We have a problem.

Despite himself, Randidly perked up almost immediately when he received the message from Lucretia. He rolled back his shoulders and rubbed off some of the flour on his hands on his apron. Most of the rest of the people in the crowded kitchen didn’t seem to notice the shift, caught in some heated gossip about Raina’s tragic dating experience in the past few months. Only Neveah raised an eyebrow at him, but Randidly just shook his head and left the kitchen out the back entrance.

Randidly could feel that Claudette’s emotions finally started to normalize. So he didn’t want to disturb-

His lips quirked up as Delilah heaved a sigh of relief after he closed the door behind him. He suppressed the urge to pop back in and give her some random task. Are you really this scared just from hide and seek all those years ago? Ah, you are too fun to tease.

But quickly, he focused his mind and reached out for Lucretia. Heat began to build in his body as he prepared for a fight. What’s the problem?

A foreign entity managed to make it into the Alpha Cosmos. He calls himself the Patron of the Sun. While he is behaving now, his earlier behavior leads me to believe that his is both significantly powerful and more experienced with the way that ambient Nether behaves than even we are. We suppressed him, but it is hard to say how long that will last.

Hearing that name made Randidly’s skin prickle, even more than the description of what happened gave him chilling flashbacks to struggling against Yystrix. But at least this time, he was at fault for the Patron’s presence.

Randidly couldn’t stop a bitter smile from growing across his face, thinking of his ‘invention’ of D’min and the rest of the Lizakh. The Visage of Obsession had accomplished the stated goal, but he wasn’t pleased with how far-reaching the ripples of his time helping Claudette ended up being. What does this Patron of the Sun want?

To join the Alpha Cosmos, Lucretia replied. As a member of the Pantheon. Although that might just be a pretext for receiving permission to stay here.

Just as Randidly’s face was twisting into a scowl, Lucretia sent another message. I know your impulse is to reject him immediately and I agree that giving him freedom within your body is a bad idea. But I don’t think that we need to be so direct about it. I believe that we can take advantage of his power and knowledge without giving him any influence.

How?

Randidly could practically feel her smile through the message. Because he’s asking to meet with you, but you aren’t alone. You have us to help you out with the tasks you can’t do so well.

An hour later, Randidly met with the Patron of the Sun on top of one of the highest rocky peaks in the Nordawn range. At the Patron’s request, they chose a location above the cloud layer; Yn’ulk’s healing body leaned back and released an explosive sigh of contentment as the pale rays of the sun soaked into his body. Randidly lounged opposite him on a rock shelf, studying the superimposed image that possessed the Lizakh warrior.

You don’t need to make the first move, Lucretia had told Randidly. As best as we could manage, his true power is restricted in the Alpha Cosmos. Without a body, or permission from the Pantheon to be here, there is only so much he can do. Both Aether and Nether is inherently hostile to him. He needs to hide without that man to avoid the natural pressure of this place.

Honestly, it’s a good thing you absorbed so many planets for the Nemesai. Otherwise, he might have been able to tear everything to shreds with just a projection.

While the Patron released such obvious contentment to be in the sun, Randidly continued to test his body with his Hierarchy of Burden. Besides, he didn’t mind the sun either. Although he was far past the point that Expira’s temperatures bothered him, that didn’t mean that sunlight on his skin didn’t feel nice.

The World Tree was one of his core images, after all.

Congratulations! Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane (T) has grown to Level 423!

...still, the Patron of the Sun seemed just as willing to wait as Randidly. He glanced at the possessed warrior once, wondering whether the original owner of the body was conscious. Then, he closed his eyes and didn’t rely on his own senses, but the whole of the Alpha Cosmos to feel out this figure. Was it possible that this powerful figure was using these silent moments to plot something?

When Randidly finally realized why he was delaying, he had to suppress a snort. The Patron of the Sun released periodic emotional pulses at very mild frequencies, but with enough potency that they would persist for quite a distance, due to the abundant Nether inside Randidly’s body. They bounced outward, spreading through the isolated space and curving back in on themselves at the edges of the Alpha Cosmos.

