Compared to the lengthy discussion that Randidly ended up having with Derek Moss, Annie's response to his message was much more straightforward: as long as he guaranteed her safety, of course he could take Delilah into the Dungeon for a while.

When he received the lightning-fast response, Randidly blinked in surprise. The abruptness of the agreement and the lack of questions made him feel strangely at a loss after all the preparations he had made. So just to reassure himself that what he was suggesting was a safe option, Randidly began to talk about some of the things he discussed with Derek.

Very quickly, Annie interrupted him. No need to explain. Enjoy your trip.

"Huh..." Randidly said aloud. He rubbed his chin and examined what he had said and then Annie's responses again and again. Was he simply better at persuading than he suspected...? Or was there something that he was missing…?

Finally, Randidly figured he had nothing to lose so he simply asked Annie why she had agreed so quickly. This time her response was much slower, but it was again short.

You don't understand what it's like to be a parent.

At this point, Randidly threw his hands up in the air and accepted that he didn't quite get Annie's response, but her agreement wasn't faked. And Randidly doubted that he would get a different decision out of the typically stoic Dozer. As long as the kids agreed, he could take them both with him into the Dungeon.

One task down, a million to go...

Over the next hour, Randidly engaged in several discussions with Tatiana regarding the new political system they would implement in Kharon and also the details of the duos tournament. The tournament itself was scheduled to start in six days, hosted in the Orchard, so there were some details that needed to be finalized as soon as possible. Specifically, Randidly was currently grappling with the messy task of the tournament preliminaries.

Because they didn’t want to bar anyone from participating, applicants were already flooding in. The current count was a little less than a thousand, but it seemed like they might even reach 3000 before the Order Ducis stopped accepting applications the day before the tournament. It was an added strain on Kharon’s resources that was not needed right now.

Even if I can't finalize the details now, I can take those questions into the Dungeon and work on them there. Truly, having the ability to secretly train while no time at all passes in the real world is quite the advantage...

Of course, Randidly wasn't the only one who knew the advantages of Dungeons. He was just one of the few people who could avoid the drawbacks. But despite those risks, he was aware that hundreds of people had flocked to Dungeons after the announcement of the duos tournament, planning on pushing their Skill Levels just a little higher and working on teamwork. Most of the projected applicants were those who had gone recently into Dungeons and stayed there for several hours of actual time.

For that reason, those preliminary rounds were very important. The gathering of Classers was basically unprecedented. Even those unaffiliated with the established Zones dreamed of naming the Earth. And the Order Ducis had to deal with such a large number of people both efficiently and fairly. They had to appear in control.

Heh, simply so many things to do… But that’s for the best. There is no way that the people who want to target Kharon will let these chances slide... Randidly's mouth slowly stretched into a grin. But I think they will be quite disappointed if they believe they can pressure this city, even if I don't personally move...

Then Randidly shook his head and let the thoughts about political issues fall away. Despite the fact that there seemed to be endless things to do, with the Dungeon visit planned Randidly had some time. Plus, the two hours was up; it was time to once more reach out to Vualla. Randidly’s fingers flexed.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 167!

For whatever reason, this activation of Nether RItual proceeded even more smoothly than the prior one had. Perhaps it was because the connection was already established and Vualla was aware that it would appear, so there was a base for the connection on both sides. The Nether seemed to weave itself together faster than Randidly’s eyes could follow. But no matter what the cause was, the resulting connection was instant and intimate. Randidly could feel Vualla's warm rush of joy as he reached across time and space to suddenly swirl in her Soulspace.

Those first few moments were just the two of them being present with each other, allowing their familiar existences to ease both the accumulated worries that both had gathered. It hadn’t been long, but a lot had happened since they had last conversed.

Randidly looked at Vualla and felt some sort of horrifying certainty hanging over her slowly lift as they simply interacted with each other. It was a feeling that he recognized from Neveah’s struggles, but the terrible specter of loneliness and depression was slowly extinguished as Randidly was there, breathing with her.

For Randidly's part, some deep inner fear he had been ignoring regarding Vualla was finally reassured. She hadn’t died, she hadn’t been turned against him. Breath by breath, they both relaxed.

Hey, Randidly began slowly. Then he abruptly felt foolish. Maybe he should have prepared something more… meaningful to say.

Vualla's amusement was a rich and vibrant thing. Her previously sparse inner landscape lit up like someone had turned the power back on at an amusement part at the witching hour. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But don't think for a second I can't take a single look at you and know that you almost died recently, Randidly Ghosthound.

