After the Winged Serpent had made the announcement, the rest of the Nemesai looked at it in shock. They sat in the rather damp cave that they were forced to call their headquarters and still had the pride to balk at the decision that the Winged Serpent had made.

The Bandit King spoke first, leaning forward and growling across the table. “Are you being serious?”

The Winged Serpent nodded slowly. Obviously. “Yes. I believe it is our only option.”

“Our worlds will be doomed by this decision,” The Bandit King hissed. “Do you truly care about your own life enough to throw away the people that raised you…? I suppose in your case, the things that raised you.”

The Winged Serpent’s wings beat slowly. It tried to think of a way to comfort the other Nemesai, but none were forthcoming. The insults were meaningless, but it was indicative that the other Nemesis was currently experiencing strong emotions. So it simply shrugged. “Perhaps. Even at best, taking Randidly Ghosthound up on his offer of collaboration is a gamble. But I believe it is a smart gamble. He has been able to accomplish much that should be impossible.”

“But still-!” The Bandit King slammed his hand on the stone table, but the Grey Lich put a hand on the man’s shoulder. His undead touch was enough to force the other Nemesis to reign in his anger, perhaps as much from the disgust from the lich touching him as from the comfort such a gesture offered.

Then the Grey Lich turned to glance at the Winged Serpent. “It is why there is a caveat. If Randidly Ghosthound should successfully help the Earth pass the Corrupted Invaders… we will accept his offer and work with him. We are all aware of the forces arrayed against Earth at the moment… a Special Investigator was even dispatched. It is enough that was stand neutral for this trial and pick the winner afterward.”

“We are missing a chance to ingratiate ourselves with the Special Investigator,” The Bandit King countered with another firm thump on the stone table.

But this brought a snort from the Obsidian Duke. The man leaned back in his seat, his obsidian in its liquid form flowing around his limbs. “Don’t speak nonsense. He is an elite from the Xyrt Brigade. In what world would he ever put us in his gaze…?”

The Bandit King’s expression soured, but he couldn’t deny that fact. The Winged Serpent nodded and then looked around at the Nemesai around him. “Truth be told, the situation on all our homeworlds is tenuous. Our people gathered untold resources to earn this chance for ourselves to be Nemesai… a chance to hold onto the System for a little longer, so we won’t be abandoned. But even if we succeed here, by the time the next Cohort comes around, our worlds will be under the same threat.

“Randidly Ghosthound… is an unusual existence. His strength cannot be explained. And the speed of his growth… well. It is a gamble. But I believe it is for the best. It is a distant shot at what might be a permanent solution.”

“And what would that solution be?” The Bandit King said in a low tone. Much of the aggression had gone out of him, but his eyes were filled with a poisonous coldness. “Wait for a miracle?”

“Tier 3 Citizenship in the Nexus,” The Winged Serpent replied. Most of the other Nemesai looked thoughtful. And to that, even the Bandit King didn’t have a reply. Although it was almost impossible to achieve, it was least a known path. However, it was a fickle hope; all of the Nemesai were aware of what the Ghosthound would need to give up in order to save their planets.

Slowly, the other Nemesai drifted away. Eventually, only Thea Glasshammer was left, looking down at the stone table with a blank expression. A lesser being might believe she was confused by the last part of the conversation, but the Winged Serpent knew that was not the case. In fact, Thea likely sensed the true reason that the Winged Serpent felt forced to make this decision.

For a few minutes, the Winged Serpent gazed at her, waiting for her to start the conversation. But she did not.

Inwardly the Winged Serpent shrugged. Then it beat its wings to float away from the table and return to its own quarters. If you will not reach out, I will not wait for you, girl-

“Winged Serpent, I have a question.”

It’s tongue flicking out, the Winged Serpent twisted around and looked at Thea. It tilted her head to the side in askance. It did not intend to make this easy for her.

Although the Winged Serpent couldn’t see Thea’s hands, it was clear that they were balled into fists and pressed to her sides. Without the other Nemesai acting as buffers, Thea’s insidious and vengeful image blasted outward and filled the meeting cavern. Green spectral flames licked along the walls, reminiscent of the flames that animated her Soulbound companion.

“Is this… did you do this…” Thea even gritted her teeth as she spoke. The Winged Serpent blinked lazily. “Did you make this decision because of me?”

“Yes.” Then the Winged Serpent turned away from the human Nemesis once again. “If there is nothing else-”

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“You question my loyalty to the cause?” Thea’s ominous voice was quiet, but the image of flames behind her was not. Guided by her reckless rage, the other-worldly green flames grew taller and taller as the licked up at the walls. They spread upward like a disease. A swirling pillar of flame began to coalesce directly behind Thea. The thing stood and stretched, becoming the massive upper torso of a monstrous bear.

Definitely powerful. And yet… The Winged Serpent’s tongue flicked out. Then it nodded. “Yes. I do question your loyalty.”

