Before he could get too deep into his reminiscing, Randidly sensed Tatiana floating up on a platform to speak with him. Humming lightly to himself as he considered what he would tell her, he walked to the edge of the island to greet her.

His steps were slow and heavy. He breathed after each third step as he crossed his island shrouded with moonlight spirits. Between returning to Earth to encourage image development… finding the Creature’s Tomb… the challenge of the Corrupted Invaders… Kaan Swacc and his Aether Mines… and finally, all the Zones connecting to Earth, Randidly had been gearing up for one fight after another but none of them had actually happened.

With all the occurrences, it had been hard to get his bearings but honestly, that had felt simple. Randidly could feel how the world around him was transforming into a vast and complex place. Because now he had the luxury of ‘choice’.

Perhaps he had always had that luxury, but it was now that he was finally admitting it to himself. Which begged the question: what did Randidly Ghosthound want?

“Are we getting involved in the search for the Runic Tablet to name the Earth?” Tatiana asked as soon as they made eye contact. She took a sharp step forward, off of her platform and onto the island. It seemed that she didn’t intend to give Randidly much time to warm up to the hard conversation he would likely be about to have.

For a second, he hesitated. Then Randidly shook his head. “...no, both myself, Kharon, and the Order Ducis will stay neutral. Just so you are prepared to deal with the consequences, I found the site of the Runic Tablet, as I investigated earlier. It’s quite a bit South of the Zones, near old Mexico City. But my image… and the Order Ducis by extension… should begin to withdraw from being so proscriptive to the Earth’s actions. Even during the lead up to the First Calamity… in preparation to let them handle the Second Calamity.”

Tatiana gave Randidly a long look. It seemed several questions were fighting to make their way out of their mouth. She settled on, “Are you sure? Setting aside the issue of the Calamities, the different Zones will fight each other for the prestige of naming the Earth. Blood will be spilled. Such fighting will likely create grudges that will last a long time.”

“So we even stop the fools from learning regret…?” As Randidly closed his eyes, he felt the sensation of those thousands of people being killed at the stadium once again. His own, private regret that sat in his chest. What sort of crown do I wear…? What sort of responsibility do I have toward the people of Earth…?

Tatiana perhaps understood that Randidly needed this moment to think, so she did not speak. Perhaps more than he realized, Tatiana had excellent insight.

There was no secret answer that he found in his chest as the silence dragged onward. Yggdrasil, the Grim Chimera, and the Stillborn Phoenix all sat in silence as he asked what responsibility he had to Earth. None of carried with them any moral imperatives. They were just forces, each with their own desires. Yggdrasil desired steady expansion and growth, the Grim Chimera wanted to survive, and the Stillborn Phoenix possessed a twisted sort of vengeance for the storm of emotions it housed. Feeling them now, remaining neutral on the issue of Earth, Randidly could see the way that these images truly were who he was.

He could see why he was so torn and frustrated by all his decisions regarding the Earth in the past. All of the core drives that defined who he was… didn’t relate well to leading the planet.

This was Randidly Ghosthound. A leader born of necessity. Someone who preferred demonstrating to teaching.

At one point a Crown had been an important part of Yggdrasil’s image. At that time, he had focused on his role as King and the way that he would lead the Earth. But gradually, that Crown had transformed only into awe in the eye of the viewer. Randidly became more focused on inspiring growth than truly leading or teaching. And his images reflected that.

Releasing a breath, Randidly pushed his reflections to the side and spoke to Tatiana. “I know that they will fight each other if we leave it up for grabs. But… that’s fine. I cannot protect them from everything. I just want to make sure… the normal System problems are the foes they can focus on.”

“We just asserted our dominance with your birthday and the task forces for the Corrupted Invaders. Centralizing power and then creating a void is dangerous.” Tatiana said fiercely. “Early reports say that we’ve already identified a dozen bubble cities in the newly opened up territory. And that’ll be that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If there isn’t a central force watching the Zones, this will just be the rise of a new era of colonialism as the various-”

“Do you truly believe the only thing stopping the people of Earth from returning to the horrors of colonialism is the opportunity?” Randidly asked, somewhat incredulous.

