LoRG 5

It does look like the tethers are a bit stronger but other than that

What do you want to talk about RandidlyÆs tension steadily climbed From the patterns the small boy released he could tell how difficult it would be for him to win in a fight against this Nether King Especially with his power restricted

The boy raised his fingers and started tracing loose patterns that became Nether Rituals almost accidentally as they drifted from his active digits Little prayers for luck warmth and happiness tucked themselves into the substance of the walls We want the same thing do we not Mr Ghosthound For the reign of the NexusÆs current ruler to come to an end For the parallel universe to return to the main one without the isolated space collapsing with so much force even the strongest of us are annihilated

The Nether King in his younger body pointed at his chest I have information but I do not have access to the upper Sonara like you do your actions have demolished its connection to the outside world You will likely be the first and last person to move through this pointlessly maudlin effort here And doing so with purpose will be very important

Why Randidly asked

There is only one way to defeat Elhume in his current form The Nether King looked Randidly straight in the eyes His eyes still had that almost hypnotizing sense of depth To have at least tasted the Pinnacle Without that piece the foe is invincible And as I always assumed the Path to the Pinnacle is blocked Not just with defenses but it is legitimately a dead end the portal that opens to assist in the ascent is a trap

Sounds like Elhume Randidly said shortly Then he frowned Does this mean he somehow prevented anyone from being able to ascend to the Pinnacle

That would be impossible The Nether King said Some things are inevitable just as someone like you was If the Path to the Pinnacle was entirely blocked another path would form it is the way of the universe So it is much more likely that the true Path to the Pinnacle is hidden somewhere else within the Nexus Considering the timeline there may be some clues in these memories So track down Elhume while you are passing through the layers and see if you can learn anything

And attract his attention That put RandidlyÆs teeth on edge

The Nether King smiled genuinely at Randidly his youthful features almost managing to cover up the monstrous power that currently inhabited him Heh You are unnerved by my presence here through my intermediary You assume our foe will do the same Well it is possible But I think you both underestimate my abilities and also the damage you have done to the Sonara The entire construction rumbles with the growing cacophony of fractious image fragments It roars above the Nexus a dying beast panting out its final breaths Without the fineness of the connection between myself and the past even I would miss your brushes with memories of me

Randidly just looked at the Nether King

The boy shrugged As I said I can do very little to convince you of my goodwill We both want a change I bring you here to say it will be impossible without at least locating the true Path You have long sought a blade to strike at the monster atop the Nexus I will be that blade But my own efforts to find the Path to the Pinnacle have been fruitless I need your assistance

Randidly stilled trying to judge the Nether King in front of him The patterns he wielded remained unfathomable and complex so simple and yet so meaningful Even through the frame of his humble origins his power and influence were obvious And Randidly didnÆt forget for a second he had been making deals with Don Beigon At the one he witnessed for a Nexus Citizenship Coin fabricator but he doubted that was the extent of the arrangements

Randidly was growing constantly stronger but there were a few remaining figures that still made him cautious This Nether King was one of them

If you reached the Pinnacle what would you do Randidly asked on a whim The question was the best litmus test of the Nether KingÆs intent he could think of

The Nether King laughed again but this time it wasnÆt the innocent giggle of a child This was an expression the Grey Creature recognized intimately the vicious glee of a survivor about to achieve his revenge I would slay the child Pine Or rather sunder the corpse perhaps We are maggots trapped in a corpse dreaming of liberation Randidly Ghosthound Do you not wonder what else we could be outside of the Nexus

Chapter 2088

Randidly just looked at the Nether King for several seconds after that bloodthirsty announcement Similar to being in the upper part of the Sonara just being near this powerful figure felt like standing in the current of a river It pressed against you constantly threatening to unmoor you and drag you away The force of his will tugged even at Randidly Ghosthound

The Nether KingÆs leering grimace vanished but only because he brought his small hands and covered up his twisted mouth Behind the fingers Randidly could occasionally still see teeth Apologies IÆve had a lot of time to consider this from when I was imprisoned within the patterns About this opportunity to escape I have too much intensity Even my patterns begin to warp before that much emotion Ahem but I do have two other gifts for you before you go

The first is a pattern IÆve been working on The Nether King extended a small and dirty hand A dazzling prismatic crystal spun slowly above his palm As Randidly watched The various extensions gleamed and drew new connections to each other the previous positions gradually fading It shifted near constantly becoming a new even more complex crystal with each shift The stark and harsh shape drew the eye I was attempting to condense a second Penance to increase my power beyond my current limit I had hoped I had hoped that my own suffering would have been enough to rival our opponentÆs understanding of the Pinnacle But I did not have the space inside of myself to host another Penance

Randidly watched the shifts in the crystal What would this have sacrificed

The Nether King blinked at RandidlyÆs question Then he revealed the childish version of his smile dropping his hands away Ah you know of Penances eh This particular one would have given up my emotions Perhaps it would have crippled me but

The Nether King refocused on the crystal Obviously treat it with care isolate it however you feel necessary to be safe Even I would not easily trust such an arrangement of significance But I promise you this does contain some of my more recent and profound insights into Nether I believe it will be valuable to your growth

Randidly remembered the actions of Solomon Rex giving him a Penance where he would pay the price and the other man would secretly receive a benefit Yet still even looking at the crystal he could see the gleaming secrets it held Releasing a long breath Randidly extended a hand and took the powerful object

The second gift is a bit of information I remember from my childhood The Nether King continued He gestured at his small body Obviously I was too young and weak to be allowed near any of these important events And later I was too poor to be in the locations that received reprisals from the Aether forces but you want to find a way to a city called Malloon in the memories And in the next few layers It was one of the greatest seats of Aether power A center of commerce and culture home of the most powerful Aether Council in existence And it would be the sacking of Malloon the war that followed the slaughter at Wyndaos those would reveal the spirit of the age And create your predecessor who Elhume would need to slay

Randidly frowned My predecessor

The Nether King shrugged It is a slightly morbid truth but I will offer it Once one has reached the Pinnacle there is drag for others to join you Like calls to like Strange cosmic forces begin to push for others Some would call it karma but I believe it is more like a breeze from a rip in a tent Others will feel the force and find the way I believe very strongly that you have brushed against this Pinnacle seeking breath

Anyway your predecessor The early years were rough for Elhume due to his incomplete ascension Which is why the First and Second Cohorts were such chaos when individuals saw the alternate universe as a second chance and not the slowly collapsing tomb it has turned out to be Soon within these memories you will meet the great villainÆ of the Second Cohort The one who so warped the world the Hierarchy of Karma needed to be found and used to slay them A being of Aether and Nether in equal measure You could learn much from them IÆm sure But it is also dangerous

Our enemy is distracted currently with his own plans and the chaos of the SonaraÆs fall But this being will not be If you attract their attention you will most likely encounter them Visitt for the latest updates

And there is a chunk of this individual held below in the Sonara Randidly licked his lips and refocused It was good to be warned about that danger ahead of time But you are saying that I have an inherent connection to Elhume just like this individual One pulling me toward him

Ha No child The Nether King shook his head The patterns around his body began to fade The depth receded from his eyes his consciousness departing Never Elhume Remember your foe is simply the one who currently occupies the incomplete throne

No the like that calls to you the one pulling you the one who created the monster of the Second Cohort is PineÆs corpse The breath is from the child a dead remnant seeking to restore the universe to its rightful wholeness

Being restricted to not possessing a Class while they play professional Hobfootie obviously shortens their lives but when you consider the money they can bring to their families I think itÆs not such

What do you mean IÆm always making you out as the villainÆ Shit Lylla can we not do this here LetÆs wait until we get home

Okay but emphasizing Classlessness clearly enforces socioeconomic differences does it not

Just the pageantry of it all

No No IÆm not going to wait Your blood brother said right to my face that I wasnÆt very nice

Not at all If they wanted to change their economic situation they should train harder Or pledge themselves to a larger affiliation with growth potential Many of the more dominant races are searching for valued subordinates Take the Peregrine Serpents or the Many Tailed Foxes

yet you didnÆt even defend me All you say every time I bring it up

You and he just have different definitions of niceÆ

Now you sound like a fool Obviously these subordinate affiliations are predatory contracts Any wandering warriors who sign on will be used as fodder and then cast aside

Exactly Different definitions of niceÆ And you know what Iyork You know what IÆm hearing That you and your brother have a definition of nice doesnÆt apply to me Right Is that right What about me isnÆt nice Just fucking say it to me if you think so At least your brother had the balls

Randidly pursed his lips almost all of the conversation on this side of the hall became dominated by the fight between the arguing couple Both had scaled arms and feathers sticking out of their elbows and shoulders She glared at him with dark eyes daring him to say anything The man stood with his mouth open eyes bulging He had started the process of responding but couldnÆt find a safe way to proceed

The silence doomed him just as surely as speaking would have

Hmph The woman finally snorted and turned away heading for one of the side passages On her way she stomped up to a gathering of two servants swiped five flutes of champagne off their trays finished them all and tossed them to the ground so they loudly shattered into pieces Everyone in the surroundings even Randidly very pointedly did not look at her or the man she left behind as she walked away

Randidly politely took a sip of his own flute To his surprise it was much better than he had had previously the liquid bubbled and fizzed to nothing on his tongue leaving a vaguely pleasant taste in its wake

A few minutes later filled with more meaningless discussion about Hobfootie a man brought a small fork against his glass on the opposite side of the hall He strode out onto the dance floor with a wide smile on his face Ahem ahem may I have everyoneÆs attention I think itÆs time for me to introduce the man of the hour for whom this party is being held MalloonÆs new Under Secretary Drane Swacc

Chapter 2089

RandidlyÆs pupils dilated and he watched Drane Swacc walk out of the dance floor to polite applause Even the man nearby who had been complaining about how ostentatious the event was brought his hands together An instant dislike emerged in his chest

Drane Swacc was a smiling slender young man with thick glasses He quite looked quite undersized in his robes which included a heavy sash covered with Engravings Perhaps it was a sophisticated design for the age but the Engravings crammed onto the sash looked messy and superfluous He was young too age was a difficult concept to grasp for the Nexus but he was probably younger than the current Randidly

This possible progenitor of the Swacc Family looked a lot less humanoid than his descendants His limbs and neck were long and bony perhaps almost double the length of RandidlyÆs own His face was pinched to give it an almost insectoid quality The movements of his limbs were twitching and quick His orange and luminance eyes made him seem like a cave dwelling scum dragged out into the sun

Randidly acknowledged that perhaps some of the color of his response was bitterness over his history with the Swacc Family Not only had Ileot Swacc made his time on the frontlines hell but his early days in the Nexus were dogged by the antagonism from the Family They had sent individuals to Expira before it had been safely protected inside the Alpha Cosmos Shal had his spirit broken under their ministrations before they offended Elhume at the wrong time and vanished

Head of the merchant family huh Randidly sniffed But his image isnÆt weak either Strong even for the modern day As strong as Wick

Despite his spindly physique Drane Swacc possessed a resonant and warm voice His words spread out from the dance floor and seemed to reach every corner of the hall Friends and business partners thank you so much for attending this small congratulatory party Looking around and seeing so many of my closest supporters brings me so much joy Together united with one purpose in mind we are so so strong And let me promise you something

Drane tightened a hand into a fist and raised it However his sickly thin limbs made the gesture appear vaguely sharp as though he held aloft a knife Unlike the many thankless individuals that have been corrupted by their presence on the council I will not forget the platform I used to get there And that means creating a strong central authority in Malloon just like I promised so we no longer need to cower inside our walls from the Nether Raids Aether forces are by far more numerous and more capable than our foes we simply get too distracted by petty concerns to unite against the Nether threat But I will never allow my focus to waver

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed and flicked sideways to track movement noticing what was about to happen before it did Across the ballroom a squat individual with smooth slimy skin pushed one of the wait staff in the small of the back It was a sharp brutal gesture So just as Drane built momentum through his oration a few champagne flutes came crashing to the ground

Drane SwaccÆs horrifying orange lantern eyes hummed and snapped to the source The crowd paused and pivoted to look following his lead Gasping the server began to splutter Sir I IÆm sorry

Armel Drane Swacc spoke with the frosty hiss of sleet off a glacier His eyes were very still as he considered the unfortunate individual A very obviously fake smile came across DraneÆs pinched features You and your family have served me for a long time Because of that this mistake is obviously a small matter For now please go back to my study and rest a bit it seems you are quite tired from todayÆs toil

Randidly felt anxiety radiating off of some of the other waitstaff but they kept their eyes on the ground

Sir really I The manÆs eyes turned frantic He swiveled slightly side to side looking for the push that had made him break the glass at such an important juncture But the squat man had gone moving with remarkable speed out a side passage and leaving the waiter to take the entire fault

No apologies necessary Armel DraneÆs voice was gentle Wait in my study

Guards materialized around the unfortunate individual their firm expressions giving lie to DraneÆs requestÆ The waiter could only hang his head and follow along After a few seconds of standing unnaturally still Drane launched again into an impassioned speech By the end of it everyone seemed to have forgotten about the brief interruption

Drane Swacc ended his speech to impassioned applause and began to walk around mingling with the guests gathered to celebrate him

After wiping her nose the woman nodded slowly Um well yes The biggest of the trade cities Some of the closed enclaves can be bigger but they mostly house children and the elderly Almost a million people but that can swell to almost five million on trade weekends or when there is a Hobfootie tournament hosted by Malloon Some people say its the greatest city in the universe

Is that true Randidly asked

The woman let out a small and bitter laugh When shit people walk around a great place everything starts to stink

Randidly offered a chuckle of his own to that The tension eased and the silence continued for a bit Eventually the woman rubbed her eyes and sighed Sorry about earlier I just I donÆt know My fiance He drives me insane sometimes Like he would roll over and agree with everyone else but me I canÆt decide if itÆs just me or he just doesnÆt feel like giving me the benefit of the doubt

To be honest all of my attempts to form any lasting relationships have become rather pitiful Randidly sighed His mouth moved without him even thinking a part of him noted that probably liberating so much emotional intensity freed up some previously restrained thoughts In a weird memory environment it was easy to be brutally honest So take everything I say with a grain of salt But as an observer you donÆt seem like an individual who needs someone who just agrees with her

Of course I donÆt need that idiotÆs approval for anything The woman grumbled She pushed herself to her feet and brushed off the feathers on her arms Still there is such a thing as romance To have him even try to defend me to someone else would be nice Ugh honestly IÆm surprised You really havenÆt had much luck You are actually quite good looking Do you

The woman blinked several times Her eyes went very round as she looked at his robe Ah Oh You youÆre a Nether King Well I donÆt know much about the mating habits of the Nether but what are you doing at the celebration for such an anti Nether individual

The air chilled as a new arrival walked out onto the balcony I was wondering the same thing

Drane Swacc squinted at Randidly hands in the folds of his robe The garish sash continued to pulse weakly with inefficient Engravings across his chest Is your blatant presence a threat Or did you seek to embarass me beast We both know that would harm us both equally

Randidly just blinked with the confidence with which Drane addressed him And Lylla seemed even more bewildered than he Ah Undersecretary Drane We didnÆt get much opportunity to talk at the party but my fiance and I

Drane Swacc gestured almost casually As before his limbs twitched with sudden speed But too late Randidly felt the vicious undercurrent in the movement An image flared and raged in his stick thin fingers Lylla gasped as a burst of SwaccÆs image tore into her ribcage and pulled out her organs They splattered across the stone balcony a deflating lung skidding to the edge Randidly began to clench his jaw watching the woman sway and fall to her knees

By the time she hit the ground the remnants of DraneÆs image had obliterated her consciousness

Once she saw you here knew we talked she needed to die Drane Swacc turned away Anyway follow me IÆll give you what you came for

Drane SwaccÆs heels clicked on the ground as he departed the balcony For a second Randidly just stood there and watched blood seep from her body and light from her eyes Shock and fury warred in his heart Then he very consciously closed his mouth and walked after Swacc

His emerald eyes bore into the skinny manÆs back All his emotional affect simmered through his veins adding a small tremor to the memory What the hell do you mean youÆll give me what I came for

Chapter 2090

Randidly swept after Drane down into the bowels of the building tensions high From the view afforded by the balcony Randidly had known that the building was spacious However after a series of wide staircases and their spiraling brethren even he felt somewhat suspicious that they remained on the same property as they descended into a subterranean complex Hallway after hallway led them down only their echoing footsteps for company

All the while his fury percolated and compressed into something violent and needy His eyes burned holes in this manÆs back The brutal gesture capered across his vision over and over again He saw in DraneÆs strike and LyllaÆs collapse what had happened to Helen All over again he had let her be slaughtered by Wick He even stood right next to her while it happened

Drane paused in front of a heavy iron doorway and wrapped his knuckles against the metal Coppun get the door

The metal shrieked in protest as it was dragged along the wall to reveal an opening A head poked out stubby and slimy skinned It nodded to Drane and then less politely to Randidly before withdrawing into the shadows Drane glided forward into the even more dimly lit and grimy stone passageway Randidly paused for a second then followed

His emotions darkened for an entirely new reason He recognized this man it had been the individual who had shoved the servant Armel in the ballroom in the middle of DraneÆs speech

It was arranged then Purposeful A play to give Drane a public excuse to reprimand him Randidly clenched his fist so hard his knuckles cracked Drane Swacc How much of you is artifice

They began passing holding cells blocked off with rusted metal bars Randidly glanced inside and almost wished he hadnÆt The interiors were filled with small puddles of foul smelling liquid and indeterminate soggy piles of old robes As they proceeded more deeply the bars became thicker and the cells smaller The longer they walked the more Randidly considered the option of pouncing on this manÆs back and snapping his thin overly long neck

He didnÆt for two reasons First he worried that without access to his image he couldnÆt overcome Drane Swacc and would just shatter the memory around him before accomplishing anything Another chance to learn about Elhume the Second Cohort and the hidden Path to the Pinnacle would be wasted And second due to his new position as Undersecretary an assumed Nether King killing him would be complicated

The truth of history would be muddled by this very public assassination attempt Randidly felt disgust rising in his chest as he looked again at DraneÆs back His resistance to the idea despite the dangers was slowly eroding He heard his blood pounding in his ears With how publicly anti Nether he seems to be Shit theyÆd probably pin LyllaÆs death on me too

Here we are Drane spun on his heel and gestured to one of the cells He barely looked at Randidly sparing him a glance and then raising his eyes to the ceiling As agreed with the other Nether Kings they are yours for the correct price You did bring the price did you not

To hide his confusion Randidly glanced into the cell Within the shadowy dank air of the cramped passageway he hadnÆt expected to find two figures one an ancient Nether Herald so old his body was covered with wrinkles and his limbs appeared to have shrunken He sat like a tiny doll up near the iron bars of the cell where there was less standing water Even still Randidly could see the old manÆs hands were puckered and the skin was flaking off His robes had rotted away along the bottom

