With a stubborn bullishness that refused to stop in the face of delays, Randidly led the Order Ducis in pushing through two more rounds of the tournament and reached the final sixty-four teams. These, in Randidly’s mind, were the true elites. He then announced that a two-day break would occur, so that the Orchard could clean up the event area and reinforce the actual arena for the following battles.

There had been quite a few incidents in the last round where the careful schedule Wolfram created had to be discarded because an arena was thoroughly demolished by a prior fight. Specialty marble was being shipped in from the Donnyton mine in order to construct a surface that could withstand a significant beating without shattering. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep things on schedule for the rest of the tournament.

Of course, Randidly didn’t have much of a break-even when the tournament was paused. A majority of those two days was devoured by the bloated schedule of meetings and planning sessions that Tatiana insisted on in order to prepare Kharon for the up-coming governmental change. So Randidly was running between meetings with Gertrude and Sam talking about the function and purpose of Keystones and then listening to Wolfram carefully explaining the predicted issues for Kharon’s growth in the next two years, all the while feeling like he should have dedicated a Skill or two to management.

But realistically, this might be the last chance he had to deal with such issues for a while, so he didn’t take the time to learn one.

After much contemplation and reflection, Randidly approved the proposal to recruit more contractors and specialists into Kharon and streamline the probationary process for entering the city. His original fear was that his image would be too deeply ingrained in the city and therefore it was best to keep Kharon’s population small, but Randidly was gradually realizing that his original premise was not true.

Because with the tournament giving him a sense of perspective, Randidly realized that the people of Kharon didn’t necessarily internalize his image. Rather than teaching them his image directly, it was indeed true that Randidly had been setting himself up in an antagonistic role with the Eidolon Crucible. If anything, Kharon’s image more closely resembled the remnants of the Redemption Battlefield than Randidly himself. It was chaotic and heterogeneous with an oddly pure determination serving as his base.

Sensing the waves of those images mixing and mingling in the city, Randidly felt oddly lonely. He stood at the edge of his island and pushed the surrounding moonlight spirits away so he could look down at the city he had made.

Somehow, I can understand why Shal took me on as an apprentice, even though I was a stranger in that Dungeon. With that thought, Randidly began to chuckle. The steady laughs continued until finally escalating to a knee-slapping guffaw.

After all the effort I put into creating a place that could inspire the world and not infect it with my images… seems like it didn’t end up mattering… Gradually, Randidly’s smile disappeared. Instead, he became solemn as he looked more deeply at the bubbling metropolis below. People flowed freely from Kharon into the Orchard and vice versa. The many merchants of Kharon were ecstatic, finally able to reliably sell off their stock of specialty products. Some even were pushing for Kharon to set up a permanent location and settle down.

And after learning that Randidly’s worry that his city would closely carry his image wasn’t an issue, he was slightly tempted to allow that permanence. Randidly pivoted slightly, his gaze sliding across the construction for the reinforced arena to the temporary restaurants and food stalls, to the new construction where the Orchard was erecting a suburb around the base of Kharon. There was something… reassuring about human settlements. More than personal strength, these edifices were a physical representation of humanity’s strength.

Randidly raised his gaze higher and looked toward the Northeast. The tall buildings of the Orchard were fingers reached up to the sky. Cities were the hands with a thousand fingers that allowed humanity to grip the vital levers of the world.

Despite the power of the monsters that had come to Earth, the people have adapted. We have reaffirmed our place on this planet.

Looking at the eaves, gutters, glass windows, the hundreds of electric lights, the ornate wooden doors, and level paving on all the roads leading into the city, Randidly gradually shook his head. As he did so, Yggdrasil, the Grim Chimera, and the Stillborn Phoenix stood with him. “This… isn’t enough. Being reassured misses the point. There are four Calamities coming. This… I suspect this amount of strength is only enough to defeat the first one…”

Randidly stood there and looked down. As he let his eyes unfocus from the details, it was only image that spiraled before his vision. The images of so many people, even when several people were present that possessed about 100x as much potency as others, was a confusing mixture of so many influences that the resulting sensation was neutral. It was a landscape of greys and softened edges. The images robbed each other of their dangerous cravings and pure beliefs. This was a humanity that didn’t know its future.

And although it was a hard truth, oftentimes people couldn’t find the correct Path forward without a concrete threat to whip them away from complacency. But once the Earth was named in the eyes of the Nexus… things would begin accelerating forward. The System would come to collect the interest it was owed.

Congratulations! Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror (L) has grown to Level 345!

Randidly stood at the edge of his island and monitored the images below until Tatiana approached him. She glanced around to make sure there was no one else present and then took several sharp steps forward to stand on Randidly’s left. Her amber eyes were bright as she scrutinized the ground below. But then she turned to Randidly and tilted her head to the side. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Have I done enough?” Randidly asked lightly. He entwined the metal fingers of his left hand with the fleshy ones of his right. Purple-black flames ignited in his eyes as he attempted to peer forward into the future and couldn’t seem to glean any clues from the inert mass of images before him.

On the plus side, at least humanity’s current position is stable… Randidly mused.

Tatiana chuckled. “You know, those sorts of questions can only be answered in retrospect. We’ve done our best to predict the issues, but it’s the most likely the problems that we haven’t considered that will make or break our efforts. We can only prepare and stay vigilant.”

