This isn’t exactly my body, just an excellent copy. Randidly tried to reassure himself as he felt his muscle systems and Nether flows being invaded by the rampant madness. The burning and itching grew stronger, even as he watched Neshamah reach out to take the coin. What jolted him out of his moment of blank surprise was the two unborn spirits rising within him and beginning to slow the spread of malicious energy through his body.

Randidly’s gaze sharpened; this betrayal was unexpected, but not an impossible threat. While he began making his last-minute preparations, he fixated on the invasion of his body. She shouldn’t discover the Alpha Cosmos this way. Still, better not to die in this body. So the most intelligent move might be to allow Neshamah to take the coin.

But at the same time…

Skill Levels for the unborn rapidly accumulated as those two insubstantial horrors valiantly fought against the spreading madness. They managed to keep it away from Randidly’s mind, even while his body became increasingly tainted by the rust-colored energy. One hundred Skill Levels, two hundred, three hundred… a ridiculous amount accumulated in only .2 seconds, their determined efforts allowing the small beings to catch up to Randidly’s highest Skill Levels.

That was how horrifying an attack Devick unleashed.

Randidly twisted and focused on Neshamah. His face twisted into a frown. At the same time, this isn’t how I want this to end. Neshamah… was the donation of energy just a distraction so I didn’t pay attention to you? You are quite decisive. Now I don’t feel so bad about taking all that significance for myself.

But I do have one last card.

Randidly ignored the chaos of his own self and flooded a preprepared Engraving pattern with Aether. Just in case, he had used the periphery of his storm to lay down the foundation to reactivate Don Beigon’s defensive fortifications for the tower. He hadn’t planned on using it to stop Neshamah, but-

Aether flooded out of him and the Engraving activated. But Randidly quickly went pale; the Engravings he now reactivated had been designed as barriers. Sure, he could now keep out those who tried to pass before the five minutes were up, but since Neshamah was already so close to the coin, he felt helpless. He had no choice but to watch her stretch out her arm.

The unborn began to shriek as the chain twisted and tightened, threatening to pop them like unwanted zits as it carved a path toward Randidly’s heart.

Then, from the depths of this duplicated body, knowledge appeared in Randidly’s desperate mind. He knew the secrets of all the Don’s Engravings in the Skull of Truth; he understood them with just as much acuity as though he had designed them himself. By instinct, he adjusted the Engraving patterns on the fly to reject all failures within their confines.

Finally, Randidly neared his mental limit. But he refused to fail now.

Congratulations! Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways (M) has grown to Level 646!

Neshamah squawked as she was thrown off of the dais. Don Beigon’s laughed boomed out. “Silly competitor! Didn’t you hear the rules? It requires five minutes before you can take this treasure.”

Claudette blurred forward and Randidly adjusted the barrier again, his mind rapidly heating. Due to the strain, his vision began to blur. Moonlight Blade exploded, sending a spray of ice bits in every direction. In his chest, he could feel that the Unborn were about to be unborn quite literally by Devick’s spiteful madness. Claudette passed through the barrier.

A split second behind her, the pouncing Moonlight Blade slammed into the Don’s defenses; he bounced away, snarling. Randidly’s mind began to go white from the pain of Devick’s invasion. Claudette’s hand touched the coin-

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn Due (M) has grown to Level 886!

Randidly collapsed on the ground on that first beach in Alymian where the party had been hosted, vomiting up blood. The spray of weirdly chunky liquid did not glimmer beautifully against the sand but instead looked like a casserole left way too long in the oven. More than crimson, the blood he expelled looked vaguely like rust.

The exhausted Randidly regarded it with fascination for several seconds, but then looked up in alarm. His blurry mind scanned the area for threats. However, the beach was largely empty. Only he, Claudette, and the Don remained. A cool wind blew in from the sea, tingling against his clammy skin.

The Don rolled over to Randidly with a small smile, still somehow managing to wheel across the sand in his wheelchair without difficulty. “Most of the others have already been escorted out of this place. You were in a between state, very nearly dead at the end. So I allowed you to self-regulate a bit before forcing you back into your body. Devick left a message, ‘Good job’. It must be nice to have such a supportive superior officer, eh? Although I hope you understand that I really cannot stand the sight of you marring this beach right now, Randidly Ghosthound.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Randidly looked at Don Beigon blankly, still too exhausted to process everything being thrown at him. To further emphasize how dangerous a situation he had been in, his biological instincts overwhelmed his curiosity, so he bent forward and wretched, expelling more blood. This time the coloration was closer to copper, but there were also some strange, wiggling things in vomit that he had no desire to study more closely.

He swayed, barely able to keep himself from collapsing.

Don Beigon turned to look at Claudette, who had simply been staring at the coin in her hand in wonder. A little of the false cheer remained on his face as he considered his daughter. “Congratulations. I suppose we will be allies from now on, eh?”

