The only real difference in Randidly’s current training regimen after reaching Level 30 in his Fatepiece was that he needed to keep the wall within his perception at all times. Having a frame of reference kept the worst side effects of losing his sense of direction from popping up. It also prevented the inexplicable impressions of movement, that were surprisingly convincing, despite the fact that Randidly repeatedly reminded himself they were false.

Unfortunately, keeping a portion of his attention on the surroundings was rather difficult to manage during some portions of his training. Especially when his newfound forgetfulness kept making itself known.

Yet Randidly had to admit that the forgetfulness also benefited him. As had happened previously, there was a newfound purity to Randidly’s concentration that often resulted in him completely shutting out what was happening around him. So while he considered the significance of his Engraving for his Nether Core, sometimes Randidly would abrupt wake to find that he had… drifted away somewhat while he had gathered quite a few Skill Levels.

The worst part of the whole experience was that he found it very difficult to care. The goal began consuming his every waking moment, resulting in him setting aside the danger of the indulgence and simply pushing forward. This meant that his Skill Levels continued to steadily tick upward… but the observer part of Randidly was growing increasingly worried.

But at this point… I’m already in the grips of obsession… Randidly’s face contorted. With these three sacrifices, there is nowhere to go but forward.

So he kept his worries to himself and threw himself more deeply into the training. As predicted, once more possessing a second arm helped him in the efficiency of his improvement. With renewed confidence, he once more resumed combat training. Randidly was also very careful to create enormous Nether Rituals to contain his image reverberations. He had accepted that attracting the attention of the Nether Beasts was more trouble than it was worth.

Even his aggression had limits; these Nether Beasts would swarm toward him until he was exhausted.

All three of his images steadily grew in their emotional clout. He spent time developing his usage of the spear, altering his form to incorporate his increased physical power. He continued to experiment with Engravings, both related to Nether Cores and more typical Engraving projects. His senses grew even further tuned to Nether, letting him peer even more deeply into the depths.

Again, he was fascinated by the vast spaces below where he sensed Nether Beasts actively avoiding something in the depths. Considering how they behaved like drunken moths and drifted closer to him anytime he released any sort of energy, he was shocked that these Nether Beasts had some instinct that drove them away. If he could observe this phenomenon and duplicate it, his attempts to train would become much simpler.

But to his senses, he was unable to determine what caused those spaces. And Randidly still possessed enough of his caution not to force the investigation. If the Nether Beasts thought this was a source of danger, Randidly would at least tread cautiously.

Randidly trained for another month in the thick darkness, losing himself whenever he looked away from the wall. But soon, that familiar sensation manifested in his training. Randidly could sense the plateau in his growth; he had reached the limits of his current potential. Not that he wouldn’t continue growing, but the speed was beginning to drop as he trained without any pressing necessity urging him forward.

Worst of all, his understanding of his own significance still eluded him. He remained stumped.

Randidly sighed and pulled out the Visage of Obsession. His senses were steadily drawn inward and then fed into the paper. The sky had now turned completely crimson, while the ground cooled off toward a dull grey. Randidly felt like he was in the monochrome world of a vampire.

With no other choice, he began walking forward.

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 39!

After his previous experiences of wandering for a time, Randidly was rather shocked to find that he arrived almost immediately in front of Lyra. She held her basket against her hip with that same sly smile on her face. Perhaps it was an aspect of ‘losing his sense of direction’ but his sense of time completely blurred, leading him immediately to this point.

Obviously, he didn’t doubt that time had skipped forward while he was drawn into the Fatepiece. But he almost wished he could turn around inside the Fatepiece and examine the ‘space’ behind him. But the feeling of being ‘inside’ the Visage of Obsession was only an illusion. His senses couldn’t examine the Path he had taken to get here.

Randidly tilted his head to the side as he examined Lyra. There was no reason to delay since he was already here. What now?

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Lyra offered him the basket and smiled. She raised her hand with a flourish. The System has been a bit distracting, don’t you think? Why don’t you get rid of its notifications?

Randidly’s expression slowly became solemn as he considered her reply. ...you don’t just mean Skill Levels.

Messages too, Came Lyra’s impish reply. Oh, and those warnings. Not that you listened anyway, but its better to rip out something like that from the roots, right?

Randidly released a low breath. Before accepting the demand of the Visage of Obsession, he composed and sent messages to Helen and Vualla, saying that his training would take away his ability to contact them for a while. But that he was safe and improving quickly, and would likely soon have a method to get out of the grasp of the horrifying significance.

