As Randidly’s finger neared the array of light bands that bisected the sapphire lake, that light began to shift into varying wavelengths, as though it was passing through a prism by virtue of his finger’s proximity. The shifting liquid around him manipulated his body into a slow approach, while a scene appeared in his mind.

His Nether stirred instinctively as the vision formed; this was a very old memory.

The environment blurred and skipped, like a pre-modern film reel. Brief flaws snaked across Randidly’s awareness but were just as soon eliminated, leaving the same flickering tableau. Perhaps even more confusingly, the background seemed to shift from one location to another, while the characters remained the same. One moment there were three figures standing next to a pond that burned with the same sapphire hue that currently suppressed Randidly. Then the next they stood in a great hall, with strange angular banners flapping along the high pillars to an invisible wind.

In the final shift, there was suddenly a blurry fourth figure. The features of this new figure were completely fuzzed away by the ancient memory, but in its hands was a long dagger, pointing at its heart. In the third shift, the three other individuals stood upon an outdoor marble staircase, with the dagger wielder near the middle.

Then the shift continued.

The three figures that appeared in all three of the images were similarly blurry, but they at least spoke in distinct rumbling tones that differentiated them. The first figure stood hip-deep in the sapphire pond in the first scene with tears streaming down his cheeks. In the second backdrop, he sat at the far end of the great hall on a wooden chair upon a dais. Finally, he kneeled at the base of the staircase in that strange scenario sporting a fourth player.

The second figure watched then first weep with his arms crossed. In the great hall the second figure was strung from the rafters, a grey liquid dripping from the chains around his body. On the staircase, he stood halfway up, only a single stair above the mysterious fourth figure, looking down at the kneeling figure.

The third figure dunked his head in the pond in the first figure. He kneeled in the second scenario, opposite the figure in the unadorned wooden chair in the great hall. And upon that strange staircase in the abyss, he lounged at the top, laying on his side and viewing the figures below with cold eyes.

Swish, swish, swish. The image flickered. Randidly felt that now-familiar heat returning to his brain as he tried to discern the features of the three figures. His hand drifted toward the golden barrier, giving him more information, but he could barely handle the information that he already received. He dearly wished he had been able to recover fully from the shift in his Nether Core.

But… Randidly hummed to himself, partially in awe that this conversation had been fixed in time solely based on emotional force and significance. Somehow, it had parasitized the defensive barrier in the sapphire lake. Is this the mission to slay the individual who accumulated too much karma? But which figure-

Swish.

While weeping, the first figure opened his mouth and released the first rumbling line of the skit. “Your steed is insanity. Look at the broken eternity you have wrought. ”

The second figure seemed to sigh. “Such is our nature. If we could make other choices-”

Swish.

“I go to my own doom gladly,” The third figure kneeled within the great hall, his head held high. The second figure swayed slightly, chains around his body clinking. His mouth had been sewn shut in this iteration.

Swish.

“Your devotion is illogical.” The second figure now complained, standing halfway up the staircase. Next to him, the insubstantial fourth figure aimed the dagger at its heart. “Emotion without discrete shape changes nothing. Power without personal sacrifice-”

Swish.

“What is this if not sacrifice?” The first figure hissed, tears streaming down his cheeks. The sapphire pond steadily grew.

Arms crossed, the second figure muttered, “Hubris.”

Swish.

The third figure remained kneeling but clasped his hands in front of him. “Hubris is attempting to annihilate the sky by covering our eyes with your small hands. This is not your choice to make.”

Both the second figure and the first paused in their discussion to consider the third figure. The second, with his mouth still sewn shut in this iteration, rattled back and forth animatedly. The first leaned back in the chair and frowned. He tapped a finger several times against the wooden armrest.

“His power is necessary. With it-”

The image popped in front of Randidly. There was a moment of confusion as he tried to understand what had happened, but then the culprit became obvious. While he was focused on the vision of Elhume’s past, his hand had continued its motion and had finally impacted the gleaming string. Much to Randidly’s chagrin, the sturdy barrier of light frayed and snapped.

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Which set in motion a chain reaction of snapping threads that had soon unraveled about half of the bisecting barrier in the sapphire lake. Strange ripples spread out from the destruction.

Reeling, Randidly tried to understand what was happening; how could the barrier be destroyed so casually by his hand? From the first few viewings, he knew there were at least two more lines that he missed in the skit. But due to the sudden threat, he didn’t have the leisure to try and interpret what he had seen.

His mind buzzed with activity as he brute-forced his way to understanding the Engravings and Nether Arrays he could sense around the edges of the fence. What Randidly found left him speechless; the barrier relied on mass as its primary line of defense.

Why the hell-! Randidly cursed, but just as quickly he acknowledged that this was an effective method in essentially all situations. In this sapphire liquid that dispersed images and Nether and removed the ability to move, it was a very rare freak of nature that could bring to bear a planet’s worth of mass and overwhelm the moorings. In this case, the entire Alpha Cosmos made the defenses look like wax paper as his hand cruised forward.

