Randidly felt his heart drop as he came out of the teleporter onto the Fifth Cohort Rally Station and saw the waiting Elite Squad. They saluted in unison, a sharp and practiced movement that spoke of military precision and repetition. But what threatened to unravel him at that moment was the black armband that they all wore over their smartly pressed uniforms.

He didn’t need to ask who it was for.

After the salute finished, Raymund Ballast walked up to Randidly and Lady Iellaya. His three tails hung behind him, much more well behaved than Randidly’s singular tail. “Although its not specifically condoned by military regulations, this band is the common method for mourning the passing of an instructor. This shouldn’t bring any more negative attention your way.”

Influence +41!

“Thanks,” Randidly huffed out a breath carrying the word. His throat felt dry. Even now, he hadn’t completely gathered the emotional force to confront his memories of Helen or his images; the more he looked at them, in their uniforms with a slash of black, the less he could keep his mind away. So he turned away and gestured for the group to follow.

They gathered a few more specialty squads on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station as they moved to the central teleporter off the asteroid. By the end of it, almost a thousand soldiers marched behind Lady Iellaya and Randidly. He scanned them quickly, curious about how useful the group would be in actual fighting situations. He had seen the group image formations that other squads had used, but in Randidly’s experience, they ended up being rather useless against a single, powerful individual.

As he expected, the soldiers given to them for this peace-keeping mission were rather underwhelming. The force was meant to show that Military High Command was observing, not that they meant to act. So he just made a mental note of their leaders and focused on the march across the dusty and cracked asteroid.

Funny to think that Velio Dunn almost destroyed this place trying to kill me, and now he’s off traveling with Edraine. Randidly thought as they arrived at the slightly damaged Engraving and stepped on top of it. Life is certainly… strange.

The teleportation to the edge of Pinnacle Seeker territory wrenched Randidly’s stomach more than any of the others and it became immediately obvious why; they arrived above an asteroid belt where most of the dense pieces of stone and metal were beginning to melt. Randidly raised his hand and squinted. Heat wasn’t exactly the right word for what they experienced; the light radiation blasting down from the half dozen white dwarf stars in front of them burned in the same way that the Hierarchy of Burden tested his body, albeit only as much as the first layer.

However, his eyes immediately widened as he looked closer. How… there is an Engraving channeling the energy of those stars outward? It also keeps the gravity from each star from affecting each other. How the hell did they manage that?

The whole arrangement was beautiful, to the point that he had to give Neveah a mental nudge. The six stars formed a ring, with only a central path through the middle of them all to get to the core area.

Yet soon, Randidly’s attention was dragged away from this massive, six-star Engraving. The array was on the left and his eyes now went to the left. Against the backdrop of a dust-filled nebula, the massive army of the Swacc Family slid forward in the direction of the six white dwarf cluster. Fully fifty thousand individuals floated around a central space, making their preparations for combat. Their silver uniforms were rather plain compared to Military High Command, but they made each soldier extremely visible.

“Looks like we arrived a bit early, but we are in for a treat,” Lady Iellaya pointed toward the densest cluster of Swacc Family forces. “See that object? That those old fogies are working on?”

Glad to have something to occupy his mind aside from the armbands of the Elite Squad, Randidly squinted. His Grim Intuition was extremely powerful, but the different forces were quite spread out; the individuals Lady Iellaya pointed to were perhaps a hundred kilometers away. But Randidly was barely able to make out where she indicated, mostly because of the large grey cone floating in the middle of the people.

“That’s a Hush Spike, one of the specialty products of the Swacc Family,” Lady Iellaya said. “It will make teleportation like we did almost impossible. Seems like they are seriously worried about other Pinnacle Seekers interfering- ah, look who slinks in, right before the gates close.”

There was a rush of energy opposite the small group from Military High Command that came with a stale tang of Nether. A much larger force, perhaps five thousand individuals, arrived bearing the markings of the Engraving Guild.

However, a strange pulse made Randidly look back at the Hush Spike. Strange symbols he couldn’t quite make out flared along the cone and a spatial array rapidly expanded and covered the area. Randidly felt it, barely, but removed his Philosopher’s Key to test how effective it was. A slight obstruction was there, but it seemed the Hush Spike wasn’t designed to counter his Fatepiece.

Once the Hush Spike was in place, the Swacc Family forces began to move. Compared to the combination images Military High Command used, Randidly couldn’t help but be impressed as he sensed that groups of a thousand soldiers carried the very same image.

Randidly rubbed his chin as he watched a group that all seemed to carry a thunderstorm in their chests. Were they trained to one specific image? Or was that image made and then somehow implanted into them all...

