LoRG 5

A wave of glass roots stretched up and wove themselves into a shield but that massive beak ripped easily through

The sky rumbled from the collision The spatial rind deflected the beak releasing powerful waves of crackling red lightning However the Octopi now seemed determined to leverage its advantage Mobilizing more and more of his image force to crack open its target The beak flared with detail the lines of its curvature glittering

Yet before it could peck again the Ghosthound moved Again Xershi didnÆt see him actually accelerate But his path through the battlefield of appendages could be clearly seen as his body left a trail of pulp and glass dust

Again there was a sudden absence of flesh in the OctopiÆs body This time it was much larger almost the entirety of its swollen head simply blown away The image in the sky faltered briefly shaken by the damage to its physical form Shrieking and moving by instinct it spun again and accelerated downward to flee from the threat

The Ghosthound just materialized next to the Octopi even as its body knitted itself together He was wreathed in two layers of flames one orange with an emerald core and the other the shadowy grey flame of Nether He reached out and grabbed the Octopi with both of his hands his fingers squeezing into its flesh for a firm grip Then

Xershi hit the ground hard completely unprepared for the wave of kinetic force that had blasted through him on its way to level all of the surrounding pillars that hadnÆt already been demolished As he sat up he was at least pleased to see that Pullas had been similarly blindsided and on her butt In image battles there were often powerful shockwaves But this was on another level altogether

In terms of Stats no one can rival the Ghosthound Xershi had heard this phrase from the Don through his father And now he had felt it with his body

After getting to his feet Xershi was able to piece together what had happened With a tight grip on the Octopi the Ghosthound had accelerated directly down at the ground without slowing down in the least And while the Ghosthound could rely on his high Stats to simply absorb such a blow the Octopi had been splattered across the ground

There was no dust or debris so Xershi should see the figure of the Ghosthound standing above the Octopi as it struggled to heal The crater was massive and looked like an alien landscape His landing had shattered the ground in a huge area and then the heat of his flames exploded outward on the heels of the crash melting all the glass into rippling waves

This time Xershi could see the beauty in what the Ghosthound had done

LetÆs review The Ghosthound said softly He crouched down next to the Octopi When you try to swallow something too big for you it can get caught in your throat and choke you And choking can be deadly yea

The Octopi gurgled a reply but it was too quiet for Xershi to hear Either way the Ghosthound straightened and turned to look at Xershi and Pullas The flames dancing across his skin dimmed and sank back into his body Okay thatÆs one problem handled And you two got a bit of an extra break On to the next layer we go

Chapter 2013

Raymund Ballast stood at the edge of the Vulpis Squad camp with folded arms There were no walls but a few wooden stakes denoted the limits of their area He listened to an argument slowly developing at the edge of the space between one of their now necessary posted guard and one of the more insistent of the loiterers squatting on the Rally Station

Are you trying to tell me heÆs still not here The squat humanoid demanded Compared to the rest of the rabble that had begun to trickle around the edges of the camp his well fitted grey suit made him look relatively respectful ItÆs been a full day And we arenÆt at fucking war

The Vulpis Squad member kept her face even No he is not You will need to continue to wait

I bet heÆs out fucking another planet Do you know plundering Aether is illegal The people of the Nexus have the right to know how he manages to develop so many images and maintain them His repeated displays of high Stats have the peopleÆs attention The humanoid put his hands on his hips A group of about ten other loiterers watched the interaction with sharp eyes There are laws And what he has managed to accomplish is impossible without some shady dealings

The guard wasnÆt swayed by this plea the third of its type in the last twelve hours IÆll be sure to report about your request for an interview when he returns In the meantime please remain away from the camp The Squad is undergoing intensive training right now Image reverberations can be quite unpredictable

The humanoid sneered and took several steps forward right up to the line of the campÆs edge His flat nose was only inches away from the guardÆs face Eh And what if I want to take that risk

The woman didnÆt even blink Your choices are your own Feel free

Raymund was just glad that Vant wasnÆt on supervision duty He would have thundered down and broken the manÆs jaw for disrespecting a member of the squad Which as far as Raymund could tell was exactly the sort of reaction that these people wanted Simply surrounding them with the disenfranchised and nosy seemed so petty otherwise

Not that this man would be a good choice He had strong connections with one of the few legitimate news entities in the Nexus

A figure approached him and stood alongside him He glanced sideways Alana Donal nodded toward the group Is there really nothing to be done about them

The Ghosthound said to ignore them so long as they donÆt try to interfere with our business Annoyances like this make us mentally tougher Raymund said in a low voice But then he released a long sigh not bothering to conceal the strain Obviously someone within Military High Command is spreading rumors of misconduct by Randidly Another patrol would have picked them up and swept such wanderers away otherwise But until we know who is responsible it is better to ignore them

If the opponent doesnÆt get a response they want they will escalate Alana said softly Not just with these lost people and the dirty journalists But with a genuine probe on our location

Raymund flashed his long canines His pupils dilated At which point they will realize what a mistake it is to antagonize the Vulpis Squad

For a while Alana considered that She was still sweaty coming directly from her physical training session to come speak with him That sort of dedication had been a constant presence in her exercises Of all their new additions from the Alpha Cosmos Alana adopted the fastest to the higher demands Soon they would need to switch her off the same training program as the others so her advance wasnÆt stifled

Hell if Raymund was being honest her growth was even more impressive than CharlotteÆs right now There were only two individuals with drive like hers that he had ever met One obviously was the Ghosthound

The other was Techetadore

ItÆs true though AlanaÆs image spread around them as she spoke masking the statement Orange tongues of flame danced around them in a circle The GhosthoundÆs energy doesnÆt come the usual way

For a second Raymund was stunned by the dangerous admission if anything the truth about RandidlyÆs Aether Crossroads would bring more antagonism down upon their heads than him murdering millions of people for their Aether That was just the way of the Nexus But a split second later he calmed himself down

Randidly had declined immediately but that had been enough And his relationship with Xershi was entirely different than what he had shared with Helen Hell this guy would be a dangerous foe The metal ligerÆs emotional affect had sung in a way that made Randidly suspect he would be more difficult than the fat octopi

But the exchange had been oddly nostalgic Where he wasnÆt fighting alone through every threat When everyone he interacted with wasnÆt just a subordinate or an enemy

So are you willing to brave your precious death to come with us In the present Xershi looked intently at Pullas

You are going too Pullas blinked

Xershi had the nerve to smirk Not to brag but when it comes to moving sneakily IÆm pretty confident in my abilities I certainly wonÆt have any problem moving through those layers

Randidly snapped his teeth shut on the denial he had been preparing remembering how they met Shrugging he turned back to the stew

Hum Pullas really seemed to pause and consider this option Her forehead scrunched up as she considered her options Then she seemed to deflate Well I do not need to commit to a single hypothetical answer now IÆm just living in the moment you know LetÆs make it there and I will decide whether to follow or not

Randidly took a tentative spoon of his soup a small smile playing across his lips The trio would continue on for a few more days As soon as the spoon hit his tongue he grimaced Sorry this stuff still tastes sour LetÆs just move on maybe we can find something more fresh in the next ring

Ignoring XershiÆs long sigh Randidly began to move They had set up near the edge of the space after finding the exterior staircase As he had feared the size of the world contained in each layer had continued to grow But it only took them a few minutes to reach the bottom and begin to ascend

With the Stillborn Phoenix as a cloak Randidly pushed his way up through the image static His steps were firm and steady For a while he had felt tempted to fall back and trade off with Pullas to shield them in the climb but he had begun to realize that a lot of the image echoes bouncing off him were distinct notes from the lower floors The power they wielded channeled upward through the Sonara around him humming through the edges

Randidly had to thank the Octopi for that he had picked the image that had grappled with two of his own out of the sea of other fragments Once he noticed he began to listen more intently It was deeply uncomfortable work but his mind now ran on Cognition of the Aberrant Alchemist and Unnatural Capacity Under his scrutiny the noises fell into place

Randidly grimaced as a particularly ugly pulse of image hit him Not that understanding the noise makes it any more pleasant to experience

Briefly he paused and glance to his left Glowing azure fireflies the size of buses began to fly out from the base of the enormous translucent mushrooms A few picked off the heavy slugs clinging to the long stocks using their mandibles to rip open their bodies and sucked out their internal organs

Randidly turned away Okay pretty glad we didnÆt have to fight the individual who lives in this sort of place

They passed through the golden portal and stumbled for a bit The ground underneath RandidlyÆs feet was soft and warm with rolling hills around them The sky above was a soft red dark as wine There were trees but they mostly resembled bushy pink cacti that undulated strangely However it was the noise that clued Randidly into the fact something was strange

A breathy exhale tickled against his ear Half heard snatches of conversation rolled lazily around the space moving between the bushy trees He turned slowly but in the area behind him were only Pullas and Xershi Randidly found himself sweating slightly from the low heat that burned through this ring His senses spread out but a powerful image blocked his examination His face twisted into a scowl when his probes revealed nothing but soft laughter Pullas WhatÆs with this ring

Ah itÆs kinda warm isnÆt it But I havenÆt heard much about this place Pullas shivered Her face had almost immediately become flushed A few of the guys I worked with always volunteered to handle communications with the twenty third floor so

A disembodied voice giggled and then release a low moan of throaty pleasure

Ugh a realm of fleshy pursuits Xershi scowled at a nearby pink cactus How indulgent and messy

Chapter 2014

They stood before Duulys Ambar as a group covered thickly with sweat and dread All fidgeted nervously having heard at least a few stories of his abrupt brutality and power Being in front of him only made it that much easier to imagine being the victim to one of his sudden bursts of anger He oozed potential violence

His long black dreadlocks tumbled down his head and scarred shoulders He wore bejeweled rings around almost every finger except for one finger on his left hand an opulent display of the wealth he had amassed controlling the Sonara As he flex his digits they almost all glittered His shirt and pants were unassuming but none of their group failed to recognize that the most suitable descriptor for him was Tyrant

His silver eyes lanced through each of them in turn vicious and hungry He searched and found nothing to his satisfaction

So Duulys licked his lips Whichever of you is Randidly Ghosthound step forward and let me examine you The rest of you donÆt you dare move a muscle

There was a long moment of silence as the group absorbed that unexpectedly direct request They shot each other increasingly desperate glances Because the more time passed without Randidly Ghosthound stepping forward the more Duulys Ambar began to frown The light radiating out from DuulysÆs eyes became increasingly sharp He scythed around peeling off layers of skin

Well well Duulys eventually smiled You all look like nothing special but if one of you has the nerve to refuse my order not that it will save you but it has certainly made this trip worth that much more gratifying You with the cape Come here and let me snap your spine Maybe then this fucking Ghosthound will reveal himself If he does not I will continue to punish the group

Gwennet jumped realizing that this powerful figure was talking about her Her rather stylish cape suddenly felt foolish and superfluous on her back She licked her lips Huh Sir I think there is a

If you make me ask you again I wonÆt stop with just your spine Duulys grinned fully this time Chills ran through GwennetÆs body as he looked at her Behind him she felt the emotional intensify he possessed Duulys AmbarÆs Silver Lion image had been so violent during his stint in his campaigns against Nether Forces that even his comrades feared being caught during one of his moods

Now suddenly that hungry predator was staring her down Refusing to allow her to speak until she satisfied him but she couldnÆt

If I might intrude The man in the suit standing at the edge of the giant atrium spoke up He raised a hand like he was a student in a class

Mimic If we keep meeting like this I will have no choice but to believe you are stalking me DuulysÆs tone remained acerbic but at least his focus shifted to the suited man Gwennet took several quick breaths her heartbeat pounding against her ribs as though it wanted to escape I donÆt appreciate having you totter after me like a lovestruck calf

In this case dearest sir I really am trying to help you accomplish your admirable goals Mimic bowed graciously From my own personal conversations with the people of Idylla Randidly Ghosthound is not amongst this group now assembled in front of you These are in fact essentially normal people Fresh meat in the Sonara unprepared for your profound presence

Gwennet felt vaguely insulted even through her relief Meanwhile Duulys only seemed more affronted by MimicÆs pronouncement What This farce of a city is famous for its byzantine requirements for passing through How the hell did he run through the city faster than I could descend to meet him Oh whereÆs that boring stickler for rules You know the one who always sends those fat information packets

What about all the people that IÆve wanted to visit Pullas muttered But both she and Xershi fell into line behind Randidly as he proceeded forward Once they began walking a dull gold road practically paved itself in front of them It wound its way around the base of the hills taking a meandering path to the destination The pink mist happily receded

At first Randidly was annoyed at the circuitous route but then he felt the image begin removing restrictions it had tightened around their group when he was ripping it to pieces Suddenly they began jumping forward through space

The first encounter they made was with two individuals a man and a woman who completely ignored them The strange duo wore strange clothes that didnÆt match the man had on some sort of fur armor and the woman wore a brightly colored toga Yet they leaned into each other and breathed deeply savoring each othersÆ scents Both were slick with sweat

The man pushed the woman back against a nearby pink cactus Obligingly some of the stumpy growths of the cacti extended and bound the womanÆs hands She squirmed but it wasnÆt any sort of true struggle The man stepped forward and leaned over her lowering his head to kiss her cheekbone the bottom of her jaw and then her neck The woman released a long sigh and arched her back to press her body closer to him

Um should we say something PullasÆs words came out in a squeak Her skin had steaded reddened with pounding blood until she seemed about to burst

Randidly looked back to the road yea letÆs continue

Unfortunately moving forward didnÆt help Randidly almost wished the mists would come back After the next jump forward they found two furry beast people similarly so intoxicated with each other that they didnÆt even notice the arrival of the trio This time the man sat in a simple stone chair his legs bound to the furniture and his hands tied behind him The woman straddled him tracing her fingers across his brow nose and lips

Growling the man strained at his binding to lean forward and reach her The woman laughed scorching in the heat of its passion and scorn She leaned forward until she was only a short distance away from him and drew her tongue slowly across her lips making them glistened

Is anyone else uncomfortable Xershi said I truly cannot understand the motivations of you fleshy beings

Randidly waved a hand and the group continued forward Truthfully he felt uncomfortable too And vaguely irritated But more than that he had to admit he was drawn to the strange scenes for two reasons One he was trying to understand what exactly the image of the owner of this place was These scenes were the best sort of clues to gather up information before their encounter

Second he looked at these with a strange wistfulness that was difficult to describe A part of him was embarrassed to watch such intimate scenes But another part felt so exhausted and frantic to accomplish his current goals that he didnÆt have much spare emotional space to worry about being a voyeur

But while the first two scenes felt vaguely sexual the third just struck Randidly as strange

How abhorrent For the first time Xershi seemed genuinely disturbed In front of them was a strange many armed silver creature It curled up on its back so its arms began to work and adjust some of the mechanisms of its belly The thing was surrounded by piles of materials and periodically the precise movement of its arms stretched outward to pluck a few to continue its work on itself

It took a bit of observation for the realization to hit Randidly but then he got it this was a machine slowly building itself Once he focused he could see that its torso stretched out and ended in several open metal connectors

Chapter 2015

They eventually moved on from this strange vision as well while Xershi emphatically spoke Such a thing is self indulgent and dangerous It is forbidden for a reason amongst my people Because when you improve yourself you improve your ability to improve even if itÆs by the smallest margin You must begin again spreading out the improvement through the construction And this improvement leads to another as you unspool almost eternally chasing the standardization of that shift No machine ever finishes itself And the results usually begin to become warped A single flaw leads to a horrifying series of shifts that spiral

So there is something that even you are a stickler for Pullas observed earning a glare from Xershi However the distraction let some of the color leak from her cheeks

This is about the natural order He said Such practices are taboo on my home planet due to some very indicative disasters that have occurred in our history

As a group they continued their movements The scenes began to blur together between strange and sensual The three saw a group of individuals beginning to undress and hop in a pale lake As they hurried on the laughter and playful splashes echoed behind them At another bend in the road one humanoid bodily picked up another and carried them off to a nearby cave A fire in the middle of the cave threw long shadows out of the interior so even as they proceeded along the bend those dark silhouettes continued to kiss and choke one another stretched to the point of being a farce on the ground

A series of dull colored slimes pressed their gelatinous bodies together until they began to merge into one giant being A spider laid an egg sack and then began to eat her unborn spawn with sharp mandibles that clicked with each bite A woman with an exaggerated body and wearing only a torn cotton shift lay on a stone dais and panted Each breath caused her chest to rise and her back to arch further

It was around this time that Randidly noticed that while these people were definitely under the thrall of the owner’s image they were real people not projections And more than anything else they seemed to enjoy being a part of the whispering and erotic sighs of this ring

The sky above them began to lighten from wine red toward a blushing pink as the scenes steadily became more explicit Two men in religious robes ripped the clothing off of each other frothing at the mouth Their hands pawed and grasped at each other their slightly paunchy bellies jiggling with each lusty grope

Around the next bend two humanoids were very clearly having sex the woman bent over and supporting herself against one of the pink cacti The manÆs rhythmic thrusts into her caused her swollen breasts to swing and thwap against one another but what truly disturbed Randidly was a younger humanoid stood some distance away just watching them with wide eyes

Randidly pressed his lips together and moved forward Behind him both Pullas and Xershi had stopped making comments to try and lighten the move If anything that had just seemed to give the scenes more power over them The heat of this place spread itself across their skin until they all felt an anxious urge to keep moving RandidlyÆs annoyance was growing but he was an old hand at burying that and focusing on the task at hand They stumbled across a man with an absolute cucumber between his legs just methodically pleasuring himself while looking at the admittedly suggestive wiggle of the pink cacti in front of him

Finally after a long brown centipede walked in a circle and continually ate its own shit the sky lightened all the way to bright white light They passed from the dull ground to an area with soft green grass A white gazebo sat in the middle of the area next to a field that would be perfect for gardening Beyond the field was a small fenced area with a few gravestones likely a family plot

Randidly blinked at the light and heat from the sun It sat low in the sky red and swollen Although this place appeared normal upon first inspection it was clear that most of the influence of the image had just shrunk back into the sun

On the bench in that gazebo was a slight woman who was the source of everything they had walked through Despite the path to get here the finish line was a surprisingly nice place The sort of place Randidly could imagine himself retiring

Good Pullas spoke up suddenly Her eyes flicked up and went to Randidly and then Xershi I was wondering why none of you were reacting to this environment So it is some sort of inner projection That machine in the middle the shelves of books

Wait what do you see Xershi tilted his head to the side To me the area is a sandpit Based on the reverberations a mechanical worm lurks at the bottom A dangerous foe to fight even as a group They terrorize my homeworld

Taboos are powerful things Fiona remarked pulling everyoneÆs attention back to her Randidly made a private note of how profound a transition she went through When she smiled she seemed to glitter and draw the eye But when the expression slackened there was something almost dead about her features An old exhaustion lurked underneath the skin Maybe that more than anything else made Randidly sympathetic to her

