Nether energies generally constituted three portions that made a whole: the core, the bubble, and the ambient energy field that lay between the former two portions. What Randidly did to explode in a tide of Nether was essentially flood the energy field with his raw Nether and then forcefully condensing the bubble down until the energy was left with no choice but to explode outward.

An eruption of shadows occurred with him at the epicenter. The shadowy flames spiked upward high into the air above him as he raised his head and roared.

His grip over his energy squeezed so tightly that the bubble was superimposed over the core. The two parts became one. Then the exploding energy became a wide, amorphous bubble that rushed outward in waves of spectral energy that blasted away the nearby trees and began to corrode them. Bark sizzled and leaves withered after only a second of exposure.

And still Randidly produced more and more power. The thick Nether that Randidly now possessed unrolled itself slowly, spreading to fill the surrounding space. The nebula grew, seeming to manifest itself around Randidly’s body. Those same shadowy flames that sprung from his skin now began to spring up from spots of unfortunate ground and even on the trees that had been soaked in Nether. More and more air was pushed away, resulting in a constant wind that fluttered the strange, ghastly flames that were the silent observers of Randidly’s display.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 161!

The nearby Razor Eagles squawked in agitation and hurriedly fled from the ridge on which Randidly stood as Nether continued to spread. Perhaps some instinct of theirs hinted at the harm that would result from any exposure.

Chuckling, Randidly pushed himself further. A shiver ran through his body as the Nebula continued to manifest. The suppressing effect of his Nether exploded out of his body and seized the surrounding air in a chilling grip. In a way that Randidly hadn’t witnessed since he had been on the frontlines, the surrounding space began to distort. The ground beneath his feet split into reality and a visual overlay that twitched uncontrollably in unpredictable directions as Nether eroded the fabric of space. The ‘image’ of Earth’s natural laws in the surrounding area shuddered and caved as Randidly applied more and more pressure.

A small frown crossed Randidly’s face. Well… it’s not that space is breaking… just that the Nether is somehow slipping into a crack and exposing it...

With the changes around him, Randidly’s focus narrowed so he could observe this phenomenon. At the same time, he few a ripple as the Nebula inside his chest and the Nebula around his body became one, in the same way Randidly’s body was the same as the Alpha Cosmos. A connection was established and the visual variation spread into the whole area affected by Nether.

As he influenced the space, Randidly was creating an even larger bubble. Spectral fire swirled wildly around, spinning in that same current that dominated his Nebula. What was within, without. What was without, within. Then there was a strange vibration simultaneously from the surrounding air and from deep within him. Pitchback cracks in the fabric of existence began to extend outward from Randidly’s body.

Randidly’s eyes narrowed. My Nether is becoming too big for that thin crack that is present… and is forcefully pushing the two apart now…?

Closing in on the limits of his Nether powers, Randidly released a deep breath. Pitch black, corrupted air flowed out of his mouth. That Nether tainted air crackled with cobalt bolts of lightning until it dissipated.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 162!

But as Randidly was nearing his limits, the changes continued. The surrounding area became strangely ethereal and dreamlike. The visual distortions rapidly spread. It was like Randidly was standing in a broken snowglobe that shifted unpredictably by the whim of a capricious giant. The cracks spreading from Randidly’s body through space continued to twist their way outward and thicken.

With his Grim Intuition, Randidly could sense that ghastly aura of oppression that radiated out from those cracks. It was the same sensation of the Great Rift, albeit on a much smaller scale. But what struck Randidly most directly was how it looked.

He seemed to have grown wings that resembled the shadow of tree branches in the dead of winter: all sharp lines and knobby forks.

And in that moment, Randidly felt a profound sense of… connection. Perhaps he had always been able to sense it, but now that it had been enlarged by the influence of Nether he could finally notice it. That thin crack of Nether that had been expanded now began to feed Randidly a confusing stream of information.

The world became his bubble, and he the core. Natural laws and images that had been present in the area weakened and died because the area became ‘him’. Nether bridged the gap in a much more literal way than the Alpha Cosmos did. Through that ‘connection’ Randidly could feel everything shift.

Spectral flames began to lick outward from the edges of the black cracks Randidly created. He gritted his teeth, operating Nether at the limit of what he was capable. Then the ground beneath him groaned and cracked, gradually collapsing from the strain of enduring the Nether.

Not the Nether as energy… I’ve… literally grown heavy… Randidly was somewhat stunned. He lifted his left and right hands, staring at them. Nether is manifesting physically as I connect with the surrounding area…?

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 163!

Releasing another smog-like breath, Randidly no longer maintained his Nether. The cracks rapidly retracted themselves back to his body and the Nebula vanished almost instantly. On the other hand, the flames stayed for another five minutes, slowly shrinking down to nothing. Randidly glanced around and smiled wryly at what he saw; it looked like he had been testing bomb detonations from the space where he was standing.

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The ground was shattered and weak, the surrounding area scorched, and the nearby trees had been withered to charcoal.

That sense of connection and weight was… unexpected. Randidly bent over and rubbed some of the charred ground between his fingers. Like embers from a fire, the substance was brittle and porous, rapidly disintegrating due to his touch.

