Vualla shook her head rather sadly after the connection was broken. She was sitting a carriage, wearing a silver gown that accentuated her brilliant azure hair and eyes. When she had seen herself in the mirror, even she was pretty impressed by how she looked when she scrubbed off the dirt: she was a knockout.

This was exactly why she was delighted when Randidly suddenly contacted her out of the blue, after being dead quiet for several months. She wanted to show off a little in front of him. And it was also why she was then filled with a strange sadness, sensing that Randidly was currently in a strange state of mind.

At this point, there is nothing I can do but trust him. Vualla balled her hands into fists. Even with the Xyrt Brigade training… we are really far from overthrowing the Nexus, aren’t we Randidly? You are out there risking your life to develop yourself. And I… I need to continue to grow here, as best as I can.

The carriage stopped. There was a polite knock at the door. “Miss Vualla, we’ve arrived at the auction venue. Please be sure to have your mask in place before you head in; the Shelley Kingdom would like to… distance itself from events like this.”

The corner of Vualla’s mouth quirked up. She reached to the side and picked up a mask that she had specially tailored for this event, as an homage to the body that was also this world. The face was a hound with long black hair and emerald accents around the eyes. Combined with Vualla’s natural color hair and silver gown, the accessory clashed garishly. But somehow, that display was satisfying to Vualla.

She pulled the hound mask over her face and opened the carriage door. The driver offered her his hand and she stepped down onto the cobblestones, looking up at the brilliant lights from the building in front of her. Wide marble stairs led a curving path around fountains and statues of heroes, before finally arriving at a pair of enormous black doors. Groups of masked individuals held flutes of champagne and conversed in quiet voices.

Their eyes briefly flicked to Vualla, but away with disinterest. She was dressed to the nines, but being simply beautiful wasn’t enough to earn anyone’s attention; it was only political power that attracted attention here.

I could annihilate this entire country if I was allowed to use my image, Vualla thought cheerily as she stared around.

It was the site of the most powerful financial institution inside of Randidly’s Alpha Cosmos, the Unus Institute Central Bank. And, due to the mission given to the recruits by Helen a month ago, they would need to be here in person.

Vualla began to walk up the stairs with a wicked smile. Tonight, she intended to enjoy herself.

*****

Randidly’s small voice of observation continued to note the way he was being polished, like a shining sword. His edges grew sharper. His core became shining and reflective, a bright torch in the depths of the shaft. All of his ancillary personality traits gradually fell away to dedication and ambition. Stroke by stroke, the Visage of Obsession was wiping him smooth.

He wondered how much longer this could proceed. At what point would he cease changing? But the curiosity was only an idle thing; his attention inevitably was pulled back to the firm resolve that drove him forward. In this place, with this chance… he would grow strong. He finally had ‘time’. He would then escape this place and pay back the debts he owed to the villains of the Nexus.

So he Engraved. He polished his images. He trained.

Occasionally, Randidly left his Nether Ritual and fought against the Nether Beasts with each of his images in turn. Yggdrasil grew towering and became more holy and glorious. The Grim Chimera continued to streamline its form for violence. The Stillborn Phoenix grew larger and more complex, its manipulation of the surroundings becoming overwhelming.

Then he worked on his Nether Engraving. As he perfected Yggdrasil, he began to develop the seeds of significance for the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix. Then he experimented with layering the varying forms together into a complete whole.

The results were disappointing. Keeping the heavy significance present in the construction while also weaving three different forms together was nearly impossible. But Randidly simply set his failures to the side, floated to the left, and began Engraving once again. Failure meant nothing to him. He did not waste his time during those attempts, he simply found one more method that was ineffective. So he tried another.

And anyway, the current Randidly barely noticed the passage of time at all. What difference did it make to him?

It was only when the Visage Obsession hummed in warning that Randidly paused in his Engraving. He silently clicked his tongue and got out the Fatepiece, annoyed that he had been interrupted while he was busy testing out a new theory. But he understood why it called to him.

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Ki-Kunot once more stood in front of Randidly. You must give up your external connections to proceed further.