The direct answer stopped Thea’s image short. For several seconds she was at a loss. The strange green flames flickered and died. Emotions warred across her face. Then her expression hardened. “Just because I am human-”

“We both know it is not because of that,” The Winged Serpent shook its head. It hadn’t noticed it at first, but Thea Glasshammer’s image had a critical weakness. It had appeared so dominant… because it was desperate. It was an image without a strong foundation. “No, the reason that I doubt you is because you chose to become a Nemesis in a moment of strong emotions. Afterward, I believe someone bound you more tightly to the cause… but those bindings have been fading recently, have they not? Did you think you could hide your flagging resolve?”

This time Thea was smart enough not to conjure her image. But her gaze was cutting as she stared at the Winged Serpent. “I will never stop searching for vengeance for how Chrysanthemum died. What happened to her-”

“And that is the second reason I do not trust you. You are broken, Thea Glasshammer, although you have not yet realized it.” The Winged Serpent looked at Thea with pity in its gaze. It had believed she would soon lead the Nemesai, but as her image had grown… it was impossible to miss how hollow it was at its core. “You cannot have missed the way that your bear reacted to Randidly Ghosthound. Because we did not. And to know that your Soulbound companion is dead to you but responds to another… how can you not be shaken by that?”

Thea went pale. Her mouth moved, but no sounds came out.

Seeing that she was frozen, the Winged Serpent continued. “Your motivation of revenge is derived from Chrysanthemum’s death… but there seems to be more at play than that. Even if you won’t admit it to us… you know it is true. That is why I don’t trust you. When it comes down to it, you will follow your image. So it is better that we fold now to the Ghosthound before it’s too late.”

The Winged Serpent turned away for the third time and left the meeting room. Thea made no move to stop it.

*****

For a few minutes after Randidly received the notifications, he was slightly worried about the six-hour time limit. Not that he had any intention of seeking out a Village Spirit to rebuild some limit of the System, especially because of the control that the Special Investigator had demonstrated over Lyra. Who knows what a Village Spirit could do if he made himself vulnerable in that way. But Randidly did worry that there would be a notification when Randidly was cut off from System Aether if there wasn’t one already.

So Randidly sent out a few messages. The first was to Alana and Tatiana, telling them to be ready any time to strike. Alana to finish off the last Danger Zone and Tatiana to organize the forces that had been assembled to head into the Epic Danger Zone.

To that end, Randidly rather immediately sent a second pair of messages out. The first was to Helen, giving her the power to lead the expedition into the Epic Danger Zone as soon as it opened. The second was a reply to Heiffal, telling him that he and his troops shouldn’t become involved in this challenge. Only if the enemy came for Kharon should they mobilize, and then they should act as much as possible to protect the city.

The final message Randidly sent was to Octavius Shrike. He kept his language as ambiguous as possible, but asked whether there had been any sort of… warnings based on Randidly’s behavior. Then he politely asked for a heads up if anything happened.

Only afterward did Randidly release a breath and rub the back of his head. “It’s really hard to be in charge. Every decision flows through you…”

Shaking his head, Randidly looked at his Path screen at the newly arrived Deathwish I Path. The corners of his mouth quirked upward. When he had seen it, the Path he had immediately remembered was the Heretic Path. Randidly wondered whether continually engaging in actions that would be considered suicidal would cause the Path to grow.

And then what. When I eventually reach Deathwish X, will the Nexus send a specialist to gather all my friends and family and stage an intervention for my health…? Randidly chuckled. To convince me to stop engaging in such reckless behaviors?

Still, if he was only sure of six more hours of peace, he couldn’t hesitate any longer. It was time to push his training as much as he could in the remaining time.

With a flick of the wrist, Randidly produced his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night. Not wanting to burn himself out on fighting against Kaan Swacc, Randidly chose to head back to that strange moment of Illym before her death. As the surroundings blurred in front of Randidly’s eyes, he soon found himself standing across from Illym in her bedroom. The familiar point of Illym’s sword was about to pierce through her chest and end her own life.

While Illym was still dazed with the shock of Randidly’s appearance, Randidly exploded with the power of images. Perhaps Neveah’s suspicions were correct because as his Willpower flooded through his body, each image felt that much more concrete and powerful than before.

Congratulations! Your Skill Visualization (R) has grown to Level 276!

The Grim Chimera raised its head toward the sky and roared. Nether and blood mixed freely in Randidly’s body, pushing his existence toward being more strange and incomprehensible.

Yggdrasil’s golden light blasted outward from Randidly. His veins became the golden roots, his emerald eyes the gleaming and vital leaves. His body practically gushed life essence into the surrounding space with each breath.

On the other side, the chilling aura of the Stillborn Phoenix swirled around Randidly like a familiar cloak. It was wrath and hunger and obsession, filling Randidly’s body with purpose. The energy that Yggdrasil produced was almost completely devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix once it had run its course, forming a strange, almost parasitic relationship.

But the three images worked in concert, transforming Randidly completely. And binding them all together, Randidly’s heartbeat with exacting precision.

Perhaps the effect of using all three images at once was more shocking than what Randidly had expected, because for the first time ever, Illym spoke at the beginning of their fight. “You… What-”

Randidly didn’t give her a chance to say anything more; he simply attacked.