In retrospect, it made a certain amount of sense that Illym’s concern for his arrival got mixed up with her other emotions that were running very high at the moment before she stabbed herself with her own sword. And in that tense stretch of time, Randidly had arrived. She had of course, reacted violently. And then, in the way that seeing and understanding another’s pain serves as a welcome distraction, so too could Illym believing that she had seen through Randidly’s motivations ease up her previously no-talk attitude.

And even more surprisingly, Illym’s advice was succinct and direct. Which was for the best, because Randidly’s headache was becoming just a bit more unmanageable with every second that passed. And with all the preparations he had to do before Kaan Swacc moved, Randidly didn’t have time for a good night’s sleep to pep him up.

After this opportunity, Randidly needed to make use of every moment to improve himself. So he listened closely to Illym.

“I can only see so much after our brief clash, but I can see this; your image is not entirely in tune with itself. Your… talent at violence is honestly commendable, but if you don’t take a foe by surprise, you will eventually be overcome by a superior image despite that. There is a… deep darkness, almost like an egg of depression, that your image now bears. It just feels like dead weight while you are fighting. Honestly, why you chose to incorporate such an aspect into your image is beyond me-”

Real rich, coming from the source of that depression I now have to bear, Randidly grimaced but let the comment pass by without interrupting.

“-but since it is there, you need to find a way to put it to work. It is undoubtedly powerful… perhaps even more powerful than the other half of your image-”

Are you seriously going to compliment your image that has completely derailed Ignition Essence…?

“-but that power is largely untapped. I think it is more important for you to figure out how to encourage growth in the other half of your image… I can sense that it is centered around instincts? Or an almost supernatural sense of bridging?”

Feeling that was an apt description for inspiration, in a sense, Randidly nodded.

“Well, the issue I sense is that you are trying to use that original bridge once more and are finding it insufficient for your needs. Images grow along with us and you cannot just… intensify their aspect in order to force them to grow. Sometimes, they need to evolve more organically. So perhaps you need to find the… next sort of method that will allow you to bridge whatever gap you are trying to cross. And don’t worry so much about staying within your current framework. Be open to possibilities and evolutions.

“To reach your current capabilities, you’ve gone through many images, yes? Some are cast aside, some lose their original meanings as they are transported to new contexts. This is growth. But if you are feeling somewhat stuck on how you can manage that negativity you carry, revisit some of the images that have fallen by the wayside for you. Although they are likely half-formed, you are familiar with them. Perhaps you can find ways to adjust them to suit your current needs.

“Oh, and don’t what I’m taking too literally or figuratively. Images sometimes don’t follow the set patterns we want them to, but that’s okay. What is most important is finding what feels correct to you; it is that certainty in your heart that gives images their power.”

“Thank you,” Randidly said. And he genuinely meant it as he looked at the woman in front of him. From the deep sadness he had harvested from Illym’s Fate, he felt a gentle sigh.

Illym returned to studying Randidly, but he couldn’t risk staying within the projection any longer. After all, knowing that such a consultation was possible was more than reward enough for today. Besides, Randidly truly had quite a few ideas to improve Ignition Essence after listening to Illym.

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 43!

The world became wavy and then Randidly was back on his island. It was somewhat strange to him that he had gained a Level from usage of the Dreamcatcher without any insights, but perhaps he had realized something subconsciously. All in all, the growth of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night was much less predictable than the Philosopher’s Key had been.

If Randidly had been more reliant on the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night reaching Level 100, it might have even been extremely aggravating. As it was, Randidly had too many other things on his plate to let it bother him much.

For several seconds, Randidly looked down at the woven bracelet around his right wrist. No answers were easily forthcoming. So Randidly put that issue to the side and loped to the edge of his island. During the time Randidly had been focused inward, the rain hadn’t slackened in the least. If anything, it had grown more intense. The dark of the night was doubly thick due to the curtains of rain that sluiced downward, making Randidly’s stone island slick and glistening.

Feeling rather adventurous despite the continuing ache in his skull, Randidly built up some speed as he rushed toward the edge. Right as he neared the edge, he looked down and saw that his path was leading him so that when he jumped, he would need to leap directly over the entirety of Kharon to clear the city and land on the ground.

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Gruntling, Randidly’s last step shattered the stone at the edge of his island and threw him careening over Kharon in a whistling arc. Rain pelted him as he tossed himself through the worst of the stormclouds. And there was even a moment where Randidly was slightly worried that he would be struck by lightning in that suspended moment.

Probably won’t hurt that bad, compared to swimming in lava, but still…

But that moment passed and Randidly cleared Kharon and began to careen downwards. He crashed into a low hill, obliterating two pine trees as he rolled forward. The commotion sent a swarm of undead badgers chittering and fleeing for their lives as their burrow collapsed around them. Yawning widely, Randidly stood and wiped the worst of the mud off of his face and torso while he got to work with the Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil. Very quickly a sphere of roots formed around Randidly, sluicing away the falling liquid and giving him a stable spot to sit.

