A tremor ran through the surrounding area as the backed-up Nether began to destabilize and crackled with potency. Even the huge construction of this deep pit into the ground couldn’t withstand the cataclysmic energy reaction as the working within began to disintegrate. The Nether Ritual that the Creature had created was somewhat crude, and definitely not designed to simply cup this huge quantity of Nether.

It had been too tightly bound to the ritual, and now it had nowhere to go.

Squinting upward, Randidly had three immediate ideas to deal with the sudden problem of the imminent Nether explosion that was balanced precariously above his head. And he needed to choose one of them quickly because like all explosions, this one was likely to blast upward and annihilate everyone that had come into the Hell Labyrinth in a tide of Nether.

Not that Randidly wouldn’t probably have difficulties too, but it was his Alpha Cosmos that was being held hostage by the Creature’s plot. They would be the ones to suffer from a mistake here. And as if to emphasize that point, a thin crack appeared in the staircase leading up from the 50th to the floors above.

The first, and likely the most desperate of the plans, was to bring the Nether out through his physical body and release it into the outside world. He would act as a release valve that would siphon away the bubbling pressure above him that was currently beginning to warp the surrounding space.

Randidly likely wouldn't need to switch his position in the real world to do so, as he was already hidden within the badlands beyond the front lines. Still, the flaws were obvious: a touchy Aether army was likely to notice a huge quantity of Nether abruptly appearing behind their lines. And then he would need to explain why he had produced so much Nether from nowhere.

And its not like he could afford to watch out for witnesses while trying to corral this huge amount of Nether.

For all that Lady Iellaya’s opinion toward Randidly was favorable, discovering this sort of action might spell a sharp end to rose-colored perspective on Randidly. Which would expose him to some of the wider threats on the frontlines that he had thus far avoided. Even though Ileot Swacc had stated that he only wanted to be friends with him, Randidly didn’t trust that man at all.

The second option was to use the Aether Crossroads in his chest to produce enough Aether to counteract the Nether here. Although the two energies had found an equilibrium inside of his body, that was because the Nether and the Aether were two sides of the same coin: Randidly himself served as the conduit between them. Although this Nether had slowly been gathered within him, it likely was not related to him and should conflict with Aether in the usual way.

Randidly’s hair had grown long enough that the stirring winds caused the black strands to sway messily across his forehead. Even with his images’ assistance, it was incredibly difficult to maintain the current balance as the loss of momentum to the Nether caused it to simply sink down, pressuring Randidly with raw weight. Which of course, was patently impossible. Nether was energy; it couldn’t possess weight.

And yet… With a strained grunt, Randidly adjusted his stance and glared upward at the laws-of-physics violating energy.

Again, the problem with using Aether was the sheer amount of Nether that was present here. Randidly could produce Aether quickly, but not this quickly. If he opened himself up widely enough to address the Nether before it collapsed, he would risk exposing himself to the strange urgency of expansion that lay within the energy release. If he wasn’t careful, he could be completely consumed by it. In the same way that the Nether Wells he absorbed had been before Randidly had brought them around.

Of course, that ignored the same problem that was present in plan number one. Randidly would likely release some significant amount of Aether out of his body in the real world and come back to find that everyone was shocked at his ability to produce Aether. He had already served out his punishment as a Heretic, but that was ignoring the truth of that label.

What Randidly could do wasn’t truly Heretical. The System only named him as such because it had no other way of understanding what he could do. Even though the people that Randidly slowly encountered were powerful, they all were tied to the System.

It seemed his Aether Crossroads made him very, very special.

And Randidly did NOT what to give Ileot Swacc another reason to desire his body.

Another shuddering groan escaped Randidly’s lips. He clenched his jaw so hard the muscles began to spasm in his cheeks. His hands flexed as he raised them to give a physical guide to the effort he put toward balancing the Nether above him.

The third plan was the most daring. And it would solve several of Randidly’s problems at once. The gist of it was to gather all the abundant Nether here, annihilate the working that the Creature had been shaping to plant a weapon in Azriel, and create a Nether Ritual that would only be Randidly’s.

Likely the result could be the creation of the focus that Randidly had been wracking his brain over for the Grim Chimera. With that focus in his pocket, Randidly could return to his body and put the finishing touches on the Yggdrasil focus while slowly allowing the memories from the hiltless blade to prepare him for what the Ignition Essence’s focus would be.

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However…

Another tremor ran through the air, this one much louder than the previous one. The extremely ornate platform on which they were standing shuddered as it was forced to endure more weight than it was designed for. Jade, obsidian, and silver cracked beneath Randidly’s feet. Even the Creature was beginning to pale as the density of Nether in the surrounding area began to warp the space around them.

It was an exceedingly peculiar feeling, Randidly reflected. Due to his Nether Modification, it wasn’t too uncomfortable for him to endure, but he could feel the way that the Nether was trying to press all of the space together in the surrounding area into one point. When the Nether was free to choose its own path, Randidly could suddenly sense how it wanted to destabilize the surrounding area and create a singularity.

