LoRG 5

Six more puppets rushed at AnnieÆs back She spun and her bow fell back into her hands She simply allowed her instincts to guide the movements All six had arrows through their joints in a single moment a testament to the true speed that Annie could achieve when she went all out However she had tried of playing slowly with this medallion wearer

Annie faced him and grimaced Not to be that girl but really So quickly youÆre finished

I always knew this would be difficult The medallion userÆs voice was placid He gestured broadly as though he wasnÆt suddenly facing Annie alone This I can always make more puppets But we now have the proof that we need if we manage to fell you cracks will begin to appear in the faith people still maintain in the Ghosthound So now

The ground in front of Annie exploded a puppet with long claws aiming to rake the soft flesh of her face Sighing she sidestepped and brought a hand whipping around an ice dagger condensing just in time for the strike to rip across the puppet’s throat

Meanwhile Annie closely examined their aura Because honestly

When those baleful mites of weakness neared her they flailed helplessly and couldnÆt find purchase Then a sweeping wave would wash through annihilating the foreign aura Not by her image but by the pure connections that she had made the flowing rivers of meaning that she shared with those individuals she had encountered on Expira primarily among them Randidly Ghosthound

Annie nodded slowly to herself This isnÆt actually an image of weakness ItÆs a rot of peopleÆs Nether foundation Of course an average person who hadnÆt strengthened their connections and place in the world would suddenly feel weaker when exposed ItÆs dumping water on a dirt lot everything quickly becomes muddy But if you actually have a foundation built

Hey donÆt worry Annie patted the back of the girlÆs head Using that strange new muscle gifted to the world by the Ghosthound a month prior she reached out and connected herself to the girl The action took a little doing and she felt clumsy while doing it but soon Annie felt it click into place Some of her firm foundation flowed through of the newly formed thread almost too powerful for the girl to bear If anything the trembling of her small body grew worse Yet Annie thoroughly cleansed her aura of that degenerative weakness and self hatred

Obviously it would take longer for the mental wounds to heal But at least Annie could cleanse her significance

Now stay here a bit I need to settle a score with a skulking rat Annie said in a sing song voice She used her thumb and some of the girlÆs leaking tears to wipe dirt from her face and gently kissed her forehead For that brief moment the connection of Nether pulsed strangely From a single thread it became two

Then Annie stood she took a few steps away and drew her bow She raised her head and spoke to the swirling winds of the mountain The sky above was heavy and grey You know this was extremely short sighted of you Because now that IÆve caught your scent I will hunt you and this so called Order Patricide to the ends of Expira You cannot escape me

There was a moment of silence but then the familiar booming voice came out from between a group of snow covered trees YouÆve been exposed to the image virus Now itÆs only a matter of time before you

His voice cut off in a guzzling sputter After swaying in place the medallion wearer collapsed revealing Annie suddenly standing behind him with a dagger She pursed her lips and tossed aside the blood covered weapon Then she knelt next to the man and pulled back the hood a realistic humanoid puppet stared back at her some reddish substance leaking from its throat

What a hassle Annie clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction Then she stood and sucked in a breath Snow heavy winds continued to swirl above more and more precipitation coming down to cloak the entire mountaintop in ice

Her eyes burned white and baleful as she pivoted and looked around Her White HunterÆs Knack caught the traces of the puppet controller due to his Skill usage here A smile stretched across her face as she followed that trail out to a weird puppet intermediary and then another some distance further away stretching South from the Nordawn Mountain Range in a long chain that eventually led to the Wildlands South of Zone 1 Smoke began to rise from the corners of her gaze driven by a frightful cruelty Annie pushed herself further and further

A low growl escaped her throat Something feral crept into her joints sharpening her hunger until she seemed to feel a physical need gnawing at the inside of her ribs

Her eyes and that need eventually led her to the target Across the world hidden in an underground training facility a brown haired man shivered and twisted around from a basin of water sitting on the desk Oblivious to distance their eyes met His pupils dilated in sudden horror and understanding

Annie chuckled She knocked an arrow and pulled back the string bending the wooden bow Snow swirled around her alighting upon the arrow until it was completely encrusted Still Annie drew back on her weapon aiming the arrow up in the very specific angle to cover the incredible distance

She kept pulling the bow folding itself into a sharp V the arrow no longer braced against anything It was only her sure grip that kept the arrow straight As a professional Annie looked again with her burning white eyes finding the young man scrambling out of the underground area to seek help

Then she released the string confident that her arrow would find its target That need in her stomach licked its chops ready to indulge in the preyÆs carcass

Chapter 1916

A pulse echoed out across the island stirring the clouds and briefly pausing the tides Animals crouched low pressing their bellies on the ground The individuals training on the beach stopped immediately and looked up toward the highest point of the island the volcano The vegetal mass that dominated one third of the island stilled unwilling to draw the attention of the source of this shift The ants’ constant hum of activity ceased as they bowed their heads before a force greater than them

It was a low note of an interlude a shared stillness that briefly gripped the island The emotional note of inviolable resonance as shape and emotion merged together was that influential For a brief moment it was near perfect

That image contained the nurturing embrace of sunlight and air but it was also a wish for stability and home That moment sang a ballad of nostalgia and steady support for the next generation It was encouragement and guidance Yet running underneath it all was a powerful invigorating force a pure sip of life that would leave the drinker energized and inspired

Yet even beyond those more familiar notes something new rose within the image of Yggdrasil The World Tree now possessed the bearing of a sovereign an outlook of arrogance and responsibility that allowed no argument from creation The evolution of Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has rounded out this feeling in its new form as The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty permeating every inch of the image Yet if it was just the Skill it wouldnÆt have become so pervasive

As the image activated it drew some of its power from RandidlyÆs Nether Core to reach that trembling note of perfection And from his significance it found an authority that gave him the prerogative to seize anything he needed Truly he possessed the tool of a Monarch

The realization was sobering The moment of perfection passed as his focus wavered So Randidly could only grimace and try again

As he made several slight adjustments in his search for the perfect emotional affect he became increasingly stormy and domineering in his outlook The sky above curled and twisted out several deafening rumbles bidden by the slight shift in his disposition A mere scowl was enough for the planet to rise up indignation

Meanwhile although the form within his image space had only now grown to the size of the sapling Randidly felt a massive web of shadows stretching out from his body They stretched and grew a projection of the force that existed within him The web of implied branches were likely hidden by the storm clouds above but the grasp of the World Tree curled around the island making sure nothing remained out of reach

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 699

Congratulations Your Skill the First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 836

After a tense moment of straining Randidly released an explosive sigh and released his image The near invisible shadow fingers vanished He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck feeling something between annoyance and embarrassment He pushed aside the emotional exhaustion and reviewed the process Now that YggdrasilÆs settling well into its new form IÆm very close to finding the perfect emotional affect

The only issue is I wish it wasnÆt such a prideful and demanding outlook

Randidly took a long inhale and then blew his breath out through his lips with enough force to make them buzz It was he supposed his own fault that it had reached this point His World Tree enabled him to literally support worlds With that much capability there were bound to be some lofty aspirations from the image

Annie helped those children and the others she found by creating Nether connections to them Heiffal frowned and followed TatianaÆs lead His was a much rougher pour the liquor sloshing as he dumped some into a glass He raised it and downed it immediately earning an eye roll from Tatiana Mrs Hamilton smirked the woman always had strong opinions about how good whiskey should be savored

After wiping his lips Heiffal continued to speak A tiresome duty but we could simply replicate that process of making connections with the infected

Mrs HamiltonÆs lips twitched She raised a finger before Heiffal could continue Point of order In small batches this is possible However we are all not Randidly Ghosthound he might casually erect a massive hub of Nether connections on a weekday but we cannot manage nearly so many Besides that also ignores what I suspect to be a significant problem a lot of people wonÆt want to have their fates tied to strangers Even if we offer some will refuse

Is that what a Nether connection would do NaffurÆs eyebrows shot up clearly he had never really considered the concrete implications of NetherÆs new presence on Expira Not that Mrs Hamilton really blamed him she knew the stress that the young man was under guiding the Order Ducis

Mrs Hamilton opened her mouth but she paused and closed it as Tatiana began to speak ItÆs more complicated than that The best answers with Nether are vague by drawing a connection to someone you are weaving them into the fabric of your narrative In this case the metaphor still works When you have a story with too many threads of equal importance you end up pissing off everyone who wants more stage time for the thread they want to know about The result is shit Randidly can get away with it because his central story is absolutely overwhelming the rest of us will quickly become overshadowed with consequences we might not see coming

Speaking of Annie While Naffur and Heiffal mulled over TatianaÆs statement the other woman turned to Mrs Hamilton IÆve been seeing a lot of buzz about her attack on that the hidden bunker Do we need to worry about the press complaining about this one

Mrs Hamilton grimaced For now no Even the most fearmongering news outlets are admitting that this location was clearly the breeding ground for a terrorist group They mumble about how worrisome it is that a single woman has this kind of power but its mostly accepting The attack was targeted too somehow her attack burrowed fifteen meters through solid granite and only killed him Apparently now that itÆs stopped smoking the site looks a little like a slide straight down through the ground But itÆs the follow up that worries me AnnieÆs hunting now for the rest of this group And based on the fact she hasnÆt yet rooted them out they arenÆt foolish

Was this a trap Naffur asked

Mrs Hamilton pressed her fingers against the table splayed out as wide as they could go She studied the empty spaces her pale fingers and the dark wood between them Her gaze went unfocused as her image activated Her fingers licked at a massive pattern churning beneath the table the ground and the entire area of populated Expira Her pupils dilated as she pushed deeper She scooped up a metaphorical palmful of that pattern the breath of the massive Nether organ that the Ghosthound planted within ExpiraÆs core Her eyes began to burn at the edges as her web traced subtle connections

Along came a grey spider whose legs ended in whispers and its mouth held a bleak picture of the future It glided down through the gossamer connections searching for the truth and devouring any lies it encountered making that future it held even emptier and more sinister Yet the rush of information was too unfamiliar too massive and wet and sticky All those connections rose and dragged her down forcing her to retreat to the image world she that suffered in the spiderÆs mouth

Stark scarecrow humanoids stuttered around steaming piles of yellow tar carrying small iron cups Long lines stretched as far as the eye could see beginning in squat entrances to their underground ziggurats and ending amongst the dwindling liquid resources of the world Their faces were stiff and beige more mask than mediums of expression They found small puddles that seemed less infectious than others and dipped their metal cups into the liquid They brought the liquid up to their lips and drank

Several seconds later Mrs Hamilton shuddered as she returned to herself All three of the others looked at her in concern but she waved a hand Sometimes pulling too deeply with my image can have consequences But to answer your question I cannot tell Using the Nether is still too new to me But even if it wasnÆt Annie will find them the White Hunter cannot be escaped only delayed And at that time they will be ready

But so will we Tatiana observed The group nodded

Chapter 1917

I wish to become more involved in sharing the Hierarchy of Burden for the Ghosthound

Raymund Ballast paused in his training and looked up at her Charlotte Wick kept her gaze firm trying not to dwell on how rusty and raw her voice sounded even to her own ears She couldnÆt remember the last time she had spoken to another person for the past several months she had gotten away with nods and grunts All she had to do was participate in training and no one thought anything was wrong

Even though her recent drawings

Charlotte quashed that train of thought immediately afraid something desperate would show on her face After looking at her for a long moment RayumundÆs long tongue flicked out and licked his lips Without answering he resumed his slow movements through his combat forms The powerful tendons of his arms bulged a testament to the strain he endured

Charlotte felt something black and needy twisting in her heart but she didnÆt push him The leader of the Vulpis Squad stood in one of the newly erected gravity chambers on the island HeiffalÆs group had been hard at work for the last week carefully drawing the Engraving arrays copying the original model made by the Ghosthound himself Even compared to the Hierarchy of Burden these arrays were painful not only did they grind down your physical power but they also reflected any poorly controlled images back on you making the training process even more difficult

For a variety of reasons Charlotte didnÆt dare expose herself to image reflection She knew how that would end the facade of everything being fine would be torn right down So instead she wanted a larger share of the Hierarchy of Burden

She felt like she was falling behind as the others started using the gravity chambers And that filled her with fear

Seeing that Raymund didnÆt dismiss her out of hand Charlotte eventually gave in to her need and spoke again Although it is difficult for me to control my body underneath the HierarchyÆs influences my image is uniquely suited for keeping my recovery fast The Primal Force IÆve cultivated keeps me healthy even through the radiation I think I should

Your image has changed recently Raymund rumbled still with his slow and even movements But what was particularly impressive was that he released not a hint of his image as he spoke The training here had benefited their leader immensely

She felt so small next to him When had Raymund Ballast changed from the awkward Vulpine to this confident man Why did he sometimes feel so much like the Ghosthound to her that it hurt because even thinking about the Ghosthound made her remember the sight of HelenÆs ribs folded open like a cruel child playing with a birdÆs wings

CharlotteÆs words caught in her throat both from the image she vigorously tried to suppress and his words She felt like a fish that had leapt out of a stream and been caught by the tail mid jump by an intent fisherman She did her best to rearrange those words without allowing the caustic blackness to leak into them She scrubbed them frantically with her tongue before releasing them After everything that happened I want my image to be a bit broader

You cannot see Helen anymore so you draw her with your whole soul into yourself RaymundÆs low voice hit her like a physical blow Horrific wings of bone and pulped organ spread wide in a horrid mockery of beauty Charlotte felt seen and exposed and hated every second of it But HelenÆs image was one of blood and danger merging it with your Primal Force is complicated

ItÆs the Path I want to walk CharlotteÆs voice came out in a whisper Her own image groaned its nascent bloody wings already formed But as she spoke she also remembered HelenÆs glorious and scowling A memory floated to the surface of her mind

It was back during their training days with Helen standing with her hip jutted out She wagged a finger at a trainee that had just complained about the new gravity chambers for physical training Do you know the difference between you and the Ghosthound

Helen had jutted her chin out toward the central gravity chamber the largest one the one that hummed and glowed with so many layered Engravings that the ground in the staging asteroid began to corrode from the constant grind of power The one reserved personally for the Ghosthound HelenÆs eyes lit with pride as she spoke He walks straight toward hell without flinching Right or wrong in his methods he doesnÆt hesitate or complain once heÆs made a decision Now do you want to be well fucking you for the rest of your life or do you want to be like him The youngest Commander the Nexus has seen in hundreds of years

Fine

Charlotte blinked her awareness still murky with the memory the aching perfection of Helen She licked her lips Huh

IÆll talk to the Ghosthound RaymundÆs movements remained even but she sensed the slightest image fluctuation He had to grimace and bare his teeth as he stabilized himself then continued his training You will be allotted more of the Hierarchy of Burden But Charlotte We lost her too We all ache to have her gone If you ever need to talk just say the word We are here for you

His thoughts whirled around faster and faster He had felt that brief moment of alignment when it had all fallen into place That capacity for raw power was what he had fought against for so long using his Stats and Nether to make up for the difference It was his first genuine step toward that tier of image power

The first time refining an image would be the hardest Once YggdrasilÆs growth sped up the rest would naturally fall into place

Sighing Randidly sat crossed legged and readied himself Just in case he went again to that place of oblivion for the Penance just in case he lost track of time Then his attention went to the minute details of his body tracing the flow of blood and Nether that animated him He ironed out the smallest flaws seeking a circle of perfection within his form He breathed and the world breathed in answer

It was a fitting prelude

Then he sank following his instincts until he settled within the core of Expira sitting atop the massive Nether Ritual that even now continued to sure up its foundations and stretched over a larger sphere

RandidlyÆs eyelids flickered as he familiarized himself with the sensation of being plugged so directly into the working Even now he could feel thin tethers working their way outward to other planets within the Alpha Cosmos where smaller branches of the same Ritual would eventually be planted Randidly eased the tension and removed the film of Nether he used to limit his awareness His skin buzzed for several seconds before he lost awareness of his body he became part of the world

And not just any part of the world He sat at its helm His body rumbled with the shift

Even now the prospect made him shiver slightly He wondered if this was the right choice to live so directly in step with the Alpha Cosmos But at the same time that he knew it was a mistake not to make these connections wholistic In a very literal way his body was the Alpha Cosmos To ignore that relationship was to ignore the voice of his own body

In a way very similar to his previous metamorphosis past humanity the Nether Ritual provided a framework to connect his mind and his body and lifted him to be an entirely different sort of entity The Nether Ritual primarily gave something to the people of Expira but that didnÆt mean there werenÆt perks for him

In that dark core of the world Randidly sat ruminating on the power and privilege that his position afforded him He held onto that distinction a duality existed in this change He looked at Expira and said yes accepting the good and the bad into him He opened himself up and drank from through the connections

The World Tree sipped his veins shining with a golden light

In his image space the small sapling steadily grew up its bark darkening and bursting with emerald leaves And slowly he found the precarious balance between aloofness and empathy that he needed to be so much more than a single person

His Nether Core spun significance coming in eager waves pooling and swirling into a monstrous whirlpool of meaning Flames of Nether Weight flickered across his skin tempering the connection

He released a breath and the world sighed with him

There were perhaps other choices RandidlyÆs eyes opened Flames of emerald and grey fought in his irises significance warring with the growing magic of his body But this choice is mine

In the inner sanctum of the ant colony next to an elaborately made rendition of a bowling alley the ant princess paused in her actions She set the bowling ball down and bowed her head remaining there for as long as her god looked upon the world

The air hummed with the godÆs breath and the ant shivered in ecstasy

Chapter 1918

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 680

He sat in sea of purple black flames and the complex intersection of Nether threads just examining his selfÆ that existed The body worlds and soul that became Randidly Ghosthound in his current iteration Space and time didnÆt matter everything flattened and funneled by his shifting perspective into a straight path to the future Yet as he watched those threads twined and spun together then bloomed outward in complex patterns flanked by those glittering flames

Before him he watched the possibilities flirt and multiply

The future spread and widened and grew with only a hint of variance until he couldnÆt keep track of all the interactions The change accelerated until only a small examination took him to a place where the future was wider than it was long Variance dominated his awareness only a few weeks out The patterns began to change color as they spread out from RandidlyÆs Skill The purple became red and green the black became grey and ivory Then came the yellows oranges cobalts crimsons and emerald Shades and hues proliferated into a bouquet of possibilities

Congratulations Your Skill The Grey Creature Glimpses Providence has grown to Level 472

