The sky quaked and the previously intense sunlight began to pale.
The force spikes and wind blades around Randidly dried up. The entirety of the force of the Grand Pattern squeezed around to face this blurry fist releasing a blue radiance. Standing there on the edge of the circle of pillars, it suddenly occurred to Randidly that he could jump over to the slope that led up to the summit at this moment. The impediment had vanished.
For a brief moment, he was tempted. But then he shook his head and settled down into a squat. Natural energy and Nether roared around him, rising to rival the cacophony of the wind. Sure, I dearly want to make it to the Fifth and Final Step to thank those nameless specters from before. But I’m also here to improve myself. There’s no need to take a shortcut, especially when this consciousness is doing everything in its power to protect me.
Of course, Randidly could clearly feel the emotions of that power that hummed in the sky. Its thought process was less ‘protect the challenger’ and more ‘eliminate the undesirable interloper’. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t working toward the same result. The massive sea of energy fueling that intense sunlight found a target and ignited into a blazing hellscape. Such was the intensity of the heat that the clouds burns and the air screamed.
RUMMMBBLLLLEEEEE!
Some of the blue light around the first began to dim underneath that pressure, but otherwise it was completely unresponsive. As though deeply insulted, the consciousness sent wave after wave of force spikes to slam against it. Still, its speed and target remained unchanged. Randidly could feel that while the external manifestation of the fist was weakening, its image-based core remained untouched. The strange aspect of time urged it forward, an imperative bulldozer that swooped down toward Randidly’s position.
Let’s greet Elhume properly, after all this time. Ignoring the pounding of his heart, Randidly put his entire focus into his storm of force and Nether that he released. The tight flows looped outward, bounding into a larger and larger area now that force spikes didn’t intermittently punish him for expanding his power base. And while Randidly was not sure whether he could quickly increase the efficiency of his storm’s power, he could certainly gather more force by spreading over a wider area.
Congratulations! Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko (T) has grown to Level 557!
Congratulations! Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction (M) has grown to Level 381!
The black and crimson speckled fangs rand through the storm, stirring it into a destructive froth. Nether formed the deepest currents, thick and crushing as they rushed to follow his direction. Above that were hints from Randidly’s image, as he used the physicalizations to incorporate other sources of power into the patterns. Glimmering veins of force came from Yggdrasil. The eddies of shimmering refractions came from the Grey Creature. And the crackling power of electricity that lined the storm’s edge-
RUMMMMMBBBBLLLLEEEEE!
Randidly grimaced. He didn’t have much time to accumulate. The closer the fist came, the more he could feel how the mountain was throwing all of itself against the on-coming attack… and still coming up short from stopping it. At the same time, Randidly supposed that it also demonstrated how powerful the creator of the Grand Pattern really was, that this mountain could stand against Elhume directly.
Stand might be a strong word, Randidly through sourly as he mobilized every tool at his disposal. Can receive an attack without promptly collapsing would more accurately describe this state of affairs...
Congratulations! Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 488!
“Still, this isn’t going to be enough.” The beating of his heart had become almost deafening. His skin trembled with it. His veins hummed so much his body sang. The storm around him pulsed with the rising tide of his capabilities, all weaving together to create one grand message about his ability to rival the Nexus. Randidly raised his head and grinned. His consciousness slipped into his Nether Core and rotating it faster and faster.
More. I can handle even more than this. I need to. Because-
Three small grey bubbles flew out of his Nether Core and settled into the three fangs. Following Randidly’s instincts, Sulfur’s Domain led new flows in complex patterns. His maelstrom folded in on itself, a snake eating its own tail. Randidly clenched his fists and increased the spinning of his Nether Core to a smooth blur of darkness. Nether exploded out from his body, rapidly being siphoned into the various flows in the surrounding space.
Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 411!
The pillar underneath Randidly’s feet was shaking to the point it succumbed to cracks when the rising tension of the storm reached the height of of what Randidly could just barely corral. From only about five meters around him, soon the tightly wound whirlwinds of power sprang out to ten meters and then twenty. More and more Nether flowed into the pattern, rising in a wave until a massive buffer zone protected Randidly.
He raised his hands. “Alright, now let’s try this.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The Grand Pattern hissed and howled, throwing all that natural force it could muster against the fist, but still, the fist approached. The luminosity had faded to nothing, leaving a humanoid-looking fist the size of a bear rumbling down. Randidly’s right eye began to glow emerald even as his left darkened to black. His hair turned emerald and his veins flared into a brilliant gold. His image physicalizations covered his body, even while they also flowed through his storm. Finally, massive flames of Nether Weight surged around him.
By this point, Randidly’s Weight was absolutely massive. The grey, spectral flames were about as tall again as he was. Everything about him sharpened underneath that burning energy.
Congratulations! Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko (T) has grown to Level 558!