Deeper within the cell against the reinforced far wall a muscular Nether Warrior crouched in meditation His robe had ratted away almost to the waist His skin was a dusky maroon with black horns curling almost gently up from his forehead The water there was so deep his knees were invisible the bulging thighs seeming to spawn directly from darkness

With the skin the horns and the muscles religious individuals from Expira likely would have assumed this was the fallen Lucifer himself held captive for his crimes

He thinks IÆm here to ransom captured Nether fighters To pay for their freedom Randidly gradually caught up to the current situation Contextually it made a certain amount of sense Even if things were tense between Aether and Nether there were always ways to handle situations like this He looked back at Drane saying nothing He simply waited Because like everything else Randidly knew that Drane Swacc was not an individual who left things like this to chance

The silence between them felt strange as Randidly didnÆt know how to act as their saviorÆ but believed he might be able to obtain some useful information from them Nether figures even if captured for a while would have other insights into the Second Cohort Perhaps they might have even heard about the Aether forces worth being aware of

They reached the sliding metal door but Coppun wasnÆt there to lead them out of the compound Somehow Randidly sensed this was also arranged by Drane or at least anticipated A thousand small slights he would use against helpless targets assuming you were too weak or too distracted to notice and retaliate Perhaps he judged the risk of the group causing trouble less than the potential inconvenience he could cause Randidly just filed this information away in his growing list of reasons why he wanted to fuck over the Swacc Family while he remained within the memory

Grim Intuition found the closest exit and Randidly guided the trio confidently out Soon they ascended into a narrow tunnel that very clearly led out of the Swacc compound Quarters were tight the Nether Beast needed to hunch over to not scrape his head against the ceiling but he did not complain They quickened their pace so they emerged into a relatively clean alley five minutes later pushing aside a few refuse bins to emerge into the air

After scanning the surroundings Randidly turned to address the two Nether individuals He caught the fist heading for his face almost casually Blinking he looked at the burning eyes of the Nether Warrior The punch hadnÆt even been fast enough for him to notice it as a threat The aggressive devil struggled but was clearly just a Nether Warrior his physical capabilities were unimpressive Randidly felt vaguely stunned The form of the warriorÆs punch had been even worse than its sluggish pace it was much more a desperate prayer than a domineering haymaker

When the first punch failed the devil simply twisted back raised the other fist and attempted a second strike with the other arm Because Randidly still had his other hand his stance was absolute shit Randidly couldnÆt even muster up the tension to try and block it The fist hit his cheekbone and he felt the soft bones of the devil crack from the impact

Honestly he was somewhat taken aback the Nether Warrior was strong enough to hurt himself with his rabbit paw punches

You for hurting me IÆll tear The Nether Warrior hissed but Randidly drove a knee into his diaphragm He really didnÆt have time for this and it felt quite cathartic after having to endure DraneÆs disrespect for so long The rest of the contents of the Nether WarriorÆs lungs wheezed out between his lips as the muscle seized up leaving him to collapse forward into the alley

Randidly glanced at the Nether Herald who shrugged like what can I say ThatÆs what heÆs likeÆ

IÆm Randidly Ghosthound Randidly said to the Nether Herald I hope that in exchange for my assistance you will provide me with some information Nothing vital just the general situation where you are from etc

The Nether Herald tilted his head to the side I am Demetrius But please allow me the pleasure of knowing your risen name and I will answer any and all questions you may have

RandidlyÆs eyes glittered His lips twitched even as felt the connection to the silly name given to him by the tusked Nether Herald Somehow he knew this was the proper answer to give They call me Nether King Hungry Eye

After saying the words feeling them ring true in the air a small piece of thought settled into place inside RandidlyÆs mind Nether Heralds huh Perhaps there was more to their name than I assumed They quite literally announce Nether Kings Since he gave me this name it lingers on my significance I wonder then what that means for Nether Gatekeepers

Demetrius nodded apparently hearing the same ringing trueness in the name Well met King Hungry Eye We appreciate your assistance considering the standing offer is just for common Nether slaves we feared we would need to suffer for far longer before we could escape Myself and my grandson Bogart here are at your disposal

Randidly nodded then grimaced down at Sulfur who purred in pleasure at the Nether Ritual tightening its pressure against him urging him to strike The conversation can wait I have some unfortunate merchant to remove

Chapter 2091

Randidly walked to the edge of the alley to get a better idea of their position They remained in a relatively rich part of town albeit more middle class than the mansion studded section where Drane Swacc lived Fewer gardens more business A few people walked around in the nearby street so concerned with their own business they didnÆt see a Nether King in black robes poking his head out of the alley

Randidly scratched his cheek Part of him figured this would be easier to take off his robe to blend in with the average person but peopleÆs reaction last time had been just as sharp and demanding Affiliation mattered in the Second Cohort And without knowing what the various colors meant it seemed like a gamble to just make a robe in a random hue

He glanced back into the alley where Bogart was finally groaning back to his feet Better to leave these two here

Randidly paused as the Nether Ritual twinged again urging him forward His smile became wicked as something occurred to him Ah of course No wonder the new Undersecretary was so quick to agree to an agreement with a Nether King He will be the one pushing for higher security for the upcoming events to solidify his power And what better excuse than a murdered merchant in the heart of Malloon to justify that He will likely make speeches about uniting in the face of tragedy of not forgetting joy even during the most dangerous of times

Well letÆs see if we can disappoint him

The two of you are free to go I will not hold you here However if you want my assistance leaving the city and are willing to answer my questions you should wait here until dark IÆll return

We will be here Nether King Demetrius inclined his aged head Behind his back Bogart shot Randidly a vicious glance

Shrugging Randidly turned away whatever trouble they got into while he was away was their own business He would be annoyed if they ditched him but not too much so No one deserved to be locked away by a Swacc

With a light hop he propelled his body to roof level His feet touched the slanted tile covered roof and Randidly blinked He felt a strange sense of rejection on the roof that grew steadily stronger like the pulse of an electric fence The feeling was actually quite unpleasant

His eyes went to the edge of the roof an Engraving there flared angrily pushing him to leave as quickly as possible lest he attract its wrath Electromagnetic dimensional wall caliber resistance it was not but it was clearly designed to grab attention

Of course it took Randidly all of a single moment to understand the Engraving and remove the lockÆ that prevented him from being accepted even with only a fistful of Aether He scanned the surrounding buildings finding slight variations on the same defense in every direction The buildings in the area were all attached to small security systems Randidly felt vaguely impressed Even if a defense like this wouldnÆt stop someone truly powerful it likely did a lot against mundane burglars

For a few minutes Randidly examined the surrounding defenses and constructed his skeleton key Then he began to move rapidly across the rooftop heading in the direction indicated by DraneÆs Nether Ritual Visitt for the latest updates

He moved from the upper scale residential area into a shopping plaza Wide well maintained roads led around a series of heavy jade statues Along the sides were anthropomorphic badgers standing next to high stacks of raw lumber and ore for those who wanted to buy in bulk Through the wide windows Randidly could see the finished products being sold within undoubtedly at a quite hefty markup

Bringing his hand to his chest Jotem said I would know It was I who sponsored the malicious spineless grotesque necked poison back when he was still a whelp With an open hand I provided a job as an assistant and gave my ringing endorsement of his work when he moved to start his own mercantile firm And now

Jotem fixated on Randidly Now you An angel of death simultaneously unexpected and inevitable Ah the poetry inherent to your existence moves me even now even with my approaching demise

Randidly felt bemused to hear the tangential thoughts of this being while simultaneously feeling the struggles of the Nether Ritual in his left arm It sensed the proximity and demanded immediate satisfaction Sulfur enjoyed its tightening grip

The floating figure swam through the air graceful and effortless He descended in front of Randidly and spread his arms wide Clearly the expectation of death had him positively swooning with emotion Please no more of this dwelling were you also required to torture me before my fire was snuffed But as I was with Drane I will be generous with you I will not fight Do your cruel work and be done with it

He closed his eyes Randidly scratched the side of his nose It was strange that this man couldnÆt read the significance which very clearly indicated nothing of note would happen in the next few minutes He cleared his throat do you have somewhere you can go Outside of Malloon

The rain began to fall harder pelting the glass windows Thunder crackled with enough force to shake the building even through the defensive barrier around the city Randidly wondered how dangerous the storms were outside

What Jotem seemed confused but it got him to open his eyes again

Shrugging Randidly said DonÆt misunderstand why IÆm here Today is not the day you die if you wish to continue living All that is required is that I get rid of you If you have a place outside of the city well go there

His face creased with anger Once more his body puffed up Here I am baring my soul to you and you take the time to needle me further Do not give me false hope My whole life

You are an origin beast yes Randidly interrupted Based on the strange life energy he sensed out of Jotem and the easy mastery of gravity the man possessed he felt relatively confident in this assessment A powerful influential race even if you have fallen on hard times I have the utmost respect for you I have received quite a bit of inspiration from your fellows As such I would not lie to you All IÆm required to do is get you to leave

The Nether Ritual on RandidlyÆs arm seemed confused Its constant urgings loosened

Just a half Origin Beast but You speak with an honest heart and tongue Jotem gaped at him This I do have a small far only a short distance from the city If I am allowed to live the rest of my life there what can I do to repay you

Actually Randidly offered a small smile I was hoping you would let myself He adjusted his initial statement based upon the Nether beings he had rescued and a few others stay with you for a while What do you say

Chapter 2092

The ice cold sheets of rain had driven everyone else from the streets so Randidly and Jotem moved quickly without anyone glancing around and asking too many questions about the presence of a Nether King The rain pattered around him but otherwise the environment was oddly peaceful Even with his robe sticking to his skin Randidly felt wonderful the tingling rain helped clear his mind from all the interactions with Swacc

Weirdly Jotem seemed quite sensitive to water quickly beginning to shiver and sneeze every few seconds as though the chill pierced through his buoyant body Randidly glanced at him but said nothing Would be quite ironic if I saved him only for him to catch some sickness later and die Or even perhaps he infected himself with the poison image

On his arm the Nether Ritual tugged ineffectually confused by the developments of the last few minutes But as Randidly had noticed earlier it was a rather lazy construction The individual who had given it to Drane probably wanted to skimp pretty badly after interactions with Swacc Its edges began to unravel as Randidly followed DraneÆs careful wordings even if he didnÆt satisfy the spirit of the request

They made it back to the alley and found Bogart and Demetrius still waiting for them The grandson towered over the small Nether Herald using his large and muscular body to block the rain Both were pretty much soaked through Both gave Jotem strange looks but fell into line without much comment

For everyone involved it had been a strange day

At the merchantÆs direction they soon made it to one of MalloonÆs gates It also functioned as a massive engine hunched against the edge of the city inside the barrier creating the protective force to repel both enemies and the worst of the storms The gates remained wide open even in the inclement weather although Jotem had to walk up and speak to a guard to get the group waved through Perhaps due to their bedraggled look the muscular ratman didnÆt ask too many questions about the color of their robes

They passed through a narrow tunnel to get to a dark gold barrier Randidly looked around in fascination sensing the rather rough but extremely mechanical aspects of these barriers But all too soon they reached the edge and Jotem turned around Ware The fickle winds dance outside with malicious intent Adjusting to such worthy adversaries takes poise and inner strength

The Nether Herald nodded with a cheery smile while his grandson flexed and growled But Randidly put his hand on JotemÆs shoulder to stop him Let me go first and make a few preparations

Jotem seemed confused but Randidly just patted the half Origin BeastÆs still shivering arm The barrier parted begrudgingly as he walked through like he pushed his way through hanging chains But honestly it ended up being a good thing

Because it prepared him for the moment he passed through the barrier and the storm watching outside started pelting him with fistfuls of mud Spluttering Randidly wiped the dripping sediment from his face The world outside of Malloon looked inhospitable and squat the only plants able to survive were crouching little bushes that still swayed and distorted within the hands of the wild wind Precipitation came horizontally as much as it fell on top of him Dust constantly scratched at his exposed feet and ankles making him feel like he was in a sandstorm while also being drenched

The raucous noise was a constant grind against the senses as well Even more than the howl of the wind it was the constant grind of the barrier’s engine that made the surrounding air rumble As Randidly got a better sense of his bearings he could see a short distance away were massive exhaust fans from the engine blowing out acrid air and image discharge from the inefficient Engraving of the era

Randidly wiped a little more mud from his face The engines and the massive discharge definitely donÆt help the local environment But why is the climate here so harsh ItÆs almost like there is

He looked up and stilled in genuine apprehension Because there hanging far above beyond even his Grim Intuition could capture with any detail was a hanging sphere of massive significance Pine the memory version which hadnÆt yet collapsed in on itself to become that suffocated inverted utopia hovered in the sky and tormented the people below with massive shifts in significance Huge hurricanes raged in the upper environment due to PineÆs presence what they felt down here was just the dregs

Randidly tore his gaze away because he could feel something opening up in the sky from his awareness The horrifying modern Pine reached into the memory and began to widen his hungry maw attempting to devour the entire memory and everything within through Randidly Luckily he noticed quickly and kept his gaze fixated very purposefully away Gradually the connection faded The memory Pine remained untainted by the present In the chaotic seething others probably wouldnÆt even notice the shift

Focusing on his own position Randidly began using his small bits of Aether and Nether to adjust the surroundings He wove patterns of force to counteract the storm The small notes he could mobilize didnÆt resist directly but guided it into recursive flows around his body Soon an orb of rotating sediment blunted the worst of the wind and rain By the time Jotem poked his head out through the barrier it was positively mild around him

He would have died out here Did die here in the real happening of these events Jotem would have been killed by some other Nether King or one of DraneÆs lackeys And Demetrius and Bogart would both be stuck within SwaccÆs Dungeon RandidlyÆs hands clenched Aether and Nether raced each other through his body making his muscles hum This is a group that never would have met who suffered under Swacc in the real occurrence

But now I fucking swear IÆll teach Drane Swacc the lesson he never learned in real life RandidlyÆs expression hardened Even if its just in this memory The Swacc Family will not prosper

My liege Demetrius said gently tugging at RandidlyÆs elbow His condition is worrisome We cannot simply let him lay here

Randidly blinked away and felt a flush of shame he let his anger distract him from what was most important Behind them Jotem cleared his throat Ah I suppose it cannot be helped With the blessings heaped upon me by my lineage allow me to restore what

Jotem gasped as Randidly reached forward and unleashed his Fourth Authority The memory began to shake dangerously but Animation Nova bloomed out of his palm in a silver sigh Pure vital energy radiated out from his fingers sinking into ArmelÆs body The man sucked in a breath His ruined eyelids fluttered revealing the horrific wounds within

Once his condition stabilized Randidly reached out and pressed a hand to his forehead Yggdrasil moved as gently as it could creating energy roots to flow through his body Bit by bit earning a shudder through the memory each time he wore down the image scars left to keep the body from healing

Breathing out through his nose Randidly pulled back The memory was dangerously unstable right now but the work was done Armel was no longer walking toward deathÆs door He would soon heal

You are a great healer Demetrius whispered Quite impressive

Randidly nodded barely able to understand the words The shaking in the memory wasnÆt deteriorating it but it once more made it more difficult to understand the surroundings His Nether Core revved but it wasnÆt enough His shield blocking the wind began to collapse Rain and mud fell harder soaking them all

He picked up ArmelÆs body and looked at Jotem Lead on

Actually Jotem blinked and peered beyond Randidly further down the side path I do believe these walls were carved by my hands How strange To think a body would be coincidentally here upon my doorstep Follow me before the storm sends it wrath to harry us

From ArmelÆs position it took them only two minutes to reach JotemÆs farm

Randidly could see it as he stepped out of the trench and saw a low building squatting between two rocks the Grey Creature still rabidly furious inside of him Having gotten RandidlyÆs word he would handle the issue of Jotem Drane Swacc had walked back to Coppun and ordered him to dump the wounded Armel in this very stretch of trench Because other than Jotem who would come here The body wouldnÆt be discovered for a long long time

Long enough for the mud to claim it The servant Armel will have been forgotten Drane SwaccÆs crimes would be buried by the constant storms

Randidly bared his teeth at ArmelÆs unconscious form He would not have shown such an expression if he were conscious likely it would have scared the man to death I wonder what you know that had him so decisively seek to get rid of you

Chapter 2093

When they made it inside the small building everyone needed some rest before they would discuss their next steps Jotem pulled water from the well and offered them all patties made of Ara Fruitmeal Everyone but Randidly declined and Randidly wished he had as soon as he had taken a bite The nuts had a very pungent taste something almost like citrus that refused to leave his mouth even after washing it out thoroughly with water

On a more positive note JotemÆs farmhouse was relatively spacious He took his own bedroom laid Armel upon the kitchen table led Demetrius and Bogart to his study and finally brought Randidly around to what he called his spare bedroomÆ but was definitely a dusty and empty storeroom with a small pallet Still it was enough for everyone to have their own rooms

Everyone separated to consider their own troubles Finally alone Randidly meditated He allowed his mind to go black for the churning awarenesses to go slack

Gradually the shaking of the memory stopped His Nether Core continued to rev in fixed intervals giving him access to marginally more of his energies He hummed tunelessly inspecting his inner situation He retreated into his mental area and physically hacked his way through more Grey Creature clones that had been steadily building up over the past few days

Compared to fighting one of the cores of emotion his efforts rewarded him with very little emotional potency But it did prevent a new core from forming like the self pity one had At the moment he didnÆt feel prepared to face one of the true sources of emotional chaos in his body So he came out of the meditation and stretched

ItÆs strange to think but I do need to be aware of my presence here possibly affecting the memory Especially saving these individuals Obviously they seem relatively unimportant on the grand scale but it would probably be best if I can keep them here on the farm to not affect the memory in unexpected ways

He went to JotemÆs bedroom and knocked After getting permission Randidly entered the room and found Jotem rather frantically looking through stacks of paper Seeing Randidly he gave an exaggerated sigh and collapsed on a nearby love seat Tragically this decision to come to the farm has led us to a new kind of slow death Obviously I never put much stock in this place perhaps even acknowledged it failed as an investment but I must confess to you if we remain here we are doomed

The well of lucre has run dry At this rate hahh We will be naught but paupers Jotem shook his body in a form deflated of air and good cheer causing his skin to flap around him in a mournful way The particulars of which are I assume of little interest in a man of your station and regal bearing Yet the yoke of the common man is ever present

Actually IÆd like to hear a little about the farm Randidly said Personally he couldnÆt decide if Jotem was just a fool for trying to set up a farm in a location with such inclement weather or there was no arable land not stricken by a near constant hurricane

