Randidly swayed dizzily He had enough vision to observe that familiar clumsy attack swinging forward and then the spearuserÆs eyes widened in realization The young guard even had time to open his mouth and scream before the radiated half formed truths shredded his existence and left a blood mist in its wake
A walking Calamity The bleak thought whispered to Randidly The doom of the Nexus Your inevitable Ghasthund You always speak of creating something new will skimming over the reality of what genesis requires
Fuck Randidly whispered the word barely able to stay upright He reflexively absorbed the Nether released as the Samsara reset the memory However even that felt sloppy He struck out wildly with his Grand Fate but his temporal senses had lost their acuity Everything vibrated at the edges The static y quality numbed him
The Alchemist clicked his tongue in distaste and produced some of the valuable thread that Randidly had extracted from his arm He wove a basic rope and used it to bind the shards in place The fit was extremely messy so Randidly grunted and squeezed his shabby Nether accumulations He gestured and significance flowed out almost randomly
His eyes narrowed to slits He didnÆt stop pouring everything he had into the attack despite his instincts warning that he wouldnÆt succeed He spoke with exasperation and self mockery referring to himself in the third person Randidly Ghosthound doesnÆt need to put up with this fucking shit
And to his surprise that phrase triggered a reinforcing ripple from his distant Nether Core Instantly the Nether sparkled and turned translucent The Samsara screamed in rejection as some of his power flowed through to him yet it couldnÆt prevent it from happening
My core is reacting Another clue to my Penance But what the hell is this Randidly flushed with confusion but mostly focused on following through with the attack He only had one more nagging thought I just hope my Penance isnÆt like my Class including my own name
IÆm tired of all these narcissistic developments in my life
The conjured spear stabbed between the shifting waves of the Samsara Randidly adjusted his mental grip and grinned He heaved on the shaft of the weapon twisting the spear sideways With a groan the Samsara popped open
Randidly shot past the charred corpse of the guard in the memory flesh scoured from his top half so a skeleton watched him pass with sightless eyes Randidly acknowledged a debt there IÆll come back and figure a way out of this Truth And not just for your sake But for my own
So I can live with what IÆm becoming
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 795
As he squeezed through the opening into the broad realm of shifting patterns Randidly took the opportunity to cleanse all the Samsara connections He felt a great deal of dread as he he cut them and reestablished his connection to his own time His mind remained overworked and drained Escaping from that little memory pocket had cost him all of his accumulated Nether He might have a few clues how to transform Nether he could gather into his actual Nether but he would need some refined Nether to even attempt the process
He paused and spun around sensing the approach of the Samsara again With his Nether spent and his Soulspace beginning to tremble once more he could only watch with gritted teeth as he was shrouded in a memory
Randidly Ghosthound ended up on his back staring into darkness A little physical strain confirmed it was one of his original three memories of the Samsara when Yystrix forced Randidly to condense his first Class
Another reaction from the Nether Core I must be on the right track for the Penance But what the hell is a Penance anyway Randidly muttered as he tried to find the commonality between the times his Nether reacted
Randidly Ghosthound Yystrix said in a low drawl Randidly flushed he honestly forgot she would be listening But as she continued to speak his expression became strange You have no business considering the mysteries of Nether Cores at least not yet
He decided to take a gamble When he didnÆt see a way forward he could only lash out wildly and hope for the best What if I told you IÆm from the future
I would say you certainly have an active imagination Yystrix chuckled Yet the pressure against him changed But there is no harm in enunciating the details A Nether Penance the old Nether Penances were always about connection Connection to the broader universe The way you have lived what is the connection that youÆve formed with the rest of existence What is the priceÆ of your lifestyle you would never have chosen but yet now You stare the costs in the teeth and you do not flinch You would gladly suffer them
Chapter 2439
Randidly lay on the ground and stared up into darkness He didnÆt see an answer from YystrixÆs casual answer but his mind began to stir
Consequences I would never have chosen but now I would gladly suffer His thoughts quickly derailed into self deprecation as he considered his inner situation The bandaging of his Soulspace had begun to tremble as pressure built Heh there is so so much of the current shitstorm I would never have chosen why were Eternities waiting beyond Elhume when I had struggled for so long just to surpass him But also IÆm not willing to just lie back and accept their meddling in the Nexus
He flexed the muscles of his upper body Even contemplation here isnÆt without costs setting aside those tendrils from the Samsara the more I wait here the more dangerous the situation for the Nexus becomes
If you need help Yystrix continued Her voice deepened losing the rather lecturing quality and settling into her more sinister whisper I will gladly lay out your whole Path Randidly Ghosthound You are mine and will always be mine
You have died Yystrix But thank you for all youÆve given me however selfish your intentions He shook his head and ignored her and the palpitations from the Samsara around her He thought about his original plan for overcoming an Eternity creating a miracle vaguely in the shape of a Shallah by mixing a Grand Fate and a Penance into a revelatory whole And now he understood the trick of mixing energies and expected that the other aspect of his plan coinciding his Grand Fate and Penance with reaching the Pinnacle and achieving Eternity would give him the means to create untainted versions of the energy
Randidly hadnÆt even considered the choices posed to him at the Pinnacle and Eternity respectively He could still see NyxÆs serious and infinite eyes pinpricked with stars as she regarded him He now held her Truth bouncing around his weakened Soulspace nudging him towards another painful destabilization
You canÆt have it both ways
RandidlyÆs eyes flickered If IÆm being honest all I really want is to prove IÆm not like Elhume Or Laplace and Pangu more powerful entities like them that will use any means necessary to grow Those who only look at results at power That my Path is better than the narrow Path worshiped by depraved individuals like Fatia Cerulean
He looked at his broken Soulspace and his unraveling Nether He observed the half Truths mixing and mutating with each other He saw the flat back of PanguÆs Aspect with the careful observation patterns aimed at stealing whatever Truths he used to reach the Pinnacle He felt his Grand Fate the role he had chosen He felt the threadbare fabric of time around him ground down by the constant churning from LaplaceÆs Samsara
Randidly felt his sluggish emotions drained almost entirely He felt his Class humming with all the concentrated potential of his existence He felt the Alpha Cosmos connected to him and shuddering with the strain of the current situation He felt the three Moiraes he had created on his own observing his actions closely The Dove Moirae smiled The Apostate Moirae leaned forward The Moirae of Minute Repercussions observed the ripples in space Behind them stood a shadowy figure that weighed and calculated every detail His eyes scanned the ingredients to find a way to break free from the methodology of monsters
He felt his own frustrating ignorance at the broader state of affairs outside the Nexus Without a measuring stick he was entirely lost
Is being lost truly such a bad thing Perspective makes the miracle And my perspective
Randidly felt a new possibility beginning to take form as the Alchemist walked steadily forward and raised his hands
All the ingredients were accounted for And although the formula was half finished the Alchemist couldnÆt control his wild anticipation I have an idea And the consequences heh hahahahah I cannot even fathom what will result
But it will truly be miraculous You will no longer resemble them
Randidly wavered even as his feeble Nether began to gather almost instinctually The significance formed a maelstrom around his torso His focus flicked to the observational patterns waiting on the base of the Aspect With so many threats arrayed around him Randidly couldnÆt help but hesitate Overcoming the Samsara is one problem but if Pangu has intentions for the Nexus
The three Moiraes moved together and stood next to the Alchemist The grin upon the DoveÆ MoiraeÆs face became eerie No that is the beauty of this It will foil them all The only problem is whether it will grant us power enough to overcome an Eternity
It will The Alchemist affirmed but the Three Moiraes remained silent Even the Apostate Moirae did not seem confident The Alchemist shook his head At the very least the Grand Fate will be strengthened by the Penance being created And is our Grand Fate not a near ideal weapon against this Eternity Just repeat after me
My Penance
My Penance Randidly wheezed out the words Yystrix tightened her grip on him but he no longer held back the full force of his Vessel His imagined lungs expanded He took in the breath to say the next words
is to be deaf to Truth
Fully formed the dearly held wish and the grim resolve to endure the implications of this statement grew tall in RandidlyÆs heart If they wish to weaponize my Truths I will abandon them If my current Path tempts the foolish into monstrous acts of sacrifice I will leave no trace of the heights I can reach I need not immortalize my existence to purchase power
My fickle legend will be the only evidence of my passage
The painful contractions of his Soulspace stilled He released a slow sigh and opened his eyes Randidly Ghosthound had been born with fierce emerald irises His images and image physicalizations had only strengthened this until his eyes appeared faintly luminous
Yet after a single blink those iconic eyes shifted His iris and sclera turned entirely black Only the former pupil retained the bright verdant color wrapping his gaze in an eerie intensity
Your Nether Core is experiencing an extreme reaction Determining results
Congratulations you have formed a Nether Penance The Empty Vessel Forsakes the Path Examining effects
Randidly felt like he floated through himself witnessing all the subtle contractions of his Aether as it grappled with his new existence He saw the beams and bolts of the edifice he had built over the past twenty years
Without a single change in expression he began to rip out the foundation
Truth was a vague word especially in the context of the Nexus The expression of his Penance hummed with all the implied meanings not referring to honesty or reality but to Truth It had many forms and was tied into the underpinning of the entire image system of the System Perhaps most accurately Truth was a resonance between a shape and the Pinnacle
RandidlyÆs strange new gaze had an implacable quality as he seized huge chunks of Aether and just tore them away He carved back the facade and soon found the glowing support structure beneath it all
The better the Truth the more powerful the resonance the easier it would be to cross to the Pinnacle At the Pinnacle the Truth would begin to alter the world Randidly let go of the possibility Or rather he would be numb to the opportunity He would not hear the fundamental resonance of the universe telling him it was ready to change to fit his image
But itÆs more than just that isnÆt it RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed The light in front of him those bones beneath all his accomplishments began to turn chaotic
The Moiraes raised their hands coating their fingers in this pure and powerful significance thicker and more brilliant than any his Nether Core had made in the past Randidly GhosthoundÆs whole existence began to contract
Warning Please note that all Penances come with a deep cost
Empty Vessel Forsakes the Path The rare and powerful Penance received by Randidly Ghosthound with unsympathetic eyes The Penance radiates a deep repudiation of the System and its bloody implications Although the Path may lead ever onward your feet will no longer follow It is an extremely potent Penance that will affect Randidly Ghosthound for the rest of his existence The physicality of his Vessel is greatly strengthened The incorporation efficiency of Nether and Aether into the functioning of his Vessel is greatly increased His skin has become incredibly resistant to foreign energies
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Yet Randidly Ghosthound can no longer perceive the appropriateness Truth although he can still wield images and be hurt by the weaponized Truths of others Only his own instincts will give him feedback Randidly Ghosthound can now walk freely to the Pinnacle but he would not sense it or be able to benefit from the experience A similar block will prevent him from acknowledging Eternity
You canÆt have it both ways Nyx had said to him
Randidly felt his lips twitch What if I donÆt even bother to choose I wonÆt even notice the branching Path in front of me IÆll just continue advancing So long as I move as I donÆt cease struggling I will eventually overturn it all
Congratulations You have completed the Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight Path
Congratulations You have completed the Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter Path
Congratulations You have completed the Keyholder of the Infinite Nether Passages Path
Randidly reached out His hand sank through the deteriorating bricks down through all the layers His Nether Penance pulled and pulled the substance finally beginning to condense But also you are how they got here too arenÆt you If thatÆs the case I think itÆs time for me to try another method
Congratulations You have completed the Achieving a Mille I Path
Congratulations You have completed the Care of the Pantheon Path
Congratulations You have completed the Homunculus Advances the First Self Vivisection Path
Randidly offered his pyramid of Paths a Cheshire smile I could build you up higher and higher I would obtain power this way Yet heh IÆm tired of advancing in ways you expect
He looked at the brick at the top of the pyramid his most recent Path
Congratulations You have completed the Reality from Echoes Moirae and Alchemist Ascendant Path
His arm stretched down through the pyramid to touch the first brick The steps that had started it all
Congratulations You have completed the Newbie Path
IÆve come a long way from being a Newbie haven’t I Randidly narrowed his focus to his finger LetÆs bring this Legend to its conclusion
His finger thrust out the greatest spear stroke he had ever executed Randidly felt that Shal would have been proud RandidlyÆs first and last Paths shattered to pieces and the rest started to twist and fall upon one another in a spitting mass of energy
His heart contracted His Penance condensed
The small wisps of Nether held within his person which possessed all the substance of mist fragments curling around dew sprinkled grass spun together and flowed into those broken remnants of Paths Nether coated their edges and pulled them together Each began to overlap with the others pressed and squeezed in repudiation of the edifice they had built
Randidly watched without regret
A nebula formed A nebula that moved in two directions at once the shapes folding inward while flattening outward The overlapping planes of its shape fractured and refracted It was a shadowy flower a ruptured perspective an all consuming abyss Unmoored from the spectrum of resonance Randidly needed to find a new balance
The reaction had created a maelstrom that moved to settle within the prepared frame of Engraved Aether
Almost immediately Randidly could feel his Nether Core releasing a massive sigh of relief as it found the potential for a stable foundation The isolating power of the Samsara could barely restrain the flood of sparkling significance that began to rush into his form His veins expanded his body heating up as the energy naturally resumed its flow
The Alchemist cackled and cackled even as RandidlyÆs Grand Fate responded to the shift The Samsara didnÆt remain inert either In the memory Yystrix wove first Engravings and then basic Nether Rituals to halt the strange bubbling within RandidlyÆs Vessel but she couldnÆt restrain the inexorable flow of his significance He had carved out a part of himself watched the universe carry away that pound of flesh with stoic eyes The rest could shift and settle into a new equilibrium
The whirling mass of interposed Nether shapes he had created shimmered and pulsed within its Engraved frame The Sanctum rumbled RandidlyÆs inner space rippled as the isolating effect collapsed before the rising tide of the transformation The Samsara howled out a rejection but the noise was muted It squeezed Randidly but he hardly felt it The Samsara wielded its own sort of Truth and although they might still be used against him they would no longer be as effective at hemming in his actions
Congratulations Your Soulskill Figure of the Alpha Cosmos has evolved into Hollow Mold of Myths Detecting changes Path Points are being converted
Congratulations You have learned the Skill Tribond Nether Connections Ground the Shape Lvl 1
Nether Connection Trifecta Grounds the Shape A rare Skill necessary only because Randidly Ghosthound has lost the ability to perceive Paths and Truths within the System Only be relying on the Phaea Maala and Toosah forged before this loss of sensation can Randidly Ghosthound maintain at least a semblance of connection to objectivity Gives the ability to perceive the signs of others utilizing Truth Gives a small ability to sense a vague shape of otherÆs attacks against him even if they are made using Truth Effects increase with Skill Level
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 233
Congratulations You have learned the Skill A LegendÆs Instinctual Image Framework
A Legends Instinctual Image Framework A Skill developed by Randidly Ghosthound to compensate for the costs of his Nether Penance No longer able to perceive a reaction from the universe to his images Randidly Ghosthound can still create and utilize powerful images to affect existence His innate senses honed by the presence of overwhelming Nether flowing through his Vessel still create stable images without distortions In addition the Skill grants the user great resistance to mental attacks and increases the vibrancy of the images in unnatural environments Effects increase with Skill Level
Congratulations Your Skill Nether Connection Trifecta Ground the Shape has grown to Level 459
Congratulations Your Skill A LegendÆs Instinctual Image Framework has grown to Level 202
Congratulations You have learned the Skill Relentless Memory of the Nether Executive Lvl 1
Relentless Memory of the Nether Executive A unique ability developed by Randidly Ghosthound a Nether being of immense influence who sacrificed one of his senses to empower the others All the experiences and information of the user are gathered and stored with the utmost clarity Although he cannot currently witness Truth his memories of Truth will not fade In addition user gains an extremely sharp intuition toward important connections within memories and their future implications Effects increase with Skill Level
Congratulations Your Skill Relentless Memory of the Nether Executive has grown to Level 195
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 405
Your Path Points (PP) have been converted into Vessel Points (VP) Vessel Points are usable to strengthen the Vessel and effect various changes within the Alpha Cosmos and the body of Randidly Ghosthound User will still receive a massive tithe of VP after the Soulskill reaches certain milestones Current VP 13 054 Current Soulskill Level Hollow Mold of Myths Lvl 562 950 Next Tithe will be achieved at Hollow Mold of Myths Lvl 600 000
Please note new rules are being developed for the expenditure of Vessel Points Please open your VP Menu for more information
Chapter 2440
Randidly felt curiously numb restrained in the memory by YystrixÆs increasing desperation The action of shattering all his Paths he had taken could not be reversed Yet relaxation spread throughout his muscles and joints The tight grimace on his face eased he could no longer feel the shattered pieces of Truth careening around his Soulspace His scrunched forehead smoothed for the first time all day
The Truths he had created were the loudest and most domineering of the noises in his soul but now he understood how every Path had added a small voice to his existence He had started his journey as a normal human so he hadnÆt even noticed the presence at first And then as he grew stronger so many sang inside of him he simply grew used to their presence
Yet now he was cleansed
Not that he believed just condensing his strange Penance would be enough to solve all of his problems Or that the rest of the fights would be simple Or that he particularly had a better idea of how his new Penance would give him the power to overcome Laplace
Yet he had found his footing by letting go of Truth He didnÆt worry about his Path any longer And he had kicked away the poisonous crutch left to him by Pangu With increasing clarity his inner Sanctum manifested even in the memory Above a rather flat picture frame housed a churning maelstrom of black geometric shapes Below the pool of Nether had frozen and expanded to form an orb From the seed in the middle chaotic bands of opacity forked out to the edges It was a lovely marble its flaws glittering darkly with promised malice
Randidly Ghosthound blinked his new strange eyes all black except for the luminous emerald pupil
You gathering this much energy can only rupture your feeble body And youÆve become so curiously inert at the same time what have you done Yystrix hissed She threw more and more restrictions across RandidlyÆs torso her efforts given extra teeth by the churning Samsara Every few seconds more aggressive tendrils whipped down to try and befuddle Randidly They whispered imitating all those previously ignored voices
Without the little static from the Paths Randidly could spot and shred them with his Grand Fate any time he wanted Yet for the moment his attention still remained upon his notifications
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 500 As you have abandoned the typical senses of the universe you have developed a honed knack for detecting irregularities around you You can also sense the power of other Vessels you encounter Your VesselÆs natural resistance to foreign images has increased
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 801
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 815
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 701
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 833
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 832
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 833
Pantheon Intervention Your recently formed Grand Fate and Nether Penance have come into alignment The Levels are the same The presence of both at the same tier of power is reacting to the other