Using the two Skills together Stillborn Phoenix and the Grey Creature arm in arm behind him allowed Randidly to dig deeper than colors and patterns into the concrete truth of what waited ahead in Expira Yet the truths he received were not easily interpretable Voices shouted in his ears protests and screams of pain and the babble of layered conversation turned intelligible as voices mixed He saw a man standing upon a burning building his arms raised to the sky He saw Delilah skulking up the side of the volcano watching him with trepidation while he was sleeping And finally he saw a hand reaching out for a gleaming trophy

The strain of enduring the onslaught of possibilities became to much A tremor shook his psyche the accumulated strain of holding the two most demanding Skills in his arsenal grabbing him by the shoulder and warning him of the result if he pressed further

But due to his time within the Nether Ritual his spine naturally straightened in defiance at the prospect that he couldnÆt continue to proceed A bold and majestic refusal unfurled from within RandidlyÆs chest the humming emotional affect that he had been so long searching for amidst the crazy intersection of connections and colors A hand with fingers of gnarled roots reached out and brushed against his shuddering mentality Those fingers contained a vast influence soothing his thoughts

And his pained consciousness stilled It acquiesced allowing itself to be pushed beyond its limits by the root hand In a way it had no choice

Congratulations Your Skill the First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to 840

Yet just as quickly as he firmed his resolve to press forward another portion of himself gracefully withdrew Without him needing to consciously shape the thoughts he walked backward away from that stubborn continuation

RandidlyÆs mental focus slipped out of the Nether Ritual spent and small and returned to his body He found his arms trembling and sweaty He looked down at his hands and attempted to smile bemused and still slightly spooked by the cool and aloof fatalism that he had discovered within himself

In the end he had only managed to remain atop that Nether Ritual for eight hours Even beyond his high expectations plugging together his mind and the physical form of the Alpha Cosmos required vast amounts of processing power and mental fortitude Randidly said a private thank you to his evolved Unnatural Capacity Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae and Exquisite Piety Without these improved versions of Wisdom Control and Focus respectively it would have been impossible for him to endure even those hours

The sheer amount of possibilities and complex interactions would have lulled him into buzzing oblivion

Randidly had a rather sour expression on his face when he deactivated the Fatepiece From its other applications the increase in YggdrasilÆs power is actually quite significant Yet before Entropy the change is very small I guess that just goes to show you that while I took a very necessary step forward I havenÆt completely narrowed the gap between my image and the powerful figures in the Nexus More refinement is necessary

For a brief moment his mind went to Wick broken and split into several spliced personalities He wondered what had happened to him But of course the time that had passed was only for him For Wick perhaps only a few hours had gone by

Soon he came to his body and began to move Randidly swam to the surface of the choppy tropical waters and then used the backstroke to carry him back toward the beach He spoke up to the grey clouds But if he truly gave up he has had enough time to take his own life Or the other selves could take the main life finally separating themselves from whatever that was

Sloshing up to the beach Randidly casually waved a hand at the many training individuals on the sand who stopped and bowed when he surfaced from the water He shook himself to dislodge the worst of the dampness but of course the constant downpour just soaked him again He reached up and squeezed out his lengthening hair as he began striding back toward the volcano but his eyes caught on a certain individual

Charlotte Wick trained on the beach red electromagnetic crackling across her limbs Likely she was deeply occupied with her own training she wasnÆt one of the individuals who noticed his arrival But how could Randidly miss the shifts in her image How could those notes not pull his attention

She had received his personal training based on Yggdrasil Her Primal Force had evolved into a boundless and wild being And now the scent of blood and bone had been injected into that same old form warping it into something close to a shambling chimera

The image resembled corpses clumsily stitched together than any sort of spring fueled animal animus

Randidly swayed He felt a response from his Resonant Fangs of Extinction Domain as he looked at Charlotte And through the connection between them there was no way that he could miss CharlotteÆs attempts to forcefully keep Helen alive in her own image

Yet ultimately Randidly turned away from this ailing student At least right now based on the simmering emotional pot the bear woman kept in her chest she wasnÆt ready to open up about what she was going through Her pain would lash out ready than prepare itself to be healed Randidly knew that stage He knew the long blank stares into the middle distance of memory and the way your heart felt like it was crumpled trash

He knew the tightness that she probably felt in her chest all too well

Those wings Randidly spoke softly to himself feeling from afar how lopsided the joints were and the blood seeping out of the spot where they attached to the back He grimaced in distaste and shook his head The image with all its elements was currently in an ugly duckling form But if Charlotte managed to mix the two combining life and death

Well Randidly knew from first hand experience how effective that could be His Soulskill had gone through several revisions of that process

As he ascended to the mountain the reply from Tatiana came Yes actually there will be a tournament soon IÆm surprised you remembered It was supposed to be this month but its been pushed back by the trial

The trial He responded as he settled back into this place

Annie made quite a fuss last week Tatiana sent back Hamstrung a passenger jet above the Orchard Painted the whole sky white and knocked the plane out of the sky It crashed into one of their larger skyscrapers

Chapter 1919

The group moved in darkness their cloaks fluttering about their heels as they proceeded across the rooftops like loping carnivorous cats Moving like this it was easy to feel heady with the intoxicating power of secrecy as they moved above the naive city goers below them All of the four person group were highly trained their footfalls make nary a noise Or at least none that rises above the din of voices from the Orchard below

Code Name Chakram born Danny Finn tugged at the edges of his hood as he ran The group moved quickly enough that the top portion of the clothing expanded in its best parachute impression threatening to fall away from his face and reveal his identity The possibility gnawed at him making his stomach release sour notes up through his throat

Not that my identity is particularly important He reflected not a little sullenly Then he shook himself and made his internal preparations His Skills hummed ready to be activated

Chakram knew why Duskfist insisted on this abrupt operation when usually the Order moved very very slowly in the course of pursuing the tail of the Order Patricide Annie had proved frighteningly capable She somehow had sniffed out old meeting spots and crept toward the most recent ones stalking ever closer to their suppliers and allies Yet just when the tension was highest a scared to death member of the Order Patricide made an observation

On the days Annie came looking for them the clouds were low and grey no matter how much the sun beat down on them Her pursuit seemed to possess a physical form that could be observed

Chakram planted his foot on the concrete edge and leapt following three other Order Patricide members All kept their images close to their chest at least for now They needed to get closer before they set the plan in motion

For a few weeks they had used this weather based observation to stay a few steps ahead of Annie despite her horrifying proficiency They cleared out old hideouts and had the few contacts that actually knew what this Order did flee underground when she neared Then out of the blue on a day without any clouds on the sky a private plane carrying four of the toughest and most determined Cabal Leaders from the Order Patricide was shot out of the sky by a single arrow

Which left the survivors with the numb realization that Annie had been playing them the entire time That although she stood in the shadow of Donnyton and the Ghosthound Annie herself was a monster

A monster licking its lips and creeping ever closer to them

Her projectile had ripped straight up from the ground eviscerating the guts of the plane and killing all the passengers instantly The pilot somehow survived he was later found shivering and shellshocked in the cockpit when the plane was eventually lowered to the ground while the muttering population of the Orchard watched

Now at night in the Orchard a few weeks later Chakram reached up and adjusted his hood The Order needed to take back the initiative Which was why this group without a true Cabal Leader amongst them was mobilized

Here Duskfist growled The other two slowed and closed their eyes making their individual preparations for the fight that would undoubtedly follow Chakram walked up to the edge of the roof and looked down at the busy street below filled with pedestrian and Mana vehicles honking and shouting the language of the city They were in the business district so most everyone was well dressed and serious as they crossed the street and went about their business

It was the perfect place for a splashy fight There would be plenty of casualties The sort of casualties that would earn media attention

Wait until her hearing is over Duskfist said Then we will move closer No doubt she will scent us immediately Remember to be as indiscriminate as possible in your attacks as we flee The more damage that was caused the more chaotic the scene the more we can push the blame onto her

Chakram bowed his head They planned on using her awareness against her Since it became obvious that the image virus had no effect on truly powerful individuals they needed to do some damage to the elites of the world in another way to continue with their plan Turning public opinion against them when there was already so much malcontent over the constant caravans of refugees seemed like the best option

For a better world Chakram repeated the familiar mantra to himself To make a world where your worth isnÆt determined by power

Chakram There was a strange hint of fear in DuskfistÆs voice as he screeched out a reminder Jolted back to himself Chakram raised his weapons and filled them with a cutting image of wind Then he whipped the projectiles forward aiming for HankÆs thighs Opposite him Thunderbolt released a crackling wave of electricity that shot toward the cowboyÆs back The timing was slightly disturbed by ChakramÆs distraction but it was a combination that could slow down even the most powerful combatants

Their pure belief in their cause fueled their image They needed to be strong because that was the only way they could build a better future

Hank Howard drew his repeater used the butt of the weapon to deflect one of the projectiles and dodged the other one with a sharp step Roaring Duskfist hopped forward and brought a punch hammering down at the man

The deflected chakram struck ThunderboltÆs attack and caused it to discharge prematurely most of its potency snapping at the air and dissipating Meanwhile cool as refrigerated milk Hank met DuskfistÆs heavy blow with a jab that smashed into the manÆs mouth and stopped him up short His swing harmlessly whipped through empty space

Blood dribbled out of DuskfistÆs mouth as Hank took another too quick step forward but Skystrike unleashed a volley of arrows that had to be deflected with the butt of his pistol Which gave Chakram time to guide his weapons to spin back and aim for the back of Hank HowardÆs head

The cowboy stuck out a leg catching and balancing one of the deflected crossbow projections on his foot Then he twisted and kicked it up sending the bit of metal smashing into the chakrams and somehow deflecting them into each other the wind shrieking as the two manifestations of ChakramÆs image working against themselves

This gave Duskfist time to gather an even thicker padding of shadows around himself and stomp forward but then HankÆs leg came whipping back planting his weight on the ground and his body pivoted smoothly around as his hips turned back square to Duskfist

Unlike the sharp jab he used earlier this was a blow meant for power Chakram could see the sinuous grace of the cowboy as he threw his arm forward the shoulder rotating inward as his knuckles crashed up against the heavy layers of shadows around Duskfist The shadows broke the blow landed

It was to ChakramÆs eyes just a punch

Duskfirst dropped bonelessly to the ground He didnÆt even make a sound as all that oppressive image power he had squeezed underneath his robe dissipated

Looking at Hank Howard Chakram felt nothing like a zealot who had willingly spent the last several years training to bring about a revolution to build a better world He felt like a child a forgettable Danny as he looked at this manÆs shadowy silhouette There wasnÆt the faintest whiff of images around him yet that fact only made the three remaining agents of the Order Patricide more petrified

The images they had seen had feared and been taught to fight against were flashy and overwhelming things But this quiet competence the easy smile on the cowboyÆs face that spoke of the inevitably of their loss that chilled them to their core

Now donÆt rightly make sense why ya keep resistinÆ Hank cracked his knuckles and spread his arms wide as he turned to regard them Chakram couldnÆt remember the last time that he took a breath We can do this thaÆ easy way or thaÆ hard way And believe me the easy way involves a polite drink YÆall thirsty

The living legend seemed tall enough to reach up and rip down the sky His smile promised something a sort of suggestive image that Chakram felt himself helplessly succumbing to Weakness crept into the back of his mind carrying with it a shivering fear It was an image virus both much more targeted and more effective sapping at their resistance without even having to show itself

Yet despite Hank HowardÆs clear superiority all three of them had been shaped for years to reach this point The cold eyes of the Order PatricideÆs leader lingered on their minds so they raised their weapons and flared their images

After a theatrical sigh Hank Howard shook his head and got to work

Chapter 1920

Cards chips and tension this was his element

Hank smiled easily knowing that even with a two and an eight he was going to win the hand He wanted it and had the moxxy to take it He spun one of the dirty and worn poker chips across his fingers Moments like these he definitely appreciated the additional capability gifted to him by the System Just added a little extra spice to the storytelling

And honestly wasnÆt Hank doing them a favor WasnÆt every day that you could lose money to a modern day cowboy He just needed to do some groundwork to set up the perfect scenario YÆall ever hear about the first time I fought Alana Donal

The two night duty officers looked up awe and anticipation glimmering in their eyes They sat in one of the break rooms of the station keeping watch for any associates of the men Hank had brought in to show up for some sort of daring rescue Or honestly to silence the captives Not that either seemed likely but this group had proven their unpredictability several times over

For now Hank didnÆt call the prior bet He wanted to be sure that their minds were thoroughly distracted before he gently reminded them they were playing cards The day was warm and cloudless I had just

HankÆs pupils dilated as the wall behind them caved inward blasted to smithereens by fire and concussive force The two guardsÆ were frozen likely without enough Reaction to even register the sudden attack with the speed that he did Drawing his heavy metal revolver Hank stood The chair tumbled slowly back in the air behind him However as he turned to unleash a focused mental pulse to protect the guards it occurred to him that this wasnÆt the outer wall but the inner one

The explosion came from the holding cells

Unpredictable indeed

Hank left his hat on the table as he stepped forward with enough force to puncture the explosion and leave it sagging and hot A few tongues of flame mixed with the smoke and charred plaster in the next room but largely the destruction receded once it had been struck vanishing as quickly as it came He found a profoundly annoyed looking Annie next to the ragged looking entrance to the cell her arms crossed and her foot tapping

They wanted these expendable pieces to get captured Annie grimaced Had bombs implanted in their bodies Likely without their knowledge Fucking savages

So they Hank began but he paused as he saw that while most of the cell was scorched concrete one corner was encased in ice The young man who threw the wind image metal circles seemed to be asleep completely covered in ice and thoroughly un exploded

You managed ta get ta him in time Hank asked mildly

Annie nodded her eyes still fixed on the mostly empty cell Her mind seemed to be chewing furiously at the development a dog gnawing its way through an aggravating bone Yea Luckily he was on the far wall while the others were over there So when the first started erupting I could draw my bow and fire an arrow before the signal reached him Gonna be a real bitch unfreezing him and taking out the bomb We will probably have to go into a Dungeon to make sure we donÆt lose this lead

Hank remembered the way that the guardsÆ in the poker game had seemed motionless to him Then he imagined the Reaction required to see several bodies pulp themselves on one side of a cramped holding cell react and fire and arrow with enough speed image power and capability to freeze a person His jaw worked saying a private thank you that Annie was on their side

Ugh and Zone 1 is going to throw such a fit Annie shook her head in disgust I bet they will somehow make it my fault that I needed to freeze this guy to save him from the bomb planted inside of his body They better not try to accuse me of kidnapping when I take him away

The colors didnÆt cease their relentless assault during this interlude which meant that keeping himself focused was a bit fraught But Randidly endured the distractions and found two clear expressions of the affect he needed within the two newly evolved Skills

Randidly sucked in a breath He needed both of them balanced and keeping each other in check to achieve the result he wanted Both surged to life in his chest demanding attention On the one side was Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs a clear blast of radiant light that began everything The glittering sun drop represented responsibility and life being given out from the source and igniting the cosmos

On the other hand there was Darkness Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins It possessed a malicious certainty a jaunty bloodthirsty patience for when that beautiful world created by the primordial light began to shrink and tear at the edges Because opposite the sense of responsibility was a horrific sense of purpose He had begun this world and he possessed the capacity to crumple it into litter

That was the brutal prerogative that suffered nothing but fealty from the natural forces of the world

Congratulations Your Skill Darkness Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins has grown to Level 470

Congratulations Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs has grown to Level 451

Congratulations Your Skill Darkness Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins has grown to Level 525

RandidlyÆs form rippled In a few moments his skin was bark His emerald eyes were warmed to golden by a blast of sunlight The toes of his bare feet stretched into the ground digging into the area beneath the Sea of Dreams Lapis Lazuli flows twined around his legs trying to slow him down but Randidly had the glee of the worldÆs first and only carrion

To know that none threatened that final meal that would finally end the hunger he felt Even the Stillborn Phoenix stirred at that surge of emotion displaying some of its own curiosity about that result

Easy now He thought to himself But despite himself RandidlyÆs throat bobbed Saliva pooled in his mouth an echoing hunger in anticipation of the world coming to a cataclysmic end

And he began to walk wading deeper into the Sea of Dreams The colors flailed and lashed trying to slow his pace but he ignored them A massive crimson Kraken of color dragged its body forward after Randidly ducked his head into the colors and let the image fragments tear through his canopy of emerald leaves This strange bundle of sentience raged and brought its tentacles whipping around but Randidly could feel himself laughing

He was pure He was energy incarnate A throbbing mental pain tugged at the edges of his awareness but he just sloshed his way through the thick medium of color Something obstinate and determined rose up in his chest Randidly planned to walk to the bottom of this sea of color and rip this damned Kraken to bits for having the gall to stand against him

Heh great YggdrasilÆs emotional shift has made me even more likely to engage in dumb confrontations Randidly lifted his bark covered hands and seized the tentacles Then he began to pull dragging the Kraken which had shifted to a pale green color toward him

And yet I donÆt hate this about myself If I canÆt believe in the impossible IÆll never be able to tear down the Nexus

Chapter 1921

Coming back to his body Randidly felt fresh and scalded as though he had hopped into boiling water and let the heat and bubbles strip away a few surface layers of skin His mind flopped around in his skull luxurious and pummeled What remained of his emotions had been cleansed and thoroughly ironed out by the deep swim into the Sea of Dreams

His Penance was running a bit low the Sea of Dreams was the sort of training that made it difficult to accurately keep track of time So before anything else Randidly sank into the oblivion and paid the few seconds per minute that he owed When he came back to himself he took a few minutes to gather himself and simply looked at the island

The training groups had started constructing a series of wooden buildings above the beach The bare bones of the partially completed scaffolding curled like fingers in the soft light of the dawn coming up over the island apparently the trainees had tired of tacking their rest on sand or on the bobbing barge And Randidly had no doubt that Tatiana had sold some of the land of this island to some very expensive restaurants that wanted to be known as serving the group that trained in his shadow

The ants were doing some construction of their own on their portion of the island They had selectively cleared trees and dug massive holes down into the ground Or perhaps rather than construction it was more accurate to say they were doing some massive excavation and expansion on their tunnel complex Huge piles of dirt evidenced their industry which continued even into the morning Also Randidly sensed that there was one of TatianaÆs ogre assistants with the ants making some sort of negotiation

IÆve never really thought about this before but this must be how she makes me so much money RandidlyÆs lips twitched SheÆs part real estate developer and part angel investor And its easy because she just follows wherever I go and pours money into the things nearby

Meanwhile his eyes drifted left The weird plant collective had become increasingly interdependent and dense although some of its hive mindedness seemed to have abated The vines between the trees had multiplied several times over so moving through that portion of the island was more like going through a ropes course than hiking through a forest