The current streamlined Randidly could see immediately what his subconscious construct within the Fatepiece was requesting from him. But still, he made an aggrieved expression as though he was confused. How does that make sense? The whole point of this is to work on my Nether Core. Connection is one of the core principles of Nether. You are trying to cripple me as revenge for your fate aren’t you, Ki-Kunot?

The projection flapped her wings in a huff. Your humor is ill-timed and riddled with guilt toward how you dealt with me. I am you. If your heart wants you to be crippled… well, enjoy being buried here by your own hand. But in terms of Nether, you already have the clues needed to find your own significance in the images. You have just kept being distracted by your current connections and are unable to see the truth of how you’ve developed.

Randidly snorted. Just admit that the Nether Ritual to Vualla pisses you off.

Would a subconscious projection get angry in the first place? Randidly felt Ki-Kunot roll her eyes. Your resolve is weakened by your reliance on Vualla. It is necessary.

Finally, Randidly’s teasing ceased. His expression became serious. She holds the same goal in her heart. Her support has value

Which means she will understand and admire your resolve. Ki-Kunot replied sharply then she sighed. Let’s not distract from the truth; you are worried about how the Visage of Obsession is proceeding. You have held a part of yourself back during this process. That hesitation will need to be lost here too. If you continue forward, you need to accept the risks.

It is a gamble. Randidly grumbled. Ki-Kunot didn’t deny it. Randidly withdrew his senses to within his body and simply hummed, feeling the vibration traveling through his body. Without his sense of time, he couldn’t tell how long he meditated then.

But ultimately, he nodded.

Just like that, certain exchanges that had been occurring subconsciously within himself were ceased. All the meaning and shape that he had been steadily absorbing, due to his Aether connections, stopped flowing into him. Randidly Ghosthound was left alone with himself.

His senses displayed before him a rich world of emotion and color. Nether Beasts breathed and fought each other beyond the strange empty areas that Randidly now approached. Annoyingly, he still couldn’t quite make out what floated in the middle of those voids, though it was clear that something was there.

But he didn’t dwell on it much. He loosened his grip on his emotional tether and sank even deeper. Then, when he was just above the areas with the strange emptiness, he stopped himself and began to train.

No matter what else changed, training was the same.

He Engraved, he perfected images, he gathered emotions, he meditated on significance, he went out and slaughtered Nether Beasts. Without that small observer in Randidly’s mind, he was completely absorbed in this process. He passed smoothly from one moment to the next.

In a way, it was the most fulfilled he could remember being.

Bit by bit, by studying the Nether Cores of the slaughtered Nether Beasts, he had some breakthroughs in the area of layering his Engravings. As his second image, Randidly thought very deeply about what the Grim Chimera meant for him. If Yggdrasil was his deep yearning for a stable support system, then this adaptive monster was-

As it had previously, the Visage of Obsession hummed when it wanted his attention. Randidly gnashed his teeth and pulled out the Fatepiece. What the hell do you want now? It’s only been…

Randidly couldn’t finish that thought. Because he had no idea how much time had passed since the last time that the Visage had spoken to him. And then he let his annoyance go because once more there was a new figure in front of him within the Fatepiece. Shal’s familiar frown examined Randidly from head to toe. Then he shook his head, as though disappointed.

Do you really think Shal would be disappointed if he saw me? Randidly thought with a smile as he looked at the projection.

But to his surprise, the projection nodded sternly. Your resolve has the right shape, but it remains a fragile thing. I know you can do better than this, Randidly Ghosthound. I trained you to achieve more than this.

You are ridiculous, Randidly thought as he shook his head. Even if I’m not amongst the top characters in the Nexus-

Basing your evaluation of yourself on comparisons with others is the comfort of fools. The Shal projection responded.

Randidly was speechless. Or, more accurately, that response left him with a blank mind. Because he could feel how much the projection believed what it said. Did that mean his subconscious was just as foolishly stubborn…?

Not willing to indulge this shade for any longer, Randidly shrugged. Alright, fine. What do I need to sacrifice this time?

Your ability to rest, obviously. The Shal projection said. Then it added, You waste too much time recovering. Better to throw yourself back into training during those times. That way, your bones will remember when you are too exhausted to think.