That forced a mental chuckle out of Randidly. Well, I would have brought it up eventually. A Special Investigator from your very own Xyrt Brigade came to Earth. He was... well, he was convinced I was a Nether Spy-

I wonder what gave him that idea, Vualla laughed. You know that my senses tell me you are even more dangerous than a Nether Gatekeeper, right?

Randidly just mentally shrugged and continued to explain. -and he wouldn't let the issue go. To the point that even the Xyrt Brigade effectively abandoned him on my planet, for failing to fulfill his duty. With that opportunity, and in order to rid the Earth of another threat... I killed him.

The air between them was silent. Around his physical body back on Earth, Randidly felt the Nether Ritual waver. As his mind wandered, the weave slowly began to come undone. And he knew it was his own fault, because he pulled back slightly as he admitted that he killed a member of the Xyrt Brigade. Ultimately, Kaan had been a tool of the Swacc Family, but Randidly wanted to be honest with Vualla. And he was very afraid of what her reaction would be.

As Randidly pulled slightly away, Vualla reached out and pulled him back. Relax, the Xyrt Brigade isn't some cult. I haven't been brainwashed into feverishly cursing anyone that kills a Xyrt Brigade member. From what I can tell... there are a lot of competing factions within the Xyrt Brigade. They encourage infighting, so long as there aren’t any enemies present. Honestly... it might be better if the Xyrt Brigade was a cult.

But they are much more practical than some religious organization... and much more dangerous. Something in Vualla's tone began to change. The bright lights of her emotions that had been given power by Randidly's arrival began to flicker and die around him. I... it's been hard, here. To still believe... that our promise is realistic. That this Nexus... can ever be shaken. It's... hard to do this alone. I’ve… it’s so dumb. Without you… I...

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

You aren’t alone, Vualla. Chiding himself silently for missing her weakness to this point, Randidly reached out with Yggdrasil and wrapped his thick roots around Vualla's Soulspace and images. Mental energy began to rapidly pump outward, radiating from the roots and nourishing the surrounding space. And as Randidly released more and more energy to nourish Vualla, he was horrified to discover that the mental starvation Vualla had experienced was much worse than he had originally sensed.

Starvation might even be less accurate than dehydration. The parts of Vualla that were the brightest and most valuable, her courage and kindness, have withered and faded to almost nothing. Under the relentless pressure she endured, the Xyrt Brigade had managed to transform this Vualla from a hopeful young woman into something very close to the bleak fatalism of the first duplicate Vualla, which even now bound Ileot Swacc.

So… this is the method of the Xyrt Brigade… Randidly’s eyes flashed. Both the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix stirred in response to his rising rage.

Randidly- Vualla began, but Randidly released a wave of sternness.

Rest first. We can talk later. And Vualla... I've missed you too.

Randidly's eyes began to glow emerald as his inner world shuddered and Yggdrasil emerged to the fore of his mind. The two other images withdrew into the shadows, watching the process with a terrible stillness. All of his potent mental energy that had been tempered by the fight against Kaan, balancing three images at once, and manipulating Nether swirled and focused itself to empower this one image of healing. Nurturing waves of simplified growth formed a gold and emerald aura that surrounded Vualla’s soul. Almost instinctively, she released a sigh and leaned deeper against him mentally.

The effect was small at first, but desiccated and almost mummified portions of Vualla's personality began to shiver and stir after their long hibernation. As the healing accelerated, Vualla shared some explanation of her earlier statement, as well as her thoughts on the particular brand of brainwashing of the Xyrt Brigade.

Rather than trying to pin the trainees' loyalty to the organization, the Xyrt Brigade took an entirely different tack. They tortured and goaded the trainees to be the most powerful elites in the Nexus, but then also constantly exposed them to prove that even with their significant increases in power, they were nothing compared to the larger powers in this universe.

They showed the effects of the wars against Nether and told the Xyrt Brigade members the vast secrets of the Nexus Ways. These trainees were exposed to information that very few Nexus citizens would ever have access to, and all of it hinted at the impending disaster waiting down the line if the Nexus ever slowed in its expansion. They were exposed to the litany of threats that lurked beyond the edge of the Nexus territory.

Randidly was especially alarmed as Vualla relayed a story she had been informed about the one time the Nexus failed in its attempt to form a Cohort, and all those worlds and nascent images were pressed down into a single orb.