Likely as an adaption to the new environment Randidly noticed that a few varieties of snake and smaller monkey had returned They skittered and bounded through the tight quarters forming some sort of weird symbiotic relationship with the central tree The monkey paws and snake stomachs had evolved a stickiness that let them ignore the constant rainfall the fauna seemed to thrive Randidly didnÆt really understand how it all worked but he could feel the Nether pooling in that area

And he could also see the constant rise of that central tree now nearing the height of the volcano ItÆs highest branches flirted with some of the low hanging clouds in his Nether storm

What a weird island Randidly shook his head helplessly It was hard to remember what the island had been like before he arrived His presence had that much influence And even after he left he doubt at least two of these shifts would go back to normal

Pushing that disturbing thought out of his head Randidly began to train his Nether capabilities He shrugged his shoulders and reached out to engage with his complex Nether Storm He experimented with several new variations of patterns that he had thought of while in the Sea of Dreams He methodically observed the results for several minutes before making other minute adjustments and seeing if he noticed any accumulating shift from the change

One problem with Nether is that it exists on a much longer timeline than Aether Randidly mused By the time I know the real results IÆll be somewhat committed to what I have created This methodÆs usefulness is limited

Then he broadened his view and looked at the massive weather sphere dragged into the whole churning storm around the island looking for ways that his small shifts caused something bigger to develop elsewhere Sometimes he found some troubling large scale consequences sometimes he didnÆt

Randidly reached and tightened a Nether flow or tied two together and tried again In a way the work was soothing he could truly observe without expending much actual effort On the other hand some of the unpredictability and his lack of ability to predict the larger problems left Randidly frustrated

Nether is supposed to be my thing but there is so much more to learn Randidly shook himself It was almost a relief to turn to the next type of training more exposure to the massive Nether Array sitting at ExpiraÆs heart

RandidlyÆs perception sunk into the ground and quickly came upon the churning Nether infrastructure of the ritual he had made on a sudden impulse To see the shift in it made him realize that maybe the Nether Ritual was similar to the changes in Nether it might have felt like a light decision but it had been accumulating for a long time

He saw a young face perhaps only five or six looking at his or her reflection in a dirty puddle The child was wearing a worn brown shirt that seemed to have once been pink The child reached up and pinched their cheeks

Randy A voice shouted and the child scrambled up After glancing around surreptitiously the child scurried back across the dusty ground Wagons sat their horses and various monstrous beasts of burden chewing grass and staring at nothing while the humans busied themselves Almost a hundred people sat in loose circles around a series of five small campfires Woodsmoke and frying meat filled the air with a homey vibe even if the hollow eyes and suspicion of the group more than erased that

I wonder if its the name Randidly felt a weird gurgling in his stomach Could this child be named after me

Randy was careful not to make any eye contact with anyone on the way back to the smallest of the wagons A woman waited for them her hands on her hips as she glared down at the child Randidly suspected that when she wasnÆt glaring she was actually quite pretty She gestured with her chin toward the wheel well of the wagon which bore an Engraving Did ya do it again kid

Randy shook their head Emphatically passionately so quickly that the childÆs large ears flapped slightly and Randidly felt the childÆs dizziness through their connection But Randidly could also see that the Engraving was curiously inert

Mana was still present in the drawn lines but it was curiously inert Even he felt confusion as he attempted to study the phenomenon with the limited senses he had How could shape and Mana be present but the whole working not actually do anything

The woman pressed her lips together DonÆt give me that shit You think normal Engravings just stop working so quickly You slept by the corner and I heard you crying Randy I know you canÆt control yourself when you are upset you just suck and suck without even thinking God damnit

Randy hesitated and then spoke with all the presence of wind blowing a newspaper across the ground I didnÆt mean

Yea and I didnÆt mean to agree to take responsibility for a liability like you The woman shook her head and turned away Fuck I really donÆt need this shit Not right now not with the tariffs to get back into the Zones coming up If I donÆt find some good work soon

The woman gave the child a meaningful glance Then she climbed into the wagon and closed the door behind her with a swish of the hips For a few seconds Randy just stared blankly at the wooden material Then their eyes fell to the broken Engraving Then they became abruptly aware of the hard stares coming from some of the dirty groups sitting around the fire and fled for one of the low hills above their camping position Only when those flinty eyes above soup cans no longer following them could they relax

Randidly observed feeling something twist in his gut He delicately examined the young child feeling the worst parts of the Stillborn Phoenix and the Grey Creature existed in this RandyÆs chest Just in small nascent forms but she truly possessed the ability to absorb something vital from nearby spaces

It was he had to admit a fascinating ability

He watched Randy do it as they stacked rocks threw fistfuls of dirt up in the air and occasionally stared back down at the wagon The area around her lost some of its forced vibrancy It didnÆt exactly damage the surroundings but the hardened dirt reinforced by the constant Aether reverted to a more fragile form

Yet it was only when night fell and the apron walked back out that Randidly could see the other connection between himself and the child

Crouching in the hills Randy pressed hands to their ears as the woman laughed loudly at the jokes from dirty men from the campfires below At the end of the night the woman led a man back into the wagon and RandyÆs tears pooled in the dirt

Randidly felt his mind trembling begging him to relent and release his grasp on the torrent of sensations that pummeled him Yet he didnÆt relent Stubborn and furious watched this young stranger cry themselves to sleep and remembered some hollow nights from his own childhood

Chapter 1922

Gasping Randidly returned to his body still smoking at the edges and trailing searing colors that clung to him as he came back from the dark side of the moon His feet managed two steps away from the portals his shoulders and arms leaking orange and violet Then he keeled sideways and flopped on the ground surprised by how clammy and unresponsive his limbs had become His vision spun twisting his stomach and ringing out nausea

His tongue felt like a rotting whale simultaneously dehydrated and slimy

Randidly rolled onto his back and looked up at the circle of pure blue sky that peeked through the Nether Storm above his island Yet after only a few seconds he had to squint and press his eyes shut to stifle the flashes of pain that cracked through his brain Gradually the sensation that someone had dumped his brain into a blender and flicked the switch to frothyÆ faded A smile tugged at the corners of his troublesome mouth Certainly pushed it a bit far by plugging myself into the Nether Ritual for so long

His words ended in a wince His overtaxed brain seemed to be bubbling feeding him a confusing array of images and memories A cold wind brushed across his skin raising goosebumps An ominous ticking thudded against his eardrums the powerful reverberation from a clock the size of an entire planet His awareness felt fuzzy For a second Randidly began to levitate away from physical sensation he was unbound by shape entirely He had to press his right hand flat against the ground and squeeze his fingers together to ground himself

A swirling purple/black hovered against the inside of his eyelids leaking out like some sort of cursed tears

Unwilling to take all these horrible exhaustion pains without some sort of response Randidly stuck his tongue out toward the sky Mental note that weird things happen when a mind powerful enough to create world altering images gets a little weird when its starts to short circuit

The color flashes and distortions in the air around him were growing stronger It was like his mind attempted to project its subconscious images on the surrounding space as it did during most of his life Yet now without any mental potency remaining it could only toss out scraps and misshapen pieces of those images before it sputtered and crashed Each failed attempt to spread the image made some small alterations to the pieces leading to more and more exaggerated failures

A weird emerald stain started to creep across the ground near RandidlyÆs bare feet The black tears were running down his cheeks

Grimacing Randidly sat up The world whirled in glorious and drunken exultation at the move forcing Randidly to press his eyes shut for several more long seconds as he tried to resist his bodyÆs impulse to collapse Eventually he gathered enough of himself to suck in a shuddering gasp The air helped a little bit and soon he felt grounded enough to breathe in another way

Congratulations Your Skill the World Tree Sips from Every Realm has grown to Level 719

Randidly pulled with his Skill surprised at how much he needed in order to keep his functioning going for a few more minutes The plant collective the rapidly breeding colony of ants and the individuals on the beach barely managed to quench his thirst for mental acuity And he could feel several of the weaker individuals stagger and collapse bearing a portion of his immense sense of being spent

Obviously I have capabilities that are beyond what this group could accomplish even working in tandem Randidly mused But that also means that the expenditure to keep my brain running without a hitch is staggering The fact that acquiring fuel hasnÆt been a problem is one of the great secrets to my existence Hell if I didnÆt have access to my own Aether

Well my experience with the System would likely have been very different

Still for the moment all his supporters managed to delay his shuddering collapse into an unconscious pile of muscle and mental jelly The fires had burnt low but the coals were strong enough for him to continue Which was enough for Randidly to square his shoulders and reach into his Nether Core for the connection he had discovered with this depressing child Randy

He straightened and stretched his joints complaining of the unaddressed sense of strain that pervaded every inch of him Yet very quickly he stilled and just looked at the weirdly stained emerald patch of ground with a sour expression on his face His immediate impulse was to just go and rescue the kid from their situation but Randidly also remembered that sense of powerlessness and being adrift His shoulders rolled inward as his own memories provided some context to that experience

Nothing would bring me greater pleasure The small monkey gave a drumroll off its belly Meanwhile he could feel the monkeyÆs mind whirling Perhaps due to its proximity to Randidly it gathered significance to itself

After shaking his head Randidly continued to speak In addition her capabilities are very special Dangerous if used without thought but fascinating if you consider some applications IÆd like for you to push the child to use their abilities in a certain way We will be in constant contact so if you have any questions just reach out and I will assist you

Nothing brings me more pleasure than having your voice in my head Then the monkey twisted his head rotating his head almost 180 degrees so his face as he looked at Randidly was upside down Besides I am at the age where I must find my own place in the vines and create a nest Only then will I be able to start bringing mates back and strike out on my own

Tragically where you are going there arenÆt many vines Randidly pulled out his Philosopher’s Key and opened a portal sending the small monkey through before it could have second thoughts Then alone on the volcano top Randidly rolled his shoulders Due to the very direct Nether and Aether connection he established between himself and the monkey it was easy to follow its actions

Alright Randidly spoke to himself Already his eyelids fluttered First a break so I donÆt feel like so much death Then back to the beginning of the training regimen Hierarchy of Burden and then hum maybe slip in a time to really focus on the Skill Levels for Yggdrasil

After a long yawn Randidly fell asleep

In a massive underground canyon a dozen dragonÆs raised their long necks and sang Their long vocal cords produced a strangely metallic chiming noise that would be impossible to recreate with a human body The harmonies bounced off the stalagmites and complex curves of the stone walls and blended together into a haunting ballad

Other dragons hunched close to some massive carved pillars that stood in the central portion of the area squinting at the stone and using a single claw to mark records upon the stone At this point the area was about half full with these recording pillars Near the entrance a pile of hewn stone cylinders waited for their own turn to be erected It was a living testament to their religion constantly being updated

At the back of the cavern were several smaller passages and a Class Lighthouse pulsing with an emerald gold black purple and grey light The combination of the strange singing and the constant shifts from the Class Lighthouse made the area seem otherworldly A place beyond the mundane

An appropriate place of worship

Suddenly a smaller sapphire dragon hurried out one of the passages at the back of the cavern Its eyes were milky and sightless its awareness stemming from other faculties At its appearance the singing stopped and the recorders looked up from their stone pillars

A new prophet for the Ghosthound has been born The blind dragon whispered This new prophet calls its maker Stormshadow To record the next testament to the GhosthoundÆs grace we must find this individual and receive a revelation of his most recent activities

The dragons whispered excitedly amongst themselves Then one raised her head above the others and asked And what is this prophet called How can we find him

Currently the GhosthoundÆs presence lays across him too stronger as he is near the center of a recent pattern I cannot gather that information But he is known as The blind dragon reached through significance searching for a name Then he found it and smiled Takeyhands

Chapter 1923

Randidly raised his head and roared A yawning gulf of chilling emptiness lurked below him but he refused to give in

He held nothing back with his yell expelling every bit he could from his body and lungs The noise and the sheer presence of his release crashed against reality The storm shuddered The bubbling of the lava next to him quickened like a simmering pot of water The plant collective trembled and the ants stilled underneath the pure cry of triumph and pain His hands curled into fists

He refused He refused to succumb to the constant drain of Entropy He would burn brightly and forever the churn of Nether and Aether through his body creating an inexhaustible flame of potency that would never dim even experiencing a relentless grind of existence As sweat ran down his temples and small drops fell from his chin that is what Randidly realized Essentially to stand against entropy was to create something permanent in an impermanent world

Something that would persist despite the environment That wouldnÆt falter underneath the strain of existence

I can do it for a time Clarity revealed his own path forward as though a series of massive spot lights had been lined up and switched on all at once Still buoyed by his yell he surged forward Yet at the end of that path the cycle of life and death will reach its end I will go from ascendant to descendant And at that time

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 54

His lungs were finally empty His chest spasmed his diaphragm unable to contract any further The cycle had ended He needed to suck in another breath to begin again

But now wasnÆt the time for that

Randidly released an explosive sigh after his inhale and deactivated the Fatepiece He had some twinges of mental exhaustion but largely he finished the training session without any consequences In terms of being able to conserve the force of his power training with Entropy was an excellent method It forced him to be streamlined and focused with his execution of emotions images and patterns

Which considering how much horsepower IÆve been working with recently has been an ignored area of improvement A throwback to the old days where I was scrabbling for any sort of advantage Randidly yawned and shook his head His black hair had grown out almost to his chin during the last few months he needed to cut it Rather than an individual who would fight to overthrow the Nexus Randidly felt like someone who had chosen to go off the grid and found some sort of esoteric order of scruffy monks with his spare time

Made doubly convincing by the grunting and swearing group of people down on the beach laboring even through the constant drizzle of rain

He settled himself on the ground and then took care of his Penance He was only a little in debt but it was better to stay on top of these sorts of things while he had free time When he resurfaced he checked in on the state of his own significance With the additional meaning he earned with his periodic plugs into the grand Nether Ritual within Expira his Nether Core had rapidly grown in terms of size

To put it in engine terms although he had not managed to increase his top speed Randidly now developed more horsepower to haul his increasingly large series of connections he bore The whirling core of the maelstrom layered opposite rotating currents of energy The resulting force that it generated filled him with vigor and spun the atmosphere around the entire island Despite the fact that his Weight had stayed rather constant for a while the flames of Nether Weight he manifested grew higher and higher when he allowed them to flicker to life across his fingers

With all the new insights IÆve made I can probably improve those enhancement rituals that help my Weight Randidly mused

But now that he handled everything else Randidly turned his attention back toward that robust connection that he had discovered within himself It was more difficult to find it when he wasnÆt keyed directly into the Nether Ritual But his connections to Delilah and Randy were special Soon he located the connection he was looking for assisted by the fact he had a flow of energy going to that strange monkey Once he had a lock on their location Randidly eased back and seeped his awareness into the ground

After the tension passed Takeyhands produced several shiny stones and began to juggle them They glittered purple and gold in the powerful noontime sun rays Well if you wonÆt leave this place at least let me help you I might be a tiny monkey who hasnÆt been able to speak for very long

WhatÆs that Randy whispered partially to cover the cramped gurgle of her empty stomach but also because there was suddenly a small fluffy patch of grey smoke that hung behind the small monkey

Takeyhands bounced up to its feet and bowed frantically to the small grey thing Then it turned and showed its yellowed teeth to Randy Oh I told you someone wanted to help you right This is who wants to help you His name is

A cloud wants to help me Randy chewed their lip They understood that the System had changed the world and made some extremely peculiar things possible but this seemed incredibly weird Much more strange than the sudden arrival of a juggling monkey Randy wondered if clouds were soft too They certainly seemed soft But would it be as soft as monkey fur

No not Takeyhands began but the cloud produced a small bolt of lightning that lashed out and hit the monkey But it didnÆt really look like lightning it was emerald and curled at its sharp junction like it released bright branches which were covered in thorns However the flash was so brief that all Randy had was the fading colors of that light burned into their retinas

Ah ahem The monkey coughed into its hand Err yes this is a cloud He wants to help you

Why Randy looked directly at the cloud The heart in RandyÆs chest began to beat strangely An awareness rose hinting at a strange connection between the two of them And as Randy continued to stare a vision appeared of Randy curled up and crying on the ground A gentle sense of understanding stretched out between them

Perhaps in any normal situation Randy would have flinched and run away to know that another individual watched them at night However Randy supposed that clouds had nothing to do when they drifted through the sky except watch people

Randy waved a small hand I wasnÆt raining just crying Humans can produce water too IÆm not a cloud You shouldnÆt help someone like me

The cloud literally twitched

Eventually it seemed to recover its energy but the cloud displayed the same sort of frustrated energy of the monkey Small emerald bolts lashed up and down its fluffy form Next to them TakeyhandsÆ eyes flicked back and forth from Randy to cloud

uh he is well aware that you are not a cloud But he wants to help you anyway The monkey said For a few seconds it chittered at the clouds and several emerald bolts crackled threateningly at the small animal Then it turned to speak again to Randy Because of your ability What you can do like you did with the Engraving

Randy went cold BethylÆs face appeared in their mind filled with exhaustion and disappointment They spoke quickly in denial That doesnÆt happen

The cloud pulsed clearly unimpressed by the lie Even Takeyhands gave Randy a long look The monkey chittered for a few seconds before shifting back into normal speaking Truth be told that power is why why the cloud is interested in you He wants to teach you how to control that power Would you like that Not having to fear that youÆll lose control And Stormshadow definitely is powerful He is the one that gave me the ability to speak He can show you the path forward A way you can help your mom

SheÆs not my mom Randy spat out immediately but they felt a yearning rising in their chest But I can help her Truly How

The cloud darkened and released a strange resonant pulse that hummed through RandyÆs ribcage Takeyhands nodded seriously and translated from cloud speak Cooking

Chapter 1924

Randy pressed their lips together feeling tears forming in their eyes from pain and anxiety And how close they seemed to be proving themselves to be a burden once again With just a moment of wavering attention everything would fall to pieces

The pieces of bacon fried just below their hands grease hissing and spitting in those small spaces between meat and metal RandyÆs hand stayed near while the Skill remained activated leaching away a strange vital piece of something from the meat At the monkeyÆs instruction they kept the presence constant

Stormshadow tells me that while your power can hurt something it can also purify it Takeyhands had said cartwheeling around Randy after it had brought her firewood a pan and some raw meat Randy tried not to show how confused they were just follow the directions The System slathers a certain sort of image over everything It cakes all of us like a thick layer of makeup trying to convince anything willing to listen that there will be growth and improvement

ThatÆs fine Growth and improvement are fine But there are also times where the extraneous layers arenÆt necessary cooking is one of those times So if you keep your Skill activated at a medium level you scoop out the ancillary stuff and leave the substance So just skim a bit off the top Constantly for a few minutes