His words were greeted by a chilly silence. Then, with purposeful slowness, Claudette looked up from the coin. “Why? Why would you do this? And of all things to select as the treasure, why would you-”

“Because the Beigons never forget a debt,” Don Beigon hissed after a moment where his face transformed from faux-cheer to glowering madman. “Because that coin is my life’s work, for good or for ill; all the accomplishments and all my many mistakes, wrapped into a small package that contains the last functions bit of my heart. The rest has been long minced, as I’m sure you can guess, along with Diane’s soul.”

Even Randidly, distracted as he was by his continued nausea and expelled blood of a disturbing color, felt the raw emotion in the Don’s voice. For several seconds, Claudette stood slack-jawed and examined her father. Her eyes traced the lines of his face and the way he gripped the armrests of his wheelchair.

She shook her head again. Confusion seemed to be her dominant emotion, rather than relief at her success. “Is this what you wanted all along then? Was it all just-”

“Of course not. I would have preferred any outcome to this.” The Don made a cutting motion with his hand. His forehead creased. “You think this is what I wanted? I would have had methods to protect you had any of the others won; even Devick, that madwoman, would grant you her fickle protection. And yet through your suicidal efforts and the inexplicable capability of this Ghosthound, you’ve rid yourself of the last protections I could have given you. I hope you are ready for what comes next.”

“You arrogant-” Ice formed near Claudette’s feet as she glared at her father. The frost crept outward across the sand, but Randidly was rather disturbed to see it avoided the rust-colored blood. His stomach rumbled and he vomited again, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb this moment.

Claudette calmed herself before speaking again. “And what, exactly comes next?”

“I’ll make an attempt on the Pinnacle. Perhaps the first true attempt in a long time,” The Don answered in a quiet voice. His timber had enough solemnity that even Randidly’s nausea was briefly quelled. “An attempt in which I believe I have a genuine chance of succeeding. After others witness the beginning of my ascension, I have no doubt that they will seek to use you to strike at me. It is unavoidable; that is the way of the Nexus.”

“You intend to ignore Elhume’s prohibition on the Pinnacle?” Claudette frowned.

Don Beigon snorted. “Have you heard from Elhume recently? The state of the Nexus is not as simple as you know. Devick is restoring some order using the worst sort of methods, but if you ask the right people, none have seen Elhume in quite some time. For the next several months, he will be… indisposed as he crafts a tool he dearly needs.”

That earned Randidly’s attention. He straightened and wiped a bit of vomit from his mouth. “How will your attempt to reach the Pinnacle be different then? And where did Elhume go?”

When Don Beigon now fixed Randidly with a glare, the emotional force in his blazing eyes sent the feeble Randidly staggering back. “You. You believe you have the right to ask questions after I gave you time to recover, in spite of you dooming my daughter? Heh, if I didn’t think that Devick or Wick will soon handle you, I’d rip out your eyes and string them on a necklace. Then I’d give that necklace to Claudette, so you’d be forced to see first hand what they will-

“Father,” Claudette stepped up and put her hand on Randidly’s shoulder. Her fingers were cool, giving Randidly a measure of relief. Of course, that relief quickly became nausea again and he stepped to the side and noisily voided the lingering acidic bile of his stomach. This time, at least, the coloration seemed more normal. Plus, there was less blood in the vomit.

Claudette spared Randidly a glance, but then looked at the Don. “His first question is a good one.”

Shaking his head, the Don turned back to his daughter. “The Path to the Pinnacle can be considered the shortcut used originally by Elhume when he relied on the Nexus to reach the Pinnacle. It supplies one of the three necessary elements of the true Pinnacle: a foundation. However, there are other methods to creating such a foundation.

“Since you seem curious,” Again the Don shot a sneering glance in Randidly’s direction, “I’ll give a bit more explanation. A foundation, an image, and a perfect moment. These are the three things that you need. Most of the recent attempts rely on the foundation of the Path to the Pinnacle and skimp on the other two. But I’ve made my preparations, for a long, long time. As I said previously, the Beigons do not forget their debts.”

“A perfect moment?” Claudette tilted her head to the side.

Don Beigon wheeled himself around. Then he spoke to his daughter without turning to face her. A shadow fell across the back of his wheelchair. “We may be allies, but that does not mean I am willing to share all the information I possess with you. There are some things that you need to discover on your own. Especially now that you have refused my assistance.”

“Your assistance was life as a kept bride for one of a half dozen monsters,” Claudette’s voice hummed with the echoes of Clarent. “Did you truly think that was for the best? If you were me, would you have accepted such an arrangement?”

Randidly’s mind continued to consider the phrase ‘perfect moment’. How strange. It isn’t anything I’ve heard before, but a perfect moment… that seems a lot more like a Nether element than an Aether one. Does that mean you need a Nether Core to reach the Pinnacle?

“I would not have accepted,” Don replied. “And it was exactly that sort of foolhardy decision that resulted in Diane’s death. I would not have been able to live with making that same choice again.”

Then he rolled away, casting a long string of words over his shoulder. “As one last favor, both of you may remain here for as long as you like. Speak to the staff when you wish to return to the Nexus. Because I suspect this will be the last chance for both of you have, especially you Mr. Ghosthound, for a moment of peace. I hate it, but you have taken a half step into the realm of the players of power in the Nexus. Good luck.”