“Still… Nether is strong,” Randidly said lightly as he shook his head and stood. It was somewhat baffling to admit after he had spent so much time working and refining his images to reach the current point, but after experiencing the suppressive influence that he could release with Nether, he didn’t think his Aether Skills could rival his Nether ones.

Maybe… I’m just better at Nether than Aether…? Or perhaps its a side-effect of being connected to Neveah, who is such a natural at utilizing Aether? She has several advantages when it comes to Aether and therefore I have been naturally been pushed toward the reciprocal, innately understanding Nether? To achieve some sort of balance?

The thought made Randidly frown. He had never thought too deeply about what his Soulbound connection to Neveah meant, aside from the benefits they derived from it. Because the benefits that Randidly obtained were significant. Perhaps he would need to spend some time investigating the nature of the connection between them in the future.

But thinking of Neveah and wanting to try and test the limits of his Nether power, Randidly sent her a quick message asking what she was doing. Almost immediately, she replied that she had returned to Yystrix’s grave and was studying the Engravings that had been left there. Implied in her message was that she shouldn’t be disturbed unless it was extremely important.

Rolling his eyes at his obsessed partner, Randidly took another look at the area and eyed it speculatively. He hadn’t detected anything in the actual sight of his Nether power that had inspired him, but he did get a small amount of details from looking at the destruction that he had caused with Nether.

The singed ground, the destroyed foliage, the deserted area, the swirling winds… it all remained as a testament to the fact that something had occurred here, at this location. This place would be marked by Randidly’s experiment for quite some time.

And that sense of being a catalyst for change, whether for good or for ill, was something that Ignition Essence could use. Because the image of the Ignition Essence was definitely designed to be potent. Randidly was in the middle of memorizing the traits of the surrounding area when he received a message from a sender that he really didn’t expect to reach out to him.

Can we meet? There is something that I would like to say before I depart.

Twisting his mouth, Randidly glanced up toward the sun; it was probably only 9 A.M. There was still plenty of time left in the day. And considering the sender, he didn’t believe that a meeting between them would take long…

Shrugging, Randidly replied with the affirmative and gave her a location for the meeting. Then he proceeded to return to his island and float back toward Kharon. When he arrived, he quickly hopped down onto Kharon proper and lost himself in the tight streets of the industrial district. At this point, most everyone was up and recovering from the Eidolon Crucible, so even Randidly Ghosthound was able to produce some common leather clothes and blend in with the crowd of workers trudging to their job.

One the way, his nose did detect several whiffs of the soap scent, the Ghosthound, but Randidly did his best not to think too deeply about that.

Eventually, he arrived at the edges of the industrial loading docks. Huge metal latticeworks and cranes towered overhead, like some sort of forgotten monument or a model of a city's inner bones. This area had been built with the impression it would handle the transportation of metals and raw materials in and out of Kharon, but the rise of the floating platforms saw this location become basically obsolete. So although the industrial district continued to hum with productivity, this location had very little foot traffic.

When Randidly hopped lightly up from steel beam to steel beam to ascend to the top, he saw that Alta Bounty was already waiting at their agreed-upon meeting spot.

Randidly landed lightly on a beam opposite Alta’s position, with five meters of open space between them. They were at the peak of the framework, the only thing higher being Kharon’s flag fluttering weakly in the morning air. Seeing her tight expression, Randidly tilted his head to the side. “I was… surprised that you wanted to meet. Even though you became part of the Pantheon in the Alpha Cosmos, I figured our relationship was… soured by what happened in the past.”

“It was. You made so many terrible mistakes. You let everything I loved die right in front of me.” Alta whispered. With a slowness that demonstrated remarkable control, Alta pivoted to look at him. “You had the ability to have such a positive effect on the world… I could feel your power… but you didn’t. And I hated you for it.”

Congratulations! Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 142!

Randidly remained silent, watching Alta’s face further and further into a murderous grimace. Her current image form was of the young and lovely woman that she once was before the image of ash she borrowed from Randidly corrupted her, but with every second Randidly could see the monster that Alta Bounty had eventually become taking over. The image of destruction and cleansing fire stirred around her. Randidly could help but notice the metal beneath her feet was slowly beginning to show signs of rusting.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 143!

“...but I now see that I was childish in my outlook,” The twisted face of crazed murderer stopped its vicious transformation. And then her expression slowly relaxed back to her normal appearance. Alta made an effort to try and smile, but her face still looked forced and stiff. “You weren’t perfect, but now that I am working in a semi-deific capacity… I get it. You cannot help everyone. That person will only be aware of their relationship with you and how it is disappointing, but you as the deity interact with such a wide area… so I get it. I really am sorry for the way I behaved.”

Alta’s gaze meandered down to the metal on which she stood. Her dangerous image had largely dispersed, so the slow corrosion of the steel beam had stopped. And Randidly opened his mouth to accept Alta’s apology, but something stopped him. On his right wrist, the woven rope of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night tightened.

And because that brought Randidly up short, he could sense the small differences in the steady way his Nether swirled in his Nebula. ...is this a moment of import? Or it could be? Something that will be recorded in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night…?

Since it is related to Nether, it is intimately related to connection. After today’s experiment… it seems like I’ve really underestimated the uses of Nether. The Fatepiece activating now might mean… this is likely a chance to connect with Alta.

But… what sort of thing should I say to connect with her…?