Above the pan Randy chewed their lips A tremor had taken up residence in their hand meaning that occasionally the soft skin of their palm dipped too near the heat Yet Randy did their best not to falter They had been working with Takeyhands for nearly two days while the caravan continued to languish in the badlands

BethylÆs mood had turned increasingly sour toward Randy during that time the longer they stayed here without the influx of new cash into the environment the less she could earn So the time up in the hills kept them from being yelled at and also prevented any further rejection Randy desperately tried to at least do something right For one small second they hoped not to be a burden

Today Randy would make Bethyl bacon

Congratulations Your Skill Thirst of the Charcoal Predator has grown to Level 91

Takeyhands paused in its cartwheels and stuck its small face close to the pan It sucked in a deep breath and then smiled widely Good Good ThatÆs a good smell mm it makes me want to celebrate

And as Randy had learned Takeyhands wasnÆt one to refuse to celebrate whenever even the smallest opportunity presented itself It immediately produced a half dozen glittering objects and began to juggle sending all the small pieces tumbling in the air in some mesmerizing pattern The small monkey possessed incredibly dextrous fingers and grace

But when she got a clear look at the objects that the monkey possessed Randy felt ill Those coins Why do you have so many

What happened Cooking canÆt do something like this Randy muttered They inhaled and the scent of perfectly fragrant pork drove away all of their nausea

Even Takeyhands leaned close over the pan its tiny fingers flexing It had to gulp down a mouthful of saliva before it could speak This wow I mean honestly I thought Stormchaser was insane saying a tiny human like you could make any sort of food worth eating But if I could produce food like this the mates that I would have

Randy flushed but the sensation wasnÆt unpleasant True to its name the monkeyÆs hands began to twitch and extend toward the alluring bacon IÆll just

No Randy snatched the four pieces out of the pan burning their fingers on the grease Seeing TakeyhandsÆ pained expression They hesitated and then ripped a piece of meat in half Giving it to the monkey and then hurrying away with the rest

Randy placed the other half piece into their own mouth reasoning that they didnÆt want to risk being wrong about how good the food was The meat sang to their tastebuds hinting at a regal sweetness and a savory crunch Randy moaned then clapped a hand over their mouth After they finished chewing they began to bound down the hill that had become their usual haunt not even caring that such exaggerated actions drew attention from the hard eyed individuals around the campfires

Besides when the food smelled this good better to hurry before some of these hungry people caught a whiff

RandyÆs hands twitched around the bacon grease dripping between their fingers as they ran The digits were locked into a rigid flex desperate not to drop the precious cargo but also fearful that excitement would squeeze the meat to mush The combination had RandyÆs heart pounding as they reached BethylÆs small wagon The door was closed but it was early in the day Bethyl was probably just getting ready

Randy pushed the door open with their shoulder Bethyl Look what I

Randy froze Bethyl lay slumped against the far wall blood oozing from her wounds Several candles flickered in holders along the cheap interior wall Daggers stuck out of her palms and shoulder pinning her in place

A carpet of sticky wine spread out underneath her

Randy saw their father being gored by the massive boar Then a hand landed on their shoulder snapping Randy back to the present A slightly nasally voice spoke Easy now kiddo It looks bad but we have the System This shit will heal ah maybe youÆve never seen your mother at work before

Chapter 1925

Randy stared blankly unable to understand what was going on within the wagon They followed the hand to an arm then to the smirking face of the guard with the red orange goatee He towered above Randy loosely holding a bloodstained dagger with the tips of his fingers in the other hand

SheÆs not my kid Bethyl said weakly Clearly lacking the strength to look up Her head lolled sideways Just A responsibility

The guard waved the bloody dagger lazily Alright whatever Sorry kid but oh you brought breakfast

He scooped the bacon out of RandyÆs hands and stuffed two of the strips into his mouth He talked with his mouth open nudging Randy back with his hips and lifting the last piece as his expression brightened into pure pleasure Hey Bets you want some breakfast Getting me Skill Levels must be hungry work

Randy stumbled backward still unable to process the blood and the casual denial from Bethyl The guard closed the door in their face RandyÆs lungs didnÆt seem to work leaving huge and hot gulps of air stranded in their throat

Randy stepped down from the wooden steps feeling dizzy So much blood had pooled on the wooden floor beneath where Bethyl had been pinned All they could picture was the guard hunched over like a pig lapping at the life giving liquid Their emotions began to surge at that image making RandyÆs entire body tremble

Randy felt the Skill activate but there was nothing that they wanted to do about it It was too much all of it It would be better if they could rip away a portion of what they had seen If they could just cleanse everything leaving the area spotless and pristine If the Skill would rip away Randy too

Congratulations Your Skill Thirst of the Charcoal Predator has grown to Level 101

RandyÆs eyes were glazed as the ground beneath their feet began to lose its color The air felt heavy and thick as though inhaling it expended more oxygen than it restored There was a weird ringing in their ears and everything swirled together

The world felt like the damp clay that Randy found in the hills Their hands mushed and pressed squeezing all of the details together

Congratulations Your Skill Thirst of the Charcoal Predator has grown to Level 139

The crackling of curled emerald lightning finally brought Randy back to true awareness Their face twisted in horror several meters around where they sat on the ground the red brown dirt had been leached of all color It was a stark and monochrome circle of grey a throne of unassuming bland

Above their head the small cloud being spun humming with power RandyÆs Skil scraped and scraped continuing to rush around and activate like a wild horse shown a thin strip of daylight Thirst of the Charcoal Predator demanded more and more pressing against the world and somehow stripping everything away It took the color of the ground and it sometimes took the flavor from the bacon and Randy suddenly became horrified that it would strip away those beautiful emerald lightning bolts around the small cloud Even this strange being that took pity on them would be crushed by RandyÆs presence

Yet despite RandyÆs fear the Skill was relentless in its attempts It pulled

And pulled and pulled and pulled sucking down the power and life that flowed out of that small cloud Yet even after several minutes passed even after RandyÆs vision filled up with notifications about the Skill increasing in Level even after the Skill grew tired and stuttering that thirst no longer able to suck so constantly the cloud was unaffected

What sort of timeline are we looking at How bad is the deterioration Randidly asked The clockwork gears of his mind worked weighing the possibilities That regal portion of Yggdrasil spun around him adding weight to his bearing but also grounding him After the clash with Wick he left the Nexus for the chance to grow At the moment he had no confidence that he could return and survive if Devick changed her mind and wanted retribution for her son

Because while he empathized with the Patrons he also had responsibility to the whole of the Alpha Cosmos

Right now we arenÆt exactly sure We just noticed the shift Neveah responded But from what Lucretia has said the damage shouldnÆt be permanent if the time that the Patron of Feathers remains apart is only between one and three years

Randidly blinked One to three years Well ThatÆs not as bad as I feared

After chatting a few more ancillary matters Neveah left Randidly looked over the three part island and took a deep breath He had come to train and he was definitely making progress But he had several goals and hadnÆt thought too deeply about how many he needed to accomplish before he felt comfortable returning to the Nexus

However those distant goals had been replaced with a timeline The life of a Patron hung in the balance perhaps even a key to the history of Elhume and the Nexus an explanation of the sudden shift in attitude toward Pine Some truth about the strange confrontation in the shadows of the Nexus one side headed by Elhume the father and the other by individuals like Solomon Rex who wished to protect the strange life on which they all relied

Randidly pressed his eyes closed Already he could feel significance stirring Having a looming threat tightened the spin of Nether through his body He had been making improvements in his various areas but he knew he wouldnÆt improve enough at this rate He needed to press the gas down to feel the thrill of necessity by his side

Continue with the idea IÆll leave the base of the shaft in time to save the Patron of Feathers Randidly told himself Figure out the rest later For now I need to train

So Randidly threw himself into the same tasks and time began to flow past He created Nether Patterns he refined his images he pushed through the Hierarchy of Burden he plugged himself into the grand Nether Ritual

At the same time the world spun around him He helped the strange child Randy develop their powers and comfort Bethyl when her wagon was broken into and stolen and the Ulysses and his two guards left in the night He simply provided money through Takeyhands as Randy grew more proficient with cooking

To the point that people began to purposeful make a stop at that strange corner of the badlands on their journey curious about the genius child chef

Randidly ignored Delilah creeping onto his island sneaking around the periphery and talking to some of the trainees trying to figure out a good gift for him He ignored the preparations for the tournament where the strongest of Expira gathered together He ignored the jibes thrown at Heiffal and his group by arrogant humans who thought they refused to participate in ExpiraÆs tournament out of fear

He even ignored when one of those arrogant individuals proved to have some genuine clout to back up his words and defeated Isabella Cortez of Donnyton to win the tournament He didnÆt listen to the challenge shouted by the man using his bloody hands to heft the tournament When no response came the man mocked the name of the Ghosthound

Randidly also turned a blind to a massive Frost Dragon Spire Prince stalking that young man until he left the island and then viciously thrashing him

Training consumed all of his focus With the pressure of the weakening Patron of Feathers and his own feelings of inadequacy he could push himself to his very limits

Then About eleven months after Neveah came with the news something finally distracted Randidly enough that he paused in his training he had earned enough PP to trigger his next Tithe

Chapter 1926

Randidly earned a few extra PP without even thinking about it He was so deep in the Nether patterns that he didnÆt even recognize the significance of the notification at first He just continued following the insights to new understanding

It was only after when he floated back down to himself with a sense of exhaustion and satisfaction that he looked again at the notifications in front of him and began to grin His skin tingled against the cool air

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 904

His awareness filtered down to a huge turning alignment His Soulskill was a fisherman having let the net drift down into the sea of the Alpha Cosmos and lay for so long that the denizens had forgotten about it Then as soon as that final PP was earned the Soulskill shifted into readiness Adrenaline flooded through his body

At any moment it could reel in that tithe he was owed flooding his body with taxed PP

Yet the reason that RandidlyÆs eyes dilated and his vision went hazy was the significance His Nether Core whirled with power humming with the possibilities of the moment of the branching futures available to him as soon as he spent the PP and fully triggered the Tithe Yet suddenly that resonance had a larger platform through the Nether Ritual he had created within Expira

His Soulskill hummed a potent tune and the Nether Ritual began to sing

Randidly could feel the weight of it as though he really stood on the shifting boat and gripped the rough rope connecting with the haul He tugged lightly standing in this moment of tense potential feeling that in addition to PP there was something extra that would come along with this Tithe

Something significant

Adding Nether to the Alpha Cosmos even if its nowhere near 50% is paying dividends Randidly grinned as he sensed the vital presence of Nether significance coming with the tithe The sun peaked over the horizon the first rays of the day providing rare illumination to the storm cloaked island Beams of light reflected off the drops Only when the light came sideways right across the horizon at dawn did sunlight reach the toiling trainees

His mind spun After all what exactly were Path Points Functionally they provided the ability to advance through Paths earning more Stats and Skills They were the fertilizer that the System provided liberally a reward for drinking more deeply from its addictive nectar and growing in power

But practically PP represented commodified bits of raw image Pieces so small that a thousand of them couldnÆt make anything potent A million thrown in RandidlyÆs face might not even make them sneeze Without a consciousness these bits were nearly harmless The best they could do is create a Level 1 Skill in its weakest form But once that had been planted in someoneÆs individual Aether they could begin to grow Those small chunks of image provided the foundation

From that foundation all sorts of weapons could be honed

What could the Nether equivalent do added to the already deep currents around his Nether Core

Randidly raised his hand watching the elongated shadows his fingers cast in the fresh orange juice light Just like PP formed the foundation for the Aether side he could feel the equivalent from Nether lurking below He chewed his lip softly not yet spending the PP and just sensing the resonance between his own Nether Core and the grand Nether Ritual Likely he had been absorbing such benefits through every PP Tithe up to this point Just the combination of increased fineness of awareness and the growing presence of Nether in the Alpha Cosmos meant that this would be a more meaningful boost

Alright then The sun continued to rise but that movement took it past the gorgeous dawn corridor A stained sky could be seen through the eye of the storm above but once more Randidly sat in shadow The constant drizzle fell around the island a curtain drawn against the outside world LetÆs get started Time to take a Tithe

The entire Alpha Cosmos passed through Randidly leaving gleaming remnants in him as it flowed Time lost meaning as he lived a thousand fractured lives in a million separate forms He simply existed to describe the experience in more detail would have been insufficient to capture it

Eventually the barrage began to slow Or rather than the impressions slowing their arrival became light and fleeting They practically evaporated before he could truly feel them Randidly felt like a massive tree with a thousand birds landing picking mites off between their feathers with sharp beaks then alighting before he could even identify their species or song

His leaves rustled constantly the only sign of their fleeting presence And gradually the rustling began to die down He opened his eyes

Randidly found himself laying looking up at the circle of blue sky Groaning he leaned forward and sat up His head spun a bit but the thickening flow of Nether through his body helped ground him The tide receded leaving his own consciousness polished and strong However he could feel the subtle changes of Nether in his person even before he started coping with the massive dump of PP

He flexed his hands A new impulse rose in his body rising from his still buzzing cells He felt the capability that he had suddenly gained and wanted to exercise it His Nether Core whirled simultaneously unhinged and possessing the most potent force it had ever experienced His chest expanded with a deep breath and the clouds over the island began to seethe

The training individuals shivered as the Nether content in the air began to rise RandidlyÆs eyes glittered He generally kept the influx of Nether into ExpiraÆs atmosphere mild but now he no longer held back All the force that was usually contained in his body exploded out to fill the sky

The patterns branched and spun together carrying vast quantities of Nether Such was the immensity of the flow that the midmorning sky became stained by it darkness crept outward from the storm like a horrid pall of oblivion that wafted up from the island His Nether Core accelerated taking the storm with it on a desperate dance RandidlyÆs delicate senses reached out and began to guide the patterns overlapping them at the edges creating a dense network of smaller patterns that became a larger pattern

Flames of Nether Weight flickered to light across his body And as the next wave of Nether pumped out of him and into the air it carried those hints of fire into the air Grey flames rose into gushing plumes of monochrome fire that rushed through the storm setting everything ablaze The constant drizzle began to spit and hiss not evaporated by impacted and dispersed by the force of the Nether running through the air

Randidly began to laugh pressing those patterns together Power coursed in his veins and with an impossible acuity Randidly began making adjustments to the pattern An instinctive intuition that he had been seeking for so long for Nether now existed within him

Depth and history RandidlyÆs eyes flashed as he guided Nether into the perfect environment He conducted the separate lines toward a crescendo Those things have no intrinsic meaning There are no connections for the disparate moments that have now washed through my body Yet somehow simply having all that extra experience makes working with Nether that much easier

Nether rushed through the air churning more tightly toward the center Clouds were pulled by the currents and covered the eye of the storm Hissing points of friction were created in those spots where two flows ran in the opposite direction Force crackled in the air sending unusually large waves crashing against the beaches and causing the densely tied vegetal entity to shivering

Nether came together tightening to a sharp point in the sky above the volcano And then as though from the void Randidly snapped his fingers and summoned retribution

Congratulations New record detected Your Synechdochence has been set to 112%

Congratulations New record detected Your Synechdochence has been set to 127%

The sky rumbled and cracked the air nearly collapsing against the synergized force of RandidlyÆs Nether Core

Chapter 1927

A dark and hollow crash of thunder cracked across the island forcing a wince from even Raymund Ballast as the force of its arrival shook every being unfortunate enough to be existence below the Ghosthound The foxman waved a hand and deactivated the gravity chamber around him Then he left the Engraved area and looked up toward the central volcano

A massive spearhead hung in the air as though it had been thrust down through the eye of the storm to smite the island from existence

For several long moments RaymundÆs body just ached The glittering weapon of obsidian and razor edged shadows hung in the air above the GhosthoundÆs training area lingering after whatever demonstration had just occurred But even as that manifestation began to fracture and come to pieces the ache had remained The Ghosthound had done something with a vicious brutality that Raymund had rarely witnessed from him

He shivered an echo of fear toward the strike Toward what the strike might have done in another location The ache Raymund now felt resulted from him absorbing some small portion of that force

The Ghosthound had gone all out using the cultivated environment of the island and the images of the many trainees here to muffle the disastrous reverberations Otherwise the repercussions might have echoed out and wiped out a dozen small seafaring villages in the surrounding area

DiOrtho Vant a sour expression pasted on his face walked across the beach to stand next to the Vulpine Soon the ram demon couldnÆt stand the silence any longer and shook his horned head Did you feel that

Who didnÆt Such a display Raymund began but DiOrtho began to shake his head with even more force

Not that obviously Heh I bet some of the Zones are going to receive word of the force displayed here and piss their tiny pants No the things that occurred before that The Ghosthound exhaled and brought something into himself that originated from us That strange sensitivity that we gained a year ago made it abundantly clear You could feel the relationship between us and him for a brief moment He drew essence from us A subtle draw of Aether and Nether

Raymund nodded more slowly his eyes searching for any actual sign of the Ghosthound below the dispersing spearhead The storm clouds continued to churn Usually it was easy for Raymund to forget how much power the special Drill Sergeant possessed

And sometimes this black haired man shattered the skies and drummed against all their significance

Obviously we are more sensitive than most individuals DiOrtho continued Raymund finally recognized how serious VantÆs expression was But still As long as youÆve put a little effort into that intuition you would be able to understand the mechanism of what happened And we donÆt mind but will everyone in his world be fine with knowing that the Ghosthound takes from us all No matter how small a cut he pulls

Slowly RaymundÆs expression changed into a frown Above the storm rumbled

Randidly took a while to savor the sensation of explosive power in the aftermath of flexing his Synechdochence His Nether Core slowed trailing long flows of shadow He suspected that this wasnÆt even his limit with some dedicated training he could push that number up to 130% The combinations of his greater pattern recognition and the growing depth to his Nether meant that the raw power he could display had reached a whole new level

His hammer had grown almost without him realizing it

Of course it doesnÆt get around a powerful image dispersing the environment as quickly as I can make it But its progress With a ghost of a smile on his face Randidly went back to his Path screen The number caught his eye once again he had very nearly three hundred thousand PP to spend

Congratulations Your Skill the Grey Creature Glimpses Providence has grown to Level 673

Even before he completed the Path Randidly felt a tingle of what was to come

Congratulations Your Stat Willpower has evolved into Grey MonarchÆs Authority For those who bear a heavy crown a finger twitch becomes a vicious act of war The flexibility and application of your Grey MonarchÆs Authority is greatly increased The raw power of your consciousness can achieve some small effects in the physical world without the usage of an image or Skill Subordinates who are acting out your orders will receive a portion of your new benefits Your Stat total will be maintained

