not suddenly draw Devick back to their position

Of course his instinctual reaction only made him more furious

So he aimed his claws and started raking at YustÆs legs which had been wrapped around Moonlight BladeÆs waist Almost instantly YustÆs legs turned into noodles and slipped away The bodyÆs quick reactions was another source of aggravation

Eyes flashing Moonlight Blade reached up and seized up YustÆs arms to forcibly throw the bastard off his back But as he did that Yust tightened his grip quickly choking off the flow of oxygen to Moonlight BladeÆs body Obviously he didnÆt need to breathe But nothing was quite so uncomfortable as your physical body struggling to pump blood through the neck with no success It felt like a psychological form of drowning

Moonlight Blade made a mental note to squeeze the throats of his victims in a show of power during the next time he was able to let loose Perhaps he would even do so to Claudette to vent some of this frustration The thought was oddly arousing

Yet that didnÆt solve his current predicament it just made him feel more frustrated Worse as Moonlight Blade flayed YustÆs skin and muscle from his arms just as fast as it healed back into place Yust began to release pulsing blasts of sewage gas Each was slightly different somehow animated with a new cocktail of sickening source materials so it took a few seconds for Moonlight Blade to block it from his awareness His nose began to twitch and he tried to sneeze but there was a horrible sense of retching as YustÆs grip on his neck didnÆt allow any air to be expelled

Devick didnÆt acknowledge RandidlyÆs preparations she just martial her own emotional force and launched herself toward him in a single bound Below their reflections on the lake surface faced off silently dyed blue

The environment is barely acceptable but there isnÆt any choice Randidly pressed his lips together Already he gathered the ripples that Devick created in her charge but there wouldnÆt be enough time to draw them into his storm Each moment saw a new surge of Nether spreading out from him but this also would take a few more seconds before it reached the levels he wanted Alright Devick LetÆs see how my Nether measures up

A pinch of Nether flared to life in front of Devick rapidly inflating to become a barn sized explosion of force Devick reacted quickly raising her arms and tearing the wave of rejection apart but she stumbled and slowed from the impact almost dropping into the water

Maybe 65% I can do better than that Randidly reached out and seized upon the energy released by the impact pulling it all together around him Winds brushed at his hair as the storm began to accumulate The air darkened and mist began to gather around his person

A slow and genuine smile spread across DevickÆs face Randidly Ghosthound are you dabbling with a Nether Core when they are forbidden within the Nexus Haha I knew I liked you even if you continue to house those two irritating maggots And more than dabbling that was Synechdochence wasnÆt it Well well well How immense is your potential I wonder And how long will you be able to handle me right now Ha

And with that Devick blurred into motion once more faster than before Randidly narrowed his eyes just like he improved from their brief clashes so too did Devick adapt and improve constantly The constant race for an edge was quite terrifying

But those few seconds of speech from Devick allowed Randidly to strengthen his grip on the surrounding space Nether and natural force gushed in thick rivers around him quickly creating visual distortions through the mist The beginnings of electromagnet discharge began to crackle When Devick accelerated Randidly already reached out and gripped several pinches of Nether that popped around her aiming to crunch her from several directions at once

Devick reacted Her legs flexed out and she bounced herself downward avoiding the crush Then she stepped forming a foothold midair with pure emotional force and streaked the last forty meters to arrive before Randidly

Now what Devick cackled triumph clear on her face She raised a fist

Randidly opened his right hand and unleashed a concentrated burst of natural energy He could only gather energy from her movements and the few pinches of Nether he unleashed but it was still a potent attack that made his wrist ache

The blast of pure force struck Devick in the gut even as she was a few meters away from Randidly A look of genuine surprise crossed her face and she reeled backward and crashed down onto the shattered stone by the lakeshore

RandidlyÆs eyes blazed emerald as he mobilized his Nether and ripped several large holes in the lakeshore where she had landed It was a carpet bombardment Unfortunately there was something about the lake that drained away ambient natural force however