Randidly felt the rumbling of a powerful transformation from the depths of his Sanctum Nether rushed through his body faster and faster coating the interior of his form and seeping into the fundamental essence of his Vessel He felt his heartbeat thundering against his skin a vitality so powerful it seemed on the cusp of ripping its way out of him and unleashing a defiant howl He possessed the urge to breathe even as an imaginary being Yggdrasil grew rapidly within this environment sprouting up and down in every direction
The Samsara shuddered his other two images hammering to be reunited with Randidly The defenses of the Samsara groaned and began to give
Yet Randidly just laughed his right hand tightening to a fist In his curiously numb state the vibrational TruthÆ wielded by the Samsara became just unmoored vibration And vibration was just another usable form of kinetic energy
The growing Yggdrasil drank and drank until its roots had been bloated to the cusp of rupturing an unsurpassed annihilation of force suffusing RandidlyÆs Vessel Waves of heat rolled off of him distorting space and giving his Grand Fate extra practice mending time Even then he didnÆt stop accumulating His muscles stretched to the point they would have twanged like a guitar string
Because as of yet he hadnÆt even yet checked out his new power Randidly focused and opened up his Vessel Point Menu
Congratulations You have unlocked the Vessel Point System For your miraculous actions +3 to MuseÆs Reverie
The Vessel Point System has been carved by the Pantheon for the use of Randidly Ghosthound Vessel Points can be spent on any unlocked Creeds At a certain point user will earn additional Vessel Layers which allow for additional Creeds to be added to your Vessel
Creeds will affect both the physical performance of Randidly Ghosthound as well as conditions within the Alpha Cosmos so be prudent in your selection and development of Creeds As they grow more potent there is a small chance of Creeds evolving In addition please note that for every 500 VP spent +1 to all Stats
Vessel Screen
Vessel Layers 0
Creeds None
(Infuse VPs to unlock further options)
The muscles of RandidlyÆs right arm began to bulge as force roared up and back through the limb He could feel his blood boiling before the next flood of Nether slithered by like a frigid wyrm stabilizing his physical condition as he built up power Following the instruction he dumped away his VPs
He could feel the effect although it was miniscule in comparison to the Vessel of evolved Stats he had forged His body became marginally more powerful But if discarding his Paths had given Randidly an inner peace spending these VPs enlarged the untouched pool of tranquil liquid at his core His aura intensified Already he began to sense the sort of stifling effect he would have on all foreign images around him
The long moment of activation stretched The current fractured time bubbled with powerful ingredients on the verge of violent reaction The Samsara howled and spat out corkscrews of memory Randidly spent a thousand VP and received a response
You have condensed your first Vessel Layer Current Vessel Layers 1
For earning a new Layer you have unlocked a new Creed Your randomly assigned Creed
Pantheon Intervention
Congratulations You have earned the Creed Harmony
Despite the dangerous situation in which Randidly found himself he couldnÆt prevent his lips from twitching down into a frown Pantheon intervention What a subtle nudge Was that really necessary guys
Chapter 2441
Randidly decided very generously not to read too deeply into the intentions of the Pantheon by forcing him to utilize the Creed Harmony Instead his body still trembling with barely controlled power he simply poured VPs into this new Creed and examined the definition The corkscrews spun closer
(Creed) Harmony A Creed that emphasizes balance and cooperation between disparate elements In addition development without sacrifice When VPs are spent user will become more efficient and sophisticated in the manipulation of the body In addition userÆs balance will be greatly strengthened The userÆs mental state will be very resilient For those within the Alpha Cosmos this Creed makes it easier to develop Skills or images related to cooperation combination water healing steady growth communication summoning and spirituality
As the relative dominance of this Creed increases user can manipulate and combine energies with greater ease Images will more easily be blended together In addition complex arrangements become easier to balance However harsh or aggressively pure images will be slightly weakened (yet attacks from pure images foreign to the Vessel will be more difficult to resist) Mutated monsters with strength well beyond their Level will spawn more frequently
This Randidly frowned at all the information provided to him The development of this Harmony Creed was timely the rabid waves of force within his body was quickly corralled and saddled Setting aside the very obvious consternation from the Pantheon it was just what Randidly needed The wound spring of his strike compressed further and increased in power In addition he felt the same general reinforcement across his body as he spent another thousand VP straight into Harmony
But the interesting point is that not only are there benefits for choosing this Creed but also drawbacks and from the inclusion of the word relativeÆ probably it not only matters how much you strengthen a Creed but also how much it is strengthened compared to your others
Information to keep in mind
Randidly broke off that train of thought and focused on his current situation With a total of two thousand VP spent he tested the development of his Vessel The taut bowstring of his body snapped forward
In the halo of silence around RandidlyÆs body this sudden movement could be described as nothing but violence
He punched His muscles finally sang The air around his first tore Vibration became tension which became a kinetic eruption of godly proportions Of Legendary proportions The corkscrews shivered and chipped as the initial blast hit them and then fractured into hundreds of brittle pieces as the tide of destruction rushed forward
The force continued The next half spawned wave of corkscrews could only vanish from existence as RandidlyÆs powerful attack eroded them The attack cracked against the constricting walls of the Samsara Randidly hadnÆt aimed toward the SamsaraÆs weaknesses but as his force set the Samsara to trembling he narrowed his eyes and gestured
Force spun around and cracked against the flaw Randidly pried open the Samsara but he pursed his lips as he saw the Samsara was this time prepared
The bits of the shatterer corkscrews began to react before Randidly could escape through the gap A familiar memory formed in the broken pieces of the aftermath strong walls keeping him penned in Across the room from where Randidly stood Aegiant sneered at him LetÆs see then how much your spearwork has improved
Immediately the sunÆs nova leaked out from AegiantÆs skin and began to melt the surroundings The Samsara had truly poured out all of its potency into this avatarÆs body Heat instantly sizzled against RandidlyÆs skin until he felt like he had been coated in flames But the most ominous portion of this avatar was the eyes they were empty black abysses a cross between a black hole and a supernova
They fixated on Randidly intent on crushing his Vessel in that abyss of calefaction
Randidly kept adding VPs to his Harmony Creed although he began to have an implicit understanding of how this was exactly the sort of foe that Harmony was not designed to combat After a thousand more he received another notification
You have condensed a Vessel Layer Current Vessel Layers 2
Yet Randidly could only show his teeth You know IÆm not trying to deny the of this place Truth Just prove you donÆt need to be hemmed in by it So what if you are more powerful than me Aegiant Power is a fickle thing And until you understand the restrictions of the Narrow Path you have chosen you cannot harm me
A new opinion formed in his heart Yggdrasil spread out from RandidlyÆs form in response It opened up its canopy of emerald leaves and rapidly began to absorb the explosion of solar energy Its roots swam down through lava and found solid ground beneath Such a constant supply of energy made the World Tree swell although in a much healthier manner than swallowing kinetic force
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 903
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 903
VP +1
After pouring 2000 VPs into his new Vengeance Creed Randidly hesitated and stopped He examined his Vessel Point Menu
Vessel Layers 2
Creeds Vengeance (2000) Harmony (2000) N/A (1000)
VPs 9704
Randidly pressed a hand to his chest I can feel it the churning force of Vengeance on the one hand like a storm about to his shore and the calming influence of Harmony opposite it Right now they are in balance and probably I should stay like this for now
Because overcoming Aegiant isnÆt really isnÆt about power ItÆs about demonstrating how fickle Truth can be
The Alchemist rubbed his hands together Bit by bit he began to understand what todayÆs final miracle would be
Chapter 2442
Heat became a physical presence Energies warred against one another The Truth was repeatedly hammered toward Randidly by the Samsara but stiffened as it entered into the growing stability he provided to existence
Gradually Randidly felt the new direction to which his choices would lead him
Aegiant screeched and rose higher while Randidly advanced his second Creed The dark pits of his eyes widened and ate through his face in their best impression of the Stillborn Phoenix Heat and darkness mixed as he expanded to destroy the cave system of the memory and then began to eat into the unsuspecting sky with teeth of distorted air and sparking plasma
Temperature failed to describe the power of this incarnation of Aegiant he radiated annihilation Even Yggdrasil began to dry and crack underneath this manifestation of the sun Stone turned runny in a larger and larger area Randidly could only awkwardly paddle in the rising tide of lava around him Aegiant raised his hands and condensed a blinding pillar of sunlight He poured his whole existence into spiking it downward toward Randidly
As the attack passed through the air the pillar birthed incandescent halos of plasma that fizzled and spat in its wake
With its trunk covered in glittering symbols Yggdrasil stretched high and proud in the face of this attack From the rustling leaves came the scattered beams of light from the dawn of existence The canopy parted to allow a pure blast to meet the assault
Congratulations Your Skill Genesis Opens A Thousand Doors and Baptizes All Comers has grown to Level 1451
Light met light but one was the soft and holy light of possibility while the other was nothing but Truth warped until it had become a scouring acid When Aegiant ripped and shredded apart those pure rays a new rustling appeared in the canopy Deep shadows formed underneath the auspices of the wide leaves with a cackling avatar of woe and madness approaching The profile was a twitching monstrosity of wicker and skittering avarice She stretched out her greedy fingers and clawed at the powerful attack
Congratulations Your Skill Insatiable Deviation Promises Doom (DD) has grown to Level 1493
The Nether construct around Randidly pulsed with a single certainty Power
Despite the relentless nature of the Skill even the shadows were broken down by the unstoppable force wielded by Aegiant The Samsara had spared nothing to prop up his image That light spread and tore its way downward The canopy rustled one last time before the annihilating heat arrived The gorgeous emerald leaves were burnt to a crisp in a flash The image manifestation flickered
Randidly watched the pillar approach He felt an instinct to raise his hands and struggle but he stilled that feeling that was not how he would be able to break this memory
Although the Vengeance Creed is bubbling in my stomach like heartburn when I just sit and take the attack RandidlyÆs lips twitched His hands tightened into fists and then he forcefully relaxed them
The attack hit the waiting trunk of the world tree The powerful bark barely managed to slow it down A massive hole was drilled through the treeÆs top several branches catching fire directly Other branches began to snap and wither as waves of heat and discharge plasma novaÆd outward The surrounding area was marred by burns Beneath the hammer blow Randidly was smashed deep into the lava ocean his Vessel hammered and shaken
Congratulations Your Skill Yyrflesh Vessel of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 1560
A pillar of heat connected ground and sky with Aegiant standing with his hands raised in the middle like a prophet of the apocalypse Even through the haze of his new deafness Randidly could feel the Truth of this powerÆ It seared his skin and ravaged his muscles crashing again and again against the flow of Nether stabilizing his body
Congratulations Your Skill Yyrflesh Vessel of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 1613
RandidlyÆs lip curled upward His position in the depths of the lava pool stabilized Because eventually that powerful manifestation faded The deep root system of the World Tree hadnÆt been touched in the slightest His burns rapidly began to heal Significance continued to gush through his limbs Randidly swam back to the surface his hair sizzling He laughed at the memory It all had begun to seem so two dimensional And now what Aegiant What do you do when power isnÆt enough to get what you want
Aegiant roared out his defiance but small sprigs were already growing out of the scorched and ravaged portions of Yggdrasil And in the energies rushing through the World Tree there were new bright sparks of plasma causing the Engravings across the trunk to glow intermittently By surviving the baptism of a sunÆs heat that could end a world Yggdrasil would grow back more resilient
It could grow back with a little bit of that power incorporated into the image
Randidly once again felt his hands tightening into fists but forcefully engaged both of his Creeds Yes I will not let this go Aegiant will be punished I will have my vengeance But there are many ways to have revenge aside from violence
Power is not enough to stop me IÆll show you how frightful it can be to fight an entity in harmony with the world
It all became fuel
Congratulations Your Skill The World Tree Guzzles Even Truth has grown to Level 1605
As the root carried him upward he broke the surface of the lava and then swung himself to land on one of the low branches of the World Tree He grinned up at Aegiant while steam wafted off his skin and molten rock hardened in thin streams down his legs You might have more power but that just means that you create a larger effect on the world But what happens if IÆm simply better at controlling the effects I want than you
This avatar didnÆt bother to respond Aegiant conjured an even larger pillar Time stuttered around them as the power of the image ripped through the temporal fabric
Almost instinctively Randidly pursed his lips in distaste and sutured together the edges of the wound
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 973
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 973
The light from the pillar became so intense that the visuals crumpled and became darkness and the dark points in the environment became light by contrast Aegiant birthed a cataclysm that he unleashed upon the World Tree Power with a capital P crunched all opposition against it as it rolled inexorably down like the descending curtain after a theater performance The canopy vanished dawnÆs pure light and the darkness of Yggdrasil handled in a moment The upper branches became kindling The lower branches were crushed directly
Already Randidly felt the effects grinding against his Vessel He bit his lip using the violence of Vengeance and the steadiness of Harmony to remain strong His image continued to suffer The trunk was scoured clean of the Engravings The interior was hollowed out by flame
The roots were ripped up and pursued as they swam deeper into the ground to escape The lava around RandidlyÆs body evaporated on impact His Vessel shook and shook ravaged continuously by the high temperature He walked on the surface of a sun parched and fading underneath the overwhelming image
Randidly forced his spine to straighten Sparking blades of plasma slashed across his torso shredding the skin and evaporating the blood in the same instant He lifted his chin and did not flinch Randidly understood the allure power But it didnÆt have to be an unassailable Truth
With time damaged the experience of overwhelming heat stretched Every moment was agony as his skin began to bubble But compared to the exhaustion Randidly had carried compared to the weight of expectations he bore compared to the soul sundering agony of having TruthÆs mutate and crack him open
Randidly Ghosthound stood with his eyes half open This was nothing He could weather the tantrums of power
Yet even in this state his psyche gradually began to fray Time had bogged down nudged by the Samsara into trapping him here The heat turned the air hazy Randidly ignored the pain and the oppressive darkness and raised his gaze He spread his arms wide
Your manipulations just prove how desperate you are You know how this ends too donÆt you Laplace
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 991
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 991
The power began to fade This time Yggdrasil barely waited until plasma had ceased dancing in the environment to blossom out of the burnt surfaces The World Tree drank down energy and restored its luster The trunk came back stronger than ever Lively energy gushed through the branches The canopy stretched taller and produced additional meadows of thick leaves The roots dug deeper into the ground
When the Samsara shuddered and attempted to empower Aegiant even further YggdrasilÆs roots wormed their way into the cracks of the animating patterns The World Tree twitched and broke the memory open
The Samsara groaned and melted away in a gushing explosion of significance Randidly found himself looking at the shocked face of the young guard
Stop right there The guard growled RandidlyÆs emerald pupils dilated finally he had made it back here Before he could proceed forward he needed to figure out how to handle this Truth
Chapter 2443
The guardÆs face contained obvious desperation and worry Perhaps instinctively he sensed the damage Randidly could inflict on him just by his presence
Randidly felt his heart tremor just slightly This was how the Samsara had almost broken him down By weaponizing one of his old Truths against him Every detail matters Because the perspective of following every detail would lead to predictable outcomes Which made it more painful to observe the way RandidlyÆs actions produced unintended consequences because each unexpected outcome was a failure by him to consider
Specifically he had been so thoughtless he had left behind ripples that would sweep up and destroy the lives of innocents And that was not the sort of person or legend that Randidly Ghosthound wanted to be
Even with all the Stats he had earned and now earned more constantly due to the accumulation of VPs Randidly couldnÆt handle every detail The world was too broad and complex for any mind to grasp He had achieved the status of a legend a being beyond mundane reality But that didnÆt bless him with omnipotence Details would escape him Ripples would drift outward
But the vicious conclusion this inevitability insisted upon ignored a very important point
Randidly offered the unfortunate soul in front of him a sad and kind smile As he spoke he couldnÆt help but picture all the ways he had killed this man originally and in the memory replays No IÆll go back on my own Because the real reason so many innocents are killed in my wake is I donÆt bother to clean up my messes
Because IÆve been too proud because there is always a more important issue to address and that hasnÆt changed But IÆm of the opinion whatÆs the point of gathering all this capability if I cannot even handle my own problems
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 1000 Your existence continues to insinuate itself into the very fabric of time Your presence will prevent temporal distortions in the surrounding area Those within the Alpha Cosmos have gained the slightest wisp of this capability In the future their development toward Skills and images related to temporal stability will greatly increase
When opponents use temporal Skills against you there is a slight chance of stifling the activation and generating a dangerous rebound
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Forsakes the Path has grown to Level 1000 Your Nether Core is experiencing a period of immense Nether growth Your significance will soon develop further unique effects after being isolated from the reverberations of Truth The effects of your Authorities are increased
For the continued growth of aligned Grand Fate and Nether Penance +1 MuseÆs Reverie
Without waiting for a response Randidly pivoted on his heel A few steps brought him to the window where flurries of snow spiraled down He stepped up onto the sill and hopped out into the chill air His breath seeped out of his mouth like fog His new eyes black with that bright emerald pupil aimed downward
Below waited the open maw of entropy the mutated Judgment he had avoided the manifestation of all his small decisions that could be catastrophes for those innocents caught in the crossfire He walked back down the PathÆ he had carved without worrying about the consequences
Violent winds curled a massive snowstorm into a tight circle It exhaled freezing rain and condensing clumps of hail The storm plucked up sharpened stakes of ice solidified recriminations and whirled them around in a tight spiral of death It was a throat with a circular opening lined with frigid teeth
The air around Randidly remained mostly still but that was because he had climbed the tower to escape the Judgement behind him it would take a little bit of time to catch up to him He looked down and saw a thousand tiny bits of TruthÆ the Samsara had probably plucked out of his subconscious to make his heart bleed
More memories bobbed and flashed across the surface of his mind as he followed those horrific winds He saw all the danger he had put the people of Donnyton through by refusing to take on a mantle of leadership He saw ShalÆs emotional struggles on Tellus the ones Randidly had never asked about as he continued his training He saw the suffering of Turtletown the fate of the Lyra the bloodshed in the different Zones as he refused to stop them from making stupid decisions
He saw the lives he had taken in Dungeons He saw suffering in the wider Nexus the plight of the Nemesai and the Patrons
He saw Helen her eyes blank her ribs spread open like bloody wings He saw the blood spreading out around her
Randidly dumped a thousand more VPs into Vengeance as he dove downward toward the churning maelstrom of ice and ignored the consequences
The Yeti with RandidlyÆs face hissed as the Authority cracked open its desperate feelings of insecurity and need All the sense of inferiority the fear the guilt the crooked worry the nervous sweat All of it melted beneath a wholesome blast of pure energy
RandidlyÆs lips quirked into a smile as a seemingly infinite amount of life energy gushed out of his limbs And just like that I get to play the role of the sun in a memory Tch and to think Aegiant you made it look so difficult
RandidlyÆs Penance had reached Level 1000 Even he felt somewhat surprised by the manifestation of power it could create but he didnÆt miss this opportunity Acri didnÆt exist yet in this memory but with a flick of the wrist he created a radiant avatar of the spear companion he had wielded for so long
Streaking out of the sky ripping his way through the oppressive cold Randidly thrust his weapon He carved the spear from pure life and generosity Warmth sharpened the edge But it was Duty that formed the shaft