Well I suppose if you are curious we have no option but to grant you satisfaction Jotem sighed but not in an antagonistic way He gestured Come See my plight

As they left the small cabin they passed the room of the Nether individuals Randidly gave the door a single glance within he could tell they were engaging in some recovery Nether Ritual Considering the size and delicate care with which it was made it could have only been made by the Nether Herald RandidlyÆs estimation of the frail old man rose by another few pegs

Randidly had a weird mental picture which he sensed was almost entirely true A charismatic and enthusiastic young man going door to door selling all these established and rather foolhardy merchants of Malloon in the wonders of investing in Ara fruit farms considering the rise in popularity of this befuddling game Hobfootie Hell it might have even been Drane Swacc himself He sold them expensive seeds supplies and promises of a quick return on investment and then vanished with their money

Isolated and completely out of their depth these merchants failed one by one too proud to complain to anyone but each other

Yet even the possibility of an Engraving is perhaps also surmountable Yet there is one more block to keep such a plan from even being born Jotem paused for dramatic effect Money How can a failing farm afford to reinvest into an expansion It is just bad economics

Randidly briefly considered spending his time in Malloon opening the first ever investment bank but decided it would probably be a waste of time Better to return to his roots and see if he could make some DIY improvements to the farming operation

He nodded ready to move on for now And the second crop

His body undulating behind him Jotem floated back through the few mounds with Ara fruit and to the front area of the house He gestured broadly to the messily cluttered front yard Carrots Perhaps you havenÆt heard of it but this root vegetable is extremely hardy

I have seen carrots before RandidlyÆs lips twitched He gestured to the garden which was sparsely populated with the distinctive top of the carrot stalk Why did you plant so few carrots And it looks like there are a lot of weeds youÆve let grow in the same area

I have seen plants grow large with more space in my wisdom I only planted a few carrots and let them joust against the riffraff of the plant kingdom to grow strong On the triumphant corpses of lesser veggies my carrots would have risen if not for the poor soil I have no doubt that I

Jotem continued to talk about his strategies but RandidlyÆs mind had already moved on He looked up into the wind wrenched air above the farm thick with dirt and other debris Rubbings his chin he began making plans on how to revitalize the farm

The plan will be to make this area profitable Spending time here will allow my Nether Core to rev further pushing my abilities back up to acceptable levels Also these saved individuals wonÆt interfere too much in the development of the timeline Especially since Elhume will apparently soon come to Malloon for a trial In the meantime I can learn more about the Second Cohort and refine my emotional affect

Antagonizing Drane Swacc will be an inevitability when he hears that JotemÆs farm is recovering he will investigate He will discover us here Jotem still alive Randidly grinned up at the sky and I donÆt doubt he will be apoplectic But with all those important events coming up for Malloon the Hobfootie Tournament the Trial of Elhume I doubt he will have much time to come up with a thorough plan to handle the issue

Randidly turned slightly so his gaze pierced directly through the storms to Malloon And believe me IÆm not someone you want to leave at liberty to fuck you

Excuse me Jotem coughed and collapsed onto the ground the violence of RandidlyÆs words making him lose control of the nearby gravitational waves

Chapter 2094

Having unexpected guests stay on his farm and being unable to provide a stimulating and entertaining experience was JotemÆs worst nightmare It featured heavily in several of the problematic nightmares that kept him from sleeping through the night After giving the Nether King a tour of the farm he retreated to his room to wallow in shame

By the end of the tour of the aspects of the farm the Nether King seemed profoundly preoccupied Undoubtedly he felt deeply perturbed by how simple JotemÆs compound was but was too polite to make harsh comments about it JotemÆs daydreams which had admittedly distracted him a little on the trip back from Malloon to the farm had featured the Nether King being so impressed by his hospitality that he invited Jotem back to his own home They swiftly became best friends both sharing a taste for the finer things in life

Jotem imagined the Nether King lived in a massive complex in the outer reaches of the Nether territory Everything was obsidian jade and gold on a moon without the chaotic environment that so afflicted him allowing direct looking up into the wide and gorgeous universe above They would sip glimmering liquors out of martini glasses and the Nether King couldnÆt stop laughing at JotemÆs insightful humor

Yet all that crumbled after facing the reality of his situation He had a small house slathered with mud and a few lumps covered in the Ara Fruit vin And his homestead achieved such a miserable visage while the weather was being uncharacteristically charitable Had it been a bad storm the Nether King would have had to eat mud in order to ask his questions

Jotem released his grip on gravity and his body sank into the swinging hammock on which he slept Who am I kidding I might be descended from an Origin Beast but I never knew my father IÆm just another abandoned kid unable to even fend for myself I got lucky And now that the luck has run out and IÆve spent my savings

A knock at the door interrupted his pity party Jotem cleared his throat several times to make his voice sound more resonant before answering Another visitor At this hour By all means I am simply reclining

Again the Nether King poked his head into the room Do you know much about which parts of the Ara Fruit are most valuable

Jotem followed the strangely animated Nether King his mood buoyed back up to cautious optimism the fact the Nether King came back to speak with him was a good sign In the main living area the still unconscious Armel had been moved to a very sophisticated but alien looking low couch On the table were several sliced Ara Fruits

Jotem pointed at the couch unable to stop himself This strange bit of elongated comfort is

When my home was redecorated my friend gave me several sample pieces of furniture to see which I would like The Nether King scratched his cheek casting his eyes around the interior of the farmhouse Obviously not a great fit style wise but I figure we might need the extra seats with us all staying here for a bit IÆll probably need to make a table by hand to fit us all Anyway I was looking at these fruits This portion came out fine but these black lines worry me

The Nether King pointed to half of the quartered fruit which had stark black tentacles running through the valuable flesh Jotem approached the table and shook his head sorrowfully Unfortunately the flavor of those pieces will be bitter and sickly A strange parasite infests Ara Fruit you cut these fruits into pieces yes You severed part of the body when you did that which caused the rest of the body to enter into a rancid state as a defense mechanism Many have tried to master the method but harvesting by hand requires preternatural fortune The impact from the wind picking up the fruit and smashing it to ground concusses the parasite perfectly Without wielding the same sort of thunderous shock

The Nether King pulled another Ara Fruit out of his interspatial ring For the first time Jotem noticed how strangely long his fingers were as he could wrap up most of the relatively large fruits His hands blurred in a twitching motion The fruit erupted in an explosion of pulp Some sprayed Jotem in the face

He couldnÆt help but think that the whole room would stink of Ara fruit for days because of it However this figure was his savior so he didnÆt say anything

Those are Arakis Beasts Jotem licked his lips The group looked sullenly over at the Nether King their eyes never leaving his movements Juveniles obviously but they are still quite agile did you let them bite you

The Nether King gave Jotem a strangely flat look Why the fixation on biting These little guys arenÆt fast enough to touch me Anyway Demetrius look at these patterns IÆve been working on So IÆll throw up short term Engravings and whirl them through the storms

Jotem decided it wasnÆt worth it to try and explain to the Nether King the complex history of the Arakis Beasts or their strict hierarchical play fighting that involved bites Because the proof was right in front of him the three juveniles were crouching down and just waiting there They didnÆt seek to escape they didnÆt try and steal the Ara Fruit laying around

Even more telling was the way that the juveniles stared at the Nether King The fixation most likely meant they had set them as their marks although Jotem had never heard of it happening to anyone but a mature Arakis Beast These monsters were incredibly intelligent and also incredibly adaptable And once in their life they could choose a foe to set their sights upon Their bodies began to work overdrive trying to bridge the gap between their capability and their target

Weirdly Jotem felt a strange pity for these juveniles

Demetrius ran his fingers across the papers on the table These are patterns Complex unfolding patterns across the whole of the sky Then this Ah Malloon Yes it is best to use them to absorb some of the wasted patterns but wonÆt there begin to be a troubling accumulation of these swirls in the next five years

The two Nether individuals leaned closer together above the table The Nether King grimaced Yes but I donÆt think it can be avoided Slower patterns accumulate for longer but have worse consequences And as far as I can tell this will just be a particularly bad storm

Empowered both with Aether and Nether That sort of storm will be more weapon than natural Demetrius observed CanÆt you use the friction between Aether and Nether to take care of some of this radiation

With my energy there is no friction between the two ThatÆs why we can get the efficiency in some of the parts here The Nether King pulled one of the papers aside and pointed to another pattern underneath it It ends up being worth it And itÆs not like many people seem to be spending time outside anyway And at least this way it will manifest as a peaceful period closer to the ground until everything collapses

Jotem turned and walked away from the conversation about which he didnÆt understand anything at all His renovated front yard looked oddly professional which felt like an insult He retreated back into his room For a while he returned to his hammock and rocked himself back and forth to assuage his anxiety

But then he flung himself up and strode to his desk He pulled out his best quill and began to write a letter

Salutations Fair Geyssia

IÆm writing to inquire whether you continue to have close personal connections to the Hobfootie industry After a great deal of toil and hiring a consultant IÆve gotten my Ara Fruit farm And I can assure you the juice from these fruits is crips and clear the flavor effervescent and soothing

Over the next hour Jotem wrote five similar letters essentially just changing out the names If the Nether King could really harvest Ara Fruit perhaps they wouldnÆt need to be as poor as he had feared

Chapter 2095

Over the next few hours Randidly and Demetrius poured over the calculations he had made for modifying the environment The pure challenge of streamlining the patterns felt oddly enthralling Randidly completely lost track of time

The crux of his plan mainly involved a rotating series of replaceable ScrawlÆd pieces of driftwood in the area around Malloon improving the situation for the entire area It would involve two circles one loose circle around everything and another that would be like a hoo la hoop if Malloon was the waist The smaller circle would spin around connecting a small area around Malloon to the bigger circle to maintain the broader pattern

Obviously there were some differences in understanding from the Nether Herald mostly because of his preconceptions about how Aether and Nether needed to interact as antagonistic forces As soon as those were cleared up their speed of refining the massive array increased by almost double Plus Demetrius offered up some truths about Nether that really broaden RandidlyÆs view of the energy

These were mostly aspects and truths that he had known intuitively and had been using in passing when he made Nether Rituals but once the different interactions were consciously known it really expanded the possibilities of incorporating them into his arrangements In the end the final result was entirely different from his initial attempt except for the rotating circle within the larger circle All the functional pieces were shifted out to create a more sustainable working

I had heard of some individuals making attempts to work with both Aether and Nether into patterns but I considered it largely to be rumor Or an endeavor doomed to endless frustrations Demetrius said as he sat back and looked at the massive diagram they had created together The lines and connections densely crisscrossed the page To see this perhaps it is not true that Pine has already seen all our attempts to improve our lot

RandidlyÆs lips twitched slightly at the colloquialism but he didnÆt comment Demetrius continued to speak pointing to a few points of inflected radiation on the paper where a collision produced a wave of disruptive force I do have one question however Why did you include these I can see the fulcrums shift to stay in the area around the farm but what purpose do they accomplish

Ah those arenÆt really about any particular pattern They are about the farming Randidly glanced upward very purposefully keeping his gaze away from the relatively mild Pine of the past so he didnÆt trigger another demanding grope from the Pine in the present Pine being up there releases a lot of image fragments and chunks of significance that fall with just as much frequency as the rain Our bodies naturally annihilate them but they can lodge themselves in vegetables Small things but those flaws and conflicting half ideas can create an inferior product These bursts are to disrupt and disintegrate those image fragments Of course IÆll do some of my own sweeps but the more refinements the better the result will be This will run interference on anything falling down here in the first place

Fascinating Demetrius tilted his head to the side You I mean no disrespect but you know quite a bit about farming for a Nether King I would not have expected it Most Nether Kings are primarily concerned with either war or their own particular significance

Randidly grinned I donÆt mind itÆs true Farming is actually one of the first things I remember about the System It helped me adjust during a very difficult time And truth be told IÆm not like most other Nether Kings IÆve encountered

He organized the papers with some quick movements and stored them away Jotem burst through the front door of the farm a fussing cloud of officious motion He quickly floated across the yard to a strange squat waist high stone pillar Randidly had noted while he revamped the farm but had left be due to the presence of some Engravings on it

Jotem produced five cream colored letter envelopes with a flourish Then he began to fiddle with some of the symbols on the side The stone pillar activated with a clicking sizzling hum Small sparks of discharge expended themselves in the air around the pillar Randidly looked up a small frown coming across his face the horrible static from this thing was throwing off the delicate balance that gave them a sunny day without any rain

Just wait Jotem He said walking forward and waving a hand to cut off the EngravingÆs power supply before it could ruin the balance further The half Origin Beast looked at Randidly in shock but remained silent as Randidly began to draw lines of Mana with his fingers He grimaced as he examined the innards of the pillar it used the same horribly inefficient energy transfer system that Padraic had in the other memory Apparently shitty energy transference was just part of the Second Cohort

He produced a map and Randidly examined it quickly Blue for Nether controlled areas orange for Aether Two thirds of the map was Nether with a few stacked triangles of land in the bottom right corner belonging to Aether Randidly found Malloon along the Southwest portion of the Aether territories He scanned the map but did not see Wyndaos anywhere Which he supposed made sense because it was a moving fortress

He was about to give the map back but something gave him pause There in the Northern portion the Northernmost tip of the Aether territory he found the name Tatem The location of the first memory

He thought about the small Padraic and the innocent version of Devick sold by her father to save the town He hoped those memory versions of them had faired well cut off in their alternate dream

After a moment where his heart squeezed with nostalgia he handed the map back Can you tell me about the treaty between Aether and Nether The one that requires me to wear these robes and to represent my affiliations

Hum I know a little I believe it started about five years ago One of the councilmembers of this very city Faelmac Westrisser had enough of the constant raids from the Nether around MalloonÆs territory He gathered up a force and crusaded out here to Uwittin Demetrius indicated a city on the map within the Nether territories His expression grew heavy What happened there is a matter of great debate He and his army claim the entire city resisted Which seems unlucky What is not disputed is that not a single Nether soul survived The bodies were left hacked to pieces because of the chaos of battle they say Westrisser had no choice

Randidly also stilled He could feel the chilling emotions that Demetrius released He had clearly lost someone in the battle

The old manÆs mouth worked silently for several seconds revving up to handle words again Ahem anyway the other Nether Kings were furious but it also made them finally acknowledge the power of Aether forces They entered into a treaty essentially outlawing the wholesale slaughter that occurred in Uwittin on both sides As a counterdemand the Aether forces brought up the issue of robes Considering it petty and easily done the Nether Kings agreed

Yet since then it gradually became apparent that the robes were not about Nether at all it allowed the established powers and races to crack down on independent forces within Aether territory The upcoming trial of the man Elhume is also related to this Demetrius pointed to the Northern portion of the Aether territories including Tatem This area has recently started allowing individuals to walk around without robes Malloon and its allies claim this endangers the treating hence a reckoning is necessary The Fistmaster comes as their representative

Randidly allowed air to hiss through his teeth He tried to find the pieces he was looking for to understand how this past would lead to a tumultuous end to the Second Cohort And well forgive me for being blunt But do the Nether forces hold a grudge for Uwittin Do you believe that a massive invasion is coming

Demetrius sighed It is somewhat embarrassing to admit but no For all the horror of the aftermath Westrisser did slaughter the entire city which was ruled by only the one Nether King The other Nether Kings of similar power might feel threatened by this but they do not have a vendetta against the Aether They are too concerned about their rivalries amongst each other Which I think is the reason why there hasnÆt been any massive war between the two forces both are more concerned with infighting

Randidly nodded slowly but his mind raced Then why am I here Why did Elhume want to dream of the past differently Is something massive about to happen to trigger the war Or is this more about that monster that needed to be put down with the Hierarchy of Karma

He filed those thoughts away and released a breath Alright I have one more question for now although it might sound strange What is it that Nether Gatekeepers guard

Demetrius released a dark chuckle Ah So you do know some things about your people Nether King Hungry Eye You just havenÆt seen it for yourself

Chapter 2096

Demetrius turned away and looked up Not at the hole in the sky created by RandidlyÆs meddling but at the stormy clouds that circled like grey fluffy wolves Randidly didnÆt press allowing him to gather his thoughts

You know Nether Gatekeepers donÆt exist in the main universe Demetrius began slowly They were a role created within the isolated universe To guard well even I donÆt know the details A massive gathering of significance one to rival the power of Pine A counterbalance made of memories to restrain his influence Occasionally Nether Kings interact with what is held there but for what purpose I do not know If you wish to know more you will need to go to Wyndaos yourself As a Nether King even without a Penance that is your right

Randidly mulled that over Considering the origins of the Nexus was more widely known at this time it made sense for Nether forces to make preparations against their environment But what exactly where they doing remained a mystery He looked again at Demetrius who still faced away from him

He suspected the old man knew more than he said but didnÆt press him Part of it was out of respect and part of it was because Randidly sensed he would find out in time what the true role of the Nether Gatekeepers were

Thank you for answering Randidly finally said

Demetrius gave him a sharp look You do not wish to know more Perhaps about condensing your own Penance The strongest Nether Kings in existence Tricks to improve your Nether Weight even further

Randidly chuckled Well the particulars of condensing a Penance might be useful to know but finding my own path has worked out well for me thus far And besides the price I pay needs to be deeply personal Considering some of my own issues IÆm not quite ready to figure out what that is

Demetrius nodded For a while the two of them simply stood and looked up at the whirling storm Randidly could close his eyes and feel the wild significance in the sky mixing with the radiation from Pine and the Aether exhaust from Malloon and creating a chemical concoction that constantly simmered

There was a pillar of clear sky above the farm but around that the storms continued to rumble and spit The natural patterns of the wind and precipitation prowled around the edges testing the limits of RandidlyÆs patterns and finding no weaknesses Both simply observed the interaction organic patterns crashing against structure

The conflict felt oddly soothing

Their peace was broken by Bogart whipping open the front door of the farmhouse and stomping out into the yard He had to duck not to scrape his curving horns on the low threshold He seemed briefly thrown by the changes to the surrounding environment but soon refocused Youth made him quick to ignore what wasnÆt relevant to his current desire With a furrowed brow he stalked across the yard toward where he and Demetrius were standing Nether King Hungry Eye I wish to speak with you

Demetrius gave Randidly a mild look He sighed inwardly but kept his face even as he turned to look at the devil man Yes

Bogart stopped in front of Randidly and huffed out a breath from his nose The stench of this air was noticeable Then he clasped his fists in front of his chest His muscles were flexed showing through the rips in his robe I wish to offer you the privilege of teaching me to fight

I refuse Randidly yawned and waved a hand at the carrot patch IÆll be busy with the farm for a while

Demetrius kept looking at the sky next to him obviously even he wouldnÆt say anything if Randidly rejected such a lackluster request

