Claudette dashed along the edge of a cliff while the sea of black flame raged to her right. Huge waves intermittently crashed against the stone ground. Since she had begun this portion of the treasure hunt, the ground had been steadily eroded by those flames, forcing her to leave the path and rush over rough terrain toward her goal.

Her eyes flicked sideways, then back forward. No. No hesitation. Not now. I need to be the sort of person who thrives here. Or else...

Don Beigon had installed traps along the path that engaged and shot all sorts of dangerous flames, poisons, and blades at her. She stoically accepted these hits against her body and kept running. The blades skittered off, the flames eventually faded, and the poison dribbled onto the ground without any visible effect. For all that Yust was a hothead, he certainly had a good idea when he had chosen to use Randidly’s body for this experience. It made these sorts of obstacles a breeze.

However, she soon had to slow. She saw a gleaming lighthouse in the distance that shined with enough force to be seen through the rising tide of black flames. But an extremely complicated formation lay between her current position and that goal. Based on the way the skin on her arms was standing on end, it possessed enough power to even give Randidly pause.

In the short time possessing this body, she learned to recognize its keen instincts. It seemed a hair of Randidly’s image lingered in the body, woven into the physical form through image physicalizations. And the instincts of those images were second to none.

Just as she was considering how to proceed, something strange happened.

First, there was a weird resonance in her chest. Her body ached as it spread from her chest up to the crown of her head and then down to her bare heels. Then her senses started feeding her unusual information; right before her eyes, all the color inverted itself. White flames gushed over the pale cliff to her right, while she stared toward a lighthouse of darkness. The lines of the engraving in front of her went dead and inert, while a strange luminance covered the ground.

But the worst part was the horrifying sensation of rotten teeth plunging into her body, seizing her and holding her in place. The horrified breath was suffocating.

When those teeth entered into her body, that stubborn resonance grew a little stronger. Claudette, confused, stumbled forward into the area covered by the formation. It didn’t activate. She swayed, blinked, then continued forward. The strange inversion made her limbs heavy and leaden, but she wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. With great care, she continued to put one foot in front of the other.

She continued for a few meters after the formation when the inversion began to recede. Unwillingly, the impression of rotten teeth dislodged themselves from her body and vanished. The colors returned to normal. Her body once more felt light and powerful.

Claudette reached up and touched her chest. A small remnant of that dull ache remained. What the hell was that…?

****

Neshamah’s breath heaved out her chest as the strange inversion pulled back and the world returned to normal. Moving under its influence was difficult, but Skull Shadow, who turned out not to be Randidly after all, had been completely immobilized by its touch. She raised a fist, but the spell had completely vanished before she could strike; in a blast of Nether, the wounded Skull Shadow escaped.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Neshamah turned to look at the two rebels. They had largely retreated while she fought against Skull Shadow, but now they regarded her with abject fear. They, too, seemed to have been completely frozen by that brief inversion.

In the distance, there was the strangest rushing noise, like waves on the beach. Otherwise, they seemed completely alone in this pillar-filled cavern with no roof.

Neshamah decided she was too exhausted to attack them, and looked forward again. But her mind was racing. That power… that scope… that’s an Authority. Randidly Ghosthound condensed a genuine Authority. Maybe he’s really the one we’ve been waiting for...

With sparkling eyes and hope blossoming in her chest, she hurried forward after Claudette.

****

Devick had been cheerily striding along when the color inversion arrived. Behind her lay the smoking remnants of the barrier requiring three people to enter. After Randidly had sunk into the lake out of abject fear of her magnificence, and likely also to reflect on his impudence, she quickly grew bored and decided it would be faster to tear her way through the formation rather than waiting for more people to arrive.

The barrier was complicated, but complicated things were always the easiest to break. Her quick success in steamrolling the defenses put her in a good mood, after the aggravating of losing to Randidly in his body. Perhaps in the corner of her heart, she began to forgive the dark-haired young man for his arrogance. If nothing else, he was certainly one of the more interesting individuals she had encountered in the Nexus. And his potential-

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Then the inversion arrived.

It gripped her for a split second and then she instinctively flexed her image at the feeling of being stifled. Chains and hooks crisscrossed in the surrounding space, forcefully suppressing the strange influence of the inversion. Her image gripped that force and tore it down.

The effect shattered around her. But Devick’s eyes were wild and her shoulders heaved.

“Even if it was only for a short while… you suppressed me? Me?!?” Rust-colored gas drifted from the corners of her eyes and the edges of her mouth as her fury oxidized the blood in her veins. The muscles of Randidly Ghosthound shifted and sizzled, barely able to contain her fury.

Which, of course, only made her madder. All thoughts of forgiveness were forgotten.