With a single thrust he pinned the yeti and its core of entropy to the ground
I donÆt know if I will ever gather enough capability to prevent innocent lives from suffering from my actions Randidly said quietly In front of him his own mouth on the yetiÆs body opened and closed soundlessly However I can take responsibility I can apologize I can continue to advance There are no set Paths to follow here but so long as I am honest about my feelings I believe I can be better than this
The other RandidlyÆs mouth finally seemed to find its words Its voice creaked as though its throat had rusted shut You have caused so much pain
Randidly just smiled as a realization tingled its way out through its body thatÆs the problem of treating time casually The current shred of time is all you see and understand Did you know that so long as you have time you can make a Truth into something else entirely
The memory dissolved around him as the Samsara switched its tactics It pulled deeper from RandidlyÆs subconscious searching for other moments to use as traps for him But in his chest Randidly felt his bones of Duty humming with a very particular meaning he had wasted enough time in here
The Nexus would not survive much longer in his absence
Devick needed him
He raised his gaze and pierced through all the complex waves of Nether He saw the veins running amongst the complex patterns creating the living breathing Samsara that aimed to digestÆ him Without Truth to distract him he found to the deepest and most sophisticated place The fat veins led him directly to a pulse shuddering core of ill will and beautiful arrangements
Randidly still couldnÆt quite interpret the meanings of the patterns created by Laplace with the help of Pangu but he didnÆt need to He fixated on the pulsing empty heart in the middle of the Samsara and barred his teeth
Randidly ripped out the heart of the Samsara After squirming and wiggling for a second the significance collapsed into a cracked and fracturing heap He took its core to give himself freedom The memories exploded into glittering bits of Nether Rituals
The Samsara of Laplace Fickle Time and Regretful Heart had been broken
Randidly stood in the remnants like he had attended the championship sports match and the inky black team had won its confetti sparkling around him He lifted his chin and savored a warm and vicious sense of satisfaction The particles drifted down to the ground and melted away
RandidlyÆs eyes the new implacable blackness around an emerald pupil swept side to side and took in the view of the uppermost tier of the Nexus the calcified figure of Pine at the bottom of that hole with the hole that indicated a wisp of the NexusÆs soul still existed Based on what his newfound senses indicated he had spent all of 57 seconds stuck in the Samsara
He exhaled slowly Duty had been seared into his bones urging him forward After a moment to gather himself he rushed to chase the Eternity
Chapter 2444
She could hear its breathing Only that wet noise echoed out
The room that had previously seemed so vast seemed like such a small place as cloudy grey distortions gathered at the periphery Laplace looked around with his bloody and gouged eyes and Devick shivered
After a few moments of consideration the bloated serpent used its two arms to drag its body slightly forward Each movement sent a shudder through its flesh Each shudder dislodged a few more fresh drops of blood which hit the ground and echoed strangely out through this perfect Pinnacle environment The weird glassy quality swirled out from LaplaceÆs body The air felt sticky as Devick breathed her heartbeat becoming alarmingly rapid
She could feel its sweat against her skin suffocating her Its image clogged her airways and constricted her muscles
Flee girl I have taught you all I can The monkey bounced forward and hopped up to stand on DevickÆs shoulder It had continued to grow over the last few minutes so it was almost half as large as Devick was It looked at her with blank eyes I appreciate you would give so much for me but I have my pride And have been alone for a long time Heh laboring without any appreciation is just my existence I do not need your help with this foe oof
The monkey toward the end of its speech made to leap off DevickÆs shoulder and go face the monster But as it jumped DevickÆs hand snapped up and grabbed its tail the unexpected tug halted the monkeyÆs progress and its face planted into the ground
You think we should face this Devick snorted while she gathered the monkey up in her arms Then she pivoted on her heel condensed Malice around her body and began sprinting away across the vast featureless plain Each step was a supreme effort forcing her way through the pressure released by the Eternity Even through her shoes she could feel the thump of those massive drops of blood hitting the ground behind her IÆm unreasonable not stupid We should not fight
This time it was Devick who was cut off The breath seemed to freeze in her lungs Her movements turned sluggish A horrific intention spun around her Soon her movements ceased Then inexorably her trembling legs began to reverse She ran backward her stride bringing her back to stand in front of the invading Eternity
As her traitorous body pivoted on her heel she bit her lip until she drew blood Malice lashed back and forth inside of her body Yet she could not escape the grasp of the Eternity
Hmph you tried to simply run from Eternity and claim not to be stupid The monkey sniffed
DevickÆs pupils dilated She felt the fullness of her resentment and unwillingness forming a tight core in her chest The muscles of her body bulged I would rather boil the blood in my veins than let you control me
Her left hand twitched Then those grey fingers which had helped slay a god grasped upon that horrible filminess in the surrounding air and tore away the power used against her With a gasp Devick staggered out of the restriction Blood gushed out of her mouth from where she had been gnawing on her cheek but she had her autonomy back
Instinctively she glanced directly up in front of her almost intending to spit some of this blood in the EternityÆs direction Her scalp itched she knew she shouldnÆt but Devick couldnÆt help her own curiosity She met the gaze of the Eternity ItÆs long tongue flopped back and forth in its mouth as it considered her
Just as she was about to whip around and resume her fleeing it jabbed a finger at her Her hand flashed up
She lost the next few seconds to tumbling dizziness The pain had suffused her entire body she had no idea what had been the point of impact When her perspective ceased spinning her skull ached and her mouth tasted like blood Her gaze was unfocused aimed up toward the vast openness of the ceiling
Fuck Devick blinked slowly She could feel a spot above her right eye beginning to swell Her heart fluttered against her ribcage Is this really the best I can do
The monkey stood over her shaking its head You say you are not stupid yet you dare look at Eternity Girl remain here I Let us consider the reality of the situation I have already been abandoned by all My family my origins But thatÆs okay I am I am different from others What I am is unusual I would go so far as to say there is a part of me that is unlovable ItÆs no oneÆs fault It just means that for something like me there is no better end than this I will resist this Eternity Perhaps such a struggle will have meaning
The monkey turned away Devick looked at his back She felt a new fury ravaging its way along her veins one softened by the lonely silhouette of the monkey She forced back her fear and cursed the veritable blood mine that she had drilled into her own cheek still pumping out the metallic liquid
You arenÆt
If IÆm not then you definitely
Devick spat some blood out to the side but that triggered the tiniest bit of vomiting Her body shuddered as her physical form made its discomfort known Wiping her mouth she ignored the pain and straightened She pressed her palms against the ground
Malice whispered a warning in her ear Her heart clenchedù Without thinking Devick squeezed as much strength as she could out of her weary form scrambling forward and tackling the monkey from behind just as Laplace unleashed another blast that would have smashed the monkeyÆs nose The powerful projectile zipped overhead
Panting Devick scooped up the monkey You are not a thing And maybe you are a little unlovable but thatÆs just because you try and do bullshit like this and martyr yourself There is nothing inherently wrong with you
ItÆs all in the arrogant way you act DevickÆs lip twitched but she managed to keep the last part inside
In the end the most unreasonable expectation was just for us to have a happy ending right Randidly Ghosthound
Without hesitation Devick tossed three unsaid words into the pyre of her image
The tome which promised death fluttered its pages and glided forward Using the manipulation of maroon chains Devick raised her hand She felt two dimensional all ill will and a roaring conflagration She would be unreasonable right up until the end Malice rolled its shoulders She was the Merry Consort of Perdition and she would smile and carve a pound of flesh from existence until she had been completely annihilated
If I can reach it I can harm it With eyes filled with madness Devick slashed out with her grey withered god slaying hand She wrung out every ounce of frustration she had felt growing up every tremor in her heart called to the surface when the monkey had talked about being unlovable For all those who found her too muchÆ Devick scratched
Those three words she wanted to say to Randidly Ghosthound sat at the core of her being As the layers of those words burned away novas of pure emotion washed outward reversing the corrupting effects of the chains of madness and suffusing her body with power
Grey fingertip and advancing book met
The pages of the tome fluttered more quickly Several pages began to yellow and rot away corrupted by the powerful viciousness than Devick One page deteriorated so quickly it had vanished entirely before the process of fluttering had been completed The tomeÆs advance briefly stalled out
A corner of the tome turned maroon and then crumbled to black
Laplace unleashed a burp DevickÆs sharpened image wavered and vanished The tome continued forward aimed straight at DevickÆs chest Those three words pulsed and pulsed over and over again Yet each wave was annihilated by the inexorable waves of time She felt her awareness narrow to this single book
I am yours Randidly Ghosthound If this universe is worth so many of your sacrifices it is worth just as many of mine
The chains in her body trembling offering her one last chance as her flesh began to wither and age She ignored it
Devick did not close her eyes She would not look away
Yet abruptly she felt an easing in her heart Devick sucked in a breath filled with shock the restrictions around her had faded She found the source of the experience and her smile widened Actually little monkey I think IÆll be okay Tsk tsk you certainly took your sweet time
A strange sense of tranquility filled Devick as Randidly Ghosthound appeared in front of her He stood tall clothed in tattered rags after a dayÆs worth of intense fighting She could see wounds and burns all across his flesh His black hair was messy Malice whispered that there seemed to be something wrong with him and his eyes had shifted but he offered her the same crooked smile Really the issue is you refuse to wait for me before throwing yourself in harmÆs way
With a single hand he swallowed the tome that had so threatened her
If I wait around during all of your strange little meanderings even I might not be able to keep up with you Randidly Ghosthound Reflect seriously on your wild and unpredictable improvements Even as Devick spoke she was already swaying her mind and spirit overtaxed RandidlyÆs arm snaked around her waist and kept her standing
She gave him a frank look not missing his own tattered body the subtle lines of exhaustion around his eyes I know you are obsessed with ravaging me right now but we have a bigger problem here Besides the monkey has no knowledge of carnal congress between man and woman
Randidly interrupted her with a wicked grin Surely we have time for at least a chaste kiss
Devick blinked genuinely surprised that no nonsense Randidly Ghosthound had gone along with her joke And before she could formulate a response that arm around her waist tightened and she was pressed against him His lips were warm
Tingles radiated out from their multiple point of contact setting off firecrackers in her body She could feel small tremors in his body not from weakness but from control maybe they had been closer to a ravaging than Devick had expected
Then he pulled away and turned to face Laplace As RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed the monkey hopped to stand next to them Randidly Ghosthound I know you No matter how powerful you have become you cannot yet rival an Eternity I shall buy the two of you time
Pine I know you too And I know that even after I defeat this foe you are the one who really needs attention Randidly said but his eyes were surprisingly soft as he looked over at the growing monkey He reached out and touched the beingÆs shoulderù there was a stinging sensation of static as he felt a familiar energy in the monkeyÆs body the arrangements that Elhume made cycling and funneling all the significance back through you so you wouldnÆt deteriorate further youÆll soon collapse under that weight The entirety of the Nexus will be implicated But donÆt worry
Today Randidly unleashed a beaming grin as he pivoted to face Laplace IÆve got one last miracle up my sleeve ItÆs time to finish this
Chapter 2445
Devick could barely breathe she was so filled with (questionable) intentions for this dashing hero Taking several steps backward she allowed Randidly space to face off against the Eternity She barely noticed the monkey sidling next to her until it spoke So This is the man who is going to change the Nexus IsnÆt he a little bit of a braggart Hmph hmph I know from experience the difficulties of supporting an entire universe Yet he dismisses my concerns out of hand
Little monkey I didnÆt realize you also had this cute side to you You definitely have a lot of experience supporting a universe but do you think that Randidly would miss your inclination toward self sacrifice after all heÆs been through Devick patted the monkeyÆs back Her expression turned more serious I know how difficult it is to let go of control But you can trust him
Trust has earned me little in the past The monkey said
If all we needed to learn about the future was the past we would be like Laplace Devick countered Time isnÆt fickle for a reason Because the context of our decisions matters Because the tiniest detail can change everything
She could sense the monkeyÆs unwillingness but it remained silent So the two watched as Randidly Ghosthound walked toward an Eternity
For a cosmic dimensional entity you sure bleed a lot Randidly felt quite invigorated as he stepped forward to examine Laplace He almost felt like he hadnÆt been going through a constant series of fights and crazy arrangements over the past six hours
Waves of temporal pressure derived from all the frozen fabric of time stuffed within the Eternity washed against him ground against him with a physical intensity that set his teeth on edge but now he was mentally prepared for it Even as it pressed against him RandidlyÆs aura began to unravel the tight grip Laplace maintained over time His Grand Fate flared and grappled with the EternityÆs aura directly
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 1050
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Forsakes the Path has grown to Level 1050
Laplace gnashed its teeth Those hollow eyes hemorrhaging blood due to the clock hands stabbed into their soft flesh fixated on Randidly He could see the agitation in the quivering of the EternityÆs fleshy body it understood that he had broken through its Samsara to return here
It hated him with every ounce of its ancient being
Enduring the Eternity sucked Worse than almost anything else because it was all of my most agonizing memories intensified But it didnÆt kill me Randidly settled down into a crouched ssfighting stance Acri slithered out and settled into his spear form The bright chip of emerald that was his pupil flashed Now itÆs my turn for some attempted homicide You will regret waltzing into the Nexus without any fear
Randidly took a few seconds to speak for two reasons First because the return to reality meant that his two versions of Yggdrasil merged Even now the World Tree spread its roots deeper and deeper into the fabric of the Nexus meeting and fighting against the insidious world state image of the Eternity
Congratulations Your Skill The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 1429
For as long as possible Randidly wanted to beat back LaplaceÆs more subtle influence Even if he managed to expel the Eternity itself it would be a pyrrhic victory if the Nexus was warped by his presence to have an altered view of time
Congratulations Your Skill The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 1480
RandidlyÆs toes curled preparing to launch his body forward Laplace roared conjuring a wave of floating tomes each containing a complete history of a universe
Secondly he didnÆt launch an immediate offensive because he wanted to give his other two images some time to adjust Both the Dread Homunculus and the Songstress of Absence were implicitly connected with him and sensed the changes in his person specifically the long awaited condensation of his Nether Penance But the isolating effects of the Samsara meant that his newly developed muted quality which could by itself be considered a growing world state image hadnÆt had the chance to wash over them
Randidly felt the subtle shifts in his Vessel from the development of the Creeds and from the +10 to all Stats spending 10k VPs earned him With all that new physical power he practically evaporated from his position right out of the grasp of the Samsara
Appearing right above Laplace Randidly spun in the air with his spear raised But his eyes remained fixed on the bulging edges of a Samara quivering with all the intensity of a breaking storm cloud Tsk based on what IÆve seen of the internal mechanisms it will continue to reform and attempt to devour me Unless I want to watch my back for the rest of this fight
The Alchemist mused over the issue briefly and came up with a countermeasure
The Second Authority Hollow Needle Randidly announced His Nether Core spun and seethed its translucent significance gleaming like fresh honey
He kicked off the air shooting directly toward the Samsara It twisted bulged opened and snapped toward him but Randidly had already skated sideways out of the danger area Laplace hissed and spat out a concentrated blast of temporal energy which slammed into RandidlyÆs back He gritted his teeth and endured it
Because when the Samsara missed for the second time and snapped shut Randidly raised Acri which had become a needle His Grand Fate fed reinforced healing time into the needle to create a thread His spear thrusts were quick and seamless
Randidly Ghosthound sewed the mouthÆ of the Samsara shut
The sophisticated working sensed the change and yanked on the threads After a few strained fragments of time they held At least in the short term his Grand Fate was enough to restrain the Samsara Instantly the Samsara rolled back on itself accepting the sewn portion into its interior and exposing a new mouth that stretched wide
In front of Randidly the Samsara snapped forward with all the subtlety of a starving wolf Behind him Laplace conjured another five tomes and unleashed them toward his back Pinched between them Randidly only offered a wicked grin
In the touch with Pine earlier Randidly had absorbed the tiniest wisp of unrefined Aether Breaking down the tomes coughed up bits of untouched Nether He cupped the two in his hands and pressed those two extremely rare energies together
Part of him wished to save this move but he also knew it would be foolish to surrender the momentum he had gained
Congratulations Your Skill Apostate MoiraeÆs Seditious Touch has grown to Level 1400
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1491
Randidly held the birth of endless potential in his hands He might be deaf to Truth but he felt his Vessel seared on a fundamental level just from being near the ignition point The radiance blasted outward annihilating the tomes and knocking back the Samsara He tossed the brilliant seed at Laplace and flitted in the other direction Acri thrust out a dozen a hundred a thousand times He drew thread after thread of reinforced time and bound the Samara shut
For the second time and with a lot less suffering the Samsara had been beaten
By the time he pivoted around his brief blossom of potential had spent itself Laplace roared again but no sooner had the sound ceased than it released a hiss of painù Randidly had bounded back across the distance between them and drove his spear into its forehead right between its bleeding eyes
Vessel and Grand Fate immediately began a land war with the horrific amount of time stored within the EternityÆs body
Chapter 2446
How lovely Devick whispered The telescopic rainbow light created by Randidly blurred the details of the fight but also filled her with a strange sense of reassurance He moved with power and purpose
The same sort of purpose he showed when he held me down and kissed me
Devick touched her blushing cheeks and tried to focus back on the attack Randidly had just created It was the loveliest dawn and the most dramatic sunset She felt like she could walk out into that light and it would be the warmest and most relaxing water She could drift in it and finally feel at peace
at least for a while Heh having the opportunity to bring that goody two shoes Randidly into a hot spring would be heheh DoesnÆt his kiss prove IÆm starting to corrupt him a little bit When I have more time with him I wonder what else I can convince him to do
Kekeke
DevickÆs little revelry was interrupted by the monkey who took the initiative to clamber into her arms She squeezed him Make sure you tell me if you are about to pop
Tch after all IÆve taught you that mouth of yours your only real talent is pissing others off The monkey grumbled but the voice was subdued The two fell silent and watched the fight
Prolonged exposure to the tension in Laplace hurt
All the compressed history contained within Laplace vibrated out through Acri and into his body The vibration affected him on a cellular level rupturing and tearing even his reinforced Vessel Yet he pried open the door of opportunity with this suffering Randidly gritted his teeth and leaned forward even as the Eternity was so shocked by his rapid handling of the Samsara that it couldnÆt mount an effective resistance
Randidly took that opening he stabbed his Grand Fate as deep as it would go into the fleshy serpent with the intent to deeply wound it
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 1101
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Forsakes the Path has grown to Level 1101
RandidlyÆs Grand Fate as it accumulated Skill Levels possessed an inexorable pull He swam into the dense aura of the Eternity will all his reinvigorated Willpower surging through his body Perhaps because of finally having obtained the tools he needed in order fight against Laplace he seemed to surge with motivation
But if just LaplaceÆs aura hurt physical contact with the Eternity was an excruciating experience of annihilation
It only took a few seconds of grinding contact temporal healing against the filmy warping influence of Laplace for RandidlyÆs expression to turn grim Overcoming the Samsara is one thing but the deeper I press into its body