Perhaps Arakis meat was tastier and more lucrative a foodstuff than Ara Fruits That threat would keep them in line

The devil looking young man flung himself to his feet looking like he intended to immediately dash across and seize the Arakis Beasts right now The tiny monsters no larger than a racing dog hissed at him But before the chaos of chase could ensue Jotem poked his head out the front door Mr Nether King Armel has broken the chains of his slumber And requires fresh and pure groundwater

Randidly glanced at Bogart Get the bucket

And you heard him Demetrius folded his arms within the torn sleeves of his robe and fell into step beside Randidly as they walked to the house Make sure it is both fresh and pure

When they were inside a distracted and vaguely affronted Bogart behind them Demetrius bobbed his head in a quick bow Thank you I will not forget this favor

Randidly waved a hand and both turned to the issue of the injured servant Jotem helped prop up Armel and the middle aged individual took several deep breaths still quite pale looking However the duo walking in the door made ArmelÆs eyes widen and glaze over with panic likely two powerful Nether individuals were not what he needed to see to comfort him right now

Please we mean you no harm Armel Randidly said slowly He released a bit of his Yggdrasil image but subtly Just to release an aura of warmth and growth into the room Almost visibly Armel seemed to relax under its influence His breathing slowed With even and unhurried steps Randidly came and stood by his side He produced a well preserved raspberry scone from his interspatial ring and offered it to him Here try and recover When we found you well

A terrible scourge had plundered your hands and eyes You must tell us which devil afflicted you so Jotem unhelpfully supplied At the memory ArmelÆs face darkened At that time Bogart stumbled back into the room with the bucket The recovering man gulped down a glass of water then sipped his way through the second one while nibbling on the scone

Finally Armel seemed ready to talk He looked around at them all fear and indignation clear in his expression I I donÆt wish to involve you in my business If my master finds out I am alive he will obviously I had heard some rumors about his tempers but

He blinked several times I apologize my story is a heavy burden I donÆt wish to foist upon my benefactors Thank you for saving me Suffice to say I was the servant of a prominent man in Malloon And for the most minor of excuses

I was there at the party Armel Randidly interrupted I saw We all know Drane Swacc and his vindictive nature We are not his friends

You saw For such a minor thing I was Armel shuddered I tripped but I swear it was not my fault

His errand boy Coppun pushed you from behind It was all arranged Randidly said He cracked his knuckles one by one watching shock and anger lap in waves across the manÆs face When those emotions settled he leaned forward Drane arranged this What we want to know is why Do you have any idea why he would suddenly want to eliminate you Did you see anything strange right before that party

Not right before but Armel bit his lip A month ago I was doing a special mission for Mr Swacc Trying to obtain a particular color of silk for the sash he had made I returned rather late and walked to his study just to drop it off but Mr Swacc was having a meeting by candlelight with a woman

All this to hide an affair Jotem shook his body

Armel waved his hands No no not like that Just there were candles on his desk But it was a woman recognized She is the associate of the Fistmaster Elhume The one they call Mae Mykna the Sword of Truth

Chapter 2097

Randidly sat in his bare and cobweb ridden storeroom meditating on the facts he had learned from Armel and Demetrius yesterday He pushed his Nether senses as far as he dared following the flow of significance Definitely the upcoming trial in a month would be an important point in history Tensions within the Aether lands were high Elhume himself was directly involved in the dispute

But what he couldnÆt quite figure out was how everything would happen

Randidly opened his eyes More than that I want to make sure I can break down Drane while IÆm here Give him a taste of his own bitter medicine But without knowledge of what exactly is going on IÆm not sure how I can do so

His Nether Core revved in his chest giving him access to marginally more of his powers Releasing a long breath through his nose he stood and walked out of the storeroom Night had fallen across this portion of the Nexus but that didnÆt stop him from working For now at least the farm was his primary concern It grounded him and gave him a way to establish influence in the memory

He would need it to keep abreast of the developments that he assumed would soon flood down around him Despite how unreliable Jotem and his connections seemed in the abstract

His daily farm chores began First he utilized the Stillborn Phoenix to cleanse any strange image fragments that had made it into the crop The hungry image greedily slurped up everything it could reach Then he physically blurred around the area checking for pests and weeds near the plantings Luckily the windy and rain filled environment made sure that bugs werenÆt any sort of problem But that might change now that he moderating the weather in the immediate area so he wanted to get into the habit of being thorough

The Arakis Beasts woke up from his movements and crept out of the small burrow they had made nearby Their eyes were curiously vibrant in the darkness grey purple and inscrutable as they fixated upon him Earlier Jotem had explained they had fixated on him to one day try and overcome him physically They had some innate Skill that allowed them to observe his actions and goad their body into mimicking it The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi( )

Randidly wished them the best of luck

He then proceeded back to examine the Ara Fruit plants in detail He was still trying to gather all the factors involved in the growth of the purple pumpkins so he didnÆt want to change anything without a solid understanding as Jotem had He considered the fruits along the mounds trying to look for patterns He pushed aside leaves and pursed his lips in thought

Halfway through he paused and headed back to the Arakis Beasts Hey one of you follow me I need a professional opinion

The three beasts blinked and then looked at each other About ten seconds of furiously tumbling snarling and wresting followed Randidly yawned and cracked his neck while he waited The victor raised its thin head proudly and trotted over to him while the two losers slunk on their bellies back to their small burrow

Randidly brought the beast over to the Ara Fruits and gestured around Is there a way you can tell which fruits are the best

The beast as though to ask if this was all he wanted tilted his head to the side Randidly nodded

Raising its narrow snout the Ara Beast scampered back and forth amongst the mounds Its movements were quick and efficient as it screened them all and headed back to Randidly to indicate its findings It took him back to the few Ara Fruits that smelled the most appetizing and sweet to it Randidly noted each of them it was clear the Ara Fruits that were tormented by wind smelled the tastiest Not that the others were bad but pressure and movement due to natural elements must assist in the fruit’s growth

Perhaps the parasites that helped the Ara Fruit develop also fed on its particular flavor The more time concussive force kept those parasites stunned the better

My father handled the planning but it was my hands that helped assembled Drane SwaccÆs current residence For a moment a flash of fear crossed his features Ahem Obviously we donÆt have the manpower for something of that size but probably doubling the area of the house wouldnÆt be a problem

Then IÆll find the wood Randidly continued to scrawl His eyes flicked around to make note of the changes

Carrots Ara Fruit Apple seeds he had in his interspatial ring when he came here Now these weird giant underground trees for lumber This place really was beginning to round out into a proper farm

His stomach rumbled slightly All he needed to do now was find some meat

Freewall Yuuryin squinted at the clunky energy display The assistant engineer waited next to him clearly extremely nervous After all the possible irregularity had cropped up during his watch shift He would be held responsible if it turned out to be a disaster

Freewall used his stubby furry fingers to rub his eyes He was incredibly tired Around them the hum of the engine generating the defensive barrier around Malloon was a constant presence It crept into the skin then into the organs before finally settling in the senses and rubbing them nearly raw For those who had worked in the engine rooms for along time the shaking became an almost constant companion even when they were off duty

Freewall Yuuryin had maintained the walls of Malloon for almost twenty years Only here as his body adjusted to the constant pressures did his vision sharpen He looked at the display one more time

WhatÆs your opinion Yuuryin asked

The assistant engineer squirmed that the defensive Engravings wouldnÆt react without a reason I checked the sensors and the internal mechanisms there are no deviations Nether is present in the environment

There is Nether in every environment Yuuryin squinted checking other areas of the rough mechanical display The new panels were better than looking directly at the internal systems but only just Energy outflow was clean weather was mild exhaust valves hadnÆt built up to too much pressure Are you saying there is a Nether Ritual in the surroundings Is a Nether King trying to hold Malloon hostage

The assistant shook his head No no That would be impossible

So which is it Yuuryin sighed

Perhaps The assistant engineer shrugged Perhaps the environment is just changing Nether content is rising Perhaps they have begun encroaching on Aether lands once more Slowly by adjusting the air

Yuuryin grunted this he could work with Alright IÆll notify the Protectorate Squads to be on guard Thank you for your work

Chapter 2098

RandidlyÆs days fell into a rather satisfying pattern while he remained on the farm

In the mornings before dawn he would rove around the property checking for image fragments and replacing the pieces of the climate altering Nether Ritual that had begun to fade He investigated every plant he stumbled across and checked on the new group of land walruses that he had found and wrangled to provide the farm with meat

Luckily these fellows seemed particularly non picky about their feed

Afterward he would sit and talk to Armel about the ongoing construction of the farmhouse expansion The rather dramatic Jotem had engaged in a heated argument with the impromptu architect about the scale and artistic influencesÆ of the additions but they soon fell into a silence close enough to agreement that Randidly gladly didnÆt get involved He had a few requests to improve the comfort of his own room but that was it

After lunch he proceeded to keep his emotions clean and refine his emotional affect for each of his images It was during that time that most of the Nether Core revving occurred as he gradually pulled more and more of his capability into the memory without the most minor of image manifestations shaking everything to pieces In essence he began to reinforce the memory to withstand his presence which was a slightly bemusing thought

Ever since IÆve become the Alpha Cosmos IÆve put on a few pounds Randidly patted his stomach in mock sorrow Maybe I should go on a planetary diet

In the evenings he discussed Nether patterns with Demetrius while watching Bogart try his best to chase the Arakis Beasts By this point the devil man had earned bites up and down his arms The little beasts snickered and snapped at him even when he wasnÆt trying to catch them driving him to furiously prowl glaring around every corner of the farm

At night Randidly refined his Nether further and unfolded his perspective to try and peer into the futureÆ of the memories The significance was heavy in the environment but he couldnÆt just drag out its secrets He accomplished very little but the habit of familiarizing himself with the patterns was useful Occasionally he contemplated what his Nether Penance would be but it was mostly just musings

He gradually worked up his nerve to return to the memory area and challenge his next core of negative emotion He kept himself calm and sharpened the Grey CreatureÆs hunger There were occasional growing pains but largely the image understood he was working on the issue

Eight days after sending out the letters a squat frog looking individual road up through the trench to the homestead Randidly had widened the passage considerably during one of his freer mornings meaning the pony and cart the man brought with him didnÆt have any difficulty pulling up in front of the carrot patch Randidly glanced up from the garden where he and Demetrius were bent over pulling out the forearm sized carrots

They both nodded to the frog and then got back to their work A few seconds later Jotem glided out of the newly renovated two story farmhouse in an intricate lavender robe that he had begged Randidly to embroider with jade thread Randidly wasnÆt sure about the color combination but the workmanship was excellent Oh Battywuck Please excuse my dress and the state of the farm we were right in the middle of the harvest Can I get you something to drink

Holy fuck Battywuck muttered as he hopped down off of the front of his cart and looked around The apple trees were saplings by now rustling only slightly from the constant wind The ends of carrots not yet plucked from the ground stuck up in neat rows A small paddock containing the land walruses was pressed up against the side of the house opposite the side with the major expansion The only clouds allowed through RandidlyÆs new patterns were wispy fairy tail white versions Obviously I noticed the calm season had come early to Malloon but this

Indeed Well I wonÆt get in your way Jotem fled back within the house Armel shot a worried glance at Randidly but ultimately did the same When he walked back through the mound labyrinth he was only followed by Bogart and the three juvenile Arakis Beasts Demetrius continued to harvest carrots despite the hubbub

Randidly arrived at the close side of the him made canyon right as the full grown Arakis Beast reached the far end It was a hulking beast the size of an elephant with powerful armored limbs Its forelegs especially had several curved spikes jutting out from its length Compared to the three miniature ones that lurked around the farm the eyes of this full grown variant were a dull red The emotional aura it released pulsed with aggressive violence

It noticed him and sneered The Beast opened its mouth and trumpeted out a massive noise that buzzed through all the Ara Fruits But in the end it was just a loud noise Randidly planted his foot and lowered his shoulders Then he accelerated blasting through the thin passage and releasing a sonic boom that caused all the hanging fruits to shake like Christmas ornaments during an earthquake

To the large beastÆs credit it saw and reacted to his movement it wasnÆt just size and armor It hopped back landed on its own massive claws and then launched itself back forward It had trained this movement Its neck extended and his jaws snapped at him

With a light drag of his toe Randidly spun his body and slipped past the bite He pressed a palm against the Arakis BeastÆs body to disperse his momentum The Beast grunted and raised itself up preparing to swing those armored forelegs Without much tension Randidly spun and brought Sulfur around to land a clobbering blow on its chest Not too hard because he didnÆt exactly want to kill it

The beastÆs eyes widened as its ribcage cracked After a few staggering steps backward it just collapsed onto the ground Its breath wheezed through its mouth as its two arms flexed ineffectually Randidly moved next to it and squatted down He clicked his tongue Now IÆm not a huge fan of loud noises But there is no reason that we canÆt live in peace eh

The beast nodded its head rather frantically

Randidly grinned down at it He much preferred the intelligent wildlife of the old Nexus YouÆll be in charge of guarding the fruits here In exchange IÆll spare your life now and feed you some of them occasionally Take your job seriously if any Ara Fruits are missing I donÆt care who actually did it You will be held responsible Do you understand

This time the best took longer to make its decision It blinked its dark eyes several times indignation and fear warring inside of its heart Randidly waited These sorts of situations werenÆt enough to disturb the fabric of the memory let alone make him feel any tension Eventually whatever it saw in his eyes broke its spirit It bowed its head and nodded

Randidly patted its side and inserted some of his healing image into its body to speed up the recovery process Good Take a day to familiarize yourself with the area IÆll check back tomorrow to see how you are

With a few quick steps Randidly flew back over to the near portion of the canyon Bogart was there looking at him with bulging eyes However Randidly quickly fixated on the trembling and collapsed bodies of the other Arakis Beasts All three had collapsed and blood leaked out of their eyes ears mouth and nose What the hell happened to them

Bogart shrugged They tried to imprint on your movement Their eyes started glowing and their innate abilities engaged But when you actually started moving one by one they collapsed Their bodies just gave out

Huh Randidly said He gave Bogart a flat look Well catching them now doesnÆt count Make sure they survive alright

Chapter 2099

Randidly opened his eyes to look at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom He sighed in resignation but still pushed himself up to his elbows he had known he would need to begin this process soon he just hadnÆt realized it would call to him

Perhaps it wasnÆt one of his four cores of negative emotions but patience had never been one of his strengths

Before he could move he noticed a doppelganger sitting at the end of the bed The other Randidly with pure black eyeballs smiled over at him Morning sleepyhead Did you think we would wait around forever for you to act against us Tsk what an optimistic soul you are We really are just like you you know we grow the most when our lives are on the line Giving us this time has only made us more powerful

The room shook as though the psyche born of emotion wanted to flex its capability Randidly scowled and hopped to his feet but his doppelganger just laughed and waved a hand Oh nothing can be done now ItÆs already too late YouÆve continued to focus your energy in some areas and weÆve taken care of others I think you will find you lose something quite precious this time And if you donÆt want it to happen again just back off trying to contain us alright There is no reason we separate personalities canÆt exist

With a growl Randidly sat bolt upright in the real world hyperventilating His brow was damp with sweat and a vague anxiety He reflexively released a massive blast of Nether into the surroundings based on the implied threat in the doppelgangerÆs smile and caused the fabric of the memory around him to begin to tremble Cursing quietly Randidly pulled back and attempted a more reserved search for the source of his queasy feeling

He scanned the farm and found nothing amiss He reached into the Alpha Cosmos and contacted the Pantheon to see if someone had been kidnapped from there somehow Yet it was not until he walked out into the warm sun and glance around at the farm that he realized what he was missing

He looked down at Sulfur almost sadly His heart ached Do you know what happened to Acri

The arm released a pulse of bitter negativity that hung around RandidlyÆs inner awareness like curdled milk smelled Just from that strange taste of rot Randidly knew what core of negative emotion he now faced

Envy had taken Acri somehow Randidly still felt the connection to the Soulseed but it also felt muffled As though he was only distantly connected and the doppelganger had a closer connection RandidlyÆs expression darkened A black bleak fury crept into his body as he felt estranged from the weapon companion that had served him well for so long

That had evolved again and again for him as he grew in power That had suffered along with him to transform into something peerless A Soulseed that he admittedly provided very little support and guidance He had long grown to rely upon Acri

And now this uppity ball of emotion He gritted his teeth

Almost out of habit Randidly flicked his wrist Acri did not slither up from his waist and straighten out to become his peerless spear The weapon truly had gone to exist in some other space

Demetrius found Randidly like that almost an hour later as he struggled to control the rising tide of suffocating emotions within him The old manÆs face creased with worry My liege Is something the matter

Randidly blinked himself awake whatever this core of Envy had done it had also opened him up to additional influence from the cores of negative emotion The current antagonist envy was obviously there and so was rage a foe Randidly would get to eventually He couldnÆt yet tell what the third core of negative emotion waiting within him would be but having these two foes identified was enough

Forcing himself to calm down Randidly spoke to the Nether Herald IÆm fine I just wanted to inform you I wonÆt be able to help around the farm today I have some internal issues I wish to address

Demetrius gave Randidly a long look but simply nodded and turned away from him Feeling a horrible cauldron of negativity swirling inside of him Randidly returned to his small storeroom He chided himself for so long allowing himself to be distracted by the abrupt loss With deliberate care he sat down cross legged and closed his eyes In a moment he had sunk down into the mental area

He swore to himself that he would not take long to resolve this Because feeling the emotions leak so easily into himself made him recognize another truth about this problem that plagued him they were not leaking into him not truly Randidly was just finally acknowledging what had been within him the whole time

Ace looked up and blinked as Randidly stood next to his table He offered a tentative smile Hey man seats are free if you want to join

WhereÆs Acri Randidly hissed

what What the hell is Acri The young Ace said genuinely confused Look I just thought

IÆm never going to be perfect Randidly interrupted speaking as much to himself as to the Ace projection Then again this core of negative emotion he could feel swirling in the environment was more him than anyone else Simultaneously I need to acknowledge my own struggles I need to to envision a life where IÆm not required to fight Now that IÆm getting closer I think IÆm losing a bit of my tenacity just because the future IÆm fighting for is becoming increasingly concrete

What Ace repeated The projection really had no idea what to do with this sudden monologue Unlike Sydney in the other memory this was just a piece of the past

Randidly slammed his fist down on the table silencing the nearby tables and making Ace jump I really donÆt want to play around with you like this Envy Give Acri back Right now

Or what Suddenly AceÆs expression widened into a sunny smile The facade fell away as Envy took over Look I get it youÆve had the privilege of everything belonging to you for a long time YouÆve grown comfy and fat sitting in control of yourself But you are larger than just one personality now because of your size you are going to lose some things Acri is just the first I assure you guhk