Aether began to gather in RandidlyÆs chest as a part of his capability changed But this process didnÆt build up and expend itself quickly Thick spurts of Nether flowed along with the touch of the Grey Creature to form a dense core Yet even after the maelstrom had stabilized itself the initiation process wasnÆt finished The shadow of Yggdrasil the First Authority surged all at once shaking his entire body with its passage

The long shadowy branches curled around that core that would add character and capability to the new Stat Those fingers stained it Then the core exploded ripping its way through RandidlyÆs body And if the evolution of Resistance set his skin on fire the evolution of Willpower to Transcendent cut off all of his nerve endings and left him swimming in a horrifying numbness

He felt nothing He floated in darkness Vision sound taste smell touch all of it was gone

The absence made him uneasy

As the outside world fell away and left him without any external awareness Randidly sat with himself He felt the weight of his own body of his own ideas of his own mind He could feel the figuratively steaming machinery of his mind heat and ferocity wafting off of its glittering gears and pistons even while it lay mostly inert He felt the influence he possessed as the physical body of the Alpha Cosmos the Authority that he slowly discovered as he pushed his Nether Core past every other individual remaining in the Nexus

Well aside from the Nether King But Randidly suspected that individual was rather special

He could only examine himself the unease growing Feeling the shape and scope of her person Randidly could only acknowledge how far he was from being a person

Eventually awareness began to return Randidly regretted his small fear toward the blank senselessness when pain ripped him awake and left him gasping He lay on his back and trembled all those severed nerves reconnecting with all the grace of a hungry toddler

Panting Randidly pushed himself up into a sitting position Compared to the shift in Resistance he could feel the adjustment in capability much more concretely with this shift toward a Transcendent Rarity Still for now Randidly didnÆt try to test his limits He simply opened up the Path screen and grimaced at the escalating cost to 50 000 PP He made a promise to himself that this would be his last attempt to evolve Endurance If this failed he could try and force an evolution the old fashioned way

Congratulations You have completed the Stat Evolution VI Path No matter how steep the climb you refuse to slow your advance toward a complete metamorphosis So long as you do not falter you will eventually accomplish your goal

Congratulations You have unlocked a Legendary Rarity Stat

Randidly grinned Alright thatÆs more like it

Chapter 1928

Randidly didnÆt hesitate at all He went to his Status screen and selected Endurance Within his chest the Stillborn Phoenix stirred lightning and liquid light hissing along the event horizon

Congratulations Your Stat Endurance has evolved into EggÆs Illusory Plume Impossible barriers form at your skin a strange and mystical rind Your body has become extremely resistant to non physical attacks Due to the impossibility of the plume existing physical attacks are less effective User has increased ability to quickly recover in the rare event that Endurance was breached

The shift built in RandidlyÆs ribcage drawing deeply from the Stillborn Phoenix as the Stat changed but without any of the painful drama of WillpowerÆs shift To RandidlyÆs surprise the shift happened in the air around his skin Randidly felt the limits of his body expanding just slightly an illusory layer stitching itself into place across his skin Raising his arms there were small moments when light refracted strangely around him like a sheen of oil across the surface of water

Out of the corner of his eye he caught the distinct shape of feathers

Then the effect gradually dispersed leaving him alone with his breathing Randidly closed his eyes and focused on recovering some of his mental and emotional energy Afterward he needed to spend a while to let his Penance find balance at this point he offered up five of the sixty seconds of each minute in an effort to help his Nether grow

Finally his eyes opened He looked down at the list of Paths available to him

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ The Sigh as the Sky Closes 0/15 000 Joy the Blooming Sun 0/15 000 ChimeraÆs Struggle II 0/ Mysteries of the Fiery Emerald Waltz 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Violence Incarnate the StormÆs Descent 0/ Deathwish X 0/5 The Pursuit of Alchemy 0/750 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The CreatureÆs Apotheosis 0/25000 The Passion sans Shape I 0/ Architecture of Yggdrasil I 0/ Piece of the Ideal 0/ Emotional Evolution I 0/500 Breath of the Imaginary Firebird 0/1000 The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500 Stat Evolution VII 0/100000 Spark of the Origin Beast 0/ The Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter 0/10 000 Determined VI 0/600 The Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight 0/9000 Excavator of the Two Failed Dreams 0/12 000 The Ash that Reigns Above the Open and Closed Sky 0/ The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ Herald of the Eternal March 0/10 000 The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/

He couldnÆt help but wince At this point the list of Paths had grown to a ridiculous degree even with his previous Tithes he hadnÆt been able to put a serious dent in the list But as with previous rewards Randidly could quickly trim down the list to only the ones by which he felt intrigued

The Sigh as the Sky Closes 0/15 000 Joy the Blooming Sun 0/15 000 ChimeraÆs Struggle II 0/ Violence Incarnate the StormÆs Descent 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The CreatureÆs Apotheosis 0/25000 The Passion sans Shape I 0/ Architecture of Yggdrasil I 0/ Piece of the Ideal 0/ Emotional Evolution I 0/500 Stat Evolution VII 0/100000 Spark of the Origin Beast 0/ The Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter 0/10 000 The Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight 0/9000 Excavator of the Two Failed Dreams 0/12 000 The Ash that Reigns Above the Open and Closed Sky 0/ The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ Herald of the Eternal March 0/10 000 The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/

Randidly scratched his chin He had cut out more than half of the available Paths but there were still too many options to consider them individually with any detail His mind spun between them feeling the possibilities that stretched in every direction He clenched his jaw and cut out more no longer was it enough to be interesting Now Randidly was looking for the Paths that would help him improve the training areas that he had been focused on

The Passion sans Shape I 0/ Piece of the Ideal 0/ Emotional Evolution I 0/500 The Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter 0/10 000 The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/

Essentially Randidly focused on two areas There were other Paths that deeply intrigued him but shaping up his emotional capability and starting to settle the small dissonance in his Grey Creature image were more important Randidly had started to feel the satisfying attunement he got from YggdrasilÆs image and emotional affect He was ready to bring that to his other images And with the Unborn continuing to delay Stillborn Phoenix he didnÆt mind starting with the Grey Creature

Of course when all threeÆs shape had finally aligned with emotion he would be able to work about working them in triplicate And that was the key for him to rival Nexus images with his own in the short term

Soulful Vigor Your emotions swirl with a small amount of indescribable beauty Power courses along with your whims animating your person When utilizing emotion user has a slightly easier time controlling the emotions User also can display a more powerful display in the same amount of time Effect increases with Skill Level

Randidly felt like the recipient of a successful (mental) tongue surgery Suddenly his internal awareness could taste the flavors of his emotions just by brushing past them It was as though everything as widened he could slide into the space between his emotions They crackled like rupturing ground massive monoliths of light flashes and lightning bolts But with the ability to see their shape he could more easily hone them to resonate with his images

He had only spent 7750 PP by pushing through those Paths Compared to the mass of PP he possessed it was a pittance Cracking his neck Randidly started into the Emotional Evolution I Path

Congratulations You have completed the Emotional Evolution I Path The Path on which you walk has led you high above the clouds The air grows thin and sounds become stale and weak Yet as you rise the beating of your heart becomes increasingly clear Its cadence informs your every step

Congratulations +50 Grim Intuition

Congratulations You have completed the Emotional Evolution II Path The steps you take are across an ethereal bridge connecting land and sky despite all the reasons that such a Path should not exist The material beneath your feet is cool and insubstantial vanishing as soon as you pass by Sound has completely receded leaving you with only the small whispers of your heart

Congratulations You feel a growing connection to your emotions Warning there might be some small amount of unpredictability in your emotional affect Exquisite Piety +75

Congratulations You have completed the Emotional Evolution III Path You trek through space walking beneath the clouds Yet your gaze barely wavers Even as the hidden desires of your heart are given leave by the silence to swell and fill the environment you are not swayed from your task Such is your dedication that your emotions are pressured even further to grow and change attempting to capture your attention

Congratulations Warning Significant emotional turbulence will result from taking this Path Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae +50 Exquisite Piety +100

Congratulations You have completed the Emotional Evolution IV Path The ringing silence around you hums with the force of emotions moving within your skin More than a person you have become a shelter that houses a hundred disparate desires each desperate to be heard Each bleeding to enact its will upon the world

Congratulations Be very careful your emotions might take on a mind of their own Exercise extreme caution Uncommon Metabolism (Un) +100

Before he moved on to finish the last Path in the sequence Randidly turned his attention inward on his emotions The corner of his lip curled upward to see them arrayed within him Grey Monarch’s Authority spread out shadowy twig fingers beckoning Like meek little lambs his emotions bowed their heads and hurried to do his bidding

Chuckling Randidly finished the final Emotional Evolution Path

Chapter 1929

Congratulations You have completed the Emotional Evolution V Path After riding the seething waves of dangerous emotions within your person you have finally reached calm waters on the other end of the sea Your ship might have sustained damage but in these calm waters you will have the opportunity to patch up the vessel As the raging forces begin to settle within you the lack of violence and force allows you to view your changed inner world Motes of remnants glittering in the air reminding you of the previous ferocity And your current Path rides on emotional waves that have once more returned to the fold

Congratulations You feel your emotional force surging within your body You have an increased ability to resist emotional exhaustion while working with image A shift is building within your heart You may choose to continue acquiescing to the impulse to change or you may wait and allow the possibilities to build into more complex futures

Congratulations Grey MonarchÆs Authority +100 Mana and Stamina +500

Randidly cracked his back as he felt the substance of his emotion becoming finer and more energetic In a way he did feel changed after finishing the Path his attention felt more easily divisible in a way that reminded him of reaching one thousand in Focus Obviously none of the dangerous emotional waves that the Path completion notification had ever been present But it was nice that he still received the same reward despite being exposed to none of the negative side effects

Even if some part of him sourly regarded the lack of a new Skill He beckoned and his emotional affect surged forward to circle around in the interior of his fingertips Unwillingness and determination filled him the outlook that had kept him working even when the Nexus threw an almost impossible amount of roadblocks in his way It was the same sort of emotion that he used to bond with Vualla although Randidly was no longer sure what that meant

Congratulations Your Skill Soulful Vigor has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill Soulful Vigor has grown to Level 25

Fire licked along the interior of RandidlyÆs ribcage With the emotional force animating him his heart pounded against the confines of his body aiming to break out and affect the world Through sheer force it wanted to crash through and cause a ruckus But RandidlyÆs mind wandered ThatÆs another task I can attend to outside the Nexus IÆll be able to see Vualla IÆll be able to check how genuine our connection is

Congratulations Your Skill Soulful Vigor has grown to Level 71

His heartbeats had reached enough force that the vibrations sent nearby pebbles skittering down the side of the volcano

Satisfied with the display he allowed the emotional force to fade His body returned to stillness Randidly tilted his head as he considered the new option that appeared in his Path list Bubbling Emotional Accumulation I Considering the fact that it was another series of Paths he didnÆt want to commit to it now not with so many possibilities available to him Especially when the cost for the first of these new emotional Paths was ten thousand PP

He had better avenues to advance He opened up his full Path screen once more to look at options

Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Sigh as the Sky Closes 0/15 000 Joy the Blooming Sun 0/15 000 Creature’s Toil II 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Violence Incarnate the StormÆs Descent 0/ Deathwish X 0/5 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The CreatureÆs Apotheosis 0/25000 Architecture of Yggdrasil I 0/ Piece of the Ideal 0/ Breath of the Imaginary Firebird 0/1000 The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500 Stat Evolution VII 0/100000 Spark of the Origin Beast 0/ The Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter 0/10 000 Determined VI 0/600 The Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight 0/9000 Excavator of the Two Failed Dreams 0/12 000 The Ash that Reigns Above the Open and Closed Sky 0/ The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ Herald of the Eternal March 0/10 000 The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/ Bubbling Emotional Accumulation I 0/10000

From that Path Randidly continued with those relating to the Stillborn Phoenix

Congratulations You have completed the Shadow Beyond the Threshold Path For some time you have observed the grand doors of bone in the distance Your feet carried you forward unfailingly eating at the distance that separated you from this dangerous boundary To your surprise mountains rose around those doors of bone soon towering over you a horizon grown teeth Yet finally after a long journey you arrive before the towering edifice Your neck cranes upward unable to see the top of the massive doors Yet through the crack between them a cool wind chills your skin And a massive shadow whispers just barely inaudible It begs you to release it from its prison

Would you like to open the doors and witness the shadow beyond the threshold Y/N

You have chosen to open the doors You press your hands against the cool bone and push The doors shake and groan warning you away from this Path Yet you have resolved yourself to witness the truth Because the darkness that waits on the other side feels familiar You apply more and more pressure until the doors grumble and relent Under the force of your hands they swing open

Warning Synchronicity detected Please see your local Village Spirit Continuing forward without access to sufficient energy will result in sickness or death

Recalculating Warning

The Alpha Cosmos Pantheon has intervened Incorporating elements of the user Access larger Aether stream to fuel adjustments insufficient energy Applying for an expansion of the Aether stream expansion granted

Your hands push open the door The doors of bone shivered and the cool gust becomes a blizzard lavishly spreading frost across your skin As you pause to look at the small shift you have made a massive hand of shadow reached from the other side Its fingers curl around the door’s edge and throw them open

The darkness of your heart unspools and rolls into the abyss before you And what rolls back is a beast of energy that can devour worlds

You stare up at a massive version of yourself planets pulsing with light as they swim in your shadowy body You can feel your own need for power and desperation to overcome the Nexus in its shape Its Cheshire grin is one youÆve felt on your own face many a time At the end of a dangerous and jagged path you find this cosmic entity a physical form almost completely abandoned All that remains is flinty determination

The shadow version of you opens its mouth The tenor of its voice shakes the air It sounds glad the bearer of joyful news Civilizations lay rotting between its teeth dead and forgotten

This is what we can become This is one of our futures

You manage to stare into this thingÆs eyes without flinching To know the depths your darkness might reach is a rare thing

Congratulations Reaction and Grim Intuition +200 Each Skill Level in Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold is slightly more effective Your ability to cope with future possibilities increases The potential to become something vast and hungry and infinite now lurks within you It will influence your growth The Stillborn Phoenix raises its head and howls

Chapter 1930

Lucretia and Alta lay panting in the shadowy in between area that only the Pantheon had access to They had developed the equivalent of the Nexus Ways with some added comforts Yet neither could take advantage of them now Both of them were thoroughly exhausted after intervening in the Path that Randidly had earned in the wider Nexus

Does he not even notice how much Aether flows through him Alta groaned rolling onto her stomach She kept moving her arms as though she sought out the least painful position God I need a vacation

Lucretia chuckled What you need is to train a bit harder before the fate of our fearless leader is on the line And no he probably doesnÆt notice the energy He didnÆt know it at the time but expanding to become the Alpha Cosmos would have been impossible without his Soulbond to Neveah While he continued to gather materials she is the one paying attention to the infrastructure of himself and apportioning out Aether They form a potent duo

Alta grunted as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees Lucretia looked at the other woman fondly despite her grouchy expression Currently Alta wore a younger version of her body before she allowed the bitterness and rage she held toward the Ghosthound to sear her physical form with such heat that she had to reinforce it with metal to prevent herself from turning to ash

Lucretia liked this version of Alta It reminded her of simpler less busy times But she could also sense how vital it was that she support Randidly for a little while longer before she granted herself a bed of oblivion on which to rest

The Aether he took to adjust that Path was enough for a hundred regular Paths Alta grumbled as she rubbed her stomach Ughh I havenÆt ached like this since the worst days of being a charred cinder of a woman

ThatÆs the benefit of standing at the top Lucretia said lightly No expense spared for your improvements But better that we alter Path result than let the System give him that trap of a reward that was there You might not be aware of it but the last few times the System has tried something like that heÆs punched a hole in the overlay System to rip the threat out I donÆt think he would damage us when he did that but better safe than sorry

HeÆs a dangerous enemy to have Alta said And from the thread of awe that Lucretia could hear in her voice she meant it as a compliment

Both looked up at the same time Lucretia with a wry smile and Alta with an aggrieved expression

How much PP is he going to spend at once There were deep shadows below AltaÆs eyes as she forced herself to her feet Lucretia I donÆt want to shirk but if we need to channel that much Aether again

That wonÆt be necessary Into the between zone two figures flashed One was an amorphous blob of plasma undulating slightly The other was a charming older man The Patron of the Void and Patron of Blades bowed to the two women The Patron of Blades straightened and pushed back his hair Ladies how can we call ourselves gentlemen if we stand by while you exhaust yourselves Please accept our assistance

While his Stillborn Phoenix rolled and crackled with its growing hunger in the wake of finishing that Path Randidly turned his attention elsewhere He wanted to give the image some time to settle before he tried the Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix Path His eyes glowed emerald as he moved on to his next choice PP flowed away and he earned free Stats in response

Congratulations You have completed Violence Incarnate the StormÆs Descent Path In the middle of the wilderness your Path took you past a strange tunnel into the ground You looked over the broken stone steps leading into darkness and didnÆt hesitate even for a moment you allowed shadows to lap against your feet as you descended into the ground drawn by the intuition that what you would find waiting for you could benefit you on your Path to the Pinnacle

Randidly gave himself over to the Path dream scraping drying blood and dirt off his arms and tail before he walked down to the next area Again and again his hand punched through a chest plate the Stillborn Phoenix did its best imitation of entropy and sucked at a monster until it was a hollow puppet Synechdochence manifested a vicious spearhead that obliterated a massive titan of these underground guardians Faster and faster pushing his body and Nether Core and empowered emotion to the limits Flames of Nether Weight marched across his skin and his images burned in their physicalized forms gleaming with more substance than the horned goblins that stood in their way

Congratulations Your Skill Cosmic Necessity has grown to Level 671

Congratulations Your Skill Soulful Vigor has grown to Level 218

Plus earning back some of the PP I spent to get here Randidly grinned widely as he twisted around and slammed a dream version of Acri into the neck of an over muscled titan He yanked the serrated blade out spraying blood sideways into the eyes of a group of tall monster spear users Yggdrasil snorted dismissively and the monstersÆ veins came alive in their bodies wriggling up and strangling them before they could even strike at Randidly

Congratulations Your Skill the World Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 870

Randidly descended He fought He began receiving small injuries but his new EggÆs Illusory Plume meant that none were more than flesh wounds Just enough sting to send a tingle through his nervous system The churning storm of kinetic force around him grew and grew winds howling in the enclosed space until they could suppress the defenders of this place all on their own But Randidly continued to sink into shadow submerging himself in ambushes and mindless responses with the defenders gradually growing some resistance to the crashing waves of Nether

The next cavern Randidly found was ringed in sharp blades and amorphous beings that flowed and shifted depending on the situation A few of these defenders began to display their own images Potent images that gave him pause