Despite all the support of the Creeds RandidlyÆs Vessel shuddered underneath the weight of time that the Eternity had experienced Those projectile tomes were just the briefest fraction of the history it had experienced Despite having superior Nether Randidly couldnÆt make up for the lack of accumulation
In terms of foundation he was woefully outmatched
And right as the discomfort began to mount Randidly felt the shift in the EternityÆs body LaplaceÆs blank gaze finally focused Hate warped its features At the same time the wide expanse of history it contained tightened into a vicious river of acid The flow spun around and then stabbed at the point of contact
Wave after wave washed over Randidly Ghosthound each one attacking and squeezing him
Randidly leaned forward his grip tightening on Acri Perhaps he would have pulled the spear out and refocused his efforts had not the stirring of all LaplaceÆs history briefly provided clarity to the depths of its body There Randidly caught the briefest glimpse of a sophisticated Nether Ritual He narrowed his eyes ThatÆs the target As long as the core formation in the Eternity is wounded IÆll be able to handle it
The current of history slammed into RandidlyÆs body He felt his skin beginning to shred weakened by the rapid passage of time and eroded by the impact of LaplaceÆs significance His own translucent significance mixed freely with his Grand Fate meeting and forcing back the constant assault
Congratulations Your Skill Randidly Ghosthound Executive of Nether Reborn has grown to Level 1960
All I need to do RandidlyÆs jaw felt rusted with the constant pressure of LaplaceÆs experience pressing against him His arms trembled and he felt himself being steadily forced backward inch by inch AcriÆs blade began to emerge from LaplaceÆs flesh Is keep advancing forward Once I can reach that central formation
As he prepared to take the next step he began to mobilize some of his other weapons All the chaotic distortions in the ever expanding dome were wild and potent A poorly conceived touch would brush would tear a body in two But the corkscrewing reverberations were just more ingredients He added 2000 more VPs to Tolerance bottoming out the VPs he currently possessed and gratefully accepted the extra few measures of mental acuity
Every moment involved a thousand details He might have discarded his Truth that each one of those details mattered but the underlying philosophy still lived in his Skills
Randidly knew that if space around him hadnÆt become unstable soup from the conflict steam would have been streaming out of his ears His brain settled into its super active state nudging and redirecting all the force in the area The process was slow but the air around him began to churn
If Laplace wanted to overwhelm with the raw weight of history Randidly would just be sharper in his manipulations He would have to be
Most would not thank me They would complain of what I didnÆt provide for them sneering at my inability to justify my existence Randidly released a long breath And that is a horrible feeling But itÆs not about them It was never about them even while entirely about them when you think about all the negative individuals you are just losing sight of the truth
Congratulations Your Skill Lethal Tide of Izanami has grown to Level 1599
Congratulations Your Skill Arch HereticÆs Thaumaturgy has grown to Level 1543
RandidlyÆs lip curled up Heh itÆs probably difficult to listen to me talk about Truth huh But my Truth is this I would have fought for the universe inside of me even if there were only a handful of lives sheltered there I would fight for a single life I would fight for a promise I made to someone I loved How they feel about me after is not my concern
ItÆs that simple This is what I chose I found my path without a Path I will not stop following it no matter what is in my way
Congratulations Your Skill Lethal Tide of Izanami has grown to Level 1634
The forces within the dome rumbled out their independence even while they churned at his direction Randidly sharpened the forces into a razor and slashed again and again at the river of time attempting to drown and erode him He eased the pressure against his body The muscles and veins along his legs bulged once more He managed another step
He forced Acri a little bit deeper Through the haze of significance his eyes were fixed on the central working He wavered for a few seconds but managed to endure The exhaustion in his muscles had grown to become a constant agony The steely Duty in his bones kept him focused but the sensation wasnÆt comfortable
LetÆs carve open a road The Homunculi Pursues Perfection Singularity Engulfs the Finite The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty
For the second time Randidly GhosthoundÆs three images moved together without the benefit of Truth Almost instantly he could feel an improvement on the second cooperated They ceased chasing the emotional resonance they had previously used to connect with one another Instead the images fixated on their purpose they moved together with root claw and oblivion The vicious Homunculus first armed with the obliterating weight of a singularity
Congratulations Your Skill the Homunculi Pursues Perfection has grown to Level 1400
Congratulations Your Skill Singularity Engulfs the Finite has grown to Level 1361
When the next wave of significance cracked and fell to pieces Yggdrasil stilled the follow up with an imperious glance A brief period of stillness emerged between Randidly and Laplace As it turned out neither missed the opportunity
Randidly took a step forward and fed more of the kinetic force into Lethal Tide of Izanami It lived and breathed as it slithered around the confrontation a living being with a steadily growing accumulation of destructive hate It was a python squeezing the two even more tightly together Randidly cackled feeling all the delicately balanced forces in the air around him
Congratulations Your Skill Motif of Unimagined Tolls has grown to Level 1496
Congratulations Your Skill Deviations Inevitable Machinations has grown to Level 1913
Yet his foe was not idle either
Laplace produced a small charm and squeezed it within one of his fat hands Ominously a crack formed in the ceiling of the room And instantly Randidly felt the presence of the bloated shadow of Pine looming above them all
The Eternity offered Randidly a grin of its own Your existence is problematic But which matters more to you this pyrrhic quest of wounding me or your little bubble of a universe
Chapter 2447
For a long second Randidly and Laplace stared at one another
This place will fall Laplace hissed the intensity of the words causing a few spurts of blood out of the wounds to its eyes Randidly tightened his grip on Acri and shoved the plant spear just the smallest margin forward ignoring the rumbling feedback from the frozen time within the Eternity
A small retaliation but it also gave him a small amount of time to consider
He felt the dangerous subconscious roiling above and knew he would need to act If anything RandidlyÆs passage up through the waves of the dead had only made him more wary of what existed within the twisted psyche of the Nexus lurking amongst its near infinite dead Obviously his Vessel was more than enough to withstand the darkness of the Nexus washing over him And Randidly probably had methods to severely limit the fallout from such a detonation
Tsk of course Elhume still somehow finds a way to cause trouble RanididlyÆs eyes flashed upward He structured the Nexus this way in order to prevent Pine from degrading too quickly even the darkness was recycled and used as a buffer Yet now that so much time has passed that darkness will kill Pine just as surely as it previously saved him
Yet two facts twisted RandidlyÆs face into a grimace First the disposition of the dead themselves They wouldnÆt do much damage at first but he knew that those powerful figures who had been dead for a long time would affect the living They wouldnÆt be able to help themselves so long bubbling in the wicked cauldron of desires These souls were tainted water being dumped into a creek Downstream the sickness would spread
Secondly Randidly didnÆt trust the machinations of Pangu and couldnÆt help but show his teeth as he thought about all those reflected dolls waiting on the upper portions of the tower of the dead It was quite possible the eventual rupture of the concentrated subconscious was part of another plot
Honestly Randidly was sick of plots
Congratulations Your Skill Lethal Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 1654
The ceiling of the chamber continued to disintegrate as the fat eye of all PineÆs dead weight gazed down at them Even the churning forces around their confrontation began to distort underneath its pressure
It was literally a massive sphere of darkness and death It grew rapidly filling up half the split ceiling after only a few seconds
Randidly needed to stop the situation from destabilizing further but he also was unwilling to take a step back now that his Grand Fate grappled and mixed through the body of the Eternity He huffed out a breath I suppose this is where I put my money where my mouth is I talk about all those who support me but I need to give them a chance So
Randidly unleashed a reverberating noise and felt the response immediately Communication out became easier due to the tear Laplace had made in this sacred location A few seconds crept past From where she had been observing the continued clash with the surviving remnants of the Vulpis Squad Charlotte Wick blazed like a meteor and crashed down right outside the kinetic bubble Randidly supported
You called
Charlotte had been hoping with all her heart when she heard the call
Hoping they would win and overthrow the tyranny in the Nexus Hoping the wounds in her heart would cease bleeding and give her a moment of peace Dearly hoping that their battle would not require more sacrifices in order for the day to end in their victory
Hoping she would have one more shot to prove herself to earn her title as the Knight of the Ghosthound Wishing her arms would cease shaking drowned in exhaustion and anxiety Yet just as forcefully she hoped she would not need to prove herself further Even as the air changed and the air buzzed with tension she hoped
She felt too tired to face the complexities of her heart
And maybe she could
From the crackling buzzing battlefield there was a brief second of silence Then an object arched out and rolled to CharlotteÆs feet You will need to stand as the central pillar but you wonÆt need to stand alone I think I made a mistake when I accepted you as my Knight Not in my choice but in the structure of what I was offering
In the end I am not the important aspect Heh I am the Legend sitting in the periphery of the sagas you will create the liege who lays upon you the geas of a quest but I do not drive its development No Helen was always the one who breathed life into every aspect of the role So take her last gift to me because it should be yours to wield Because it is the weapon that takes a bold Knight to wield
Charlotte looked down in wonder at the swirling ball of liquid metal in front of her Yet as though sensing her gaze the strange shifts calmed down until a heavy crimson gauntlet lay before her Each joint radiated an aura of solidity and power Gems sat on the knuckles of the four fingers three of them pulsing with a steady light The pressure in the room was incredible but Charlotte felt curiously isolated as she knelt down and picked up the gauntlet
The metal was almost hot to the touch But she felt an instinctive connection to the gauntlet
A split second later another object clattered and rolled to follow the first still steaming from its passage through the storm of forces This one was an ancient looking horn carved of aged wood with golden veins running across its length Charlotte Wick slipped her left hand into the gauntlet and picked up the horn with her right
Charlotte felt a tingling sensation from both as new doors opened for her
As the Ghosthound continued his voice seemed to hum out of the two objects passed to Charlotte as much as it came from his warped silhouette I name you Knight of the Tide the figure who will follow in the wake of the Ghosthound In my absence or indisposition I hope that my Heralds will follow your lead as they would my own My messes are your messes My victories are your victories When you are overmatched do not flinch Because behind the tide is the whole ocean And the dreams of the Alpha Cosmos will lend you aid when you need them most
Notifications began popping up in front of Charlotte
Congratulations Incorporating outside influences
Congratulations You have bonded with a Unique Item You have bonded with the Gauntlet of the Tide A powerful artifact formed from the deft touch of Randidly Ghosthound and the potent remnant wish of his first Knight All Stats +200
As the owner of the Gauntlet of the Tide you have gained access to the Skill (Fusion Domain) HelenÆs Sea Cradle of Unlikely Lives Warning The Skill Level of this artifact is currently set at 1500 due to the actions of others You will only be able to access a portion of this SkillÆs power until your own Skill Level grows
Congratulations You have learned the Skill (Fusion Domain) HelenÆs Sea Cradle of Unlikely Lives Skill Level set at 200
Congratulations You have bonded with a Unique Item You have bonded with the Horn of the First Herald A powerful artifact that forms the second of the two iconic equipment of the Knight of the Tide Forged by Randidly Ghosthound in order to make use of the potency of the Alpha Cosmos in his absence
Congratulations You have learned the Skill Crest of the CosmosÆs Wave Lvl 1
Crest of the CosmosÆs Wave A powerful Skill wielded by the Knight of the Tide enables the user to draw on the power of those individuals standing behind the Knight and channel a portion of their Willpower and desires into each of their strikes Ability to incorporate influences from the Alpha Cosmos grows with Skill Level Strain of incorporating additional influences decreases with Skill Level A slight chance of conjuring a phantasm from one of the previous Knights of the Tide when your wishes align with theirs
Congratulations You have learned the Skill Depth of the UniverseÆs Undertow Lvl 1
Depth of the UniverseÆs Undertow The second of two Skills gifted by the Horn of the First Herald While the first Skill increases the combat performance of the Knight of the Tide the second blesses them with powerful instincts to sense the thoughts and desires of the Alpha Cosmos Drawing on the collective subconscious the Knight of the Tide will always have an inkling of where and when to appear In dramatic situations the Knight of the Tide will have greatly increased speed and reactions so they might insert themselves in the most valuable opportunity Effects increase with Skill Level
Chapter 2448
ShouldnÆt we be doing something Donny broke the silence Both knew what he referred to
Mrs Hamilton kept the smile from her face and her voice grave She leaned back in her chair the picture of normalcy It wouldnÆt do to let him know how amusing she found his behavior in the context of the serious threat Of course we should be doing something We should be preparing
Donny mouth puckered We are already prepared
Then we are remaining prepared for as long as it takes She spoke with a serene voice It was almost cute to see how much the current Donny the stalwart and gleaming pillar (albeit retired) of Donnyton resembled the nervous wreck of a leader he had once been It made her oddly nostalgic even as a new threat loomed over Expira
Of course Mrs Hamilton harbored her own secret fears in the shadowy alcoves of her heart Yet she also knew that allowing the tension to leak out from there would only numb her edge The Grey Weaver needed to be so still as to allow reality to forget it existed Only then would its webs be able to tug all the particulars into alignment
Mrs Hamilton felt her eyes pulled right back to the expansive bay windows on the East wall Yet how could she not worry when the visible evidence of the threat to the Alpha Cosmos hung above them
Her home stood on the hill above Donnyton and provided a perfect view of a sky turned into a glittering nebula The colors had been developing for a while but it was only after a massive asteroid had been obliterated by the strange dimensional forces manifesting there did people begin to watch the horizon with dread
The vigil in Donnyton was only one of hundreds of similar worried gatherings When Randidly Ghosthound fought against whatever monsters sat atop the Nexus the Alpha Cosmos witnessed his struggles
The current early evening sky was a cross between the aurora borealis and seething clouds of nuclear fallout Any Skills or physical drones sent to investigate the phenomenon were summarily devoured with no feedback An analyst from Zone 1 had determined that the gorgeous colors resulted from temporal distortions but this tidbit did not make anyone feel any better
So the Alpha Cosmos because similar reports came from the other planets waited Mrs Hamilton could sense that Randidly possessed some defensive ability a cloud of brilliance that kept the seething winds of annihilation in check Yet even the staunchest supporter of Randidly Ghosthound could find little to say at the moment
Mrs Hamilton had decisively turned off the television ten minutes ago Which meant she had little to do but watch Donny pace back and forth She willingly indulged in nostalgia remembering times when they had engaged in similar situations
Only then the threats were hordes of mundane monsters
Perhaps we could use this opportunity to talk about recent life decisions Mrs Hamilton took a sip of her tea and eyed DonnyÆs man bun with distaste Hairs stuck out of the lazily tied hairdo in every direction
Donny just blinked at her What are you talking about Now isnÆt the time
The clear resonating note of a horn cut through their distracting little conversation Its deep note sank into Mrs HamiltonÆs body and filled her with a stirring feeling of valiant daring that she hadnÆt felt in quite some time Even the Grey Weaver clicked its mandibles in response
The call was a request but also a surging note of inspiration Randidly Ghosthound needed help The people of the Alpha Cosmos were being called Mrs Hamilton narrowed her eyes Yet the note of the calling the sender wasnÆt the Ghosthound himself
Her first response was that it was a trap But then she felt the Pantheon stirring too so it must be legitimate Who ah his Knight
Mrs Hamilton felt her senses tingling in the wake of the hornÆs clarion ring Already she could feel the frothing tide of emotion exploding across the Zones in response to this sudden development Perhaps most disturbing detail for Mrs Hamilton was how pretty the note of the horn was
She pressed he lips together A pretty prelude to what would undoubtedly be a bloody and violent truth
She and Donny discarded all pretense of serenity and moved to the window Independent of the war of illumination happening in the sky they watched as a dozen massive pillars of light lit up across the horizon Focusing on the closest Mrs Hamilton could see it was actually a massive staircase leading out of Expira and to another place
Not enough radiance to rival the seeping darkness that approached them But a solid foundation of power Using that foundation the bear woman leapt upward energies concentrating on the red gauntlet Randidly have given her
ThereÆs a difference between your pleas being refused and you never asking for assistance Devick said quietly Finding help begins with admitting you need it
While Randidly continued battling with Laplace below his Knight ascended to meet the darkness above PineÆs negative subconscious filled the entire wound in the chamber In only a few seconds it would fall and crush this place Yet Devick and the monkey stood in twilight beneath its domineering reign without fear The bearwomanÆs gauntlet crackled with power
The two watched and waited Devick watched the gauntlet while the monkeyÆs eyes kept flicking to the portal
The gems along the gauntletÆs knuckles released enough luster to cause the darkness to pause Devick felt three very distinct powers emerge from those gems powers the bearwoman should not possess LaplaceÆs swirling power of time the pure light and heat of a newly born star and finally the honest and direct power of a perfectly executed punch courtesy of Elhume
Randidly GhosthoundÆs Knight channeled those three forces and threw out a blow supported by her own image of the Primal Ground She became a pillar of light supported by a flowing current of ripples She punched without fear in the movement only determination
With a deafening boom her attack stalled out the descent of darkness The mass of PineÆs subconscious trembled The three images and a KnightÆs determination had stilled the implosion of the Nexus
But just for a few seconds As the rumbles dispersed the light from the gauntlet began to fade The mass resumed its descent
Into the resulting few seconds of peace the monkey spoke with its teeth exposed All that matters is the result You are too concerned with meaningless methodology To ask or not to ask silence is silence In the end irrelevant
The methodology only stops mattering when you cease living Devick cackled Maybe its unreasonable but so long as you cling to life
Just as the three borrowed powers faded and the pillar of light vanished almost entirely the portal released a gurgling burp Rapidly the threshold of energy swelled to almost triple its previous size And from its depths
First came a massive head covered in scales wrought of gleaming sapphires A long neck emerged taut with the muscles to support the massive maw Then came the hulking body with its massive wings pressed to its side Its obsidian claws clicked against the ground as it forced its way through a portal not designed for a creature of that size Already a chill wind rose in the surrounding vicinity
Soon a full Frost Dragon Broodmother forces its way out through the portal The majestic creature spread its wings raised its head and roared
The chill aura the dragon trumpeted was almost immediately devoured by the other forces at play in the chamber But its massive bellow was a different sort of signal as it roared another dozen massive portals condensed in the surroundings More Frost Dragons wormed their way out of portals looking weirdly similar to cats forcing their bodies underneath doorframes And while their frosty images couldnÆt exist on their own they could rise together in the first inklings of a new sort of current
Devick didnÆt say anything to the monkey She just stood by its side and observed
The dragons were only first likely due to their speed They spread their wings and took a few tentative beats lifting their hulking frames off the ground and spiraling up to join a fading bearwoman In their wake wave after wave of other reinforcements poured out of the portals Riders and Heralds atop rhinoceroses spiders and camels Winged Serpents moved in small squads with rotating circles of runes around them And finally came the humanoids individuals whooping and blazing with their individual images Each brought a small note of support a small ripple
They turned in unison and climbed a manifesting staircase of energy moving to lend their power to the GhosthoundÆs weakening Knight With ice and fury at the tip a new pillar of light was formed from ten thousand individuals who had heard the GhosthoundÆs call Just as PineÆs dark subconscious had begun to move it was halted with a resounding crash
With the fate of the Nexus in the balance the Alpha Cosmos stepped up against the monsters of the outer multiverse
They bought Randidly Ghosthound a little more time to overcome an Eternity
Chapter 2449