RandidlyÆs hand shot out and snapped around AceÆs neck A young woman nearby screamed A few guys in the surrounding area leapt to their feet adrenaline coursing through their veins but unsure what to do Out of the corner of his eye he could see several individuals raising their cell phones to record videos of what was happening

What a pointlessly realistic memory Randidly thought with caustic bitterness His fingers tightened on EnvyÆs throat

He leaned closer Let me say again what IÆve realized heading here to face you I am not perfect I get angry I get frustrated I make mistakes I never will be perfect even if I find methods to circumvent the worst of my own inadequacies new situations will prompt me to make more mistakes Being the version of myself I want to be is constant work

Exactly Envy croaked No matter how hard you struggle youÆll never escape

You are a fool Randidly hissed His arm trembled from the idiocy of the nascent consciousness inside of him I am not plagued by you I created you because I feared what possessing negative emotions meant about me This all goes back to my mother Because because it was and still is hard for me to blame her for how for how hard I had it as a child I buried and blunted the hatchet I naturally created to rail against her But the truth is

Randidly sucked in a breath before he could continue Security guards were rushing over in the memory

The truth is that I hated her just a little bit I wished she was better Normal like the moms of the other kids I wished Randidly choked off those words and shook his head A balding man with a taser was asking Randidly to calm down The strange unreality swirled around him He ignored it all fixating on Envy taking AceÆs form But I am all those negative emotions I am depressed and envious and jealous and furious

Everything you have will soon be mine Envy whispered

Randidly shook his head You arenÆt hearing me Envy you are already me You arenÆt an antagonism born of me You are me Which means you are mine

In one massive gulp Randidly swallowed the second core of negative emotion The Grey Creature cackled in glee while the Stillborn Phoenix rumbled with its own constant hunger

Chapter 2100

In a way digesting all that negative emotion was extremely difficult for Randidly The process put a great deal of strain on RandidlyÆs still wild emotional force Even with the energy he had absorbed from self pity it took more than Randidly had to cope with the sudden surge of envy through his body

All the emotions he had avoided digging into for so long came roaring back

He had grown up wishing for more than he had All of those feelings empowered by the mirrored emotions from those within the Alpha Cosmos truly grew into a threatening storm of negativity

But once he understood it was his already the emotional force wasnÆt antagonistic he could relax and simply let the currents within him gradually align this newly acknowledged energy It wasnÆt an invasion but the way he was He could simply remain and weather the destructive explosion No matter what happened all that clashing emotional force was his

He woke up back in his storeroom after several hours Tremors rocked his body from pockets of pent up emotion bubbling to the surface Randidly pressed his eyes shut and tried to focus on his breathing He squeezed tears out of his eyes unsure for whom they were even shed

I did hate her If she is alive I still do He leaned forward and pressed his fists into the ground I think the truth is neither of my parents were ready to be parents They were just people with a kid

Acri cooed at his waist consoling him and telling Randidly it didnÆt betray him He forced a smile on his face and stroked the spearÆs head with his thumb DonÆt worry buddy itÆs fine I get it Those parts of me were me too

He took another hour to gather himself up and confirm he wouldnÆt just start trembling randomly At this point his emotional affect had grown into a massive sea of violence The Grey Creature could no longer squeeze him with emotional turmoil because it was almost constantly having to refine all this emotional force and return it to a cohesive whole

Still he acknowledged that his precarious stoicism might collapse if one of the land walruses rolled onto its back and made a heartwarming face at him

The small smile from that thought didnÆt last long If anything it just made him more aware of a brewing headache Randidly huffed out a breath and then pressed his lips together He wasnÆt sure if it was the next emotional core reaching out and influencing him Rage or whether he was just tired and irritated after the surprise emotional uprising To calm himself down he got up and walked around the farm

As he was making his rounds by the land walrus paddock thankfully devoid of anything but the smell of walrus shit Demetrius walked up next to him Have you recovered Nether King Hungry Eye

Randidly twitched from the name but released a sigh Yes IÆm better Anything happen while I was busy

Randidly pressed his lips together An increase in efficacy for the energy Really

The two are synergistic when coming from the same source Neveah confirmed More than even I would have expected It helps that you function as a processing plant for both before releasing everything into the atmosphere

so a Path to check how feasible it would be to unite my two energies Randidly mused he looked at his Path screen and grimaced A Path that costs twenty thousand PP And what is it supposed to transform me into a genuine Shallah WouldnÆt that be what I would become if both energies were unified

You wouldnÆt be a Shallah Neveah responded immediately For the same reason that Pine was falling to pieces until Elhume and Yystrix created the Nexus to delay his decay Shallah would be perfect Maybe it would be more like an older model of engine just running with the newest fuel Higher efficiency but not a cataclysmic change of life force Besides you can afford the PP cost You arenÆt saving up for anything in particular

Randidly reached up and rubbed at his face Using advanced fuel in an engine can sometimes burn it out

Which is why we test it with a single Path NeveahÆs mental tone grew abruptly grave Look Randidly IÆve been doing some thinking I know you havenÆt encountered anyone truly powerful within those memories of the Second Cohort but that doesnÆt mean they donÆt exist And think about this ElhumeÆs body has been trapped in crystallized energy Yet he still maintains a stranglehold on the Nexus thousand of years later If you encounter him there that will be him in his most preliminary and from what we know about how the Nexus later develops pure hearted form

While Randidly mulled that over Neveah continued to send her thoughts To defeat the monster that has persisted to today who slaughters dissension and hides the Path to the Pinnacle we are going to need something singular A way to combine the energies might be exactly that

Randidly grimaced but couldnÆt disagree with what she was saying He had seen what Elhume had built while climbing through the Sonara He was now pushing through the secret upper layer a dream Elhume had about how the world could have been different None of it was raw power but he couldnÆt deny it proved ElhumeÆs capability

So just one Path Randidly sighed out loud to himself before sending his thoughts back to Neveah It does cost twenty thousand PP Does it least give out some good rewards

Do you even need more Stats Neveah laughed at him Besides you have quite a bit of PP just laying around wait whatÆs this secret thought I sense you trying to squirrel away Did you really intend to launch yourself through a series of Farming related Paths

Randidly licked his lips Well I donÆt like your tone when you think that But right now this farm is the foundation within the memory establishing influence in Malloon

Justify it however you want By now Neveah was mentally cackling IÆm just glad youÆve finally stopped to do something that makes you happy Have fun Randidly

Grumbling to himself Randidly opened up the Path screen and began to pour PP into this new Energy Harmonization I Path

Chapter 2101

Congratulations You have finished the Energy Harmonization I Path Your long Path through the wild frontier has led you to discover the balance of the two energies that have carved such a brutal history within the Nexus Aether which exists in shape and emotion Nether which lingers in connections and history These two elements paint the entirety of what lays beyond the mundane physical existence Upon their spinning wheels life advances

Yet what you seek in the unknown expanse is an atavistic attempt to replicate what has only been rumored of in legends to imitate the Shallah which produced both energies from the same source Such a task will not be easy and will test every speck of knowledge youÆve managed to gather thus far

But waiting on the other side is a reward like no other

Congratulations Making preliminary calculations experimenting with available energies integrating small scale experiments discontinuing obvious failures checking bodily strain remaking control group for experimentation discontinuing obvious failures attempting new integration methods calculating results checking for energy radiation discontinuing obvious failures

Expanding pool of Aether and Nether generating new streams of energy diversifying experimentation recruiting additional members of the Pantheon to assist in experiments discontinuing obvious failures

Running scans of Randidly GhosthoundÆs body checking for acceptable levels of energy radiation observing recovery time from energy poisoning considering likely countermeasures making environment adjustments expanding experiment pool discontinuing obvious failures pting less reasonable avenues of integration discontinuing obvious failures recovering mental faculties brainstorming other possible options

Expanding experiment pool even further zeroing in on small differences in result discontinuing obvious failures modifying environment toward theoretical ideal scenario

It was Randidly admitted to himself not a series of notifications that built his confidence in how powerful the result would be And more notifications kept coming Apparently there were quite a few obvious failures that needed to be discontinued For the next several minutes he simply sat there and allowed similar and negative sounding results to spoil out in front of him Eventually he grew rather exasperated and reached out to Neveah How long is this Path reward going to take

You can probably go through your farming Paths while this wraps up Neveah responded What I think is very clear is that the current starting position of both of your energy sources in incompatible with each other Finding a stable merging point would be best We will follow that line of investigation maybe have some better info soon I promise you this isnÆt easy

Randidly pressed his lips together but didnÆt respond His mood had not been improved by pouring twenty thousand PP down the Path and receiving only one free Stat every one hundred PP spent Obviously Neveah was right about not especially needing more Stats but the small boosts given to him by Stats had already proven they paid dividends

Randidly dumped those new free Stats into Discretion of the Apostate Moirae and then looked at his available Paths

Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 Creature’s Toil II 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Deathwish X 0/5 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 The CreatureÆs Apotheosis 0/25000 Piece of the Ideal 0/ Stat Evolution VII 0/100000 Determined VI 0/600 Excavator of the Two Failed Dreams 0/12 000 The Ash that Reigns Above the Open and Closed Sky 0/ The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ Herald of the Eternal March 0/10 000 The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/ Bubbling Emotional Accumulation I 0/10000 Wild Farming I 0/500 Invigorating Presence 0/500 Animal Handling I 0/100

Compared to the ridiculously massive requirements for the Paths heÆd been blazing through with his PP Tithe Randidly now looked at the most recently acquired Paths for his development Over the past week he had even developed a new Skill GhosthoundÆs Green Thumb which had already grown to Level 345 His original Farming had Skill had been consumed during one of his earlier transformations meaning he had to develop his own the old fashioned way Yet this wasnÆt enough If he was going to stay here for a length of time and sniff out the secrets of the Second Cohort he wanted to be an undeniable force in the farming world

You have developed a preternatural gift for understanding and viewing energy in its base form You have a deep intuition as to the purpose of movements within energy and their causes ItÆs easy for you to predict reactions between energies Utilizing different energies within tight bounds occurs more easily Negative reactions between energy are greatly diminished You have a special ability to convert energy from one form to another Effects grow with Skill Level

Randidly sucked a breath in through his teeth His nerves ignited in a blaze of light color and heat The room around him was a humming seething ant hive of activity as energy marched back and forth in a dizzying series of rivers Each gleamed and hummed with all the light and power of a lava flow minuscule in the grand scheme of life but just as suddenly blinding as though a cave dweller had been teleported to the surface of the sun

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 79

NeveahÆs thought reached him Your Farming Path actually gave them a bit of inspiration Everyone agrees the transition period for both your Class and your Nether Core is where we should aim for the next series of experiments right now too much is conjecture You should have received your reward in the meantime Like it

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 131

Randidly blinked several times The more he became used to the crimson and tangerine light in the room just around him which he belatedly realized was just the heat coming off of his body the more he began to sense life and energy in the farm at large The ground positively bubbled with the presence of bacteria and smaller plants all of which became burning firebrands of emerald in his senses

And once he could sense the area covered by the storm and felt the screeching friction of air rushing past itself spitting off bright globules of energy in every direction

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 200

Yup Randidly thought back at Neveah He rubbed the bridge of his nose Sensing his mood Neveah withdrew Gradually Randidly became used to the new awareness Or rather it wasnÆt a new awareness but a new way of viewing energy These were all energies that Randidly had been aware of in the past

Just now he began to see how they were integrated into an entire system The connections existed everywhere The old saying was correct with energy as it was with people no man is an island

Best way to get over an obnoxious new sensitivity is a good distraction Randidly muttered to himself He opened up his Path screen but immediately regretted it the small bits of energy that were tied together to create the System interface made him slightly nauseous Closing his eyes only helped a little but he kept them shut and pressed the button to add points into Animal Handling I Path

Chapter 2102

Congratulations You have completed the Animal Handling I Path You have begun to develop a relationship with the animals you are raising due to proximity and kindness Some consider the connection between owner and livestock to be no other than a transactional one However your experience allows you a deeper influence over them Despite the fact that you will someday slaughter them for their parts you treat them with respect during their lives For that they are happy

Congratulations Stamina +100 Congratulations You have learned the Skill Rugged Ranching

Rugged Ranching The ability to raise healthy and high quality livestock in strange and harsh environments Gives you an innate sense of the quality of the livestock and helps you assist them in adapting to their current environment Effect decreases with distance You have an intuitive sense of their needs and location Slightly boosts their rate of growth and the quality of their bodies There is an extremely small chance the animals will rapidly adapt and evolve into a new species Specificity of location and effect increases with Skill Level Chance of rapid evolution slightly increases with Skill Level

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 279

In a way going through the Path was indeed very distracting for Randidly At the same time it was not distracting in the way he wanted although he was slightly intrigued by the possibilities of Rugged Ranching in the Second Cohort No the Path completion became distracting because he could suddenly feel the way Paths work

From a huge pool of sky blue energy swirling within him grains flew out and began to arrange themselves into a particular pattern He watched it form growing larger and more complete with every PP he put into the path It wasnÆt a Nether Ritual and it wasnÆt an Engraving either The shape was fascinating Due to how small the Path was it quickly had assumed a profound shape and activated

The energy and pattern began to burn generating all the benefits that he received which he saw as a silver radiance settling across his body The Path was short so the energy light from it was extremely dim The benefit sprinkled on him was lost almost immediately amongst the burning inferno that was his own energetic body Yet there was something intriguing about the way the energy transitioned

That is how Paths work Individuals generate raw natural energy and Paths take it and process it into very specific rigid forms Randidly pursed his lips Theoretically it would be much more efficient to keep it in its raw state and use it as needed However even for the current me that would be an exhausting usage But what the hell was that pattern it used

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 333

Randidly refocused further experimentation and observation could wait until later

As his new Skill continued to rapidly tick up there was an interesting struggle to remain overwhelming First he gained Skill Levels and could gather more information He could see the light and energy in a larger and larger space Had it not been for how long he had worked with patterns in the past he might have been almost completely submerged in everything he now saw On the other hand he was rapidly adjusting For now he teetered on remaining somewhat overwhelmed Visitt for the latest updates

But as with all Levels Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances began slowing its rise Randidly took another breath settling into the new awareness of energy even in just the act of breathing He returned his attention to his Path screen now possible to view without feeling queasy and blazed through a few more related Paths

Congratulations You have completed the Cultivator of Nature Path You have developed the base tools to depart the beaten Path on your way to the Pinnacle and sculpt the environment into a more hospitable form around you The worst sort of areas become treasured environments under your hands Although this slows your journey you leave a legacy of warmth and development behind you

Not only do you release the signature energy of the Origin Beasts to nurture life but you also have begun to recover their unique knack for recognizing the correct sort of individuals to help thrive The efficiency of using your natural energy has vastly increased All creatures react positively to your energy The area covered by your influence has vastly increased Within this sphere there are layers of differing effects

In your immediate area all things thrive Growth is abundant and rapid In the area beyond that most living things are attracted Feed and aromatic flowers multiply and spread In the area beyond that wild mutations occur frequently In the area beyond that all living things feel a strange sense of natural contentment when they interact with the world

Randidly took another breath as he observed the rather large final Path By the end the cost had risen to five thousand PP to finish the Primordial Agriculturist Path which essentially depleted all the saved up PP he had been maintaining since the Alpha Cosmos Tithe However he could also feel a part of him settling into a new and yet somehow comfortable role

He raised his head and looked out at the world Works extremely well with the Skill provided by the Pantheon They framed the world as threads of energy and this awakening of my influence from Origin Beasts let me embrace that more naturally IÆm a part of this wide tapestry

He reached up and cracked his neck and then stood The world was still a gleaming neon wonderland but Randidly could accept that Perhaps it wasnÆt even a shift in awareness Randidly mused as he walked out to the farm Within the ground he could feel the burning embers of each planted carrot seed The rising apple trees seemed like bright proud spears of energy The land walruses released a warm green blue light as they hooted and rolled around

Perhaps it was better to consider the shift one that allowed him to appreciate the wonder of what happened all around him

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 399

Congratulations Your Skill Heritage of the Bountiful Origin Beast has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill Heritage of the Bountiful Origin Beast has grown to Level 50

Pulses of white light periodically spread out from RandidlyÆs body and radiated out into the surroundings He observed these waves of pure light sinking into the nearby energy threads and biting out small bits of dimness With each pulse the energy of each living thing in the environment was strengthened

The pulses weakened with each purification until they dissipated But as the nearby plants required less reinforcement the pulses traveled further and began to establish the various zones described in the Skill

At this rate it will take a while to adjust the environment to its ideal state Randidly scratched his chin Then he shrugged Well I wasnÆt in a hurry IÆll give myself a day to recover and adjust three days of shaping up the farm to incorporate all of the shifts then its time I visit the third core of negative emotion IÆve let these pieces of myself lay and rust for too long

Chapter 2103

Bogart panted and trembled looking down at the small Arakis Beast in front of him It hissed in distaste but just scowled with its small face It did not even attempt to bite him it wouldnÆt not now His hand lay upon its side covered in scar tissue from its bites but this time without a single wound

After struggling for almost a week he had caught all three of the beasts He had passed the Nether KingÆs test

You should train more Bogart found himself saying The Arakis BeastÆs hissing grew louder and more threatening so he let go of its body and stumbled back He wiped the sweat from his forehead still stunned he had managed it He had relied on them being distracted watching the Nether King all three times but he still managed to sneak up on them and seize them He had rubbed himself with mud and crawled through the dirt to ambush them but he had done it

Aside from changing their color the Arakis Beasts hadnÆt been improving much over the last week This the last to be caught had become a dusky grey color One of the others was now emerald kiss by flecks of gold and the final was black with a shimmering purple along it when it caught the light And in that space of aesthetic shifts Bogart was able to accomplish the Nether KingÆs tests

I did it Bogart told himself tightening his hand into his fists He hopped to his feet and spun around From the area back by the windy Ara Fruit canyon he sprinted all the way back to the front of the farm Grandfather I

His jaw dropped as he skidded to a stop Obviously he had expected the farmhouse itself to look more presentable while that guy Armel continued to tinker and add more space However what Bogart hadnÆt expected was that in his twelve hours of absence chasing Arakis Beasts that the yard exploded into a veritable jungle

Yet somehow a presentable jungle

The apple trees planted by the Nether King now towered at almost ten meters high with a thick bushy canopy of leaves They had grown so large that the top half of the trees shook almost constantly rustled by the winds that remained even in the mild season here Fat gleaming apples fell from the constant jostling ripe and ready to be eaten

Even more demanding of attention were the dull thumps of massive tails slapping against the dirt The creatures the Nether King called land walruses strange sluglike creatures that weighed half a ton and dragged themselves along with powerful forelegs had somehow doubled in size almost overnight There was a particularly domineering specimen lounging in the back of the pen large enough that it could roll sideways and demolish the flimsy fence keeping it in place and then the entire farmhouse behind it in a single fit of laziness