Just as the fist was amount to punch through the edge of the crackling storm, it twisted back on itself. Guided by the fangs of extinction, it spiraled around, the disparate, expanded blasts of force woven together back through the core: Randidly. He looked down at Sulfur. “You ready for this buddy?”
Sulfur hummed with glee. The fist crossed the twenty-meter boundary. The waves of deadly force it released buzzed against Randidly’s skin. Likely, it would have ruptured the organs of someone with lessor physical stats.
The wind howled as it tried one last desperate grasp to keep the fist away from Randidly. Meanwhile, Randidly twisted the storm, again and again, smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter. He produced Acri while stuffing all the force into his body. It bounced off his intestines and stomach. It hummed through his thunderous heart. Even his overwhelming physique creaked and groaned, but he did not flinch.
He executed a basic thrust forward, unleashing a brief flare of grey light. Primordial destruction rushed forward, gushing out from Acri’s tip.
Congratulations! Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko (T) has grown to Level 559!
Congratulations! Your Skill Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock (M) has grown to Level 401!
Randidly’s joints creaked from the condensed beam of Nether, images, and natural force that he unleashed. The pillar beneath him rattled, already being driven toward destruction by the dense forces in the surrounding space; he would be lucky if it didn’t collapse beneath him by the end of this.
That beam engulfed the dull knuckled fist that had been weakened by the Grand Pattern, but immediately Randidly frowned as his attack raged forward. He could feel the fist still approaching.
His strike hadn’t been enough.
It bored a path forward, shredding all the dense Nether that Randidly had generated. However, that only increased his determination. He pushed his Nether Core into dangerous territory, requiring more and more Nether to fuel the explosion he unleashed. Even if this attacked possessed the charm of an image that had reached the Pinnacle, Randidly wasn’t comparing like with like.
He simply needed to bog down the attack with a river of Nether. If he had infinite time-
RUMMMMBBBBLLLLLEEEEE!
Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 437!
The fist reached ten meters from Randidly’s body, deflecting away thick blasts of Nether that crashed into nearby stone pillars and cut wide gouges into the churning mists below. Randidly’s eyes narrowed, even while he grew light-headed. His body glittered with his image physicalizations, as he prepared for the prospect that he might need to receive an attack from Elhume directly.
How close can I come to the Pinnacle…! Randidly gritted his teeth and forced more and more of his capability out through Acri’s tip. His flames of Nether Weight raged around him, emphasizing his ability. Small motes of the image contained within the fist began to flake and drift away, eroded by the constant barrage of Nether.
The fist was only five meters away and the collision point between knuckles and his energy blast was so close that it seared his skin. The rapid dispersal of energy superheated the surrounding air to something close to plasma. The noise and light blended together into a muffling blanket that settled over everything and blurred the details. Randidly’s body trembled as he ran out of force to release.
But that didn’t mean he was out of cards to play. “Sulfur!”
Congratulations! Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction (M) has grown to Level 382!
The three fangs glowed crimson, spinning together to smash into the fist about to reach Randidly. Each bore the smallest grey bubble, humming with the impossible amount of matter condensed into them.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Congratulations! Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction (M) has grown to Level 383!
Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Impunity (M) has grown to Level 457!
…
Congratulations! Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction (M) has grown to Level 391!
All remaining awareness was slapped away from Randidly by the impact. He felt the stone beneath his feet crumbling as he was forced backward. His eyes were unfocused and his ears rang. But even without knowledge, he tightened his hand on Acri and brought out one last drag of Nether. He dug deeply, pulling up some of his original significance. With that vital energy reinforcing Acri’s edge, he thrust again, falling away and on his back foot.
Crack!
His vision returned just in time to see Acri slashing through the fist, which had blessedly begun to crumble at the edges. The combination of chasing the Patrons, being thoroughly lashed by the consciousness of the Grand Pattern, and Randidly’s concerted assault of Nether had weakened it significantly.
Then Acri’s tip struck the upper left portion of the fist, cutting away a large chunk. Acri slid upward, removing almost a third of the remaining fist, but the other two-thirds continued forward.
Randidly roared and flared his flames of Nether Weight as much as he could. That last burst knocked away a few more sizable chunks but-
From afar, the fist of Elhume landed on Randidly’s chest.
For a second, nothing happened. It felt like his heartbeat stopped as he prepared for the brutal blow. Then the wind rushed around him, blasting against his face and waking him up. He sucked in a shaking breath.
“I… did it?”
However, then Randidly felt his significance stirring. Something a long time coming had come full circle, bringing a huge amount of significance to his body. Gasping, he stabilized himself on the crumbling pillar. He propped himself up with Acri, struggling to understand what happened.
Then it clicked and he blanched. His hands tightened on Acri’s shaft. “That attack… that strange image of time present… that attack I just blocked was what struck me the first time Elhume noticed me.”