Randidly had burned the drop of liquid Aether in his chest without any hesitation. Every ounce of his remaining mental strength was thrown behind the image of the Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths. It wasn’t actually related to any of Randidly’s three created images but was rather a Skill he received directly because of his Class the Lord of the Baleful Wood.

Still, Lantern of Harsh Truths was clearly pretty closely related to the partially evolved Ignition Essence image. So when he activated it, Randidly could clearly feel the depression and helplessness that filled Illym’s heart surging outward through his limbs. Perhaps that heavy weight of emotion was exactly why Randidly could clearly feel the duplicated Vualla riding with Ileot fall to pieces.

Those similar emotions became a bridge, and that bridge became a blade. If the duplicated Vualla was a marionette, all of its strings had just been cut.

Not that Randidly fared particularly well either. He had likely missed it when using the liquid Aether the first time, perhaps due to his groggy state, but burning liquid Aether forced away other Aether in the surrounding area. Even Randidly’s own pure Aether in its most basic form was forced away. Which resulted in a split second of immense weakness before Randidly’s Aether Crossroads rapidly recharged his energy.

That side effect probably why Ileot was in such a weakened state earlier… it’s rough not having your own Aether Crossroads.

The current Ileot blinked his eyes when faced with the brilliant emerald light, seemingly too lost in his own emotions to be affected by the Lantern of Harsh Truths. But almost immediately the black tears ceased oozing out of the pores around his eyes. Ileot’s eyeballs appeared to still be stained by the inky tears that were already cried, but as he blinked, more and more of his original eyes were revealed.

Congratulations! Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 181!

Randidly didn’t resist as Lady Iellaya followed his earlier instructions and seized his waist as Ileot’s eyes narrowed in fury. Even if Ileot Swacc’s emotional state had shielded him from the same sort of disastrous realization that the duplicated Vualla had received, it seemed Randidly’s lantern was potent enough to shock him back to something close to clarity.

Yet the mission had accomplished its goal for the moment. Randidly didn’t miss the way that there was no longer any Aether flooding to fuel Ileot’s rapid Aether expenditure. Not that meant much. There was still more than enough burning Aether in Ileot’s chest for him to squash Randidly like a bug. And gradually, the resolve in Ileot’s eyes formed.

Randidly didn’t look away as he was pulled backward. Wavy reverberations of Nether framed Ileot’s body in a nova of darkness. Almost gently, the huge whips of white lightning twined there way back to Ileot’s side as he switched his targets to the arrogant Randidly Ghosthound who had struck at the duplicated Vualla.

Can he sense how important this decision is for him? Randidly wondered wearily. After using the Skill, most of his mental fortitude drained out of him. If Ileot would strike, there wasn’t much he could do to resist. Is he coherent enough to understand what I’ve done, or is he simply furious?

The moment seemed to stretch, as though Ileot’s anger were a physical force that mired Randidly in the surrounding space. You really could kill me and I wouldn’t be able to stop you. And now that you’ve reclaimed most of your reason, you are planning to do just that. But you know…

...it might have been more dangerous for me if you actually were exposed to the Lantern of Harsh Truths… Randidly’s gaze slid past Ileot to the pulsing maelstrom of Nether behind him. Because you might have glimpsed the flaw at your core that will now get you killed.

OOOOOONNNNNGGGGG.

The Nether King took advantage of the drawn-out second of inaction from Ileot and rapidly reassembled its defenses. The dense Nether that had been slowly beaten back by the assault by the enormous whips of white lightning now flooded back outward, pushing back the inert weapons of Ileot Swacc. In addition, the Nether King’s roar unleashed several dense ripples of Nether that harmonized strangely with each other and strengthened the final wave that thrust toward Ileot’s exposed back.