A brief pause Randidly started moving shortly And to his opponentÆs dismay that break empowered his Dreadful Alacrity

These more powerful variations multiplied as he continued to follow the dream Battles began to stretch New and unusual images arrived different flavors that felt familiar to his subconscious but nothing that he bothered to pull himself out of the haze of violence to investigate He was just glad to have more capable opponents

After a fight that felt like it lasted an entire day Randidly wiped blood from his forehead His grin seemed glued to his face his cheeks aching from holding the position for so long But when he went to the far side of the cavern no further staircase waited for him Sitting on a pile of broken weapons was a bone dagger that caught his eye with a large chunk of obsidian set in the hilt Gradually his fighting focused mind woke itself back up The churning currents of Nether that flowed around him began to still Following his instincts he picked up the weapon and clicked his tongue Ah too bad I was just starting to really let loose

From somewhere nearby he heard a womanÆs pained groan and a tired manÆs wry chuckle

Congratulations Like a storm you ripped through the perilous descent and scoured it clean finding the condensed origin of violence at the bottom Congratulations Stamina +1000 Grim Intuition +200 You have gained the Skill Origin of Violence

Congratulations Your Skills Origin of Violence and Cosmic Necessity have merged to form Wicked Waltz of Tartarus Skill Level will be maintained

Chapter 1931

Randidly came back to himself quickly the dream pouring him back into the confines of his body without much fanfare But he smiled widely as he discovered himself laying on the ground feeling the aches and strains in his body that meant while he had been inert finishing that test in the Path his muscles still had the chance to run wild

He sat up and checked his Penance Rolling his eyes Randidly laid himself back down and paid the dues he owed for his long and violent dream When he had built up some banked time in his Nether core he came back to himself and examined the details of his new Skill

Wicked Waltz of Tartarus An expression of deadly greetings and toils of the lost souls who remain bound in Tartarus fighting for all eternity Their bodies break down and their consciousness extinguishes but the next day they find themselves just as whole and empty They exist in an alternate dimension where consciousness has been replaced by instinct and brutal aggression User can tap into this alternate plane drawing out their baleful momentum of violence Small chance to drag an opponent into Tartarus reducing their comprehensive fighting ability and lowering their Stats Slight change to induce battle rage in an opponent Proficiency with violence greatly increases with Skill Level Chance to affect opponents increases with Skill Level

Randidly raised his left hand and looked at SulfurÆs dark fingers He felt the connection to Tartarus hovering just behind his brow a cast iron lockbox of destruction that shook from time to time As he activated the Skill the box didnÆt open But the metal surface began to glow cherry red lit from within by the horrifying hellscape that waited within

As that heat grew from warm to burning Randidly felt the impulses in his body sharpen He saw a thousand ways to break and rip and crush SulfurÆs fingers subconsciously curled into a fist An unhealthy rust colored glow surrounded his hand If he had an opponent waiting for him on top of the volcano he would have launched a brutal attack

Congratulations Your Skill Wicked Waltz of Tartarus has grown to Level 672

Randidly relaxed his hand and dropped the fist In his head the lockbox slowly cooled Powerful Insightful Surging with the sort of frightful violence that can break an opponentÆs spirit A natural font of fighting instincts more than even IÆve developed in my years but IÆll also need to make sure I donÆt get dragged too deep into the Skill The feeling of mental release is a bit intoxicating

His attention turned inward to the Stillborn Phoenix It rumbled strangely handling both the shift in its potential from the prior Path and the inclusion of an alternate dimension within its current form A small rust colored fist of energy appeared on the edge of the Egg of Depression a blip along the event horizon that led to Tartarus The Unborn flitted around it curiously touching it with their lumpy tongues and skittering backward when it burned them The two then complained loudly in their nonsense language demanding this new arrival be removed

Clicking his tongue Randidly postponed Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix a little longer Which meant his next Path

Randidly pressed a hand against his chest I feel guilty doing this of using you like this But I know that if you were here youÆd think my reluctance was foolish In your mind you were a tool being used to make me stronger is exactly what you would have wanted So Thank you Helen I would never have been able to make it this far without you

Then the corner of his mouth quirked up even as his eyes ached His voice cracked as he spoke The arrogant taunt broke his heart to say But can you really make me that much more powerful

Congratulations You have completed The Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight Path On your journey youÆve seen dozens of various figures who have created their own distinct flavor of violence But few can match the grace and beauty that the GhosthoundÆs Knight displayed as she fought The very environment fell under her sway dragging her opponents into a vicious darkness where they were smothered

Due to her capability you follow a Path to find her legacy You walk into a shadowy valley filled with red mist seeking her tomb

The notification was short and without much description It just opened the door so Randidly could fall into another dream He felt himself in that humid valley suppressed by the chill carried by the mist The only clarity came in the Path directly forward And each step he took forward showed him a different shard of HelenÆs life

Step A ten year old Helen sat cross legged in a small room watching her motherÆs back as the older woman prepared a meal Helen sported a black eye and a pale face Her mother spoke without looking up from her cutting The knife made a rhythmic tapping on the wooden counter You lost What is there to say Perhaps you just donÆt have much talent when it comes to the spear But donÆt worry You carry my genes girl Just you wait

Step Helen sat on the backs of the Hallat and rubbed her chin Following a powerful boy to another planet Fuck pisses me off how proud mom would be

Step Spar with me Helen demanded Her chest fluttered as the Ghosthound slowly opened his eyes His gaze was so bright and clear even as he looked at her with dissatisfaction After an aggrieved sigh he nodded

Another thing she didnÆt hate about this man was how he never went easy on her Even as she desperately wanted even the smallest proof that she was catching up to him

Step HelenÆs body ached as Randidly cracked open her Domain and smashed her to the ground with brute force Insultingly he only had to rely on his physical body to do so That was how overwhelming he was becoming Her arms trembled as she pushed herself back up

She refused to stay down As long as she kept getting back up someday

Step The Ghosthound has asked her to head up the training effort She could feel how busy he was how close he was to some new breakthrough another step forward Sitting on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station she sobbed quietly on the empty expanse

He was moving further away from her No matter how deeply she moved through her own Domain no matter how explosive her growth had been in the years since she had met Randidly Ghosthound he stayed ahead He widened the gap

After a time Helen wiped away her tears Her dream might have vanished and withered in her heart but her duty had grown strong IÆm his knight I need to be strong For him there is no one like me

Step Her chest heaved She could barely breathe such was her proximity to collapse as she fought in the grand array against the forces of the Swacc Family In the distance the strange arrangements of burning stars released waves of heat An individual made an attempt on the Pinnacle the first in a long time

She made a difference her efforts helped the Ghosthound And yet

Step Helen grinned and spat in the face of Commandant Wick He will kill you someday you know

Step Randidly blinked several times when he expected some image but none came He raised his head and looked forward A small stone building stood before him with a threshold without a door Through that opening he could see Helen sitting on her final resting place the burial shroud cast to the side One leg was propped up on the stone altar next to her the other dangled over the edge

Her smile toward him was sharp Welcome to my tomb challenger I am the Bloody Knight of the Ghosthound If you wish to receive my power you will need to defeat me in combat By the spear I lived and by the spear I will die And if you fail my test you will join me here for all eternity

Randidly stared at this projection of Helen for a long time She glittered both brighter and more wan than he remembered All the blunt and determined aspects of her personality came here carved from ash He searched her eyes for any hint of recognition toward him Yet her amber gaze didnÆt waver at all

A fight Randidly whispered How nostalgic

Chapter 1932

To RandidlyÆs surprise the dream fight after the Path did not go the way their fights had gone while Helen was alive

HelenÆs spear sheered through RandidlyÆs image physicalizations and slammed against his chest Scowling and deprived of the benefit of his monstrous Stats by the dream Randidly staggered backward

The maroon colored mists had solidified into armor around her body Her face and lithe form were completely covered by angular plates and bulwarks She stood metal and cool violence memory and sizzling ash ready to fight The Helen projection gave him a moment to recover and then raised her spear to follow up

Not taking a break even in death eh Randidly rubbed some blood from his lips and took a stance He didnÆt want to admit to himself how floored he was but he had been caught flat footed by her force More than anyone else he knew HelenÆs power and potential Yet after three minutes he was being thrashed True the dream kept him from manifesting his Stats and relying on any portion of his Nether Core but the flames of Nether Weight

Yet the difference was

Emotion And the way it flows through her Domain Randidly moved into his own fighting stance For a second they stood her spear high and his held low with the tip almost dragging against the ground Then she accelerated forward the maroon waves of the Depths of Horror Domain lapping forward against him Eight long talons ripped out of his left arm and cut a path through the currents his Resonant Fangs of Extinction moving to counter her Did she always

The two DomainÆs pressed close up against each other embracing after so long apart Hers attempted to engulf him tainted with the tang of ash that defined her current existence His gouged deeper through her Domain aiming to strike at her directly

Their bodies moved next hers borrowing RandidlyÆs monstrous Stats and his moving to counter some of her force with deft movements Her spear flicked out a serpentÆs tongue licking and tasting He burned with the heat of his newly acquired Wicked Waltz of Tartarus but he remained distracted by the singing joy and fury riding in her armor

Your emotions Randidly finally opened his mouth

HelenÆs ashy projection responded with an absolutely scathing thrust toward his open mouth He jerked his head sideways and her spear wound like a riverbend its tip cutting a small chunk out of his neck

The reason that Randidly felt so shocked was how wholly HelenÆs emotions merged with her attacks and Domain Obviously her Skillset and the image she developed from it had a wide base But the varied elements that she managed to include in her emotional affect

His eyes flickered as he gave ground sweeping Acri at her waist Helen swayed around the blow and kept coming unleashing a brutal onslaught of attacks that hammered at his image projections each time His joints ached and he shuddered to withstand the blows The unfamiliar pain of being physically overmatched began to take up residence in his shoulders and hips

He suddenly saw it the reason her emotions felt so complex and random not bothering to seek the resonance of emotional affect that he had spent months refining

Her Domain and individual Skills held different emotions surging through them They felt fickle and capricious riding the highs and lows of her small victories and scowling disappointments She loved fighting but also hated and feared it And all of those emotions swirled through each strike But the reason that Helen possessed so much power

The different emotions communed with each other as a Skill ran its course through the Domain In a weird way there was a dialogue between her simultaneous yet conflicting emotional states And from those meetings the fractious rubbings a strange power emerged

So emotion could be used like this as well RandidlyÆs eyes glowed as he avoided a thrust but couldnÆt avoid being cracked in the shoulder by the butt of her weapon When he regained his footing he began to mimic

Congratulations Your Skill Soulful Vigor has grown to Level 240

Spears danced and blurred slamming and rebounding into one another without either of the fighters possessing an advantage Randidly felt his method of fighting shift as he gradually captured his emotional force Although his three images all manifested in different ways those emotions wove themselves together into a firm base from which to strike

Randidly accelerated learning to fight with this new method His body was in constant motion Helen continued to harry him seeming to predict some of his responses He wondered whether she was relying on her experience fighting him while alive or whether he was just imagining it

He felt more and more flashes of joy from Helen as they clashed but these were tinged with a grey pity

Ultimately he had to set those concerns aside as he simply fought His emotions became a constant heat in his body empowering each movement

The emotional notes werenÆt perfect but they were organic and true And from that they drew immense power RandidlyÆs eyes were brilliant emeralds as he tightened his grip on the dream Acri and started to let loose He began to feel the wholistic surge of his strikes relying on the wide foundation of emotion

Within ten minutes HelenÆs armor had shattered She sat on the ground the only remnant of her steely visage was half of her shattered helmet RandidlyÆs chest rose and fell his emotions still sizzling within his body The dark red mist seemed to settle against the ground making it seem like she reclined in a throne of bloody mist as she looked up at him

Her eyes were bright as she looked at him Her emotions had waned during the end of their fight until now he couldnÆt sense them at all She just seemed like a puppet bearing her face and shape It broke his heart Congratulations challenger You bested me Shit itÆs honestly pretty surprising you could especially considering this version of me possesses a very generous portrayal of my fighting power

I know of no one else who possesses your single minded passion Randidly said quietly When he opened his mouth to ask the projection another question he realized that she was crying And that she was keeping her emotions from leaking out

Because although Randidly couldnÆt sense them in the air the ghost of a Nether connection lingering between them resonated with the force of her sorrow and grief

This version of myself The designed one The body that had the same amount of Stats as Randidly Ghosthound His Bloody Knight through and through HelenÆs projection trembled as tears slid across her cheek This was supposed to be the version that could defeat him I thought at least this way

The projection shook her head bringing her hand up to wipe away her tears But her fingers began to flake away into charcoal Do you know why I adored him Because he would never go easy to spare my feelings No matter how meaningless or the spar and do you know why I resented him Because he would make up all these dumbass rules restrictions he placed on himself to make the fight more advantageous to me And even with all that help I couldnÆt catch up to him Ever

She looked directly at him as she said that last word and Randidly instantly knew that a flicker of her consciousness remained He spoke rapidly Helen donÆt you dare claim that you never defeated me

But the image fractured into scattered motes of ash and Randidly was left with a sour taste in his mouth and a notification

Congratulations You have earned high honors facing Helen in single combat and emerging victorious You walk out of the valley soaked in her bloody currents feeling empowered by the vestiges of this proud woman Dreadful Alacrity +100 The stirrings of HelenÆs powerful images are settling within your Soulspace

A special reward You feel the powerful currents of the GhosthoundÆs Knight taking up residence in your body You can feel her breath on the back of your neck Synchronicity detected

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has evolved into (Domain) Mournful Sea HelenÆs Pernicious Riptide Skill Level will be maintained

Chapter 1933

The previous dream of heady violence had released Randidly and dropped him back into his body with a perfunctory clatter HelenÆs haunting attempted to do the same but he reached out with his Authority and clawed at it desperate to hold onto her consciousness for a few more seconds

He ripped through the notification in front of her briefly overcome with desperation to reach her

Yet despite or perhaps even because of his powerful First Authority Seize the dream scattered even more quickly as he acted The force he brought to grip onto those moments obliterated them and left them crumbling He squeezed sand and watched helplessly as it drained through his fingers

Something ugly and stubborn rose in Randidly’s chest as he felt the Path completion recede like a mirage something prideful that urged him to bring the full force of his Nether Core and images to bear to keep her locked in place Yet a softer portion of himself interceded prying open his hands and allowing the ashes to be scattered by the wind

Drizzle fell across the island ignorant of how close Randidly had been to throwing his full force behind a foolÆs errand Within the vegetal mass a mother monkey collected a palm full of rain and brought it back to her young

On top of the volcano RandidlyÆs shoulders slumped and a long sigh escaped his lips He looked broodingly down at his arms and blinked at what he saw The long scratched that Helen had inflicted on his arms within the Path completed remained They curled jagged and ugly across his forearms Yet with the addition of his Domain to his Soulspace Randidly could feel the way that the scars on his right arm were the complement to the talons still jutting out from his left

Even in the fight you were thinking of me werenÆt you Of my reward Randidly whispered to his arms He kept his awareness away from the Domain which still hummed with her touch For now receiving it still felt bitter in his throat The Rarity had risen and the uses had probably changed but he wasnÆt ready to look at it

Perhaps it was foolish to rush forward with such a scattered and complex heart but Randidly went back to his Path Menu to distract himself His eyes scanned through the list available to him willing to take any Path to move past this moment

Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Sigh as the Sky Closes 0/15 000 Joy the Blooming Sun 0/15 000 Creature’s Toil II 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Deathwish X 0/5 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 The CreatureÆs Apotheosis 0/25000 Architecture of Yggdrasil I 0/ Piece of the Ideal 0/ The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500 Stat Evolution VII 0/100000 Spark of the Origin Beast 0/ The Eyelids of the Grey Creature Flutter 0/10 000 Determined VI 0/600 Excavator of the Two Failed Dreams 0/12 000 The Ash that Reigns Above the Open and Closed Sky 0/ The Living Soul of the Alpha Cosmos 0/ Herald of the Eternal March 0/10 000 The Crown of Four Authorities 0/100000 Peerlessness Through Woven Truth 0/ Bubbling Emotional Accumulation I 0/10000

His eyes settled on the Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix that had been a point of focus for him previously even if it seemed small now that Helen craved marks onto his skin from beyond the grave He stared at it for a long time still stuck in that strained moment where he wished to use Seize but knew he shouldnÆt

The island stirred as the storm was drawn inward the Nether flows that animating this place drawn in toward his wrought state But that shift brought with it wind which carried a sprinkle of rain to land on his skin Randidly blinked The distraction was enough for him to take a gulp of air and step forward at least metaphorically His eyes focused on Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix Finishing the Path earned him ten points in Chimeric Indifference on the way which smelled like something slightly amusing

Congratulations You have completed the Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix Path You walk forward along the Path housing impossibility within your capable body You were presented with the choice to either ground the unpredictable mass that weighs you down or to simply embrace its lack of reality Perhaps due to how far you have traveled in your Paths you have chosen to ground the Stillborn Phoenix with a weakness You walk the lower Path

Congratulations Your Skill The Grey Creature Glimpses Providence has grown to Level 703

You discover in the churning mists near the edge of your vision that the brother of a close friend and your mentor wait for you outside of your current retreat When you depart they will come for you Grim Intuition +150

Shal and Techetadore RandidlyÆs expression flickered for several seconds as he tried to weigh how accurate a prediction this really was Then his mouth firmed into a line as he felt the Grey Creature humming in support of the notification it sensed it was true In a way itÆs a relief to know they are alright But they were with the Swacc group and Elhume should have taken care of them Why would they suddenly be waiting for me

Why would they come for me At least Techetadore

That concern would have to wait until he left although it worried at the back of his mind even as he refocused But although the first two Path completions were interesting it was the third that made Randidly gasp

Congratulations You have completed the Spark of the Origin Beast Path For the longest time you have felt a strange rising in your Nether Core As you cross the broken skyline ascending through an endless rise toward the Pinnacle you look back on the Path you have taken and examine its shape It curves gently into the shape of the spine Your skin tingles as you see it the corpse on which you have traveled

The same corpse on which the modern Nexus is built

For there was once a great being the last of its kind that labored to make the Nexus a better place Despite the dangers it risked its life at the request of a friend to create the possibility of saving their precarious dream

Unfortunately the cost proved too great This being died and its body became nothing but materials However within those massive bones remained a hint of that wondrous magic that made this race so valuable From your current height you can see down your Paths to the point at which you created a Nether Core For the base materials for your early drawings you carved into bone