Because sometimes he felt that sort of broken blood vessel weariness lurking just behind him

Fiona continued to speak If the road here was one of temptations this is a place that tries to recreate your deepest taboos and give them a concrete form Taboos exist for a reason I donÆt mean to say that you should frivolously break rules and cultural norms Or that you need to address your deepest fears But I also think they create small mental blindspots for yourself ThatÆs why I was curious about what you see A sandworm Fascinating And you miss

This would be a place where I could study and categorize every part of myself Pullas still spoke in a small voice She kept her gaze on the ground But even that low volume made it clear there was a note of yearning in her words If finding a good death is my goal it should be theoretically possible to approach the process scientifically To think about the gears and cogs of my personality traits and instinctual needs and simply trigger them in the correct arrangement Orchestrate my own ideal death But there is a limit to what you can simply dissect and know Better to follow this current path To develop organically

Randidly frowned at Pullas for a long time Something about what she said nagged at him He tried to put herself in her shoes considering her desire for control understanding the appeal of being able to perfectly label and comprehend yourself To want to control so totally In response his First Authority stirred It was intrigued by the idea of dominating itself possessing itself totally pushing itself to the limits

Of course activating the power like that would cause the authority to fight itself Just like the First Authority craved to dominate it would refuse to yield even to itself It was an inherent contradiction that would doom itself If he tried to misuse the ability in that manner

And you Mr Ghosthound Fiona asked

Randidly glanced around feeling rather disappointed in his own tabooÆ Was he missing something It well itÆs just a field really A gazebo a garden a few small graves

Some taboos are more obvious than others You probably had a thought right when you saw the area for the first time Fiona prodded That first instinct will usually guide us Although I also am curious about what the names on those graves are

Focusing his eyes Randidly shrugged The graves are nameless But the area looks intimate like a family cemetery As for my first thought Ha Well I just thought this looks like a nice place The sort of spot I would like to retire to someday

Chapter 2016

Devick had been rather stunned when she got the summons Lady Iellaya had been pale when she delivered the news displaying a rare show of unprofessionalism Considering the circumstances Devick decided to forgive her

Besides she couldnÆt just go around killing good help Not when Randidly Ghosthound seemed intent on doing the same and she burned with pride to see him exercise his power

Now the Actus Suprem thumped her way down the stairs meeting the figure that waited in front of the repaved front area of Military High Command He glowed with an inner flickering light The energy around his body was so dense that his figures were blurred But no one would mistake him

From whatever task he had been gone and handling for the past stretch of time Elhume had returned to the Nexus

Devick eyed him suppressing several bad impulses Even she felt wary when exposed directly to his crushing amount of power He had once reached the Pinnacle albeit by relying on his son Pine But you didnÆt ascend to those heights without learning something about power Its scent lingered on his skin wrapped around his attacks

She dearly wanted to peel off that skin and sniff it searching for an answer Yet she didnÆt dare The fear and the desire warred in her chest infuriating her With a great effort she calmed those emotions binding them with rusted chains

I have a mission ElhumeÆs voice cracked the ground beneath his feet DevickÆs lips twitched now she would need to fix it again or leave the entryway wrecked This was only a projection but one built with a significant portion of ElhumeÆs image As such it only operated at the destroy tier of power It was not a deliberate offense no matter how much it felt like it

This was a tool finished with its previous mission and now being repurposed as it headed back to be reabsorbed Devick felt a great deal of pity for the Swacc Family which hadnÆt been seen or heard from since their sudden actions to reach the Pinnacle This thing had probably been their undertaker

Of course Elhume WhatÆs the mission Devick raised her head She was head of Military High Command Despite her complaints about their leader she had a role to fill

Devick ElhumeÆs voice thundered again Go

Actus Suprem Devick interrupted before she could help herself A bit of her rust colored madness leaked out to push back the force of his voice Elhume paused in his speech He tilted his blurred head to the side Actus licked her lips adrenaline making her flush She had insisted on the title almost unconsciously so used to torturing her subordinates with it over the past few months She felt a shiver of fear followed by a flood of excitement when she considered testing herself directly against the head of the Nexus

She might die but it would be glorious

For a tense moment he considered her Keh Actus Suprem Go to the Sonara Fetch me a particular individual

Devick pleased and simultaneously disappointed he had chosen to ignore the disrespect nodded Of course Elhume Who shall I fetch for you Actually an errant subordinate of mine is currently wandering around there He can perhaps

No Do it personally

Randidly looked down at the stair in front of them His body moved mechanically the pulsing darkness of the Stillborn Phoenix wrapped around him even though it didnÆt need to fight the spatial pressures on the central stairwell After he had revealed what he saw in the space of taboos Fiona had asked him a question Why would retiring be forbidden to you Æ

By that time Pullas and Xershi both mobilized their own images moving with an impressive display of unspoken communication to blast a divide in the line of seven The metal liger rode with the pale light of a good death to sever the targets With the combined image split Randidly lowered himself and accelerate physically clotheslining two and sending their semi liquid bodies careening through the air

Fiona moved next waving away Pullas and Xershi as her block form shot to combat the remaining group of three After exchanging a glance Pullas and Xershi shot after the remaining two from where Randidly had plundered his own opponents

RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up at the corner Fighting against only one opponent Xershi has such a pout on his face

Then he crashed into the ground sending a wave of debris toward his two targets Yggdrasil grasped out immediately and transformed those pieces of broken ground into roots that lashed at the two Behind his back he felt the images of his companions clash against these strange metallic beings

Distantly he could feel a change approaching Something in his heart had cracked in the shift of the Grey Creature’s emotions Drops of heat seeped out into his body

Surprised they might have been by his Nether stopping their image and then Randidly being able to so quickly overpower them physically but they were still powerful warriors in the Sonara Both stabilized almost immediately They created weird waving shapes in the air around them Rather than a concrete image they seemed to be releasing a certain energy frequency Randidly felt it grating on his ears as he pushed forward Chimeric Impunity

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 728

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 729

Randidly almost missed his step as he ripped his way through the image of his opponents The Skill stuttered and activated with a searing bolt of emotion so that he passed through the first layer of their defenses without even seeming to slow His lack of focus meant he crashed into their energy pulses after that but he could rely on his body as he did so

Something shifted in his heart even more noticeable with that overly powerful manifestation of the Grey Creature He could feel it prowling inside of him begging to be utilized again A horrifying heat wafted off of its limbs Weirdly his mind went back to the visage he saw in the area of Fiona This time his attention was drawn by an almost forgotten small detail that red sun hanging low in the sky What he had taken to be the source of her passion now felt lodged in his heart bleeding its overwhelming fire into his limbs

He sucked in a breath and gave in to that bubbling feeling as he crossed the last few meters and then pivoted to face the left of the amorphous metal creatures Waves of grey particles glowing orange at the edges like dying embers began to spiral out from his body The Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock

Congratulations Your Skill the Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock has grown to Level 502

Congratulations Your Skill the Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock has grown to Level 599

The heat rising through him was so intense that he couldnÆt breathe That red sun dripped directly into his bloodstream full portions of solar heat and force Yet a horrible dark undercurrent ran through it as well That negative vindictiveness seized control of his body

Randidly didnÆt have Acri but he didnÆt need it He didnÆt even need his other images or his Nether as a tide of caustic emotions surged up through him Those grey motes from beyond the threshold of pandemonium spun together and condensed into a harsh triangular blade around his right fist He lashed out

Without much resistance he sheared through the opponentÆs image and bisected his body

That river of negative emotions howled for more It required a much deeper river of blood and gore before it would be sated

Chapter 2017

Congratulations You have reached Level 64 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +38 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +56 Health +65 Mana +60 Stamina +6 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

+3 Intelligence Wisdom and Focus +4 Reaction and Grim Intuition

+1 Grim Intuition +1 Reaction +1 Focus and +3 Control per Level

For a second Randidly looked at the notification with a strange sort of suspended feeling The sweltering heat had gotten to his head Acri unwrapped itself from his waist keening an apologetic song Even his living weapon hadnÆt been able to keep up with the sudden burst of emotional force that had surged out of the depths of RandidlyÆs being By the time it had reacted the Ghosthound had already lashed out

Even more ominously he had instantly gained enough experience to be 72% of the way through his next Level A little bit of extra value as immaterial as it might very well be was wasted

He had delayed getting Levels to increase his benefits and he still wished to do that Yet his hands trembled with a sudden contradictory desire that horrible river of darkness that flowed from those previously still emotions demanded more They wanted more violence more of a hands on grip upon the death of another being

Randidly almost couldnÆt believe the strange thing had died so easily The Grey CreatureÆs jaw cracked and extended downward revealing bloody teeth inside of RandidlyÆs own face stretched and contorted into something monstrous The Grey Creature had reached within this thing and shattered the source of the energy pulse in a wild slew of murderous rage

The other mercurial being shifting into a more combat ready stance finally dragged his attention to the concrete details of the moment Behind him he felt powerful image reverberations from his companionsÆ struggles They lapped against his back and urged him to a quick finale for the remaining foe His body continued to burn as he lowered Acri into a battle stance His images spun together into a figurative guillotine Wicked Waltz of Tartarus Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil The Vindictive Chimera Smites

He exploded into motion with enough potency that the ground cracked His three images harmonized perfectly in shape but that abrupt and scalding darkness within the Grey Creature tried to tear the triplicate image to pieces demanding a monopoly of this sacrifice Luckily his other images could make up the slack Yggdrasil could stabilize the combination while the Stillborn Phoenix gobbled up the excess violence that the Grey Creature breathed out

It was a strange feeling swimming in another strange feeling as his three images fought against one another

His weapon pierced easily through the energy barrier this being tried to throw up in front of him Once AcriÆs tip was lodged inside its body he let the Grey Creature run wild His other images took a respectful step backward It sated itself by rampaging back and forth through the semi liquid body curdling the substance until it oozed and rotted in a puddle on the ground

RandidlyÆs shoulders heaved His breaths felt humid and swampy In only a few seconds both of his opponents lay dead on the ground in front of him Just like sometimes his Nether Core stuttered in its rotations that’s how he currently felt barely able to keep his balance about to collapse disastrously off keel and reelings

Yet the present marched forward He turned to the other confrontations Xershi had seized the upper hand and Pullas was just now slaughtering his own opponent Over on FionaÆs side she had somehow annihilated one of the silver creatures and was toying with the final two Randidly forced his breathing to calm down The brand of emotional violence seared his ribs but he could begin to ignore it

Because weirdly he felt a flash of insight He knew what he wanted to do and could do

Pullas Xershi I need you to protect me for a bit RandidlyÆs voice sounded strained to even his own ears He sat down in a meditative position next to the remnants of the silver creatures and took several deep breaths All the semblance of control he had managed with the Grey CreatureÆs emotions had vanished the freed emotions transforming into a beast that was a thousand times more destructive and vicious

This is a dream Randidly More than anything else Sydney sounded tired as she observed him with cold eyes Why canÆt I actually be here also dreaming

That made him pause He shrugged ThatÆs definitely true So

Let me say my piece Sydney held up a hand I well honestly IÆve blamed you for the way things went down with Ace For the convoluted situation that ended up making Drake an invalid for a year and a half That I admit it wasnÆt fair even if you are the reason that everything became so twisted up in the first place But the reason it was twisted wasnÆt because of anything you did not directly It was because I could see you trying to change and succeeding You grew I I was just so jealous of that I wanted to change but found myself making the same mistakes over and over again Each time I was quite unfair to you

Sydney took a step closer to him her posture stiff Randidly eyed her but she just slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around him She leaned forward her touch extremely light barely squeezing him You were the constant in my life for so long but one that I think we would both admit wasnÆt healthy When you began to shift I spent too much time expecting you to remain constant And then I was cruel to you for your steps forward IÆm so sorry

Randidly blinked Then a small smile came over his face admittedly in a small deflection of the emotional honestly she showed This is much easier than I expected considering the weird dream setup

Sydney pushed him back and smirked IÆm the first door Randidly And IÆm really just a way to get at an old truth youÆve been avoiding for most of your life Anyway here take this For listening to my feelings and for bringing me to a place where I wonÆt be too embarrassed to be honest youÆve earned it

She held up her right hand In it a card floated

But Randidly shook his head I can vaguely guess what that contains

A memory of mine showing how I saw your mother treat you Sydney stated it clearly Her eyes were sharp For all my sins against you hers were

Randidly continued shaking his head a different certainty growing I admit that is probably what I need to work on the problem with my image But right now I want to help a friend I want another memory from you The one

The water balloons right Jeez you are so Sydney grimaced Maybe you really havenÆt changed that much You realize that addressing this issue you have will be much more difficult without this memory right

Randidly knew even if he preferred not to think about it No that was exactly why it would be hard But in the end he thought about PullasÆs expression as she climbed lost and doubting herself They had only known each other for a short time but there was one thing that Randidly knew for sure

He would rather face his suppressed murderous rage from the Grey Creature a thousand times than swim again in the self hatred he experienced when he wanted to help a friend but couldnÆt

Sydney scrunched up her nose She held up her other hand producing another card You are seriously incorrigible Here take both But just take better care of yourself alright

Applause You have obtained the Memory Visions of BalloonsÆ

Applause You have obtained the Memory Visions of Emilee (1 of 5)Æ

Chapter 2018

Congratulations +1 MuseÆs Reverie

Weird that I get the Attribute before I even look at the memory Randidly thought to himself as he opened his eyes and returned to the Sonara He quickly scanned the area It looked like Xershi Pullas and Fiona were just now finishing a fight against fourteen of the silvery beings Based on the sweat on their brows and craters in the surrounding area Fiona had been telling the truth when she said they were much more difficult when allowed to use their combined image

Perfect timing Xershi panted and rubbed a hand across his gleaming forehead But he seemed to be positively glowing from a long battle He raised his arms and flexed Now that IÆve proven myself itÆs time to make our Ascension Pact and move

Not quite yet Randidly shook his head He beckoned to Pullas Pullas can I show you something ViiSiit for latest novels

What is it The blue haired woman tilted her head to the side

Just a bit of life Randidly replied

Pullas mulled that over her face shifting back to some of that uneasiness from earlier Perhaps even now she replayed her abrupt decision to follow him and Xershi on their dash up the Sonara Then she nodded But as she walked over Fiona stepped forward Okay I feel the need to remind you that they will now be sending three parties at us this time Three is also a powerful number for them They

Will be stopped by you Randidly said feeling genuine faith in this stranger He looked at Fiona for several seconds so that her winning smile disappeared and that deadness spread across her eyes and face He nodded heavily sure of his pronouncement No one could carry that horrible exhaustion without a burning engine it was the same sort of forward thrust he possessed to resist the pull of Entropy He felt currents of significance swirling around him Yea you can handle it We are going to be an unusual Ascension Pact With unusual demands But the reason you fit amongst us despite despite how dangerous you are is because your demands are a bit crazy too

Plus IÆll be here to help Xershi flexed his bicep Now that IÆm all warmed up nothing can stop me

Fiona held his gaze for several long seconds The massive and glacially slow gears of her personality spun her thoughts grinding forward through this problem Eventually she nodded Randidly looked back at Pullas She seemed tentative as he gestured for her to sit down next to him He pulled out the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night reached out and gripped her hand then pulled her into that world of chimes to access a particular memory

Obviously he had his own version but he needed SydneyÆs side too in order to help Pullas Part of it was being alone up until that last moment The scene formed around him just as he remembered it

It was night The air was cool but May had been warm enough that year that they only needed to wear light jackets when they snuck out after midnight Above the entrance to the middle school a single light remained on illuminating the door metal double doors The rest of the parking lots recess area and outdoor cafeterias were submerged in darkness The only exception was the lazy fireflies clinging to the grass and buzzing around the air in the surrounding fields

Below that light above the door you felt suspended in an entirely different world For two teenagers wanting to escape their lives SydneyÆs idea had been a stroke of genius And also vaguely nonsensical

It had been at the end of middle school in the best years for Randidly and SydneyÆs relationship They had planned this for weeks driven by one of SydneyÆs insane epiphanies about life And Randidly couldnÆt have been sure but even though she had wanted it so badly something in her attitude changed when he had worked so hard and gotten this dream for her

He heard her grumbling and then the scrape of her shifting the plastic container Even through the pain of containing his emotions his palms tingled Because from this angle with the light directly above you couldnÆt see anything You were blind The waiting was one of the best parts of the crazy idea And suddenly

Red blue yellow green orange the water balloons that had been painted into one shade by the darkness were suddenly thrust onto the stage of their own brilliant colors as they tumbled down They rushed past the light each grabbing his attention with their sudden arrival For a moment the first arrivals undulated and tumbled held in stasis by the brainÆs ability to make itself think it had been watching for longer than it had Each seared themselves into RandidlyÆs eyes a shock of vibrancy

Then reality caught up and the brainÆs tricks ran out More balloons tumbled down the first brightly colored leaders hitting the ground and sending wet splashes onto his pants Randidly grinned adrenaline pumping at the weird unexpected transgression they had made just for these few moments of

Randidly jumped as the plastic bin fell down too banging off the light and falling into the bushes He winced that hadnÆt been a part of the memory But he still felt too much childish enjoyment to really care Water dribbled down the steps carrying little scraps of rubber down with them Allowing himself a private laugh he went back through and climbed to the roof There he clapped Pullas on the shoulder Okay your turn

He positioned himself why she made a much slower journey through the unfamiliar school Randidly blinked several times trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness Flashes of color and the burned spot on his retina where he had stared up at the light lingered with him

When on the ground Pullas moved to the x and looked up She squinted unable to look directly through the light with her childish body Okay letÆs just do it

Randidly shifted the second bin of water balloons Being up top was a different sort of enjoyment than being on the bottom You had the control And while below you were blind up here you could see the person clearly a spotlight blazing upon their target He tilted the bin The water balloons began to roll and fall

He saw PullasÆs eyes go wide as the first tumbled into the halo of light and lit up with a rich purple Weirdly she took an instinctive step forward

Which meant the first smacked and popped against her shoulder even as two dozen more rained down on her She didnÆt even flinch just goggling at the unexpected sensation of cold water

Randidly hurried down to the ground floor feeling the first threads of doubt about bringing Pullas here Those doubts inflamed the continued pounding of the heat in his ribs As he moved he collected the two paperbacks even if it was just a memory he couldnÆt bear to leave these remnants of his childhood He found her underneath the light still her hair dripping and covered in the remnants of popped balloons

Pullas looked at him her expression unreadable Why did we do this

Randidly suppressed another burning stab of pain To feel alive

Pullas looked down beginning to shiver It was warm enough to be out but not when you were partially soaked Then a smile split her face Heh Well I definitely feel something What a queer way to live I wonder I wonder what sort of death I will have now that IÆve experienced this How unexpected I was right to follow you even a surprising event even a surprising death can be illuminating if it is one that happens in the richness of life