The look that Tatiana gave him in return was just as shocked. “Do you truly think they won’t? It’s already been happening. And Randidly, on the old Earth money only gave the illusion of power. An individual who monopolizes resources can now cultivate genuine power. The sort of power that can easily corrupt even a good person.”

“The Order Ducis will still keep a watch and intervene in cases of excess, but we simply aren’t large enough to keep tabs on everything. It’s better to transition now to a more observational form. It might be awkward at first, but it’s the best choice.” Randidly countered. Perhaps he even agreed with Tatiana that some of the mistakes the people of Earth made were disturbing. But what choice did he have?

I suppose I could stay. Randidly thought rather tiredly. But… Staying on Earth will make it that much harder to understand the true threat of the Nexus. And with the quality of foes here… my rate of improvement… Heh, Alana, Hank, and the Dragons went after the Nether invader that split off from the larger wave by Franksburg and were all exhausted after dueling three Nether Beasts… Three Nether Beasts who were poisoned and weakened by the dense Aether of Earth… Even Helen was the same. This just isn’t a place that I can...

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Tatiana shook her head firmly. If he hadn’t known better, Randidly would have guessed that there were tears at the corner of her eyes. “That won’t be enough. There will be a war if the Order Ducis doesn’t control the situation. And once the war starts, our forces won’t be enough to pacify the different groups. We will just need to wait until everything is over… and we will bury the dead. We… we cannot abandon them now.”

Finally, it clicked in Randidly’s mind. He wasn’t a particularly emotionally sensitive person, but Grim Intuition let him read physical cues that generally led him to emotional revelations. His expression softened as he looked at the woman who had accomplished every task he had given her in the past year and a half. The woman who had dragged Kharon, kicking and screaming, into relevance. “Tatiana… why don’t you say what you are really thinking?”

“Why do you-!” Tatiana began, but then she looked as though she physically bit back the words she had about to release. After taking several breaths, she spoke in a quiet voice. “When are you leaving?”

Randidly had suspected it for a while, but this confirmed it; Tatiana had a Skill that gave her some insight into his actions. It made sense that she had perhaps been able to vaguely intuit the directions his thoughts had been wandering over the last hour. Even if it was just his sadness from when he examined Donnyton, his image might have contained traces of those emotions. An average person might not have noticed, but Tatiana was not average.

“I don’t know. But it shouldn’t be… soon.” Randidly sighed. Then his left eye darkened to pure black. “There are a few rats I need to drag out of hiding before I leave… but otherwise, I’ll just be wrapping up a few things so you all…”

Then Randidly trailed off. Tatiana was just looking at him. Randidly bit his lip and then tried to force a smile. “Tatiana… why are you acting like this is the end of the world? I left before, remember? To go to the frontlines. AND before that, I went to Tellus, even if you weren’t working for me in the same capacity then… why is this any different?”

“It feels different, doesn't it?” Tatiana said in that same soft voice. Her lips were trembling. “Like this is the end of an era. You’ve built something that’s supposed to last… now what comes next is you leave us to see how we stand the test of time.”

“Tatiana-” Randidly began, but this time Tatiana raised her palm to him to stop him from speaking.

“Don’t. I’m… sorry I let you see me like this. I… I get it. And I respect and understand everything that you do. It’s just…” Then Tatiana smiled at Randidly while she tilted her head to the side. Her eyes were bright. Her teeth were so very, very white. “As much as you’ve relied on me… I’ve relied on you. To see the broader trend in the world. To know how the System works, and how Kharon and the Order Ducis should approach problems that haven’t even revealed themselves yet. Maybe… no, I’m sure that I’m not just becoming emotional because you are leaving me. It’s… because I understand that soon, it will be just me and Naffur trying to navigate our way through this. We will be Kharon, the Traveling City, the guiding light for Earth. Before I didn’t understand the stakes. Now… even the population of Kharon alone…”

Tatiana shook her head. But then she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Clear-eyed, she looked at Randidly with determination. “Do you… have any advice?”