Of course Of course thatÆs where it came from This is all about foundation Why did I never think about where I created the Nether Core RandidlyÆs skin tingled as his Nether Core began to rotate more quickly Pulses of energy blasted out through his limbs at first he thought it was Nether but Randidly sensed that he was releasing huge fountains of raw life That Fourth Authority lurking beneath the surface for so long began to push up toward the surface

Due to your travels you have finally discovered that you carry the spark of that noble soul Your Paths have proved you are compatible with it Your body has evolved to the point it can handle its capabilities Its aura has long seeped out of your affecting the surroundings Now you feel that power spreading within you finally giving to you the ability to wield it

Error Previous Authorities not yet discovered

Recalculating Nether Core Rarity increased to Transcendent

Congratulations You have discovered The Fourth Authority Animation Nova

Chapter 1934

The release felt natural Randidly breathed and the land breathed with him His Nether Core seemed to still observing this sudden connection

The Fourth Authority came into being inside of the Nether Core or rather a force that had seeped from RandidlyÆs pores for a long time finally revealed itself in its true form That power yawned and stretched settling into the immensity of its existence within his person Rays of silver light erupted from his body His control over the Nether flows that animated the storm stumbled and fell slack as a crackling sort of charge built around RandidlyÆs body

The storm hissed and spat the rain on the island slowing as the light around Randidly accumulated His eyes widened sensing the coming display He frantically tried to comb through the manifestation for any danger but found nothing but light and wondrous life within that silver haze So he begrudgingly gave himself over to the process The power had come into his hand but he needed to release it now that it had begun to churn

This Authority had two speeds stop and go And now it was going

Randidly pressed his lips together and closed his eyes His Penance hummed in pleasure briefly hosting some of that holy silver power With a second Authority active his Nether Core found a better balance RandidlyÆs soul opened up and pale light galloped out of him He withdrew the last thread of restraint

The Fourth Authority Animation Nova

A quicksilver atomic bomb detonated on his person releasing a near blinding radiance The nova spread out from him in waves The first portion painted everything in monochrome a light so bright that it steamrolled all other colors into shades of itself That got the attention of the island’s inhabitants which meant they were warily watching when the second wave blasted outward and crashed against their bodies

Most shivered and stiffened assuming defensive postures before the wave but none could react fast enough to avoid the second wave This one seemed to teleport each individual life to a gleaming wonderland of yellows and silvers floating alone in the rejuvenating power

Then the third wave came an infinite tide of silver motes that swam through the bodies of all these individuals

Just like that the Nova expanded to encompass the whole island and then receded all at once leaving most of the affected individuals stunned Some of the trainees looked down at their hands shocked that all their wounds had healed and their bodies were filled with vigor In a dark corner of the island Charlotte Wick began to sob

Once she started she couldnÆt stop Tears seeped through her squeezed shut eyes and then through her frantically denying fingers Yet she also felt relief a portion of that horrifying tightness that had choked her for the last year began to relax The waves had gently snipped the calcified and slightly cantankerous scabs of her emotional wounds away leaving her pained but finally ready to heal

Randidly coughed several times as the Authority receded to back in his chest He felt dizzy and weak He pressed his knuckles into the ground and focused on his breathing as he reviewed what had just happened The Fourth AuthorityÆs pulses could be used in isolation if he wished It was interesting to note however that this cost him a great deal of life energy to supply it to other beings

Yggdrasil stretched its branches and roots into the island to sip some of the energy back but Randidly told it to stay its branch He savored the bone deep wariness as he rolled himself back and looked up at the suddenly clear sky above the island Truth be told I have plenty of life energy And thereÆs no need to push myself so tirelessly There are more important things

He was just settling down to reminiscence about Helen and allow his life energy to creep back the old fashioned way but he realized he wasnÆt alone The Patron of the Sun and the Patron of Blooms stood at the far side of the volcano waiting for permission to approach Groaning Randidly pushed himself back up into a sitting position and beckoned them closer Yes Is something wrong with that burst I released

We just wanted to confirm it The Patron of the Sun took large strides to cross the distance to Randidly but he stopped almost five meters away His eyes were complex as he looked at him You know in retrospect it was quite strange that I seized upon the idea of becoming one of your Patrons so quickly You were an unproven commodity despite your accomplishments Yet now

Randy shook their head emphatically earning a laugh from Bethyl Durro the ogre chef leaned over and peeked his massive left head into the back room Everything okay back there

Course Darro Bethyl patted Randy on the head and stood No donÆt give me those bleeding heart eyes you canÆt hug Randy SheÆs all mine you know she gets skittish around strangers who smell like fry oil

And whose fault is it that I smell like this Darro muttered as he leaned away A fresh sizzle from the griddle indicated he had laid out more food onto the hot surface IÆve worked here for six months How am I a stranger

With Bethyl returning to work in the front of the diner Randy fretfully looked at the mushy leeks Some small amount of panic remained but they suspected that their anxiety wasnÆt always entirely genuine Sometimes a panic attack rose just to make sure that Bethyl would stay and calm them

Setting aside that disquieting thought Randy rolled all the mushy leeks into the trash Then they walked out the back and walked up the familiar path to the hill above the previously desolate portion of the badlands that the refugee group and the three wagons had stopped

Randy paused halfway up and looked back Eleven months had completely transformed the area

The largest and most presentable of the buildings was BÆs Crossing the sprawling diner that now anchored this position on the map for all the refugee groups on Expira A large squat clean looking exterior was surrounded by a sea of shanty buildings mostly small stalls and houses where other refugees had taken RandyÆs cue and started food stalls of their own Most of the food they served was supplied by BÆs Crossing which meant it was massaged gently by RandyÆs ability and given the highest chance of tasting delicious

Which meant they currently made quite a bit of money by staying here So much so that they had to hire a desperate frogperson accountant to keep track of their assets But it hadnÆt started out that way

Eleven months ago after the largest of the wagons left the area Bethyl had been forced by a mob to give up her wagon In a way Randy had liked the development suddenly they and Bethyl were crowded together and sleeping in small caves trying to avoid attention from unsavory characters However Bethyl had been in a horrible constricting mood She snapped and raged in equal measure showering Randy with attention sure but all of it poisonous and sour

Randy worked up their nerve and told Bethyl about the special cloud and Takeyhands Needless to say the older woman had been more bemused than negative at the idea that weather and a small animal urged Randy to set up a food stand and use their ability to refine the food But Bethyl had been motivated by the fact the monkey had brought cuts of meat and fresh vegetables

At the very least Bethyl had sighed as they erected a small tent they wouldnÆt have to starve So she set up the kitchen area and allowed Randy to down whatever magic they needed to the supplies On the first day BÆs Crossing opened below the hill and served not a single customer Afterward they distributed the unsold food to some of the surrounding refugees who hadnÆt been motivated or determined enough to follow when the wagons left

They didnÆt sell anything for the next week but only because the squatters crowded around the stand during the day scaring away all of the small groups of refugees that passed through Those squatters wanted a source of free food all for themselves and liked the look of Bethyl and RandyÆs new enterprise

The situation was eventually broken open on the eighth day by a Lizakh warrior who wandered through His nose led him to the stand where he was stopped by some of the squatters and told that if he knew what was good for them he would turn around The Lizakh warrior had laughed in their faces

When push came to shove he shattered one manÆs arm and cut off anotherÆs ankle

Desperate Bethyl offered him a job as a guard And strangely enough Kirkrik Rrshk said yes

Chapter 1935

Kirkrik Rrshk spent the next morning shooing away the sour squatters who hadnÆt been willing to give up on the delicious food after eating it for a week They tried to ambush him once but he responded with that same golden laugh and fought off seven humans They cursed him as lizard scum and swore their revenge

When Kirkrik came back Bethyl patted his back You might not look like us but youÆve got more humanity than all those shits combined

Kirkrik laughed awkward but warm

Within a month word had spread to the small sized refugee camps that BÆs Crossing was the best place to restock either leaving the Northern Zones or before you tried to get back into civilized lands It just so happened that it was only about twenty miles Southwest of a major entry point Most groups would adjust their routes to stop by and try some of the food The guides told other refugee trains their encounters with the place and even more medium sized groups began to swing through

During that period it was the time without any large groups gathered outside their rather hastily assembled tent that was the most dangerous Twice they were robbed with several individuals more powerful than Kirkrik giving them no choice but to silently give a portion of their money

Two and a half months after they began the arrival of two groups at the same time overburdened BÆs CrossingÆs productive capabilities to the point that most customers left dissatisfied with the service they had received Randy panicked but Bethyl just recruited some reliable migrant laborers to dig the foundation and construct an actual building to house tables and the kitchen area She also had the foresight to add a rather large warehouse to the side

Four months saw them hire more and more employees mostly non human refugees that wandered Expira At the time Randy had been somewhat touched and told Bethyl that she liked how many weirdos they hired

Bethyl laughed and mussed her hair Well yes thatÆs an added benefit But IÆm more worried about us getting robbed again These refugees we are probably the first people to show them kindness And they will settle their families down around us so long as we feed and pay them When robbers come the next time we wonÆt be alone

At six months two things of note happened The first was that a merchant from Zone 32 that wanted to set up a shop next to BÆs Crossing Bethyl offered to rent him the still abandoned warehouse and recommend some good employees and the deal was signed within the day Second the increase in foot traffic as BÆs Crossing became something of a tourist destination meant that the restaurant area needed to be expanded again Which meant that more individuals needed to be hired to keep the operation running smoothly

Six and a half months since the beginning of their venture a large group of bandits rode into town with dollar signs in their eyes Contrary to BethylÆs hopes the group of migrants didnÆt step out of their driftwood and sheet metal hovels in valiant defense of the store The bandit group sauntered to the front of BÆs Crossing and kicked in the door Randy practically had to use all of their weight to keep Kirkrik from rushing out there and facing them all alone

She still remembered how hot his scales felt how furious his eyes were

To RandyÆs surprise Bethyl didnÆt seem fazed by how many rough looking bandits filed into the diner She just smiled and asked what they would like Perhaps annoyed by the proprietress’s response the squat man who led the group of bandits brought a gauntleted fist down on a table The mundane wood shattered and splintered BethylÆs smile did not the back area two tall individuals road in on strange chitinous creatures They had to stoop so as not to knock their foreheads against the ceiling They werenÆt identical oneÆs mount was squat and hoppy while the others possessed long limbs and an ungainly gait Bethyl gestured to them happily These as IÆm sure youÆll recognize are some of the GhosthoundÆs riders TheyÆve been kind enough to agree to stay here for the foreseeable future

Randidly maintained his Fourth Authority like this in its base state trying to ascertain its exact effects Just from looking he saw the boost to growth that he released in the central area Honestly that effect had probably been active long before he had the authority Long before he had the Nether Core even The notification had been slightly conflicting but it did seem like Randidly would have never had inherited this spark if he didnÆt possess a similar proclivity

Perhaps from the presence of the Aether Crossroads I became accustomed to giving out energy That perspective became an outlook that became an image Randidly chewed on his lip as he cast his mind backward Still the more interesting fact might be that the last Origin Beast betrayed its ancestors and helped Elhume the one who engineered their destruction And then the Patron of the Deep died in the final process to release humanity throughout the Nexus

But like so much of the information IÆm learning itÆs hard to know what is propaganda and what is true Too much time has passed The Patrons might have been contemporaries but they werenÆt directly involved After all they donÆt even know what happened with the other Patrons who went to find that individual they needed to attack with the Hierarchy of Karma Then Randidly shook himself He could think more about the issues later Right now the Authority was his main focus

In its base form the animationÆ aura he released was large enough to cover the whole of the island With more attention he could swell it to many times that size Not quite enough to cover an entire planet but Randidly felt rather than being a hard limit it was only a matter of practice

It was another moment that briefly shook his heart Sometimes Randidly imagined he could turn around and find a massive body draconic and spined dragging its monstrous belly against the ground waiting behind him

CanÆt think about that too much tho Randidly thought sardonically Or it might become true

However when Randidly tried to focus on those other abilities he had sensed in that initial pulse his Nether Core began to shudder The edges of the silver patterns projected in the air around him began to hum Frowning Randidly calmed down his new Authority He spoke softly into the air trying to capture the sensation he had felt ItÆs like the Authority wants to know if it should activate And when I tell it to do it gently well obviously it canÆt be bothered for such a careful expression An Authority is not a mild force

He had some vague sense that there was a forcefield aspect and possible repulsion but he couldnÆt confirm it without letting the Authority loose He thought he could separate the three layers he had made but wasnÆt sure if missing a portion of that process would inflict damage on the people around him Randidly hummed for several seconds but allowed his hands to fall to the ground He could wait and try in a desolate place Instead his eyes went to the scars that flexed across his forearms with every movement

Alright Helen Randidly whispered to the air He pulled up the Skill description What did you get for me this time

(Domain) Mournful Sea HelenÆs Pernicious Riptide A powerful confluence of emotion currents and ripples that has housed itself in the userÆs body Warning if the user is not capable enough or possesses the requisite fortitude it is possible to destroy oneself with this Domain

The usage and activation of the Resonant Fangs remain a part of the Mournful Sea They can be activated to absorb one kinetic force An additional fang will be grown for each hundred Skill Level that the user accumulates In addition activation of either abilities from the left or right arms will spread the taint of blood through the air Area of effect increases with Skill Level The deeper the taint the greater the physical and mental boost the user will receive

UserÆs right arm now houses HelenÆs Pernicious Riptide Usage of this arm will also deepen the taint When Resonant Fangs absorb kinetic force a portion of that force and any associated images will be copied and briefly stored within the userÆs right arm Ability to fully copy images will grow due to userÆs inclination and Skill Level A myriad of images may be stored within the right arm at once The more images are stored there in a short time the more strain the userÆs body will be under Ability to contain images will grow with Skill Level

Upon activation of the right arm all stored kinetic force and images will be released in HelenÆs Riptide A manifestation of the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight will form wielding the captured images The strength of this manifestation depends on the depth of the taint Potency of the manifestation increases with Skill Level

Chapter 1936

On a high mountain pass in the southern wilderness an opaque block of ice began to tremble Flakes of snow slipped off its top The block itself sat in shadow Above an icy wind howled above the few places that bare rock jutted out from underneath the covering of snow The whole area seemed afflicted with the same sort of hypothermia all objects present altered between minute trembling and deathly stillness

The mountain top felt stark and desolate

The crack of the ice block beginning to fracture echoed out through the pass a halfhearted demonstration of life Several precarious piles of snow joined the trembling Most fell back into stillness A few shed a portion of their icy shelves in tiny avalanches collecting the shadowed gully Silently more cracks began to creep outward through the block of ice At the core some force was in furious motion

For three minutes the cracks proliferated Then all at once the ice tomb shattered in an eruption of gleaming shards

That damnable dragon Merrick Towns growled as he reached up and rubbed his spiky honey brown hair His hands were covered with flexible metal gloves that ended in curving daggers but he adroitly satisfied his itch without cutting into his skull Then he scowled around as though expecting to find the dragon waiting around with a smug expression on its face

The pass was empty except for wind snow and shadow

Merrick Towns ground his teeth and rubbed his hands against his arms He was supposed to be the most powerful man on the planet Almost a year ago he had won the fighting tournament and had been baptized in the cheering of the crowd High on that moment he had challenged Randidly Ghosthound himself to a duel and received deafening silence in response

Being only twenty five Merrick had responded to this dismissal with a scathing indictment of the balls of Randidly Ghosthound It had seemed to him that although none of the old legends of Expira had participated or any of the tournamentÆs previous winners he had earned some recognition for ending the tournament undefeated And to have not even a spare breath given to him

And then that dragon MerrickÆs skin began to steam his anger burning through the chill

After the tournament and his comments a Frost Dragon had tracked him down and insisted upon a duel Wanting to be nothing like Randidly Ghosthound Merrick had accepted with grace And been thoroughly flattened and frozen into an icicle It had taken him fully a week to break out of that frigid prison

It had been humiliating It had been illuminating at how mysterious the depths of Expira truly were

This time after ten months of training Merrick had purposefully sought out a dragon to have his revenge He was disappointed to find a younger specimen but still figured that beating this one would send the right sort of message that would eventually get back to his original opponent However despite all his extreme ice resistance training he had been beaten again

This escape only took eighteen hours but his humiliation had deepened

Merrick fumed Why the hell are there so many powerful dragons And if each one of them is this powerful why were the participants in the tournament so weak

Movement on the other side of the pass grabbed MerrickÆs eyes He twisted around and saw across the high mountain a powerful man standing in the snow His hair was black his feet were bare and his eyes were a piercing green that could be seen even across the distance The man smirked and turned away on some secret mission With a step he had all but teleported to the next mountain over leaving only a puff of snow in his wake

Randidly Ghosthound For a second Merrick was too dumbstruck to really process this realization After seeking this man for so long to test himself it almost seemed too good to be true to encounter him here Yet as soon as his form vanished MerrickÆs body began to respond He planted his own foot and began to give chase

But do I really want to tie myself to a woman who profits off violence against intelligent life

Merrick was tempted But he would never find out what sort of decision he would have made

Finally found you

A new voice echoed from the other end of the black canyon Merrick spun around flabbergasted that he hadnÆt detected any movement A slim woman with a Cheshire smile on her face and a bow over her shoulder stood there with eyes only for the squat woman

The mask wearer clicked her tongue her smile finally fading Annie has anyone ever told you that persistence can be quite tiresome I finally thought you had given up DonÆt we all have better things to do

AnnieÆs smile widened and MerrickÆs instincts urged him to flee as fast as his legs could carry him Sweat beaded in his armpits but exactly because of that feeling adrenaline rushed through his veins He wasnÆt sure how he had ended up here but the pressure the two women released on both sides of him was the real deal Since he had stumbled into this genuine situation

AnnieÆs eyes finally flickered to him She smirked Stand aside boy This doesnÆt concern you You donÆt smell like her Not a target

Merrick went cold

Now Annie canÆt I convince you to give me some time to reflect on my mistakes YouÆve been horrifyingly deadly in your pursuits of my subordinates The mask wearer fluttered her eyelashes

Nope Annie didnÆt even seem to move One moment she stood with a hand on her hip the next she was in perfect T position a knocked arrow in her bow The weapon was trained on the squat woman Her eyes burned with determination Too late for that

Luckily for Merrick his body moved before his mind realized he had made his decision or else he would have been too late The arrow arrived in front of him as he interposed himself and sweat soaked his shirt He heard Annie curse and withdraw her image from the attack so he only had to withstand the physical arrow But when he crossed his arms to absorb the impact

His left forearm fractured and he was hurtling through the air

His back hit the stone wall of the canyon first but the subsequent cracking of his skull against the dark rock left him dizzy and fuzzy over the details When the static eventually began to fade the squat woman was helping him to his feet