Just as CharlotteÆs power began to fade the reinforcements arrived Once more the pillar holding up the impending doom flared with power Images linked arms and pressed their hands against the weight above them Behind the Knight of the Tide the waters of the Alpha Cosmos surged and smashed back PineÆs dark subconscious
They held up the sky They defied inevitability
Randidly offered Laplace a Cheshire grin His Vessel thrummed Looks like its just you and me
He didnÆt wait for the Eternity to answer Randidly suspected this ancient monster had more counter attacks than just the steadily worsening pressure Randidly experienced by fighting against more and more of its interior time So he opened up his Vessel Point screen Because not only did he need the people of the Alpha Cosmos to act in order to buy him some time
but their movements also provided quite a few other benefits in the form of Skill Level Ups With more VPs his own potential would continue to climb
Congratulations Your Skill Echoes of a Living Myth has grown to Level 1404
Congratulations Your Skill Wake of Miracles has grown to Level 1410
Congratulations Your Skill Heralds of the GhosthoundÆs Legend has grown to Level 1515
Congratulations Your Skill Charisma of the Arch Heretic has grown to Level 1251
Congratulations Your Skill What the Ghosthound Sows He Will Soon Reap has grown to Level 1721
Randidly considered his available Creeds each represented a slight variation on somewhat similar empowerments He pressed his lips together Any answer was fine for now but he needed to consider the consequences for the Alpha Cosmos of his choice Both for the stability and for a little extra energy given to the people helping to restrain the weight of the dead Randidly poured 2000 VPs each into Duty and Harmony
Then he gritted his teeth and leaned forward He grasped for the vulnerable core of the Eternity ignoring the agony in his shaking arms He shifted his weight He took another step forcing back the defensive significance of Laplace His body creaked and groaned but he flooded his veins with the sparkling waves of translucent significance his Nether Core produced His footing remained stable
Temporal flows slammed against him but he did not falter
Congratulations Your Skill Randildy Ghosthound Executive of Nether Reborn has grown to Level 2079
Do you think you can stop me like this Randidly stared into the bloody gashes in LaplaceÆs eyes their two forms leaning together Trembling seemed to jump from one to the other until both bodies buzzed Randidly GhosthoundÆs Grand Fate was a ravenous animal lashing out and crashing through impediments With athletic displays it forged its way forward
The Eternity housed a steadily worsening avalanche It threw more and more at the Grand Fate in a desperate attempt to demolish its momentum
LaplaceÆs long tongue undulated to the side then sharpened to a razor point and drilled at RandidlyÆs chest He removed a hand from Acri and caught the attack before it could land The impact disintegrated the last few bits of solid ground beneath the twoÆs feet leaving them floating in a churning globe of force
The hand driving Acri and his image/Grand Fate deeper into LaplaceÆs body didnÆt waver in the slightest The Grand Fate continued to lope forward leaping from one portion of the avalanche of time to another staying abreast of the collapse
RandidlyÆs smile widened He manifested the regal World Tree behind his body breaking all the chaotic energies mixing in the environment
Congratulations Your Skill The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 1733
When Yggdrasil pressed down against all the wild kinetic forces they meekly stilled and showed their submission That opening was all that Randidly needed he swirled the powers together into a storm The storm tightened into a spiral that slammed into RandidlyÆs back just as he leaned forward He exploded driving Acri just a little bit deeper The Grand Fate bound up the last third of the distance to its target glittering amongst the folds of time
Congratulations Your Skill Truth Within the Primordial Flux has grown to Level 1641
Randidly barred his teeth and drew power together for one more attempt
You cannot yet take the last step Laplace said in a low triumphant tone Just like all others the door to godhood is barred to you
I do not need to be a god to end you Randidly growled back Kinetic force swirled into his agonized muscles He felt hundreds of small ruptures in his arms and legs but didnÆt have the spare attention for them He was so close
LaplaceÆs laugh rippled out through even his calcified time Perhaps eventually But now here before your people are obliterated by the weight of your expectations You will fail
RandidlyÆs mind raced for a second searching for an answer as he readjusted his stance He bent his knees fingers tightening even further on Acri his entire being narrowed to methods to produce explosive power to crack open this shell Yet just as his panic began to congeal in his chest he smoothed it away His eyes were clear
If you havenÆt felt it itÆs difficult to comprehend the power of an entire universe They are not that feeble Randidly said just as much to himself as to Laplace He felt his Vessel stir in response He felt a psychological connection click into place They donÆt always need me to protect them from every threat
His heart tightened as he felt the Alpha Cosmos roaring out their defiance They were a smaller universe one born in RandidlyÆs body and developed only over decades Yet at their height they pulsed with enough power to hold back the darkness of the Nexus
In answer to their efforts Randidly felt his Creeds resonating in his body They were the new Soul of the Alpha Cosmos the disposition that would shape its development He felt the steely weight of Duty in his bones He felt the fire of Vengeance in his stomach He felt the cool tingling sensation of harmony as the individuals combined their images He felt Tolerance enduring the crushing weight of another universeÆs festering subconscious
Randidly pivoted preparing for another Acri thrust His three images stirred gathering up their remnant powers from opening the path to create a battering ram and break down this last door
The Alchemist stilled He drew RandidlyÆs attention to the precise word usage that Laplce had just used Just like all others the door to godhood is barred to you
RandidlyÆs emerald pupils dilated He purposefully let his mind turn over the details of his current situation His perspective began to shift ItÆs all about shapes and roles Anything can be a doorway The way the people of the outer multiverse talk about the Pinnacle is reaching a threshold and either becoming the door to create a new universe or stepping through it for a single moment to ascend to the height of power
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1516
He did not follow through with his thrust Time constricted around him but Randidly ignored it Flicking his wrist he signaled to Acri to slither up his arm and to its usual resting place at his waist The plant weapon hummed in confusion but obeyed Randidly stretched out his left hand and pressed his palm up against that last barrier
He released a breath I am blind to Truth Truth is the resonance that would guide me to the point where I could make that decision but technically I am not barred from the Pinnacle I will just pass it by without sensing its proximity
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1539
But isnÆt the Pinnacle also just a shape RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened The trembling in his body worsened as his stillness allowed the physical erosion to intensify Even the Vessel of Randidly Ghosthound began to buckle and fail against the core defenses of Laplace Yet his only response was to spend the VPs he had been able to gather with recent Skill Levels 2000 to Vengeance and 2000 to Tolerance
His flesh relaxed by a small degree allowing him to endure just a little more Randidly leaned forward The fire in his belly was banked filling him with heat and conviction Randidly flexed his splayed out fingers IsnÆt it enough that I know at the moment IÆm standing upon a powerful threshold All I need to do now
Randidly Ghosthound drew out his AlchemistÆs Passport the evolved version of his first Fate He flicked the Fate once reverting it back to its original form the PhilosopherÆs Key He thrust his right hand forward driving this weaponÆ into the threshold and twisting
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1600
His senses were numbed by the pressure but Randidly lingered in the strain even as his Vessel wore down He searched struggling to keep his hand steady as he sensed the small little snags in existence Sweat dripped down his brow and evaporated underneath the dangerous kinetic forces
With a sigh the key slid into a lock that felt perfectly mundane to Randidly But he knew he was on the right track when the fundamental fabric of space and time around him stilled The corner of his mouth twisted upward He turned the key
The door cracked open in a starburst of significance and brilliant energy
Chapter 2450
The final barrier melted away At the same time a resonance began to emerge with Randidly as the core
Randidly felt the confusion and fear immediately from Laplace curdling the air and weakening its world state image that had so damaged time His own Grand Fate gleefully pounced forward and began to rapidly establish its dominance in the unprotected environment Yet Randidly stood still as the barrier in front of him disintegrated into a million glittering pieces leaving the animating shape of Laplace exposed
The resonance felt strange
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 1392
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 1392
I will slaughter you all Laplace screeched all of its grim self possession evaporating in the face of a genuine threat Yet with the opening its rigid temporal weapons swiftly became unwound The Eternity suddenly seemed too weak so vulnerable
All that remained was the decisive strike Yet Randidly felt TiamatÆs hand on his shoulder and understood the intention of his image He felt a similar trembling from his Nether Core giving him the same warning His eyes glowed as he suddenly saw how to move forward was to return to a Path
Even though Randidly could step forward through the widening door he lingered at the edge He slowly drew the AlchemistÆs Passport back and stored it away Energies lashed back and forth wrapping the two in a sea of chaotic collisions Yet RandidlyÆs mind remained fixed on calculations The Alchemist began to laugh
This is a Pinnacle Event or the closest I will come to one I created the shape even if not all the details are right Randidly felt the rich energy that the step would bring him transgressing the boundary would eliminate the last fragment of LaplaceÆs defense and allow Randidly to unmake this Eternity even if it would probably be a slow and agonizing process for Laplace to actually die The resonance urged him forward
He could reach the Pinnacle by following that feeling just like so many before him And then he would be presented with the choice the one explained so authoritatively by Nyx As she said he could not have it both ways He would either step through the threshold or become the Threshold
That is your way not mine Randidly said quietly Powerful forces howled around him in a churning maelstrom of force I do not need your Paths
He did not step forward across the Threshold He did not step forward and birth a universe from the slow death of Laplace honestly Randidly had enough trouble with supporting universes as it was Instead he smiled
we deserve better than this fighting Even you Laplace So the blow I strike will be the blow youÆve always asked for with every action youÆve taken Randidly enunciated every word his voice humming down to somewhere deep in the underlying fabric of the universe And as he spoke his intent became more and more clear You have played with the flow of time YouÆve unhitched the narrative connections that add context to life and gleefully too So this is your Ghasthund Laplace may it be all youÆve always pursued I might be blind to Truth but you are numb to Weight
Without a barrier the words could move forward and touch the deepest aspects of Laplace Just like that the universe shifted
She released a breath Next to her the monkey popped and became
Devick blinked at the new form Then she slapped her hands across her mouth in order to cover up a blooming grin YouÆve got to be fucking kidding me
Because Pine had transformed into a partially translucent grey furred spectral puppy It looked up at her with wide eyes its oversized ears flopping adorably across its face as he considered her What is he doing now How will he destroy all that darkness
What am I a fucking mind reader Devick glanced again at Randidly Although if I could read minds hehehe I wonder if sometimes he takes peeks at me when he thinks IÆm not looking or thinks ahem ahem stay focused Celebrations and post climax climaxes can wait a bit Randidly right now
The ghost hound next to her continued to look at Devick with absolute trust so she really examined Randidly and tried to figure out his intentions She saw his expanding Nether Ritual She felt the fact that his tension hadnÆt diminished even as Laplace had been neutralized rolling around helplessly in front of Randidly
Devick nodded slowly I donÆt think he will destroy all that darkness Just like he left Laplace alive After all thatÆs the subconscious of the Nexus All of the dead souls and discarded images You canÆt just cut that away
If we do not it will smother us It has become too large too onerous Pine said quietly It is proof of all of our failings That part is better off cut away and slaughtered
Randidly appeared between them You cannot just ignore or force away your failures Otherwise well You end up like Elhume
A bleak expression crossed the puppyÆs face but it shook its head after a few moments It watched Randidly whose hands still threw out complex patterns of Nether Pine said What is your intention
To bring the Nexus into alignment To prevent it from collapsing under the accumulated weight from earlier mismanagement Randidly grimaced It will not be easy That weight honestly the negativity is insane I guess its still hard for me to conceptualize the grudge that can build over three thousand years of fighting and killing But I think itÆs possible
Is this Nexus worth saving Simply move the individuals to your Alpha Cosmos Randidly Ghosthound Allow this place this body to collapse None will mind the switch and you will achieve a fresh start
Randidly looked at Pine pausing in his work Beginning with just a small movement he shook his head No I donÆt think so This universe is worth saving
You are worth saving RandidlyÆs eyes said to the ghost hound hand sitting in front of him
The dog sat absolutely still But Devick could tell from its downcast gaze it did not believe him
Chapter 2451
What Pine remembered most clearly from those early days of his existence was the hunger
Hunger that scraped to release to vocalize Hunger that would cut off slivers of his insides so demanding it consumed him simply to house it
His first massive cry which he later learned had been enough to split open the fabric of space had been a plea for sustenance The second cry had come only a moment later cradled in the arms of Yystrix and Elhume fueled by panic as he belated realized that the act of crying required energy
Every act only deepened his hunger
So he boomed out a second even as an existential dread had risen in PineÆs barely formed consciousness
One detail was abundantly clear even to Pine as a child the food he wished for did not abundantly exist in the multiverse At least not here He was a broken existence one not meant to live for long
But Pine was like every other living being he came equipped from birth with a powerful urge to survive So when Elhume used the echoing cries of Pine to create an isolated universe he did not resist He even allowed his fatherÆs experimentations to determine the sort of energy his physiology naturally craved He watched as the father built a grand working to process the energy Pine released and returned it to him in a partially consumable state It was not a simple process and his father would stay up late most nights cursing and scratching his head
Those were the happiest times despite the horrifying newness of it all His father and mother built him a small home a little cabin in an isolated pocket of the dimension His mother carried him around propped up on her hip and whispered stories that had been passed down from generation to generation
Do these stories matter Pine had once asked He wanted her to say yes dreaded she would say no The people you talk about they are not like me
His mother had taken PineÆs face in her hands She touched so delicately always nudging and adjusting Never like father who sought to carve his truth into every surface he touched Of course they matter Pine You are not the child we expected yes But you are the next link in the chain of our family That bond will never be broken
At long last fatherÆs experiments bore fruit the processing produced a successful globule of energy When Pine ate that energy it tasted like sour regurgitation It did a small amount sate his hunger but really only had the effect of whetting his appetite Yet he was alive He had a father and mother although were forced to hide Pine because of others seeking to control him Because he was special had provided the energy to create the Nexus
They celebrated that night Pine and mother whooping and cheering while Father stood arms akimbo and laughed luxuriating in his success
Pine remembered thinking I wonder if all broken things are special for so long as delay their collapse
Pine had tried to remain positive over the next few months even as the small consumptions made him sick and queasy Even as he continually felt a deeper part of himself giving out vast amounts of power fueling the rapid expansion of the Nexus Perhaps his parents understood how insufficient their methods had become His fatherÆs good mood evaporated leaving him surly and irritable given to spending long hours sitting in front of the refinement Engraving and brooding
In the end it was actually his mother who struck the real blow she suggested they would only be able to try and fix this if they adventured out through the Nexus
Let me come with you Pine had pleaded
His mother had sighed His father had shaken his head You are irreplaceable You are proof that our family is meant for better things IÆve waited weÆve all Heh You cannot be risked Pine And thatÆs that Remain here we will soon return
For the first time Pine became alone Alone with his hunger The warm cabin warped into something else empty of other inhabitants who had acted as pillars of safety He shivered in a dark hidden chamber Shadows slumped against the walls and observed his every move Yet those isolating moments did have a single benefit Pine discovered in the absence of other stimuli that he remained connected to all that energy he spread out into the Nexus
Allowing his gaze to unfocus he could sometimes see the whole of the universe he could create in small snippets from the tumultuous places
He observed the rest of the Nexus Seeing fights or dramatic professions of love or harrowing chases did a lot to distract him Pine tried to remain positive even as the shadows in his cabin grew more numerous Honestly the hunger wasnÆt so bad Pine could steadily get used to it as the growing poison in the recycled energy became untenable
So he sat very still and observed Occasionally mother and father would come back but just as quickly they would need to leave Father to follow some new lead and mother well Pine understood that mother had begun to avoid father He could feel her guilt Just by chance one of the scenes he observed was his mother alone and weeping
The tears glittering on her cheeks for a few minutes dried The salt they deposited on her skin was invisible Pine had remained frozen until the moment that the focus began to shift He reached out and attempted to grasp onto that vision Rather than being able to reach his hurt mother he simply forced the moment away He lost the connection
For a long time Pine trembled A new change developed slowly in his heart after his actions produced the opposite effect
It was the very opposite of Pine who needed to constantly give of himself and released pure waves of energy to sustain the Nexus Still observing Fiero eventually helped Pine understand that they definitely were connected at least by the way everything Fiero touched began to wither and fade
Whether it was giving or taking a flawed being would corrupt everything around it There were no exceptions
Pine likely would have taken some more desperate actions then expanding his mastery of Engraving and Nether Rituals to try and purge more of his own flaws He was in a dark place with his own self hatred as the only emotion strong enough to overcome the hunger and exhaustion But right about that time a very clever and hungry monster named Fatia Cerulean sniffed out a method to trace back the donated energy that Pine released
The heart of the universe didnÆt have any idea what was coming The raptor bit into Pine without warning as soon as the connection became solid Its jaws tore away vital energy and it happily devoured it for its own
PineÆs first instinct was to scream But he remembered the previous time he had ruined everything forced his Father to constantly fight against invaders because he had thoughtlessly screamed and let them into the Nexus So Pine remained silent He would not be a burden any longer He would solve this problem on his own
Pine’s experience watching Fiero had taught him something very valuable the poison was him too although he hadnÆt wanted to admit it at first So as Fatia taught his bloodsoaked method to more and more subordinates Pine accepted the poison into his body He decisively abandoned the periphery of his existence and instead created a thick barrier of that darkness around his core consciousness
He could still feel every bite every tear as they devoured him for dribbles of power Yet Pine safely protected himself and waited hoping Elhume would sense something was amiss Time passed and the agony was his only constant companion His father did not seem to notice his situation When he next visited he hardly even seemed to want to be there He gave Pine orders to open the Nexus once more and then left
This is what I am and we both now know it Pine trembled I am a poison I am broken So this is fine As long as I can help father and mother
Time passed The layer of poison grew and grew and grew Sometimes it would shrink becoming more dense but that just trapped Pine behind one more layer of darkness and death He was alone with his hunger and exhaustion listening as the dead whispered to him about their lives about their regrets He could barely feel the Nexus feeding off of him any longer
What surprised Pine was that his damned body was much more stubborn about the survival thing than he was He had assumed after he had cut off nine tenths of his body and surrendered it to the Nexus that the universe would eventually collapse upon itself Yet that last shred of him the pure core continued to radiate out enough energy
His hunger became a constant deafening demand Yet the Nexus survived even when it shouldnÆt kept afloat by the worst sort of poison He hated it But he also felt a kinship with the Nexus too
The only logical explanation for its continued survival was that it was broken as well So in a way Pine wasnÆt alone
Pine had isolated himself and had most of his outer connections devoured by the denizens of the Nexus His fatherÆs visits ceased Without those events to delineate the passage of time everything became fluid He rode endless waves of suffering He hated himself He couldnÆt look away from the small ripples he could still observe from the outside world