Lady Iellaya put her hands on her hips as she scowled over to the left. “Well, shit. They are actually activating that bastard of an array. Honestly, maybe they hope we will get caught in the crossfire and die. Or just to make sure those things don’t rip a hole in the Nexus Ways when the battle starts.”

“And the Pinnacle Seekers are waiting in the middle of all those dying stars?” Randidly asked. His Grim Intuition could vaguely sense several powerful image in the bright space between the white dwarfs, but all of the heat and energy made the details fuzzy. That, and the distance. “Is there any point in setting up there though? I assume that a truly powerful image user can just eliminate the stars, yes?”

“Its not impossible, but fully neutralizing something like that would take a very specific image,” Lady Iellaya grunted. “Most people, especially the powerful ones, wouldn’t bother; they can mostly ignore the environmental radiation from them and its a hassle to manage well. It would be like me asking you to lift up a mountain. Possible, but they need to handle the weight and also worry about putting it down without destroying a large area. And sometimes it collapses outward into a form that isn’t easy to lift and crushes everyone who is not you.”

Nodding, Randidly continued to watch the flowing lines of the Swacc Family army. Looking at all the forces arrayed below them, he did feel a small amount of worry that he had antagonized them so fully in the past.

But I’m not without my own allies and advantages, Randidly thought as he folded his arms across his chest. Behind his back, his tail continued its constant experiments with Nether. Seeing the tepid Nether of the Engraving Guild filled it with animation.

Congratulations! Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath (M) has grown to Level 304!

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As the troops flew straight forward into the radiance of those clustered stars, actual defenses began to stir within the base of the Pinnacle Seekers. Powerful winds guided the solar energy into rotating pillars of light and fire that lanced toward one of the Swacc Family forces. In response, a giant armored golem spun together from the images. It raised its bastard sword with ponderous intent, swinging to clash against the solar wind.

BOOOOOM!

Even from quite a distance away, Randidly felt the impact against his skin. Most of the energy of the solar wind was dispersed, but several more blasts were building in the space between the white dwarfs. In the very space that the Swacc Family would need to advance to reach the Pinnacle Seekers. Other concentrated pillars of heat, light, and ancillary radiation crashed down toward different columns and various other images sprang to life to meet them.

However, after each impact, a few of the figures from the massive columns suddenly stilled. They drifted down through space as the others charged on around them, likely sacrificed in the powerful impact.

On the Swacc Family side, a huge amount of raw Aether gathered into a square near to the Hush Spike. Apparently, they had their own methods for avoiding its restriction. From glittering motes, the energy quickly became blinding. When the display dimmed, another ten thousand soldiers had appeared. They quickly sped downward to join the other groups that charged toward the Pinnacle Seekers’ setup. The columns were spreading out between the forces of Military High Command and the Engraving Guild on the sidelines as they began their offensive.

Randidly’s heartbeat began to quicken as he watched that new group move because he immediately sensed a familiar being within that group.

Shal, Randidly thought almost wistfully as he stared at a specific figure in a silver uniform. But the longer he looked, the more he ached. Shal moved with a smaller, elite squad. Yet just like the others, there was a heavy and near-uniform image that hovered across the twenty-person group. What the hell happened to you?

“The one manipulating the formation is Wind Scythe,” Lady Iellaya folded her arms and used hand signals to lead their squads up closer to the battlefield. “Rumor would put him near the Speculum tier, but not quite there. Aside from that… hum, I sense two other powerful images within the array that I don’t recognize. Even by utilizing the celestial bodies, they are a bit overmatched.”

Randidly tore his gaze away from Shal’s tiny figure. He looked left, where another smaller group from the Engraving Guild lazed around further from the conflict and closer to the Swacc Family base. Then he scanned the space around the array, but found nothing but dust and debris. “Looks like none of the other Pinnacle Seekers want to stick their neck out for this reach for the Pinnacle.”

“Still, we need to stay ready,” Lady Iellaya replied affirmatively. Randidly nodded slowly in response, trying to keep his gaze from sliding back toward Shal.

Or from those damned armbands, Randidly thought rather morosely. Despite the conflict in front of me, there are too many easy ways to make myself miserable here.

However, keeping his attention away from the emotional gulf in his chest soon became easier, because more and more of the Swacc Family columns of forces were pushing into the white dwarf array. Oversized images flared and solar winds smashed downward in response. Soon the space in front of them was filled with massive impacts as the huge Swacc army started grinding against the power of this Pinnacle Seeker.