Annie glared at him Why the hell would you involve yourself in this That woman

Acknowledged me Anger helped ground him Merrick took a step forward His arm snapped back into place as his Battle Healing began to activate And compared to your elitist shit I much prefer that basic amount of respect

Annie blinked Then she spat to the side Whatever dude ItÆs your fucking funeral

Chapter 1937

Annie raised her bow and the rabid young man accelerated at her as though he hadnÆt just been concussed against the canyon wall when she had sent a single arrow at him He displayed no fear or self preservation instinct She hadnÆt even activated a Skill and he had been completely overwhelmed Behind him AnnieÆs target smiled with a sly curl of her lip

Chaos was obviously exactly what the woman wanted

AnnieÆs eye traced the shaft of an arrow to her target Yet perhaps because of how young he looked her heart urged her to reconsider Maybe he doesnÆt really want to die Maybe his brain broke from the impact It seems rude to punish this kid for his deficient brain

With this judicious allowance Annie lowered her bow slightly When the young man raised his weird dagger hands to lash out at her she dropped low and swept his legs Crouching down and aiming sideways she fired Her arrow took him in the shoulder carrying him up and pinning to the high canyon walls His body flopped around as he howled in fury and pain

Then Annie focused on her real target Her eyes widened when she saw that all traces of her had vanished and a familiar figure stood in her place A tall man stood with a club leaning across his shoulders Those muscles

Honey Dozer rumbled quietly He had a smirk on his face You couldnÆt attack your own husband could you

AnnieÆs nose crunched the illusion DozerÆs nose earning a delighted set of cackles from Annie Wonderful IÆm not allowed to attack him at home Says it sends the wrong message to Delilah So I really appreciate this opportunity to thoroughly thrash this lump

The illusion dissipated and the woman stumbled back and looked at Annie in horror and confusion Annie couldnÆt help but snort However the whistling release of AnnieÆs next arrow cleared up most of her confusion The woman pulled out a heavy knotted rope and whipped it around to deflect the arrow A powerful image of violence and bloodletting spun itself through the rope adding weight and brutal momentum

So sheÆs not just all flashy illusions Annie mused

With surprising skill the woman twisted the rope at the very moment it blocked the arrow’s path AnnieÆs predatory attack screeched in outrage to be challenged For a brief moment both images flared and struggled with each other Annie again had to admit this woman had legitimate talent She possessed enough gumption that the arrow was redirected slightly and only took a chunk out of the womanÆs thigh

She squealed in pain and clearly lost herself for a few seconds in panic as though she were more familiar with inflicting attacks than receiving them Her form flickered between several strange bodies Finally it settled upon Lucifer who looked up at Annie with imposing eyes Annie was almost lazy in knocking the next arrow He lowered his hands and gripped his saber Lucifer Sla

AnnieÆs arrow interrupted the illusionary attack shattering Lucifer and digging an arrow halfway through the womanÆs forearm She looked at it for several seconds seemingly bewildered by its very physical presence in her body And Annie would have finished the job on the distracted foe had she not felt the young man finally dislodge himself and pounce toward her back

She donkey kicked the fool in the jaw his malfunctioning brain be damned This time just to be thorough she rapid fired arrows to pin each of his arms and legs and prevent him from interfering To AnnieÆs great annoyance he had apparently adjusted enough that he slashed out with his dagger fingers and shattered the first arrow before the flurry of followups overwhelmed him So as he was carried back and slammed into the far wall only two legs and one arm were pinned Annie sent one more arrow over just for good measure

Then one more thumping into his inner thigh uncomfortably close to his manhood just to vent some of her frustration She turned back to the woman

As Annie mulled that over a lightning bolt crashed down on the woman The image of a pained and struggling woman crawling on the ground shattered and revealed the woman looking quite spry aside from the fact she now rolled around under the influence of the electricity

Annie raised an eyebrow as Clarrissa floated down from the clouds What you here to tell me to stop playing with my food

IÆm here to tell you not to kill her Clarissa rolled her eyes as she alighted softly on the ground This goes much more smoothly if we have someone alive to stand trial Your bloodthirsty crusade reaches a happy and justified ending

AnnieÆs expression flattened After all the shit this woman has orchestrated if you expect me to be sorry for hunting them

No I apologize that came out wrong Clarissa raised her hands placatingly Without your efforts there would be so many injustices continuing that we hadnÆt even realized were happening Thank you Annie What I mean to say is that please consider letting her pay for her crimes in the court of public opinion Her corpse solves the problem of her But being able to lay bare her propaganda and schemes solves the bigger mess that she started

Something vicious and bloodthirsty in AnnieÆs heart wanted to say no She wanted to fire one last arrow and watch the life drain out of this cockroach’s shredded throat The primal predator in her would savor the experience and then raise its head in exultation

The Predator in her wanted a corpse

However the experience of fighting against the woman had been so mediocre that the hunter in her seeking a talented quarry just seemed to shrug its hands Begrudgingly Annie nodded and lowered her bow But then she smirked Alright on one condition Hit her with a few more of those lightning bolts for me Make the fat little bug squirm

Merrick drew a shuddering breath and sat up His hand instantly went to his heart Did I

Die Technically My arrow slipped between your right and left ventricle just below the major arteries My Skills let me view Health so I was pretty confident an inducing a short term coma with the shot by putting you between 2 and 9 Health in a single go Annie crouched over him looking bored The other woman was nowhere to be seen Annie rapped her knuckles against the ground Take this as a warning You let your pride get you involved on the wrong side of a fight kid DonÆt let it happen again

Merrick was too busy breathing to have much of an emotional reaction To his surprise she kept speaking

However IÆll say this in just a few clashes you adjusted enough to block one of my arrows You donÆt suck

Then she departed leaving Merrick laying on the ground and looking up at the thin strip of grey sky above the canyon Even just that stretch seemed too vast to fathom

Chapter 1938

HowÆs the Patron of Feathers Randidly asked as he leaned back against the hand sewn cushions He Neveah and Tatiana sat at the rather cramped table by the window half of their bodies bathed in sunlight Despite their relative importance on the broader political spectrum of Expira no one seemed to notice their presence here Conversation and business continued around them without the slightest pause

It was a definite relief one Tatiana hadnÆt even believed at first She insisted everyone would know him immediately Randidly had finally cut his hair but most of the customers at the diner seemed either too self involved or fearful to notice them Or more honestly most of the people who ended up here came from Danger Zones connected to Expira so they knew of Randidly Ghosthound but had never seen him

Their waitress was a frogperson and the one who seated them had been of a strange teddy bear looking teenager with a blank expression Both had been too numbed by the constant flow of customers to give them more than a perfunctory look

Well RandidlyÆs lips twitched as his gaze went out the window Several prominent and powerful figures waited not approaching but watching the diner with intent gazes The zealous fervor in their eyes was visible even from here They stood next to their mounts and adjusted their grip on the weapons They were an unasked for honor guard I suppose we are incognito as long as you ignore how many of the Riders are gathering at this location Few Zones could muster up enough force to harm this diner right now

Neveah pursed her lips and looked down at her coffee Her situation is stable she remains on the schedule Lucretia warned you about Nothing unusual has happened she continues to dim and wither The original timeline of about four more months seems like it will hold However the Patrons are becoming increasingly upset actually watching her suffer Their work isnÆt quite what the other Pantheon members have come to expect Returning to the Nexus sooner would be better

Randidly nodded slowly His mouth tasted sour Now that the deadline approached he felt like there were so many more tasks that needed his immediate attention But so long as he trained both the emotional method Helen had demonstrated and familiarized himself with his new Domain he would emerge a much more powerful version of himself than came down the shaft to meet Solomon Rex Plus if he could find more time to experiment with his Fourth Authority

His thoughts paused when their harried waitress approached the table She favored them all with a tired but genuine smile So have you had time to look over the menu What can I get for you

IÆll have the daily special Tatiana said as she took the menus from Randidly and Neveah and gave them to the waitress in a neat pile Neveah ordered the same

IÆll take the Southwest Scramble Randidly said The waitress nodded and then flounced away At the next table over a toddler stared soulfully at Randidly over his motherÆs shoulder deeply perplexed by something in his visage Randidly couldnÆt help but wonder if the kid had some unusual perception based Skill already or could witness a bit of his images

Hell my Animation Nova is activated constantly They should do studies to see if IÆm safe to be around children He reflected only partially joking

I hope the food tastes as good as it smells Tatiana sighed in satisfaction and then took another sip of her tea The chef at City Hall does either artisan flatbreads or yogurt parfaits for breakfast but sometimes you just want a hefty helping of diner food Grease and butter oh god mm

The group departed BÆs Crossing quietly after leaving a rather sizable tip Randidly returned to his volcano having agreed to TatianaÆs request to appear and be more present for these events He crossed his fingers hoping they wouldnÆt be too torturous and turned to his Path screen With a hundred and thirty five thousand more PP to go through he needed to hit some of the high cost Paths He would probably leave himself a slight buffer again just in case he found a very necessary Path in the future but for now it was time to spend

Congratulations You have completed the Sigh as the Sky Closes Path You have housed a dark power of Exodus for some time within the muscles and organs of your body The shadowy interiors of your joins have nurtured its growth The end yet remains distant but you can now hear its approaching breath The world stumbles forward and you can only watch its heavy struggles Yet as you observe the world on its Path you can briefly predict a moment of the future where it finally collapses and the sky folds inward to reveal the waiting carrion

Within the yawning abyss a face sneers It waits with limitless patience for its long promised corpse After the collapse it will feast

For a brief moment your eyes meet That interaction changes you in mysterious ways

Congratulations Primordial Nether Juju +300 Congratulations You have gained the Skill Smothering Inevitability

Smothering Inevitability User is empowered by the finality that awaits all things When user lands blows on a foe a small portion of that inevitably infects the recipient As more and more of that power begins to accumulate in the foeÆs body their Stats are slightly reduced and they receive additional damage from the user Effect increases with Skill Level

Congratulations You have completed Joy the Blooming Sun Path As you walk along through the varied landscapes you come to appreciate that for your planet the font of all life is the sun Its rays caress the ground radiant and generous with their apportionment of existence Day and night are divided due to the period of life that occurs in the day Night is a time of rest and preparation for those hours where the sun is present Prolonged exposure creates the possibilities of wondrous things life is a gift only possible because of its furnace of energy

Observing this process you steadily accumulate insight into the wondrous spread of possibilities Your feet tingle against the sun warmed ground feeling the shift in your environment before you even understand it However with continued observation you advance

Congratulations Unnatural Metabolism +300 Congratulations You have gained the Skill

Due to your Fourth Authority Animation Nova you have gained the Skill Animus Diffraction

Animus Diffraction A unique Skill of Randidly Ghosthound due to synergy with his powerful Nether Core Impossible to duplicate attempts to do so will cause degeneration in the body of the recipient Some of the userÆs potent and passive radiation strikes the prism of your body and is released with a slightly more vigorous disposition than the usual force Other entities that are within a certain distance of user will have the chance to receive some extra Animus Animus will give those individuals passively an increased ability to gain Skill Levels and also the ability to subconsciously consume Animus in order to improve their own Skills and images Will only be able to increase Skills to just beyond the current standard of Randidly Ghosthound Passive and active effects improve with Skill Level Rate of release slightly increases with Skill Level

Chapter 1939

Interesting that Nether and Aether can affect each other so directly or is it only because I received this reward while in the Alpha Cosmos The Pantheon is hard at work while IÆm moving through my Tithe

Randidly rubbed his neck and considered his neck options After grabbing the two Paths related to his improved Yggdrasil Skill he still had quite a bit of PP He briefly considered an additional refinement of his emotional abilities through Bubbling Emotional Accumulation I Path However the 10 000 PP price tag and the fact he could improve using HelenÆs method gave him pause Rather than that he was more inclined to complete either the Architecture of Yggdrasil I or the Throne of Nether Homage I Paths

Both were concerned with the ability to create a framework with the two energies Both should improve his understandings of the way these energies behaved Randidly spent more time perfecting his Nether handling right now but he required understanding of both to keep improving and weaving them together Plus increasing his Skill with Engraving wouldnÆt directly help his image but he did suspect it would provide some assistance

Clicking his tongue Randidly started with the Throne of Nether Homage Path At the very least it cost only 1000 PP to ArchitectureÆs 2000 And when it came to Nether he was aware of only the Nether King that was more talented in this area

Congratulations You have completed the Throne of Nether Homage I Path You strike out on a very lightly used Path in the Nexus as you look forward you can only faintly detect a single other set of footprints heading toward your destination The air is still and stale This is a lost and isolated location You raise your eyes and peer toward the horizon The world curls away from you like a frowning mouth as though it understands your decision to strike out on this heading and disapproves But this might take you away from the well traversed areas you do not hesitate Your Path is your own Your feet carry you forward even if no one else believes in your journey

Congratulations Free Stats +50 Some stirrings begin to accumulate within your Nether Core Significance deepens A change is building within your Nether flows

Congratulations You have completed the Throne of Nether Homage II Path The terrain has become rough the path is lined with broken stone obelisks and the black sludge remnants of innumerable Nether Beasts left to congeal As you cast your gaze around you see you stand on a vast battlefield On the one hand this can be considered a mass grave But there is no respect or reverence in how these bodies were treated This place was simply convenient and the bodies were abandoned here to their own devices The air sticks in your throat as you breathe This is not a place to rest but of regrets You hurry onward wading deeper into the aura of death

Congratulations Your Skill Animus Diffraction has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill Animus Diffraction has grown to Level 34

Congratulations Your Fourth Authority manifests in the path and releases energy onto the souls of Nether Beasts that havenÆt yet achieved peace At your passage they begin to surge and rise flooding the Path behind you They drag themselves with spectral fingers addicted to the spark of life you carry They crawl atop one another and stretch toward your back attempting to catch up until they flutter and billow like a massive cape of the damned hanging just slightly back away from your person They scream but their insubstantial forms can only manage strained whispers

Reward differed Please finish the next Path in order to receive your reward

Randidly pursed his lips The notification had failed for almost two minutes before finally kicking back into gear He wondered if there was something wrong with the Pantheon But in the end he shrugged There might not be a stated reward but he felt the increased density in his Nether Core He continued pouring PP into the Throne of Nether Homage Path series

Congratulations You have completed the Throne of Nether Homage III Path Your existence ripped open the door between life and death For so many slaughtered Nether Beasts now barely retaining their sanity from life this opportunity is one their grudge will not allow them to miss They swarm like locusts using the small fraction of power you released to rip through the veil of the living

Branching Path A powerful arm of remnants spirits seeks to use your abilities to breakthrough At this point your aura has already given them all the tools they need to ascend Now it just becomes a matter of time Do you choose to pull these fields of damned around you like a cloak or allow them to flow to those who fly your banners arming your hosts

Will this give the Lancers some clinging Nether Beasts Just like the Stillborn Phoenix has those two Unborn Randidly hesitated as he looked at the choice Not that he much desired to personally house all the animosity he sensed in the Path completion but he wasnÆt sure what the result would be

However what Randidly could clearly sense was the deep flow of significance that moved through the Path Whatever had taken so long to finish for the notification now meant that something large was building even beyond the current choice

Alright Lancers letÆs see what you can do Randidly made his selection

Congratulations The damned flow freely through to your armies strengthening their martial ability and deepening their Nether Warning There is a small chance of causing a deviation in the recipients Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae and Exquisite Piety +100 Congratulations You have learned the Skill Armory of the Nether Damned

Armory of the Nether Damned You house a door to a realm where Nether corpses stewed and decomposed until they formed a mass of ill will You have given the possibility of revival to these disparate souls for which they are eternally grateful In return they flow through your connections and provide small enhancements to weaponry and armor User may also condense a superior and personalized weapon for one individual per one hundred Skill Levels Small chance of summoning the soul of a Nether Gatekeeper to reside within the weapon Chance increases slightly with Skill Level Power of the Superior Weapons increases with Skill Level Enhancement provided to other equipment vastly increases with Skill Level

Chapter 1940

Two Lancers sat on the hill over BÆs Crossing scanning the horizon for threats as the sun crept up and stretched into the day into wakefulness They were not alone on their high outlook A few surveyors combing through the hills for the best real estate spots observed them occasionally but largely gave the two a wide berth if the Order Ducis was the political entity that had the GhosthoundÆs blessing the Lancers were his army

For all that some political entities had flirted with anti Ghosthound sentiments none of them were willing to stand up and antagonize an actual opponent which the Lancers were definitely willing to be

Both of these two lancers had come because they had heard through their vague information network that the Ghosthound had been dining here but had been too late to actually see him They felt some manner of disappointment but neither were a very strong example of their kind They were freshly born content to follow the lapping waves of cohesion that came from their connection to the Crusade rather than striking out on their own like the more powerful Lancers They were still one of many

Neither had yet decided what sort of individuals they would like to become without the support of the Crusade Even the word individual seemed hollow and ominous in their minds They spoke it as little as possible instead focusing on concrete tasks Protection patrol examination those were safer topics

For now they stood in silence words unnecessary They just waited for the sun to creep higher and for more impulses to come to them They were reaction incarnate

To their surprise something did arrive and sent their senses tingling They felt it through the network of Lancers before it arrived even some of the overwhelmingly powerful individuals amongst their number sending out warning ripples of alarm Both of the two stiffened to feel the tension What approached wasnÆt categorized as a bad thing but the uniformity of Lancers’ surprise made them nervous

It came slowly first swirling about their heels with lolling tongues and bright eyes of anticipation Then the change breathed a humid exhale on the back of their necks and laughed as they shivered Then it sank into their skin leaving the two powerless to resist the change that came over them One leaned forward a sharp pain tearing its way out of its midsection The other couldnÆt stop moving its fingers its weapon becoming near scalding

Yet never for an instant did it consider releasing the serviceable ax

Their armor darkened and their limbs lengthened under the influence of this force The duoÆs steeds huffed and pawed at the ground nervous due to the display And soon they were affected too the settling mist covering the two horses and sharpening their edges adding smolder to their eyes From horses they became hellhounds

Across all of Expira the Lancers of the Baleful Crusade housed remnant spirits of the Nether Beasts Something primal and violent seeped into their pure spirits tipping the group just slightly toward aggression Their explosive power increased

With a roar the left of the duo hopped down off his horse and allowed a massive spined tail to erupt from his lower back Ichor dripped off the stinger and sizzled against the dirt ground Blood and ripped skin drizzled down after it As for the other Lancer his back cracked as the muscles of his shoulders bulged outward His arms lengthened further and his fingers tightened around the shaft of his ax