The last line was a bit of a stretch, but Randidly felt the effect that Fatepiece was having. He was rather confident that he would soon have a breakthrough. The significance swirling around his practice was steadily increasing. He knew he was close.

After sending the messages, he nodded. He reached up and put a finger to his temple, going simply by instinct. When he moved that finger away, he could feel a tight cluster of Aether attached to his finger. After minutely examining the complex intersecting lines, he lowered his finger and deposited the System notifications within the basket.

With a gleeful expression, Lyra vanished and Randidly slid out of the Visage of Obsession. He consulted Absolute Timing. A month had passed in that sudden moment of arrival in front of Lyra. Which brought his time in the shaft to near five months. Around him, the Nether Ritual he had made to isolate himself was starting to tear at the edges; the coincidental damage from emotions had almost interrupted his focus.

Randidly shook himself, loosening the muscles that were stiff from long-standing still for a month. Then he twisted his mouth. Seems like if this keeps going up… this depth won’t be enough to cover the time spent in the Fatepiece…

Feeling somewhat worried by various threats, Randidly released his hold on the emotional tether and drifted downward. The air continued to thicken around him as it contained more and more Nether. The increases were incremental, but Randidly could sense the qualitative change in the air was coming soon.

As he drifted downward, his senses could stretch farther and farther, sensing more and more Nether Beasts crowding the depths. In addition, he could detect three of those entirely clear spheres where Nether beasts dared not tread. Below them was an even thicker grouping of Nether Beasts, but what was most intriguing was that in this group, there was a significant amount of fighting-

Feeling suddenly cold, Randidly seized the emotional tether once more. He wiped cold sweat from his brow and released a relieved breath. Part of losing my sense of direction really was losing my sense of time… If I wasn’t paying close attention to the Nether content of the air, I would have just kept descending… and even still, I proceeded a bit more deeply than I wanted…

Currently, the Nether content in the air was right below 75%. To distract himself and prevent the increased density of Nether Beasts at this depth from noticing him, Randidly wove a Nether Ritual around his person. Then he began to train each of his images in turn, shaping them and charging their emotional power.

It was comically easy to set aside his images and concentrate on the training. Soon, he was completely immersed.

But even if he lost himself in the familiar training patterns, partway through he slowed in his movements as he practiced with the Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil. He looked down at his hands in wonder. Heh, without the Skill Level up notifications, it is quite easy to get lost here… I really wish I knew what the ratio of time here to the outside world is…

Sighing, Randidly could only set that concern aside. There was really nothing he could do to find out that knowledge; worrying about it was a waste of time. So he settled back into his stance and thought about what Yggdrasil meant to him.

And as he was about to activate his Skills, the epiphany he had been waiting for arrived.

Stability and growth… those are what I sought with Yggdrasil. The warm embrace of the World Tree that supports the entire planet. Both of Randidly’s arms fell to his sides. From the deepest part of his soul, waves of indigo began radiating outward. He pressed his eyes closed and bowed his head. Those are what… those are what I was looking for. Those are what I imagined.

Significance… is subjective. Each individual experiences it personally. It is shaped by context. And it can move quickly or slowly. Some seeds planted in the mind won’t bloom for decades. Others immediately flare to life. Narrative adds a shape to the speed of growth, but it’s not quite that predictable. Viewing the issue from that angle… there is a rather simple explanation of why I so quickly turned to the World Tree. Randidly’s lip curled up. Yet that answer is so convenient and cliched… fuck.

Is this really because of my parents…?

Randidly’s memories drifted back to the past. He thought about his father leaving. About his mother losing herself in liquor and drugs and men. Of spending a silent childhood of loneliness. Of meeting Sydney and then chasing her through high school and into college. This younger version of himself that Randidly viewed dispassionately in his memories threw himself enthusiastically into all his pursuits.

In the long nights of his youth, Randidly Ghosthound had heedlessly searched for something. Perhaps that something truly was stability and growth. Because when he shaped his image, that was what emerged.

There’s only one way to truly see if this insight is enough… Randidly reflected. He drifted over toward the bone wall, Nether concentrating on his pointer fingers. As he did so, the significance in the surroundings began to sluggishly congregate toward him. Randidly couldn’t help but tremble. Even now, his movements carried enough weight to resist the significance below.

Randidly began to carve. The movement of Nether around him only grew stronger as the Engraving took shape in front of him.