Which was a whole different issue, and probably just as dangerous, as allowing the Nether to spread out and slowly corrode the people of his Soulskill faster than they could develop Skills to resist its effects.

Gritting his teeth, Randidly’s emerald eyes flared and his images became so vivid and detailed that it was nearly impossible to tell them from actual, physical presences next to him. The branches of Yggdrasil creaked and a low, hissing breath of ash escaped the Grim Chimera's mouth. Together, all four of them pushed against the fraying Nether Ritual and once more set the thing spinning.

In the opposite direction.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 61!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 86!

The Nether resisted at first simply by virtue of its immobility, but slowly it began to trudge in reverse of its previous path. The huge mass of Nether below began to suck Nether back into itself, both the runoff that flowed up to the surface and the dense strands of Nether that passed through Azriel toward that dark seed that the Creature had created.

There were a few more tremors through the ground around them, but as the Nether began to move things normalized to a low roar of momentum. Of course, the Nether Ritual’s destruction was hastened as Nether forced its way through it in reverse, but it still bought Randidly some time.

Because the problem with the third plan was that a dual trap was laid by the Creature in it. If he created his focus with this bead it had prepared, some powerful portion of the Creature’s will would be at the core of it. And if he attempted to remove that piece of the Creature’s will before he made his focus, that image that the Creature had sacrificed would once more go back into its hands.

And Randidly had difficulty believing that a weaponized Creature would calmly let him foil its plan.

Randidly glanced sideways at the Creature. It’s grey eyes, only slightly lighter than the grey and stern hair of its new form remained fixed on Randidly. “Do you yet hesitate? It is a sign of weakness that you still cannot make this choice. Is it too hard for you? Well, there will be no gradual easing of difficulty after this. You might bear my weapon, but the weight of responsibility waiting for you will only grow-”

This was Randidly’s Soulskill, and he had had enough. Now that the Nether was maintaining itself somewhat, reversing its motion through the Nether Ritual, Randidly flexed his authority. This was his body. All here was within his domain. This was the Alpha Cosmos, born of his flesh.

And he demanded that the Creature leave.

There was a soft gust of wind. The whole of existence around him trembled.

Nothing happened. It was like Randidly’s mental fingers tried to find purchase on this foreign existence within the Alpha Cosmos and only scrambled against marble. It seemed that the Creature fit perfectly into a hole that Randidly didn’t even know existed. It was flush with the edges of him. Which was a result that certainly hadn’t happened the last time that the Creature had invaded his Soulskill.

The Creature continued talking as though it hadn’t even noticed his efforts to evict it. “-until the day comes that you can truly fulfill your Fate. You can end this System that has persisted far beyond its limits.”

Randidly didn’t respond to the Creature, still shaken by the previous failure. No, what had shaken him was exactly how little effect his attempt had. It hadn’t even noticed. Otherwise, the Creature would definitely gloat. He was missing something here. For all that he had dominated the Creature in terms of power, that was only due to it having given its image to this unraveling bead in front of him. He could not allow himself to forget that again.

This was still an ancient monster whose understanding made it extremely dangerous.

Rather than focusing on this foe that he was fighting, Randidly turned his attention toward Azriel in this fleeting moment as the Nether howled above him in a gliding motion. His senses spread out across her body, trying to quickly determine if she was alright. The short answer was yes… but the more he looked at the changes that had occurred within Azriel the more Randidly gritted his teeth.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 62!

Her mind hadn’t been touched by the Nether, but her body had been thoroughly modified. It was now apparent that all of Azriel had been slowly been groomed by the Nether passing through her to become a ‘bubble’ for the dark marble that had been floating down toward her. Now that the grand Nether Ritual was unwinding, that process had been stopped. But the energy passing through Azriel continued to slowly taint her physical presence with Nether.

It was somewhat impressive that Azriel’s body accepted the changes so harmoniously; Randidly couldn’t detect a sign of corrosion between the Nether and Aether that she was. But she had almost completely become a creature of Nether. Much more so than Randidly, who maintained a balance that was quite favorable to Aether inside of himself.

Perhaps that was why even the Creature was so impressed. Randidly’s eyes were worried as he scanned his friend’s body for any signs of Nether’s touch. It seemed that whatever her master had done… had weirdly prepared her for this. Or given her a persistent flaw that allowed this to happen...

Yet Randidly’s revery was interrupted as Azriel’s eyelids fluttered. After a second of confusion, her clear crimson eyes flashed and focused on him for a split second. Then she pursed her lips and scanned the area around them.

Randidly hated speaking like this in front of the Creature, but some part of him just didn’t care. His voice was raw with emotion as he said, “Azriel… are you alright?”

Although she didn’t really seem able to move, her clear gaze conveyed her thoughts quite effectively as she locked eyes with Randidly. All part of the plan.