He couldnÆt remember the last time he had heard from his mother PineÆs expression had crumpled when he made that realization She must have realized what I was She must have run away to save herself
A thousand years felt like so much longer His traitorous body continued to wring itself dry producing more energy
LaplaceÆs invasion had been a relief to Pine a sharp certainty that had cut through his blurry awareness Once again his instincts betrayed him The last shrivel of himself he divided again so his consciousness could flee the calcified remained of his energy core He found a grand chamber that his father had constructed and hid out there
Until Devick had showed up Until she had bothered Pine into helping her until she stood against impossible odds Pine felt something other than poison festering in his heart as he watched her fight
Yet her resistance couldnÆt last forever Laplace soon arrived and Pine felt a complex mixture of emotions as he understood the arithmetic of what was about to happen Soon even this small reprieve would end And on the one hand he was so so tired
Yet right before the climax onto the stage walked Randidly Ghosthound Who released some of the purest energy Pine had ever sensed Who had condensed not once but twice pure spheres of power that Pine had been able to inhale from the periphery and handle his hunger
Pine couldnÆt help but open his mouth Is this Nexus worth saving Simply move the individuals to your Alpha Cosmos Randidly Ghosthound Allow this place this body to collapse None will mind the switch and you will achieve a fresh start
Randidly Ghosthound looked at Pine He shook his head No I donÆt think so This universe is worth saving
As the very core of this universe Pine didnÆt believe him
He had lived too long face to face with proof to the contrary
Chapter 2452
Randidly Ghosthound might have been deaf to Truth but he could see the rejection in the small dogÆs face as soon as he pronounced the universe worth saving
Which was exactly what he had worried about earlier Randidly wouldnÆt be able to do this alone
His mind moved in a hundred different directions guiding Aether and Nether outward to form the basis of a frame He kept encountering trouble pushing the scope to the size he needed the framework would need to contain the entire working and he rapidly ran out of steam even with the thick significance he could create Even more obnoxiously there was a very unfortunate side effect of expanding his Nether to cover the whole of the Nexus he suddenly had a very good idea of how torn up the fabric of time had become in the hidden corners of the Nexus and now his Grand Fate began to raise a fuss
It contracted in his chest urging him to action before gradually relaxing From what he remembered from the description this process would only grow more painful the longer he resisted the urge to correct the problem
At the same time the resonance from his Nether Core began more demanding He had recreated a version of a Pinnacle event Significance in the outside universe began to swirl around him in a way very much not conducive to his current project
In preparation for him to experience an Eternity
Yet despite all that Randidly cleared quite a sizable section of his subconscious and pondered the problem of Pine There are different sorts of miracles Some that are impressible and some that seem impossible
He straightened his shoulders Then Randidly Ghosthound began to assemble his ingredients
Due to the energies produced by the Ghosthound over the course of his fights Pine didnÆt feel hungry for the first time in centuries Yet that only served to make him feel off balance and uncomfortable Change came and caught the universe soul unawares After sensing the fall of Elhume and Fiero witnessing an Eternity rendered inert
Everything felt like a dream
And that metaphor just made Pine wish he would soon wake up and everything would be over
Behind their small cluster the pillar of light that resisted the undeniable darkness of the universe began to fade This shift was inevitable In the end all would eventually succumb to that darkness Pine knew He had carried it within his own body for too long to have any doubts He had fed it and housed it even as it whispered all the ways it would one day devour him
Devick crouched down in front of him and scratched Pine behind his ears Keep up the good work Pine We can handle it from here
Devick The Ghosthound cleared his throat
Devick threw her crimson hair over her shoulder and raised her fists as though they were about ot box If you think you can give me stupid orders in order to keep me safe Randidly
I was just going to suggest The Ghosthound stressed the word He pointed across the rumbling ground That group that just arrived That is the Order Ducis Find Naffur Suite tell him to give you an opening to strike Beat back the sky Just keep the Nexus from being destroyed will you
I always do Devick flashed a smile before spinning away on her heel
Pine and Randidly Ghosthound exchanged a glance despite having very little else in common both had spent enough time with the woman to understand who in this room would be most likely to accidentally destroy the Nexus
Meanwhile I herald its doom with only my existence Pine thought But I suppose thatÆs not really an accident
Randidly paused for a moment to crack his knuckles He squinted at the groups flooding out of the Alpha Cosmos through the portals His lips twisted We will need some help if we are going to do this
I donÆt think it would have been Aegiant that got me But as soon as I went to the frontlines The Ghosthound shrugged I would have languished within that isolation pod while my images faded You kept them all alive
Pine released a low growl and was about to interrupt their little interlude when a bright new pillar of light replaced the fading one At the tip of the pillar gleamed a grey and crimson light that seemed to warp the room into a nightmare The whole room shook The defense held For another short while the darkness would not crush them
WeÆll need anchors Neveah said and Pine became abruptly aware the two were having a conversation he was not privy to
Enmya for Alpha IÆll handle the Nexus As for the shadow we both know who we need
Neveah raised an eyebrow Will she agree
The Ghosthound shrugged If you toss her in there her instincts will take over
Neveah clicked her tongue which is exactly why you need me to ask because that is your response No thatÆs fine Are you sure this is going to be enough What about the Upper Sonora Society
We will strip away most of the fundamental System IÆve already informed the Pantheon so they should be ready to take over And the Upper Sonora Society their little working will act as a heat sink
They will definitely generate heat in this metaphor Also you definitely will need to find more reliable figures to bring into the Pantheon They are already overworked Lightning fast NeveahÆs eyes flicked to Pine and then back to the Ghosthound Do you believe that will be enough
IÆve got nothing up my sleeves The Ghosthound shrugged Pine sensed the small tremor that revealed a real lack of assurance
Neveah tilted her head to the side I might have something IÆll make my preparations Good luck brother
Neveah stepped forward and kissed the GhosthoundÆs cheek Then she turned away and vanished Ghosthound looked down at the grey spectral hound and grinned Alright letÆs get going We have some work to do
I have become nothing Randidly Ghosthound Pine felt an odd squirminess in his gut as he said the words My presence will only slow you down
The Ghosthound didnÆt listen He scooped Pine up in his arms earning a yip from him Then the surroundings around them blurred as they teleported to another location
But the strangest part of the trip was the contact between Pine and the Ghosthound Pine had so long been the resonating core of a universe that he had grown almost numb to its presence And since cutting away most of his body to flee from Laplace he had felt adrift Yet when pressed against the GhosthoundÆs skin he felt the pure rumbling of the Alpha Cosmos He felt how Randidly Ghosthound sat at the center of a vast web of Nether links drawing three different connections to form a balance Then the various Aether shapes clustered around him energy flowing back and forth
My theory is correct He is the underlying heartbeat He is life Pine blinked in shock as the Ghosthound gently laid him on the ground The sensations had been so intoxicating so familiar and yet foreign that he had briefly lost himself He had felt oddly whole remembering those early days
And now he just felt hollow
Just like Devick before she waltzed off to fight the Ghosthound scratched Pine behind his ears His grin wasnÆt as crooked but just as warm You are not nothing And we need you to motivate certain intractable elements
The Ghosthound straightened and turned around Only then did Pine become aware of the two figures slumped on the ground Do you hear that Fiero And Elhume whatever is left of you we need your help To save the Nexus
To save your son
Chapter 2453
After Randidly spoke he looked at the slumped form of Elhume for any hint of a response Despite the potent physicality in that body that Randidly could sniff a mile away his spine bent like a sagging vine he hunched forward with hollow eyes Knuckles that had once threatened to inflict so much hurt and pain on existence now scraped harmlessly against the ground Only the vaguest whiff of ElhumeÆs image clung to his body with so many other aspects scooped out and pilfered by others
His words were countered by the silence and apathy of a broken man
How strange it was Randidly thought as he stared at one of the founding forces of the Nexus He almost felt regretful That IÆve spent so much time and effort trying to catch up with you and now suddenly IÆve passed you and left you so far behind
The moment of asking stretched From ElhumeÆs psyche there wasnÆt even a ripple of recognition Yet Randidly didnÆt panic or press despite his secret worries He didnÆt pivot and take in PineÆs response knowing his main goal was just not to mirror the universe soulÆs desperation While others made more concrete preparations for the miracle Randidly would attempt today he needed to lay some emotional groundwork And this was part of the process
A lesson he had embraced his whole System existence but one given name by meeting the memory Devick Not a Truth but an opinion A perspective by which he would live his life
Be unreasonable and expect the world to follow
When it became clear that ElhumeÆs consciousness hadnÆt even taken notice of them a twisted shadow leaned forward An opportunity left untouched was an opportunity that could be taken The Patron of the Borrowed seemed to have twisted further stewing in the bitterness of their failure to stop Randidly
FieroÆs gaunt eyes were filled with hate his tails limp behind him He looked the two new arrivals up and down with a sneer Randidly Ghosthound you certainly are quick to forget old grudges We will not help you We have no desire to help you Not when we can finally break out of this hellish prison of pain and regret
The air around them vibrated briefly although they were far away from the impact point Randidly still knew that the reinforcements from the Alpha Cosmos had again stalled out the falling Pine
His sharp emerald gaze studied Fiero perhaps because he knew he still could not study the small form of Pine who he had brought here Also because he felt a strange gush of amusement imagining himself as the angel on PineÆs shoulder and Fiero as the devil Stay focused Randidly We arenÆt out of the woods yet
Randidly scratched his chin considering the stance he should take opposite this twisted shade Elhume and Fiero had possessed conflicting ideas for how the issue of the destabilizing should be resolved which manifested in a thousand years of contentious shadowy struggles in the Nexus But RandidlyÆs appearance had changed the situation both had realized that if he had been given additional room to grow he would eclipse them All their efforts would become moot
They had worked together springing a trap against them and fighting him as one Randidly had struggled but overcome their combined efforts Which left Fiero and Elhume with no choice but to invite a foreign power to settle the issue one way or another Yet now that Laplace had been handled
I wonder which of them invited PanguÆs subtle touch into the Nexus Randidly pressed his lips together as he spared the limp and wan Fiero a glance Then he looked away back to the inert Elhume His eyeline traveled on there to land softly on Pine He ignored FieroÆs vicious snarl and spoke to his target Because in the end the devil was powerless to stop him All you need to do is ask Pine But it needs to be you
I do not understand your fixation Randidly Ghosthound Pine yipped out the words while his ears flopped across his face Why must I ask
It has to be you Randidly repeated without changing his tone
Meanwhile Pine raised his voice and looked at anything but the still form of his adoptive father Any other individual would be a better option for this foolish quest In the end my feelings on the Nexus they remain neutral I do not have hope that this trial can be overcome I know the costs we bear every second we continue to resist the inevitable I am not the best choice for this query Your insistence is asinine
Ah kid Randidly felt strangely mature a very inappropriate feeling for one facing off against the soul of the universe into which he was born Yet he could sense PineÆs real fear that caused him to balk that the universe soul would ask for help like he had so many times before and he would be ignored Randidly did not release the small puppyÆs gaze He will hear you this time He will answer
Fiero cackled You are a fool This bastard could so little handle his own emotions that he gave them all up I am him almost entirely But I am not blinded by sentimentality I will never
Even Pine seemed content to ignore the Vulpine There is no need to discuss this further I have decided I will not Upon reflection allowing the natural progression of developments is what I as a neutral party should endeavor to do
I canÆt do this without your help I canÆt help the people of the Nexus alone They need you to ask
Your continued insistence on this irrelevant detail is beginning to leave me quite infuriated Randidly Ghosthound I have made my stance clear
Please I know how much has been asked of you I donÆt love being one more person to ask you to give But please Pine
The asker will not affect the response He will not answer Consider his current condition
And that will be fine When youÆve done all you can IÆll let the matter drop
Are you sure about this
Do you have another plan He countered
He could feel her exasperation But outside
IÆve got a plan for that Randidly replied
You always do Haah letÆs ignore the costs for now I suppose Just the results of your brilliant plans have sometimes been mixed This is it Randidly IÆm warning you not to act too wild not now not with everything on the line But yes we have made all the preparations on our end
One last miracle then Randidly nodded sharply His body pulsed and hummed as he spun his Nether Core faster and faster For now he ignored the budding possibility of a Samsara that continued to develop within him He gushed with significance It flowed out of him in every direction spilling out to adjust the Nether content in the whole of the Nexus
Randidly Ghosthound knew that just as important as the deception of the trick was the stage beneath it With sheer force of power emerging from his Vessel he expanded the stage to cover a whole universe
Congratulations Your Skill Randidly Ghosthound Executive of Nether Reborn has grown to Level 2100
Congratulations Your Skill What the Ghosthound Sows He Will Soon Reap Has grown to Level 1921
Congratulations Your Skill Heraldic Tongue of the Alchemist has grown to Level 1882
Congratulations Your Skill Randidly Ghosthound Executive of Nether Reborn has grown to Level 2237
Randidly reached out and put his hands upon Elhume and Pine still staring deeply into each otherÆs soul a raw and vulnerable question and answer in the progress of its exchange We need to go They are ready for us
His Alchemist’s Passport flickered While Fiero cursed and swiped out with greedy hands the trio had vanished The Patron of the BorrowÆs power was too broken to stop them Randidly didnÆt return to the floor of the PinnacleÆ chamber where the Alpha Cosmos continued to battle back the line of darkness but transported the group above the battle lines
As they arrived a vicious wind raked across the three of them but no one flinched Randidly looked up the group seeming to stand right in front of the accumulation of negative impulses tainted images and death from three thousand years of the Nexus It was a wall of oblivion swirling in front of the group It pulsed and seethed almost as though their presence made it restless It bulged outward a water balloon ready to rupture and dump tainted images through the whole of the Nexus
You wish for him to fight against that PineÆs tone changed to one of horror and recrimination Even my father cannot
No not fight Balance Randidly replied He allowed himself a small moment wondering what Ezekiel was doing within that multilayered sphere what the dead experienced as their home hurtled on a collision course with another With great difficulty he wrenched himself back from the distraction Right now the issue is that all the darkness has started to crack the fabric of the Nexus We can support the weight for a while with images and Nether but that will only delay the eventual collision And they cannot be separated not entirely They remain connected So we need a new foundation
ThatÆs why we need Elhume To function as the core anchor of the Nexus for our new shape Randidly flicked his fingers and a circular platform of golden runes flashed into existence beneath them The complex wheels of the working began to spin The Engraving flared with life and power enough that the air around them began to distort The effect of conjuring such a complex working was satisfyingly dramatic but really Neveah had been the one who had created this working while Randidly had been talking with Pine Randidly just acted as a flashy salesperson The Alchemist as magician manipulating the audienceÆs attention
Even his words were part of the trick convincing everything that this was about that We need three cores for three universes to be brought into alignment Rotating around a central axis Lead him over there please
Around the main golden brilliance of the working Neveah had woven were three more sedate circles on the ground lined with pulsing runes but with their central portions clear After a hesitation Pine moved and Elhume followed When they stood in the middle of one of the outer circles the writing along the edge began to animate itself
Randidly guided the Nether connections so the Engraving reacted to the correct bonds In Truth this was the one whose anchor would be the most important
Because no one had done more to shape the Nexus than Elhume for better and for worse It couldnÆt be anyone but him not with his weighty history
He doesnÆt even see me Can this truly be enough Pine asked breaking into RandidlyÆs thoughts Is this really my role
Randidly smiled Your part is the climax Pine Just give me a second and youÆll be the reason everything changes
Chapter 2454
Randidly flexed his fingers For the moment Pine seemed satisfied with his answer So he let the vulnerable universe soul be and focused on the connections He did his best to relax because he needed to be sharp for this next bit
His Nether seethed and spat in his veins flowing faster and more thickly than it had ever had before For a brief moment Randidly marveled at the sensations so closely matched to what he imagined it was to be slowly cooling magma planet Waves of chaotic and dense significance sprung off him both surrounding the brilliant Engraving with a protective bubble and flowing out to fuel the framework for the next step His eyes burned bright and emerald and violent With this this journey will come to an end
He wove strands of Nether around Elhume digging deep into his history strangely insubstantial as it was due to FieroÆs borrowing Yet Randidly felt the anchor sinking deeper and deeper into ElhumeÆs existence He suspected the process could not be pleasant Significance was sowing together two histories to make them as one The two Nether varietals hissed and trembled on the contract
Yet Elhume just looked at Pine his gaze empty but sure His fatherÆs answer had no words but did possess the unrelenting solidity that the universe soul desperately needed
Pine trembled bearing the scrutiny of that gaze with difficulty after having not had the privilege of receiving it for so long Nearer to Randidly there was a slight pop as Neveah manifested back She gave him a quick nod holding a large orb of mist in her arms Randidly pressed her lips together to see the excited pulses from within the misty orb Yet It was proof that Neveah had extracted agreement For now that was more than enough
Neveah began reinforcing the central portion with bold strokes of harmonious Aether and Nether while the floating consciousness was left to the side for now
Next to their floating ritual the darkness pressed closer Even if the Alpha Cosmos could delay its collision with the Nexus the tide of negativity encroached more and more Their movements fell into shadow the only light coming from the glowing Engraving
With the first circle now populated and anchored into place Randidly turned his attention to the second one He sent a message to Enmya and receiving an affirmative he flexed his fingers Yggdrasil creaked and groaned the massive trunk shifting from the original position to within the depths of the circle
Enmya arrived with arms windmilling pulled along by the shift in the World Tree RandidlyÆs mouth quirked upward but he didnÆt let that distract him He focused on the pulsing life of Yggdrasil and followed its roots digging deeper and deeper into the fabric of the Nexus while also following the carefully laid runes shaped by Neveah The tree became a stand in for him and the universe he represented the Alpha Cosmos When Enmya regained his balance he sat down and began to meditate His Nether flowed through clean lines joining the anchors the Nether connector had already made and then joining up with YggdrasilÆs similar efforts
It did not feel good to do but Randidly released the last of his grip on his insubstantial identity The Alpha Cosmos is more than just part of the Vessel It can be everything I can be nothing The anchor can flow through Enmya
Congratulations Your Skill The World Tree Guzzles Even Truth has grown to Level 1995
Congratulations Your Skill Engineering of the Enigmatic Alpha Cosmos has grown to Level 1831
With Nether and roots Randidly tied the knot fixing the Alpha Cosmos in a new place He felt a strange queasiness but nothing too disturbing yet Right now it was just a symbol Only when he tightened those Nether bonds would everything be changed
Before Randidly began the final anchoring process he sent a message to Naffur and the others struggling underneath the negative subconscious of the Nexus One more push to hold the land of the dead back and make it a big one IÆll handle it from there
On cue the Nexus around him shivered Then began to shake as all the people who believed in him trusted his word and threw their all into the attack Randidly began to laugh from the abrupt twitchings of his Grand Fate Randidly knew that the group had manifested enough power to tear the fabric of time For now he ignored the scratching impulse to go sew up that wound and just allowed himself to feel pride
Congratulations Your Skill Echoes of a Living Myth has grown to Level 1604
Congratulations Your Skill What the Ghosthound Sows He Will Soon Reap has grown to Level 1995