That wasnÆt the end of the changes The Nether King had seen fit to completely level the rolling hills that had been West of the farmhouse and install two sloped hills ending in a shallow V to block the worst of the elements from what now sat within Grazing within these areas eating small fist shaped cabbages growing out of the ground were Mistsilk Sheep Yet beyond even that addition what grabbed Bogart’s attention were the half dozen animals circling the flock and keeping any from straying

One perked up and glanced across the wide distance from the grazing field to the farmhouse and met BogartÆs eyes A smoldering and smoking tongue lolled out of its mouth for a second Sapphire flames surged around its exposed skull Apparently the Nether King had found and domesticated some of the bloodthirsty Bluefire Hellhounds known to roam the surrounding area From preying on weak travelers they had become common sheep hounds

He shivered but then Bogart focused This is exactly why I want to be apprenticed to him To be so powerful to subdue all these violent animals in such a short amount of time I need that That way Grandfather will no longer need to live in shame out here in these lands of Aether

He stalked over to the Nether King and his grandfather who were standing underneath one of the apple trees and examining some of the fallen fruit

The idea is to squeeze out the juice and then leave the sugar to ferment for a while IÆll sculpt some of the lumber cucumbers into barrels for the actual fermentation process The Nether King was saying He frowned I think my aura should have some effect on how quickly it happens but I canÆt really tell

Hm

Bogart froze at that small noise He clenched his fists tighter and kept his head down He understood what he was asking was unreasonable the Nether King clearly used the living spear tied around his waist to fight although he hadnÆt yet demonstrated his capability with it To both ask to learn his style of fighting while refusing to fight in the same manner was a marked show of disrespect Yet at the same time

Well IÆm not great at teaching but I think I can manage to show you the spirit of it The Nether King eventually said interrupting BogartÆs reverie and causing his head to whip up The Nether King gestured First though I need to get a baseline Do a few laps around the area Some jumping jacks throw a few punches

Confused but just glad he agreed Bogart did so By the end of the requested exercises the Nether King nodded Alright I basically get your limits For the sparring IÆll suppress my Stats down to match yours Take a fighting stance IÆll demonstrate to your body directly how to fight as the Spear Phantom

His skin tingling with nerves Bogart raised his guard He narrowed his eyes and watched the Nether King who stood unnaturally still opposite him Yet despite the danger he felt his blood beginning to pump If they had to rely on the same Stats to fight

Groaning Bogart opened his eyes The Nether King stood above him with an apologetic expression on his face Sorry about that not super useful as a lesson huh I forgot IÆm working with evolved Stats across the board LetÆs try this again IÆll suppress myself to about 80% of your Stats

BogartÆs heart fluttered as he forced himself to his feet Did he really knock me out without me noticing with my Stats

He took another fighting stance his confidence shaken The Nether King went still once more and this time BogartÆs instincts screamed of danger Without really even knowing why he scrambled backward the movement so desperate that he fell off balance as he retreated

Ha Good instincts The Nether King was right in front of him His hand shot forward toward BogartÆs exposed chest

Bogart planted his feet and brought his guard up if they were working with similar Stats at least he didnÆt need to fear a direct confrontation But while his arms were up no blow landed upon him Bogart went cold just as the Nether KingÆs hand knifed into his side

What a familiar fighting style The Nether King whispered stepping back almost a half second before BogartÆs clumsy retaliatory swipe His eyes glittered while the rest of him blurred sidestepping and seeming to fade from existing If you persist in wanting to learn this fighting method you will find your own Spear Phantom Mine has grown a lot since I first discovered it but originally it was focused on finding perfect timing and distance And to seize those from your opponent you follow their breath Right now Bogart

The blurry Nether King vanished Bogart wheeled around just in time to take a roundhouse kick to the thigh As he stumbled backward the Nether King with gleaming eyes was somehow right in front of him again Reaching through BogartÆs guard he rapped his knuckles against the split in the ribcage where the diaphragm was located

Right now I control your breath Which means you lose

This time Bogart at least saw the blow that knocked him out

Chapter 2104

How was he Demetrius asked His voice was warm with hope for a positive answer

Randidly straightened and scratched his cheek The two of them were packing up crates of apples carrots and Ara Fruit and storing them in RandidlyÆs interspatial ring for transport Apparently a market gathered only a short distance away from JotemÆs farm during the mild season To build their reputation Jotem suggested they go and Randidly agreed Plus it was a good opportunity to gather information

He coughed lightly Well he certainly was dedicated to fighting DidnÆt complain at all during the sparing IÆve got him doing some foundation building exercises now IÆll check in when we get back It will all depend on how long he works

He might be a little rough around the edges but his youth was difficult Demetrius said lightly Then he grinned over at Randidly My Liege I think you will find that he is an excellent student He has within him the potential to be truly great someday He just needs a few nudges and maybe even some pushes in the right direction

Randidly gave the cheerful Demetrius a long look The Nether Herald was clearly proud of his grandson Inwardly Randidly shrugged His own estimate of the tenacity of the devil looking young man was much less rosy but he supposed that in retrospect he would have hardly bet on himself as someone who would make it very hard underneath the harsh thumb of the System

Compared to a young Randidly Ghosthound Bogart had all the potential in the world

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 579

Jotem hurried out of the farmhouse in his fancy robe a pearl of gleaming light in RandidlyÆs new Pantheon provided senses The floating individual might only be only half Origin Beast but he still released near constant pulses of gleaming energy What fascinated Randidly were that JotemÆs soft pink light waves were even stronger than his own although they dissipated much more quickly He supposed the genuine bloodline carried with it some advantages

Companions shall we depart With our latest haul we shall incite a revolution in agriculture In even the Nether lands our produce shall be in high demand sought out to provide the greatest sustenance for the regal and righteous His eyes grew unfocused and he began to giggle to himself lost in the fantasy

RandidlyÆs lips twitched I almost feel like IÆm enabling his worst sort of traits tragically this wonÆt end with you becoming some sort of merchant prince Jotem

The group set out from the farm moving quickly through the renovated trench Randidly had improved But that high quality of life only lasted so far after about twenty minutes they returned to the narrow muddy trench of variable height that characterized most of the travel around Malloon And the calm periodÆ might have descended on the area to blunt the wind but cold sleet gleefully splattered across all of them

Randidly rolled his eyes at JotemÆs confusion and second guessing causing the group to wander around in a circle for about an hour Pure rage percolated in his chest but he did his best to remain patient and distract himself by studying the wider effect of the great array he and Demetrius had set up

When that didnÆt work he squelched his bare toes into the cool mud and just enjoyed the sensation around his feet

Eventually they emerged on the right path and followed quite a few more well trodden paths to sink down into a naturally formed canyon about ten miles away from the farm Lucky for the miserable looking Jotem he had a very centrally located farm The high stone walls of the canyon blocked the worst of the rain although the constant winds echoed into an eerie and ever present moaning They began to see other travelers trooping in the same direction and soaked to the skin

From afar Randidly noticed the mass of life energy with his new Skill Its radiation burned out through the stone walls As they walked closer the interaction of so many people became a mesmerizing whirlpool of light and color that sprawled across the horizon blanketing out everything else He almost wasnÆt even ready to head in through a tunnel and emerge in a massive cavern where the bazaar occurred

Randidly winced at the sarcasm in her voice He turned to the small Preying Mantis which was about half his size LetÆs not beat around the bush our presence here scares away customers from the whole row Since there are multiple of you I was hoping I could hire one of you to man our stand and let us leave We will give you a small percentage of anything you sell and you will no longer need to worry about customers noticing us and fleeing ItÆs a win win situation

And if we refuse The old woman tilted her head to the side a harsh edge to her question

Randidly ignored it and shrugged Disrespectful she might be but for whatever reason it didnÆt trigger any anger He wondered why that was even while answering Then we will stay here and try to lure customers in despite our presence

The old woman tskÆd and hopped up onto the wall between the two stands A peaceful response from the Nether King Well for that I will at least take a gander at your wares You wait what is this Why didnÆt you water these more

She skittered directly across and plucked up a carrot Randidly blinked Water them more They were growing fine so

Pah feel the surface The hardness the wide open pores trying to devour any water that might drip She shook her head almost sadly as she cradled the carrot Well your soil appears to be of extremely high quality this is a fine carrot Yet that makes the small imperfections all the more apparent oh and these these fruits these have been watered too much These sorts of fruit have the same amount of sugar per fruit When you water them this much the size of the fruit swells but the flavors is diluted is this juice from your fruit Have your servant pour me a cup

Randidly blinked several times surprised by the sudden eruption of criticisms from this random individual It would have honestly been quite refreshing to have someone so unconcerned with his fake status as a Nether King had she not been walking across the surface of their stall and squeezing everything

But he supposed the real reason he didnÆt respond to these barbs either was an immediate intuition she was right about the produce

Grandma One of the other preying mantises pleaded They offered Randidly a nervous bow Please excuse her behavior

Boy if this Nether King was like the others he would have set up an array around this place and slaughtered us all The fact he is here proves he doesnÆt mind minor quips like this old ladyÆs The old woman waved her hand Then she gave Demetrius a pointed look Now step to it bellhop IÆm thirsty

Demetrius looked at Randidly Randidly shrugged he needed to go back and test what the woman was saying but if she was right about the watering he could improve the quality of the produce by another tier For that he was willing to endure her rather cavalier attitude Demetrius popped open the bottle of apple juice and poured out a cup while she continued her tour of the stand

Oh these are quite good These too The old woman nibbled on an Ara Fruit and then kicked one of the large lumber cucumbers She hovered around the wood for a little while You know bringing these here is foolish better to take them directly to a major city Wood of this size is in high demand everywhere all of the time Very few individuals can produce it reliably And a government will give you a better price than a private buyer And they wonÆt fucking dare to simply seize it Not unless they plan on eliminating you Are you easy to kill Nether King

ThatÆs why I didnÆt even react to her attitude at first Randidly felt a sympathetic pulse from one of his two remaining cores of negative emotion SheÆs violently furious about something something unrelated to me The bitterness in her felt so genuine I just let it pass

Demetrius passed over the cup My liege is named Nether King Hungry Eye Very few individuals in the area even have the qualifications to think about killing him

What a fucking weird name The old preying mantis muttered She brought the cup up to her mandibles and drank the liquid After finishing the entire cup in a single gulp she burped loudly Quite tasty IÆll have another thank you very much Actually we agree to your terms We will run your stall for you in exchange for ten bottles of the apple juice And I will also allow you to try a few of our Zhixu plants What do you say

Randidly smiled pleasantly Time to barter her down a bit He once more began setting up the grill I have a counter offer but first a question How do you feel about meat

Chapter 2105

The small diced pieces of medium rare walrus sirloin were vacuumed up by the preying mantises so quickly that Demetrius didnÆt get a single piece The old Nether Herald released a good natured chuckle and took a step back Even Randidly was surprised by how much their neighbors had pounced upon the plate the lionÆs share had been swept up by the old woman but her two grandchildren had also gotten in a few bites

Randidly could practically see the calculating going on behind the short preying mantisÆs eyes She rounded on him Why were the inside and the outside cooked differently How is such a thing possible

Tsk if you werenÆt this miserly I suppose you couldnÆt really call yourself a Nether King She clicked her mandibles Her grandchildren cried out in dismay at the disrespectful tone but she just charged forward Okay letÆs negotiate a little Eight bottles of apple juice and no five bottles of apple juice and five pounds of that meat

I harvested a land walrus for that meat They are big but five pounds of that cut are unrealistic Randidly lied through his teeth His face showed a mixture of disappointment and sorrow That portion is called the sirloin cut from the top of the back There are five pounds of loin remaining but the meat there is much fattier And if you want the meat you canÆt seriously expect to get so much of the apple juice Two bottles of juice two pounds of meat

You forget the other part of our deal a chance to experience our precious Zhixu IÆll even throw in some seeds although a roughshod farmer like you ahem please try some before we continue She clicked her jaws and gestured One of her grandchildren brought over one of the tubes and sliced it open revealing a dull orange interior that began to ooze out as soon as it was cut

Randidly dipped a finger into the mixture and tried it Immediately his face brightened despite the consistency of a smooshed banana The combination of flavors was unfamiliar to him but the best way he could describe it was making peanut butter from sweet potatoes He took another finger full and offered it to Demetrius The interior was smooth creamy and mildly sweet

Damn I wonder if actual bananas would grow here This with bananas would be an excellent sandwich wait do they have bread for making sandwiches Ugh so many things to investigate RandidlyÆs eyes glittered Then he looked again at the small preying mantis But if nothing else making the deal will be worth it to get into business with this woman She seems very familiar with the farming in the area

Okay you win five bottles of cider five pounds of meat so long as you accept loin In exchange for a few of these and some seeds Randidly smiled The old woman twisted to the side and covered her mandibles with a thin arm as she not so subtly cackled with glee Probably she thought she really tricked him Perhaps the Zhixiu fruit was as hard to grow as she seemed to imply

We might have only brought twenty bottles of cider but we do have three tons of meet The land walruses are generous beasts I could have taken five pounds from a living one and they probably wouldnÆt have noticed

The two shook on the deal settling on a five percent commission on all sales The old woman nodded and returned to her seat after Randidly passed over the agreed upon price Great dealing with you Nether King Hungry Eye IÆm Gretite One of these two idiots will man your stand Anything you want them to know better teach them They are a little thick but that was just the upbringing of their parents Their genes are good

They went over the prices briefly but RandidlyÆs favorite part was telling the preying mantis kid to throw in a few pieces of freshly cooked steak with every purchase Then he produced a massive ice box and dumped a full ton of meat into it Gretite began twitching and muttering about deceitful creatures of Nether but Randidly magnanimously ignored her harsh words

The only difficulty was making sure the preying mantis cooked the meat for the right amount of time but he swiftly got the knack If nothing else he gave a recommended time per side Then Randidly and Demetrius departed leaving the stand and hopefully no longer dissuading individuals from trying to buy their stuff The other stall owners in that lane watched them depart with obvious relief on their faces

ItÆs about to begin Demetrius said lightly The two teams stood opposite each other around the central circle and sang a song On one side red uniforms on the other blue Then the plum was taken by a referee and taken to a tub of pulped Ara Fruit The ball was dropped in and coated thoroughly

A roar echoed from the far end of the field as the bars lifted and allowed a two story tall Arakis Beast to rumble out onto the field This particular specimen had mean eyes and a spiked tail that swung behind it It was large enough to devour all of the Arakis Beasts that had settled on JotemÆs farm with the group It had clearly been featured in Hobfootie for a long time and liked it too It relished the role of equalizer Those mean eyes fixated on the plum but then it moved sideways to the players

A game of Hobfootie ended when the Arakis Beast caught and crushed the plum But there was a balancing act for the Arakis Beast it would receive double the amount of Ara Fruit as a reward if it delayed the end of the game until only thirty players remained in the game Even if teams would gladly take a small lead and then give the ball to Arakis Beasts to end the match only the newest and most poorly trained would do it

Most would just toss the ball outside of the arena where none of the players could go get it without forfeiting and then savor the slaughter of the players

The referee blew a whistle and tossed the ball up into the air The blue and red teams both sprinted to their areas both teams favoring a twelve person central presence while the outer zones each had nine The Arakis Beast began to walk forward slowly the players around it giving it a wide berth

The beast can eliminate players as well Demetrius nodded to the massive creature And my liege is everything alright

The Nether King had gone slightly pale and had a strained expression on his face He forced an awkward smile on his features His hands tightly gripped his knees EverythingÆs fine ItÆs just I recognize one of the players

Demetrius nodded in confusion and turned back to the match The red team had the plum and blue team were firing fire darts at the ball holderÆs feet to destroy his footing Two blue players charged forward but two red players came up to block them They met and began feinting and jabbing trying to position themselves in the best way With that little bit of breathing room the ball holder planted and kicked the plum up into the area

Quietly furious fights had been occurring in the left and right zones where the crushers started Unfortunately for red team blue team had won both of these melees With the plum up in the air two members of the blue team whipped their accelerated balls at red players The individual at zone one speared a red player in the circular zone in the back cracking their spine and eliminating them However comeuppance was swift the shouted warnings of his teammates came too late The thrower turned around to find the Arakis Beast grinning down at him He couldnÆt dodge the claw that ripped open his stomach and sent him spiraling through the air

One point for blue although both teams lost an individual to injury

Meanwhile the second blue thrower didnÆt even attempt to target an opponent in another zone He whipped his crusher at the young woman going up to catch the plum At the last moment she pirouetted and conjured a Mana Shield The crusher destroyed the defense but was redirected enough to miss She caught the plum and landed her long crimson hair fluttering around her

Five points for red one for blue Both lost one individual

She tossed the plum to a Blue player as they had just scored The rules stipulated that the opposite team must trade a crusher for the plum if they had it but they just received one of the crushers since they were both just thrown

Yet the weirdest part was that after receiving the crusher the young woman raised her head and looked toward the stands Directly at Nether King Hungry Eye Then the brutal game resumed

Chapter 2106

Demetrius began to grow slightly bored with extended observation of Hobfootie but he didnÆt say anything due to the intensity with which the Nether King watched the remainder of the match To his eye it was mostly bloodsport a cathartic release of tension that the Aether people held due to their uncertain footing in the world Around the area they were sitting too many individuals had something very like madness in their eyes as they screamed and bellowed at the ongoing violence before them

Knees were pulped by crushers The Arakis Beast beheaded an unsuspecting individual a rare injury that even the standby staff couldnÆt heal The game continued without pause The crowd hooted and shouted

After about ten minutes the red team began to quickly isolate and knock out the blue team players The score spiraled out of control all while the Arakis Beast lazily thundered around and knocked out anyone not paying attention Without much tension red team won 73 to 21

The Nether King excused himself and vanished almost as soon as the match was over From his conflicted expression perhaps he hadnÆt enjoyed it very much at all Yet the departure was a clear implied dismissal Demetrius watched him flee wondering what business the Nether King had that Demetrius couldnÆt witness

Demetrius was suddenly aware of how quiet it had become in the area around him He pivoted and saw standing only a few meters away the young woman with long crimson hair that had led the red team to such a complete victory Behind her stood a tall Lizakh warrior in a suit of armor releasing the sort of ominous pressure that only came with a Class and a related powerful image The other fans jostled in the surroundings quiet and wide eyed trying to figure out what was happening and why this woman sought out a Nether Herald

Her eyes scanned the surroundings then fixated back on Demetrius with an awkward smile This might be a strange question but were you here with a Nether King during the match