She looked at him her smile fading Thank you This was a good memory You noticed I was in doubt You put us in danger because you wished to help me to address my own issues Ahem I will remember this favor and repay you in kind someday Mr Ghosthound

Chapter 2019

Randidly pulled himself and Pullas out of the memory The chimes within the Fatepiece run softly almost as though they were sorry to see them go One in particular released a mournful toll warning Randidly of the dangers of continuing to look away from his emotional truths He had justifications enough to ignore it for now

The duo returned to that land of silver flowing creatures with soft smiles on their faces The happiness and strange separated world of the memory lingered with them for a few moments Of course the violent emotional affect of the Grey Creature reappeared as soon as he felt the ground beneath him

Randidly turned his focus inward I see you I know how upset you are ItÆs not like itÆs not like I donÆt understand where all this comes from I lived through those few years too

Why didnÆt you do anything The Grey Creature howled and tore at the inside of his body Why did you just sit there

She was my mother Our mother Randidly replied but it sounded like a thin excuse even to him The Grey Creature stalked back and forth its impotent fury scalding him from within But being acknowledged as usual robbed the image of its agonizing venom The pain gradually receded as it settled into gurgling stillness

He couldnÆt help but sigh It was a problem delayed but not solved Still Randidly was buoyed by the pure smile of joy he had seen on PullasÆs face He had wanted to help her and had done so If he was honest with himself he was quite proud of how far he had come

He had to prioritize one over the other and he didnÆt regret his decision

Randidly glanced around The ground around where he had sat with Pullas had been even more thoroughly demolished than his first break Huge canyons had been carved into the ground and the electrical storm in the sky had dimmed to just a weak pulse of static However it quickly became clear that the development of this defensive effort had gone slightly different from the previous one

Fiona stood about twenty meters away covered in wounds with her shoulders heaving In the sundered ground around her the bodies of the silver creatures dribbled away through the cracks and disappeared Xershi was looking at her with an intense gaze that was somewhere between wariness and a crush You who are you

Fiona obviously She grinned manic and wild with enough force that Randidly felt that inner light that she sometimes released burning itself into his retinas He blinked it away but that lingering phantom made him take XershiÆs perspective extra seriously

If you are that strong why do you need us to help you with this Duulys Ambar Xershi said bluntly What help can we be to someone like you

Some things cannot be accomplished with power FionaÆs light extinguished itself a torch dropped down a hole in a frozen lake Her shoulders drooped She looked over at Randidly and Pullas Well since you are finished with your business we should move on Talented I may be but we shouldnÆt push our luck here against another group

Just a moment Come here for a quick second Randidly said even as he steadied himself In his inner world he stared down the wrathful Grey Creature for a bit longer he would its help for his next impulse Feeling confident after assisting Pullas he forcefully recognized it without looking away for even a moment Gradually its pacings became less violent The emotions swirled down and settled in his chest Releasing a sigh Randidly looked at the new allies he would have for this Ascension Pact His Nether Core began to stir We should make this official

Xershi the wild challenger

Pullas the organized death fanatic

And finally Fiona a powerful woman who oscillated between a thousand volts and a pit of exhaustion

Somehow the gushing tide of significance was growing Even RandidlyÆs senses were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the energy One part of Randidly urged him to be careful because he was clearly missing something either about one of his companions or the Sonara itself

But he instead offered a fatalistic grin he was committed at this point

Pullas went first IÆll discover a perfect death

Xershi snapped his fingers even as Randidly struggled to manage the blast of connection that wrapped themselves between the four figures IÆll climb all the way to the top and discover the purpose of this place

FionaÆs eyes were gaunt and on the ground Randidly continued to frantically weave designing and projecting the Nether Ritual He could barely remain conscious being bludgeon by more and more Nether Each breath left him reeling Seeing she wouldnÆt speak first he cleared his own throat His mind lodged on the first impossible task that occurred to him The words tumbled out of his mouth IÆll grow strong enough to survive the forces that enclose a universe

That brought FionaÆs gaze snapping upward Then she began to laugh Well isnÆt this a merry crew Fine then I will bind myself in the same way even if IÆve the shortest to go An impossible task I will meet and forgive my husband Duulys Ambar

The four promises spun together Randidly released a low groan barely able to control the Nether Ritual even with the help of his images It swelled and ballooned upward until it seemed to fill the entire ring around them The movement of energy tugged along the wind until a whirlwind howled on every side

Notifications began to pop up in front of Randidly

Synchronicity detected Due to the approach of a great accomplishment your Skill Precise Nether Ritual is evolving

For a moment Randidly felt the seething fury of the Grey Creature fixate on the misbehaving energies Glad for any sort of target for its wrath its emotional intensity rapidly shot upward It urged him to use the First Authority to Seize control of the situation

A small smile danced across his face Sorry buddy not this time Nether Rituals donÆt work that way

Despite a veritable bomb of Nether swirling and condensing in front of Randidly he released his grip on the energies For a second the tight sphere bulged and warped as though it could only collapse underneath its own force But the connections between Randidly Pullas Xershi and Fiona drifted down across the surface Immediately the unstable Nether Ritual transformed

The sphere was a seed Ripples of energy spread outward blasting away the wind Finally Pullas and Xershi noticed that this Ascension Pact was quite unusual The seed sunk into the fabric of existence and began to sprout

Meanwhile Randidly looked at the final notification in front of him

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has evolved into Yearnings of the Nether Heir Skill Levels will be maintained

Chapter 2020

Amongst the residents of the Sonara it was a mark of pride for an individual or group to produce a caliber of reaction that could shake the entire construction To generate a ripple of such magnitude that it could be felt across the whole of the great work The tight seals on each ring meant that it required a certain frequency of importance a forceful permanence to the image to escape a floor and run rampant across the whole Beyond a single ring most actual images were halted after a half dozen or so rings in both directions

Yet on that particular day individuals paused and looked up across the entire Sonara as an unexpected sensation lapped up against almost everyone Nether tickled against their skin whispering that the impossible would soon descend upon the Sonara Several flinched back from the feeling worried about how this new energy would affect their image However there was also a large contingent that watched the development with interested eyes

The Sonara was an old retrofitted thing The current status quo was one of uneasy peace between several established groups and the ambitious youths The pulse of significance that swept up through the different layers was an echo of a forgotten discarded purpose

Yet it struck a chord in a lot of the hearts that heard

Stepping into the first ring Actus Suprem Devick paused as she marched up the central staircase on ElhumeÆs mission She stilled as she felt the wave of Nether for her how could she not sense who had created this working How could she mistake the pointlessly bold energy of her son

She raised her head with a bright smile on her face My my my Looks like the fun is getting started without me Maybe this trip into this coffin will be more fun than I thought

Nether bounced off the bottom of the Sonara and even began to echo back up across the layers The deluge of unexpected energy suppressed the image static almost clearing out the detritus that had been strewn across the construction after two hundred years Unintended though it might have been the powerful Nether Ritual cleansed the Sonara Waves down and up carried Nether extinguishing the near constant hum that infested the joints between rings

The group of four had borrowed the unconscious goal of this place but not without giving to the mysterious Sonara in turn

On the tenth floor Duulys Ambar also paused in his movements Some idiotic newbie to the Sonara lay slumped in front of him the dents of DuulysÆs knuckles reshaping his face into a particularly gruesome canyon When the wave of Nether had passed the first time he had only felt a keen sense of anticipation this Randidly Ghosthound seemed more and more interesting the longer he ran free through the Sonara

But on the second major wave washing across his body most of the GhosthoundÆs grip on the energy had been wiped away by its passage through the floors Underneath his actual quarry Duulys sensed the presence of a very familiar figure standing at the GhosthoundÆs side

Duulys AmbarÆs face twisted released his grip on the unfortunate soul and let the body crumpled to the floor He rushed to the staircase and began to climb as quickly as he could He could not let them beat him back to his seat of power

The Nether waves didnÆt only travel down but also burned their way up Spreading up through the Sonara was more difficult but the vein of significance the foursome touched upon had been waiting for a thousand years for someone to tap into its vague purpose With raw volume the pressurized Nether blasted up similarly annihilating all the broken scraps of images that hummed around the edges of the idle Sonara

On the fiftieth floor a sleeping guardian began to stir The mechanisms around it continued to click and hum gathering and observing an illuminated and sealed tube in the middle of the ring Around that central guardian the other defenses increased the frequency of their patrols

On the seventieth floor a very old man sat up from his napping spot in a field of wild daisies A wind blew the swaying flowers setting the field to rustling around him The sun was warm He smacked his lips and then rubbed his hands together Is it finally time What a delightful surprise I assumed IÆd be trapped here until Solomon got off his ass and came back to claim his kingdom

Finally up on the second highest floor the pulse of energy had turned faint before an ancient and unforgiving image Something nearly absolute a philosophy that brooked no argument Almost all of the momentum had been lost as Nether burned its way through this image All of the extra had been stripped away so the wave of energy lapped up on the floor with all the presence of a whisper pleading for mercy A few fireflies wiggled their abdomens and flew in lazy circles around a gloomy mausoleum

Pullas gulped and said what they were all thinking All the image static is gone

We released a pulse of Nether Fiona said slowly A big one When we created our Ascension Pact Even I was shocked by the power I felt but I wondered if perhaps it was just because it had been a while since I fought against a true being of Nether If the Nether we released had enough juice to clean out all the broken pieces of images lingering in the Sonara

Without a smile on her face FionaÆs expression remained bleak But the meaningful gaze she cast RandidlyÆs way prickled his skin He could only smile and shrug he hadnÆt meant for so much significance to get tied up in their promises Stepping on what force waiting in the Sonara was an accident

At least it means the way up is clear Xershi said So letÆs hurry

The four accelerated upward Randidly relieved he could just use his body without straining his mind The Engraving on the staircase began to accelerate their movements porting them across the impassable amount of distance when he received a message from Neveah There has been a development with the Patron of Feathers

Immediately Randidly felt submerged in ice He had no regrets about entering into an Ascension Pact with his group but he had been quite worried about the speed of their assent Even acknowledging how close to his limit he pushed himself he wouldnÆt be able to claim that he hadnÆt lingered for them Is she still managing

Better than managing Whatever you did recently with Nether well shortly afterward her condition began to stabilize You donÆt need to torture yourself as much as you climb At this rate she will be able to hold on for about a month

For a split second Randidly was stunned Then he replied with an only slightly annoyed message If everything was going well why did you send such an ominously phrased message

He could feel Neveah sniff Dramatic effect

Groaning Randidly shook his head But he did feel a bit of the tension that had become just a part of him in the past few days begin to ease A month He could work with a month considering it had taken him only two days to make it a fourth of the way up the Sonara He flexed his arms and rolled his shoulders He looked up and studied the surrounding Engravings a bit more closely Almost immediately something else caught his attention

Without the extra images bombarding him in these boundary areas he could feel the fullness of the air that so benefitted images in the Sonara It was the equivalent for acoustics for singing as his images moved within him there seemed to be a hinting of extra depth and flavor to what he produced If he manifested them here for an extended period of time their impression in his mind would slowly grow to possess that extra weight LIkely it would continue to deepen as his impression of his own images improved

Randidly looked up as they approached the next barrier Anyone dangerous on the other side

Fiona waved her hand With an extra boost of Stats and with four of us On the heels of that pulse of energy the next several floors will probably skedaddle out of our way And if they donÆt IÆll carve a path

Hey Xershi grumbled His eyes had a maniacal gleam to them His servos buzzed in his joints DonÆt hog all the fun for yourself

Randidly felt pity to whichever resident in the Sonara was chosen by Xershi to prove that he too could be impressively powerful

Chapter 2021

As Fiona had suggested the next several floors passed in a blur that was less business and more just a series of journeys The group moved through alien landscapes and idyllic valleys depending on the proclivities of the ring owners However they rarely needed to fight

Xershi eventually insisted that they make a stop on a floor where the owner flared its image to intimidate them but made no move to actually engage The only reason Randidly agreed is that the image in question was of a torrential downpour Even just flaring the image made the journey much more difficult and obnoxious So the liger got his duel

After ten minutes of howling winds and sitting while getting slapped in the face by fat drops Randidly Pullas and Fiona greeted a swaggering Xershi The clouds parted revealing a gloomy yellow moon They headed toward the next ring ignoring XershiÆs bragging

The combination of the empty lands and the slight ease in RandidlyÆs tension due to NeveahÆs message made him spend more time taking advantage of the traveling With a lowered pace he could keep himself fresh and do some extra training The Ascension Pact paused every two floors to rest and make a meal In the downtime afterward eating Randidly allowed his images to spread out and boom throughout the beneficial Sonara space

The roots of Yggdrasil dug deeper into the fabric of existence with this deeper echo The Grey Creature became blurred at its edges as though it wore a cloak of woe that unwound space with its presence Yet while the details shifted to their new form the fire that burned at the heart of the image grew increasingly intense The hungry pull of the Stillborn Phoenix became monstrous making even RandidlyÆs companions uncomfortable with its dangerous proximity

He also began to press forward to the goal of his impossible task relying on his Fatepiece He activated the next layer and doggedly forced himself to experience the forces at the edge of a universe

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 799

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 62

In the end this particular training session didnÆt last very long

Randidly trembled as he released the Fatpiece and fell panting to his knees He had contacted Raymund and received his Charlotte and weirdly HelenÆs assistance in bearing the earlier portions of the Fatepiece All of the electromagnetic layers and the first half of the light radiation were handled Randidly just had to deal with Entropy and the newest layer the Ivory layer of the Fatepiece Spatial Collapse

The pressure of this newest layer was difficult to endure partially because it was more of a mental strain than a physical one At least it manifested in that way

The best way Randidly could understand it was that some internal scaffolding of his body was removed underneath that force Or he remained a three dimensional being but he was only playing at being one He was a paper mache version of himself ready to fold back to his true two dimensional form if he made any sudden movements Unexpected stimuli made him spatially collapse on himself

Randidly wiped the sweat off his brow and sat back on his heels It takes a lot of mental balance to resist those folding forces and heh IÆm lucky my Stats are already so high If not a mistake here would be catastrophic instead of just gruelingly painful

His organs which had been blended by the vicious forces of the Fatepiece dutifully pieced themselves back together His breathing eased

Ready to move Fiona asked with a small smile on her face

Randidly nodded and stretched Sure in a few minutes You said the next ring will be dangerous

Fiona nodded The other two gathered around to listen By this point the glow from XershiÆs jealousy for the spotlight and subsequent fight had worn off Yes the thirty third ring Well I cannot be sure that heÆs still there But these are the floors where the old monsters linger They are content with the effect of the Sonara at these rings and donÆt bother to fight against Duulys for the highest spot But this one in particular always liked Duulys And because of that

Mr Ghosthound I believe I have figured out the purpose of this sigil I bear It is exactly the sort of knife that will cause this overgrown maggot to bleed FionaÆs smile returned brilliant and cruel as she twisted to look over her shoulder However I believe you will need to bear the cost of its activation Is that fine

Randidly felt rather bewildered His eyes went to the Stillborn Phoenix tattoo swirling on FionaÆs shoulder Ultimately he nodded He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible and Fiona didnÆt seem like the type to exaggerate Plus he had sensed some hidden features of their bond but hadnÆt figured them out

He was very interested in her method He felt it as soon as she began as Nether began flowing between their tattoos Randidly gritted his teeth she pulled quite a bit of Nether to fuel the ability in her Stillborn Phoenix His Nether Core revved itself as fast as it would go trying to keep up with her demand Flames of Nether Weight began to sparkle in FionaÆs bright irises

Bravado Cheh how cheap Yuroach began to mock her right as she unleashed the ability of her tattoo All four tattoos glowed as she did so Randidly might be fueling the process but it relied on them all to activate Both Xershi and Pullas showed a pained expression as they bore their portion of the strain

Little pieces of them all spun together A hidden mechanism activated RandidlyÆs skin tingled the pattern of Nether she triggered bore the shape of the Stillborn Phoenix but it felt strange and dangerous even to him

Scrambling backward amongst his clones Yuroach raised his voice Hum So some sort of Nether method Pah No matter what you attempt you are and always will be a failure

The rotating blackhole tattoo pulsed on FionaÆs shoulder almost as though it had heard his words Then it popped off becoming concrete It rapidly swelled outward devouring FionaÆs body even as RandidlyÆs eyes widened in alarm Light and energy were quenched and consumed by the rapidly spreading pattern

His expression rapidly fell as the effects of this working became clear This unfolding Nether pattern contained all of his understandings conscious and unconscious about the process of Entropy The chill crept into his limbs less any sort of temperature feeling and more a horrifying eternal stasis seeking to claim him

He drew a deep breath through his nose but that didnÆt provide much context either The darkness ate its way outward spreading from Fiona to the ground and then to the surrounding stones Absence yawned open lazy and dangerous Information about this ability wasnÆt easily allowed to escape Randidly looked into the darkness and had only a vague idea of what his fellow pact member had unleashed

Despite his throbbing headache and still strained Nether Core he zigzagged backward plucking up both Xershi and Pullas as he fled With his high Stats he carried them away from the epicenter of the horrifying void that chunked a huge area out of the Sonara So distracted was he by avoiding that dark entropy that they simply crashed their way through a score of Yuroach clones

All the while the demand on his Nether Core continued to escalate

RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened He cut off the flow of Nether between himself and Fiona The light in their tattoos flickered and died

A horrifying shudder went through the darkness Then unwillingly it collapsed and left a changed world behind

Color had been bleached out of the rocks But even more ominously Aether had been almost entirely sucked away in that central space All the Yuroach clones caught in the darkness had vanished and any sort of image advantage the man had made on the terrain had been scourged clean Images fizzled and buzzed at the edges unable to sustain themselves in this lacking zone

Fiona swayed clearly dizzy and weakened by the same lack of Aether About twenty meters away Yuroach was sitting on his butt and groaning Randidly fed a thin stream of Aether to the air around Fiona trying to provide energy to the woman without revealing his Aether Crossroads However she immediately gave him a thankful smile

She doesnÆt miss much Randidly made a mental reminder to be careful of that He knew through the Nether Ritual they were united while climbing the Sonara but that wouldnÆt last forever

So Yuroach Fiona crooned She pressed her foot to the ground and shattered it her briefly perplexed expression revealed she had forgotten about the boost in Stats that the connection to Randidly gave But she mastered that expression A light step brought her before the insect headed man Let me demonstrate to you what itÆs like to be helpless before a failure

Chapter 2022

For about three minutes Randidly Pullas and Xershi stood back with their arms folded while the fight raged Fiona blasted her way through the weakly manifested waves of YuroachÆs clones the insect head still reeling from having all his Aether sucked away She was a god incarnate violence given free rein to rampage

A boom echoed out as one of her kicks effectively leveled a small stone ridge

YuroachÆs body tumbled like a ragdoll smashed backward by a Fiona that very gleefully took advantage of the extra Stats fed through the tattoo She flickered from one position to another gradually growing accustomed to the extra oomph to her strikes and movements She left small craters in her wake the footsteps of a giant evidencing her fury Yuroach retreated further out of the zone affected by the Stillborn Phoenix tattoo He took refuge amongst the ranks of his clones his image gradually beginning to recover