In his mind Randidly continued his explanation to Pine Would you believe it if I told you there would be value in us being connected IÆve faked it well thus far but I am not you Pine I am a constructed thing I possess a powerful Vessel sure Mimicking the effects you have but ultimately well maybe IÆm a little bit afraid of reaching a limit in that mimicry Creating the connection would legitimize me in a way In a way I want to happen less for my pride and more to ensure a stable future for the Alpha Cosmos
But also RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Why did I struggle for so long for power if not so I could freely make my choices and damn the consequences You are more than a resource Pine You are alive And therefore itÆs worth extending a hand to help you
Whether in the end you take it is up to you
As Randidly took the last few steps he took around 3000 VP Skill Levels he had gained due to the Alpha CosmosÆs enthusiastic defense and poured it into his Harmony Creed just for a little extra edge for what he planned on attempting
What he didnÆt expect was to trigger another Layer increase so soon after the previous one
You have condensed a Vessel Layer Current Vessel Layers 5
For earning a new Layer you have unlocked access to a new Creed Creeds will be distributed differently based on the Vessel Layer For the fifth Vessel Layer you have been provided with a choice Possibility or Impossibility
Details on the alternative Creeds will be provided prior to selection
(Creed) Possibility A Creed concerned with expanding the realm of the possible Creed will provide a holistic boost to the potential and current capability When VPs are spent user will experience an increase in consistency of outcomes UserÆs respiratory system (if applicable) and brain will experience a boost in efficiency User will have a natural intuition for the relative success of different choices For those within the Alpha Cosmos this Creed increases the growth rate of new Skills for each related Skill and makes it easier to develop Skills or images related to armor material sciences statistics mechanisms engineering industry vehicles and progress
(Creed) Impossibility A Creed dedicated to shrinking the broad category of the impossible A Creed for those determined to change the status quo despite the unexpected consequences that might result When VPs are spent user will experience an increase in the ability to shift their perspective User will adapt unusually quickly to new environments and have a sharp eye for unusual details For those within the Alpha Cosmos this Creed increases the chance that they will be presented with strange and unrelated Skill and Path choices as they advance Creed encourages the exploration of novel concepts and unusual combinations and makes it easier to develop Skills or images related to dreams psychology interpersonal relationships transformations fusions psychic abilities colors and evolutions of Classes and Skills
Randidly offered the notification a crooked smile We all know which choice I will make donÆt we In the end advancing step by step is a methodical process but the places I intend to go cannot be reached simply by following a Path
You have selected the Creed Impossibility Additional information available
As the relative Dominance of the Impossibility Creed increases user will find the chances of unlikely events magnified The population of the Alpha Cosmos will dream more brightly and vividly of wild dreamscapes and foreign worlds To a greater or lesser degree those in the Alpha Cosmos will be inflicted with a craving for novel and unusual experiences In addition as the Impossibility Creed grows the Alpha Cosmos will spontaneously absorb strange worlds from the outside multiverse These absorbed worlds are very likely to contain beings with strange powers which may or may not be friendly with the denizens of the Alpha Cosmos
Spontaneously absorb Randidly frowned at that wondering at the absorption mechanism But he supposed he shouldnÆt be too picky considering he had just consciously chosen to embrace ImpossibilityÆ He had a little over 3000 VPs remaining which he dumped into Impossibility Immediately he felt the Creed settle through his body a tingling in his eyes and frontal lobe The possibility glittered through him
The small victories didnÆt stop there Randidly took a glance at his Status Screen and smirked Not long now
Yet for the moment he had an unpleasant task to complete He stopped in front of the pulsing misty orb For several seconds he just looked at it He pressed his lips together The silence from the orb seemed smug you are willing to help
Only so long as you truly debase yourself in the asking The consciousness of the Actus Suprem Devick purred
Chapter 2455
Randidly considered the floating consciousness in front of him She regarded him coolly aware of how the power dynamic had shifted His method of defeating this Devick of removing all the antagonism aimed at her and leaving her adrift in her own madness meant that her image had lost the bite of rusted iron even if she still released a whiff of a feral wolf
He also knew he was taking a gamble with this choice the third element in this grand ritual needed anchoring sure And of the three he felt the most conflicted on who and how to find a proper anchor for the negative subconscious His familiarity with that darkness that threatened to unbalance them all was shaky at best An easy answer didnÆt present itself
He selected Devick for two reasons First because of the presence of Pangu that Randidly had witnessed inside of the accumulated negativity of the Nexus Any anchor he chose from within the darkness despite perhaps having an easier time of the acclimation might possess a connection to Pangu that Randidly wanted to rip out and discard Plus if Pangu had methods to reach back Devick was contrary enough to sock the foreign Eternity in the mouth before she would listen to some plot to betray him
Secondly Randidly narrowed his eyes as he considered her His actions were purposeful reaching back out to those he had defeated to claim his supremacy in the Nexus They would not just become additional corpses to fuel the growth of the universe because they had lost to him You could fail you could disagree and there would still be a place for you in the home Randidly attempted to build
Besides the restless dead of the underworld have my condolences if they think resistance against this insane parasite will go well for them Randidly smirked They might complain loudly about the situation foisted upon them but soon they might even be quite pleased
Oh do you find my request amusing DevickÆs consciousness pulsed releasing small rust colored sparks He felt her defensiveness overcompensating for her weakness I can assure you I am not willing to negotiate in my demands
Do you know why you donÆt rule us all Actus Suprem Randidly said instead The sparks quieted proving that he had her attention This was what he needed to unravel that need to lash out if she would work if he could trust her if this was possible She needed to feel seenù because if he demonstrated he understood she wouldnÆt be able to avoid facing her flaws any longer
Randidly cleared his throat and spoke slowly You found yourself dealt a very disadvantageous hand You were the last of your kind struggling to find a connection And after that failed repeatedly well I admire your stubbornness You didnÆt change your method But you did change your target
Randidly leaned forward His emerald pupils burned You started lying to yourself You decided if the universe wouldnÆt acclimate you would just the slightest bit Everything spiraled out of control from there until you had folded in on yourself In the end you flinched And that is why here and now you cannot fight against me
Very rich coming from you Ghosthound Randidly could hear DevickÆs sneer What a privileged view you had of my life getting an opportunity to scoop me from my impressionable cradle and now suddenly you are such an expert in my mistakes Would you like a practically irrelevant opinion from the woman herself who lived such an existence I did not begin lying to myself purposefully pretending to possess these children I just
RandidlyÆs heart ached but he kept his face stoic He had hopefully lanced the boil and now it would leak Of course he understood he had completely steamrolled the complexity in DevickÆs life with his words He had so much sympathy for her despite all the crimes she would later commit because of the apparent loneliness she experienced Which was why now he waited for her to say her own truth
He had metaphorically extended his hand to her offering her the chance to be a part of what came next Because even if she didnÆt deserve that she deserved better than she had gotten
I just began to twist a bit Devick admitted in a quieter voice Slamming myself for so long again and again against the realityÆ of the universe My vision went a bit strange Not everyone is like you Randidly Ghosthound The rest of us we warp and break under the stress of conflict Rather than simply stealing the tools of our betters and then acting smug about it after the fact
Randidly didnÆt bother to hide his smile this time if Devick was willing to admit weakness it was as much as acknowledging she would accept his offer He extended his hand The Actus SupremÆs consciousness spat out a few rust colored sparks but then curled down around his fingers
I will make you regret this She whispered
We all hope we will live long enough to be preoccupied with regrets He countered
He pivoted and looked up at the darkness looming above them radiating waves of distortion as the people of the Alpha Cosmos prevented the weight from falling for a bit longer Alright letÆs finish this
Randidly Ghosthound no longer had a true physical body but he went through the motions of inhaling a slow breath He raised his fingers For five entire seconds sensing the rippling distortions in the Nexus he was entirely still
In his core the Alchemist examined all the elements he had gathered Broken fragments of a mirror from PanguÆs Asymptote Acri which Randidly had pulled into his Soulspace to prepare for one more trick His vibrating Nether Core as it housed a half formed Eternity event either to be frozen and forged into a Samsara or expended to create an Aspect His three images all morphing in more and more ways as Truth became more of an afterthought replaced by perseverance and opinion His Vessel constantly being reinforced by the accumulation of VPs His MuseÆs Reverie which had grown over his preparations to sit at 6 of 8
He looked over at Pine Are you ready Once it begins we wonÆt get another shot
As though to punctuate the sentiment space near the darkness cracked open A freezing cold suction pulled and pulled apparent even from across the vast chamber the presence of the NexusÆs darkness tearing a hole through to the void The fabric of the Nexus began to fray and tearù the Vessel of this universe had borne too much abuse for too long
Soon the hammer would fall After Elhume and Fiero knocked away the protections the Nexus would tear itself in half
PineÆs glassy eyes reflected that truth as he stared at Randidly Yet despite the worsening tears he didnÆt say anything to hurry the universe seed His images swirled within him Nether roared through his veins His body hummed with the outflows of energy He watched Pine
Are you sure this is worth it Pine whispered Even as he meant IÆm not sure Æ
He could sense their hunger and their chill eyes They clearly knew how close they were to breaking through to the real world and had been whipped into such a bloodlust they no longer cared how much damage they would inflict by indulging in that hunger Any sympathy was erased by overwhelming need With greedy fingers they reached out and began to claw at him thousands of wan specters manifesting in the few meters around Randidly
In the end however the restrictions were a problem that could be overcome with brute force And rather easily considering RandidlyÆs body He shook his head slightly at their hubris
Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Insight of the Smoldering Abyss has grown to Level 1742
Congratulations Your Skill Homunculi Pursues Perfection has grown to Level 1950
He stepped not bothering to restrain his raw physicality The same dense darkness that ripped its way through the Nexus tore like wax paper The spectators evaporated like candles on a birthday cake in front of an enthusiastic child Randidly blurred up through the strange workshop of Pangu into that reflected little cabin created by Pine down the staircase into the abyss and found the calcified exoskeleton Pine had left at the bottom
He raised his hand Not sure if youÆd be as willing to help if you understood the extent of my planning
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha DragonÆs Fell Smite has grown to Level 1701
He decapitated the crouched form plucking up PineÆs head Randidly examined the piece he had obtained a chunk of PineÆs actual body and made a face this monstrous lizard form was hideous
If Randidly did say so himself Pine looked quite a bit more handsome as a ghostly hound Definitely that should be the default in the future
But this was the last piece he needed for his grand gamble his final trick Randidly rolled his shoulders and wondered if he could pull this off
Especially because the true threat to him was completely unknown
Okay He released a breath One step at a time Neveah can handle the process in here Pine will hopefully manage the last coupling and I
He envisioned the grand stage for his final trick He released a vague half formed pulse of Nether hoping he would be enough
Despite having mentally prepared himself Randidly couldnÆt help but gulp The plan was relatively simple the Vessel of the Nexus could no longer support both the darkness and the Nexus proper So they needed to be bourne by a new Vessel his
However he didnÆt want to directly merge both the darkness and Nexus into the Alpha Cosmos Not only did Randidly worry about the massive burden on his psyche but he also wanted to methodically untangle the System from those portions before the connections became permanent The inevitable connection required a lot of work from his Pantheon who were already overworked with the exploding population of the Alpha Cosmos
So he would engage in a delaying tactic he would accept the darkness and Nexus into his Vessel but would use momentum and balancing putting the two new arrivals and the Alpha Cosmos into orbit of each other to host them without mixing them At least until the problems could be resolved
However in order to truly reach and move the Nexus and the darkness into position
Randidly Ghosthound would need to stretch wider than them to allow the positioning to occur For his final trick he needed to go outside the Nexus
And prevent any insidious vultures from swooping in while the isolated universe was at its most vulnerable
He flared his images He blinked back the lightheadedness as so much energy burned through his veins and fueled the working His mind was overworked his Vessel stretched in so many directions But he gritted his teeth and focused
His palms tingled All the preparations all the sweat all the struggles it all was for this He took out the remnants pieces from PanguÆs Asymptote and stabbed them through the flesh head he had taken from PineÆs decapitated cast offs When he looked at the streaks of white goo and black ichor on the pieces he couldnÆt help but grimace
Distasteful but it was an insurance policy just in case RandidlyÆs worst fears were confirmed
With a graceful bit of sleight of hand he stuffed those shattered mirrored shards in the waistband of his pants for easy access He stepped forward and slipped out through the cracks of the Nexus and into the wider multiverse
Chapter 2456
Randidly Ghosthound left the Nexus
Congratulations For pushing yourself beyond the edges of your Universe +1 MuseÆs Reverie MuseÆs Reverie 7/8
His first impression of the environment was frigid chaos He blinked as waves of colors gravitational and temporal forces hit him The conflicting currents slammed against him powerful enough to tear a lesser individual to shreds Probably no one under 1000 in Vitality and Endurance would be able to survive not while the absence of dimensional fabric meant that images were restricted
Yet obviously it was less a torturous way to dive for Randidly Ghosthound and more like diving into freezing water
His skin prickled at the cold bit of entropy as he passed through the gaps between isolated spaces His powerful senses pinged outward and he abruptly wished he had pulled back on his curiosity the folded dimension of cracks and spaces through which he now cracked possessed depth on a scale that left Randidly alarmed Like just peeking too deeply would overbalance him and he would be pulled down into the abyss tumbling forever and ever unmoored and lost
And then he finally finished passing through the dimension of crooked thresholds finding a veritable sea of foreign images that washed against him He straightened subconsciously but felt an instant sense of relief as he felt the firmness of the ground beneath his feet
He had made it So he looked around careful this time to limit his exacting senses in their scope
Randidly found himself standing in a luminous starfield with nebulas rotating slowly above and comets drifting sluggishly below He floated in the middle of spaceÆ in its most stereotypical awe inspiring form Yet that was just the beginning of the sensations that rushed to tantalize him In a more than physical way he felt very very small
Congratulations Your Skill Arch HereticÆs Thaumaturgy has grown to Level 1943
Congratulations Your Skill Emerald Eyes and Dove Whispers Certify the Objective 1809
The small hole in the depths of his Nether Core hinted at it but the outer multiverse was filled with movement and force from a billion conflicting ideologies None were manifesting close to him but Randidly could vaguely feel the shadows from those entities populating the Sea of Statues stretching in every direction The grouping of gleaming stars to his left had a stale scent of bone dust and stone crypts Below him amongst the asteroid belts he felt an almost overwhelming urge to grow and procreate reaching up from fields and fields of mutated plant life
Congratulations Your Skill Emerald Eyes and Dove Whispers Certify the Objective 1857
A surly red dwarf behind Randidly rang with the clang of hammers and unending fire He felt a nebulous feeling of unreality from one glittering cloud of celestial debris all dreamscapes and swirling kaleidoscopes One cluster of three tiny moons released a piercing craving for a sword strong enough to cleave apart the fabric of space Each of these represented at least a single universe with many housing multiple even hundreds of universes making the shadow of the statues darker and more weighty in this outer multiverse
Randidly chewed on his lips as he considered the vast expanse of power he sensed in every direction Tch guess itÆs a bit much to expect me to waddle out of the Nexus as a heavyweight fighter Laplace is an Eternity that wasnÆt even strong enough to possess his own universe ThatÆs why he was desperate enough to invade the Nexus with his actual body
Still the multiverse around Randidly was rather inert for the fearsome wider domain that had repeatedly attempted to invade the Nexus The areas of influence of the varying statues were clearly defined but Randidly didnÆt see another living being in the area Or traveling in the channels between these zones Which at least meant that maybe this would be a bit easier than he had
Just as Randidly allowed his tense muscles to relax with relief a notification popped up in front him
Welcome to the purview of Providence Examining parameters
New User noted Scanning Identity set as Randidly Ghosthound Please proceed to your nearest Hub in order to register your Identity within the official Providence System Unregistered Users will experience restrictions to their capabilities until they comply
Establishing restrictions on new user
Pine hated them just a little bit as he looked at them He blinked his eyes rapidly Where were the answers when I needed help
His mood quickly soured even as the Engraving grew larger and larger the momentum of change more and more powerful It hummed up through the ground and through PineÆs legs Because right next to them stretched an overwhelming threat
The dark subconscious of the Nexus had spatial cracks undulating and crackling around it like tentacles It inched closer no longer just falling swelling to press against more and more of the Nexus in every direction Those few golden sparks that were unfortunate enough to tumble toward the darkness were devoured
Even worse Pine could feel the souls from within the subconscious He remained connected to them all even if his flight from Laplace had severed a portion of that sensitivity
Yet they shouted and screamed Their emotional demands racked across his psyche Those dead souls so long trapped frothed at the mouth to escape His hunger came from a physiological place but this this was something deeper and darker Disappointment and resentment had transformed hunger into weapons that would destroy as much as they could manage
Even just to be acknowledged
PineÆs fur stood on end Just like with the development of Fates he could feel himself shrinking away from the present withdrawing into himself Even though he was briefly sated staring that wild hunger in the face reminded him what he would need to encounter in the future just to survive Please I donÆt have anything more to give
ItÆs normal to be afraid
Pine hopped sideways He hadnÆt expected the GhosthoundÆs Soulbound companion Neveah to turn up next to him her fingers smoking vaguely from recent Engravings He spared her a glance and hunched his shoulders Pine decided denying he was afraid was pointless This is not about fear
You donÆt want to help us Do you disagree with our goals then Neveah tilted her head to the side
Your goals Pine shivered as a particularly dense wave of entropy scythed through the edge of the Engraving area and hit the group A split second later the roots running through the whole of the Engraving released an indignant pulse The Engraving spun and grew larger The geyser of golden sparks began to flow in particular patterns forming a better defensive barrier
Pine shook his head I have no issue with your intentions However my own place in your new order I am not sure
Pine trailed off staring into the looming darkness Perhaps because of the lights helixing up in the foreground the backdrop of oblivion felt so stark And so peaceful A peace he dearly craved after having pounds of his flesh ripped away for so long by greed By suffering in silence with only his hunger for company
He stared at the darkness and believed with his whole heart that it would just be easier this way
Neveah stepped in front of him The truth is Pine you donÆt know what you want do you
I want a cessation of pain
NeveahÆs eyes crinkled Not a true desire but a reaction driven by base survival instincts Something bigger Bigger than all the other things what do you want
To go back before I ruined it all Pine thought miserably He remembered his mother and father and even if the hunger was fearsome back then he at least had them
After a few moments of silence Neveah scratched PineÆs head Come with me Let me show you what I desire
Chapter 2457
Randidly Ghosthound waited for the representatives of the Providence Squad to arrive with his head held high
His mind remained torn in a thousand different directions He spewed out huge currents of Aether and Nether more every second as he paid the bill for the Nexus renovation Neveah had structured He ignored the tugs on his consciousness to fix the flaws in time He felt Neveah and PineÆs movements as she steadily convinced him even while the universe soul still carried a deep icicle of depression that left the fabric of the universe chilled His Nether Core whirled so quickly he wondered if the actual physical heart located in the core of Kharon AcademyÆs Labyrinth had turned molten
