The reach of Yggdrasil spread both up and down from Randidly’s meditating body. Above him, the thick brown trunk stretched upward like a solemn shrine to life. Stories and fables in looping golden script crossed the whole of the thick bark, adding rich, warm color to the central pillar of Yggdrasil. From the upper portions of the trunk, a thousand branches spread out in every direction. Each was carefully adorned in emerald leaves that rustled softly with an invisible wind as the image made its presence felt.

That rustling was a near-constant melody of a vital planet; it was the song of growth and stability. And in a way, it was the low hum of power that drove Yggdrasil to be as powerful an image as it was.

It was a thousand details that had slowly accumulated, steadily becoming potency.

As above, so below. While the top portion of the perfect reflection was brown and emerald, the bottom half was entirely golden. The tips of the roots digging down into the Earth beneath Randidly were only dimly golden, as though they had been quickly dipped into a canister of dirt and gold dust. But as more and more energy flowed upward through the root system, the brightness increased to a lustrous shine. Energy flowed upward through the World Tree, part of an endless cycle.

Of course, I had to hop off of Kharon in order to do this, but at least the Philosopher’s Key will get me back quickly… Randidly hummed to himself and continued his restorative meditation. His breathing was slow and even. Honestly, it was something of a stress relief that he was sitting on a cliff face while Kharon trooped forward away from him.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 241!

After meeting with Han Yazhu and Mark Rowel in the hour or so before Kharon began to move, Randidly was thoroughly exhausted of his willingness to participate in social interaction. Honestly, he would have preferred another few extremely quick confrontations with the Illym inside fo the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night to those sorts of semi-political discussions, but he was the liege of Kharon. He controlled the Order Ducis and the Riders of the Baleful Court.

He wore a crown and had to act the role of King. Within his Kingdom, his was the final say.

Honestly, the discussions with Zone 7’s representative were thankfully brief; they simply wanted to establish a program to send a few of their best forgers to work in the refineries of Kharon for a few months at a time. Not to take Kharon’s secrets, but to give them exposure to the process of imbuing an image into metal at its very capable source.

Randidly was a little worried about too much exposure to his image, but he had been keeping track of the forgers of Kharon. Although there were similarities in their process to his, it wasn’t enough that Randidly was unwilling to let them teach Zone 7’s best people. This was a Skill that could be safely spread.

Mark Rowel, head of the Order Valorem, had made a request that seemed to squirm uncomfortably on Randidly’s desk like a slug.

“What we need is a definitive outline of the requirements to being a member of an Order,” Mark had insisted as the two faced each other across a flimsy wooden table. “We want our Orders to be seen as peacekeeping forces for the people. So giving concrete outlines of what is expected of each individual is for the best. As the Order Ducis is the current head of the Orders, I cannot believe that you already don’t have such directives, at least in regards to your own recruitment.”

The meeting had ended in dissatisfaction for both. Obviously, Randidly didn’t intend on making an outline of qualities that individuals in Orders should possess. And it seemed to Randidly that the only reason the Order Valorem wanted such requirements was to further legitimize and defend themselves after the embarrassment they had received at the football game.

Besides, Randidly didn’t agree with Mark Rowel’s read on what the Orders were. It was an organization type, not a type of organization. But he supposed that Tessa, the true creator of the Orders, was the actual authority on the subject. If she were to send a letter asking him to provide some support to people’s understanding of Orders, Randidly might consider it.

Even though Tessa essentially forced Randidly into this position in an attempt to corral his activities…

Sighing, Randidly banished those thoughts from his mind and continued to focus on recovering his mental energy. Leaves rustled and roots spread downward. The sun in the sky continued to slide steadily across the great blue dome. Green above, golden below, bridged by a thick trunk of brown covered in golden writ. The rustling of Yggdrasil’s leaves brought peace to Randidly’s heart. Mentally and physically, Randidly slowly came into alignment.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 196!

Soon, Randidly felt good enough to produce the Philosopher’s Key and return to his island. Wrapped in thick silver mists and illuminated briefly by bolts of navy blue electricity, his island floated serenely in Kharon’s wake.

Very quickly, Randidly walked over to his sitting spot in the center of his island and made himself comfortable. He hadn’t seen Tessa at his birthday party, although Randidly wasn’t sure whether he should read into that fact very much. He honestly had no idea what Tessa had done since their brief interactions when Orders had been created. He was aware that she still lived in Franksburg, but that was basically it. He had been so busy with other threats and issues that she had just slipped his mind.

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Which was, perhaps, why she had chosen not to come to his birthday in spite of his invitation. Because they had been drifting apart for a while and now that they had arrived at such different places, there was no need for them to reconnect.