However this just gave Fiona the opportunity to unleash her own image on him The seduction sighs and whispers of taboo slithered outward from her bright eyes Amongst the mass of Yuroachs some began to twitch and swell their bodies turning an angry red Veins pulsed along their temples These forbidden mutations roared and aimed their aggression at their creator destabilizing the solidarity of YuroachÆs image from within

With these turncoats rampaging through the ranks Fiona could once against blast forward through the defensive groupings and drive her fist into YuroachÆs chest His body bounced off the ground his mandibles frantically clicking as he twisted midair and tried to stabilize himself

Yet the fight continued to drag longer and longer FionaÆs hits on Yuroach grew more infrequent the effect of the tattoo dissipated The ground remained bleached but energy once again flowed in the space Fiona clashed against his wide unified image but gradually it once more began to fill the surrounding environment Having owned this wing for a long time it appeared the insect man had a natural advantage

The sky began a grappling match of two well developed images with titanic power Yet the momentum began to slide the other way

Even from here the collisions between the two powerful images buzzed against RandidlyÆs skin The depth and solidity of YuroachÆs just happened to be a little more ponderous It was quite well suited to this sort of struggle where it could function offensively while also buffering against FionaÆs more insidious image Randidly clapped his hands to ready himself Alright letÆs not just watch any longer We donÆt want to linger here all day Or let Fiona hog all the fun again

Pullas nodded and Xershi grinned Already the massive metal liger shimmered in the air behind him The three accelerated forward to join the fray Some clones immediately wheeled to face the trio Even as Yuroach slowly got the upper hand against Fiona the ring owner pivoted smoothly and deployed columns of his clones to slow them down

XershiÆs real body sank into the massive image projection a sleek metal predator that rampaged happily through the troops Every swing of its claws bisected limbs and pulped torsos Pullas moved behind him the pale light of her perfect death swaying as it moved forward Randidly noted that her image was being refined quickly as well it now bore a soft smile on the fuzzy face of death The clones touched by her image began to wither at a visible pace

SheÆs moving quickly through image fulfillment and in the best place in the Nexus to practice images Randidly thought I wonder how powerful she will be at the end of our journey

He shook his head and focused on his own opportunity He hung back while the other two carved a path to assist Fiona The remnant troops that hadnÆt been obliterated by the other two turned to face Randidly their faces showing not the slightest response to the deaths of their companions Their soulless unity meant that if all of them hadnÆt died none of them had He waved a hand and both bodies and stone became roots lashing back and forth to smash them

Congratulations Your Skill the First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 892

however the results made Randidly scowl The clones fought his roots to a standstill even as he added more and more Their weapons hacked into the manifestations and two working together could obliterate the grip of his image

His Skill was powerful but even empowered with his Yggdrasil image he was only barely keeping up with a portion of YuroachÆs solid image of unification On this front he still had more ground to make up against the elite of the Nexus He added the glowing life of YggdrasilÆs Plasm Animus to the roots to give them some extra hardiness but the slight edge wasnÆt enough to push forward

Congratulations Your Skill Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 716

RandidlyÆs whole body trembled but he raised his head and showed his teeth broken on and all to Yuroach What you expected this to kill me

Visible surprise flickered across YuroachÆs contenance even through alien insectoid features In the next moment Xershi crashed forward and lashed out with a bladed paw The whole of the metal liger was wrapped in PullasÆs pale light of death resisting the ambient pressure that bled away from the image still suppressing Randidly

Yuroach hopped backward but then Fiona was behind him as he was landing She produced a small grey dagger that instantly registered in RandidlyÆs senses as dangerous this was her Fate and it was a powerful one She slashed at his back even as Yuroach twisted out of the way

Perhaps before the attack wouldnÆt have landed but an additional two hundred and fifty of each Stat was a lot in these tight moments The weapon drew a thin line across YuroachÆs side Randidly saw several fat drops of ruby blood begin to drip out of the wound as the insect man landed and stumbled A larger ripple went through his image as he tried to figure out how to escape

Yet Randidly remained fixated on those drops of blood They paused at the edge of the wound steadily turning the same grey color as FionaÆs dagger Then those drops seemed to turn around and sink back into the wound spreading her image through YuroachÆs body

For a second the insect man just looked at them Then he turned and fled Clones threw themselves into a literal barrier to block their pursuit

Xershi started to prowl after him but Pullas grabbed his arm He is FienaloraÆs foe

Really just call me Fiona Fiona groaned and raised a hand to rub the bridge of her nose I gave up that name a long time ago when I failed my family

Pullas offered an apologetic half shrug so it is inappropriate to pursue him if she does not wish to do so

If we do not strike now wonÆt he just come back and hurt us later Xershi frowned Randidly could practically see the violent emotions pumping through him urging further violence Yet it wasnÆt as though there wasnÆt an appeal to tying up loose ends

Not if we climb fast enough Randidly said slowly convincing also himself as he spoke aloud Besides if we linger too long tying up loose ends we will just be further embroiled in drawn out fights I doubt that Yuroach has grown to this age without getting into certain alliances of his own I donÆt think weÆd be able to handle two such figures

Fiona rolled a hand in agreement clearly too exhausted to speak whatever she had done with her Fate it clearly left her drained Xershi begrudgingly accepted that and the group began to move Randidly didnÆt really relax until they reached the exterior stairwell and began to climb

He glanced once behind him down at the ring owned by Yuroach An image not yet at the image fulfillment stage but incredibly solid from long years of honing here in the Sonara Still not as fearsome as Devick but there are quite a few powerful figures here

His eyes swiveled to look forward and there is still more distance to climb

Chapter 2023

When they reached the thirty fourth floor the group agreed to spend some time resting without any spoken communication They moved apart and made themselves comfortable This ring was a land of clouds the group sitting on a fluffy and majestic cumulonimbus that drifted in a sea of similar masses of water vapor Around them various other forms of cloud drifted back and forth A warm sun greeted them all

He even looked over the edge but no ground was visible This was just a land of sky

For a bit Randidly stood at attention waiting to see the attitude of the owner of the ring to their presence But the sky around them remained still An intermittent wind swept a few clouds back and forth but that was it Gradually he relaxed his guard and focused his attention inward even if he periodically took deep sniffs with his Nether nose to make sure that nothing could sneak up on the group

First Randidly spent some time shoring up the performance of his Nether Core After the drain from the tattoo and then pushing so much Nether into Yuroach the rotations had become unstable At times like this Randidly almost regretted giving back SolomonÆs Penance hidden cost or no He had an inkling of how he could go about forming his own but that was a time investment he couldnÆt afford even with the Patron of Feathers slowing her deterioration

Instead Randidly just ran his mind back through the journey he took to get here The weight of his history had created him and it would sustain him now

His world invaded by the System The Dungeon Meeting Shal returning to his homeworld then traveling afar to Tellus Another return the Raid Dungeon then connecting to the other Zones and dealing with the uneasy politics The struggles against YystrixÆs plots the steady expansion of the connected Zones the founding of Expira Returning to Tellus

Going to the frontlines and finally stepping into the Nexus after years of battles and struggles The shaft Developing a Nether Core integrating his Soulskill with Expira creating the Alpha Cosmos New enemies the Swacc Family and Velio Dunn Commandant Wick

HelenÆs death The loss of the GhosthoundÆs First Knight

Expanding his internal universe Facing a few of ElhumeÆs fists in his attempts to protect the original Patrons Preparing his universe for the possible eventualities of his own failure Now seeking answers about Elhumes past for some clue about how to overcome him in the present

Significance and flames of Nether Weight danced through his body At moments like this he could feel the supernatural composition of himself The mass of Aether the images an entire isolated universe all within and without A Nether Core an edge the event horizon the stretch of iris around an infinitely dense pupil

Randidly opened his eyes His memories had stabilized the flow of Nether through his core even strengthening it slightly Just as he felt a little bit of relief a chime echoed out from the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night A particular memory of SydneyÆs demanded his attention Some of that fire from the Stillborn Phoenix began to stir those emotions quickly rising to the surface

Randidly shook his head in the face of the request Not yet not now

In a way the Grey Creature understood At least it understood how much other benefits he was getting so it eased back and allowed the fury to sink into embers of resentment

For a bit he spent some time honing his images Again the quality of the image training had taken a step forward at this higher ring As evidenced by the gorgeous glittering cloudscape around them the fineness and acuity of the extra depth in the Sonara had increased He visualized his earlier activations of his various Skills moving through each of his images Skill Levels came so easily it almost felt like cheating Most notably a focus on Darkness Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins earned him almost a hundred Levels in a half hour

It was a Skill he hadnÆt polished in a while greatly aided by the sensation of unleashing it and striking such a blow against Yuroach

Randidly glanced up at the glistening tapestry of far off celestial bodies If he was being honest he was more on the Pullas camp for this one Not because of the immaculately spun quality of the starlight which was indeed impressive Or the variety of size and colors amongst the stars so that each meandering look discovered a new impressive cluster

No what won RandidlyÆs approval was the intricate movements his sharp senses picked up This wasnÆt just some painting these different stars existed albeit not on the scale of the actual universe The ring wasnÆt large enough for that But the creator of this place had somehow rigged the sky with the complex interplay of gravitational forces of actual space For a bit Randidly followed the complex organic patterns in the sky

When he felt satisfied that he had learned all he could from this individual Randidly continued to train his images Skill Levels continued to flow easily to him as he focused his efforts on the lowest of his core Skills

It was almost a disappointment to arrive at the edge of the ring and begin to ascend through the exterior stairwell As they rose the group seemed to twitch as one and turn around In the sky behind them a massive swan alighted on a distant cloud and observed their departure Randidly offered the mysterious swan a bow then continued to climb

The next few rings were similarly devoid of any resistance Well aside from the rapid increase in the size of each ring Which gave him more time to hone his images but brought back his worries about the Patron of Feathers

The thirty fifth floor was a massive swamp leaving Randidly to idly make lilypad pathways so he didnÆt have to feel leeches and skittering bugs moving between his toes The size was such that Randidly suspected a small planet could be dropped into this place and within a few years would have sunk completely into the mud

The thirty sixth floor was a series of subterranean caverns Actually there was some minor resistance here from goblin faced locals who inhabited the place Xershi happily massacred any who came to close giving Randidly time to hone the details of the still unruly Grey Creature

This ring was particularly aggravating because they went down as much as they spread out toward the edge of the ring At some point Randidly decided to ignore the tunnels and rip his way forcefully through the ground It took almost a full day to make it to the exterior stairwell and begin to climb Randidly made a silent prayer that this was due to the terrain

But immediately the thirty seventh floor felt different They came out into the interior of a house Randidly pivoted on his heel slowly taking in the many worn tapestries hanging from the long walls and the large fireplace at one end of the room cold and barren of flames

Welcome children Especially you the intriguing Mr Ghosthound Have a seat around the table and let me take a look at you

RandidlyÆs skin crawled at the voice It was honey poured across broken glass brought to your mouth by a rusty spoon He turned further viewing the other end of the room An extremely tall and skeletally thin woman sat at a low wooden table with four empty chairs arrayed opposite her The ceiling was probably three meters up but the womanÆs torso just stretched and stretched so her head was bowed lest it knock against the wooden top of the house Wispy grey hairs hung across her face conspiring with shadows to hide her features

Yet the true reason Randidly felt so uncomfortable remained a mystery for several more seconds Then it hit him it was faint but this woman exuded her own greasy variety of Nether Beyond that a powerful image gripped the room humming as it kept itself from collapsing and squeezing them

His expression twisted Yuroach wanted to monologue once he felt confident he had his image dominating the space but this individual doesnÆt seem the type to make that mistake

The creepy long woman waved an arm the movement starting at her shoulder The thin and lanky limb had more in common with a weeping willow branch being buffeted by the wind than a human motion Now now donÆt be shy All who pass through my domain must have their fortunes read by me Many claim itÆs quite good luck Others

The womanÆs head twisted slightly Even with the hair blocking most of her features it was possible to see she looked at the tapestries And now that Randidly gave them a second look they all depicted various individuals sewn into the fabric with a variety of agonized expressions Well they didnÆt have good fortunes waiting for them anyway I did this for their own good

Chapter 2024

Madam Ouranos there is no need for that Fiona stepped forward to take the vicious gaze of this old monster off the vital heart of their strange Ascension Pact She forced a smile onto her face even though her lips felt like lead Even now she felt almost like she was dreaming traveling and striving like this Like she had when she was younger WeÆve just finished a long journey Why donÆt we have a harmonious meal first and then consider the weighty proposition of a fortune

The gaunt thing swiveled her head to look at Fiona As figures who had passed each other quite often in the past there was quite a bit of animosity between the two of them Not the least because Ouranos didnÆt dare try and look at FionaÆs fortune due to the seductive power of her image For the fortune teller Fiona was her natural enemy

Yet even while she moved to defend him Fiona wondered about her three companions If nothing else allowing them to have their fortunes read would perhaps give her some more information The process of being swept up into the Ascension Pact happened so quickly And the long journeys through the rings gave Fiona time to consider

WasnÆt this too perfect a setup for her revenge against Duulys

No it simply must be now Ouranos remained firm The entire building began to vibrate with her presence A ring thick with her queasy energy began to tighten around this place ready to force the issue Such a talented young man well if he is going to walk toward his death isnÆt it my duty to protect him

What do you mean protect him The brash Xershi stepped forward his fists clenched Fiona clicked her tongue but gratefully let the smile slide from her face Even now she hated herself for defaulting so naturally to that expression it was easier to recede into the background even though waiting there were echos of her uncle

You should smile more

You all are judging my works I can tell Hah it is so difficult to have my kind intentions be so misunderstood Ouranos swayed her entire gloomy body A long arm limply rose stretching so that it could reach five meters across to the wall and brush against one of the hanging tapestries I do them all a favor I check their future if they are fated to soon die isnÆt it better to be woven into immortality here in my home They have each other and me for company it would be a waste to let them die I am generously offering to do the same with the precious

What Ouranos didnÆt say was that she used Nether to try and trap the individuals into a deadly fate Rather than having your fortune read it was this creepy puppet woman chasing you through a metaphysical labyrinth If she caught you before the candles at the table burned out you would become a tapestry However if it was the Ghosthound

Suspicion curdled in FionaÆs gut If he survives the chances that our group can actually overcome Duulys become at least possible But if he survives how can such a useful tool just present itself to me After so many years of misery

Alright letÆs do it Randidly stepped forward right on cue His gaze was quiet and intense But letÆs make it quick I have business higher in the Sonara

Ouranos cackled Ha I love your enthusiasm Now I just hope that fate has similar beliefs in store for you Do not worry the process will only take a few minutes only as long as it takes for this candle to burn down

As the group begrudgingly followed the Ghosthound to the table the womanÆs jaw stretched down almost unhinging itself from her face Fiona felt a profound distaste for everything this monster did but kept it to herself At this point she was almost becoming excited to see the Ghosthound tested A part of her wished he would fail a subtle betrayal down the line unmasked early

FionaÆs hands began to tremble so she hid them under the table

A pale and withered tongue unspooled itself from OuranosÆs dark maw stretching the meter from her jaw to the candle The dry tongue hung limp and swung for a second before the end twisted itself up and snapped creating a spark They sat and waited as the tongue rolled itself back up The jaw clicked back into place

Ouranos leaned forward Her spine creaked like the prow of an old fishing boat Then letÆs begin Peer into the flame child Let your mind float freely I will read your fate in the shadows that dance across your face

Just like that the process began Thin tendrils of her image seeped through the doorframe and windows spinning themselves around to surround the table like a slimy cocoon The GhosthoundÆs eyes went unfocused as that image dominated the space The flame of the candle rapidly grew morphing from a mundane flame to a grey and purple fireball Wax dripped down the side of the candle at a visible speed The two central characters were both frozen locked in a strange connection

FionaÆs trembling grew worse And so what if these fools are just one more dagger in my back IÆm strong enough to handle it IÆm strong enough to kill them all

The other two sat in silence simply observing After about two minutes of waiting Xershi twisted in his seat Are we really just going to sit here while this happened Randidly would make a shitty rug

She felt freer now than she had in four hundred years Which would put her a hair below depressed in her mind But extremely capable a valuable component

Perhaps the comparable age between herself and Ouranos is why she couldnÆt let that abrupt conclusion go But perhaps those last few long journeys across the floors had allowed the newness to fade and the bitterness she had lived with for so long to seep back into her heart

Outside the home was a scenic view of the valley below The Ghosthound had moved off onto a stone outcropping of stone and produced his spear His body flowed cleanly between a variety of stances yet his movements were slow Staring at him for a few seconds Fiona could see this was about patterns he kept repeating variations of the same patterns with his spearhead

Soon she could remain silent no longer The thoughts bounced around her and built up pressure until they exploded out of her mouth How did you manage that

The Ghosthound paused briefly registering her presence His movements soon restarted while he replied What do you mean

That old monsterÆs fortune telling facade aside sheÆs quite capable Her image is insidious and sheÆs one of the few individuals I know that managed to condense something similar to a Nether Core Fiona paused as the Ghosthound chuckled what is that not true And you seem to have turned her ability back on itself ItÆs just a surprise Who the hell are you really

Does it make any difference The GhosthoundÆs movements sped up a bit The air rustled dragged along with his movements it seemed as though he neared the patterns he was searching for However he paused before he found that perfect shape He set the butt of his spear against the ground and turned to look at her That being did not possess a true Nether Core As far as I can tell she relies on the size of this ring to fake its presence she allows a lot of time to pass then uses her image to compress all the significance into her body and hold it there By repeating the process every few years she fakes having a Nether Core For someone with a true Nether Core itÆs easy

The Ghosthound tilted his head to the side Oh are you really suspicious of me

Once he said it Fiona acknowledge it was true She stuck out her chin there was no reason to deny it WeÆve been proceeding extremely smoothly up through the floors Almost too easily I had thought you would be a useful companion to have in the fight against my ex husband but what if you are a trap to lure me out of hiding

The same ex husband you said you would try to forgive The GhosthoundÆs expression was serious

Fiona hid her embarrassment with her most dazzling smile Her cheeks ached to hold the expression That was something said in the heat of the moment swept up in your peculiar Nether Ritual We will see how the actual meeting goes once IÆve destroyed his image and flayed the skin from his body

Randidly Ghosthound looked at her for a long time So long the smile fell off her face Part of the intensity in his gaze did remind Fiona of that uncle she so resented but the main thrust of it was entirely different She started to feel oddly vulnerable as he examined her

Trust is hard He eventually said He reached up and rubbed at his head Honestly IÆm probably not a great individual to talk about this my track record with friends isnÆt great But we donÆt need friendship for this Ascension Pact We speak very little of our own truths so everything we say is entirely honest right