All of it eroded him in the smallest bits Yet he had experienced a version of this a half dozen times with the Visage of Obsession And if anything the process felt cleaning He forgot he housed a universe he held a half finished Samsara event that he was just a projected being generated to protect the Alpha Cosmos
His heart beat quickly feeling real in his chest His name was Randidly Ghosthound and he housed a manic glee as the unknown approached
The Alchemist calculated the likely outcomes Yggdrasil creaked and groaned as it released all of its pent up growth and thickened its canopy The Songstress of Absence sang and sang and sang working herself up for this grand finale
Tiamat Dread Chimera and Grey Fear looked at Randidly with its focus on another matter Can you feel them coming
The starfield around him glittered silent and imposing Yet even as that approaching blazing star resolved itself into a flaming chariot with wheels as large as mountain ranges the shadow of the approaching figures pressed against him It was not just history or density of Nether than leaned against him but also the presence of their Vessels which could only have been refined through multiple Pinnacle events rivaling his own
Despite himself Randidly couldnÆt help but flash a cheshire smile as he answered his images Every trick deserves an audience LetÆs leave them riveted shall we
Congratulations Your Skill Arch HereticÆs Thaumaturgy has grown to Level 1983
Providence has detected the activation of a lesser System Superseding
Pantheon Intervention We refuse
Warning If you refuse to comply
Pantheon Intervention Do your worst
Congratulations Your Skill Apostate MoiraeÆs Seditious Touch has grown to Level 1722
The brushes with the Providence System felt feather light quickly rejected as they failed to find easy Aether to grasp on his person Yet Randidly could begin to feel the austere methodology present in this glittering starscape From the depths of the Nether Core where the door to the sea of shapes hummed he felt the glimmer of a resonance
If the Nexus and by extension the Alpha Cosmos felt akin to a pool of images with each individual floating and affecting the larger environment somewhat this was a place drained of that suspension fluid All the images and significance stood on their own isolated by a harsh structure The shadows that Randidly sensed of the Eternities were just the way that his senses picked up on the foreign powers
Such a vast and cold place Randidly observed Such rigid labeling and structure
But while the energies of Aether and Nether were kept curiously isolated RandidlyÆs skin soon heated with the approaching furnace of a chariot The transport rumbled as it closed the distance and Randidly could feel the six presences headed his way As they neared their shadowsÆ became increasingly clear The peculiar combination of Aether and Nether of the multiverse felt incredibly dense A few drops of cool sweat slid down his spine His smile just stretched wider and he made a few more preparations
At the distance of perhaps only a mile away Randidly had a realization The structure of their powers are layered Purposefully They probably experience an Eternity bastardizing the process of Aspect creation by using their own selves as the Aspect Which isolates their energies creating the first stages of this horrible mausoleum feel but then they reach the Pinnacle They step outside of the threshold of their bodies allowing to push past the barrier create by the Eternity event and then they use the freed energy to experience another Eternity
Over and over again until they form those tension filled statues
So this is the Path they have chose Randidly flicked a sleeve and darkness billowed out from his back The evolved form of the partial Aspect gifted to him by Nyx TiamatÆs Veil of Death and Shadow spread out like a dove blanket to obscure the space behind him He couldnÆt yet call on the full might of the NexusÆs darkness but he pulled a fraction of it those hungry ghosts willing to be led away answering his call Tens of millions of spectral hands curled into claws He stood at the head of the army ready for his resistance
He might feel their shadows stretching across him but Randidly Ghosthound had a lot of experience fighting in the shade
But he didnÆt stop there He blinked once twice and on the third blink his left eye became completely obscured by darkness as an event horizon opened from his bright pupil It swirled lazily for a moment allowing the Songstress of Absence to pass through his body and hide herself in the folds of the veil behind him Randidly GhosthoundÆs third image pressed and pressed distorting the space further
The fabric of the multiverse was stronger here held in place by the long shadows of the Eternities They applied enough pressure it squashed all the interstitial gaseous image fabric he had grown used to But Randidly Ghosthound had experience a Pinnacle even and was at the cusp of an Eternity He squeezed and even this turned to putty beneath his fingers
Congratulations Your Skill TiamatÆs Veil of Death and Shadow (ND) has grown to Level 1813
Congratulations Your Skill SirenÆs Dirge of Bottomless Taking has grown to Level 1757
The constant flow of VPs had pushed him back up to 3000 even though only a short amount of time had passed RandidlyÆs eyes flashed in anticipation Only a little bit more now
He poured those 3000 into his Impossibility Creed He flexed his fingers He looked up and welcomed the six presences who exited the flaming chariot and flew out to float above him in the starfield
Each popped to his vision As though an artist had traced their edges to emphasis the pressure they exerted just by existing
The leading figure was a gargoyle his stone features implacable Muscular arms hung down from bulging shoulders while talon tipped wings hung from his back Making eye contact made it slightly difficult for Randidly to breathe as the heaviness of this existence leaned against him Both the gargoyleÆs image and his significance were hidden in the churning patterns of energies running through his body but the sheer presence of his Vessel set RandidlyÆs teeth on edge
Randidly had to wonder how many times the layering process occurred as these individuals managed multiple Eternity and Pinnacle events And from a quick scan the gargoyle was only the third most powerful individual in the group
I told you this would be worth it A golden haired woman with skin the color of tree bark whispered to a similarly colored man next to her The duo who seemed to be siblings stood to the right of the leader They regarded Randidly coolly as the gargoyle pivoted and gave them a look
The gargoyle cleared his throat Randidly Ghosthound You have flaunted the rules of Providence by refusing to accept the restrictions on unregistered users Do you dispute this
Even the words had a compelling affect likely due to the intensity of these layered existences Yet RandildyÆs body could withstand their displeasure Which he suspected would intensify before the showdown was over
Still Randidly hesitated before answering He sounds so officious is it really possible I could just buy time by playing along with their bureaucracy
I do Randidly said lifting his chin
Ahem let me assure you your word will not be enough to convince us The gargoyleÆs lip curled upward But it was also obvious he was enthused by the prospect of RandidlyÆs denial With my privileges I can view the activity logs You burned away the restrictions as soon as they formed with waves of raw energy How do you explain this
Your restrictions were so weak that just the humming of Aether and Nether through my body annihilated them How the hell is this my fault Randidly complained inwardly even while he felt lightheaded from the volume of force rushing through his veins He considered said I didnÆt understand the process I know better now
To be truthful Pine had loved that Neveah relied on physical power to speed them across the spatial divides They had raced through the cracks in space crossing from the Nexus proper into the Alpha Cosmos by sheer didnÆt of momentum and ingenuity From there they had gone away from the GhosthoundÆs origin planet to one of the orbiting moons There Neveah had taken Pine out away from the few cities to this distant place
Yet it wasnÆt just that There was also the strangest familiarity in how Neveah moved in the passive Aether patterns she maintained around her body
The two were entirely alone Crossing into the Alpha Cosmos appeared to have a screening effect so that the dark subconscious no longer hung like a depressed cloud over PineÆs mood Several wide fields stretched in front of them messy with tall grass From a look at the soil Pine could tell it was rich but it was also studded with stones the land would need to be worked for a bit before it was useable for anything And in the distance he could see small ridges
Only in those ridges did Pine sense local wildlife The place was untouched
Not this place specifically but what it could become I want I want it to be over too Neveah said quietly she turned and looked at Pine and her eyes glistened with tears I understand that sentiment I am quite like you I believe I am bound to Randidly Ghosthound I sense his suffering each day And it is a strain I support him as best I can but I want him to stop pushing himself to stop throwing himself into these situations to simply simply accept the gift of this land and retire from his battles
It might be difficult for you to envision but Randidly Ghosthound he has a capacity for joy that is difficult to fathom considering his work ethic and determination to ignore that part of himself I have seen him take fields like this and turn them into gorgeous farms He grows food cooks it eats it shares it with friends There is such a contentment in him then
Neveah closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks She wept silently just a little bit of her inner pain leaking out She didnÆt even wipe the tears away as though this happened so often she couldnÆt be bothered to address it I want that for him For him to understand thatÆs enough That he doesnÆt need to be more than just that man So so badly
Pine felt a strange stirring in his heart Perhaps to cover up the strange emotion suffusing him he coughed I do not mean to question your desire but is this desire not for someone else I do not think you can lecture me on my indecision if your desires are also not your own
Neveah barked out a laugh She reached out and slapped her cheeks No thatÆs fair We truly are more similar than I expected But can you see the possibility of this That is what I wanted to show you My desires it is not anything specific Just I see the life we have been living the Path we have taken And I want it to be different A different way These wild places remind me of possibility and potential That we could always shift and go somewhere new Do you see it
A breath of wind came through the fields and the grasses sang their support Here the whole world could change There was nothing holding them back
Pine blinked as he listened to the rustling weeds There wasnÆt another soul for miles Just the ground beneath their feet the grass the stones Neveah hadnÆt asked him what he would do with this place but rather whether just looking at an untouched location did he sense the potential He had to admit as he allowed his senses to wander around the unused space he felt something
A different Path huh
However the moment was short Neveah suddenly frowned Ah be careful this might be
The whole world beneath their feet wrenched sideways Pine almost toppled over despite his low center of mass And his connection to the wider Nexus informed him it wasnÆt just their planet but all of the worlds were suddenly and powerfully buffeted
What was that Did the Engraving Pine paused at the concern he heard in his own voice What did it matter if the Engraving failed
DidnÆt he want everything to end At least his part in it
Or did he just want a fresh start
Ah no the Engraving should be fine ThatÆs just Randidly getting into a pissing match with a bigger bully Neveah shook her head In that small motion she was rueful fearful exasperated worried and affectionate No matter how many times he gets punished for it he always gives them the first shot He will make them pay for that privilege but well we should be getting back I hope you enjoyed seeing what I do
Neveah waved her fingers conjuring several Engravings Weirdly Pine looked at the moments and felt another hint of that sensation of familiarity The way you use Engravings where did it come from
Ah I wondered if you noticed I have a theory Neveah was briefly still But then she put her hand on PineÆs shoulders and they were moving again hurtling across vast distances They streaked out of the Alpha Cosmos and back into the Nexus proper and suddenly Pine could feel the darkness pressing against him Suddenly all the hope and possibility he saw in that grassland shrank and vanished He felt small
He felt afraid
Yet despite a faint trembling he latched onto that strange sensation of familiarity He looked up at Neveah as they slammed back into the ground standing now in the middle of the golden Engraving It was an enormous hulking thing now wreathed in golden veins that held everything in place He couldnÆt see its edges where the three circles whirled around the central portion
Neveah after another hesitation turned back to Pine The floating golden sparks cast strange living shadows across her face I can tell you if you wish But well it is a delicate time Perhaps it is better to wait
Tell me Pine said Their environment was light and motion chaos and oppressive darkness He didnÆt know what he wanted but he knew everything was about to change
Neveah looked at him with sad eyes They were emerald like the GhosthoundÆs but so much softer and more solemn We come from the same place
That just made Pine frown Neveah shook her head rapidly and Pine realized she was nervous No ah thatÆs not a helpful thing to say Umm IÆm not sure how much you know about your parentsÆ people the people of Elhume and Yystrix But they have a constant population Couplings have two children who are formed from half of each of the parents And after those halves are given away the parents waste away What I mean to say
Pine suddenly understood His eyes widened
I have suspected for a while But I was afraid to tell you Because because of me she
You are my half sister Pine looked at Neveah Your familiarity you have the same energy mannerisms as mother She created both of us
Now it was NeveahÆs turn to blink She offered him a brittle smile Yes She was already wasting away while she well she helped shape RandidlyÆs growth She laid down the groundwork for him to possess a Vessel while running simply on fumes of what she once was We didnÆt know until she was gone what she had given Or what it cost her And
Neveah was almost babbling now all of her calm sophistication vanished And I bet you were wondering why she never came back It might have felt like like she abandoned you But she didnÆt She wouldnÆt It was because of me
It is not your fault Pine blurted out the words His emotions spun within him too complex and layered to separate It was a tightness of his throat a heat in his chest a constant desperate thrumming Perhaps a portion of it was almost accusatory after feeling abandoned for so long wanting to push it all onto her like Neveah so feared but
But Pine felt her guilt And he has suffered for so long under a similar guilt he spoke from the heart before he had a conscious reaction
It is not your fault Pine repeated as his feelings percolated down through his body A half sister A mother who hadnÆt abandoned him not like he expected A father who now stood empty as he was because Pine had asked him A plan for a better Nexus A cold one in which he was left alone but She she was just like us wasnÆt she Giving even when she shouldnÆt
Wanting happiness for someone else Wanting to lead them to a different Path even until the end Neveah nodded Not being afraid to walk that path alone without recognition
Pine fell silent then confused and lost The golden light raged and swelled around them The darkness pressed down against his chest With the new information Pine wasnÆt sure exactly what he wanted
But he did want a chance to find out
Chapter 2458
Oh You are quite sturdy arenÆt you The blindfolded woman tilted her head to the side as she considered the devastating fallout of her strike
Randidly Ghosthound felt like the part of his torso not immediately annihilated had been repeatedly run over by a planet sized chariot reversing and jerking forward across his ribs Calling his current mangled condition abandoned roadkillÆ would elicit judgmental sniffs from half smashed squirrels everywhere
Blood filled RandidlyÆs mouth He trembled willing his abused body not to collapse The sheer force of the womanÆs attack had caught him by surprise One part of him shivered in anticipation there were even taller mountains for him to climb in the future
A more practical part sent pangs of agony through his body reminding him to remain focused His images had been pressed out of existence and struggled to reform Even as his cells began to regenerate his own significance trembled and sloshed in his body multiple inefficiencies created when she had torn through the patterns maintaining the connection between physique and images
But each remaking of his interior vein patterns streamlined them slightly His Nether evolved to be more resilient for the next time
Yet his attention fixated on a notification that had popped up in front of him The last piece he needed
Congratulations For surviving the strike of a powerful Entity from outside the Nexus MuseÆs Reverie +1 Muses Reverie 8/8
Guess itÆs my turn to seize the initiative Randidly grunted out the response as his organs reformed He took a breath as he forced back the lingering pressure of this blindfolded womanÆs power His images blazed in his body as they manifested again screaming for vengeance From the depths of his Nether Core he plucked out Acri with the new portion that had been slowly assimilated into the spear over the last twenty minutes
Time to work a little bit of magic Look IÆve got nothing up my sleeves
He raised his spear He channeled his three images His bright pupils dilated He needed to pour everything into this strike Now truly he was glad of the training with Visage of Obsession He allowed any thought not related to the present to drain out of his head
Randidly GhosthoundÆs muscles exploded with force He was motion and violence This sort of strike was not the strike of a man who had a plan for the follow up
The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty Singularity Engulfs the Finite Alpha DragonÆs Fell Smite
Congratulations Your Grand Fate Temporal Thaumaturgy Mends Eternity has grown to Level 1811
Congratulations Your Nether Penance Empty Vessel Fosakes the Path has grown to Level 1811
Randidly Ghosthound had Truths no longer But over the course of this experience his opinions had grown increasingly firm His three images moved together as a single attack They brought shape and emotion and the three mixed together Perhaps not perfectly but without any slack any sense of weakness
He raised Acri in a javelin throw and launched it directly at the blindfolded womanÆs face Emotions erupted through his body They became wings that sped the strike forward faster For threatening his Alpha Cosmos Randidly Ghosthound would make her bleed
The golden Engraving had grown larger and larger until it pressed against the edges of the Nexus and then extended past them It was an enormous thing impossible to view in its totality each stroke of its execution having fattened underneath the ministrations of the World Tree To the point it took on a shape that could support a universe
With a broad source the light of this half made new order became soft and filled with possibilities
Pine stood in the center staring in wonder at the work done by Neveah his half sister The sentiment caused by her presence felt strange and unfamiliar in PineÆs almost alarming A different intimidating sort of hunger he had no idea how to satisfy
Yet that feeling also filled him with an impetus Suddenly all the darkness that had clouded him for so long which he used as a shield even as it poisoned him seemed so small An entire world waited beyond his fears
He had a sister Yet that fact only made him more aware of the rumblings through the Nexus Because now he felt his frozen hesitation thaw His perspective had shifted as the Engraving had grown
He could feel the three outer portions of the golden Engraving the way they would come to balance one another Already the Nexus moved to settle around his father who remained steadfastly in place As the rotating Engraving built up momentum more and more of the Alpha Cosmos manifested in the second space
In that final circle Pine could sense a fitful consciousness observing her environment closely
You truly need me Pine said suddenly seeing how all the patterns aligned He hadnÆt believed Randidly Ghosthound earlier when the intense man had been so insistent on this fact PineÆs emotions might be a roiling storm inside of his body but at the same time an intense clarity had seized him Not just my presence but my cooperation Otherwise the Engraving will tear the spatial fabric before it can be shifted to its new location
Creating a new realm must be done delicately Neveah bowed her head still radiating guilt Yes We donÆt mean to be one more group requiring your assistance but
You asked PineÆs voice broke He remembered Randidly GhosthoundÆs stubborn emphasis on the formality He remembered ElhumeÆs immediate response when his son had asked even vaguely Pined blinked and blinked trying to remain focused even as his emotional storm threatened to break across him and leave him scattered That makes all the difference You asked me
The Engraving groaned as it stretched further pushing beyond the bounds of the Nexus to the point where the original universe was just a portion of the whole The dark subconscious sat in the middle of a seething storm of destruction as it began to destabilize a larger portion of the space given more environment to corrupt with the expansion Huge rifts yawned open around its edges large enough for entire worlds to vanish without a trace
The three circles spun and Pine felt his consciousness stretching The spatial fabric trembled as movement settled them in a new location They had left the Nexus behind so that the Engraving could cup all of it in that first circle with Elhume The Alpha Cosmos settled into place in the second circle As the Engraving wheeled around the third circle popped open and scooped up all that heavy darkness
Huge root lined golden gates stretched wide The darkness too was welcome in the order Randidly and Neveah wanted to create
The whole working shuddered as it wrenched to a stop the third circle abruptly burdening the rest of the Engraving The gates closed to drag along the dark subconscious but it had sat and pooled and deepened and simmered for too long It refused to shift PineÆs consciousness snapped down grasping onto the edges of the third circle even as the roots tying everything together began to stretch and pop with the strain of edging it forward
Pine grimaced as almost realized he had jumped forward to help without thinking about it His instincts told him what he wanted even if he wouldnÆt have been able to name it
He ignored his hunger he ignored his chaotic heart he ignored all the glittering light and darkness The universe soul simply wished with all his being He reinforced the third circle as best he could
Hold He prayed Hold and begin to move So long as we begin to move
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