Honestly, the vantage of the action below would have been rather uncomfortable for them all if they had to peer over the edge of Wivanya’s wings to look down, if just because of the impending feeling that you were going to lose your grip on the scaly wings and fall off the edge. Alana had her saddle on Wivanya’s back, but the rest of them would need to rely on the few ropes Alana had designed into the saddle for this purpose and an acute sense of balance. But Alana quickly spotted another option.

With a subtle touch of her knees, she guided Wivanya through the drifting crowd of other floating viewers toward a large and rather deserted platform floating directly above the confrontation below. Although the air up here was thick with floating platforms wreathed with emerald energy, everyone gave this, the largest platform in the sky, a wide berth. It sat in the eye of the slowly rotating storm.

Wivanya landed gracefully onto the solid ground, only breathing out a small about of ice that immediately froze the platform beneath them so it appeared that when they touched down, a crystalline halo was summoned. Luckily, the platform didn’t even shudder underneath the sudden weight; it was probably large enough they didn’t matter much. Shaking her head, Alana allowed Hank to help Gertrude and Raymond off of Wivanya’s shrinking back and walked over to the two individuals already present on the platform.

Tatiana looked up with a smile, ceasing to speak to the tall, three-headed ogre next to her and turning her attention to the new arrivals. The ogre turned away and began to study the commotion below extremely closely. “Ah, Alana. I thought I sensed your image around Kharon. Stopping in early for a bit of last-minute birthday shopping…?”

Alana snorted as she moved to stand next to the other woman. Both peered serenely over the edge of the platform as they talked. “Ha, I suppose Kharon itself would be taking part in this farce of a gift competition. If that’s what you are asking, no, we don’t plan on taking part…” When Tatiana gave her a disbelieving look, Alanasmoothly continued to talk. “...but of course, in consideration of everything Randidly has done for me, I did prepare something special.”

“Of course, just a token of appreciation, I’m sure.” Tatiana rolled her eyes. Then the two women fell into silence as an impact below shook the very air around them. Some of the smaller platforms circling around them wobbled dangerously before control stabilized.

Alana tilted her head to the side as she looked down. “Is everything… alright?”

Tatiana grimaced. “Well, if things are not alright, we have a problem so big that I don’t have any way of dealing with it. So for now, I’m hoping that this is just… exuberance. That will pass very quickly. Before tomorrow.”

Another impact below erupted, once more sending all of the smaller platforms floating in the air swaying despite the distance between them and the fight going on below. Pressing her lips together, Alana peered over the edge and studied the conflict.

Randidly Ghosthound, currently wreathed in a strange, black energy that warped the very air around him, heaved himself out of a crater which had been created as he had been smashed into the ground by a powerful combination of Helen’s images. It was almost impossible to discern any of his individual features through the thick haze of energy, but Alana was confident that the assault that Helen had just launched against him didn’t injure him in the slightest. He cracked his neck casually while his energy burned the dust off of his skin.

The lack of injury was unfortunate because it was clear to Alana that Helen was nearing the end of even her prodigious mental strength. Her gaze was calm as she watched Randidly clean himself slowly off, but her shoulders were heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. The crimson color of the Tides of Blood in the surrounding area was slowly fading as she couldn’t maintain the peak concentration required for the Skill any longer.

In the battlefield below, a few moments of silence passed as both combatants realized that they had neared the end of their conflict. The remnants of a sizable stretch of forest and several low hills served as a testament to the intensity of the clash that was coming to an end.

Of course, some of the individuals on the other platforms didn’t recognize the silence for what it was. They whispered nervously to each other, looking down at the crater Helen had used Randidly’s body to created. Even if he quickly hopped out and landed back to face her, it was probably a memorable moment of weakness for Randidly Ghosthound.

Could you be doing this on purpose to teach Kharon the same lesson you insisted on in Donnyton? That invincibility never lasts forever? Alana wondered as she peered down. But that didn’t feel right to her. No… I suppose these people know that it isn’t about you being invincible, it’s about the work you put into achieving your strength that matters. Then this display...

Honestly, Alana wished that she shared the ignorance of the surrounding people. Because the emptiness that was wafting out of Randidly was intimidating, to say the least. In that swirling energy around his body, there wasn’t even a speck of an image. He was a completely black space in the world, ripping with power.

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He was an empty hole where a sentence had been ripped out of the diary. Definitely present and a part of the world, but in a disturbing, negative way. He was connected without seeming to have any substance to him. To Alana’s senses that had been so tuned to images recently, it was extremely disturbing.

But it’s so strange, as he breathes, it feels like the world breathes with him… Alana narrowed her eyes.