After the first betrayal takes you by surprise you never forget you were just as sure nothing was about to happen then as you are now Probably more so before your innocence was destroyed Fiona freely admitted

Randidly nodded slowly We will listen if you ever want to talk about it For now IÆll just say this Feel how solid the tattoos have become These were woven out of our promises and some lingering energy in the Sonara So just know that the solid result you produced against Yuroach was woven from what weÆve shared

It wasnÆt enough It was obvious he felt awkward in conversations like this and that only made her tenser Fiona felt her insides tearing themselves to pieces with worry Yet her pride made her turn away and walk back toward the house

She stopped and looked back at him What

Do you really want to know how I did it Overcame her Nether Randidly said He raised his spear and drew an elaborate S in the air Weirdly the wind seemed to become more excited spinning around his weapon

Fiona nodded

Chapter 2025

Randidly traced Acri through the air in a particular pattern utilized by Ouranos as he considered how he wanted to describe the interaction In truth the explanation was just a pretext Something in his heart whispered that he couldnÆt let Fiona walk away with that sort of feral expression The Grey Creature stirred as it looked at her her emotions were building toward a conclusion just as wild and violent as RandidlyÆs own dark finale

Or perhaps this is empathy He wavered slightly then refocused He wasnÆt good at this but what he suddenly realized he also wasnÆt good at was explaining the way Nether worked to outsiders He bit his lip as Nether flowed through him

At this point it had become a physical part of his new body Nether traveled through him with its particular sensations and patterns It came in through his nose and ran along his veins beside the blood Telling Fiona about how greasy and inconsistent OuranosÆs pathetic attempt at Nether had been wouldnÆt hold her attention for long It would also miss a lot of the nuance of why her pattern had been so weak

He drew the S shape one more time This Madam Ouranos did have a unique way of utilizing Nether But it was ultimately a simple game of cat and mouse If I had to describe it that candle between us connected our minds and placed us within a flowing river Her capability allowed her to peer through that river and reverse its flow in unpredictable ways so she could drag my fortuneÆ to where she wanted it along the bank At a particularly dangerous location she had prepared with her image

Randidly traced several variations on OuranosÆs patterns very quickly Each produced a slightly different response from the world sending wind howling away or pulling it to spin around Acri OuranosÆs method was interesting but it felt wrong to RandidlyÆs senses And considering how easily he had overcome her he was inclined to trust his senses Even as he sank into his memories he made other attempts to improve his rendition

He had been taken to a cavernous maze when his consciousness flowed into that flame alone in the dark with the long and gloomy passages Yet a single breath through his nose had given him a picture of the entire area He had sensed about twenty floating eyeballs oozing pus and searching for him He rapidly traced out the passages around him her coverage honestly wasnÆt that impressive If one was lucky or moved quickly it was easy to avoid them as they honed in toward his position

If you had an accurate picture of the area and didnÆt panic that is

Yet as he examined him he felt discovered her subtle pull to guide him to his death Her interference was slightly annoying He clicked his tongue as he examined her eyeball images Even for him looking directly into those floating pus drippers would have been a dangerous thing

How do you beat a river Fiona asked in a whisper pulling Randidly back to the present

He cleared his throat Well the metaphor is imperfect but essentially

Randidly had gone to a dead end and waited allowing them all to come closer The pattern affected movement but couldnÆt force him walk Soon all of his escape routes were filled Still he watched gathering more and more of an impression of the pattern Ouranos utilized And as they turned down that final passage Randidly had unfolded his current position fueling the change in perspective with his Nether Core

The dimensions resisted for a second due to that pattern but his powerful Nether obliterated that resistance Suddenly he was at the end of the passage and all the eyeballs were bumping uncomfortably into one another in the dead end As they twisted around he folded space again leaving them trapped in a dark room with no exist only able to look at each other

if she controlled the river I controlled the landscape around it Randidly finished drawing another tight spiral The ground hummed beneath his feet he was getting closer to the correct execution I twisted the river around so it flowed into itself in a circle and couldnÆt reach the place she wanted to go And now sheÆs stuck there

Stuck how FionaÆs frown deepened What method did you use

Honestly no fancy method Randidly felt a tickle of insight He turned his eyes up to the sky unwilling to look at her directly as he tried his best to give some help Well if I had to put it simply there are two types of individuals IÆve encountered since getting involved in Nether People who create patterns and people who are patterns

The drawn rune hung in the air negative energy discharging as crackling lightning around it Randidly frowned as it lingered without his prodding continuing to persist and draw in more Nether The significance below it began to develop Gradually an entire system of energy began to develop

He cut off its connection to him before it could develop further For another few minutes it persisted before running out of steam and collapsing Randidly watched it the entire time his skin crawling For a while he was confused by why a shape held such persistent meaning but a stirring within the core of his significance revealed it

That shape had been the Authority of a dead Nether King He wondered for a bit whether Ouranos had slain one herself (which seemed unlikely) or whether she had just witnessed the demise of one He felt oddly sad as he drew the symbol again letting it persist for a while From its shape it seemed like he could allow it to persist and turn into a minor variety of Nether Prince

With the war against the Nether happening so long ago how much information was lost Randidly wondered How much about this growing Nether Core will I have to stumble through without direction As far as I know only one Nether King remains

which probably means it is very important that I donÆt reveal the fact that I now have a Skill that implies I am a Nether Heir RandidlyÆs face turned serious I have a feeling that Elhume didnÆt just engage in the systematic eradication of powerful Nether figures for fun

However in the end being hinted as a Nether Heir was only one of a half dozen reasons Elhume would probably kill him if he had his full information

Those issues were for later For now he released a long breath and took advantage of the wonderful image environment He stretched out a bit and then began putting his images through their paces

Yggdrasil grew taller spreading its shadow across the entire ring The green of its leaves deepened and the patterns across its trunk began to caper happily The Stillborn Phoenix gobbled up the scraps of OuranosÆs image and her dirty and poorly refined Nether happily repurposing everything she had accomplished into its fuel In its manifested state the Egg of DepressionÆs size continued to creep outward The Grey CreatureÆs jagged edges sharpened and bled becoming a constant source of dull pain in RandidlyÆs heart Its flesh bubbled and curdled melted from within by the fires of his emotion

Yet Randidly didnÆt try and slow down its dangerous shift He simply observed acquiescing to its desires

IÆll look at your truth I havenÆt forgotten Randidly closed his eyes IÆll someday take a step back from this pattern I promise

He also continued to proceed through the Hierarchy of Burden Once he had a knack for spatial collapse he proceeded to push his Fatepiece to Level 70 Only halfway through did the strain shift becoming a pulsating instability that sought both to fold him inward and open him up like a blossoming flower

The first several times it happened Randidly collapsed into a groaning and panting pile of limbs Slowly he pushed himself to his feet and gathered himself for a while Right when he was about to go back into the training he noticed Pullas nearby She stood silently staring at the ground with a complex expression

What is the world coming to Randidly thought to himself as he took a deep breath before speaking to her Is something wrong

Not particularly Pullas kicked her foot against the ground She began shaking her head Just all those we liberated from the tapestries have died I suspect they had been dead for a while just physically bound in place by OuranosÆs ability Their deaths were not good ones I suppose that seeing what life not to live is a part of my journey as well

For a while she was silent then she followed up with a second thought When I was staying in Idylla building systems around me do you think I was like them Dying slowly without knowing it woven into the fabric of something that didnÆt matter

RandidlyÆs emotional muscles cramped from so much exercise today But because of the Nether Ritual sewn between them he tried to answer No At least not at first Building something part of the present is preparing for the future right

Chapter 2026

Duulys paused by the central staircase and turned around He felt an itch below his skin one that he needed to scratch before he continued Heat spread through his body like a contagious disease Ah one more thing before I go IÆve got a question for you

The elegant swan bowed its giant head Anything my liege I am at your service

The phrasing made a wicked smile spread across DuulysÆs face The heat continued to intensify His muscular shoulders bulged as he methodically began cracking his knuckles ThatÆs so wonderful to hear However did you attempt to slow this group down at all These trouble makers that so vex me

The temperature in the sky ring immediately changed Several of the surrounding clouds drifted away pushed back by DuulysÆs naked antagonism The heat around his body rose until all the clouds began to dissipate around him The swan seemed stunned What My liege you gave no such order

Answer the fucking question Duulys growled His image gurgled under his skin its intensity rising

The swanÆs eyes began to bulge with fear Then it mastered itself and raised its head in quiet resistance it was after all a powerful dweller within the Sonara I did not impede their progress But only because

The truth is Duulys interrupted He shook his head his dreadlocks bouncing pleasantly around his face They are racing up to my floor They might need to trek out to the exterior stairwell but they had a big head start on me All because other subordinates of mine misled me about their location Because weirdly everywhere he goes Randidly fucking Ghosthound makes formerly loyal aids take his side Is that what you are doing Taking his fucking side

The swan clacked its beak I can assure you

WhatÆs going to happen DuulysÆs voice thundered over the swan When they make it to my fucking ring and IÆm not there For all that I admire about this Ghosthound one fact is abundantly clear his feet are bare After walking through these filthy rings heÆs going to waltz into my home without putting on shoes No the fact that you aided and abetted this travesty you deserve a harsh judgment

Despite its bravado the swan shivered at the vehemency in DuulysÆs voice But when it spoke its word were sharp Humph if you punish me wonÆt you also be letting them get further ahead

Duulys laughed He stepped down off the staircase As he did so a massive spectral lion formed in the air behind him It leaned forward and wrapped its massive paws around DuulysÆs body A silver helmet showing a roaring lion and a gleaming mane condensed around him He blazed with silver fire

You overestimate yourself Teaching you regret will take no time at all Duulys laughed again Crimson drops began to seep out from the fangs of his image helmet

The swan hesitated unsure of how serious he was being That was its mistake

Duulys Ambar made no false boasts

What he found on the thirty ninth floor was a battlefield

They stood on a hill with broken weapons and dirty pools of water littering the slope below them At the bottom a dozen different warriors manifested their images and clashed with one another When one duel was about to be finished a golden specter shot down and plucked up the unconscious humanoid to carry them to an island in the sky The victor spun around and attacked the back of a nearby butterfly then had to defend against the belch of flame unleashed by a massive iguana

The violence was chaotic and unforgiving

As Randidly watched sometimes a lone fighter covered in blood would wander over the hill and then dash down to join the chaotic melee Sometimes sudden bursts of noise in the distance demonstrated that some new fight had started periodically a golden barge flew down from the island probably dropping off the healed fighters to continue their unending cycle of violence It was a place of intense and constant training

Of them all Pullas seemed to have the most vicious reaction The pale power of her image sparkled around her body A land without death What an ugly spectacle this place is

On cue a lumbering giant alligator ripped its claws through the mud behind them pulling its massive body up on top of the slope It whipped its head around beady eyes fixing on the group of four Blood dripped from its jaws likely from its previous victims in the melee After releasing a booming bellow it scrambled at them

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed but he felt a new demand on his Nether Core Xershi flashed past him the Grey Creature tattoo on his back flaring with power A mantle of woe ash and metaphysical impunity swirled around the metal liger man When his image exploded outward and filled the air around him his claws were also wreathing in distorted grey flames

A metallic liger and an alligator rolled around for several seconds tails and claws lashing and drawing deep gouges into the muddy hilltop The booms of their images colliding spread across the area drawing the wariness of some of the other competitors Probably this alligator man was about equal to Xershi normally But with the addition of the Nether Ritual boon and the fact it had exhausted itself defeating other competitors the wounds on its body began to add up

Right as it collapsed a golden figure swooped down to grab the alligator At the last moment Randidly had a bit of insight and attempted to deactivate the tattoo still radiating its power around Xershi By then it was too late

The golden figure that had moved with such unhindered freedom through images flew without a care into the veil of Nether and surly malevolence borrowed from the Grey Creature It released a loud screech as half of its body disintegrated on contact with that peculiar power It flared with a brighter gold color fighting through the dissipating remnant to seize the alligator and fly away

However the vibe of the entire ring changed as the golden figure was damaged

These eternal fighters paused in their individual duels and looked up at the group on the hilltop that had wounded their protector spirits Their eyes were slowly dyed red They began taking slow steps through the mud trudging up at them

So moving quickly and quietly is the name of the game yes Fiona said with a heavy ladle of sarcasm

Xershi scratched his head and began to reply but three of those barges shot out of the central floating island They swooped down and circled above the group beginning to parachute powerful image users down around them A massive suit of armor a strange bone insect and a shirtless man wielding a greatsword led the way They landed in a smacking splash of mud their images conflicting against each other but united in their antagonism toward the Ascension Pact

Randidly nodded tightly Time to go

Chapter 2027

The group each mobilized their own images all their practice fighting together against Yuroach suddenly being put to a whole new test Death the taboo and a giant animalistic machine mixed with RandidlyÆs own bouquet of images Meanwhile a gaggle of infuriated warriors continued to crater into the nearby mud as the foursome descended the slope releasing blasts of power to open up a path in front of them

Fiona took the lead her image spreading slowly out to become a thick mauve mist that disguised their progress and confused the nearest fighters When that wasnÆt enough to keep the encirclement form tightening she unleashed sharp bursts of force to give them an edge swinging her leg around and knocking an opponent dazed by her image into the mud

Xershi continued to happily drain RandidlyÆs Nether in order to take advantage of his violent tattoo but luckily the volume was a lot less onerous than the Stillborn PhoenixÆs massive gulp Randidly could support the metal liger covered in grey flames while also unleashing waves of YggdrasilÆs roots behind them to smash against the body of a flaming turtle rushing behind the group

He grimaced as the sedan sized turtle just barreled through the roots its image heavy and powerful enough to overwhelm the World Tree even reinforced with flames of Nether Weight The mass of different images activated around them released conflicting waves of force that buzzed against his skin Man if we had some extra time staying here and honing my images would be so valuable

Randidly stopped up short and pivoted to the side The fraction of time given to him to react was impossibly slight but Predictive Synapses were not easy to surprise A golden spirit lanced down out of the sky and burned a deep hole into the ground It raised its featureless face and glared at Randidly with two glowing white orbs sizzling like a chemical fire Waving a hand he unleashed a current of Nether from his body that obliterated the golden spirit

In response the giant sky island began to turn and drift after the group A half dozen golden spirits shot out of the sides and twisted around to attack the group from different angles Pullas wheeled around and unleashed several beams of pale death power making the flaming turtle snap its teeth in irritation Randidly began mobilizing flows of Nether to surround the group keeping the golden spirits from being able to approach

Ahead Xershi fought against two different images users a four armed monkey and a humanoid with the head of a shark Both had powerful images but XershiÆs Nether empowered claws slowly burned their way deeper into the substance and shape of the images They roared in pain and struggled to throw off the limbs but Xershi was filled with bloodlust enough to overcome them

Their progress was stalling out Pullas spun around and unleashed another beam of death that cut a swooping crow out of the sky Fiona avoided a diving golden spirit and then kicked an alien in the chest Randidly did some quick mental calculations as one of the golden barges dropped another ten warriors down around them Soon they would be fighting almost five to one with the odds growing worse every second Decisively he yanked back the Nether from XershiÆs tattoo

His metal claws stopped being able to rip so easily through images Suddenly XershiÆs metal liger found itself trying to suppress two other potent images on just his own power XershiÆs optical apertures began to rapidly click as the ape and the shark man noticed the change and began to push him back Unable to resist their power he was pushed back Uh Randidly

Just focus on running Randidly said His skin began to tingle and steam wafted off of his body The Nether flowed through him faster and faster Those flows of Nether he used to defend against the golden spirits tightened and thickened A storm began to brew with the group at its center If we get too bogged down we will be done IÆll clear a path

Alone Fiona glanced sideways at him after snapping the neck of a praying mantis creature Even now her practical capability for violence felt strangely impressive

Randidly grinned Kinetic energy swirled around him twisting in larger and larger patterns He took small bursts of force from all the conflicting images and fed it into a growing restrictive storm Every flare empowered him settling down and beginning to sizzle and weaken the surrounding images Well I have my Stats

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy Within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 890

Grinning Randidly spun away and shot back to his companions While he had been distracted by the turtle the shirtless greatsword user had reached the group and now clashed against Xershi Pullas and Fiona used their powerful images to fight off two other image users but they couldnÆt get the upper hand because the golden spirits swarmed around them and sniped at their backs

A wave of RandidlyÆs hand annihilated the golden spirits with pure Nether Then he accelerated and body slammed the greatsword user sideways With his speed he released force and arrived barely giving a distracted image user time to respond He skidded to a stop throwing a wave of mud onto PullasÆs opponent The detail oriented woman didnÆt miss the chance and unleashed a bolt of death that snuck into her foeÆs chest and began to wither the flesh from within Randidly drew the energy and flows of Nether tighter around their position slowing the pursuit down

Without the distractions Fiona ripped her opponent in half The golden spirits sizzled with antagonism as they stayed outside of RandidlyÆs storm still unable to fight against the Nether But this was the opportunity the group was waiting for Randidly smashed one more humanoid out of the way and the group accelerated to their full speed in the clear

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 971

Randidly glanced around The floating island behind them had begun to shift but the acceleration was slow Instead his senses went to the continually chaotic interaction of images in the sky What a fascinating method maintained by the owner of this ring The constant fighting of powerful image users means that unlike other areas that add depth to the image you are constantly hammered here Your image becomes purified and condensed the longer you remain

He clicked his tongue in disappointment but lowered himself and loped with the group Occasionally a random warrior wandered over a nearby hill Randidly took a deep breath and realized that powerful image users were everywhere in this ring Xershi or Fiona whichever reacted more quickly happily handled these single foes with the assistance of RandidlyÆs oppressive Nether Storm

Yet while they continued to open up space between themselves and the floating island Randidly felt a horrible foreboding in his chest The worst part was that it was familiar his Nether clearly informed him a connection existed between the source of his fear and himself The Stillborn Phoenix had the strongest reaction a competitiveness rising inside of it

That confused Randidly all the more As they sprinted across muddy roads he frowned at the ground What entity would the Stillborn Phoenix have connections to The easiest answer is Devick approaching but that doesnÆt seem right And I havenÆt felt her image in a while

He took a deep breath through his nose trying to discover the origin of the sensation Because it was very clearly not the floating island However if anything Randidly felt connected to the entire ring The impression was vague and constant His expression became even more intense

Whoever owned this ring clearly possessed a lot of capability Their essence pervaded the entire area

Slow down Fiona suddenly said The tight emotion in voice immediately made Randidly curious Through their shared Nether Ritual he could feel an absolute torrent of emotions a seething song of destruction that made the Grey Creature seem like it was just throwing a childish temper tantrum when it tried to rip him apart from the inside out

Feeling that force Randdily could understand why Fiona might have so much difficulty finding it in herself to lay that down and trust him Yet all emotional concerns were pushed to the side by the new arrival At the top of the hill in front of them a smartly dressed man stood in a suit His clothing was impeccable untouched by the grime and mud of the ring