Humming to himself, Randidly sat down and began to meditate. Golden roots stretched downward from his position and wriggled their way into the ground, connecting to the vital leylines of the Earth. In comparison to a planet, Randidly’s small expenditure of mental energy was nothing. Quickly the living energies that animated this world smoothed away the headache and began to restore any damage to Ignition Essence he had sustained in the clash with Illym.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 242!

When Randidly next released a breath, he had largely recovered from his earlier exertion; it looked like he had left the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night in time to avoid a completely debilitating headache like he incurred the prior time. Although it might also be true that he had gained some Levels in his Fatepiece since that time, decreasing the drawback of it somewhat.

Randidly eyelids flicked open and his emerald eyes scanned the surroundings. The Level 41 Undead Badgers were just over the slope of the next hill, watching Randidly suspiciously. They didn’t dare come any closer while he remained there. Their bristling fur was plastered to their bodies by the rain. He couldn’t help but be amused by their careful behavior. Such was the world with the System, everyone knew to fear the strong.

He closed his eyes, but he didn’t yet leave his root sphere. The sound of the rain pattering through the leaves and dripping down branches of the nearby trees was enough to really calm Randidly down. And then he began to consider some of the advice that Illym had given.

...a deep darkness… that feels like a dead weight…

...a supernatural sense of briding, huh…? I suppose that’s one way to describe inspiration… a way to jump from one place to another… the trigger and vehicle for a paradigm shift… or a bridge… I’m trying to use the original bridge once more… Fire would be that bridge...

Some lose their original meanings in new contexts… this is growth…

If you need inspiration, visiting old images that were cast aside...

Everything began to fall away. In Randidly’s mind, two small tongues of flame quivered. One was orange, one was emerald. The pattering of the rain echoed in the vast space around those two tiny pieces of flame. To Randidly’s eyes, it seemed like these two flames were being completely oppressed by the darkness he inherited from Illym. Honestly, Illym saw her own image truly; it was quite a lot like an egg of depression…

Which supposedly gives birth to a phoenix, based on the way that the other Skills of Ignition Essence shifted, but its hard to know the best way to incorporate that identity of the phoenix into my image… especially when I don’t want to get rid of Ignition Essence as the source of inspiration for my growth…

Is clinging to inspiration the wrong move? No, I definitely feel like inspiration is the core of what I want to do… My images will develop in this manner, no matter the difficulty. I shouldn’t compromise for an easier Path... Then is the mistake staying fixated on fire as the source of the inspiration…? I could clearly feel when facing Illym how my own image of fire fell short compared to hers… and the way that Ignition Essence is transforming, its less a raging fire and more the source of the inferno…

But if not fire… what other object fits a phoenix…? An ice phoenix? Lightning? Poison…? Poison at least would be something that I have experience with…

Randidly knocked the knuckles of his metallic left hand against the solid roots of the structure on which he sat. His imagination tried to trace out what a poison phoenix would look like. Dark grey body, feathers that were soaked in filth and corruption, liquids and acids dripping off the body… a rounded beak and eyes with the square pupils of a goat… Rather than a proud eagle, this phoenix looked more like a vulture.

Shaking his head, Randidly allowed that thought to slowly dissipate. Because even if he got away from fire, he would need to find out how poison could be a source of inspiration for him. And poison didn’t seem to have anymore synergy with Innate Violence than fire did. The inspiration wouldn’t have an easy time fitting into that version of the phoenix either. Which made Randidly consider whether the image of the phoenix was a red herring.

After all, it was a suggestion of the System after reading through his Skills and images. And this was the reason that Randidly generally avoided doing related Paths until he settled on the details of his image; he didn’t want the System with too much influence on up his thought processes. This was the perfect example; although it was just a few names for his Skills, he remained stuck on this issue.

But to be fair, Randidly was quite taken with the phoenix as a part of Ignition Essence. The one realization that Illym had caused in him was that he really had three sources of images for Ignition Essence. Inspiration, a Phoenix, and those dark emotions. And every combination of two of them fit together. But when Randidly attempted to mix all three…

There are two more thoughts I can try, Randidly let his eyes crack open. The rain continued to pelt downwards, each drop diving with pure belief toward the ground where it would explode and dissipate. Each raindrop was a tiny existence doomed to cease as soon as it formed in the clouds. Such was life. The first is to try and think of things other than fire that inspired people, use that for the new form of Ignition Essence. And the other way is to think about my old Skills and images and think about new ways to use them…

Randidly breathed in and then he breathed out. At least for now, he wanted to avoid antagonizing that strange dread he felt in regards to the Dungeon issue. For now, he gave himself two hours to address Ignition Essence before he couldn’t delay any longer.

Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Timing (Ru) has grown to Level 122!

And so he continued to consider.