Randidly couldn’t help but chuckle. “I mean, like I said, I’m not leaving quite yet. But as for advice… remember you aren’t alone. Just like I couldn’t have done it without you and Naffur, find the people who believe in the same things as you. And continue to invest in the people of Kharon. I believe… the city is truly becoming something special.”

To that, Tatiana snorted. “Oh, Randidly, you have no idea. Heh, honestly, I feel sorta bad for you. You’ll probably be gone so long that you will come back and the city will be completely transformed. Oh, I’ll send Mareen up in the next few days. Ideally, your home should be finished before you leave. That way it can soak in your image and Nether a bit… oh and, catch.”

Tatiana reached into her pocket and flicked an object toward Randidly. He reached up and caught it, while muttering, “I really don’t intend for this to be a permanent departure…” Then he looked down at his palm to see a Tier 1 Nexus coin shining there.

“King Phirun led the final charge in the Epic Danger Zone, so he was given the other one.” Tatiana continued. “But that is the other Citizenship coin we obtained. Helen obviously had no interest in it, so… If you are going to the Nexus, you might need it.”

Randidly spun the coin across his fingers. Another label created by the System, offering false hope that it would provide some protection. But Randidly was beginning to understand the hungry engine at the heart of the Nexus would consume them all, Citizen or not.

He tossed the coin back with a shake of his head. “You keep it. If you can gather two more, it will be valuable to give Kharon, and probably the whole Earth, as a bit of insurance. As it is… either way, I believe I’m capable of gathering enough of the coins on my own.”

Plus, I need to figure out what Vualla’s plan is… original Vualla… hopefully she will let us call her something different so its easier to keep them straight...

Randidly’s rejection seemed to surprise Tatiana and she stared down at the coin in her hand for a while. Then she stored it away into a pocket. “Okay. Then what is Kharon going to do while you are still here?”

“Head to the edge of the world.” Randidly rubbed his jaw. He felt oddly light at the moment, as though as soon as he had said out loud to Tatiana that he would be leaving soon, he was somehow unmoored. So he took in a deep breath to steady himself before he continued to speak. The steady beat of his heart in his chest was something of a relief and a reminder that he probably would stay for at least another few weeks. “There are some Bubble Cities to which I want to send Order Ducis operatives… gather up Heiffal’s crew so they can hide in my Alpha Cosmos… I’ll also need to finally track down Ace to get Yystrix’s memories back…”

Randidly shook his head. “Honestly, there is a lot…”

“What else is new?” Tatiana smirked as Randidly, as though the previous conversation had never happened. With a wave, she turned away. Already, the moss spirits of Kharon had responded to Randidly’s will and adjusted their course. The city even began to pick up speed, considering the distance it needed to travel. “I’ll get everything started. But believe me when I say that I’m going to come up with a pile of work you’ll need to handle before you leave~”

“Thanks, Tatiana,” Randidly grinned.

She stepped onto her platform and spoke without turning around. “No, thank you, Randidly Ghosthound. You’ve taught me… heh. Just thank you.”

Then she floated down, buoyed by a platform wreathed in emerald energy. Which left Randidly to focus on his training

Because there was one piece of information within the large message Octavius had sent him that meant he didn’t dare yet leave the Earth. According to Octavius, the Xyrt Brigade had cut ties with Kaan Swacc and left him stranded on Earth. And from what Octavius suspected, the Swacc Family wouldn’t be willing to bail him out if he didn’t yet have results.

Which meant that after the Nether was dealt with and the Xyrt Brigade forces left the Earth… Randidly would need to draw out and slaughter Kaan Swacc. The monster from the Nexus that had all the right ideas about Randidly for all the wrong reasons.