Looking for where the Alpha Cosmos joins to the rest of the Nexus? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m the only way in or out. This place just as metaphorical as it is literal, so there aren’t any messy connection points. No matter how you search, you won’t find a flaw in my body. Not from the inside, anyway. Randidly’s lips twitched and he decided to give himself over completely to his physical training. After all, what did he care if the Patron of the Sun saw him twitching? He began to crank up the intensity of his Fatepiece, until he pushed himself to a new high on the light radiation.

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 32!

Congratulations! Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 428!

“...thank you for your patience,” The possessed member of the Lizakh straightened and offered Randidly a smile bristling with sharp teeth. Randidly eased up on his Fatepiece and out his tensed muscles, just in case. “My encounter with your Patrons was slightly exhausting. I needed a bit of time to reestablish my presence in your isolated space.”

“Take your time,” Randidly replied drily, deciding that it would be petty of him to point out how increasingly tinged with frustration the emotional pulses the Patron had released had been.

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The Patron of the Sun cleared his throat. Randidly couldn’t help but notice that his lips remained slightly blood-stained. Hopefully, Yn’ulk wasn’t suffering. “Then let’s cut right to the chase: I wish to be a part of this… Alpha Cosmos. I admit that our meeting hasn’t been the most amicable thus far, but I hope you will see my action of forgoing the corpse of that Patron as a show of sincerity. I truly believe that we can work together and accomplish great things.

“I am one of the eight original Patrons of Nexus. There are probably very few records of my many exploits now, but let me assure you that I fought side by side with Elhume through the First and Second Cohorts.” Perhaps either as proof of his claims or as subtle intimidation, the Patron of the Sun glowed with endless golden light. Randidly’s skin prickled underneath the radiance because the light both reminded him of his pained flight into a lava pool to avoid an image of the sun and because Randidly couldn’t deny that in terms of raw image, this figure was far above him.

If they met in the actual Nexus, he would have no choice but to flee.

Folding his arms across his chest, Randidly simply endured this show of power. Between the two of them, the Patron was the more desperate party.

The Patron of the Sun allowed his image to fade. “If you allow me to be one of your Patrons, you will have my full support in resisting the Nexus; I hope you comprehend that the existence of this isolated space will put a target on your back in the future. I will help you fight against these external threats while also giving you full access to my significant knowledge. I can sense you are experimenting with Nether here and believe that my experience fighting against the Nether Horde will be of interest to you. With the right materials, you can even create your own Nether Warriors.”

The suggestion of forming beings of Nether was intriguing, but Randidly didn’t let himself get distracted. He raised his hand and scratched his chin. “But why? Why do you want to help me?”

The Patron of the Sun smiled. The transmission of the expression between spirit and body wasn’t perfect, leaving the left side of Yn’ulk’s mouth curiously flat. “...heh. I was betrayed, Randidly Ghosthound. We all were. The current Nexus leadership has turned its back on the original holy mission that we exhausted ourselves to accomplish. This you might have known. But what you likely didn’t understand is that the Nexus always had an expiration date; eventually, the cost in raw Aether of sustaining the infrastructure will cause it to collapse. Especially now that we- well. The Eighth Cohort was always going to be the last. And I believe that becoming a part of your isolated space, which possesses all of the positive aspects of the Nexus while functioning much more efficiently, is the best way to ensure I survive the fallout.”

That certainly grabbed Randidly’s attention. The first portion was basically what he had expected to hear, but to learn that the Nexus wouldn’t be able to sustain itself past the Eighth Cohort- “How sure are you that the Nexus is going to collapse?”

Careful, Lucretia whispered to him. You cannot ask too many questions about this. You cannot give him any hooks.

Got it, Randidly replied.

The Patron of the Sun shrugged. “Many things might have changed. But in our original calculations, continuing beyond Eight Cohorts simply wasn’t feasible. Still, all these things and more we can discuss later. So, are you willing to welcome a nomad such as myself?”