“FUCK!” Ileot bellowed as the huge attack of Nether caught him by surprise and immediately devoured a portion of Ileot’s limited amount of Aether with a sizzle. Randidly watched the whole thing calmly as he was pulled back through the Great Rift; as pain seized Ileot’s attention, inflammatory surged forward once more across his face and completely blinded him to the surrounding situation.

The threat of Randidly was forgotten. Ileot didn’t know or care about the fact his Aether was once more limited. The duplicated Vualla had fallen almost completely inert now. With a growl, Ileot unleashed attack after attack, once more trying to smash his way forward to slay the Nether King.

If you saw the lantern, you would likely have understood that it was your own fear and guilt that have made your life miserable for the last three thousand years… if you could just let your fear go…

With the Vualla in his body somehow broken by what she saw in the lantern, Ileot could only frantically burn away the Aether he had received already. For him, the afterward had been forgotten before the demanding needs of the now. He transformed into a monster of instinct and desire

Which, to be fair, was quite effective. As Lady Iellaya pulled Randidly and Vualla back across to the area controlled by Aether, Ileot had managed to once more force his way forward and could attack the Nether King directly. Where grace failed him, persistence and ferocity simply trampled the defenses of the Nether King.

Yet to Randidly’s eyes, his direct attacks were ultimately ineffective. Because with Ileot striking away the dense Nether in his wrathful onslaught, Randidly finally saw the pure form of the Nether King; it was an esoteric shape at the core of all that Nether that pulsed with power. Rather than a soul, it looked more like a floor plan of a very small house, filled with short intersecting lines.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Randidly wiggled his bare toes as the trio finally settled down back on true ground. He narrowed his eyes. That does make it seem like the weave I opened up earlier was the component that gave the Nether King intelligence… but why does it then seem like this pure symbol is so much scarier than an intelligent foe…?

Before his thoughts could go much further, Randidly felt lightheaded and swayed. It seemed like the significant strain of utilizing the Philosopher’s Key and then burning a drop of liquid Aether abruptly caught up to him. If Vualla had stepped behind him and supported him, Randidly probably would have just collapsed into a heap.

“You need a nap.” Vualla chuckled.

Gritting his teeth, Randidly pushed himself back to a standing position. “Maybe, but I don’t think we can afford to take a break now. Depending on which one of them wins this fight-”

“Really?” Lady Iellaya gave Randidly a strange look. Then she gestured out to the echoing fight in front of them. “Is there really anything we can do to interfere in that…? It seems like your Skill worked. Ileot is definitely weakening. As long as the Nether King can survive the attacks… Well, let’s just hope the Nether King needs to take a nap afterward as well.”

Ileot shrieked like a banshee and flayed Nether away from the Nether King with his huge whips of white lightning. Randidly wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but it appeared that the whips were becoming slightly thinner and dimmer. Yet each of those strikes sent out powerful reverberations that shook the ground underneath Randidly’s feet. In fact, Randidly was eventually forced to take several steps backward as the concussive blasts from the battle caused more and more stone at the edge of the Aether territory to crack and fall off into the Great Rift.

As the fight continued, Ileot seemed to devolve even more directly into a frantic devil. The whips of white lightning danced and cracked like they were Ileot’s own fingers. Nether was blasted away to create a larger and larger opening on the Nether King’s strange symbol. But when Ileot finally smashed against that strange symbol at the core of the Nether King, it failed to damage it seriously.

Although the symbol was warped, it rapidly healed and then began to create more powerful Nether that swirled around ominously.

OOOOOONNNNGGGG-

“Just…. Just die!” Ileot spat out his words. His sweat was rapidly washing away the blank tears he had cried earlier. He continued to burn his Aether with reckless abandon. It seemed like the duplicated Vualla had completely folded in on herself, vanishing completely after she had admitted that she hated herself.

Despite the current trajectory of the fight that seemed to support Lady Iellaya’s wait-and-see attitude, Randidly couldn’t simply watch. After huffing out a deep breath, he once more drew the Philosopher’s Key. Instantly Randidly was struck with a vicious headache, but Randidly ignored the pain and extended the key toward the encroaching edge of the Great Rift. The plain gold exterior gleamed dully as he sensed the karma in the surrounding area.