Grimacing Randidly scrambled back Devick erupted from the ground beneath him her hand curled into a claw she had used her crash landing as a cover to dig through the ground and approach him

Even this didnÆt work Devick pouted Then she blurred again becoming a deadly dervish that lashed out several times in quick succession at Randidly Her limbs seemed to bend like whips as they lashed him He tried to grip her with Cutting Tides of Amenonuhoko to restrict her movements but she tore right through his restrictions He dodged sideways and she followed

Her fist blurred upward and Randidly jerked his head back She twisted into a heel kick and he stepped forward under the typhoon like strike His palm strike she deflected almost thoughtlessly Randidly unleashed a flaring burst of Nether that impacted her back but she didnÆt flinch With RandidlyÆs body she became a titan of aggression Her limbs lashed outward forcing him back directly toward the edge of the lake

Are you afraid of swimming Devick grinned at him Why donÆt you and I take a dip IÆm sure it will be quite refreshing

Chapter 1865

Devick accelerated further growing increasingly proficient with creating her own emotional footholds Randidly distantly wanted to use this opportunity to copy the capability she demonstrated but he had already set himself on the path of using his Nether and his brain was already so consumed with those subtle calculations that he needed to allow that improvement to wait until later

Plus he hadnÆt realized how much difference the emotional holds would make he could do something similar by relying on images and Skills but the combination of unpredictability and absolute force of his body made a difference

When Randidly had made footholds of roots in the past he had moved in much the same way that he had on physical land Light touches from hid prodigious physique to annihilate distance But Devick threw her everything into every movement Randidly would need a bit of practice just to make sure his roots could handle the amount of force she exerted

But then her attack continued and he let all those thoughts drop away

He swayed past a brutal punch gathering all the natural force Devick generated into his veins The tendons of his body thrummed with the contained power However whenever Randidly made a move to unleash the blast Devick retreated After seeing it once she understood his trick and would happily allow him to discharge his built up force harmlessly into the air

So Randidly could only grit his teeth and continue to accumulate They fought on the shattered stones of the lakeÆs beach Devick utilizing the fullest potential of RandidlyÆs body and suppressing him while Randidly used intermittent blasts of Nether to slow her down long enough to impact the surroundings with his storm

He smashed her leg with a blast of force and Devick stumbled but she somehow transitioned smoothly into a roll that brought her a few inches closer to Randidly When she erupted from the ground he was forced to adjust his footing and sway around her haymaker Then she stepped bolding forward and aimed a kick at his chest

This he slipped under and whipped his fist against her side burning with flames of Nether Weight Just like he had absorbed her scratches she shrugged off his attack with a grunt Then she pivoted and wrapped a leg around her waist

The move was so unexpected that Randidly was a fraction of a second slow in reacting Then he unleashed a bombardment of Nether that staggered Devick but she was already so close to him She would definitely

The natural energy surged through RandidlyÆs limbs crackling with potent force But Devick stepped backward and pirouetted winking at him as she spun His muscles burned as he pulled that ready to explode energy and pressurized it back within his body His hand flexed and he grabbed up the surrounding ripples

Just you wait Randidly used the space to unleash more flares of Nether around Devick His adjustments in the environment were steadily improving meaning that his true Synechdochence was probably closer to 80% Soon IÆll have enough natural energy that I can blast this entire lake off the face of this desert

However while Randidly did his best to keep from retreating Devick was relentless Her strikes were sharp and incisive And if nothing else she had quickly mastered his bodyÆs ability to shrug off damage and push through pain Step by step he was being forced back toward the lake RandidlyÆs strikes were deflected and her staggered him His stomach continued to flip back and forth unnerved by its proximity of the queer sapphire water

Randidly ground his teeth together frustrated He was losing ground and he knew it Devick was too quick in her improvements She adjusted the vector of her attacks and began to anticipate his possessing a preternatural sort of memory that reminded Randidly of his early days on Tellus fighting against the nearly prescient Azriel