But quickly Gertrude Collins proceeded to move to stand next to Tatiana and Alana, with Hank sauntering over after her with a nervous Raymond in tow. She frowned as she looked over the edge. “That’s Randidly Ghosthound…? He… he’s in such pain…”

“That’s an occupational hazard of becomin’ a fighter,” Hank drawled.

But Gertrude shook her head. “No, not like that. It’s like… he lost someone very important to him. And he’s-”

ROOOOOOOOOOOARRRRRRRR!

Whatever the Generous Caregiver was going to say was drowned out in bellow that Randidly unleashed. Alana’s skin tingled like she had been touched by an electric shock. And from the other’s faces, it seemed they experienced a similar sensation. Then there was a blur of motion and Randidly was streaking toward the still recovering Helen.

“I’m surprised you haven’t hopped down there to join them,” Tatiana said with forced casualness. And Alana had considered it. Yet...

Hank chuckled ruefully. “Ain’t our turn. We’ve been putting in our time for long enough.”

And as he spoke, two figures streaked from the shadows of the nearby ruined hills, intercepting Randidly before he reached Helen. The first Alana recognized immediately: it was Naffur Suite, the head of the Order Ducis. He wore a pair of ornate gloves and unleashed a huge haymaker of a punch toward Randidly’s side, which didn’t even earn a response from the energy-clad man.

On the other side, a solid emerald moss spirit the size of an ogre simply tried to spear tackle the Ghosthound. Randidly saw both of the attacks coming, but he didn’t even adjust. He simply continued to charge forward, daring an offensive against him.

The moss spirit slammed against the Ghosthound’s waist but Randidly just dragged the green giant forward like he didn't’ notice the impact. Naffur’s punch was only a tiny bit more effective; it slammed into Randidly’s jaw and forced him to take a half step to steady himself, but then he was back to charging forward.

Luckily for Helen, that was all the time she needed. Raising her hands, Helen’s face twisted in fury. The crimson coloration that was slowly sinking away as her image faded surged suddenly back. To the point that the area around her was completely soaked in blood.

Truly, Helen always hides her strength deeply… Alana folded her arms across her chest.

As Randidly closed the last two steps of distance between himself and Helen, those crimson tides turned into a tight spiral of blood. And from that frantic whirlpool came a pale and fleshy claw. This the Ghosthound actually reacted to; he raised his hand and attempted to smash the claw.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Randidly Ghosthound hit the fleshy claw with all the force of a freight train, splintering its bones and splattering its flesh before the image destabilized and fell to pieces. Helen stumbled backward but she had managed to disperse his momentum enough that she opened up some space.

Which gave Naffur the chance to explode with an image of a sharp, adventurous spirit. Of a challenger. He threw punch after punch at Randidly’s exposed back, gaining speed with each attack. The first couple of punches didn’t do much, but it seemed that the punches were gaining quite a bit of power with their increased speed. So much so that the Ghosthound gave up pursuing Helen and lashed out toward Naffur as he twisted around.

But this is where the moss spirit proved its usefulness. While its image, in Alana’s eyes, was relatively weak, its body was extremely stable. Randidly’s hand, positively crackling with that strange energy that circled him, seemed capable of ripping through images like they were paper. Yet the almost-elastic moss spirit used its body to significantly slow and weaken the Ghosthound’s casual swipe, enabling Naffur to duck under the strike and continue his own barrage.

And Naffur continued to accelerate as the moss spirit gave up its more humanoid form and shifted to a series of amorphous tentacles that bound the Ghosthound’s movements. However, almost immediately the emerald tentacles began to shrivel and shrink as the energy around Randidly ate away at its mass.

“Looks like he’s not going easy on them any longer,” Tatiana said. Alana nodded.

Naffur continued to accelerate to the point that he could avoid Randidly’s sharp counter-attacks, but he only had a few more seconds of landing pounding blows on the Ghosthound’s arms and chest before the moss spirit couldn’t hold on any longer. And then it was just Naffur and Randidly Ghosthound, throwing punch after punch after each other like two brothers brawling over a toy car.

And of course, when the two were facing each other directly, it was only a matter of time before Naffur faltered and was smashed backward. Although it seemed like the power in their fists was coming close to each other, it was clear that Randidly Ghosthound’s defense was in another tier altogether.

Alana had doubts whether, empowered as he was by that strange energy, even she would be able to inflict a serious blow. Despite the fact that he didn’t even bother to use an image.

But after Naffur was knocked backward, Randidly didn’t pursue. He simply raised his head and roared one last time. But then that dark, swirling energy dissipated and all that was left was the very human and vulnerable form of Randidly Ghosthound. His chest and feet were bare; the knuckles on his right hand dripped blood that sizzled against the ground.

“Guess he doesn’t like birthdays,” Hank joked, but Alana winced. Everyone stood for a few seconds then, transfixed by the twisted expression on the Ghosthound’s face before he opened up a portal and disappeared.