Even though he touched the structure of light no longer, the barrier continued to unravel. Immediately the pillar of black flames flared to double its original height. Randidly didn’t dare look long enough at what had previously been sleeping to see the details, but he could sense a massive shadow stirred within its depths.

There was a dull roar and a wave of black flames rushed up and smashed against the remnants of the barrier. The remaining fence of light flared valiantly, but several powerful bursts squeaked through the growing holes in the defenses. They ripped past Randidly and then spread out in unpredictable directions through the sapphire lake. Most seemed more intent on escaping than causing destruction.

Blocked by the sapphire liquid, Randidly could only watch in growing horror as whatever lay sealed in the Skull of Truth began to reach out and grasp the edge of its prison. As it marshaled a second wave of black fire, Randidly finally firmed his resolve. His eyes scanned the patterns on the unraveling defensive barrier. It would be difficult, but since he had seen the base defenses, it should be possible to reconstruct-

Suddenly there was a shadowy figure in front of him. The long, light hair, the sad smile, the soft face- A living version of the woman whose head now became the Skull of Truth floated in front of him in the sapphire lake.

She looked rather mild, all things considered, as she observed the surroundings. “You have done something you should not have.”

“You are… the Patron of Truth?” Randidly used his image to boom the words out when his mouth proved useless.

She tilted her head to the side. “Is that what they call me now? I am simply Duo… but no, I am not the original. A ghost; a reflection of a reflection…”

For a second she trailed off. The blank expression on her face made it seem like she had forgotten where she was and what she was doing. But then her eyes sharpened. “We must move quickly; that Monarch cannot be allowed to be free. I believe enough of me remains to repair the barrier, but you must subdue the Monarch and give me the chance to do the work. We do not have much time-”

Another wave of black fire surged from the depths of the sapphire lake. Rather than trying to escape, this time whatever horror waited down there targeted the few remaining bands of light. With a horrifying crash, the fence was completely demolished. The few remaining luminous motes expanded into nothing within the lake. Then a massive serpent of black flames began to swim up toward where Randidly and the Patron of Truth were floating.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that the strange detail erasure quality of the liquid remained constant. So if that monstrous river of black flames looked intimidating from this distance, if he spent enough time focusing on it to see its true form-

Randidly mobilized his Nether Core, spinning thick rivers of Nether through his body. But when he tried to create versions of his image that could exist in this strange space of magnification, they flickered and popped quickly. Panic rose in his chest. It wasn’t just that the size was magnified, but the edges were pulled out to align with the edges of the lake.

When he just made a space-based image to manipulate his body it was fine, but when he tried to make a bound image-

His Nether expanded but was siphoned away just as quickly. The sapphire liquid had been too effectively made, even without the fence of light. And while Randidly had to adapt on the fly, the serpent of black flames had probably had quite a lot of time to familiarize itself with the environment.

In the face of these failures, Randidly briefly hesitated. What if… I don’t assist in sealing this being? Based on the clues, this is that ordained being of Karma. From what the Patrons said, it is an enemy of Elhume. Elhume locked it down here in this strange place. Perhaps releasing it will create exactly the sort of opportunity that we’ve been looking for to bring down Elhume.

However, he quickly dismissed that idea. This being might cause chaos, but Elhume took several Patrons to the fight against this ‘Monarch’ and apparently ended up cursed. In addition, two of those Patrons died soon after. I don’t want to create an even more dominant foe for myself...

The serpent of black flames was nearing the choke point, but Randidly remained calm. His Nether began to move back inward, spiraling to surround his Nether Core and then rotating in a peculiar pattern. Parts of the Nether Core shifted and engaged. With a click, part opened up and revealed a beating heart of darkness that animated his significance. His whole body buzzed, finally causing a froth to emerge in the sapphire liquid around him.

Then came a long shadow, cast by Yggdrasil. A thick trunk and a hundred bare branches stretched up, grabbing at the surroundings like a starving beggar’s fingers. It was not an image, just a connection, so the environment couldn’t dilute it. The subtle shade of that thing didn’t even seem to attract the attention of the serpent or the Patron of Truth.

His Nether Core spun faster and faster so that even Randidly’s powerful body began to cramp. The heart of significance sent reverberations through every inch of him. A wave of pure power spread out as Randidly’s new weapon engaged. The Mythic Rarity allowed Randidly to supersede the laws of this place, albeit briefly.

From the shadow of Yggdrasil, a wingless dragon wormed its way outward. Its eyes slowly opened, showing deep wells of need that animated its desperate cravings. Nidhogg opened its mouth and snarled toward the serpent of black flame, revealing rotten teeth. It was a twisted, desperate creature that was born of Randidly’s particular significance.

Just like Yggdrasil, this being came from his upbringing and the ache he felt for stability. But unlike the healthy expression of the world tree, this wingless dragon only knew avarice. It clawed at stability, desperate to rip and take to fill the hole in its heart.

With the power of his Nether Core, Randidly’s mouth opened. “The First Authority: Seize.”