“Randidly…” Devick hissed. “Ghosthound…”

*****

His First Authority sprung from Randidly’s body, wringing every ounce of his Nether and potential from his body. His headache reached a hammering intensity very quickly, even as he strained to allow the Nidhogg projection to bite into the serpent of black flames in front of him.

The problem… Randidly thought dizzily. Is its such an indiscriminate ability-

Randidly aimed the Authority ‘out’ away from himself and simply loosed the massive influence he possessed. Based on the significance he accumulated and the deep desire he possessed, Nidhogg swelled to a massive, ethereal entity that seized upon everything it could reach. He felt some forces resist it and others succumb to its power.

Meanwhile, the Patron of Truth beside him was extremely busy. The serpent of black flames was the closest and most direct recipient of Randidly’s authority, so the entirety of its being was smothered by the power of his Nether Core. She wove thin streams of light together in that opening and rapidly created a new fence of light to replace the one that Randidly had destroyed.

Randidly grimaced as the serpent of black flames struggled against him; he could feel its absolutely massive amount of power. The barest hints of the poignancy of its image seared him, even through the overwhelming force of his Authority. It had been weakened by its long captivity, but it smelled the possibility of freedom. Grinding his teeth, Randidly tried to hold on for a little bit longer.

The new barrier was different than the first; the light of its thin connections was much dimmer than the previously brilliant barrier. But at the same time, Randidly had enough spare attention to admire the way that the Patron of Truth spiraled out the supporting lines. Rather than attempting to resist this foe directly with an inferior product, it was clear she believed it more suitable to create a zone to steadily sap away the power of this beast.

Then Randidly released the Authority and made to gasp, but once more the restrictive sapphire liquid settled around him. He floated without any motion, completely inert and suddenly spent. With its movement restored, the serpent of black flames roared its pure fury and belched out a beam of fire.

The fire sizzled through the intervening space and Randidly was abruptly struck by how particular you needed to be with your image to achieve such a distinct result through the haze of this sapphire liquid. Then gushing black flames met the dim lines of energy the Patron of Truth had created.

Vrrrrrmmmmm.

Rather than any sort of impact, it was a jarring resonance that resulted from the conflict. Randidly winced, even his powerful bones aching with the remnant effects. Yet when the black fire began to fade, the spiraling light fence remained with no lingering damage.

The blast didn’t possess enough mass. The barrier held.

“You are truly powerful…” The Patron of Truth smiled at Randidly, but her body seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Her long limbs were dim after creating the barrier. “I must… rest. Thank you for your assistance.”

“You-” Randidly’s image voice was unsteady, pounding along with the pain in his skull. He willed himself to speak with more clarity, ignoring the pain. Too much had happened too quickly; he couldn’t miss this opportunity to find out more information. “Why are you trapped here? Did Elhume-”

“He had…” The Patron of Truth offered one last tragic smile before disintegrating in the sapphire liquid. That same blank look came over her, as though she didn’t see Randidly at all, but another place. “No other choice…”

In the wake of the Patron of Truth, whatever being remained sealed within this lake vigorously tried to test the defenses. It unleashed blast after blast while Randidly floated and rather helplessly watched. He would have been worried if it had been able to break through and reach him, considering how spent he felt, but the devouring black flames vanished without seeming to accomplish anything.

Guiding the liquid around him, Randidly closed his eyes and tried to ignore that being. Unfortunately, destroying the barrier also got rid of that image of Elhume. Why were there three scenes that I saw? Also, there were only three figures that existed in all three of those scenes. One of them had to be Elhume and it is likely that one was whatever Monarch remains here. But who is the third figure? One of the Patrons? But several went with Elhume; why is only one featured in this powerful memory?

The Patron of Truth makes the most sense, since she appeared in the lake to help rebuild the seal… but that blurry figure didn’t really resemble her. Or perhaps its not a Patron at all, but another figure.

Randidly’s exhausted mind chewed on the possibilities for a while. ...as far as I can tell, Elhume is likely the first figure. Due to the fact he says ‘his power is necessary,’ likely talking about either this mysterious third figure or the Monarch. Which means he’s weeping in the pool, forming the basis of this barrier. Then he’s sitting on the throne in the second scenario. In the final scenario, he’s kneeling before the stairs… well, that’s a bit more confusing. Also, his first words above insanity and a broken eternity… is he rebuking the Karma-ordained individual?

-And who does that leave to be the blurry person?

Randidly shook himself mentally. Then he looked around at the gleaming sapphire liquid. The trapped Monarch shifted its body and resentfully returned to its rest.

I wonder… Randidly considered. His head continued to throb. If I have enough time for a quick nap…