Mostly, Randidly was deeply suspicious of what was going on with the duplicated Vualla. But he did find her still attached to Ileot Swacc. Her figure was thin and waifish, as though she was only a young girl who was clinging to her older brother. She leaned against his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes were half-open, seemingly numb to the chaos occurring in front of her.

White lightning and Nether crashed against each other. Strange, warped byproducts of grey matter were produced and annihilated in almost the same moment. As though he didn’t notice that his attacks weren’t effective, Ileot continued to smash his huge whips against that symbol that formed the Nether King.

Bit by bit, Ileot burned through the Aether that the duplicated Vualla had provided to him. His eyes slowly came back into focus, but Ileot didn’t cease his bestial onslaught.

Randidly watched as the darkness Vualla’s eyelids flickered. “Don’t you think… it’s time to rest…? Haven’t we struggled for long enough? Let’s just… let it all go...”

Spittle and rage were expelled from Ileot’s chest in his heaving breaths. More and more, Randidly felt an irrational fear seizing control of Ileot. As his fury gave way to consciousness, his psyche had more and more cracks that allowed fear to seem through. Randidly solemnly watched the duplicated Vualla tighten her arms around Ileot’s neck.

With a sigh, Randidly carefully replaced his key at his belt with trembling hands. Then, slightly reassured, Randidly allowed himself to topple over sideways and be smothered by a well-needed rest. As though she had expected it, Vualla caught him and laid him gently down onto the ground. She smiled down at him and Randidly smiled back as darkness claimed him.

Of course, Randidly’s expression quickly turned sour as a familiar sense of falling whisked him away from the frontlines of the battlefield and took him to the edge of a vast forest. He looked up and saw the familiar form of Kharon hanging over him.

Randidly wanted to pull out his hair. Really? The Eidolon Crucible activated now? Usually, it has a more convenient timing-

Yet then Randidly paused because the sensation in the air was different than the usual Eidolon Crucible. Images didn't surge forward to assault him immediately. He could feel the people of Kharon around him, a surprisingly large number. A number that was probably double that of the last time the Skill activated. But Randidly felt how the new blood had diluted the image he had left.

There was a big recruitment. Randidly pursed his lips and looked up toward the mobile city that he had created. And… there is something else. Something happened. Is it the final Zone appearing on Earth? No, that wouldn’t cause this… it also doesn’t feel like someone else died...

One thing was clear; Kharon was now hesitating. The hesitation seemed to ask Randidly if the path that it was taking was necessary.

How long have I been away in Earth time…? It feels like eight months… I suppose that is plenty of time for my lessons to fade from memory. Necessity is as easily forgotten as convenience is adopted...

As if to punctuate the question, the sky was split as a huge blast of energy descended nearby and annihilated most of the tranquil forest. Based on what Randidly had learned from Earth previously, that was the weapon of Zone 1, Mjolnir. Waves of force ripped tree trunks out of the ground and ignited them with pure energy. These flaming tree crashed to the ground nearby, spreading the destruction even further.

Repressing the urge to sigh, Randidly chuckled. “Do you think the future that’s coming will be an easy one? This is the last gentle reminder that I’m going to give you… If you stay in Kharon, you can never step back in the face of duty. There is still so much more to do.”

Randidly felt the surrounding images considering that. But Randidly also knew that he could offer the most compelling proof of the need for Kharon by demonstrating his current power. Unfortunate that I’m already so exhausted… better make this quick. It will probably mean this won’t be a great rest, but still…

Reaching to his belt, Randidly calmly produced the Philosopher’s Key. Although in the real world it was just a dull gold color, it was a beacon of light in this mental world. “Now… let me teach you a bit about how scary an image can really be.”