She stomped the ground and crack the stone destabilizing his footing He resolved himself to try his own hand at absorbing punishment but he couldnÆt just base himself and absorb force like she could When she chopped toward Randidly with her hand he had to avoid it or risk being blown backward

Somewhere Neveah is nodding knowingly about the importance of emotions He pressed his lips together in distaste

Nether swirled outward buoyed by powerful waves of natural force The patterns aligned In a stroke of inspiration Randidly forcefully completed the environment by finishing the top half and mirroring it downward

Devick grinned at him Did you give up and decide to capitulate Well IÆm sorry but its too late

Nether bloomed These pinches were tinier than Randidly had used thus far the merest Nether dust left glimmering in the wake of the thick Nether veins that ran through the storm of air currents around their two forms He did this both so Devick might miss them and also because at the moment he felt eminently confident in his Synechdochence

It might not reach a full 105% since I had to take a shortcut to finish Randidly studied his own face waiting for the Devick lurking within to react to his attacks But itÆs definitely 103% And once you break through the barrier of 100% the shift in deadliness is immense

A bit of Nether bloomed and ripped through the muscle of DevickÆs shoulder Her eyes widened as she twisted and looked down at the black spike that had impaled her These flares werenÆt massive they only grew about the size of a basketball In addition they werenÆt spherical They were six pointed stars with deadly spikes ripping out up down left right forward and backward

Randidly released a steaming breath into DevickÆs face Her grip weakened and she scowled at him How the hell did you

Congratulations Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath has grown to Level 555

Randidly created five more of those pointed stars impacting DevickÆs back and legs Familiar caustic blood dribbled out of the wounds One protrusion even scratched RandidlyÆs own body in its brief moment of explosive power Unfortunately the environment was steadily moving forward Their lack of movement and the expenditure of Nether meant that the delicate balance was lost His Nether flares rapidly fell back below the 100% barrier

But it didnÆt matter Randidly had already handled her mobility

Next came the decisive strike

Using one arm to shove the injured Devick back Randidly gathered the rest of the natural force running through him into SulfurÆs fist His hand began to glow with power and DevickÆs strangely brown eyes examined the attack

You have a lot of tricks She observed quietly The Nether stars dissipated and her wounds began to heal but she didnÆt attempt to dodge his strike She just observed it as she approached her chest Then she raised her gaze and clicked her tongue I suppose it was a bit much to expect to rival you in your own body The accomplishments of Randidly Ghosthound were not the result of luck

The sensation of slamming his fist against the image barrier that Devick conjured made his skin crawl Madness nibbled on the knuckles of his left hand Something had shifted All that natural force his gathered erupted against the barrier raged briefly then spent itself leaving Randidly looking at DevickÆs cruel scowl with the blow not nearly as decisive as he had hoped

Drown for me Devick announced With her words came a horrifying power a sea of chains and hooks rose around her wrapped Randidly and bound him and then carried him crashing down through the surface of the sapphire lake

Chapter 1866

Randidly gasped or at least he tried to The muscles of his chest contracted and his diaphragm pulsed But immediately he felt restricted his body would not move as he wished Although he had immense physical power none of that could be used against the liquid

He existed within his own body but more a lingering spirit than an animating force The feeling was simultaneously peculiar tension relieving and alarming

So for several seconds he floated down through the aggressively blue water seeing with crystal clarity as Devick stood above him and peered down into the liquid From the way she cast her gaze about it seemed that she didnÆt have the same sort of perfect vision into the substance that he did out Which was just as well Randidly felt his skin crawl when he thought about her near empty eyes as she manifested that shield and then ripped him down into the water with those rusty hooks They hadnÆt been able to shred his flesh but he felt the lingering taint of her corrosion on his skin when he hit the sapphire water

Luckily whatever held Randidly bound also cleansed him the remnants of DevickÆs image that ended up on him were eradicated The sapphire color destroyed all outside force Devick frowned and pouted at the water sending a powerful hook smashing into the lake It absorbed the hook without a ripple but just as quickly disintegrated it