Randidly almost rolled his eyes at the awkward segue. He allowed a few beats to pass, adding the illusion that he was contemplating the offer, even though he had already discussed this with Lucretia. Then, as though he felt as cramped and stifled as when he had absorbed Tellus, Randidly shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” The Patron of the Sun’s radiance increased, just slightly. He released more emotional pulses, more frustrated than ever.

“I can sense your strength. Which is valuable, yes, but it is difficult to so quickly throw open my doors and welcome you inside of this Alpha Cosmos that I’m making,” Randidly said slowly. “Perhaps… some time to think about it would be for the best.”

The Patron of the Sun leaned forward. “I agree that we need more opportunities to know each other before we can reach nurture even a basic trust. But do we have time to move so cautiously? I sensed the current state of the Nexus. Both the monitoring apparatus and the Nexus Ways are currently down. All surveillance has gone completely dark. For a figure like me… well. Even if I behave with restraint, I suspect some of my fellow original Patrons will not. And once the word is out that we are freed, the Nexus will throw everything it has to capture and subdue us. The chance for me to join the Alpha Cosmos with no one being the wiser will have passed.”

Randidly pressed his lips together. Although Yn’ulk’s face remained slack, the golden light rippled behind him.

Seconds trickled past. Randidly, even before his conversation with Lucretia, had learned the hard way that making a decision under duress was foolish. Yn’ulk’s fingers began to twitch when Randidly was so obviously unswayed. He could practically hear Lucretia’s voice. He will offer a compromise.

“Perhaps a compromise is in order,” The Patron of the Sun shook his head. “My presence as a Patron… you are correct that my might makes it a dangerous proposition. But at the very least, I wish to make sure that my people are well cared for in your isolated space. Perhaps we can select a representative from the Lizakh that can become a Patron.”

He wants a foot in the door that he can use to pry the Alpha Cosmos open later. Which is fine, so long as we are prepared for it and he doesn’t understand that this place is your body. So go along with the idea, but you cannot offer the first option. And you cannot reject him outright. So you will need to think of a way to distract him, Lucretia had said. But Randidly didn’t have any problems thinking of a new conversation topic.

He rubbed his chin. “You make it seem like the Nexus would be desperate to silence you. Why is that?”

The Patron of the Sun shrugged. “To keep their version of history as the only one. Not that all of these pieces of knowledge that I have are dangerous to them, but it’s simply easier if people did not know… for example, that you and most of the people on this planet are artificial life.”

“...excuse me?” Randidly’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Ah, I don’t mean that as a specific attack” The Patron waved a hand. “Your people generally are all not true organic beings that evolved from amoeba. See? You likely didn’t know. This is deeply related to the chaos at the end of the Second Cohort. We were already falling behind on our goals of creating powerful images after the First Cohort. So Elhume and some of the other Patrons began working together on a very dangerous and ambitious project. To create beings with extremely high potential and imagination, while also possessing acceptable base Stats and high fertility.

“Elhume created a grand array of both Aether and Nether. He took the slightest pinch of Pine’s perfection and wove it through the core of the Engraving, while also drawing out valuable traits from some of the more powerful races loyal to him. His first ‘results’ were strange, partially hairless creatures that were foolish and bold. Most died very quickly. They started quite feeble but could develop very quickly. He made thousands of prototypes and had them breed to observe their mutations. Apparently, what he witnessed was acceptable, because he pushed ahead with the plan to expand the population of artificial life. But at the end of the Cohort, right before he betrayed us…”

The Patron of the Sun trailed off there. Then he sighed and leaned back. “Honestly, I suspect that something about the final event, creating so many ‘arcs’ and sending them to uninhabited planets to generate life for the Nexus, was what caused such a sudden shift in him. Perhaps… he finally lost hope.”

“What are you talking about?” Randidly whispered.

The Patron chuckled. “Originally, we called you Elhumes. Because you were the project that consumed so much of his and the Patron of the Deep’s time. Now, I think, that’s been shortened to simply humans. Your race was supposed to be the key to creating the powerful images the Nexus needed to sustain itself. Pretty ironic that you are now plotting to take it all down, no?”