Yes Nether King Hungry Eye Demetrius replied cautiously Looking at the Lizakh warrior again he felt his instincts warning him this was not a foe to take lightly His eyes went back to the young woman and felt slightly bewildered Obviously she was a talented player on a rising Hobfootie team and much of the Aether population was weirdly obsessed with the bloody sport but she didnÆt seem so transcendent to require this powerful of a guard For the first time Demetrius wished she had been wearing a robe so he could understand her affiliations

He cleared his throat lightly do you know Nether King Hungry Eye

A sad self deprecating smile came across the young womanÆs face Her features were expressive and lively even with a sheen of sweat from the match Hah this is complicated to explain But do you believe in love at first sight

What Demetrius gaped It wasnÆt just him either a lot of the people standing around also seemed shocked by her words The Lizakh warriorÆs sharp eyes flicked to the young woman His solemn image twitched slightly

She shrugged and laughed Then she tapped the shoulder of her guardian and began to beat a quick retreat through the crowd IÆm sorry that was a foolish thing to say to a stranger But hell IÆd rather be a woman who speaks my mind than one that lives with regrets Anyway nice to meet you And thank all of you for the support today

With the star player gone the crowd of people eventually dispersed Demetrius remained in place half because he was trying to consider whether an Aether being could love a Nether being and half because his black robes earned him some surly looks from certain individuals now that the distraction of the match had ceased If he moved without consideration he would be isolated and jumped

He sighed to himself Could Hungry Eye have sensed the significance in her gaze even before she came over to say something I suppose him fleeing makes sense if he wanted to avoid unnecessary attention for his activities Haah But now I need to kill some time before he comes and finds me again

His eyes eventually landed on the Arakis Beast which was lazing around the center of the field and chomping down on Ara Fruits while its handlers cleaned blood off its claws and spiked tail Demetrius straightened and began to descend from the stands Since he had some examples in his interspatial ring he might as well offer the Nether KingÆs Ara Fruits to those who genuinely raised Arakis Beasts

Randidly sighed and rubbed his cheeks I feel almost like a coward for running away but interacting with Devick is just too complicated If I can avoid it IÆd like to just focus on my efforts here in the memory without involving her again

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 630

ThatÆs the Patron of the Borrowed Fiero Randidly released a low breath His heartbeat quickened he had finally found a core individual he could use to learn more about Elhume and the important events of the time His eyes flicked to the smiling silver skinned woman with brilliant gold hair She waved her hands and released soft rose petal colored bursts of energy that redirected attacks Then she

The group attacking the duo wore robes so brown they looked almost black However RandidlyÆs examination time abruptly ended as Kopal planted his foot and accelerated at him with a genuine burst of speed

Unlucky day you piece of Kopal drawled as he raised his fist to crunch in RandidlyÆs forehead in a rush of velocity However Randidly whipped his leg sideways slamming his shin against the side of the man To both their surprise Kopal was flung sideways and crashed into the wall Randidly lowered his leg the bone aching from the denseness of his foeÆs body

RandidlyÆs expression tightened A genuine body cultivator And a strong one too Well isnÆt this fun

His eyes flicked sideways The mahogany robed individuals were clearly getting impatient beginning to release pulses of their image Axe blades chopped down and were barely deflected by FieroÆs shortsword The Vulpine danced sideways impossibly graceful stealing one attack and throwing it back to destabilize another But from his heavy breathing warned he couldnÆt keep this up for much longer

The mahogany aggressors circled like vultures

The whole group was more powerful than all of the people Randidly had encountered so far combined He studied their images somewhat impressed So this is the influence and power of Faelmac WestrisserÆs organization It wasnÆt for nothing that he crusaded out of Malloon and burnt an entire Nether city to the ground

Kopal shoved aside the shattered rocks and growled You think this is over IÆm going to squash you like a bug and guhk

RandidlyÆs knee cracking KopalÆs nose brought a swift end to the vindictive monologue He stumbled backward holding his face and Randidly landed and adjusted his footing Blowing a puff of air out through his nose he whipped Sulfur around and landed a haymaker of a left hook on the temple of the distracted individual

Sulfur cooed in pleasure from the dense body of the opponent even as he dropped like the load of bricks that he was The beingÆs outer stone skin ruptured beneath the force RandidlyÆs senses tingled and he whipped around to face the ambush He raised his arms to block following his instincts across the cavern the lean individual had his palm pointed toward him with fingers splayed out

A massive image surged out with his body as the epicenter Fiero hissed and hopped backward to stand next to the silver skinned woman grasping twice with his hands and creating two spectral tails behind himself with which to form a defensive barrier

The wave of brown reached Randidly in only a short span of time That color seeped out and seemed to stain everything He could observe the flows of energy but they undulated out and covered the surroundings before he could take any action The new mahogany world rumbled and growled

As the displeasure of an entire world hit him Randidly gasped This was a type of image he had seen others do on a smaller scale but hadnÆt experienced from someone truly powerful It was an image of an alternate world one where a different set of laws were true

In this case an enormous pressure ground against RandidlyÆs chest His bones creaked and muscles twitched even his powerful body began to give ground before the force of this image No wonder his subordinate had trained his body to such an extent with a leader able to conjure this strange image world The grinding force it unleashed at its full power would probably have been able to grind Randidly to dust eventually

However his body could last a few seconds

And in that time the Grey Creature stirred

Chapter 2107

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 653

Congratulations Your Skill the Wrathful Calamity Rends has grown to Level 706

Underneath the squeezing weight from the robed individualÆs worldwide image the Grey Creature raised its head and looked out at the enemy Emotional force spilled out as its smile unzipped itself across the bottom of RandidlyÆs face until a Cheshire leer contorted his expression

Emotional affect resonated with the shape and gathered up a ringing momentum Randidly raised his hand and the Grey Creature cackled The surging ocean of emotion that he had created by absorbing the second emotional core settled into his right hand His bones hummed tearing through the soft muscles of his hand as he channeled the energy In a sharp motion he chopped downward and the brown world view shattered

Congratulations Your Skill the Wrathful Calamity Rends has grown to Level 786

Immediately the memory began to shudder and flicker around him That familiar feeling of nausea returned Randidly grimaced he assumed he could fully mobilize his image without repercussions but he hadnÆt taken into account how much emotional force lurked within his Aether now His Nether Core began revving to alleviate the pressure but he wouldnÆt be able to manage another display of force like that again

The leaderÆs face warped cracks literally opening on his face from the intensity of his scowl Fine then third squad head over and help eliminate this threat before

Another worldwide image lapped outward this one rose colored The silver skinned woman used the breaking of their opponentÆs image to substitute her own Randidly watched the flow of colors into the fabric of the world mesmerized by the process But compared to the blunt edged shifts from before this image was entirely different Honestly this image was a work of art Engravings were sewn into even the smallest details knitting themselves into existence at every level of existence This was beyond self propagating patterns each moved with momentum to spread themselves as though compelled by some inner engine that Randidly couldnÆt determine

His pupils dilated He swam in a symphony of rainbows a chorus of immaculate light He watched the surroundings begin to shift Somehow she manipulated the worldÆs laws so that these patterns would gather into surging waves But how could she manage that

Compared to the opponentÆs world state image this one was much more subtle There was no pressure no force But because she adjusted the base laws upon which everything functioned the power swirling around her body was overwhelming All those patterns fed into each other and then surged to fill her body

RandidlyÆs instincts growled in warning

The silver skinned and golden haired woman stepped and appeared next to the opponentÆs leader She drew a longsword from her waist and leveled it at his chest Like a biting snake the blade pounced at his heart But at the last second the attack halted only ripping through his robe Her image parted and the silver skinned woman smiled and patted his shoulder with the flat of her blade LetÆs say we call it here eh Dogeol DonÆt take it personally You win some you lose some

You know IÆm under orders from Westrisser Miss Mae The stone skinned manÆs voice was gruff but Randidly was surprised to sense that all the fight had left him The leader Dogeol took a step back from the woman and folded his arms Your influence over Drane Swacc is known the upcoming trial is too important to Master Westrisser to allow you to return to Malloon right now Please

I could have killed you right there Dogeol The womanÆs smile was sad With her silver skin and golden hair there was a weird glittering metallic beauty to her expression Her face held the sort of perfect proportions that made it seem like she had been designed in a lab Her lips were wide and expressive her cheekbones high and sculpted

She wielded a softer sort of power against the man now which seemed just as effective as her blade and image She leaned forward You might be punished for this but you have too good a soul to die in some pointless battle like this Besides would you believe me if I told you I wasnÆt even here to see Drane Swacc

how the hell did I miss this

Follow me It isnÆt far this way just bad look we ran into WestrisserÆs people haah I do hope Dogeol doesnÆt get too punished for encountered us and letting us go of them all he has the best heart The gleaming Patron of Truth led the way keeping up a running stream of consciousness while she moved Fiero cast one suspicious glance at Randidly before hurrying after her

Meanwhile Randidly was still trembling slightly Not from meeting them but from the patterns around him woven into the memory He felt simultaneously sick and jittery like he had guzzled down more caffeine than even his powerful body could handle Those suddenly obvious patterns squeezed him pressuring his Nether stating very directly that he would find something important if he followed these two right now

He had been walking along in the eye of a storm of Nether but now it broke around him with a thunderous keening blast He could hear whispers in his ear just indiscernible He had ended up within the core of this particular memory

He belatedly began to walk taking several bounding steps to catch up with the other two Fiero continued to glance back and check him but Mae seemed entirely to trust him due to the promise he had given without even a Nether Ritual to back it up

This was all interesting information about the characters of two of the deceased Patrons but it was difficult to pay too much attention to that Randidly felt like a stop had been pulled out of the surroundings and all of the significance in the area began to drain toward a single place The currents were so vicious and wild they trampled over RandidlyÆs own significance The memory seemed to be shouting that he finally had stumbled into the right place

The three of them moved quickly through the tunnels When the two memory Patrons realized Randidly could keep up with them they accelerated Soon they were just blurs within the stone walls leaving wind in their wake as they sped toward their destination At these hyper speeds they moved for almost an hour

Inwardly Randidly pulled his attention away from the seething currents of Nether and rolled his eyes at the moods of the two people ahead of him It isnÆt far this way huh I can see why the Patron of the Borrowed would have such a hard time dealing with you Mae Myrna

Meanwhile you have such strong connections with Elhume and Drane Swacc Romantic entanglements Were you sleeping both of them But you seemed more cheerful than duplicitous I really just canÆt figure you out

Soon the group came up through a tunnel to the surface It was an area that hadnÆt been moderated by RandidlyÆs climate adjustments so sleet slanted sideways and soaked them all to the skin within seconds of them stepping out into the open air Thunder boomed overhead

Fiero reached up and grasped several times his hand just seeming to close only on air But Randidly could feel the way he stole the wind and the rain and turned it against themselves lessening the precipitation over them immensely Mae skipped forward without a care not seeming to notice the way her golden hair was plastered across her body Fiero followed at a more subdued pace looking more like a rat than a fox even with the lighter rainfall

They didnÆt need to go far A group of three individuals were standing around a stone pillar nearby They all rose to a standing position as soon as they saw Randidly and the Patrons come closer Their robes were white with a very light grey thread sewn through the entire garment Especially in the rain it was very easy to miss the threadwork But the more Randidly examined it the more he felt a chill unrelated to rain

That sort of Engraving the robes are wired for remote detonation And the fucking energy cores they carry are unreal like nothing IÆve ever seen That has enough juice to knock me out of commission They could be activated and turned into suicide bombers

His thoughts were cut abruptly short when the lead figure stepped forward and pulled down his hood Well so you came

Or rather several tentacles stretched out of the darkness and pulled the clothing down revealing a soft and squishy octopus head Because the central figure wrapped in a robe that could function as a remote Aether bomb was Tuthak Eloise The same individual who outside of the memory was leading a group of individuals to come back to the Nexus and overthrow Elhume in the Great ReturnÆ

Chapter 2108

Randidly observed Tuthak Eloise and his undulating tentacles beneath the bulging auspices of his white robe My instincts still feel that heÆs powerful but donÆt react especially strongly to his presence but if he had the same strength in the Second Cohort that I sensed now I might have missed a few details about the current him Plus

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has grown to Level 693

The energy within the octopus manÆs body was tense and looped together in layers so neat and tidy they had to be purposeful RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition easily scanned and reacted to the outer layers but his new awareness of energy allowed him to steadily pierce deeper and deeper into Tuthak to see that even brighter layers of energy were waiting within him under the displayÆ layers What he found there were waves of emotional power that he had only ever sensed from Devick at her most unhinged

Maybe Tuthak has a chance to fight and overthrow Elhume after all Randidly thought almost uncomfortable with the prospect And at the realization there were still a few more powerful fighters in the Nexus he couldnÆt fathom

Mae Myrna stepped forward and brought RandidlyÆs attention back to the situation at hand Apologies for the delay we ran into a bit of rough weather on the way over But IÆm sure we both know how important this issue is there is no need for us to dawdle provide your proof and we will return to Elhume with our report

Wait The left white robed figure interrupted He raised a scaled finger and jabbed it at RandidlyÆs chest What about him Why did you bring a Nether King to this meeting

Mae grinned IsnÆt there a beauty in equity There are three of you and three of us now

You fucking brought a Nether King just to equal out our numbers The figureÆs face was still hidden behind his cloak but he released an ominous image of suffocating darkness Randidly would have bet money he was glaring from within the shadows of the hood If those insane fools in Wyndaos hear about this meeting they will attempt to interfere We do not have the spare energy to handle the hassle of the Nether

He gave his word I trust him with my life Mae replied She gestured vaguely toward Randidly Besides donÆt you just feel like he had to be here for this But fine IÆll give you a concrete reason His honest curiosity is the sort of test we need youÆve already primed us for what youÆll be showing us today but he has no idea His response will be very informative

The left figure finally shut up at that and Randidly gave Mae another glance Beside him Fiero groaned slightly but kept his peace

Fine then Tuthak said He produced a small metal box covered in glittering Engravings They flashed and flare quickly clearly on the verge of breaking down under the pressure of containing whatever was within the box The lock rattled His beady eyes fixated on each of them for a single second Then he disengaged the lock and pulled back the lid

Randidly felt his body gasping but he was somewhere else An intoxicating golden radiance seeped out of the open box it was like standing on top of the most rugged mountain range and having a sunset occur only a few meters away from where he was standing The majesty was so close to him that he could see the minute details of its every aspect he couldnÆt decide where to dedicate his attention Waves of light and color seeped in hazy almost artistic lines A series of overlapping halos surrounded the central wisp of energy that caused the phenomenon

His Nether Core began to rev like a drunk farmer trying to start a lawnmower

Congratulations Due to resonance with your body your Skill is evolving

Congratulations Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances has evolved into The Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae Skill Level will be maintained

Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae The unique blend of talent and effort created by Randidly Ghosthound as he seeks to master both Aether and Nether Only usable due to his remade body and incredibly high Stats Pushed to the Pinnacle due to encountering several clues and a genuine remnant of the Shallah during his travels Allows the observation and categorization of all energies that can be imagined The shadow of the Apostate Moirae lays heavily across the Skill birthed in a false memory that should not exist With the Skill it is possible to encounter several energies that never existed By sensing the energies control over other energies becomes slightly easier Provides Randidly Ghosthound with extensive information on his opponents with just a glance Provides an intuitive understanding of the universe and interactions between various energies Vastly boosts the creation of Engravings and Nether Rituals by Randidly Ghosthound Effects increase with Skill Level

If earning Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances and engaging with his new senses had left Randidly stunned this completely erased his senses In the end everything was energy all matter was simply filaments burning at different frequencies He floated there within the sphere of his new Skill simply growing accustomed to the feeling

But unlike the wild and constant pressure he had grown accustomed to this Skill was his totally and completely As he pulled back the flows around him grew more muted He found himself still sitting the trio who had brought the wisp of the Shallah in the box had vanished leaving only mud puddles in their wake

Mae crouched in front of him offering him a cup Want some water

Randidly nodded and took the drink He began trying to organize his thoughts while his throat moved Because while he felt a certain sort of excitement to know he stumbled across the main even of this particular memory there was a problem

Yes he had witnessed a fraction of what a Shallah could accomplish The natural order generated by this being was indeed enough to create an entire alternate universe It gave entirely new meaning to the term Pinnacle He suddenly understood Neveah and the PantheonÆs worry entirely just training wouldnÆt bridge that gap even if Elhume had only partially made it to the Pinnacle

However Randidly had felt no connection of significance to the present when he had looked upon PineÆs sleeping form Which meant that the Pine he had seen there didnÆt exist by the time of the Seventh Cohort

What he didnÆt know was whether that meant that innocent being came to a bad end or whether the display he had just seen had been faked Both seemed vaguely impossible but for different reasons How could a universeÆs spirit be killed or removed Alternatively if this faction in white robes was powerful enough to fake a Shallah why were they messing around and trying to head to the core of the Nexus

You are probably curious about that group right I dragged you into this so IÆll try and give some context Mae said Distantly Randidly heard Fiero sigh That group is called the Savior Cult They didnÆt appear until the Second Wave most of their number came into the alternate universe purposefully It is pretty apparent that this wasnÆt the first alternate universe they entered into We believe the core group of that faction is ancient beyond reason Thousands or tens of thousands of years old Obviously Elhume was deeply suspicious when they contacted him trying to tell him that his son was still alive and about to wake up But this

Mae trailed off She frowned down at the ground Even her good cheer seemed to fade somewhat When she looked back up at Randidly her eyes were shining You saw him too didnÆt you Pine It wouldnÆt be right not to try and help him now that we know heÆs there

Chapter 2109

The hanging remnant of what he had just seen hung in RandidlyÆs eyes almost haunting him The tumbling perfection the interconnections the endless branches they spun in constant harmonious motion Just by observation he felt his understanding of the world deepen In a strange way that benefited both his usage of Aether and Nether These were truths that transcended the divide between energies

Mae we should go Fiero interjected his nagging voice breaking RandidlyÆs reverie somewhat WeÆve seen the proof We need to get back to Elhume and tell him

Tsk you would do anything to spend less time with me Mae turned and showed an aggrieved expression at the Vulpine who simply folded his arms and snorted She turned back to Randidly and offered her hand Look I owe you If you ever meet Elhume or his companions you can call in a massive favor from us Break you out of jail save a captured lover perform an improvised musical But this is just a warning Maybe lay low for a while YouÆve become a blip on the Savior CultÆs radar They really donÆt like loose ends If they notice you again they will rip you to shreds

Randidly worked his mouth for a few seconds He had a half dozen questions bouncing around his racing mind PineÆs radiance left everything hazy and almost idyllic It was hard to feel threatened after seeing that display But eventually he just shut his mouth and nodded Mae flashed a cheery expression and went off immediately launching into a long winded monologue at Fiero The foxmanÆs shoulder slumped but he followed her as she departed