Randidly watched in fascination seeing the way energy spread out through the interior of the liquid Those same disturbing patterns flared briefly in response to the transgression This is one of the most sophisticated barriers IÆve ever seen It incorporates both Aether and Nether principles all force employed is immediately spread out over the entire lake It looks like it destroyed images but it simply dilutes them So

For several seconds Randidly released pulses to adjust his back first descent into the unknown now vacated of his ability to move his body The oppression on his senses was even worse in the liquid giving him no useful information except Devick stood above him and the environment was a deep sapphire

However Randidly quickly got the hang of manipulating that rule and caused his body to rotate in the isolated space The blue medium expanded an image to the point of dilution but Randidly wasnÆt trying to manifest the Grey Creature or any other specific image Instead he scaled his result to the size of the lake He simply focused on a vast sea of sapphire where there was a minute eddy in a particular area

He could hear Devick grousing above him but RandidlyÆs expression turned serious as he finally witnessed what lay below him About twenty meters away a distance that put Randidly already about 1/4th of the way toward the bottom of the lake sprawled a condensed weaving of light The hexagonal lines of light appeared simply to block a small tunnel through which Randidly could see a massive pillar of black flames

Yet as soon as Randidly stared at the very exact framing for that small tunnel the details of what lay on the other side began to shift just like the barrier diluted images from Devick it erased detail from whatever lay on the other side of that hexagonal light fence Concentration would steadily piece together the damage done by the fence After a few seconds of looking an enormous spined shadow lay in the middle of that flame pillar After ten seconds that shadow became a black dragon sleeping fitfully Smog drifted out its nose which eventually became the substance that burned to create the pillar of flame

Or at least Randidly thought it was sleeping fitfully Yet suddenly a massive ivory spike was driven so prominently through its spine that Randidly wondered how he had missed it previously And once he saw the spike the dragon was a young man with raven black hair so long it wrapped around him like a cocoon

Randidly came back to the strange stillness of the sapphire liquid feeling his brain heating up in a similar way as when he tried to calculate the complex interaction of ripples Even more surprising Randidly was only a few meters away from the fence of light He had somehow lost several minutes looking toward that strange figure beyond the barrier

Pulling his attention inward Randidly tried to calm himself He manipulated his expansive imageÆ of the lake around him to slow his descent until he was simply floating in front of the barrier Then he used the liquid around him to turn himself around and looked back toward the surface of the lake DevickÆs looming form had vanished She either was waiting to ambush him or grew bored with waiting and decided to bother someone else

Randidly wasnÆt sure which was more likely

With an inward sigh Randidly rotated back toward the fence once more He tried his best to observe the patterns without letting them absorb him The strange detail compression triggered easily if the fence wasnÆt regarded carefully This is what gives the Skull of Truth its power not whatever being dragon is imprisoned down there this sophisticated sapphire barrier I wonder how

A small prod brought him within touching distance to the octagonal bars of light had he possessed the ability to reach out Being so near the barrier Randidly suddenly realized that he sensed a very familiar aura on the barrier An aura that he would never forget

NeshamahÆs expression stiffened But I thought

None of you may pass The cowled Skull Shadow continued seeming to consider the trappings of polite conversation to be optional The alliance with the Beigon Family will be obtained by the Nether Collective It has been determined

Oh great The lyrical voiced Allilia muttered Some new Orthodox Nexus Organization And a collective at that IÆm sure thereÆs no harm in giving them unilateral authority over a few planets

Skull raised his hand and unleashed a concentrated blast of Nether at AlliliaÆs chest His responses were direct if nothing else She snorted and produced a strange humming that obliterated the force of the attack However Skull raised both his arms and spouts of Nether erupted all around them

Thick tentacles of Nether lashed back and forth carving scars into the stone and releasing a caustic suppression Claudette felt slightly uncomfortable but it was definitely true that the disparate Nether couldnÆt injure this body easily She marshaled herself to deploy her image but Neshamah blurred past her