Mimic Fiona spat out the words

Mimic smiled shyly Madam I appreciate your attempts to throw yourself upon Master AmbarÆs mercy However he is in a very fragile state right now ItÆs better that the two of you never encounter each other Throw yourself into this GobblerÆs hell and vanish into anonymity Because if you insist on climbing to the next floor IÆll need to bury you here

Chapter 2028

RandidlyÆs senses conflicted as he looked at the creature known as Mimic Nether could find nothing of significance about this being In terms of depth or history he felt curious blank Yet even the Grey Creature growled that this was a dangerous foe With its eyes toward survival this enemy was worth noting

Randidly grimaced The inconsistency of impression was not a good sign He drew a deep breath through his nose finally getting a bit of clarity Mimic maintained a tight Nether barrier in the area around his body His Nether Storm would need to be extremely concentrated to slow him down like this

Either way Randidly continued to gather small ripples from the conflicting images in the ring and spin them around him A maelstrom of power churned around his body ready to address whatever sort of threat erupted from this foe His images gathered in his limbs transforming into physicalizations His hair turned emerald darkness circled around his left eye his fingers twisted and sharpened No matter what he would be prepared

Be careful Randidly Fiona hissed through her teeth Around them Pullas and Xershi also fell into fighting stances Although you cannot sense his capability he has mastered all basic

Mimic spoke a very familiar phrase in a light voice As he pointed he looked almost comically mundane Mana Bolt

Randidly almost believed he had misheard Then an eruption of pure annihilation as thick as a tree trunk came from MimicÆs raised fingers The intensity of the force contained it was beyond the Mana that flowed through everyone nearing the equivalent of crystalized and volatile Mana Only a hair of an image existed within the projectile but the bright color and energy frequency burned itself into RandidlyÆs retinas His body shifted moving automatically to intercept the blast

While the others took cover he shielded them The projectile landed against a swung fist

To his shock Randidly was the one buried into the mud by the collision He hadnÆt used any sort of Skill in response but it had kicked him in the teeth Groaning Randidly pushed himself out of the shallow hole in the ground His body was now covered in splattered mud but his eyes were sharp as he looked up at Mimic You how high are your Skill Levels

Mimic laughed I had heard about your great potential Mr Ghosthound To think you would identify the trick so easily Well I really donÆt wish to fight against you Please all of you step aside and allow me to eliminate Fiona If you do so you may pass without any danger to your lives

We are an Ascension Pact Pullas responded Her image of death spread out to become a barrier around the group The only way we climb is together

Almost indulgently Mimic looked at Pullas True at least for now So break the pact Because is a stranger worth your life Certainly not this particular specimen Do you know that an entire race one of the powerful ancient races no longer exists because of this womanÆs hubris Her own people now extinct aside from a few unlucky survivors

Randidly rolled his shoulders Nether began flowing through his body taken from the area behind him to reinforce him for the current fight against a foe with a positively apocalyptic Mana Bolt The lionÆs share Nether Storm he had left behind to slow down pursuit but he now pulled all new kinetic energy to feed through into himself Xershi stepped forward and growled Why the hell would you be able to kill people like us You think we are afraid of some Skill

Mimic clicked his tongue Fine have it your way Leap

This Skill too was just its basic form with only the slightest hint of a nascent image but that hint had been reinforced to the point that it became a piece of jagged glass So many pieces of jagged glass had been bundled together that it became a glacier RandidlyÆs eyes bulged trying to conceptualize how long this being had been inside the Sonara training only his Skills Mimic practically teleported tearing right through PullasÆs defensive death barrier and arriving at XershiÆs side

The well dressed man still untouched by mud pulled a fist back to his side Heavy tch Iron Skin

At the last second Randidly exploded next to him wild eyed and covered in dirt His first slammed against MimicÆs midsection Yet the powerful activation of even this Skill from Mimic meant that RandidlyÆs knuckles popped and fractured The ground shook All the Nether and kinetic energy dispersed unable to overpower MimicÆs manifestation

Even his Nether Storm shattered before the massive impact Mimic released However it did also mean that pursuit probably wouldnÆt be a problem anymore Anyone trying to catch them would need to wade across the fiery mantle to reach them

RandidlyÆs eyes blazed as he looked over at the source of this destruction Fine if I canÆt beat you with a single Skill and an image how about three Volatile Breath from Beyond Grit of the Ascendant Bane The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty

Randidly breathed and whispered The world leaned closer to listen

Stone within the ground became roots and those roots spread and wove themselves between the shuddering fractions of ground that hadnÆt yet collapsed into the seething lava RandidlyÆs Nether Core began spinning rapidly He Seized all the remaining pieces of ground creating a network of islands to support each other With all his powers combined juggled though they might be he rode out the high Skill Level

As the aftershocks began to fade he looked up toward Mimic The man immaculate as ever stood on a slightly raised pillar The rest of the hill had collapsed around him from the Skill Pullas and Fiona were behind Randidly on one of a dozen lower pieces of ground Thick stone tendrils bound them forming two dotted rings around the central point Smoke ash drifted through the air off of the fiery arteries of the ground

Randidly felt like he was in the middle of some imagined boss battle rather than just trying to cross a muddy stretch of land and leave this place At the far side of the arenaÆ he saw Xershi clamoring up the side of a pillar to safety

Mimic looked around and nodded in satisfaction at what he had accomplished What a powerful Skill IÆll add it to my repertoire Definitely sends a message despite the Mana cost Now let me ask you again will none of you step to the side Fiona deserves to die

Does he have a weakness Randidly ignored Mimic and spoke over his shoulder

FionaÆs expression was full of hatred Well technically He doesnÆt use any images except for the small pieces inside of the Skills Theoretically this limits his reach And an all consuming image can invalidate his abilities But because of how high his Skill Level has climbed

Only a single Skill used for an entire lifetime Pullas muttered Truthfully I am somewhat envious Certainly that seems like an effective method to controlling what sort of death he will eventually find

MimicÆs expression fell clearly hearing their conversation topic Hmph if you wish to gossip let me tell you a story The Raesham were a powerful and modest people one of the few Ancient Races whose exploits echoed positively out across the entire Nexus They were pivotal in winning the early wars against the Nether in fact it is their predecessors that founded the Xyrt Brigade

Next to him Randidly saw the blood beginning to drain from FionaÆs face

However such successes did not come without costs their youth were decimated by the war Many of the major families were wiped out completely All the hopes of the generation fell to a single war hero who earned an enormous amount of recognition on the frontlines but more importantly he also survived and came home That is Duulys Ambar the light of my people

MimicÆs features began to contort Obviously he could not hold the entire race on his back Too many had fallen Perhaps the fall of the Raesham was inevitable buried so the Nexus could build a higher castle upon this ground But he could have slowed the descent given hope to their allies which would have meant they didnÆt betray the Raesham to their enemies at the worst possible times All he needed to do was have a few children

There was a lot of hope too After all it was well known that Duulys Ambar had a childhood sweetheart Despite the scandal of her being from a common servantÆs family most decided to overlook this detail the future of the entire race was more important than bloodline The Raesham were a practical people

But there was one problem This pathetic girl the one who trapped DuulysÆs heart was barren MimicÆs eyes glowed with malice

Chapter 2029

Randidly frowned at the sudden announcement Fiona stiffened at the word barren Those emotions raged through her body seeking to expend themselves and destroy Her image seethed in the air around her impotent and too amorphous to stand against the blunt hammer of MimicÆs Skill activation

Mimic trembled too driven by his own rising tide of emotion The worst part is she knew How could she not We were all raised in the Nexus we know our bodies better than anyone She was the one to pursue Duulys as a child sneaking around his familyÆs estate helping him escape the confines of the Ambar mansion exposing him to the rougher and unrefined sides of life From her Duulys learned of sloth and indulgence

She knew She plotted and planned wily and twisted even as a girl Mimic leaned forward really getting carried away in his retelling Her small gifts and trinkets were calculated to sway a pure and noble heart Because Fiona Sithe was and still is a sociopath that would do anything she could to get what she wanted She was selfish enough to steal DuulysÆs heart refusing to give him up to any other Even though her withered loins would doom the Raesham

Randidly opened his mouth to respond but someone else beat him to the punch His heart warmed to know they were all on the same page

Mimic turned to look at Xershi A flaring metal liger was completely manifested about his body clearer and more detailed than Randidly had ever seen it before Perhaps more than anyone else the stint on this ring had imparted upon his image quite a bit of clarity It raised its head and roared a challenge Xershi sneered They were kids And from what you are saying Duulys made his own decision DonÆt push all the blame onto Fiona

You wouldnÆt understand that stakes Mimic snarled

Xershi laughed so hard he bent over and slapped his knee You sound like a cheap melodrama We donÆt understand the stakes Hey Suddenly the metal manÆs face became deadly serious Are you assuming we crawled out from some heavenly utopia underneath a rock We all grew up in the Nexus DonÆt talk to us like we donÆt know the stakes

Through the Nether Ritual between them Randidly felt significance rapidly spiraling within XershiÆs image The metal liger deepened as it stalked forward the presence of a whole violent lifetime of struggles filling its shape Its gleaming tongue slithered out across its teeth

Yet Mimic wasnÆt impressed Pah you new bloods given a platform by ElhumeÆs working would not understand the constant threat the ancient races faced We had to constantly prove ourselves lest we get left behind To prevent a flood of a new race in a new Cohort from annihilating everything we had built

Xershi pressed his lips together clearly tired of this discussion In the fraction of time before his companion pounced Randidly sensed the violence of his emotions Opposite it FionaÆs wild storm calmed slightly A hint of thankfulness sparkled in her heart

Then the fight resumed With a burning fury seizing him Xershi launched himself toward Mimic The Skill user shook his head Whatever your lives are worthless Mana Bolt

Randidly was there his arm looping around MimicÆs and forcing his wrist upward The powerful Skill seared RandidlyÆs hand but the discharge shot straight upward without harming anyone Mimic blinked in shock but rapidly recovered Randidly slammed his fist about where MimicÆs kidney should be but once more crunched his body against an overwhelmingly powerful Iron Skin

If nothing else the bastard had quick reactions

Mimic twisted in place His leg rose up in XershiÆs direction The movement was familiar Roundhouse Kick

Randidly belatedly threw himself forward crashing into the white light that Mimic released with just a kick A faded shard of an image it might be but this common Skill became a destructive energy blast when all the Skill Levels of Mimicked Activation were thrown behind it Randidly tumbled backward enduring the force but still displaced by it Sulfur crooned in satisfaction taking most of the force

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 813

Congratulations Your Skill The Grey Creature Glimpses Providence has grown to Level 794

Right before the Skill landed and discharged its deadly burst of current RandidlyÆs hands accelerated with such force that he tore space He created a bowl of torn space to tie around the lightning The Skill smashed downward even as Randidly utilized the understanding he had earned with his Hierarchy of Burden to crease and destabilize the energy into spatial cracks

His hands twisted sharply like he was cracking the neck of a chicken

The attack vanished Pullas and Xershi launched themselves into the air both mobilizing their images The giant liger and the fuzzy figure of a good death streaked across the sky to surround Mimic The well dressed man frowned Well itÆs not like I donÆt have other methods Drain Life

RandidlyÆs expression flickered with how many Skill Levels Mimic possessed it was a dangerous attack Midair Xershi went pale Very visibly streams of Health abandoned XershiÆs body and flocked to Mimics With a leap Randidly caught XershiÆs body and pumped energy into the fading metal man with his Fourth Authority Animation Nova and through YggdrasilÆs Plasm Animus When image wasnÆt enough he gladly paid in his own Health to stabilize XershiÆs condition

Meanwhile Pullas screamed in rage and denial Her eyes glowing with an unnatural golden sheen she raised her hand and cut It was a denial and it was a demand of retribution A slash of golden light flickered toward the subject of her ire

With as much gentleness as possible Randidly tossed XershiÆs body down and caught it with some roots on one of the stone platforms

Mana Barrier Mimic activated his Skill and created a thick and spectral wall in front of the attack But his eyes bulged in disbelief when the intensity of PullasÆs emotions meant the blade cut through everything and severed his left leg at the knee

By the time Mimic slapped his palms against the ground Randidly was next to him only two meters away He had pierced right through the Nether barrier MimicÆs head ripped around and he bared his teeth Fireball

The First Authority This close the weird defenses Mimic possessed didnÆt affect him Randidly raised a hand Seize

A fireball manifested in the air above Mimic as large as a swimming pool and hotter than even the revealed lava after the Earthquake It was a Skill that would have possessed an insane amount of destructive power Yet now it was Seized

The moment stretched as Mimic tried to toss the Skill and found he couldnÆt The control had been confiscated

Their WillpowerÆs clashed The Grey Monarch in RandidlyÆs body began to laugh amused at the struggle Randidly cleared his throat The Aether construct within his grasp hummed and bucked but couldnÆt escape IÆd never considered using my ability like this Images are too vast to contain At this stage individuals barely use Skills any longer And even if I could Seize one of their Skills they would have others But not you

Mimic stared at Randidly Animal fear stretched and contorted his features Fiona landed on the central platform and patted RandidlyÆs back Whatever you did it stabilized Xershi Lost a bit of bluster but he should be fine Now itÆs time for my role

She walked with a little extra sway as she approached Mimic Her smile was as sweet and poisonous as honeyed nightshade With a flourish she pulled out that black dagger LetÆs be frank Mimic All the inaccurate sins that you accuse me of committing thatÆs a projection The life you claim IÆve led the fierce possessiveness and corruption of Duulys that was the life you wanted isnÆt it

Chapter 2030

The floating fireball above the meeting continued to radiate an intense heat But it gradually dissipated as it bled off its energy with the furious display Mimic just glared as Fiona sauntered closer She laughed softly taking her Fate and dragging the tip across his skin MimicÆs struggles against RandidlyÆs Seize briefly intensified but he couldnÆt shake the grip

Not without an image or Skill of his own The difference in their Stats was too wide a gap His Nether Core gleefully spun tying up all of his potent Skills

There was once a boy who was not very creative Fiona whispered A boy who straddled two worlds due to some confusion about the fatherÆs identity But it could not be denied his mother was a cherished member of the Raesham He was given a place and educated even if he was just a replaceable part Perhaps the shunning from the adults would have warped him beyond belief with their conflicting attitudes had it not been for a similarly aged boy one with a charming smile and direct manner

Mimic released a choked sob Duulys was always the best of us

He followed up the melodramatic statement with a sudden burst of effort to rip his Mimicked Activation out of RandidlyÆs Seize Randidly almost rolled his eyes This isnÆt even difficult for me Do you think IÆm going to be swayed by showing a little emotion Even if I was the one lost in my memories I donÆt think this would be hard

For a while the days were long and fulfilling for this sad almost twisted boy who had made a friend Fiona continued And then someone new showed up Someone who began to monopolize DuulysÆs time Someone who ruined everything A girl Me

Mimic stilled This time Randidly felt genuine hatred seeping out of his skin

Fiona crouched down in front of him and used the tip of her black dagger to push his head to and fro Did you ever wonder what it must be like to spend so much time with him To have him desire your company like he craved mine I recall Duulys often asked you to cover for us to his parents You enabled this to happen How does that make you feel Mimic

Mimic gnashed his teeth And leaned forward Randidly wondered if he should worry about him trying to physically attack Fiona He needed me much more than he needed the diversion that you represented And the proof In the end he came back to me the most reliable person in his life to tell the sick truth about your barrenness I was to whom he confided

All the joy and amusement sluiced off of FionaÆs face She pursed her lips suddenly vengeful and sadistic With a sharp twist she pulled back MimicÆs head and exposed his pale neck Her image activated in a strange way a second Mimic began to overlap the first This one seemed younger and brighter than the well dressed version now present And the spirit burned with an inner fire of ambition

What what the hell is this Mimic was trembling now his eyes flicking around at the hints of his spectral double he probably could barely see

Fiona shrugged as she reached and tightened her grip on the spectral projection If IÆm just making my theory about your life up then this wonÆt harm you at all Perhaps IÆm delusional But if you really held those secret desires if your biggest taboo is to possess Duulys in the way that I did well I wonder how one fares when their secret desire is cut out of them

NO MimicÆs eyes bulged as FionaÆs black knife cut down into him He moved but Randidly was faster gripping his arms and holding the physical Mimic in place Where the blade cut the darkness bled into the specter A short while later that projection began to curdle and rot away leaving a hollow eyed Mimic in its wake

At first Randidly stared at Mimic waiting for a response to this dangerous wound The struggles against his Seize had completely stopped Pullas helped a somewhat bedraggled Xershi come stand next to them in vigil A wind blew across the top of the platform but otherwise there was no noise

Randidly began to frown the more time passed the more nervous he became Especially because Fiona stood quite close to Mimic her hair swinging across her face to hide her expression

And yet RandidlyÆs anxiety only grew worse His jaw hadnÆt unclenched in hours His Nether moved in unfamiliar presence slight threads pulled off by the fixed attention of the owner of the ring

A confrontation brewed A ball of significance formed in RandidlyÆs ribcage hinting at the approaching exchange He could feel forces he couldnÆt quite trace flowing together and weaving a unique bit of significance

Despite that powerful premonition they reached the Engraved staircase without incident Even as Randidly stood on the construction and felt the resonance of images up through the different rings it was hard to believe nothing had happened He pivoted and looked back to the rolling hills

All was still they had outrun the floating island several hours ago

Unable to think of another response Randidly bowed and released all his tension so the master of the ring had allowed them to proceed without interfering At the small gesture the ball of significance that he had been building floated out of his chest It became a gift a deepening of this strangerÆs significance that might empower them The connection between Randidly and this figure flared briefly then began to dim

After one last look behind at the muddy battlefield Randidly turned and climbed with the group

They passed through the portal without incident rising to the fortieth floor home and seat of power of Duulys Ambar

Their entry point was at the side of a lake a thick mist surrounding their position The tall of pine trees poked out of the mist but otherwise the land was shrouded Butting up against the shore was a flat boat Fiona grimaced as she gestured at the boat Well at least nothing has changed We will need to take that to the castle Duulys always insisted on creating a dramatic reveal for his residence

A seafaring journey Pullas adjusted her glasses This too is something that IÆve always wanted to experience How intriguing

You spent waay too much time hunched over books in Idylla Xershi shook his head in disgust as he led the way into the small vessel All four clambered into it However the most dramatic shift came when Randidly stepped up the wooden vessel groaned and sunk so deeply into the water that a few small waves dribbled into the interior

Fiona pursed her lips and Randidly flushed with a weird surge of embarrassment Hey I have several planets inside of me And my body has been remade several times DonÆt shame me for being a little extra heavy