Randidly tried to clear his mind and focus on the varied images that the Swacc Family were deploying, but the more he watched, the more Randidly could see the weakness in these images as they were buffeted by light and heat; the shape possessed real potency, but lacked even the slightest hint of emotion. Each heavy impact sent a few more of the soldiers tumbling slowly out of formation. The gravity field of the stars seized upon these limp bodies and pulled them inexorably into their maw, where they would be devoured by the concentrated heats.

Are these really the people you wish to support, Shal? Randidly spared a glance for Shal’s squad, but his eyes widened as that group was accelerating away from the white dwarf array; they were moving swiftly to intercept the group from the Engraving Guild. The figures were quite distant from where the Military High Command forces sat, looking like no more than ants.

“That’s unexpected,” Lady Iellaya commented. “Perhaps they are going to-”

Shal raised his arms from the center of the grouping, holding daggers in his hands. A massive, cloaked shade manifested above his group of twenty, soon enveloping the entire squad. All that was left was the fluttering darkness and the gleam daggers of the large image, rushing toward the Engraving Guild.

The other orthodox faction realized that the Swacc Family group meant to attack them too late; Randidly felt them mobilizing some small Nether Rituals, but that shade accelerated and ripped into their lines. Those massive daggers split some of the desperate humanoids completely in half, leaving their bodies to be slowly dragged toward the white dwarfs. Their Nether was thick and inflexible. Taken by surprise, most of the weaklings could only flee and die.

Lady Iellaya floated forward to stand next to Randidly. “Perhaps a preemptive strike, worried that the Engraving Guild still remembered the Swacc Family was hoarding Unitarium…? Or perhaps the reason that they showed the Nexus their army wasn’t a show of force, but because they wanted to consolidate themselves in an area far from Nexus control.”

Randidly bit his lips; he stared at the massive image and saw not the slightest hint of Shal. His master had been completely obscured in its featureless depths.

“We might be witnessing the first open rebellion in Nexus history,” Lady Iellaya sounded almost cheerful, even as the shade slaughtered more of the figures from the Engraving Guild. “The one thing I don’t understand is why now.”

Randidly’s attention drifted away from Lady Iellaya’s words and to his pounding heart. The more he thought about Shal losing himself in that image, the worse he felt. His mouth tasted sour, but it was more than that. Randidly could feel his Nether bubbling in his veins, reacting almost physically to this diminished version of Shal.

His very Nether Core was founded on a very specific philosophy, imparted to him by Shal. Now, seeing Shal behave this way felt like a very targeted repudiation of the significance that Randidly had accumulated. And his Nether did not take this challenge lightly. Gradually, Randidly’s mouth firmed into a line as the numbness in his heart that had been present since he had given so deeply to Claudette began to tremble.

Huge, deep waves surged from the corners of Randidly’s heart and began to gather. His Nether continued to curdle.

A thought occurred to Randidly as he experienced his sickened state.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 276!

Congratulations! Your Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 277!

If my emotions can return so easily, they weren’t spent after the image refinement. How could I have recovered so quickly? They were just… unused as I tried not to dwell. Randidly’s emerald eyes began to glow. Besides, my images haven’t been weakened today, I’ve just felt wrung out. But perhaps that is a matter of perspective, rather than an objective fact. I feel empty, but that’s not because I’m drained, but because I’m currently utilizing less.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 278!

Congratulations! Your Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 279!

If emotion as an aspect of Aether and images should be considered not as a volume to be spent, but only as a capacity with an upper limit… then what I’ve been feeling isn’t exhaustion but the capability to mobilize much, much larger quantities of emotional force than I’m currently utilizing. The heat in Randidly’s chest was rising, twining together to reignite the furnace that raged in his heart in the wake of Helen’s death. And still, his emotions howled upward, especially as the faceless dagger image finished destroying the Engraving Guild’s left flank and turned its gaze toward Military High Command.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 280!

“Ah, word from above,” Lady Iellaya said. “A little slow on the uptake, but what can you do. Based on their observations, they discovered what the Pinnacle Seekers stole from the Swacc Family. And now they want it; obtaining it supersedes our previous mission. They call it the skull of truth- huh? And whoever manages to reclaim the item will receive a Tier 3 Citizenship coin, no questions asked.”

The dagger-wielding shade screeched and accelerated above the flowing silver army of the Swacc Family in their direction. Randidly’s Nether rose in response. His face twisted into a smile. “Whatever it is… Looks like the Swacc Family doesn’t want to turn it over to us.”

“And they are willing to attack us directly to keep it.” Lady Iellaya’s own sharp smile stretched across her face.