Randidly watched them go slightly numb Even his capable mind needed some computational space

Too much had happened too quickly and he needed to process it

He had gathered a lot of important information and encounters several critical figures of the Second Cohort Faelmac Westrisser the man who could lead an army and entirely demolish a Nether City The Patrons in their younger and more immature forms Tuthak Eloise leader of an anti Nexus movement in the future in the Second Cohort a part of a strange organization

The Savior Cult with clues about the awakening existence of Pine And with leaders that might have gone into other alternate universes in the past now entering into the Nexus to accomplish their own nefarious ends

Randidly rubbed his eyes None of this was anywhere a part of history that I could find in the Nexus Just scattered hints The existence of Wyndaos The usage of the Hierarchy of Karma Several of the Patrons dying before the transition to the Third Cohort

Still IÆm starting to understand the shape of whatÆs happening in the past If the spirit of Pine really was about to wake up after the Nexus had developed for a certain amount of time With Elhume in the Patrons on the one side the Savior Cult on the other with the tensions of Aether and Nether balanced between them

Ah damn Mae left before I could ask about her connection to Drane Swacc

After humming to himself and thinking for a while Randidly popped to his feet He raised his head and just experienced the rain hitting his face for a few seconds allowing the fickle weather patterns to do what they wanted The small droplets of water were cool kisses against his skin

But then he crouched down and jumped as high as he could cracking the ground in the process His body shot upward and pierced directly through to the cloud layer The mist tingled against his skin as he manipulated gravitational waves and sent him arcing across the sky

All the while he kept his gaze down whatever existed up there which wasnÆt actually the spirit of Pine still existed in the future in an extremely corrupted form Even a single glance could apply pressure against the memory

Randidly walked slowly out of the farmhouse unsure what was happening His Nether Core hummed cautiously testing the surrounding environment Was I wrong about the memory collapsing previously Or is it possible the next memory was close enough I jumped right to it after lingering here I bet ElhumeÆs trial in less than a month would be an important event

A smile stretched across his face as he looked around at the rampant growth he had cultivated But this does mean that so long as the memories are close enough to one another I can move between them without leaving All the effort IÆve poured into establishing this farm wonÆt go to waste

Well at least for right now Randidly rolled up his sleeves His companions would find their way back from the market fine without him hopefully with several new interested buyers in their product In the meantime he really wanted to work on a few tasks he had been putting off around the farm namely enhancing the Ara Fruit area and expanding it as well as searching the surroundings for a source of spice

After cracking his neck he blurred into motion The Arakis Beasts watching him tried to imprint on his capabilities and collapsed blood spilling out of all their orifices

Congratulations Your Skill GhosthoundÆs Green Thumb has grown to Level 500

Congratulations Your Skill Heritage of the Origin Beast has grown to Level 401

With a few touches of his images Randidly carved out five more canyons and planted Ara Fruits along their tight walls He stopped in briefly on his way back to check in on BogartÆs training and then released some stress by zooming at top speed through the sky He used as body as a missile to pierce through multiple clouds the masses of water vapor rupturing and spurting rain after he careened through

During this release of tension he simply enjoyed the base physics of a ballistic missile of a body His senses idly scanned the surrounding ground for any signs of edible plants but it was more just a random screening

He found nothing worth digging up and investigating which he had sorta expected Randidly had been aware the best way to reach the desired produce he wanted would be to experiment directly on it tainting it with his image and emotional affect but he felt a little leery about the idea This was one of the areas in which he was not confident about how his efforts could provide a benefit

After an hour of zooming through the skies he returned to the farm He continued the work of refining and expanding the farm losing himself in the mundane particulars of keeping a farm running Superhuman abilities and magical powers solved a lot of problems but pests and shit were still a constant source of annoyance

These bothers were annihilated almost instantly by a well placed manifestation of the Stillborn Phoenix but still

Almost a full day after Randidly had returned to the farm alone Demetrius and Jotem trooped back bearing both currency and gifts Jotem couldnÆt stop laughing floating arms akimbo while Demetrius explained

Quite a profit More than Jotem expected I gather from his reaction Demetrius nodded to the almost senseless half Origin Beast Ah our neighbors want to visit our farm I agreed in your stead based on your treatment But in the meantime the biggest news is about Ara Fruit I brought a sample to the handlers of the Arakis Beast in the Hobfootie match we watched They raved about the quality and sweetness So long as we can supply it they will buy it At top price And with the tournament coming up

Perhaps all my prior struggles were to bring me here Jotem almost sang as he spoke joy resonating in his voice Because only with such a low platform can the true spectacular heights we shall soon grasp be known

Chapter 2110

Drane Swacc used a napkin to wipe grease from the roast duck off his lips After one last sip of chilled wine he pressed himself back from the table and slid his chair a short distance back A servant reached over his shoulder and took away the remnants of the meal Drane examined the pristine white tablecloth in the wake of those movements and nodded with pleasure it remained totally pristine

He looked over at the hunched form of Coppun who was standing over by the far wall His mood soured somewhat Are we ready for that meeting

Of course The man bowed The other party awaits your pleasure

Drane nodded to himself and strode across the ornate marble floor His sash glittered diagonally across his chest announcing him as the Undersecretary of the Council of Malloon Several minor servants bowed to him as he followed Coppun deeper into the bowels of his manor His brow slowly knitted together

Have they eaten Drane said mildly

They havenÆt found the time Coppun replied in just as low a voice They moved deeper into the dungeons flowing down into the lower areas The air around them became cold and still DraneÆs nostrils flexed tasting the stale and coppery tang of pooling blood in the air A small smile danced across his face

All was silent down there except for the distant rattle of chains

Soon they arrived at a cell Within a man in a torn blue Hobfootie uniform was chained up to the walls above a pool of fetid water Drane reflected it was almost a small mercy to be so bound not even his toes need to be tainted by the murky water His clothes of course had been shredded to tatters his bony ribs were visible Drane folded his arms behind his back looking at the manÆs currently unmarred skin His hands began to twitch in anticipation This is the team captain

Yes Coppun bobbed his head We gathered up the rest but most of them had connections to important individuals or were unaware of your involvement in the teamÆs development As per your orders they were spared If you recall this man was specially recruited and given precious elixirs to strengthen his body Yet they were crushingly defeated in an exhibition game an unforgivable offense

Even worse DraneÆs lip curled upward They lost to some no name team out of that shithole Tatem A rabble swept together from one of the robeless cities pah Alright bring me two knives short and heavy An example must be made my honor will not be sullied

Coppun bowed and moved over to the small closet next to the front cells A glittering array of knives saws and spikes hung neatly from pegs In the middle of the small room there was a wooden tub where the used implements were deposited Sometimes Drane liked to use dirty blades already crusted with dried blood when an individualÆs failings were particularly egregious

He licked his bloodless lips It wouldnÆt be necessary to use rusted blades with this man He was a foolish athlete without even a Class Utilizing clean blades was the one charity he could give the incompetent man

It was more than he deserved but Drane Swacc was a helplessly generous man

There is one other thing Coppun said as he returned with the blades Drane plucked them up and admired the glitter of light off their length I it is hard to know how reliable this information is but while I was interviewing the player I heard that the Hobfootie Association is considering a new supplier for Ara Fruits Considering the vast amount of matches that will be occurring leading up to and during the tournament

Swacc Farms has never failed to deliver the amount of Ara Fruits required for Hobfootie events DraneÆs voice turned cold Why would they need a new supplier

Even slower and weaker in the absolute Randidly continued to thrash Bogart His fists found his opponentÆs ribcage and left the bones there fractured His abrupt leg sweep sent him cartwheeling helplessly through the air

Stats couldnÆt cover the difference in energy conservation and utilization as well as familiarity with fighting To Randidly Bogart was telegraphing each one of his attacks with every flexed tendon bulging out from his arms By the time he actually followed through on the blow Randidly had already shifted his weight and prepared a counterattack

After having his nose broken for the second time in the brief and violent series of spars Bogart pressed himself off the ground and groaned Nether King I want you to be honest with me how long is going to take me to improve to your level at this rate

Randidly tilted his head to the side and considered the question seriously Assuming he had adequate instruction and unlimited access to energy at the current rate at which he was improving probably about forty years

What Really ThatÆs not very long at all Bogart gaped He looked down at his fists and clenched them A burning sort of resolve flared all around his body Alright Training for forty years Then IÆll have my revenge

Armel happened to be working on the new feeding area for the Arakis Beasts and raised his head Begging your pardon Mister Nether King but can I interject

Randidly shrugged

Armel looked directly at Bogart DonÆt take that number too seriously IÆm guessing the Nether King based that on his own age which is exceedingly young for someone so powerful IÆm not sure about growth amongst Nether peoples but for those of Aether he is an abhorrent monster that makes others salivate with bitter envy

Furthermore and this is the part you need to understand about that number Bogart Armel looked back at Randidly My liege how many times do you think you almost died while you were growing

Scratching his head Randidly tried to answer the questions honestly His mind started sputtered and then stopped a count several times He lowered his hand and began to rub his chin Hum Well how many times I was realistically almost killed Or how many times people tried to kill me

Armel pivoted back to Bogart Do you see what IÆm saying He doesnÆt even know One aspect of Nether culture everyone is familiar with is the competition it is why they havenÆt struck out and eradicated the Aether despite their superior numbers and forces Nether Kings prey on each other as much as on us When he was born I bet Nether King Hungry Eye was hunted constantly He struggled to survive When he finally gathered enough resources to protect himself those with slightly more resources noticed and lashed out at him to plunder what he had gathered Over and over again he grew large enough to ignore the threats that had plagued him previously and caught the eye of even larger predators Do not overestimate yourself training here for forty years will not make you into a hero The Path the Nether King walked should not be emulated

The details were inaccurate due to the assumption of him being a Nether King but otherwise it was right Randidly nodded slowly and looked at Bogart Perhaps in fifty years if he adventured and pushed his limits he would be a formidable character But if he stayed here and trained Even if Randidly constantly overmatched him

After Bogart returned to his exercises Randidly went back to his room and meditated for a while His Nether Core hummed

He felt his body slowly heating up as he sunk into his mental projection The time had come to confront his third core of negative emotion

When he woke up in his childhood bedroom he sat up and saw he floated on a sea of fire Endless Rage seethed around him greeting him with a roar of noise and heat

Chapter 2111

As he traversed the sea of fire RandidlyÆs bed burned away beneath him It was a fragile boat that couldnÆt handle the sweltering temperatures He touched down his feet pressing directly against the seething surface of orange and gold and red The bottoms of his feet tightened and began to smoke underneath the searing touch Grimacing he walked the rest of the way guided by his instincts

And as he walked he became angry Then infuriated Then explosively wrathful His hands clenched into fists until his knuckles popped

Heat waves stretched and distorted the surrounding world There was only Randidly and the emotional heat with insinuated itself into his body and sliced away all of his other thoughts There was only the oncoming confrontation and the churning piping hot capability of his body There was only the anger where it had been simmering inside of him for so long

He continued to walk until a spot appeared on the horizon

Within the sea of fire he found a black island He adjusted his vector and strode up to this new landmass If anything his feet hurt even worse stepping onto that ground The colorless and dull ground radiated a much uglier and more violent fervor than the lake of fire

In the middle of the featureless black island stood one of his doppelgangers His eyes were red and smoking pointed up toward the sky Even as he stopped nearby those eyes didnÆt flicker or swivel around to him The lack of response set RandidlyÆs teeth on edge but he forced himself to release a breath before speaking What I donÆt need to go through a memory to find you

Not me The doppelganger growled He wheeled slowly around almost moving with a mechanical stiffness as he positioned himself He studied Randidly closely and immediately Randidly could see there was something different about his eyes The redness aside they were curiously inert Both self hatred and envy had bled their emotions into the surrounding air like a plague And yes the heat and sense of fury seethed constantly through the air But the expectation was entirely different

FuryÆs lips slowly curled into a smile We donÆt need all that shit to handle this This is simple

And you want to control my body as well Randidly asked slowly

RageÆs chuckle was dry Heh for me this has never been about your body Or control This is about things that are real

That phrasing through Randidly for several seconds Being confused even for a moment was infuriating but he suppressed that feeling He tried not to allow the environment to get to him too much What do you mean Are you saying that IÆm not real

IÆm saying that everything gets so fucking concerned with who they are whoÆs in controlÆ of the body How why where for what reason they do things One by one with that same mechanical stiffness his fingers straightened and flexed But consciousness isnÆt discrete like that implies Despite the fact youÆve been suppressing us for so long do you think we havenÆt shaped the way you behave Grip is irrelevant to the concept of control you are dominated by the influences you fear as much as the influences you consciously allow into your life Attempting to limit that just twists you up more

So what you want you lecture me on philosophy Randidly replied almost impressed that Rage would be so concise

The Rage Randidly grinned No I want to force you to acknowledge your own greatest power your rage Everything youÆve ever wanted every enemy that offended you IÆm the weapon you used to strike them down Being angry saved you a thousand times without your persistent vindictiveness you would have died long ago And yet you continue

Randidly crouched down settling into the familiar balance of utilizing three Skills at once Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs Wicked Waltz of Tartarus The Vindictive Chimera Smites

Congratulations Your Skill the Vindictive Chimera Smites has grown to Level 780

Across from him the darkness filled mouth of Rage bellowed its own combination The Maelstrom Entity Approaches Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Darkness Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins

Randidly felt the environment turn against him feel the way Rage manipulated paths of heat and light energy to become a wild storm of gravitational pressure he used to tighten around his body In fact the combination Rage utilized sucked away all the energy of light and used it to create a whirling maelstrom around his body that fueled the grinding squeeze against him

Meanwhile Randidly was light and momentum surging through the suddenly black and empty abyss toward his one foe The pressure he experienced was almost as great as had been wielded by Dogeol in that surge of worldwide image His bones and organs creaked as he gritted his teeth

To force his way through the pressure again him and smite his opponent Randidly pulled more and more emotional force into his image His images began to shiver transforming and resonating with his intent He burned with rage and the desire to overcome this opponent Like a comet he blazed forward forcing a path through the jaws of gravitational doom

Yet even as Randidly pulled at emotional force so did Rage Heat was generated and sucked away into the squeezing gravitation singularity so quickly that the wind began to howl From twenty meters to ten Randidly crossed the distance and felt the pain growing in his internal organs Both were gathering more and more force and the fact they were so equally matched infuriated Randidly to no end

He crossed the line of five meters to Rage his raised hand burning with power His fingers were locked into a claw like position ready to rend his opponent His eyes bulged

Rage was invisible except for a dim outline the manifestations of the Stillborn Phoenix consuming his torso almost entirely But this close to him it was possible to feel some ambient heat that wasnÆt perfectly converted to gravitational power The few drops of sweat remaining on RandidlyÆs body evaporated and left him crusted in salt

Only two meters separated the two bodies RandidlyÆs long arm swung forward at Rage Both channeled more and more emotional force into their abilities The light contained in his hand grew brighter The void grew more ominous and domineering

Both were incendiary with anger Some part of Randidly separated from all the emotion and heat knew that anger and Rage meeting would not deliver a victor And yet another part of Randidly knew that you couldnÆt reason with Rage without first demonstrating you would not flinch before it

And perhaps Rage was right for a long time Randidly had flinched before his own anger He wouldnÆt acknowledge it lest he be perceived as someone dominated by that emotion

Bones in his ribs popped Some of his internal organs tore slightly from the constant pressure and eviscerated themselves Small pieces of viscera spat out from the pressure impacted his pumping heart disturbing its constant churn His arm swung down the claw of his hand sheering through the silhouette the shoulder and into the chest of Rage

His opponentÆs fury mounted transforming into a distinctive vindictive surge of power

RandidlyÆs disturbed heart sputtered and stopped

Chapter 2112

The abyss around them collapsed as his hand ripped into the internal space of RageÆs form and tore through his core The energy sputtered and groped but the important knot tying the storm together was severed When the Grey Creature struck it did not hesitate It lashed out with intent to kill

Rage growled a soft noise in the spreading silence

Meanwhile Randidly felt strangely unmoored without the beating of the heart His skin prickled The organ had become the engine of more than just his body tied implicitly to his Nether Core and the flows of energy that animated him Energy was tied closely with its operations Without the constant pumps with his physical heart damaged he felt hollow and empty His energy flows slowed to a crawl The two stood opposite each other on the bare island the flames and heat dissipated

Obviously RandidlyÆs Stats were high enough damage to his heart rapidly began to heal Yet there was something strangely cleansing and harrowing about those few moments of absolute silence inside of him He stood without moving feeling the fingers of death laying across the back of his neck He didnÆt even breathe He watched Rage solemnly the other version of him having a hand sized canyon carved out of his upper body

Blood dripped down from his fingers Both of their wounds rapidly knitted back together Yet that strange moment of repose lingered in his mind

Rage proudly displayed his teeth You didnÆt look away even for a second You are learning after all

I didnÆt need to learn Like youÆve said IÆve had you here for a long time I live and breathe with you inside of me Randidly licked his lips Despite the fact he knew it would heal he couldnÆt help but feel a surge of relief when his heart finally did right itself back in his chest and begin to beat once more He cleared his throat He had already wasted enough time here Alright IÆve played your game Show it to me

Ha You want more The two of us can struggle for all eternity here writhing in the flames of rage IÆm glad to see you are embracing who you truly are A feral creature sharpening his edge on combat Rage spread his arms that jerkiness returned to his movements At his gesture the lake around the island began to bubble and seethe once more LetÆs

No Rage Randidly felt exhausted and trembly as he said the words It would have honestly been more enjoyable just to fight for a while longer He had always found violence pure and direct No doubts or waffling But somehow he knew he needed the flames dim to get the heart of this area That moment of silence whispered to him that he could not escape without walking to the core of this negative emotion as well Let me see the memory What is it that you are scared of

I fear nothing Rage whispered But the embers of rage being planted in the lake abruptly vanished Everything once more settled back down to silence They simply stood there looking at each other At the end of the long stair RageÆs lip curled upward But I do protect you IÆll always be there when you need to burn the darkness away

Thank you for that Randidly replied genuinely

RageÆs face crumpled further But he didnÆt have anything more to say He gestured with a hand and released a glimmering mote of light into the space between them With a nod of acknowledgment Randidly reached out and touched the memory

It tasted bitter just on his fingertip like over steeped green tea But it slipped over him like an old ratty t shirt

Because in the end that was why this memory really hurt him even though it was just confusion over a meal She had made RickÆs favorite meal on RandidlyÆs birthday a day late because she had been too tired from working over the weekend to recall The mundane slip had been devastating Because to him it had shown that he hadnÆt been special to her That someone else could easily replace him