That thought caused Randidly to feel a deep ache in his chest. But he ultimately had to set the pain aside. Compared to the bewildering loss that Randidly had felt in Yystrix’s tomb, he could manage this small disappointment. Speaking of surprise absences from my birthday. This next meeting…

This meeting Tatiana hadn’t bothered to give a location for, and Randidly understood why. He slowly walked across his island to the far side and found Lyra standing with her hands folded behind her back as she looked toward the approaching horizon. She didn’t react at all to his presence, even when he was standing next to her perfectly mimicking her posture.

So Randidly looked forward with her. In front of them was a rather sparse forest and above that a veritable shield wall of anvil-like, grey-black clouds. Bright bolts of lightning snaked occasionally across the wall of the storm. Kharon trooped dutifully forward, unafraid of the thunder and rain that might crash down over it, drenching the pathetic humans that sat on its back.

But as Randidly looked forward, he felt something shift in his chest. Even now, even with all his power, looking at the entire horizon filled with ominous clouds, Randidly felt small. Like no matter how much individual power he possessed, the wonder and magic of the natural world was still just a little bit beyond him.

That thing in his chest continued to shift. Nether spun slowly. That’s why, no matter what the Alpha Cosmos is, I’ll always just be a King; I am not a god…

Randidly glanced sideways at Lyra. She was, impossibly, even more lovely than the last time that he had seen her. Her face seemed to have widened and her cheekbones seemed even more stark, but in a way that accentuated her mouth. The sharpness of her nose and chin had mellowed somewhat as she had finally aged into place around her wide, expressive eyes. If Randidly was counting correctly, Lyra was almost twenty now. Although he had no idea how natural her growth currently was, now that she had taken over the existence of a Village Spirit.

Eventually, Randidly released a breath and turned to look at Lyra. He had way too much to do to just wait for her to speak. “What did you want to talk about, Lyra?”

“Apologies. I appear to have lost track of time, looking forward.” Lyra’s mouth twisted. “Sometimes when you step through certain thresholds, what you find on the other side isn’t what you expected.

“But I am here to speak of two things,” She spoke with the same charming voice, as though she hadn’t stood silently beside him for several minutes. Randidly ultimately decided not to question her first statement. It was clear she was now quite focused on her two subjects. She pivoted on her heel and smiled that same playful smile at him. But then she bowed sharply at the waist. “First… I’m sorry.”

Randidly blinked. “Huh…?”

Lyra stayed down there, bent over at a 90-degree angle as she spoke. Her neck was straight and her face was toward the ground. “In the past I… I tried to be endearing by calling you doggy. I tried to be cool and distant because I was afraid… well, I had seen how you reacted when I was honest about my crush on you; you didn’t respond positively at all. So I thought… I convinced myself that you were making a mistake. That I was the only one who really understood the situation… so the first reason I came was to apologize. There are some days where you just aren’t in control of yourself, you know?

“You were right; I was so young and even though the world was ending, we were nowhere near each other in terms of emotional maturity. With both of our issues, we wouldn’t have ever worked as a couple. And I tried to force it… and then I took that same attitude of thinking you were making a mistake when I met Yystrix and took her side. Her arguments were persuasive. And she was so, so sure that what she was doing was for the best. I… I got caught up in it.”

Slowly, the shock on Randidly’s face transformed into a certain sort of understanding. When it came down to it, Lyra had her own strange relationship with Yystrix. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a shock to me that she grew up after her death, too. Or that she would react rather strangely to the loss…

“I was a child at those times. And I was living with the ghost of that child in the past. I hope… I hope we can start over.” Lyra gradually straightened. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy; without addressing it, she extended a hand toward Randidly and stitched up a smile on her face one line of careful thread at a time. “Hello Mister Randidly Ghosthound, I’m Lyra. I was once a child actor, but now I’ve become a Village Spirit in the System. With your help, I was able to… ground myself with a Class once more, so I’m partially human.”

For two breaths, he didn’t move. But then Randidly reached out and shook her hand slowly. The skin of her palm was cool. “I’m Randidly Ghosthound. I’m preparing to help the Earth pass the Calamities and then escape the influence of the Nexus, any way that I can.”

“And that’s why I’m here.” Lyra’s hand tightened around Randidly’s. “The second reason I come is to share news; Kaan Swacc, the Special Investigator, is already on Earth. He instituted a gag order on all other Village Spirits, largely binding them to be silent for the next week or so. They will be naught but ghosts until this blows over.”

“And you can speak because?” Randidly frowned.

This time when Lyra smiled, some of that old, sharp humor could be seen. “Haven’t I already pointed it out. Because you had the foresight to give me a Class. I am not solely a Village Spirit. And the System has basically no active control over those with a Class.”

Not really true, Randidly thought to himself, but he didn’t interrupt.

After grimacing, Lyra’s violet eyes locked onto Randidly’s emerald ones. “Kaan Swacc isn’t going to wait for the Earth to build up a head of steam. Tomorrow night he plans on making an attack on one of the four task forces heading to clear out the Danger Zones with Corrupted Invaders. He likely won’t kill anyone, but I believe his goal is to shatter the most powerful images of the people involved.”