Our efforts. That’s true. It’s not just me… I came with the vision, but I could never have accomplished this alone. Randidly rolled his shoulders and then nodded slowly to Tatiana. “...so, what am I late for now?”

Sensing the change in Randidly’s mood, Tatiana produced a clipboard and made several lightning-fast notes. “Technically? You are exactly on time. But I want to make sure you stay that way. Oh, and I wanted to confirm that after this, the Order Ducis will spend one day administering a round and then one day off until the championship. So the final will be in 10 days.”

Randidly stretched his arms upward. He had been doing this with Tatiana for several weeks; he wasn’t going to allow her to lull him into agreeing to something tiresome without good reason. “Don’t try and hide it; what’s up?”

“I know it isn’t something that you would usually do, but since you would be leaving Earth soon anyway, I have scheduled something special for you.” Tatiana’s eyes were glittering. “Don’t you want a wider audience? This would be your chance.”

Inwardly, Randidly sighed.

*****

The two-day break finished and the matches resumed.

After the match, Huang Li stood in front of the bathroom mirror and carefully wiped the blood off of his face. His lips were crusted with it around the spot where he had been forced to chew on his bottom lip in order to remain conscious. Even now, his hands were slightly trembling as he held the damp cloth. But as he looked at his reflection and carefully controlled his face to appear neutral, he couldn’t keep the fingers of his left hand from tightening on the porcelain of the sink.

He had done it. While Huang Shou had been completely aloof, Huang Li had been able to win another match and push them into the top 32 duos due to his own strength. Regardless of whether they could continue to the next round, this result was proof-

Knock.

Huang Li stiffened. Then he flexed his hands and rinsed the bloody rag under the cool water from the faucet. Pink water was flushed down the drain. “I’m inside, Grandfather. Is there something you need?”

“May I come in?”

Huang Li pressed his lips together. Then he lifted the rag to his collarbone and did his best to wipe away the remaining blood. The System meant that his wounds healed relatively quickly, but the dried blood stubbornly lingered, a sign of how close Huang Li had come to failure earlier today. After each of these brushes with failure, Huang Li felt his image reinvigorating and reinventing itself to be more aptly poised to seize victory next time, but he was rapidly approaching the limit of his strength and potential.

This could not continue forever.

His shirt was dark so the bloodstains were mostly hidden. But it still felt dangerous to allow Huang Shou to come into the bathroom and see his weakness.

Huang Li dabbed again with the rag. The water was cool on his skin. He released a long breath.“...yes, you may.”

The hinges were well oiled; the door swung open without a sound. Huang Shou stood there with his hands behind his back. Huang Li didn’t turn around but spared a glance for his grandfather in the mirror. Then he returned to his task. He dabbed for a few more seconds and then twisted the rag in order to squeeze out all of the moisture within it.

Still, the bathroom was silent. Huang Li closed his eyes and centered himself before opening them again and speaking. “Is there something you need?”

Huang Shou ignored the question. His brow was creased, but it was not the rather familiar emotions of rage or disdain that deepened the lines on his adoptive grandfather’s face. An entirely foreign emotion had taken up residence there. It felt like Huang Li had walked up to a familiar restaurant, only to realize that the storefront had changed and it was now a clothing store.

Huang Li forced himself to release another breath and it was heavy and warm as the casual breath of a dragon. If his grandfather wouldn’t answer, then he wouldn’t press the issue. He did his best to mask the sliver of weakness remaining in his body and resumed the act of wiping away his dried blood. From his collarbone, Huang Li proceeded to his torn and calloused knuckles.

Today he had been forced to condense the image of his dragon in his right hand to finish the fight. Huang Li had been inspired by the few sporadic occasions that he had seen Randidly Ghosthound manifest his image; in those instances, his entire body seemed to be replaced by his image. And the result was a power that was so pure that it seemed to seep into the surrounding air.

Yet the process of Huang Li attempting the same thing had not gone well. Probably most of the damage done to his hand was done by himself, for improperly utilizing his image. It was a humbling lesson. To review that lesson before the figurehead of the conservative faction…

Well, it did not feel like Huang Li deserved-

“When’s your birthday?” Huang Shou eventually asked.

Huang Li was surprised but didn’t let it show. He lowered his rag and looked at his grandfather in the mirror. “February 1st.”

Huang Shou simply nodded. The strange standoff continued. The air between the two of them was heavy.

So Huang Li grimaced and spoke again. “Why do you ask, grandfather?”

Huang Shou closed his eyes for a second. Then he turned away before speaking. His shoulders were still as he spoke, impossible upright and steady. “Regardless of ideological differences, did you think an old man like me wouldn’t be moved by the honor you have earned for our Shou Family? I will personally make sure you can understand what this means to me.”

Huang Li was so shocked that he turned around and looked at the back of his adoptive grandfather. He was a short and stout man, with heavy arms that seemed like they belonged to a hard laborer. His style of dress was always loose and casual. Yet still, those heavy arms seemed so light compared to those shoulders. Internally, Huang Li had to admit to himself that aside from wanting the Glorious Leaders to step down, he didn’t know much about this man in front of him.

“Also, please be quick,” Huang Shou walked away from the bathroom. “The interview will start soon.”