The other woman forcefully blasted apart the Nether defenses that Skull Shadow quickly brought around to bear and slammed into him The stoic man growled as he stumbled and then collapsed onto his back More Nether was surging but Neshamah twisted and unleashed a piercing bolt of Nether that ripped a hole in the hastily erected defenses She exchanged a glance with Claudette and in the next moment Claudette launched herself through stumbling to regain her footing and then dashing forward in the direction of the light source

The ground rumbled beneath her as Neshamah and Skull clashed behind her but Claudette ignored it The rebels seemed caught up in the chaos and she was happy to proceed alone On the wings of RandidlyÆs powerful body she soon arrived before the brilliant light which turned out to be a gazebo made of pure crystal She briefly stilled remembering a request as a child that her father make her an entire princess castle made of diamonds Her father had laughed and laughed slapping his knee in a desperate attempt to regain control Then he told her that if she was impeccably behaved for the rest of the year he would see what he could do

However between that conversation and the end of the year ClaudetteÆs mother had died In the wake of that event a lot of promises had slipped into the cracks and dissolved into the gulf of their private griefs

When she stepped onto the crystal gazebo some mechanism beneath it activated and a teleportation array manifested In the next instant Claudette stood on a small path in the desert at night but this time the sky above was filled with stars Beautiful patterns gleamed above so fresh and bright they seemed about to drip down on the sand

She examined the terrain The path forked directly in front of Claudette stretching off to the left and right in a meandering fashion At that fork stood a sign and beyond it a deep ravine filled with glimmering light

On the sign was a message

My sincerest congratulations to those who have made it to this point this is the final leg you havenÆt quite won yet now have you Before you lay two paths nearly mirror images of one another YouÆll paths lead to the final location However the journey will not be simple Parallel arduous and painful while the other based on the natural structure of the Skull of Truth luck

That was the entirety of the message because a weird sort of black flame flickered up from within the ravine eating away a large portion of the final few lines and much of the middle Claudette took several steps forward and peered down into the ravine A sea of black flames waited below And as she watched the cracked ground spread eating up even more of the DonÆs message

The damage would soon annihilate the entire message Claudette frowned What the hell is going on

Then because the tight knot of anxiety in her chest urged her onward she started moving down the left path No matter what was occurring she would not waiver

Chapter 1867

As RandidlyÆs finger neared the array of light bands that bisected the sapphire lake that light began to shift into varying wavelengths as though it was passing through a prism by virtue of his fingerÆs proximity The shifting liquid around him manipulated his body into a slow approach while a scene appeared in his mind

His Nether stirred instinctively as the vision formed this was a very old memory

The environment blurred and skipped like a pre modern film reel Brief flaws snaked across RandidlyÆs awareness but were just as soon eliminated leaving the same flickering tableau Perhaps even more confusingly the background seemed to shift from one location to another while the characters remained the same One moment there were three figures standing next to a pond that burned with the same sapphire hue that currently suppressed Randidly Then the next they stood in a great hall with strange angular banners flapping along the high pillars to an invisible wind

In the final shift there was suddenly a blurry fourth figure The features of this new figure were completely fuzzed away by the ancient memory but in its hands was a long dagger pointing at its heart In the third shift the three other individuals stood upon an outdoor marble staircase with the dagger wielder near the middle

Then the shift continued

The three figures that appeared in all three of the images were similarly blurry but they at least spoke in distinct rumbling tones that differentiated them The first figure stood hip deep in the sapphire pond in the first scene with tears streaming down his cheeks In the second backdrop he sat at the far end of the great hall on a wooden chair upon a dais Finally he kneeled at the base of the staircase in that strange scenario sporting a fourth player

The second figure watched then first weep with his arms crossed In the great hall the second figure was strung from the rafters a grey liquid dripping from the chains around his body On the staircase he stood halfway up only a single stair above the mysterious fourth figure looking down at the kneeling figure