Hundreds of worlds, destroyed in an instant as the Aether architecture attempted to engage but instead simply crushed everything inward to a small ball. And the most disturbing part was that this orb occasionally would release ominous pulses of energy. Even now, there was an entire prison devoted to keeping that failure inert and harmless.

In essence, the Xyrt Brigade gave its trainees capability and then instilled in them a sense of lonely helplessness when there wasn't the force of an organization behind them. Then they were set free, allowed to do whatever they wished. And of course, in the trainees' minds, what organization was more capable than the Xyrt Brigade?

So even if the Xyrt Brigade didn't command their loyalty, it was only through the Xyrt Brigade that the trainees felt like they could address their helplessness... Many of those released elites slowly made their way back into the organization that trained them. And that was enough for the leaders of the Xyrt Brigade.

Only when Vualla appeared to have revived from the almost sleepwalking-state of determinedly surviving did Randidly speak again. He mentally reached out with remarkable gentleness, utilizing every point of his 1500 Control. We always knew it was going to be difficult. Trials and hurdles aren’t to be feared.

...yes. Exactly these preparations by the Nexus… That's why its worth doing. That proves we are on the right track. Again, a wave of light and emotion swept through Vualla's inner world. Seeing that wave of determination, a lot of Randidly's worries eased. Thank you. I had almost… lost something very precious here. I can see that now…

The why, Randidly whispered. Why you desire power. That should always be at the center of your decisions.

Exactly. Vualla’s inner world darkened, but not in a way that Randidly associated with weakness. Why I must tear everything down for what it has done to my family… and so many others before me.

With Vualla recovering, it allowed him to focus more attention on the area around him. Randidly quickly took in the sloping wall of the surroundings. It appeared Vualla was floating in the middle of a stone orb. The walls were covered in glowing Aether symbols. This is... a different sort of rest area?

Vualla snickered. Heh. Yea, I guess you could say so. After you last visited me, I might have... ah, mouthed off to one of my trainers. You put me in a very good mood, which isn’t well-received here. Since then... my sleeping time was taken away and I was forced in here to meditate instead. The construction of this place is actually quite interesting. It isolates you from the outside world... and also punishes you if your mind wanders. Any stray thoughts or images you release are reflected back at you as an attack by the room. Luckily, it seems this Nether Ritual of yours takes our thoughts to the connection between us and I don't need to face it. Certainly makes this place more restful.

Randidly smiled and continued to channel Yggdrasil energy through to Vualla. As her personality was restored to her previous state, he could feel her planning on taking revenge against the Xyrt Brigade teachers who had doggedly tortured her during her time here. And while Vualla's thoughts of revenge were much more thunder than lightning, Randidly already had the blood of Special Investigator on his hands. He privately swore to himself that when he gathered enough power to reach this place-

You've already done enough for me, Randidly. Vualla mentally poked him. Please don't try and steal my prey away. You don’t get to play hero all the time.

After chuckling awkwardly, Randidly began to withdraw his Yggdrasil image into himself. Then he paused and examine the surroundings once more. He didn’t recognize everything, but he could piece together the way this place functioned. Randidly’s eyes slowly brightened. This reflection room... do you think that they can observe what is happening here?

Vualla thought about it for a little while. Perhaps. But it doesn't seem likely. If the seal in this place wasn’t perfect, the effect wouldn't be so infuriating... I can tell when they are about to let me out because the reflection becomes much weaker.

After spending so much time in the past few days struggling to manifest three images at once, Randidly knew that he needed some extra pressure in order to progress to a steadier level. And just when he had that need, he discovered this place.

Randidly’s grin widened. What a lucky coincidence.

There was a sardonic sort of resignation in Vualla's tone. After barely speaking to each other for a month, now that we are reunited and have some privacy... you want to train.

Mentally, Randidly winced. Ah... well not immediately. How... how has your day been?

Oh, don't start that with me. Vualla waved her hand. Then a wave of enthusiasm burst out from her. In fact, this is perfect. I wanted to ask you to demonstrate this triple image fusion I could sense you thinking about, but I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate considering you were already doing so much for me. Hehe, but since you were the heartless monster that brought up training first... If you want to train, by all means train.

I never want you to think you can't be yourself around me, Randidly Ghosthound. And a part of who you are is that obsession with power. So, let's indulge it a bit. Put on a show for me.

Randidly studied Vualla for several seconds. She wasn't lying to him. In her soul, Randidly could feel his drive and ambition mirrored back at him. That sense of strangeness to her vanished as her warped personality was restored to its original state.

And seeing this Vualla, Randidly felt warm.