However the issue of weight soon proved irrelevant A gorgeous Engraving scrawled along the barge activated They lifted off out of the lake and rode up the slope of mist into the sky Pullas cooed and gasped in pleasure Soon they breezed up through a layer of clouds and emerged into a golden wonderland of soft lines and water vapor

Stolen entirely from the swanÆs ring because Duulys liked how it looked Fiona leaned back on the far end of the barge and made herself comfortable She gestured for the others to do the same We will get to his castle eventually but not soon He designed this ride to be a three hour long tour of all the images he had plundered from those weaker than him He also has a powerful defensive Engraving made to make sure you stay inside the vehicle We could fight through it but it would only take longer and tire us out

Randidly groaned both at the time and at the personality being revealed of Duulys Ambar but sat down to meditate Because while it was somewhat obnoxious it was also a useful time to recover and prepare

After a bit of meditation Randidly pulled out his Hierarchy of Burden His eyes blazed It was time to see how far he could push himself in this last stretch of opportunity

Chapter 2031

Duulys Ambar clicked his tongue in distaste as he looked down at the inert form of Mimic The fool was hollowed out all of his annoying qualities quashed and sucked out of him Even his perennially neat uniform was stained and sliced This is exactly why you were always a worthless mongrel of a servent Just like everyone else you betrayed me in the end

He raised his hand the heavy paw of a silver lion imposing itself across the limb The force of his image was powerful enough that the air trembled at his presence Yet Duulys hesitated to shred this familiar figure Clicking his tongue he lowered the stroke of death it was too much of a mercy to end his life like this Instead he raised his voice intending to arrange a more insidious end Oy fat piece of shit Show yourself I can tell youÆve been sniffing around for a while

There was a low chuckle and then a figure appeared on the opposite side of the platform An old frail man with greying hair looked over at Duulys The only article of clothing he wore was a loincloth that had clearly been worn for far too long His bones showed through his thin skin and his stomach very clearly bulged either with being overstuffed or from suffering a long period of starvation

But his eyes spun and glittered with an inner beauty bright and distant as a cosmic nebula Those eyes gave the faintest hint of the monster that had climbed over the crystal scorpion and set himself up a small wonderland on the thirty ninth floor A dry tongue flicked out to lick his lips Is somethinÆ the matter Mr Ambar

Duulys gestured imperiously to Mimic IÆll leave this body to you Feel free to deal with it in your normal manner IÆm told that to be so killed is quite unpleasant

Of course of course The man waved a hand showing a smile on his face but keeping his mouth closed Not a single ripple of need showed across his musculature All in due time

Perhaps Duulys would have moved passed this ring eager to catch up to the troublesome foursome without trying to challenge the master of the thirty ninth ring After all he was definitely a dangerous foe But the lack of respect and the strangeness of the response made him pause this hungry bastard never waited to eat his meal

Something else was afoot here And after the last few weeks Duulys hated unexpected variables

You Duulys narrowed his eyes As he examined the man he realized there was something unfathomable about him now All of the desperation had vanished DuulysÆs lips twisted in irritation to note a difference in the face of a subordinate that he had known for quite a long time An ugly suspicion bloomed in his heart What the hell happened to you Have you also defected to the GhosthoundÆs side

Finally the hungry man couldnÆt hide his glee any longer His lips cracked open showing a mouth devoid of teeth The rumors about the hungry man said he had even eaten his own teeth such was his appetite Defection Nah nothing so serious as that Just recently this rather pathetic child returned a very interesting piece to me Something profound finally after all this time I feel the possibility of ascending to the Pinnacle

That stopped Duulys short What Bah donÆt play with me you hungry shit Some thing like you reaching the Pinnacle You donÆt even have your own image you just eat other images ItÆs impossible

The hungry man chuckled I thought so as well but apparently not So long as you keep walking sometimes you encounter an unexpected Path

DuulysÆs expression darkened He raised his hand and cracked his knuckles He felt torn between lashing out at this sudden attitude change and pursuing the neÆer do wells moving toward his house In the end the thought of bare feet upon the gorgeous marble floors of his entrance hall won out Tsk you are lucky I have bigger fish to fry Ascend to the Pinnacle daydream about whatever fantasy you want Just get the hell out of might sight

The hungry manÆs smile widened as he pushed himself up to his feet Standing his bulging belly was even more grotesque The skin stretched across the organ barely able to support its sagging weight Yet rather than moving out of the way the hungry man waddled his way forward to stand opposite Duulys

Xershi folded his arms What the hell can a castle do against a powerful image This is just puffery

Buffoonery Fiona agreed in a gloomy voice But the acidic edge revealed that she was probably similarly impressed by the display no matter how angry she was at the maker

Randidly raised a hand and cracked his neck In the end he was quite disappointed with himself he had only been able to raise the Hierarchy of Burden to Level 78 Those last few steps meant that increasingly complex spatial pressures attempted to fold the fabric of his being Perhaps he could recognize a pattern or create an internal support system to keep himself from folding but that would take time

His three hours were up they had arrived

Everyone keep your guard up Fiona looked around at them all Her eyes were bright and vicious and so so tired Duulys is too much of a diva to launch a sneak attack but that doesnÆt mean he wonÆt let us walk into a disadvantageous situation We should be on high alert

Oh definitely Pullas squeaked visibly struggling to tear her eyes away from the gleaming surface of the nearby castle

We need to Fiona began but her words stumbled to a halt as the vessel bumped up against the ground The group stepped off following the dazed Fiona Huh thatÆs odd

Something wrong Randidly asked

Fiona gestured at the impressive oak gates before them The gates are closed That means heÆs not here but out roaming the Sonara Duulys hates when anyone goes into his castle without his permission HeÆs surprisingly fastidious

Well then Xershi raised an arm and flexed a bicep All the more reason we should bust our way through and make a mess of the place IÆll just break

Oh there is no need for that IÆd be surprised if Duulys changed the spare key Fiona walked sideways off the gleaming path that led to the large wooden gates The area was lined with majestic cherry blossom trees the pale petals of their flowers drifting down around and settling into a soft covering on the ground Fiona found a spot between two trees and shifted her body minutely Then she stamped a foot

An Engraving shimmered to life spreading out from the location on the ground she had hit Lines of complex characters swam back and forth across the ground until they reached the high gate After a shiver of energy went through the threshold the doors swung open

I always told him it was a dumb idea Fiona commented Her expression sagged further weighed down by the truth that she was now here moving toward a confrontation and her husband was not there to receive her ire She reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose But Duulys believed that everything should be interesting Even doors He used to be different

Different or not Xershi swaggered forward LetÆs check out if he has anything worth smashing

Chapter 2032

One enthusiastic demolitions expert and three observers drifted into the ornate interior of the home of Duulys Ambar And for this particular project the wrecker decided to start with a bang

RandidlyÆs lips twitched as he watched Xershi do a flying dropkick on the high chandelier that hung above DuulysÆs elegant entrance hall he had no idea that Xershi had meant his smashing quite so literally All it took was three steps and he was sailing through the air all mean intent and glee

His kick cut through the air accurately striking the fixture in its stem

The massive construction of curved horns gold and pearl fell from the high ceiling without making any noise There were several moments of repose with Xershi tumbling above it with a shit eating grin on his metal face that were also silent The intricate working glittering in the torchlight as it rushed to meet the patterned floor Next to Randidly Pullas pouted What a waste of a nice chandelier

You wouldnÆt say that if you knew what he did to acquire those materials Fiona responded Randidly reading the history of pain hanging around the crafted pieces felt his jaw tense

The inevitable crash was anything but silent Soft metal screamed as the impact sundered the multilayered piece from its elegant tiered structure The horns screeched across the ground leaving thin marks on the probably expensive material beneath their feet The crystalline and pearl adornments shattered sending bits of shiny mineral spinning and skipping in every direction The main portion crumpled under its own weight releasing thin wisps of anguish that dissipated without the physical cage

Randidly pursed his lips as he created roots of air to knock away debris from spraying the group in the face Not that he knew but good for Xershi

Yet despite the massive mess and the pointless violence Randidly couldnÆt help but agree with Xershi for another reason based on the result Fiona leaned forward and laughed for almost a full minute unable to control her glee as the harvested materials skittered across the floor The remnant bits of dust had finally settled by the time she straightened and wiped her eyes Oh my Duulys will be livid

The smile on her face now was much different from the dazzling high watt variety she pasted on to cover up her exhaustion Randidly could see some small amount of release in watching this massive ornament break Through the Nether Ritual he was vaguely aware of her emotions moving in more productive flows

She began to prepare after all the meeting she had been dreading for so long would soon come to pass

So many rooms Xershi raised a hand and yawned He kicked a long horn and sent it spinning toward the far wall We are going to need more time to wreck all this Leave a message that this Duulys character wonÆt soon forget

what do we do if Duulys doesnÆt show up Pullas interjected her gaze flicking from Fiona to Randidly Inwardly Randidly had wondered the same since they had arrived The time limit wasnÆt so pressing as it had been but he didnÆt want to linger here for too long If Duulys wasnÆt here to bar their path even after a few days he would want to continue

Fiona ignored the statement and addressed Xershi Actually we donÆt need to work our way through the entire thing Most of this stuff is covered in dust anyway There are only a few special rooms As long as we move our way through those his pride will be dearly wounded

So the group followed Fiona up a massive obsidian staircase curving outward in two graceful rings Randidly idly drew his fingers across the heavy wood railings His eyebrows rose as he applied some pressure and couldnÆt damage the wood He pressed harder allowing the Grey CreatureÆs image physicalizations to manifest His nails on his right hand lengthened to claws With the added image he easily cut into the material but it was still intriguing that the material could resist his Stats this was an area that had been heavily reinforced by Aether for a long time

Xershi glanced over his shoulder and gave Randidly a thumbs up an obvious encouragement to join the silver ligerman in rampant destruction He rolled his eyes when Xershi turned back forward

Fiona continued to stalk through the house ignoring the wide upper balcony area above the entrance hall and the branching passageways and continuing to climb the staircase Soon they had reached an outdoor grotto area a roof complete with an installed fish pond gazebo and apple orchard The light up here was pleasantly gold with a warm breeze blowing across their faces It seemed eternally early autumn in this place before winter sucked away light and heat for a season

Fiona snickered but the sound had a heavy layer of tension Oh thatÆs him finding the chandelier LetÆs move out of the house so we have more space for this

The group shifted back outside to an unrecognizable space The trees the pond the idyllic pathway were all demolished leaving baked dirt and a rising wind that sought to claw them all to shreds Randidly closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose feeling the rapidly rising tide of significance running through this place As Duulys raged so did the entire ring The antagonism applied a consistent pressure that even RandidlyÆs powerful body felt

Inwardly he said a quiet thank you to the Nether Ritual for giving his companions the benefit of some of his Stats

They stood as four arranged in a loose semi circle Xershi and Randidly stood at opposite edges of the group with Fiona and Pullas in the middle Randidly kept having to resist the urge to look over at Fiona to see what sort of expression she was making as the wind continued to rake across their bodies and rip away their skin

Yet he didnÆt he kept his gaze forward One to give Fiona privacy but also because Duulys Ambar arrived as a silver fireball ready to impact the ground with enough force to destroy a continent The powerful figure began as one of those eyes of silver fire but it kept growing and growing Sometimes the flames at the edge of the silver sphere seemed to flicker into the shape of a mane and Randidly could just make out the face of a roaring lion in the steadily growing fireball

It was not a good sign that this seemed more a subconscious manifestation than a flare of an image yet still Duulys possessed such power The ground around them continued to die a testament to the murderous rage experienced by the ringÆs owner

As the fireball shot closer Randidly began to sweat Both in terms of image potency and authentic heat Duulys Ambar filled the entire sky with his force

His seething fury seemed to burn its way through even the wind until the whipping currents of air were buried beneath the thunder of his charge Still it continued to grow so a massive island of silver flame hurtled right at the fourÆs position

At the last second Duulys released the enormous fireball in an explosion of silver will o wisps With smoke streaming from his body he crashed to the ground catching himself with his knuckles For a second he lingered there head bowed and bare shoulders heaving Randidly noticed the heavy musculature and the ornate bracelets and rings he wore Then DuulysÆs gaze rose and slid across the assembled group Even without the image the heat remained making the air so thick that it was almost impossible to breathe

Randidly felt his entire perception narrow when he met the eyes of Duulys Ambar Such was the threat this man presented that he captured all of his Grim Intuition In those intense eyes Randidly saw a feral pride unlike anything he had ever encountered before The sadistic power of Devick and the overwhelming fists of Elhume still dwarfed this image but that didnÆt mean he could let down his guard

Sweat began to trickle down his spine toward his lower back This was the first encounter since the fight against Commandant Wick that Randidly felt like the enemy in front of him could kill him

So it was you Duulys growled still looking at Randidly His eyes brightened to almost white with the light of imagined flames

Randidly was taken aback to be singled out he had expected Duulys to fixate on Fiona However all the animosity was very clearly flowing toward him Randidly straightened his posture feeling his own desire to fight rising in his chest His body began its own smolder ignited by a pumping heart with every bit as much generative capability as a power plant

Into this crackling moment of tension stepped Xershi Pah Actually your target should be me It is I that redecorated your tacky house

Almost unwillingly Duulys tore his gaze from Randidly and sized up Xershi However his expression was one of confusion You who are you Then Duulys shook his head as though to rid himself an insect that landed on his head No it matters not This man Randidly Ghosthound is the one who has run rampant through the Sonara destabilizing the political order and corrupting my subordinates And worst of all

DuulysÆs show large square teeth You walk through my kingdom in your bare feet IÆll cut them off and have you totter around on bleeding stumps you jealous fuck

Chapter 2033

RandidlyÆs eyes widened slightly at the bite of the threat thrown in his face He clenched his hands So many forces pressed against him the heat the intensity of DuulysÆs image and the constant waves of vicious emotions the man released The metal bangle on DuulysÆs arms glittered from his own silver fire

Around them the idyllic scene had almost completely vanished The stone arches folded down to the ground likely sensing the devastation that would soon sweep through the area

Yet within the conflux of emotion Randidly began to understand something as he looked at this man HeÆs focusing on me because he doesnÆt want to get wrapped up in the wounds that Fiona is showing just by being here In the end the feet are just a pretext for the distraction

Well thatÆs fine Randidly settled down into a fighting stance He flicked his arm and Acri slithered down into his hand IÆve wondered how much IÆve improved rushing through the Sonara It hasnÆt taken much time but the pressure and echoes of this place are a great training ground YouÆll be the measuring stick for me

Duulys recognized RandidlyÆs small movement to ready himself for battle his expression tightened somewhere between indignation and pleasure His image resonated with the entire ring growing in oppressive momentum Xershi growled and stomped his way forward into the pressure alleviating the image that Randidly had to handle He looked like he was about to antagonize Duulys but Pullas moved forward and beat him to the punch Her eyes were bright and her words were sharp Do you really have nothing to say to Fiona

Pullas Fiona whispered The name seemed to be crushed underneath all the force radiating from Duulys yet RandidlyÆs eyes widened as he sensed the significance rapidly beginning to shift in new directions Her voice was a single note around which the entire arrangement began to pivot

Duulys slammed both his fists against his chest and roared A silver lion raised its head above him majestic and weirdly defensive His knife like gaze cut to Pullas Still he refused to even look at Fiona IÆll handle her after Between us all that needs to be said has been

The sudden show of emotion once more scrambled the flow of significance With Fiona remaining silent the tension once more pressed the group toward combat

The impossible task of apologizing to this man well I get why it would be revolting for her to do Randidly thought grimly Fiona continued to stand there with a bleak expression and Randidly began to feel some protective fury pulsing through his veins Once more steam began to waft from his body Image physicalizations spread out across him transforming his limbs hair and the upper left side of his face All of the force he could muster spun within him steadying him in the face of the image pressure

He exchanged a meaningful glance with Xershi Their Nether Ritual hummed between them their purposes aligned The ligerman might enjoy showboating and swaggering around when there were no threats but he also valued the Ascension Pact A twin of RandidlyÆs protective fury burned in his chance

At the same moment their eyes flicked back to Duulys Ambar Their thoughts moved in unison If you donÆt want her to face her right now we will just pummel you until you do

Through the Nether Ritual Xershi pulled from RandidlyÆs Nether Core A cloak of Nether Weight and the Grey CreatureÆs Impunity spread across both their bodies DuulysÆs smile widened thankful for the provided distraction The significance now fully sloshed around in violent currents Waves of silver fire began to gush from his limbs and spread from his silhouette spreading into progressively larger outlines of himself until they dissipated and the next wave bloomed into existence

The three fighters stepped at the same time Images swirled and clashed as they spread out to fill the air around them The Stillborn Phoenix howled and devoured clearing a path Randidly accelerated forward

And staggered backward in the next split second rebounding against the brutally solid projection of a Silver Lion that manifested in the area around Duulys Ambar curled up defensively in the face of his attack Randidly gritted his teeth and stabilized himself More than any serious injury he felt shocked by how completely his strike had failed The manifestation snapped into place with a high amount of speed but even a half formed attack from Randidly should break through a casual defense

Seeing the result of RandidlyÆs charge Xershi danced sideways to get behind their opponent Duulys just laughed and beckoned them closer More and more silver flames poured out of his body

Meanwhile Duulys grew to prominence on the front lines fighting in the worst of the Nether Wars His image makes no claim on the whole world he simply reaffirms his own power with his projections Which has always limited his ability to be truly elite in the Nexus But against you

Over the course of FionaÆs explanation Duulys continued to grind directly against the rising power of PullasÆs image The dangerous negative energy exhaust stained the ground beneath them into a swamp of seething decay The ground seemed stained by the failure of PullasÆs image to achieve a good death

Meanwhile Duulys waved his other arm and continually battered XershiÆs giant liger opening up an opportunity to thrust both palms in PullasÆs direction A concentrated blast of fire manifested as a silver blade and shot forward Immediately it destabilized PullasÆs energy and pushed the struggle back toward her

I guess IÆll have to sharpen my images a bit then Randidly hopped to his feet already recovered from the damage he suffered He pulled his senses back from the weird tides of significance and focused on the actual fight He shot one more glance at Fiona but she made no move to join the fight her trauma peaking out through the haphazardly assembled emotional pieces Perhaps she didnÆt even notice the influence her word had earlier

He turned away and jumped forward intent on becoming involved before DuulysÆs attack reached Pullas The pale light of death continued to shiver and fade beneath that silver blade In RandidlyÆs chest he left his Nether to the side As Fiona had pointed out this foe had plentiful experience against those sorts of methods Instead he roused his images dragging deep into their emotional affects

The desire for growth and progress flowed smoothly into him from Yggdrasil It stretched out and became the framework for the three emotional affects to move together The desperate hunger of the Stillborn Phoenix came next laced with thick anticipation as the image considered DuulysÆs silver lion Those small flecks of flame had vanished from his shoulder absorbed into the unending abyss at its core

And finally the Grey Creature came forward with a storm of violent emotions that suppressed the hunger and rattled the framework Randidly cut through the indiscriminate intensity reaching for the beating core of the affect He dug deeper and deeper seeking that volatile mixture that had so plagued him these past few weeks His body seemed to be moving in slow motion as he dug deeper and finally found what he was searching for

When he seized the affect his thoughts stalled out for a moment rather than anger or a wild urge to survive what Randidly found at the heart of the Grey Creature was shame

The shame of telling adults you really were okay and sitting with your arms crossed on the low concrete step in front of your school waiting to be picked up The shame of moving into a room and feeling eyes and mouths moving silently around you about you

RandidlyÆs breath hissed through his teeth With a pure effort of will his hand tightened on that emotion and brought the storm along with it as he pulled his images into one effort All three images moved together burning through his body The framework held Stepping up next to Pullas Randidly thrust out an Acri wreathed in all the emotional force his images possessed RandidlyÆs middle finger on his right hand tingled as his attack merged smoothly with PullasÆs pale death

A massive shudder rushed up RandidlyÆs arm as he met half of DuulysÆs attack That silver blade sought not to cut but simply annihilate It was a door to a world of bleak fires and desecrated land But combined with Pullas they dispersed its force Randidly clenched his teeth allowing his body to absorb most of the rebound for Pullas

Duulys seemed surprised and annoyed that the attack had been stopped The man threw a backhand blow that caught Xershi and sent him stumbling backward then turned to face Randidly and Pullas again with glowing eyes

Pullas reached up and put her hand on RandidlyÆs shoulder I think IÆve figured out my tattoo Are you ready

Randidly didnÆt even have time to reply before the space around them folded He blinked he now stood behind Duulys Ambar Across the battlefield Xershi stood with a bewildered expression and PullasÆs hand on his shoulder For a moment Randidly felt so lightheaded he almost collapsed It didnÆt take as much as FionaÆs image devouring but it was still a large chunk of his Nether siphoned away

Yet Duulys was still turning away from him only now recognizing the strange switch RandidlyÆs eyes blazed His Willpower clamped down sharpening his focus with cruel intent Your image might be strong but how fast is it

Chapter 2034

All of the movements he had learned started with a step This one at this high level conflict in the Sonara was no different

Dreadful Alacrity had Randidly cutting sideways even as he finished the aggressive thought His body blurred destabilizing the surrounding space and allowing him to squeeze himself through even more quickly than should be possible

Perhaps instinctively Duulys AmbarÆs image flared in a massive burst of silver fire A paw whipped sideways directly toward RandidlyÆs position even if Duulys didnÆt have the Stats to keep up with RandidlyÆs movements his image believed itself strongÆ enough to make up that difference Speed wasnÆt quite enough on its own

Snorting Randidly planted his foot and adjusted his vector All the muscles and tendons along his leg strained as they experienced the rapid transfer of forces but the movement was sharp and snappy Space twisted around his body as he ripped up in an unexpected direction DuulysÆs image crushed the lingering spatial disturbance that Randidly left in his wake but didnÆt manage to reach its target

Randidly kicked himself off the air to spin above Duulys and then launched himself directly downward He hefted Acri to pierce through the target and lance him into the ground while also groping once again for his emotional affects To his surprise DuulysÆs gaze was already rotating to lock in on his position Randidly clicked his tongue This was not a man easy to take by surprise

Well if it was too easy it wouldnÆt be fun Randidly thought

Even worse the silver lion began to shimmer with a dangerously light Its claws and teeth especially became incandescent as it looked up at him Swearing quietly Randidly twisted and kicked out a wave of kinetic force in every direction For a split second hung in the air as a sudden wall of silver flame seared through the airspace he had been about to enter

As the image faded Randidly kicked himself down to descend relying on Chimeric Impunity to force his way through the lingering heat and painful image remnants The Stillborn Phoenix could devour some of them but they were powerful enough that it took time Even RandidlyÆs powerful body began to ooze sweat as he cracked the ground with his landing Such was the power of DuulysÆs image that even its departing shadow felt overwhelming squeezing against RandidlyÆs skin

In a smooth movement Randidly spun his weapon around and aimed AcriÆs tip at the hollow of DuulysÆs throat The strike was so quick that not even Duulys could react Yet right as he was about to land a serious blow a solid suit of silver flame manifested around DuulysÆs body AcriÆs tip skittered sideways leaving Randidly abruptly aware of the phantasmal silver lion standing over DuulysÆs shoulder and growling at him

He pulled back the weapon with the same smooth return he had learned from Shal all those years ago Just as he prepared to unleash another thrust this one backed by a torrent of Nether and DuulysÆs experience be damned a silver rune rapidly drew itself in looping lines on the ground beneath their feet

Swearing again Randidly ripped backward through space until he was out of the area covered by the rune Good thing too because Duulys soon became the single bit of tinder in a veritable pyre of chemically bright silver fire The heat wiped itself across RandidlyÆs face and hands leaving him slick and dripping Pullas and Xershi hopped to stand nearby looking solemnly at the shadow of Duulys within the flames

This guy doesnÆt fuck around Xershi observed The fire gradually receded leaving a panting Duulys in its wake However where he had previously been bare chested and with cotton pants his entire body was covered in heavy silver armor

The most interesting point was that the armor was clearly a used item not unmarred or shiny There were dents and long scratches across its body a testament to its previous uses Looking at it Randidly realized that this was DuulysÆs Fate

The teacher crossed and uncrossed his legs the dull brown covering of the chair groaning as he shifted his weight The clock continued to tick An hour had already passed since the agreed upon time His eyes on Randidly were sharp Did you lie about telling your mother about this meeting Mr Ghosthound

Randidly lowered his head and said yes His cheeks burned with shame

Saying yes was easier than facing the truth

The Grey Creature screamed with shame all that energy rushing up and intensifying the primordial energy around Acri Randidly thrust his eyes burning His entire body tremble craving a release of the burning energy and emotion he held In no uncertain terms this was the most powerful strike he had ever unleashed

The weapon cleaved apart the screen of silver flames around Duulys and arrived at his target DuulysÆs armor screeched in failure as the attack forced it open A thin line of blood dribbled across DuulysÆs exposed neck His skin sizzled from exposure to the energy

However RandidlyÆs emotions were already fading The opponentÆs defense had exhausted his offensive He was panting and his head pounded the shame slipping from Randidly and leaving him exhausted

You truly are a Nether savage Just like them you always overestimate your strength Duulys laughed as Randidly ripped Acri out of his armor He raised his fists even as Randidly began to flicker backward Not so fast Pinning Gaze of the Apex Predator

The head of the silver lion shimmered catching RandidlyÆs gaze For whatever reason he found himself planting his feet and raising Acri By the time Randidly had realized what had happened a massive paw covered in silver flames was cutting toward his position Duulys guffawed loud and triumphant

Randidly showed his own teeth Drained he might be from using his emotional affects but he wasnÆt out of tricks yet You think this is enough to catch me

He had been steadily absorbing kinetic energy from the image clashes and unleashed it now all at once His legs were still strangely stiff from DuulysÆs Skill so he ignored them Instead he just released all the force he had gathered directly upward in a sudden spike The expulsion hammered Randidly into the ground cracking through the dusty floor and driving him down into the dirt The swipe passed harmlessly over him

Dust and debris rained down on RandidlyÆs head followed by several powerful blasts of silver flame The area began to smell like burnt hair but Randidly ignored that He spread out his fingers digging them in the surrounding dirt His toes stretched and squeezed From his spread limbs he began to drink of the areaÆs energy

All the layered Aether that had sunk into this ground over the last several hundred years became fuel RandidlyÆs Skills dug into the area and harvested the energy His body hummed as more and more energy was stolen converted and packed into his body

If even this amount of power isnÆt enough Randidly spoke to the dirt Above he could feel DuulysÆs image becoming more agitated He released more and more Nether into the area taking the place of the plundered Aether in the ground I guess IÆll need to dye the environment so that I can do better

Chapter 2035

Pullas gathered her image more tightly around her body observing as Duulys Ambar unleashed several thunderous blasts of silver fire into the hole Randidly used to vanish Huge bursts of light and heat radiated outward Based on his tightening expression Randidly had escaped from any serious damage

His pride injured Duulys raised both of his armored arms conjuring a dozen silver blades that pointed directly at the ground With a sharp gesturing he skewered the area beneath him with missiles of blade and silver flame More holes were burned open in the wide onslaught of images

Each blade was powerful even to PullasÆs senses Yet the high reinforced ground meant that it was difficult to damage it easily Even before the image of Duulys Ambar the ground sucked away energy as it melted and dribbled out of the way

If anything this attack only seemed to infuriate Duulys further Through the tattoo of the Ascension Pact Pullas could sense that Randidly had again avoided harm More than that he seemed to be thriving rapidly building up his power beneath the ground The powerful storm of Nether he could create rapidly expanded around his body

Pullas took a steadying breath as her attention turned back to her own predicament Her vision swayed not only did the heat of DuulysÆs image warp the air but she had also continued to push her image far past the limits of her mental stamina for the entire fight With Fiona still lingering behind Pullas was the only one of the group that could meet the silver flames of Duulys directly

She had no choice but to continually step forward

The responsibility felt like an iron lined blanket draped across her shoulders PullasÆs pupils dilated as she straightened She began to hyperventilate Even worse forcing out so much of her image power was rapidly progressing her through the image fulfillment stage At some point she would reach the end of her worldÆs potential and

RandidlyÆs got this guy positively spitting Xershi cackled nudging PullasÆs shoulder What the hell is he doing down there anyway Insulting his mother

Pullas swayed from the touch feeling curiously unmoored and light Almost instinctively she smiled and shook her head at XershiÆs thoughtless words The familiar motion managed to pull her out of her own spiraling thoughts She took another steadying breath this one much more effective than the first Regardless of what heÆs doing we need to assist him No matter how durable his body is

She gestured to Duulys His eyes seething with silver light he raised his hand and conjured almost a hundred pillar sized blades roared in the sky around them They were giant nails prepared to drive into the ground and bite deeply into the ground The silver lion paced back and forth above this massive display snarling at the ground The air hummed gathering in support of the desires of the ring owner

Sure something like that could kill anyone Xershi nodded coolly as though Duulys wasnÆt pouring the entire force of his person into an extermination event aimed at Randidly He scratched his cheek as the swords swelled in size ballooning underneath DuulysÆs zealous preparations We should probably get around to running some interference

Pullas was already mobilizing her tired image torn between exasperation and true worry Duulys bellowed and the destruction began to accelerate down Her image shuddered as she urged it into motion an old vehicle asked to shift into gear long after it should have rightfully been sent to the scrapyard Yet she could sense that this was the way to move forward Interacting with these three people as exasperating and anxiety inducing as they were helped her close the distance to the good death she wanted

She advanced along the path she had sought for so long simply by moving with them

Pullas thanked her lucky stars that she had heard Randidly speak and decided to abandon everything in Idylla She glanced quickly sideways at Xershi Sometimes it was difficult to tell how much the metal man noticed so she offered a warning And no more activating your tattoos You can feel Randidly creating a working of Nehter in the ground right

Duulys barely got his arm up in time to block the GhosthoundÆs sweeping kick The concussive impact briefly knocked the air out of PullasÆs lungs even across the cooling ground For the first time in the confrontation Duulys Ambar was knocked sideways out of his secure stance

The Ghosthound moved after him in an instant drawing a dead zone of grey light on PullasÆs iris that lingered for a few moments Nether condensed rapidly in RandidlyÆs hands around his spear but somehow Duulys managed to flip back up to his feet and manifest his massive silver lion above his head

Do you think a single blow changes anything Duulys snarled already moving to counter the attack The silver lion swung its paw

At the last second before impact still gathering more and more Nether around him RandidlyÆs body flickered Duulys and the lion paused in their attack trying to catch their opponentÆs rapid dodge However Randidly didnÆt dodge After the feint he just accelerated forward to the point he became a grey comet in PullasÆs vision slamming into the lionÆs paw and forcing his way forward

Duulys cursed and stumbled backward but the Ghosthound was already there His spear thrust was somehow both possible to observe in every detail and also impossible to dodge DuulysÆs armor shrieked again but this time Randidly seemed to have gathered enough force His spear dug its way into DuulysÆs torso That massive payload of Nether that Randidly had been gathering expended itself into his body

Pullas watched RandidlyÆs expression change as he released all his gathered Nether and the silver lion didnÆt even waver For the first time the man with the powerful body seemed genuinely surprised You

DonÆt speak worm Duulys grasped the shaft of the spear digging into him with body hands Just die Endless Silver Hell

The entire ring stirred in response to those words An inferno of silver flames exploded out of DuulysÆs body the heat hitting PullasÆs face and knocking her backward Her image groaned trembling with weakness But at the same time she knew that she needed to help

Wave after wave of silver flames curdled the air They reached an endpoint about ten meters in every direction around the shadowy silhouettes of Duulys and Randidly Then the fire bloomed upward into a sinister bulb melting the surrounding ground and releasing such intense waves of hatred and heat that it was impossible to sense what happened in the interior

Xershi unleashed a powerful slash against the outside of the ability but after a few seconds the heat burned it away and he had to back away to avoid his image melting Pullas scrambled to her feet Her image trembled but it still came when she called Death was exempt from its own power moving forward long after it should have broken down Through their tattoos she could feel the horrible pain that Randidly was experiencing Being able to protect a friend was the life she so desperately wanted She needed

FionaÆs hand clamped down on her shoulder Wait You are not the only strong one in the group Pullas Sometimes you need to trust in others And thereÆs something only you can do I IÆm almost ready Soon switch my place with Randidly I will handle my husband

Pullas looked at Fiona The blank emptiness in her expression frightened her Some part of Pullas worried that she would move Fiona into that flame and the woman would just let the heat and image lick through her body melting her to nothing Yet she found herself nodding

Her image hummed with the statement Fiona had made sometimes you need to trust

Both women turned back to face the core of silver flames Within that dangerous landscape both figures were locked in a silent embrace one experiencing agonizing physical pain the other channeling that pain with his internal emotional wounds At this point it became a battle of willpower between the two of them with how powerful RandidlyÆs physical body was

Soon Fiona whispered again Despite the heat a single tear ran down her cheek

Chapter 2036

The fire stalked around them like the lion it was based on Each tongue of flame possessed sharp eyes waiting for a single moment of weakness

Randidly felt a weird sense of grim relief held aloft by DuulysÆs grasp amongst the sea of silver fire Everything became the jaws of the lion around him flaying away his skin puncturing into his body rupturing the normal flow of blood through him His powerful body was being ravaged caught in the middle of an extremely potent image

Emotional waves radiated out of Duulys and twisted the flow of energy Any sort of RandidlyÆs usually siphoning methods was impossible here somehow the rage and pain that Duulys felt locked them both in this horrifying hell They were isolated and alone forced to both experience the ministrations of the silver flames

Randidly Ghosthound had never flinched in the face of pain His mind trembled and quaked underneath its pressures but that was more an expulsion of kinks and distractions than everything else As he grew used to the sensation his senses sharpened

Soon alone with his swirling core of Nether battling against the flames he found a weird sort of peace Being so immersed in anotherÆs projected emotional pain forced the Grey Creature to withdraw its own angst into a meeker spiral in self preservation A tension he had held for so long that he didnÆt even notice finally eased

In the face of the grinding external threat the whole of his capabilities came together

Of course his vision swam and occasionally Randidly lost track of his thoughts amongst the surging waves of painful flames Bits of his awareness were erased by hot gushes of white agony leaving him unsteady and distracted So he just looked in the face of his opponent and observed the almost perfect emotional force being unleashed against him

EggÆs Illusory Plume struggled valiantly keeping the worse of the damage from clawing away chunks of flesh The Stillborn Phoenix howled and sucked down as much of the heat and vicious image as it could manage Yet steadily his protective barrier was forced back The image of Duulys Ambar was oppressive and implacable Uncommon Metabolism had to fight directly against the cleansing fire and rapidly lost Only with the heavy support of Nether currents did Randidly prevent himself from being wiped away Even then it was probably only because of the super physical reality of his body his body was an entire universe which gave him a resilience that was hard to overcome

Sulfur gurgled in strained enjoyment As much as the heat pained the plant arm the image also churned so much kinetic energy around that it was gathering itself for another evolution

RandidlyÆs gaze flickered in amusement In the end IÆm surrounded by masochists

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 427

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 501

He knows the pattern RandidlyÆs thoughts stirred and popped His eyes widened absorbing all the shifts as this man sought to brutalize him HeÆs fought with himself for so long he knows his own texture down to the slightest detail I canÆt quite manage that

but maybe

Randidly had a plan He saw the way to utilize emotions but needed some of his abandoned facilities to do it So he rose back through gathering the whole of himself The agony ambushed him gleeful over his return After focusing for so long being slapped in the face with the horrible pain felt like being awoken by a river of boiling water His thoughts turned chaotic for several seconds as he tried to gather himself After tensing his shoulders he forced himself to relax he couldnÆt overpower pain

He floated on top of it He became a part of it

Duulys leaned forward his eyes glowing Randidly had no idea how long they had been here but even Duulys seemed exhausted Damnit what a cockroach you are But you will regret making an enemy of Duulys Ambar

The answer had come to him because of the difficult storm of emotions that Randidly had suffered underneath the Grey Creature There was obviously so much more to explore but he had been scraped raw by its wild fury for so long he understood the sensation of it With that knowledge he emulated the searing emotional intensity that Duulys generated

He had patterns and dances of his own

His heart stirred as his images moved But this time the order of arrival was different The Grey Creature came first the monstrous body that had evolved in order to survive becoming the template for the manifestation It was humanoid with sleek chitinous armor across the joints Sulfur was a heavy presence on his left side a hammer of a arm ready to begin the counterattack

The Stillborn Phoenix came next This time it didnÆt stop with his left eye Both eyes and his mouth were filled with tiny points of swirling darkness Black smoke crackling with crimson electromagnetic impulses drifted out of his hungry orifices The hollow openings yawned wide depthless and infinite

Yggdrasil came last grateful and giving as always to its wilder fellow images The branches of the World Tree shoved themselves out of the imageÆs back ripping apart his flesh and branching out with sharp twigs Emerald leaves became feathers stretching almost double RandidlyÆs body length in each direction The massive monstrous wings beat twice the leaves rustling with the long sharpened sound

The new adjusted image physicalizations solidified across RandidlyÆs body His branch wings wove themselves into existence He raised his gaze both eyes replaced with EggÆs of Depression His wings spread wider pushing against the harsh waves of silver flames His Nether Core began to rotate faster and faster all his significance coming together

Already the leaves along his wings were beginning to char But Randidly needed to wait for the Skill to end He would take matters into his own hands Both his Authorities shivered and threw the force of their presence behind his triplicate image activation

The Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs

All three images moved together shouting with all the surging emotional affect Randidly could manage that the space in front of him was a door A threshold A folded sky ready to bloom into reality